First Glance

Pitfalls to avoid as the EU ramps up defence investment

European Union security requires both investment in defence and decisive steps in innovation and research

Philippe Aghion, Marco Buti, Giancarlo Corsetti, Marcello Messori and André Sapir

Geopolitics and fines for breaches of the EU’s Digital Markets Act

It would make no sense for the European Commission to back down from DMA fines in the face of US pressure

Mario Mariniello

The problem of missing European public goods from the ReArm Europe plan

Focusing on defence financing and delivery at national level risks fiscally weaker countries not increasing spending or running up unsustainable debts

Roel Beetsma, Marco Buti and Francesco Nicoli

China’s ‘two sessions’ points to determination to rebuff Trump

China's leadership plans to increase the deficit, lower inflation rates and increase manufacturing capacity whilst supporting critical technologies

Alicia García-Herrero

Streamlining or hollowing out? The implications of the Omnibus package for sustainable finance

EU reporting simplification will result in less information and introduce distortions in the sustainable finance market

Silvia Merler

On tech regulation, the European Union should be bolder

The EU should stop apologising for its tech laws, promoting instead their stabilising and fair-competition aspects

Mario Mariniello

How data centres can chase renewable energy across Europe

Harnessing the flexibility offered by data centres depending on renewable energy availability could cut costs and emissions

Tom Brown, Iegor Riepin, Georg Zachmann and Victor M. Zavala

How should the European Union respond to Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’?

The US threat of reciprocal tariffs is a dangerous attempt to break down the global trade system and must be resisted

Ignacio García Bercero

How should the EU react to the US attack on corporate sustainability?

The European Union should continue to push companies on net-zero alignment, but pragmatic changes can help ease burdens and maintain EU leadership

Silvia Merler

The geopolitics of artificial intelligence after DeepSeek

DeepSeek’s emergence points to a split into competing US and Chinese AI worlds, making for a tough choice for Europe

Alicia García-Herrero and Michal Krystyanczuk

Europe’s geoeconomic and development objectives clash in Goma

Despite its critical mineral interests, the EU should be strict on Rwanda to maintain credibility and encourage conflict de-escalation

Roel Dom

Diversity and inclusion aren’t just about equity, they’re about efficiency too

Adding more women to the workforce delivers a bigger GDP boost than simply employing more men

Jonathan Ostry

Updated assessment: Memo to the commissioner responsible for the European Union budget

Zsolt Darvas

Updated assessment: Memo to the commissioner responsible for financial services

Nicolas Véron

Updated assessment: Memos to the commissioners responsible for EU foreign, enlargement, and partnerships policies

Heather Grabbe, Jean Pisani-Ferry and Jeromin Zettelmeyer

Updated assessment: Memo to the commissioner responsible for defence

Guntram B. Wolff