The heavy hitters of the new EU Commission
Ursula Von Der Leyen walked into the European scene in early July 2019 as she was proposed by the European Council as their candidate for the role of president of the Commission. She secured parliamentary approval to become the next
Diversity and Inclusion in Fintech: More Than a Business Model
Diversity in Fintech The fintech industry has a gender diversity problem, with women representing only 29% of staff in the sector. Some of the main challenges can be listed as the pay gap, absence of women on boards & leadership positions
Europe’s Centrality to the Circular Economy
Lacking the expansive resource endowments and sheer size of continents like North America, Australia, and Africa, Europe has always been at the forefront of material efficiency. The continent routinely leads the world in key sustainability endeavors, such as high rates
Chaos in Libya: Why Europe is Paralyzed
When Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was ousted by a blitzkrieg in 2011, three European countries played a key role, the UK, France and Italy. With America “leading from behind”, a polite way to say that America provided only military support
The Race for Artificial Intelligence: China vs. America
What is The Role of Europe in the AI Race? Let’s be clear, Artificial Intelligence, in particular in its latest development, deep learning that mimics the way the human mind works, first emerged in America. This gave the U.S. a huge
Promoting Sustainability in Spain: Cristina Gallach
In June 2018, the Spanish government set up a special office for the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals in the country. It created the position of High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda of Spain as a landmark position. And
G20 Surprise Show: Truce with China, Summit Shaped by Europe
The big news from the G20 meeting that just closed in Buenos Aires is the 90-day truce in the U.S.-China trade war that has rattled financial markets and threatened global growth. The smaller news is that Trump did not pull
Populism in Europe: Can the New Left Defeat it?
Trump is the face of populism in America and the midterms have shown that a Democratic “blue wave” could stop and even defeat it. How about populism in Europe? After the traditional parties on the left collapsed and the center
The Future: America vs. Eurasia
How will the future play out? Will Europe follow America’s example and sink into nationalist populism that will inevitably tear apart the European Union and open the way to Trump’s divide-and-conquer America First strategy? Will America’s trade war with China
The Last European Tour…before Brexit!
Brexit means Brexit. We hear this phrase uttered ad nauseam by Brexit supporters, and yet, two-and-half years on from the referendum, it is difficult to see what was - and what will be - the meaning of Brexit. Those that voted
Updating Democracy: The Citizens Foundation
Citizens Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Reykjavik, Iceland, developing digital systems that allow citizens to directly participate in their government's decision-making. The organization has worked with local and national governments in over 20 countries across Europe and Australia.
Dangerous Times for Democracy: Why Italy is Key
Writing from Italy, New York Times foreign affairs Op Ed columnist and Pulitzer winner Thomas L. Friedman claims in a new not-to-be-missed piece that he will “ruin your breakfast, lunch and dinner “ and he certainly does. He argues that