In a new report Greco, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, calls on France to improve the effectiveness and practical application of the framework in place to prevent corruption within the executive (President of the Republic, ministers, private office members and senior civil servants) as well as in the National Police and the National Gendarmerie. While…
Reports
Protecting the EU’s IP
The European Commission published today the latest report on protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in third countries. While developments have taken place since the publication of the previous report, concerns persist and a number of areas for improvement and action remain to be addressed. Intellectual property rights infringements worldwide cost European firms…
Wealth Effects of WTO Membership
A new report says that the USA, China and Germany are the countries that benefit the most worldwide from their accession to the WTO. They achieve by far the largest income gains, which are directly attributable to their membership in the trade organization. For the United States, income gains amount to about 87 billion US…
Sweden and the Baltic countries may receive multi-billion compensation for Russian nuclear waste burial in the Baltic Sea
We publish here in full, with the permission of the authors, the text of a report first published on 23 December) by the Institute for Global Threats and Democracy Studies (www.igtds.org). The bottom of the Baltic Sea may contain nuclear waste burial sites made by the Russian military in the early 1990s. This complements the…
Economic Output of over 50s grows by 20% since 2004
New research by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) will find that the economic output (GDP) generated by earned income of individuals aged 50 and over has grown by 20% between 2004 and 2018. “Maximising the Longevity Dividend”, a new ILC report to be launched alongside the fifth annual Future of Ageing conference, will highlight…
Benefits of generic and biosimilar medicines
The European Commission has identified the use of generic and biosimilar medicines as crucial for EU health systems in report released on Friday. Detailing the potential benefits of generic and biosimilar medicines use, the European Commission identified the urgency to foster the use of biosimilar medicines specifically, an urgency heightened due to the expenditure rate…
EU Business Pessimistic about Economic Outlook
European firms are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the economic outlook according to the new EIB report. The report also finds that investment in climate change mitigation is lower than that of major economies like the US and China. Infrastructure investment is stuck at 1.6% of EU GDP, the lowest in 15 years and Europe is…
EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data Improving
EU greenhouse gas emissions data is reported in line with international requirements and inventories of emissions have improved over time, according to a new report from the European Court of Auditors. However, better insight is needed into specific sectors such as agriculture and forestry, say the auditors. They also suggest further improvements to reporting on…
Health, Nature and Climate Benefits of Reducing Ship Speeds
On the eve of the latest round of UN ship climate negotiations at the International Maritime Organisation in London, a new report published by Seas at Risk and Transport & Environment has highlighted how slower ship speeds would massively reduce the damage shipping is causing to human health, nature and the climate. The large positive…
Does Traditional Chinese Medicine Work?
The European Academies of Science and Medicine has called for “evidence-based diagnosis and therapy” in response to the WHO inclusion of Traditional Chinese Medicine in its standard framework. It says that just because the World Health Organisation includes a chapter on Traditional Chinese Medicine in its new International Classification of Diseases, it is not automatically safe to use without…