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“Europe is still punching well below its weight. I believe this is because of two main reasons. The first one obvious, a lack of investment.”

EU ‘punching well below its weight’ in digital technologies, von der Leyen warns

By: EBR | Friday, February 5, 2021

The EU continues to lag behind China and the US when it comes to investments into key technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned

"The Paris Climate Agreement was adopted on 12 December 2015. In it, the signatory states pledged to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C, if possible."

EU climate neutrality by 2050 is not Paris-compatible

By: EBR | Friday, February 5, 2021

The EU’s aim for net zero by 2050 is insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement and limit warming to 1.5°C. To avoid climate catastrophe, Europe needs to rethink auctions for renewable energy and reintroducing support for small scale supply

"The EU is handcuffed by the need for unanimity in foreign policy. Despite internal efforts to move decisions on human rights in the Council of the EU to qualified majority voting, there is a clear bloc of member states that have voiced their opposition."

Is the EU Willing to Defend Human Rights Globally?

By: EBR | Friday, February 5, 2021

The EU has approved a new global human rights sanctions regime. But will national interests continue to prevent the union from effectively protecting people in places like Belarus, China, and Russia?

“We are losing time already; we don’t see a need for this at all. It just slows us down at the moment.”

Pharma groups ‘losing time’ with EU export control mechanism

By: EBR | Friday, February 5, 2021

Pharmaceutical companies have started experiencing delays in deliveries of vaccines and their components due to the EU’s export control mechanism

"The fallout from that could weaken national governments – and feed Euro-skeptic sentiment among voters in EU countries, as well as complicate relations between the EU and countries outside the of the bloc."

Europe’s COVID 19 Response Put in Perspective

By: EBR | Thursday, February 4, 2021

The EU tends to move more slowly — but it does get its act together

“The president comes to the press room when she considers there’s a message to convey and questions to answer,” her chief spokesperson Eric Mamer told reporters this week.

Who’s afraid of the press?

By: EBR | Thursday, February 4, 2021

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has developed an unhealthy habit of avoiding press questions in public and carefully dosing her words to European media, while being seemingly omnipresent in a selected few, mostly German, publications

"The EU’s coronavirus vaccination program had been hailed as one of the great breakthroughs of 2020. Now, it risks turning into a gigantic political boomerang."

Why the EU’s Vaccine Strategy Will Pay Off in the End

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 3, 2021

After the undignified scramble for protective equipment in the pandemic’s early stages, the EU’s collective approach to coronavirus vaccines was the right strategy—even if avoidable mistakes were made

"In the action plan Europol calls for the Commission’s revision of the 2016 Europol Regulation, which lays down strict standards in terms of the agency’s data use, to be revised so as to allow the agency to continue its work."

Europol on defensive as concerns raised over ‘illegal’ Big Data tactics

By: EBR | Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, has defended its record in using large datasets for criminal investigations while putting forward an ‘action plan’ to appease concerns raised over the agency’s ‘illegal’ data use by the EU’s data protection watchdog

"The Commission should pull together a major intra-institution war room focussed on combining an aggressive mass vaccination plan with recovery programmes developed by member states, which would enable them to eyeball each other, iron out differences and agree on expectations."

Repeating the same mistakes, yet hoping for recovery

By: EBR | Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Recent vaccination campaigns kicking off across Europe brought with them a sense of relief after a year of uncertainty. Unfortunately, old hat politics and management came along for the ride

"Did the EU do well to negotiate deals with the pharma on behalf of EU member states to achieve better prices and equal access? Yes, it did."

Some already miss the UK

By: EBR | Tuesday, February 2, 2021

It’s not going to be easy to sweep the EU’s vaccines mess under the carpet. Several media across Europe are now calling out those responsible for the “fiasco” over the way the European Commission has handled vaccine deals with the pharmaceutical companies