Latest Blog Posts

The negotiations between the UK government and the European Union make it quite clear that neither Boris Johnson nor Michel Barnier would buy a used car from the other on trust.

By Pier Domenico Tortola The European Central Bank “needs a rocket scientist, not a rock star”, quipped the website Politico shortly after the nomination of Christine Lagarde to succeed Mario Draghi at the helm of the ECB, starting November 2019. The risk, the commentary continued, is that the presidency of Lagarde, a central banking outsider […]

So, only the 6 months until Brexit is done. Or possibly not. The passing of the deadline for an extension of the transition period at midnight on Tuesday means that on a chilly Thursday night on 31 December, the UK will pass out of that period into, well, something. What that something might be isn’t […]

Britain and the European Union entered a critical round of ‘intensified negotiations’ on June 29th. The UK’s lead negotiator, David Frost, is now in Brussels for face-to-face meetings – the first since mid-March. There is a heightened sense of urgency due to the timeline and differences between the two sides. Furthermore, the Johnson government recently […]

The EU is facing a key challenge in climate and energy governance. It has agreed to address climate change under the Paris Agreement, and put forward increasingly ambitious policy targets for 2020, 2030 and 2050. However, it is increasingly struggling to fulfil them. The European Green Deal and the proposed European Climate Law reinforce the […]