Leaders of the European Union and India have announced a landmark free trade agreement that concludes nearly two decades of intermittent negotiations and signals a major shift in global trade alignments. Both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the accord as “the mother of all deals,” underscoring …
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Global leaders have pledged to halt and reverse the degradation of nature over the coming decades, but limited public finances mean governments are increasingly turning to nature markets as a way to mobilise private investment. These markets are designed to measure ecological improvements—such as restored habitats or increased carbon storage—and convert them into tradable credits. …
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The essay challenges the dominant story told by leading AI labs: that building ever more powerful artificial intelligence will automatically deliver explosive productivity, surging GDP, and widespread prosperity. While this narrative is appealing to those developing and financing advanced models, it overlooks a fundamental economic reality. An economy is not simply about producing more; it …
Continue reading “Circulation Is the missing link in the AI economy”
Modern European societies are built on an expectation of uninterrupted digital access. Everyday activities such as paying for food, accessing healthcare, managing public services, working remotely, and staying in touch with others all rely on complex digital systems that operate largely out of sight. When these systems function smoothly, their importance is easy to overlook. …
Continue reading “Digital sovereignty and Europe’s blackout risk”
For more than a decade, Apple occupied a uniquely powerful position at the heart of the global technology ecosystem. Its enormous scale allowed it to dominate the supply chain, setting prices, locking in scarce manufacturing capacity, and shaping the long-term plans of suppliers that produced everything from advanced chips to memory, substrates, and packaging. This …
Continue reading “AI rewrites the tech supply chain power map”
Lying between the United States and Russia, Greenland has emerged as a critical geopolitical frontline as rapid Arctic warming reshapes the region. Long viewed as remote and inaccessible, the island is now at the centre of growing strategic competition driven by climate change, shifting trade routes, and the race for critical resources. This importance was …
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Greenland is emerging as one of the most resource-rich regions on Earth, combining vast geological wealth with growing geopolitical and environmental significance. Greenland natural resources include critical raw materials such as lithium and rare earth elements (REEs), alongside precious metals, industrial minerals, and enormous hydrocarbon reserves of oil and gas. These materials are essential for …
Continue reading “Greenland natural resources beneath ice and fire”
The plastics recycling industry across Europe and the United States is facing a severe contraction, with recyclers warning that without urgent regulatory reform, political recycling targets will be impossible to meet. Over recent years, a combination of economic pressures and policy uncertainty has triggered widespread plant closures. In Europe alone, more than 300,000 tonnes per …
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Debates about tax fairness usually centre on income: how much people earn, how steeply high incomes should be taxed, and how to protect those on lower wages. Yet an older idea is re-emerging in economic discussion: taxing what people spend rather than what they earn. This shift is not a minor technical adjustment. A progressive …
Continue reading “The case for a progressive consumption tax reform”
Europe’s effort to secure its access to critical minerals has exposed a major strategic weakness: overwhelming dependence on China for rare earths. This vulnerability became unmistakably clear when China tightened export licensing for rare-earth magnets, cutting shipments by roughly 75 percent and forcing European automakers to halt production. The episode highlighted how deeply Europe’s industrial …
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