The Scandinavian social model is often held up as the best answer to marrying global capitalism and liberal democracy – but it rapidly changing.
From renationalisation of the energy and train companies to a bonfire of environmental and employment regulations, taking back control from Brussels has opened a new range of possibilities that were previously off the menu.
But Britain must also continue to deepen its trade ties with other partners, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. The long-term strategic case for joining the CPTPP is evident.
Many EU countries are now at the point of tipping over into a period of depopulation. With the exception of France, the EU27’s most populous member states – Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland – are all entering a period of population decline.
the risk is that the fiscal errors made by the Truss administration tarnish the vital goal of improving the UK’s sluggish long-term growth rate.
If the UK is able to shape it, such a forum could be valuable for discussing issues, such as intergovernmental cooperation on energy security and migration,
Italy heads to the polls on Sunday. It is likely to be another illustration of the uneasy relationship between the country’s volatile democratic politics and the strictures of Brussels’ political and economic orthodoxy.
The significant moving part in all of this is the DUP and whether they can be persuaded to re-enter government sooner rather than later.
Outsourcing to arms-length groups and insufficient departmental reviews have created a democratic deficit.
Due to the legacy of strategic miscalculations under Angela Merkel, Germany is among those countries that would be worst affected by a Russian gas shutdown.
It makes little sense to leave the Single Market and not use new regulatory freedoms to improve the business environment and encourage innovation.
Delivering the right vehicle cannot be premised on the idea that non-EU states are merely satellites of Brussels.
it is almost impossible to disentangle any effect from the much larger shock resulting from pandemic and war.
Both countries look set to continue to rub along uneasily, mixing elements of cooperation and competition along the way.
Sefcovic’s language in response was more assuaging than we have seen from Brussels in previous UK-EU rows.