Since 2019, when Europeans last went to the polls and heads of government appointed a new cohort of European Union leaders, the bloc has borne the brunt of a ‘polycrisis’: a pandemic, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and now, on its eastern flank, the Israel−Hamas conflict. Alongside these external shocks has come a home-grown political … Read more
The year 2024 is being billed as the biggest exercise in global democracy as billions of people have the opportunity to cast their vote in elections around the world. The outcomes will shape geopolitics for years to come. While many expect to see the United States presidential election pit President Joe Biden against Donald Trump, … Read more
Justine Greening is a former Conservative MP for Putney who served as Secretary of State for Education, International Development and Transport as well as Minister for Women and Equalities before leaving Parliament in 2019 after rebelling over Brexit. Since then, she has campaigned for greater social mobility and equality of opportunity in Britain. Here, she … Read more
Taiwan heads to the polls next month with presidential and legislative elections that will determine the trajectory of relations with China for years to come. More than 14 million people are expected to vote in the January 13 ballot as incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) steps down after … Read more
There is broad agreement that the potentially seismic impacts of recent developments in AI systems will transcend national borders and require international collaboration to ensure that advances benefit humanity. There’s been a lot of discussion about the possible models for AI governance, the suitability of existing forums and the clear need for international collaboration. A … Read more
December 13 Russia launched 10 ballistic missiles towards Kyiv. Due to their speed, the rocket alarm system was activated only after the missiles reached the capital. 53 people were injured, including six children by rocket fragments. The oldest victim is 80 years old, the youngest is 5. I wrote this text at 3 am while … Read more
EU leaders took momentous decisions last week in Brussels as they agreed to open EU membership talks with Ukraine. For weeks Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban had threatened to block the prospect, together with the planned €50bn in aid to Ukraine as part of the review of the EU budget. At the doorstep to the … Read more
The Bundeswehr must become Kriegstüchtig, fit for war, according to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. Pistorius has been sparking discussions for weeks already with this choice of words, especially in Berlin. Criticism arose from within his party’s own ranks, from the Greens and the CDU-CSU faction. However, the Liberal FDP Party has welcomed this new … Read more
The European Union’s commitment to the development of organic agriculture is facing a serious setback with the EU Commission’s new proposal on New Genomic Techniques (NGT). While the commission’s intentions behind the proposal generally are good, it may hamper the growth and innovation within the organic farming sector due to the commission’s suggestion to impose … Read more
After decades of efforts, recent years have seen significant progress in research and development (R&D) in the field of cell and gene therapy. Following approvals of several therapies in haemato-oncology since 2017, developers across the globe have now turned their attention to opening entirely new treatment pathways for a variety of diseases beyond haematological cancers. … Read more
