Of the 13 agreements that have been ratified between 2012 and 2019, the Italian Parliament has ratified only 4, all during the same parliamentary term from September 2015 to July 2019.The opposition parties in Greece, Italy and Spain tend to oppose the ratification of these agreements for environmental concerns and the protection of domestic companies from international competition. The parties in all three countries surveyed take advantage of populist concerns.

Overall, the EU has an economic freedom score of 7.78 out of 10, which has been stable for the past decade. To put this in perspective, if the EU was a country, it would jointly rank 35th with Peru, and marginally above Jamaica and Bulgaria. Compared to, say, the U.S. which ranks 6th, the EU’s score is feeble at best.

Afghanistan is a textbook example of the sunk cost fallacy – where throwing additional financial and human resources at the problem will not improve the outcome. The fallout from two decades of Western military engagement is truly dire: 200,000 dead, including 50,000 civilians, a weak and unstable Afghani government, and radical islamist ideas as popular as ever before.

In order to deliver a successful strategy, to avoid conflicts between EU Member States and the European Commission, the best strategy is to conceive national competition authorities as the ‘executive arms’ of the new digital regulation, particularly when national players are affected. In this way, the knowledge and experience of national regulators can be put to best use.

The Consumer Choice Center interviewed our Director for a podcast on the Belarusian sanctions. Adam Bartha praised the EU for implementing further sanctions on the Lukashenko regime, but also expressed a need to go further to help the local population — through financial instruments and an open door policies for dissidents wishing to settle on EU soil.

The European Commission claims that the Digital Services Act (DSA) will deliver much-needed harmonisation and clarity of regulation. In fact, it introduces new risks and costs on businesses without adequate justification. If the European Commission aims to improve the competitiveness of Europe’s digital economy and to safeguard the interests of European consumers, its proposals must be significantly amended.

The ECB’s accounts have become the waste-bin for the financial garbage of the entire Eurozone. In this zero-sum game, there are winners and losers. At the moment, Northern European countries, Germany in particular, are losing. Looking at the legal structure of the new “Next Generation EU” scheme it becomes apparent that the “Eurobonds” that are about to be issued will be ultimately guaranteed by EU Member States, in proportion to the amounts they are about to receive.

A transatlantic tech partnership would spur collaborations between governments and companies to rebalance the rising Chinese tech industry. With optimal innovation policies, Chinese state-sponsored and state-affiliated tech companies may be held in check. We need a transatlantic tech partnership. Today, the EU proposal is not credible, even more so with the DMA.

It yet remains to be seen if the vaccine will deliver the promise of a return to normal life, with no new waves of infections. European policymakers should consider adapting a zero Covid strategy to help their economies and enable more social freedoms. IEM’s Director, Cecile Philippe, writes for Mace Magazine.