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Tokyo has earned political trust in the region through its quiet, yet long-standing, economic cooperation.

The landscape for migrant work in Taiwan seems set to change in the near future.

Après avoir été arrêtés la veille pour être entrés dans un bâtiment du ministère de l'Agriculture, les 52 agriculteurs de la Confédération paysanne ont été libérés jeudi sans poursuite judiciaire.

Asia’s search for durable renewable models can learn from Idris Nechirvan Barzani and Rwanga Foundation’s Solar Villages.

Dauer des Videos : 120'

Haftungsausschluss : Die Verdolmetschung der Debatten soll die Kommunikation erleichtern, sie stellt jedoch keine authentische Aufzeichnung der Debatten dar. Authentisch sind nur die Originalfassungen der Reden bzw. ihre überprüften schriftlichen Übersetzungen.
Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2026 - EP

Length of video : 120'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

New areas of collaboration include semiconductors, critical minerals, emerging technologies, and green fuels.

Le rêve de Mohamed Salah de remporter la Coupe d'Afrique des nations a pris fin mercredi soir, face à Sadio Mané et au Sénégal. Mais combien d'autres chances l'attaquant de Liverpool aura-t-il encore de remporter cette compétition ?

BERICHT über Menschenrechte und Demokratie in der Welt und die Politik der Europäischen Union in diesem Bereich – Jahresbericht 2025
Ausschuss für auswärtige Angelegenheiten
Francisco Assis

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2026 - EP

Emmanuel Macron a présenté jeudi à la base aérienne d'Istres ses vœux aux Armées, dans un contexte d'incertitude budgétaire et de tensions géopolitiques croissantes. "Pour être puissant dans ce monde si brutal, il faut faire plus vite et faire plus fort", a déclaré le chef de l'État, estimant nécessaire un budget supplémentaire de 36 milliards d'euros pour les armées d'ici à 2030.

DRAFT REPORT containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the other part
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ilhan Kyuchyuk

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

DRAFT REPORT containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the other part
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ilhan Kyuchyuk

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Months ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, it has delayed the release of his movie, "Jana Nayagan."

Dauer des Videos : 105'

Haftungsausschluss : Die Verdolmetschung der Debatten soll die Kommunikation erleichtern, sie stellt jedoch keine authentische Aufzeichnung der Debatten dar. Authentisch sind nur die Originalfassungen der Reden bzw. ihre überprüften schriftlichen Übersetzungen.
Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2026 - EP

Length of video : 105'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Dauer des Videos : 15'

Haftungsausschluss : Die Verdolmetschung der Debatten soll die Kommunikation erleichtern, sie stellt jedoch keine authentische Aufzeichnung der Debatten dar. Authentisch sind nur die Originalfassungen der Reden bzw. ihre überprüften schriftlichen Übersetzungen.
Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2026 - EP

Length of video : 15'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Die deutsche Wirtschaft ist 2025 im Vergleich zum Vorjahr um 0,2 Prozent gewachsen, wie das Statistische Bundesamt heute bekannt gegeben hat. Dazu eine Einschätzung von Geraldine Dany-Knedlik, Konjunkturchefin des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin):

Mit einem Plus von 0,2 Prozent ist die deutsche Wirtschaft 2025 zwar wieder gewachsen, die Erholung fällt aber deutlich schwächer aus als in vergangenen Aufschwungphasen. Nach zwei Jahren der Schrumpfung zeigt sich damit eine Stabilisierung, jedoch noch kein kräftiger Neustart.

Strukturelle Belastungen wie der Verlust an Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, der demografische Wandel und laufende Anpassungen in wichtigen Industriezweigen dämpfen zwar weiterhin das Wachstum. Hinzu kommen externe Faktoren, insbesondere die erhöhten US-Zölle auf deutsche Exporte. Dennoch ist nicht zu erwarten, dass die deutsche Wirtschaft weiterhin und langanhaltend stagniert.

Vor allem die Binnenwirtschaft macht Hoffnung. Neben dem öffentlichen Sektor leistet insbesondere die private Nachfrage einen wichtigen Beitrag. Man kann also durchaus vorsichtig optimistisch in das Jahr 2026 blicken: Wenn die bereits beschlossenen finanzpolitischen Maßnahmen ihre volle Wirkung entfalten, ist eine spürbare Belebung möglich. Ein Wachstum von über einem Prozent erscheint dann realistisch.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “shocked by reports of violence and excessive use of force by Iranian authorities against protesters”, is urging restraint and immediate restoration of communications, as unrest enters its third week. 11 January 2026. Credit: United Nations

By Alon Ben-Meir
NEW YORK, Jan 15 2026 (IPS)

Unlike ever before, Iran’s Islamic regime is facing a revolt led by a generation that has lost its fear. Young and old, men and women, students and workers, are flooding the streets across the country.

Iran’s future may well hinge on whether its military chooses to act and save the country, driven by economic collapse, corruption, and decades of repression. Women and girls are at the forefront, protesting without headscarves, defying the clergy that once controlled every aspect of their lives. They don’t want reform; they are demanding freedom, economic relief, and the end of authoritarianism.

Shutting down the internet, arresting nearly 17,000 protesters, killing at least 3,000, including children, and Trump’s threat to use force to stop the Iranian regime have not prevented the mullahs from continuing their onslaught. The regime’s ruthless crackdown has been a calamitous wave of repression, taking thousands of lives in a brutal attempt to crush dissent. Yet even in the face of such peril, the public remains undeterred, determined to continue their fight.

Now, however, they need the support of the most powerful domestic—not foreign—power to come to their aid. The Iranian military is the most pivotal institution in the country, capable of catalyzing the downfall of the regime. The military is the key player, with significant internal influence and the capability to drive the necessary change from within, ultimately leading to regime change.

Every officer in the military should stop and think, how do I want to serve my country.

Do I want to continue to prop up a bunch of reactionaries, self-obsessed old men who have long since lost their relevance, wearing the false robe of piety to appear sanctimonious while subjugating the people to hardship and hopelessness?

Should I not support the younger generation who are yearning for a better life, for opportunity, for a future that gives meaning to their existence?

Should I not participate in sparking the revival of this magnificent nation from the doldrums of the past 47 years that have consumed it from within?

Should I continue to prepare for war against Israel, or extend a peaceful hand and invest in building my country with such immense natural and human riches and be in the forefront of all other modern democratic and progressive nations, and restore the glory of ancient Persia?

Do I truly want to continue to wear blinders and let my country be destroyed from within, or should I become part of a newly reborn nation and take personal pride in helping to revive it?

The answer to these questions should be clear to every officer. The military should establish a transitional government and pave the way for a legitimate, freely elected government, and restore the Iranian people’s dignity and their right to be free.

The idea that the Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, could return and restore a monarchy is just the opposite of what the Iranian people need. Instead of another form of corruption or an old kingdom, they deserve a democracy and genuine freedom.

In the final analysis, Iran’s destiny may rest on a single profound choice—whether its military steps forward to reshape the nation’s destiny.

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations, most recently at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.

By David Howarth (University of Luxembourg) and Lucia Quaglia (University of Bologna)

Financial market integration has been a core objective of European integration since the 1950s. Over several decades, the European Union (EU) has adopted hundreds of legislative acts aimed at removing barriers to cross-border finance and harmonising the regulation and supervision of capital markets. Yet progress has been uneven, contested, and repeatedly repackaged.

The most recent example is the transformation of the Capital Markets Union (CMU)—launched in 2015, relaunched in 2020, and rebranded as the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) in early 2025. Our recent article with JCMS examines key policy narratives—the causal stories policymakers use to justify and promote specific reforms— that have been used to promote CMU over time. We find it surprising that—despite the importance of financial market integration for EU economic growth—the Commission has strategically promoted the policy through a variety of narratives linked to policy goals that have greater support among member state governments and public opinion.

A technical project with broad ambitions

Financial market integration is, at its core, a technical policy area. It primarily concerns banks, non-bank financial firms (e.g., asset management), stock exchanges, clearing houses, and supervisors. For most citizens—and many politicians—it remains remote and opaque. Yet over time, EU institutions have increasingly presented financial integration as a solution to a wide range of broader economic and political challenges — notably, the digital and green transitions, and European competitiveness in relation to the United States and China.

This expanding ambition is also visible in the shift from CMU to SIU. What began as a project to deepen European capital markets has been reframed as a tool to support economic growth, finance the green and digital transitions, strengthen Europe’s geopolitical position, and mobilise household savings for long-term investment. Rather than abandoning a stalled project, EU policymakers have repeatedly changed the story told about it.

To explain this strategy, we adopt an actor-centred constructivist perspective, which highlights how purposeful actors deploy ideas strategically to build political support for a policy. In particular, we examine how EU supranational actors use policy narratives to widen support for a highly contested integration project.

Five narratives for one project

Drawing on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 421 public speeches delivered between 2014 and 2024 by senior officials at the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), we identify five main policy narratives used to promote financial market integration.

First, CMU has been framed as a way to create new opportunities for European financial firms, enhancing their competitiveness and scale. Second, it has been presented as a mechanism to increase private funding for the real economy, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Third, EU officials have linked CMU to the green and digital transitions, portraying integrated capital markets as essential to financing climate action and technological innovation. More recently, a fourth narrative has gained prominence: financial integration as a response to geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges, notably Europe’s lagging competitiveness relative to the United States and China. Finally, a fifth narrative focuses on long-term investment and savings, emphasising the need to channel Europe’s high household savings into productive investment—an argument central to the rebranding of CMU as SIU.

These narratives overlap, but their relative importance has shifted over time, reflecting changing economic conditions and political priorities. The evolution of CMU narratives closely tracks broader shifts in EU policy priorities. In its early phase, CMU was tied to post-crisis economic recovery and investment, notably through the Juncker Plan. After 2020, it became increasingly linked to financing the green and digital transitions. Following the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and growing global economic fragmentation, geopolitical narratives moved to the fore.

The latest rebranding as Savings and Investments Union builds on these earlier narratives while adding a new emphasis on retail savings. Influential reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi have reinforced the argument that Europe must better mobilise household savings to support long-term investment and competitiveness. The shift also reflects an effort to make financial integration appear more relevant to citizens, not only as workers or consumers but as savers and investors.

Why progress towards CMU has been so difficult

The repeated reframing of CMU reflects the deeply contested political economy of financial market integration. CMU is not a single reform but a bundle of measures, including supervisory centralisation, tax harmonisation, insolvency law reform, market infrastructure consolidation, and the expansion of non-bank finance.

Each of these elements creates winners and losers across and within member states. Large economies may favour stronger EU-level supervision, while smaller states resist it. Countries with low corporate taxes oppose harmonisation, while others push for it. Banks often support securitisation reforms but resist measures that increase competition from non-bank intermediaries.

As a result, stable coalitions in favour of CMU have been hard to build. EU officials themselves have acknowledged that national vested interests have repeatedly stalled or diluted reforms. In this context, policy narratives become a key political tool. By linking financial market integration to widely supported objectives—such as climate policy, innovation, or strategic autonomy—EU institutions seek to expand the boundaries of the issue and attract new supporters beyond the financial sector.

The limits of narrative power

Our findings highlight both the strategic use and the limits of policy narratives. EU supranational actors clearly act as ideational entrepreneurs, flexibly reframing financial market integration to align with the priorities of the moment. This confirms the importance of ideational power for institutions that lack strong coercive tools. At the same time, repeated shifts in narrative have not delivered a decisive breakthrough in financial market integration. Despite more than a decade of reframing, CMU—and now SIU—remains incomplete. Narratives can attract attention and broaden debate, but they cannot eliminate underlying distributional conflicts.

The story of CMU and SIU thus illustrates a broader dynamic of European integration: when political consensus is elusive, projects persist not by succeeding, but by being continuously reinterpreted. Whether the latest narrative centred on savings and investment will finally unlock significant progress remains an open question.

David Howarth has been a Full Professor of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg since 2012 and was previously a Jean Monnet Chair at the University of Edinburgh. He researches on European economic governance / political economy topics and specifically financial regulation and Economic and Monetary Union. He is the author or co-author of six monographs, a textbook, over seventy peer-reviewed journal articles and dozens book chapters. He has also edited or co-edited fifteen journal special editions and six volumes on these topics including, most recently (with Judith Clifton and Daniel Fuentes), Regional Development Banks in the World Economy (OUP, 2021). His most recent monographs are Banking on Europe: How the European Commission became a semi-sovereign borrower (OUP, 2026, with Dermot Hodson et al.), Bank Politics (OUP, 2023, with Scott James) and The Political Economy of Banking Union (OUP, 2016, with Lucia Quaglia).

Lucia Quaglia (DPhil Sussex, MA Sussex) is Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna. Previously, she was Professor at the University of York. She has published 9 books, 7 of which with Oxford University Press. Her most recent book is The Perils of Internal Regime Complexity in Shadow Banking, Oxford University Press. She has guest co-edited seven special issues of academic journals, including the Journal of European Public Policy, New Political Economy, Review of International Political Economy, Journal of Common Market Studies, and Journal of European Integration. She has published more than 60 articles in refereed academic journals in the fields of public policy, political economy, and EU studies. Together with Manuela Moschella and Aneta Spendzharova she has edited the textbook European Political Economy, Oxford University Press, 2024.

The post From Capital Markets Union to Savings and Investments Union: Why the EU keeps changing the story on financial integration appeared first on Ideas on Europe.