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  • EU defence & industrial policy: A cross-sectoral outlook

    May 29, 2024

    In its nearly 70 years of existence, never has the EU experienced a stronger push to double down on investments and coordination when it comes to defence.   While defence remains primarily a competence of the Member States, the current volatile international environment – with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East – has resulted into Europe's defence strategy being under intense scrutiny. NATO's stability could be further challenged by the potential re-election of Donald Trump...

  • EU climate policy: The new borderlines?

    May 27, 2024

    The race to net-zero by 2050 has fundamentally shifted. What was once a distant goal is now a pressing mandate, and the landscape of climate change policy is being redrawn as we speak. Achieving more than 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels within the next decade requires radical economic and policy transformations across every Member State. Electrifying at a strong pace is crucial First, the scale of electrification required to meet...

  • Three challenges for Europe’s biodiversity

    May 24, 2024

    Humanity is already outside the safe operating space for at least four of the nine planetary boundaries, including biodiversity. In Europe, nature is facing serious decline, with threatened ecosystems and terrestrial and marine species and habitats at poor conservation status. The next European Commission will have to tackle what the previous did not manage to push forward completely: ensure Europe delivers on its biodiversity global commitments through binding EU policy instruments with concrete financial support.  ...

  • Why Europe needs a water resilience strategy

    February 8, 2024

    One quarter of the global population is currently facing an unprecedented level of water stress. Europe is no exception: as a result of the rising temperatures dictated by climate change, water scarcity is already a reality for many Europeans. The European Commission's findings that 38% of the EU population and 29% of the EU territory were  in 2019. In summer 2022, the European Drought Observatory's report that approximately 44% of continental Europe was in a...

  • Buckle up for 2022: the year of connected mobility

    February 8, 2022

    The EU digital policy took center stage last year with the Data Governance Act, Artificial Intelligence Act and the revision of Network and Information Security Directive on the top of political agenda. This year however, EU policymakers will prepare the ground for true connected mobility. Halfway through its political mandate, the European Commission is set to deliver on its strategies for Data and Sustainable and Smart Mobility presented in 2020. We expect to see major...

  • 2022 is set to be another big year for EU Digital Policy

    January 27, 2022

    2021 saw digital policy take centre stage in Europe with significant progress on the negotiations on the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Governance Act, as well as on the Digital Finance Package, not to forget the introduction of the AI Act. Expect more of the same in 2022. With the European Commission now in full legacy-setting mode, 2022 will be another packed year for European tech actors across all sectors of the economy, with further major initiatives such as the...

  • Stay up to date on the REACH Revision with the FH timeline

    December 17, 2021

      The European Commission is continuing its work on the proposal for revision of the EU’s REACH Regulation which is expected by the end of 2022. The Commission has launched multiple studies over the course of 2021 to support the impact assessment on the proposal. To help you stay on top of these developments, the new FH timeline provides an overview of key dates throughout the European Commission’s development of the proposal for the REACH...

  • Why renovations are at the centre of the EU Green Deal

    December 8, 2021

      The buildings sector is one of the most complex to decarbonize because it is right at the intersection of energy and climate policy, environmental policy, and financial policy. This requires an approach which balances each pillar while delivering a cohesive whole, a true test of the EU Green Deal. With the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive around the corner, are all the EU’s horses pulling in the same direction?  Before we can discuss solutions, we first need to illustrate the...

  • Hydrogen: From the Headlines to Reality

    October 25, 2021

    Whether you are a climate enthusiast or have just been following the European energy news in the morning paper, chances are that you have heard of hydrogen. While it is not a new phenomenon and has long been deployed across a variety of sectors, lately hydrogen has become the new “it” gas of the energy transition. Notably, stakeholders ranging from policymakers to industry representatives to academics, are wondering whether this could really be one the...

  • Jim Brunsden to Join FleishmanHillard EU Office in Brussels

    June 15, 2021

    Brunsden Joins the Agency After a Career Reporting on EU Policy for the Financial Times and Bloomberg Brussels, 15th June 2021 – Today, FleishmanHillard announced that Jim Brunsden will join its Brussels-EU office as a senior vice president, Financial Services, beginning 1st July 2021. Brunsden has worked as a journalist reporting on EU policy and politics for more than 15 years, most recently with the Financial Times and previously with Bloomberg News. His coverage included...