Insights

Viewed from Brussels, April 2019 marks an inflection point in the EU’s strategic approach to China. By all accounts, EU institutions and member states managed to display unprecedented unity in protracted and difficult negotiations with Beijing ahead of the EU-China summit, confounding expectations to secure a set of important Chinese commitments towards a more reciprocal…

“No equipment supplier, including Huawei, should, or may, be specifically excluded from 5G roll-out”. These words come from Jochen Homann, the president of the German telecom regulator. This statement was interpreted by many in the media as a concession to Huawei and evidence of Europe’s more measured approach to 5G infrastructure than the US. However, the initiatives…

Global Counsel Senior Director, Stephen Adams and Senior Associate, Jens Presthus, discuss his recent blog about China’s relationships with the EU and individual European states.

Global Counsel Chief Economist, Gregor Irwin, and Head of Europe, Tom White, discuss Gregor's recent blog on why policymakers are coming under increasing pressure to reform competition regimes.

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests corporate market power may be increasing and that this is damaging macroeconomic performance. Moreover, the effects may be strengthening as the market power of some firms becomes more entrenched and capable of exploitation. This, combined with growing political attention in some major economies, means policymakers may come…

Last week’s EU-China summit and 17+1 meeting underscored something interesting in how China’s relationships with the EU and individual European states are developing. While a group of influential EU states view Beijing as a “systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance”, several EU and non-EU states increasingly see China as a strategic partner.

The European Commission’s decision to block the merger of Siemens and Alstom has triggered a new phase in the debate on European industrial policy. Wary of conceding its own prerogatives on competition to Paris and Berlin, the commission has proposed a range of alternative tools, including a renewed push for the International Procurement Instrument (IPI). Like last year’s…

The critical CO2 shortage experienced by the UK last summer was caused by a combination of increased demand – with England’s progress at the World Cup and an unprecedented heat wave in part to blame – and outages at key production facilities. But characterisation of the shortage as “a perfect storm” risks ignoring a structural fragility in the UK’s CO2 supply chain that…

First it was tofu, then it was quorn, and now meat derived from a single animal cell and thus the creation of a new term – meat analogue. The meat analogue industry is one of the fastest growing consumer goods segments. It is also one of increasing political volatility and one in which regulation is struggling to keep up in a way that spurs innovation and shifts consumer…

UK: After a breakfast roundtable event, GC Chairman, Peter Mandelson and Fingleton Associates founder and CEO, John Fingleton, discuss the politics of mergers and acquisitions in the UK, Europe and globally.

ASIA: Global Counsel Head of Asia, Ying Staton, and Senior Associate, Brigitta Kinadi, sit down in GC's Singapore office to discuss recent economic developments in China and the implications of the two sessions.

China’s “two sessions” were revealing about the tensions between the leadership’s internal and external policy objectives. The authorities are attempting to strike a balance between controlling slower growth and increasing urban employment, while reducing rural poverty, combatting pollution and reducing financial risk. The most important development was the passing of a…

Five years after the annexation of Crimea, GC Senior Director Stephen Adams and Practice Lead Alexander Smotrov look at how this event has impacted President Putin’s approval ratings, Russian economy, Crimean population and Ukrainian politics.

Last week marked the fifth anniversary of the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine (referred to as “accession” in Russia itself). President Putin descended on to Crimean soil to mark the date by opening new power stations while Moscow staged a three-day street festival to remember the Crimean “homecoming”. However, the public mood both in Crimea and in Moscow is…

Following a client breakfast, Practice Lead for Sustainability Elizabeth Beall sat down with Mary Creagh MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, to discuss the circular economy and the UK's Waste and Resource Strategy.

Last week, the UK government’s Digital Competition Experts Panel published its report ‘Unlocking digital competition’, addressing the role and economic power of large tech firms. The report, also known as the Furman review after lead author Jason Furman, may not have been obvious reading for the energy sector on a day when the Chancellor announced several climate measures…

I recently listened to a presentation by Al Gore on ‘Sustainable Capitalism and the Climate Crisis’ at Carne and Dechert’s Funds Congress. Gore highlighted the growing risk to financial markets from climate change. Like David Wallace-Wells (in his recent Uninhabitable Earth), he is not afraid of sounding apocalyptic.

UK: Global Counsel Senior Director Stephen Adams and Chief Economist Gregor Irwin discuss US investors' attitudes to Brexit, looking at challenges and opportunities for US investors in a post-Brexit UK, following Gregor's recent trip to North America.