Comment

Piotr Arak, “Emerging Europe”: The coronavirus has reshaped how we think about the economy and society. The governments of most countries have had to put their economies into hibernation to protect people from a disease: something which we have not encountered before.

Aleksander Szpor i Jan Strzelecki, “Emerging Europe”: Since December 2019, when US sanctions were imposed on companies involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the finalisation of the project has been frozen.

Andrzej Kubisiak, “EU Observer”: The consultation of social partners on the submission by the European Commission of a proposal for an EU minimum wage lasted until the end of February.

Piotr Arak, “EU Observer”: In the US we have the primaries and presidential elections this year but in the EU the budgetary negotiations will make for a good reality TV. Some will be losers, and some will be winners.

Piotr Arak, “Visegrad Insight”: Cohesion policy promotes upward social convergence among EU countries. It is well-managed, well monitored and supports quality projects. Unlike tax avoidance and evasion, cohesion funding is a cash flow that works and delivers results.

Piotr Arak, “Euractiv”: Cross-border tax evasion is a problem for the EU and there is no reason to exclude EU member states from the tax haven assessment. Therefore, the EU needs a New Tax Deal.

Piotr Arak, “The Rift”: Mid-December EU leaders have reached an agreement on achieving climate-neutrality by 2050 but with Poland opting-out of the target. It doesn’t mean that Poland takes an opposite attitude towards common ambition of achieving climate neutrality.

Piotr Arak: In her stirring speech to the European Parliament last week the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented the European Green Deal. She confirmed the earlier announcements about substantial upscaling of the EU climate targets for 2030 and 2050.

Piotr Arak: The far-right Alternative for Germany party celebrated another strong showing in the former Communist East in local elections.

Piotr Arak: The European economy is one of the biggest in the world. We tend to forget that we have more than 500 million consumers and an economy worth 15.9 trillion euros, meaning more than China and almost as much as the US.

Piotr Arak: The Green Deal for Europe has the chance to become a hallmark of Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission. Transition to a climate neutral economy means an ambitious, costly and far-reaching transformation, impacting the living standards of all social groups.

Piotr Arak: The European Union’s cohesion policy risks a major reduction of funds under the next Multiannual Financial Framework, despite its palpable effects on economic growth and competitiveness.

Piotr Arak: The United States has its liberalism, and Europe has its welfare state, which is so attractive that a few years ago the Union was flooded with a wave of immigrants from the Middle East and Africa.

Piotr Arak: The 27 European Union countries have still not agreed on the multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027. Without a clear UK decision on Brexit, the construction of the next EU budget is impossible.

Piotr Arak: Since the 1980s, inequality has been growing everywhere on Earth, except in Western Europe but otherwise in Russia. The communists became oligarchs and the oligarchs became state employees of the Putin’s government.

Piotr Arak: The process of increasing international trade in Africa and decreasing barriers that can foster growth resembles the goals and policies introduced successfully in Europe. This year Africa will take a big step towards tackling entrenched economic problems including a dearth of intra-regional trade as the new continental free trade agreement comes into force.

Piotr Arak: The Juncker Commission was struck by the Luxleaks scandal and Panama Papers but it did not deliver any sound solutions to money-laundering.

Four years into the Energy Union project, it is worth taking stock of one of the flagship policies of the Juncker Commission and look into future challenges, writes Piotr Arak.

After importing the dangerous practice of VAT fraud from the rest of the EU, Poland is fighting to minimise this illegal activity from causing more damage to its economy.

In recent years, the European Union has been shaken by numerous internal crises, and none of the ‘old members’ managed to propose a strategy that would unify the continent.

trefa euro obchodziła wczoraj 20. urodziny. To, że przetrwała mimo potężnego kryzysu i dużych różnic między gospodarkami południa Europy a bardziej prężnymi gospodarkami Północy, można uznać za sukces. Choć wielu problemów można było uniknąć bez euro, bo wyjście na prostą gospodarki europejskiej po kryzysie najpewniej trwałoby krócej.

Samorządowcy powinni postrzegać zielone obligacje jako metodę finansowania na dużą skalę inwestycji w przystosowanie się do zmiany klimatu i polepszenia jakości życia mieszkańców.

Ludzie, którzy wyszli na ulice Paryża, niszczyli m.in. drogie samochody, uszkodzili też Łuk Triumfalny. Kolejny weekend minął w atmosferze zamieszek i starć z policją. Francuzi są niezadowoleni z podniesienia akcyzy na paliwa i rosnących kosztów życia. Szkody spowodowane przez rozruchy są szacowane na 3–4 mln euro.

Niewykluczone, że zaprogramowane przez producentów pojazdy zmienią nie tylko dotychczasową organizację ruchu ulicznego, lecz także nasze myślenie na temat dobra i zła.