EU Climate issues and “carbon leakage”: towards “green growth” around the Baltic Sea

Views: 48Climate change has become a vital problem in Europe and the countries around the Baltic Sea Region, BSR. The EU-wide climate ambition with rather stringent climate policies in the member states (and in many non-EU countries) involves a risk of the “carbon leakage”, which occurs when companies based in the EU move carbon-intensive production […]

Achieving SDGs in energy, climate mitigation and business

Views: 43The European Commission actively supports the member states efforts both in preparing their long-term SDGs strategies and providing necessary information on energy sectors’ development by: a) the available and modern scientific knowledge in energy sector’s transition, and b) providing best practices and shared knowledge to support progressive measures in the member states’ energy efficiency. […]

The EU’s Erasmus+ program: additional efforts in global education

Views: 49The Commission selected 159 projects for funding under Erasmus+ program (Capacity Building for Higher Education), which supports the modernisation and quality assurance of higher education in third countries worldwide. These projects respond to the EU-wide aim of supporting international cooperation in the fields of higher education, improving education systems, as well as strengthening socio-economic […]

Sustainability reporting: common standards for businesses

Views: 51The EU’s governance has started intensive efforts to force corporate entities to implement sustainability and fulfill their obligations under the “green deal”. Present corporate sustainability reporting seems inefficient with gaps tarnishing public “green accountability”. The Commission has adopted common standards for companies to manage sustainability performance and make it more efficient with a better […]

Workers’ rights in the EU: strengthening social dialogue and collective bargaining

Views: 53The Commission started the second-stage consultation with the social partners in the member states on a possible revision of the European Works Councils Directive – the first-stage took place in April; so far the Commission received replies from eleven social partners. The general idea of the new consultation is towards further EU-wide actions on […]

Essential services in the EU states’ governance

Views: 62Critical entities provide essential services in upholding key societal functions, supporting the economy, preserving the environment, ensuring public health and safety, etc. European Commission has adopted a list of essential services in the eleven sectors covered by the Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER), which entered into force on 16 January 2023.  

Green transition: Europeans view the perspectives

Views: 50Over half of Europeans think that transition to a green economy should be accelerated regardless of the increasing energy price and concerns over reduced Russian gas supplies. Most people believe that climate change is a serious problem; but two-thirds agree that: a) the cost of damage due to climate change is much higher than present level […]

Fading European economy’s motor: frightening deindustrialization in Germany

Views: 53Recent article in Politico revealed some frightening for the EU-wide growth signs of economic decline in Germany. The main reason is a “toxic mixture” of such new factors in contemporary growth as high energy costs (though in some EU states energy prices have already fallen to pre-2012 levels), skilled-worker shortages and red tape, etc. […]