Photo by Rocco Dipoppa on Unsplash Both the EU and UK want closer ties, says a survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). The survey looked at both EU-UK and EU/UK-US relations. It comes at a time of heightened global uncertainty, highlighted by the looming trade war sparked by new trade tariffs by…
Reports
Fighting Human Trafficking
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash The Commission has outlined how it will step up its fight to combat human trafficking. It has published its 5th report on the fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB), providing an analysis of data from 2021-2022. The total number of registered victims in the EU showed an increase of 41%…
The Future of News
Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash If you’re a journalist, the coming year could spell depressing news, according to a new survey by a UK national newspaper. It produces dispiriting news for those working in some sectors although if, like British PM Sir Keir Starmer’s late father, you are a toolmaker, there…
Trump Returns to the White House
Donald Trump’s return to the US White House is widely seen as a good thing for peace in the world, American influence, and dialogue between leading powers, says a new study. But it also says this feeling is not shared by some of Washington’s closest allies, including citizens from the United Kingdom, the EU and…
China Accused of Discrimination Against EU
Photo by CDC on Unsplash A key report published on Tuesday (14 January highlights what it calls continued discrimination against EU medical devices in China’s public procurement market. The report will feed into the EU Commission’s assessment on what measures should be taken to restore the EU-China level playing field in this area. The EC…
Avian Flu Increase Reported in Europe
Photo by Vitalii Khodzinskyi on Unsplash New outbreaks of avian influenza in wild and domestic birds have been reported in Europe, it has emerged. However, there continues to be no evidence of human-to-human spread of the disease. These are the main findings of an avian influenza monitoring report, produced by the European Centre for Disease…
Majority Want Closer EU-UK Ties
Photo by Matt Brown on Unsplash A major new poll of public attitudes towards UK-EU relations since 2016 has just been published. It was compiled by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). The study surveyed over 9,000 respondents and was commissioned through pollsters YouGov and Datapraxis after November’s US election. People in six European…
Productivity Slowdown
Photo by tommao wang on Unsplash Average wages in Britain are only slightly higher than they were in 2007, says a new report. What it calls an extraordinary fact is down, it says, to extremely weak productivity growth after 2008. France, on the other hand, managed to keep pace with US output per hour in the decade…
Crisis in Cancer Workforce
Photo by Ani Kolleshi on Unsplash The crisis in Europe’s health and cancer workforce requires urgent attention, says a worrying new report. It says recent events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, continue to take a huge toll on healthcare professionals. The growing shortages within the cancer workforce are having a profound impact on the dedicated workers…
ECA Report Warns of Risk of Double-Funding
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash The EU’s financial watchdog has warned there is an increasing risk that EU money could be handed out twice for the same action. This is the worrying conclusion of a report published on 22 October by the European Court of Auditors. The Court said that there were unprecedented…