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Unlocking the Western Balkans: Why Serbia Holds the Geopolitical Key
Over the past ten years, Serbia has emerged as the Western Balkans' top investment destination. Even more impressive is the variety of participants: although EU investors currently hold the bulk of...
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Before Eye for an Eye, Remember What Your Mother Told You
This blog post is based on an article published in El País on the 6th of July 2025. The original article can be found here. On 9 July – or maybe later who knows – Donald Trump is expected to...
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The Limits of Autonomy: Realigning Quantum Strategy
On July 2, 2025, the European Commission released its Quantum Strategy, outlining the EU’s vision to secure a leading position in the global quantum race. The strategy emphasises quantum’s...
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Boosting the Use of AI in Europe – Follow the Nordics?
Different paradigms or mental models sometimes take hold of policymakers. In the field of AI, Europe has for the past years been beguiled by “regulation” – a model that is not just assumed to...
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The WTO in the Age of Trump’s Trade Bullying – Should There Be WTO Reform?
Something doesn’t add up. In Geneva, countries continue to profess undying commitment to the WTO. Meanwhile, their governments back home scramble for deals with Washington – deals which undermine...
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Modern Globalisation and the Nation State – The Evolving International Political Economy
Unresolved political economy contradictions are becoming more evident – between a national manufacturing narrative versus actual technology-led globalisation, balancing open trade versus...
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How to Kill a Bad Idea and Spread the Good Ones: An Iterative Public Policy Method for EU Policymakers
For centuries, Europe has been politically fragmented. Counterintuitively, this fragmentation was a blessing, not a curse. The reason was that, unlike other absolute monarchs, such as Chinese...
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From US Courtrooms to EU Capitals: The Cautionary Tale of Mass Litigation
Important policy shifts are sometimes buried deep in the weeds of academic and technocratic reports. Just some weeks ago, the European Commission published a new study of Third Party Litigation...
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Six Months into the Second von der Leyen Commission – Where are the Policies for Long-Run Economic Growth?
There are different ways to think about the economy. Economic reality will routinely present any policymaker with challenges that require actions in the short term: crises that motivate cyclical...
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What Next for the UK-EU Trade Relationship?
On May 19 the UK and EU started a new phase in their turbulent history. By agreeing a future program of work including negotiating alignment on food and drink regulations (SPS) and emissions trading...