http://stockholmnetworkblog.wordpress.com/

Trade Matters - Blog of European Centre for International Political Economy dedicated to trade policy and other international economic policy issues of importance to Europe (in English)
http://www.ecipe.org/blog

Greenhouse gas emissions dropped during the economic crisis. European emissions were down 11% in 2009. However, emissions picked up again in 2010 as economic growth resumed. -Det skriver Stockholm Network.

Carbon Emissions Increase as Economy Grows
http://stockholmnetworkblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/carbon-emissions-increase-as-economy-grows/

COIN has received the following invitation from The Stockholm Network:

As part of the celebrations of our 10 year anniversary, the Stockholm Network is delighted to announce the launch of the Golden Umbrella Think Tank Awards for 2007. This will be an annual event, taking place at the end of each year, and is the first pan European think tank awards ceremony.

All nominations should be sent to the following e-mail address: awards[AT]stockholm-network.org

www.stockholm-network.org

On July 1st the European Union took one of the last steps towards deregulating its internal energy market by requiring the “legal unbundling” of gas and electricity distributors from their parent supplier companies, thus giving all energy suppliers an equal chance of supplying their product to consumers.

The opening up of the internal European energy market is a welcome one, but doubts still remain about both national governments’ willingness to fully comply with deregulation and of the Commission’s own willingness to allow market forces to reign free.

Fra THE STOCKHOLM NETWORK (nyhedsbrev 4/7)

Helen Disney and Dr Meir P. Pugatch kommer med følgende forudsigelse af udfaldet i sagen EU vs. Microsoft.

We [...] predict that the Court will choose to focus on the technical issues, such as the level of documentation given to third parties under the obligation to disclose interoperability information. Such a ruling will not end with any meaningful results other than the clarification of some technical aspects. As such it will allow the European Commission to continue to pursue its agenda.

- Det kan man læse i The Stockholm Network’s Monthly IPR Journal, (pdf) hvor man forholdsvist kortfattet opsummerer det juridiske slagsmål, der nu har varet i otte år.

Med andre ord forventer man at sagen fortsætter.

Flere links her. (CNE.org)

Flere publikationer fra Stockholm-Network

Om EU's konkurrencepolitik henledes opmærksomheden på:

EU’s konkurrencepolitik: På vej mod katastrofen (rapport fra CNE)

Fordomme om nytten ved EU’s konkurrence- og monopollovgivning (artikel).

Den 31. august annonceredes udgivelsen af en ny bog om de udfordringer, som mange europæiske velfærdsstater står overfor, forfattet af Wilfredo Prewo.

I "Fra velfærdsstat til socialstat” analyserer Prewo således de fælles problemer forbundet med den moderne europæiske velfærdsstat herunder de demografiske forandringer, der præger størstedelen af landene i Europa i form af en aldrende befolkning, men også tendensen til at ydelser og rettigheder til stadighed udvides, og som – i lighed med de demografiske forandringer - reducerer arbejdsstyrken.

Læs mere her.

Takket være Stockholm Network kan man læse mere om emnet i bogen Europe Needs Saving: Defusing the Pensions Time Bomb - med bidrag fra blandt andre forfatteren til ovenstående.

Flere publikationer fra Stockholm Network

Pensionsbomben I

Fattige syge betaler ofte med livet, når skruppelløse bagmænd sender farlig forfalsket medicin i omløb.

Problemet er forfalsket medicin som sendes i omløb i ulande. Denne gang fordi der blev fanget to kæmpe skibsfragter med forfalsket medicin på vej mod Afrika.

Som Politiken skriver:

I bedste fald har produkterne ingen konsekvenser for patienternes helbred, men i værste fald koster det menneskeliv, som da 2.500 syge i Niger for år tilbage omkom på grund af forfalsket meningitismedicin.

»Alt kan og bliver forfalsket i dag. Vi kender for eksempel både til forfalsket medicin til hiv-, aids- og hjertepatienter. Det er virkelig skræmmende«, siger Christophe Zimmermann.

Men problemet med forfalsket medicin er ikke begrænset til det fattige syd.

Stockholm Network, en organisation af tænketanke, som Copenhagen Institute er medlem af udgav for et par år siden bogen; Sick Business

Heri kan man blandt andet læse:
Recent decades have seen an astounding change in the way we view healthcare. Medical innovation has brought new treatments for all sorts of diseases. But there is a dark side to the growth in demand for medicines. Counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals is now a global trade.

Conducted by a former policeman, this investigation into the trade in fake medicines and its links with organised crime uncovers a horrifying story. Across Europe, counterfeiters have discovered a range of easy routes for selling fake and sub-standard products into the legitimate distribution chain. A Sick Business shows how, to the uninitiated eye, this crime is invisible. Most patients and consumers are unaware just how many public safety problems counterfeit medicines may cause. It argues that this illegal business is conducted by unscrupulous people whose actions have already cost thousands of lives and may even be linked to terrorist activity – yet almost nothing is being done to stop it.

Problemet skyldes blandt andet EU og nationalstaternes manglende respekt for intellektuel ejendomsret og deres konstante støtte til parallelimportører. Dette giver nemlig lettere adgang for de skruppelløse bagmænd!

"We are facing a demographic time bomb: by 2050, there will be 2 workers to every 1 retired person in most European countries. In some countries that ratio will be 1:1. The harsh reality is that current pay-as-you-go pension systems are simply financially, economically and socially unsustainable - without reform, pensioners will bankrupt the welfare state."

Sådan lyder introduktionen til en ny bog med titlen Europe Needs Saving: Defusing the Pensions Time Bomb, der handler om de europæiske pensionssystemer. Bogen kan downloades via Stockholm-Network.

En bog på dansk om emnet er på vej fra Copenhagen Institute. Orientering om præcist hvornår udgivelse finder sted, vil blandt andet ske via nyhedsbrevet, man kan tilmelde sig på forsiden.

Læs også Velfærdsreform via borgerkonto og Befri arbejderne: Verdens pensions-revolution.

"This book couldn’t be more timely. The flat tax is indeed an idea whose time is coming – and the global economy – including Britain’s – will enormously benefit from it. Allister Heath has done a superb job in explaining the concept, dealing with the arguments routinely used to oppose this radical, pro-liberty approach to taxation and surveying countries that have adopted variations of it". - Det skriver Steve Forbes i forordet til en britisk bog om flad skat, der kan downloades gratis her. (Bogen findes på stockholm-network.org. Henvisningen er fundet via civita.no).

Se også Copenhagen Institutes arrangement på fredag om skattekonkurrence.