With the Harris-Trump battle in full swing, the EU must take the future of the transatlantic relationship into its own hands
After last week’s Democratic National Convention (DNC), Europeans may start studying the polling data coming out of rural Pennsylvania or Michigan to gauge their fate. While recent polling suggests President Biden’s decision to pass the torch has provided a much-needed boost to the Democrats, that doesn’t negate the real possibility of a second Trump presidency. […]
The EU’s defence industrial policies – walking the walk with Euro-defence bonds
Over the last two years, the war in Ukraine has prompted the acceleration and multiplication of EU initiatives to enhance the European defence industry, and Europe’s ability to defend itself and support Ukraine’s defence. Besides spending better, spending together and getting private equity onboard, the next frontier for EU defence spending must be the issuance […]
EU-NATO relations – somewhere between dancing with two left feet and seamless tango
Russia’s war against Ukraine has proven to be a watershed moment for the EU, accelerating the development of a European Defence Union. But the EU and NATO must ramp up political cooperation and synergise resources to enhance European security and for the EU to credibly flex its muscles as a security and defence actor in […]
In the EU-US data transfer and privacy quarrel, the end is not in sight
Third time wasn’t the charm. After Safe Harbour and Privacy Shield both met their maker at the hands of the EU’s Court of Justice (CJEU), a new report predicts that the US’ latest attempt to offer adequate protection to EU citizens and residents when it comes to the transfer of their data could be the […]
Reconstitutionalising privacy
Does current US policy offer a level of privacy and rule of law protections that are essentially equivalent to those required in EU law so that transatlantic data transfers are lawful? And can the new EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) be expected to comprehensively satisfy a legal test by the Court of Justice of the […]
Extraterritorial sanctions with a Chinese trademark
China has recently updated its laws on the (security) screening of foreign investment, promulgated a new export controls law, drawn up an ‘unreliable entity’ list, and adopted an EU-style statute blocking the extraterritorial jurisdiction of US law. Beijing wages legal warfare (‘lawfare’) against Hong Kong, in the South China Sea, along the Belt and Road, […]
Can ‘normalisation’ help bring peace to the Middle East?
A new normal(isation) As the new US administration sets about revoking much of the Trump legacy, one part of it that is unlikely to be affected is that of the ‘normalisation’ of relations with Israel by Arab states. The second half of 2020 saw Washington broker a flurry of these normalisation deals and four states: […]