Ambitions are affordable for Asia and the Pacific

This article was written for The European Sting by Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, the United Nations Under–Secretary–General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).The opinions expressed in this article belong to our distinguished writer. Three years of implementation of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in […]

Brexit update: Will Theresa May’s last-minute desperate efforts procrastinate Brexit?

After a long seven-hour meeting with her cabinet, Theresa May decided to meet Jeremy Corbyn in order to agree on a common plan for the future UK-EU relations, but practically ask for an extention of Article 50. The recent inability of the members of the Parliament (MPs) to get a majority on twelve indicative votes […]

Women’s work faces the greatest risk of automation, says new research

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Emma Charlton, Senior Writer , Formative Content The robots are coming – but whose jobs are they most likely to take? By now, you’d be hard pressed not to have read something about how automation and technology are going […]

Everything you need to know about Ireland’s economy (Post Brexit)

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Douglas Broom, Senior Writer, Formative Content Image: Statista Ireland’s economy is outperforming most other Eurozone countries with almost full employment and rising real wages. So why are Irish consumers among the most pessimistic in Europe? Although it was among […]

EU and China in search of a win-win agreement through strategic cooperation ahead of the EU-China summit

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini together with the 28 EU Foreign Ministers met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last Monday to discuss the agenda of the EU-China Strategic Dialogue. During the meeting, both parties had the opportunity to enhance and promote their mutual cooperation on several international topics. Both sides […]

The EU might as well go down the drain if foreign meddling corrupts May’s elections

The EU elections will take place in about two months’ time but anti-European together with foreign parties are most likely going to try to exert influence on the upcoming outcome. Anti-establishment parties are expected to change the current balance and status quo if the two mainstream parties, the conservative EPP (European People’s Party) and the […]

Wind farms now provide 14% of EU power – these countries are leading the way

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Sean Fleming, Senior Writer, Formative Content The winds of change continue to blow through the European energy sector. Renewables – in particular wind power – continue to grow in overall importance, even though their rate of adoption slowed over […]

EU elections: Can EU citizens’ awareness eradicate fake news more efficiently than Facebook, Twitter and Google?

Last Thursday, the European Commission published the reports of Facebook, Google and Twitter regarding the progress made in January in their voluntary pledges to tackle disinformation. Disinformation is a major challenge globally and for Europe and all stakeholders have to be actively involved in order to address citizens’ exposure to it. However, the US tech […]

These 11 EU states already meet their 2020 renewable energy targets

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Sean Fleming, Senior Writer, Formative Content Almost half of the European Union’s (EU) 28 member states have already hit, or are close to hitting, their 2020 renewable energy targets. But despite this, there has been a gradual slow-down in […]

The results of Finland’s basic income experiment are in. Is it working?

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Johnny Wood, Writer, Formative Content How would you like to get more than $600 a month, no strings attached? Sound too good to be true? Not in Finland, where they’re experimenting with giving unemployed people a basic income, with […]

A backbencher Tory MP threatens both EU and UK with a no-deal Brexit

Last Thursday’s latest vote in the British Parliament, the Commons, revealed the real forces operating in relation to the country’s Gordian Knot, Brexit. Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May’s newest proposal for a kind of a soft Brexit deal, under the name of ‘Plan B’ was rejected last Thursday in Parliament by 303 to 258 votes. […]

These are the OECD’s most productive economies

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Johnny Wood, Writer, Formative Content Romania boasts the highest productivity of leading world economies, according to the latest available data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The eastern European nation recorded the highest “GDP per hour” […]

A lack of affordable homes is forcing young Britons to live with their parents

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Alex Thornton, Senior Writer , Formative Content Choosing when to leave home isn’t easy. Independence has to be balanced against security. The freedom of a space of your own weighed against the responsibility of doing your own laundry. But […]

Siemens-Alstom merger: Can Germany and France lobby to circumvent EC’s rejection, against EU consumers’ interests?

The European Commission (EC), after months of investigation and discussions, came to the independent conclusion to refuse the merger of the rail companies Siemens and Alstom despite the improvements provided by the two firms together with the continuous pressure by the French and German governments. Nevertheless, France and Germany still believe that the EU has wrongly […]

Children are so hungry in one British town they are eating from bins

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Alex Thornton, Senior Writer , Formative Content “Please, Sir, I want some more.” The words of Charles Dickens’ character, the orphan, Oliver Twist begging for more gruel immortalized the grinding poverty so common during Britain’s Industrial Revolution. Now, 180 […]

Brexit: UK to suffer from EU’s uncompromising stance

Last Tuesday, 29 January, 317 British MPs voted for (301 against) the Tory Sir Graham Brady’s amendment, to replace the ‘Northern Ireland Backstop’ with elusive “alternative arrangements“. This NI Backstop is an integral part of the Brexit Agreement, PM Theresa May concluded with the other 27 EU leaders last December. It guarantees that, after the […]

What next for Europe? Three (completely) different Davos views

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Briony Harris, Formative Content Three political leaders have taken centre stage at the Congress Hall on the third day of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. Each of them outlined their vision for the future of the […]

Shaping the future of democracy in Armenia

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia The changes that took place in Armenia last year are indeed historic in nature and magnitude. The Velvet Revolution led […]

Siemens-Alstom merger: Will the EC succumb to Franco-German pressures for the sake of May’s EU Elections?

It was yesterday when executives of Siemens and Alstom met with EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in one of their last attempts to convince her to give the green light for their merge. The European Commission (EC) is now left to decide till February 18 whether or not to approve the merger of the rail operations […]

Britain in chaos: May stays as Tory leader and PM but none can defuse the Brexit time bomb

Yesterday night the embattled British Prime Minister and President of the Conservative Party, Theresa May, won an intraparty no confidence vote. This was a Tory party internal procedure, triggered by members of her own parliamentary group. In the final result 200 Conservative MPs voted for May and 117 against her. In this way, she secures […]

The ‘yellow vests’ undermined Macron in France and the EU

Paris was a blockaded city this weekend. The government was forced to close down all the main tourist sites in the French capital. The Eiffel Tower, the Opera of Paris, the Louvre museum and tens of other sites which may attract the fury of the ‘yellow vest’ movement are closed and heavily guarded. Galerie Lafayette […]

We must work together to build a new world order. This is how we can do it

This article is brought to you thanks to the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Gülnur Aybet, Senior Adviser to the President, Office of the President of Turkey and member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Europe, Professor Yildiz Technical University It is almost 30 years since the former Warsaw […]

How to build a paradise for women. A lesson from Iceland

This article is brought to you thanks to the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, Office of the Prime Minister of Iceland Iceland is honoured to be a frontrunner in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, and as Prime Minister I am frequently asked about […]

Students in Milan are moving in with the elderly to fight loneliness and save money

This article is brought to you thanks to the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.  Author: Emma Charlton, Writer Would you like to adopt a student? That’s the question being posed to Milan’s elderly, as Italy’s most expensive city seeks to match young people looking for affordable accommodation with seniors in need of company. […]

Theresa May expresses her optimism about Britain’s economic success while UK business outlook seems ominous

UK Prime Minister Theresa May attended the annual Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference on Monday where she expressed her confidence about the country’s economic outlook in an attempt to seek business support ahead of the harsh period till the conclusion of the Brexit deal. However, a quarterly report published from data firm IHS Markit […]

Italy’s revised budget remains roughly unchanged waiting for Europe’s fury

The Italian government concluded its revised budget a few hours ago and as expected the Italian budget plan remained the same with small amendments, such as plans to sell off some government real estate, but still is not respecting the EU fiscal rules. The latter is most likely not going to be left unanswered by the […]

Germany is the world’s most innovative economy

This article is brought to you thanks to the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Kate Whiting, Senior Writer, Formative Content Germany is currently in the driving seat when it comes to innovation – thanks in part to the speed it’s developing new technologies like driverless cars. In the World Economic Forum’s latest […]

“ASEM: Global Partners for Global Challenges”, a Sting Exclusive by China’s Ambassador to the EU

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Head of Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union, Mr Zhang Ming. The opinions expressed in this article belong to the distinguished writer. On 18 and 19 October, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will join other leaders of ASEM […]

Italy’s populist government appears determined to drive EU economy and markets into recession

The Italian budget plan has recently created turbulences and serious concerns in the EU economy as the third largest economy of the bloc cuts growth forecasts and increases spending. The European Commission together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have urged the Italian government to restate its budget and comply with the EU fiscal rules […]

Migration crisis update: mutual actions and solidarity needed as anti-migrant policies thrive

An EU summit is taking place today in Salzburg, Austria where the EU leaders will discuss about the immigration crisis in the region and Brexit deal negotiations. The Parliament’s request to the member states regarding Hungary’s breach of the EU founding values is creating turbulences to the unity and solidarity of the Old Continent. The […]

Greece bailout ends but with no substantial effect on citizens’ life

It was yesterday when the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stated from the Greek island of Ithaca that the austerity measures are over cheering for the Greek bailout programme exit. Mario Centeno, the chairman of the ESM’s board of governors, had said last Monday that Greece is once more a nation which doesn’t need any additional […]

Theresa May attempts to ease the EU stance as Britons request another EU referendum

With less than eight months away from the exit of the UK from the EU, continuous negotiations are being held between the two parties in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit. UK Prime Minister Theresa May will visit French President Emmanuel Macron at his Fort de Brégançon on Friday in an attempt to persuade him […]

Does May have enough time in Parliament to table a soft Brexit deal?

The American President, last Wednesday and Thursday, after having infuriated his European allies at the NATO Summit, flew to London. Just after landing there he told the Brits that the US will not offer Britain a trade deal after Brexit, because May’s proposal for the divorce with the EU is not to his liking. In […]
Go back up

The European Sting – Critical News & Insights on European Politics, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Business & Technology – europeansting.com