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The initial market panic over her plan wasn’t entirely her fault. The Bank of England’s anaemic approach to interest-rate hikes (it increased rates 50 basis points while the US Federal Reserve raised them 75) left the pound exposed.

Liz Truss’s big gamble on the U.K. Economy

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Boris Johnson got Brexit done. Liz Truss faces the much harder task of making it work

Giorgia Meloni could well become Italy’s first female prime-minister and the country’s first far-right leader since Benito Mussolini.

Giorgia Meloni: Italy’s first female (and far-right) prime-minister?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, September 21, 2022

In Italy’s last election in 2018, Giorgia Meloni’s party, the far-right Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d ’Italia) scored less than 4% in Sicily, just behind what was garnered nationally

"If Prime Minister Liz Truss continues to make a solid impression, she can garner political credit for the extremely difficult road ahead."

An extremely difficult road ahead for Liz Truss

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, September 12, 2022

Few new British prime ministers has as many crises on their plate from day one as Liz Truss

His plan may still work. In some member states, Hungary and Slovakia for instance, people are really afraid for a complete energy stop seen their big dependency of Russia.

Putin’s tactic is transparent but no less dangerous!

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, September 7, 2022

The winter of 2022 threatens to become a dangerous period of energy perils, unpredictable political frustrations and social discontent

"While Putin tries to prevent Russian citizens from travelling abroad and seeing the bounties of the West, eastern and Nordic EU memberstates are calling for a new Iron Curtain!"

The (once again) not united European Union

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Leaders of eastern and Nordic EU memberstates have called for the EU to close its borders to Russian tourists

"Biden is saying, he is doing everything he can to stop the war in Ukraine, but if he does not succeed in that in the coming months -and it seems very likely- Russian President Putin and not the President of the US will determine how much a gallon of gasoline costs at the pump in the US."

US Midterm elections: only three months to go

By: N. Peter Kramer | Friday, August 5, 2022

Until recently, Joe Biden struggled with the image of the weak leader who had to endure the doom and gloom of the world without coming to grips with it

"Russian gas group Gazprom announced last Monday that it will further reduce deliveries via Nord Stream 1, the main pipeline to Europe".

A gas saving plan and the non-united EU

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, July 27, 2022

The EU is aiming for a joint 15% reduction of gas consumption during the winter that is coming

The climate seems to be a concern for later.

The Climate? A concern for later

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, July 20, 2022

‘Half of humanity is in danger zone

Greeks are the world’s biggest tanker owners and were the most active transporters of Russian oil, even before the invasion of Ukraine in February.

Zelensky attempts to whip up public opinion

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attempts to whip up public opinion against seaborne Russian oil exports, particularly the Greek tankers that carry big part of it

"Xi mentioned support for Hong Kong’s status as a global financial and trading centre, but he did not reveal any policy about it".

Xi’s warning on the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, July 6, 2022

It happened, on July 1, in the shadow of the almost all attention attracting war in Ukraine

"Even though the summer has yet to really start, we seriously have to prepare for a hard winter".

Winter is coming

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, June 29, 2022

There is a persistent form of denial of the seriousness of the energy crisis, especially among Western leaders

"The election results are likely to lead to months of negotiations as Macron has to seek allies among his rival parties".

French voters punish their President

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, June 22, 2022

President Emmanuel Macron lost his absolute majority in the Assemblee Nationale

"Τhe big divide that the survey shows, is between those who want to end the war as quickly as possible and those who want Russia to be punished".

Ukraine: European unity under pressure

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Europeans have surprised President Vladimir Putin with their unity so far and decisiveness in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but now they fear seriously the economic pain of a protracted conflict

‘North Macedonia has made many tough decisions for the country, one of them being the Prespa agreement, with which we able to resolve the name dispute with Greece and to become member of NATO’, the prime minister said, referring to the landmark 2018 agreement with its neighbour.

‘The EU has to deliver not only promise’

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Manfred Weber, a failed European Commission president and now president of the EPP, wants the EU to grant Ukraine (, Moldova and Georgia) official candidate status

"As with many EU sanctions against Russia, the oil boycott also shoots the EU itself in the foot".

Despite Russian oil boycott, EU loses face

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Late on Monday, May 30, the 27 EU leaders finally agreed a partial oil boycott of Russia

In recent weeks Hungary has emerged already as the EU’s disrupter on punitive measures against Russia over the war in Ukraine, opposing an embargo on Russian oil, also proposed by the Commission as a part of the so called Sixth Package of EU Sanctions.

How to organise an EU oil embargo?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Last week the 1st Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, presented with much fanfare a €210 billion plan REPowerEU, aimed at ditching Russian fossil fuels by 2027

"It looks as though Europe will become the region with the highest energy costs in the world for a long time to come".

Is the EU shooting itself in the foot?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, May 18, 2022

The philosophy of sanctions is that they should hit another country rather than causing harm to your own country

"No surprise, that Commission President Von der Leyen threw her weight behind the idea of changing EU treaties. More power for the EP and less power for the member states?".

Moving towards an ever-closer European Union?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, May 11, 2022

The ‘Conference on the Future of Europe (please read: European Union!)’ has had his closing event. The purpose of the Conference was to engage citizens in a broad debate on the future of the EU

"It is clear that the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe do not represent an expression of the will, nor the ideas, of the EU population!".

The ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ has failed

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, May 3, 2022

As was to be expected, the ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ (i.e. the European Union) turned out to be contrary to its whole original raison d’etre

"Macron has repeatedly said he was the only barrier between the French voter and populism".

Macron must avert misfortune in 2027

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, April 27, 2022

More than 17 percent: the gap is still large between extreme right and the Elysee. But the task ahead for the re-elected President is extremely difficult, he has to close a deep rift in French society