European Union

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for citizens interested in space exploration.

© pe3check / Fotolia

If you feel unsettled by national politics or climate change on Earth, to the point of considering relocating to another habitable planet, there is good news for you – such places do exist.

In 2016, an international team headed by Belgian researcher Michaël Gillon, discovered a system of seven planets outside of the Solar System. Three of these planets are located in a habitable zone, around a parent star called TRAPPIST-1, within which a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water. At about 40 light-years away, the system is relatively close to Earth.

A residential infrastructure and childcare facilities are still lacking, but the next decade of space exploration is set to take humans from the International Space Station (ISS) to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing a robotic landing on the Moon in partnership with Russia as early as 2022. The mission will look for water ice, opening the door to future exploitation of lunar resources and preparations to go deeper into the Solar System.

NASA’s new Orion vehicle with a European service module will help to build a deep-space gateway located in lunar orbit, a thousand times further out in space than the ISS.

The next decade will see ESA’s ExoMars rover explore the surface of the Red Planet, using its ground-penetrating radar and two metre-long drill.

Looking beyond, ESA is already working on the technologies needed to accomplish the first round-trip mission to Mars and bring back precious samples so as to advance further on one of the most ambitious exploration challenges ever.

Further information

• European Commission’s Directorate General for Internal market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs website, http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/space_en
• Official website of the European Space Agency: http://www.esa.int/ESA

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for mountaineers.

© Chlorophylle / Fotolia

Europe has stunning mountain ranges that offer plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities. In the summer, rock climbing, hiking and mountain biking are popular activities, while winter is the season for skiing and snow­boarding.

The European mountains offer breath­taking natural landscapes that attract many visitors and are home to a wide range of plants and animals. To preserve this unique natural heritage, the EU has established the ‘Natura 2000’ network of protected areas that allow for the coexistence of wildlife and human activities. Moreover, the EU and eight countries are parties to the Alpine Convention, an international treaty for the sustainable development and protection of the Alps.

For a safe and enjoyable outdoor experience in the mountains, you need the right equipment, from suitable clothing to skis and snowboards or climbing ropes and harnesses. Thanks to the EU internal market, you have a wide choice, as equipment that is available in one EU country can be sold in all the others as well. Under EU law, defective products must be repaired or replaced free of charge within the legal guarantee period of two years.

Mountaineering equipment has to be safe – your life depends on it. EU rules require that personal protective equipment in the EU must bear the CE label to show that it conforms to safety standards. In order to be able to use mountain equipment, such as carabiners, safely and effectively, it is essential that you understand the instructions. That is why EU rules require that manuals be available in the language of the country where products are sold.

Further information

• Alpine Convention, www.alpconv.org
• European Commission website on Natura 2000, ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/
• European Commission website on CE marking, https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/ce-marking_en

Britain and the EU will find out on Tuesday in London if they are heading for an orderly split or further turbulence.

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for canny shoppers / bargain hunters.

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If you like to save money when you shop, EU laws can help you tell if you are getting the best deal and protect you from some scams.

According to EU rules, sellers must indicate product prices clearly, including price per unit, to enable you to compare products easily. Prices must include all taxes and delivery charges and must be unambiguous, clearly legible, and easily identifiable.

Sellers are also forbidden to label a product as ‘gratis’, ‘free’ or ‘without charge’ if you have to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding to the advert and collecting it or having it delivered.

EU laws ban all aggressive and misleading commercial practices, but some of these are especially relevant to canny shoppers. Shops are, for instance, forbidden to claim that they have a ‘liquidation sale’ when this is not true. Also forbidden are false claims that a product is only available, or available at a certain price, for a very limited time, as this means you don’t have time to make an informed choice. Bait advertising – where sellers lure you to their shop by advertising a product at a low price, even though they know don’t have sufficient quantities available at that price, or refuse to show the product or to take orders and promote a different product instead, is also not allowed.

EU laws also forbid the use of hidden advertising in the media, where adverts are presented as journalistic content without a clear indication that the publicity was in fact paid for.

Further information

• Presentation of the Champagne region and wine, https://www.champagne.fr/fr/economie/chiffres-clef
• European Commission website on Geographic indications, http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/accessing-markets/intellectual-property/geographical-indications/
• European Court of auditors, Report on investment and promotion support to the wine sector, https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR14_09/QJAB14005ENC.pdf

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for champagne and sparkling wine producers.

© geniusksy / Fotolia

If you are one of the 15 800 producers of champagne in the Champagne region of France or a producer of sparkling wine in another EU country, such as Spain or Italy, you are perhaps concerned about the sector’s development. So is the European Union and it is working to secure the sector’s long-term viability.

As a wine producer, you can receive financial support from the EU for loss of revenue resulting from restructuring. This can also be used to cover vineyard conversion, for instance to introduce new varieties, relocate or improve vineyard management techniques.

Wine producers can also get support for measures to promote EU wines under the geographical indications (GI) scheme, which identifies EU country products whose quality can be attributed to a particular geographical origin. Under this scheme, the EU can contribute up to 50 % of the cost of participating in international fairs, or conducting information campaigns and carrying out studies of new market outlets.

The EU can also help protect products recognised under the GI scheme at international level. To do this it ensures that the products remain protected in the various multilateral trade negotiations with the World Trade Organisation, in particular through the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. In addition, it also seeks to achieve high levels of protection for GI products in bilateral trade agreements negotiated or under negotiation with non-EU countries such as Canada, China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Further information

• Presentation of the Champagne region and wine, https://www.champagne.fr/fr/economie/chiffres-clef
• European Commission website on Geographic indications, http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/accessing-markets/intellectual-property/geographical-indications/
• European Court of auditors, Report on investment and promotion support to the wine sector, https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR14_09/QJAB14005ENC.pdf

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

© oraziopuccio / Fotolia

Citizens of the European Union go the polls in May 2019 in elections to the European Parliament which many analysts say may be the most important ever. Commentators are currently focused on the prospective performance of anti-establishment parties and movements, many of which run on Eurosceptic platforms. The vote will also indicate if the so-called Spitzenkandidatenprocess, launched by the European political parties five years ago, has become an established practice. If followed as in 2014, the candidate from the political force that receives the highest number of seats in the European elections would become the President of the European Commission.

This note offers links to reports and commentaries from some major international think-tanks and research institutes on the forthcoming European elections and related issues.

A cordon populiste from the Baltic to the Adriatic Sea: Is a new populist alliance emerging in the EU?
Istituto Affari Internazionali, January 2019

2019 European Parliament elections will change the EU’s political dynamics
Carnegie Europe, December 2018

Les modes de scrutin et les enjeux des élections européennes de mai 2019
Fondation Robert Schuman, December 2018

European Parliament elections 2019: The litmus test for the Spitzenkandidaten process
Centre for European Reform, December 2018

European election 2019 monitor
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, December 2018

Policies and politics of migration towards the European elections
Istituto Affari Internazionali, December 2018

Europe matters, but how do we tell young people that?
Friends of Europe, December 2018

Ten elections to watch in 2019
Council on Foreign Relations, December 2018

The European Parliament after the elections
Clingendael, November 2018

European elections 2019: What will the new Parliament’s composition be?
Fondation Robert Schuman, November 2018

Negotiating the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework in an electoral year: Which consequences?
Jacques Delors Institute, November 2018

25 years of Spitzenkandidaten: What does the future hold?
Wilfried Martens Centre, November 2018

Millennial dialogue on Europe: Shaping the new EU agenda
Foundation for European Progressive Studies, Think Young, November 2018

What impact would a no deal Brexit have on European Parliament elections?
Jacques Delors Institute, November 2018

The power of the past: How nostalgia shapes European public opinion
Bertelsmann Stiftung, October 2018

Schatten über den Europawahlen
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, October 2018

European election 2019: Can we cry wolf one more time?
European Council on Foreign Relations, October 2018

Election interference in the digital age: Building resilience to cyber-enabled threats
European Political Strategy Centre, October 2018

Could an illiberal Europe work?
Carnegie Europe, October 2018

Attentes et ressentis, l’état des opinions publiques avant les élections européennes
Jacques Delors Institute, October 2018

Towards elections with integrity
Open Society Foundations, October 2018

Programmatic Europeanization revisited: The role of EP election proximity, EU support and Eastern European patterns
Centre for Policy Studies, September 2018

Spitzenkandidaten and shifting electorates: Towards the 2019 EP elections
Institute for Development and International Relations, September 2018

EP elections forecasts: EU trade policies from 2019
VoteWatch Europe, September 2018

EP elections forecast: EU data protection policies from 2019
VoteWatch Europe, September 2018

The Trump-Juncker meeting in DC raises urgent questions for the next Commission
Centre for European Policy Studies, August 2018

Strengthening parliamentary voices in the EU’s multi-level system
Jacques Delors Institute, June 2018

Comparing democratic distress in the United States and Europe
Carnegie Europe, June 2018

The composition of the European Parliament in 2019
Fundacion Real Instituto Elcano, March 2018

The problem with the Spitzenkandidaten system
Centre for Policy Studies, February 2018

Read this briefing on ‘European elections‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The EU issued a declaration on the unilateral decision by the government of Guatemala to withdraw from the Agreement with the UN establishing the International Commission Against Impunity (CICIG) in Guatemala.

Four months of political stalemate in Sweden ended on Friday when four parties, the Social Democrats, Greens, Liberals and the Centre party, agreed to back social democrat Stefan Loefven to continue as prime minister. Deadlocked since September elections the Centre Party and the Liberals were forced to break their alliance with the conservatives to get a new government that would not depend on votes from the far-right Sweden Democrat party.

How can collective intelligence help tackle social inequalities? What is Europe’s role in the current trade wars? How can the EU27 move forward? These questions and many more were discussed during the EPRS roundtable discussion ‘Europe’s challenges in 2019’ following the publication of the third edition of the annual EPRS ‘Ten issues to watch’.

After a short welcome by EPRS Director General, Anthony Teasdale, Vice-President of the European Parliament Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso (EPP, Spain) introduced the discussion with a keynote speech. The Vice-President emphasised the importance of the forthcoming European elections for the areas of policy that feature in the ‘Ten issues to watch’, and pointed out that European citizens now had to choose between parties who aim to bring the European project forward, and those parties whose aims are less constructive.

As Étienne Bassot, Director of the Members’ Research Service stated in his introductory remarks, the issues chosen for the publication belong to three overarching topics: technology; Europe in the wider world; and 2019 as the year of EU renewal. The intention of the debate was not to claim to cover all relevant policy issues, but rather to ‘set the scene’ for the political year to come.

The authors of the eleven chapters of the ‘Ten issues to watch’ then briefly presented their contributions, giving an overview of the main challenges in their respective areas and discussing existing, as well as still required, EU policy action.

Nora Milotay elaborated on the concept of collective intelligence – the combination of human and artificial intelligence (AI). The major challenge is to combine social and technological innovation, for example regarding health, education and the labour market, to prevent technological developments increasing inequalities within the EU.

Maria Niestadt highlighted the potential of e-mobility for the EU to reduce CO₂ emissions, air pollution, and noise, as well as EU dependence on oil imports. Whether the EU will be able to exploit this potential, however, will largely depend on its ability to improve the infrastructure of recharging points, battery performance and the integration of electric vehicles into the electricity system.

Marcin Szczepanski and Tambiama Madiega explained the process of digital transformation – the integration of digital technology into all aspects of our lives. They underlined that that the EU needs to ensure a legal and ethical framework for this fundamental transformation: to protect ethical norms, especially in the field of AI; to update safety and liability rules; and to regulate the access and re-use of digital data.

Discussing internal security, Sofija Voronova explained that cybersecurity not only covers cyber-attacks but also involves traditional crime ‘going digital’. Terrorist activities and organised crime pose a particular security threat, which the EU needs to tackle both offline and online.

Gisela Grieger explained the US stance in the current trade war(s) and elaborated on different scenarios for future US-China relations. She also pointed out the challenges for the EU to navigate between the two powers while protecting its own economic interests as well as the multilateral trading system, mainly through pushing for World Trade Organization reform.

Eric Pichon discussed Africa’s role as Europe’s ‘twin continent’ and potential strategic partner. He points out the challenges of diverging interests, especially on migration, as well as defining partners, due to the different channels through which EU-Africa cooperation is managed.

Didier Bourguignon illustrated the EU’s path towards a policy for the oceans, which allows both use of the oceans’ resources, e.g. for renewable ocean energy or tourism, while also protecting their ecosystems.

Asked about the future financing of the EU, whether the EU will decide on its next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) in 2019, Magdalena Sapala pointed out three obstacles: different positions on the scope of the future budget; different decision-making procedures for different legislative proposals; and the political changes in the European Parliament and Commission following the European elections.

Silvia Kotanidis outlined the way forward for the EU27 after Brexit and discussed the idea of a Europe ‘at different speeds’, the possibilities of using the entire potential of the Lisbon Treaty and even a possible treaty change. She also highlighted that the future EU-UK relationship still needs to be defined in various policy areas, especially trade and defence.

Finally, Laura Tilindyte explained the possible changes in the new European Parliament and the new European Commission following the elections in May. Brexit will decrease the size of the Parliament, and declining support for traditional parties will change the power relations between the political groups. The appointment of the Commission President also remains unclear, due to the power struggle between the European Parliament and Council regarding the Spitzenkandidatenprozess.

In his final remarks, Étienne Bassot concluded that the political, technological and institutional challenges the EU faces are increasingly intertwined and require further analysis, both individually and in their interrelated aspects.

The round table discussion was followed by a short Q&A session.

• Vice-President of the European Parliament Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso (EPP, Spain)

Plenary session, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Jorge Domecq, the EDA Chief Executive, today accomplished a two-day visit to Vilnius where he had talks with the Lithuanian Minister of National Defence, Raimundas Karoblis, as well as with Vice-Minister Giedrimas Jeglinskas. He also met with representatives of Lithuanian industry associations. Mr Domecq furthermore attended the ‘Snow Meeting 2019’, an annual event organized by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss common security challenges. 

The main topics discussed during the bilateral meetings at the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence included the current state of play and way ahead in the implementation of the various EU defence initiatives (PESCO, CARD, European Defence Fund), the revised EU Capability Development Priorities adopted last June, Lithuania’s current and potential future contributions to EDA projects and programmes (it currently participates in 10 of them), the implications of the Agency’s recent Long-Term Review as well as the EU-NATO relations. 

Mr Domecq welcomed that the launch of PESCO, CARD and EDF has raised EU defence cooperation to a new level which, he stressed, "requires Member States’ strong and continued engagement throughout the implementation to ensure that the governments’ commitments are taken forward in the national priority setting and implementation of new capability projects". In this respect, he commended Lithuania for taking the lead of the PESCO project on ‘Cyber Rapid Response Teams and Mutual Assistance in Cyber Security’ which is progressing well. He also confirmed EDA’s readiness to provide the support requested by Lithuania in view of the project implementation.  

Snow Meeting 2019 

The EDA Chief Executive also attended the ‘Snow Meeting 2019’ (an annual event organized by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs gathering a close group of foreign and security policy leaders, politicians, opinion-makers and experts from Euro-Atlantic community to discuss common security challenges and develop policy ideas that could lead to practical solutions) where he participated as a panelist in the discussion on European leadership. 

 

Juncker warned Romania's government not to move ahead with plans to grant amnesty for corruption, as more than 200 EU laws await decisions during Bucharest's presidency.

“Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug”, the Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler sang in 1991, a perfect illustration of the everyday life of politicians but also journalists. Here is a story about journalists and a politician, which has been...

EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday that he was in contact with British prime minister Theresa May over possible further assurances that the EU can give to the UK over the Irish backstop ahead of a crucial vote in the House of Commons on Tuesday (15 January) on the Brexit deal. "We are discussing with Downing Street 10 what these clarifications should amount to," he said.

European Commission will seek information from Poland after national authorities arrested this week a Chinese Huawei employee and a Polish national over espionage allegations.

The Project Arrangement (PA) for the Cyber Defence Situation Awareness Package Rapid Research Prototype (CySAP-RRP) was recently signed by the three contributing Member States:  Spain (lead country), Germany and Italy. The project was conceived as the first step of a spiral development in order to set up a full Cyber Situation Awareness (CySA) operational capability. The CySAP-RRP will be built upon previous work done by EDA to develop a Target Architecture and System Requirements for an enhanced Cyber Defence Situation Awareness Capability. The core objectives of the project include essential research challenges to assist military decision-makers in cyberspace and to set the basis of a Command and Control (C2) system for cyber operations.  Under this PA, results will be delivered using a spiral approach over the next 18 months.

EDA’s Project Team Cyber Defence (PT CD) identified the need for capabilities to enable military commanders at all operational levels to understand and manage the risk of cyber-attack. An important prerequisite is to provide situation awareness (SA) for the commander and his staff, based on a general and specific threat landscape from which the risk of cyber-attack can be observed, understood and evaluated. The objective is for military commanders to have a clear understanding of the cyber threat landscape including system vulnerabilities and attack vectors and to equip them with the tools required to make informed decisions in order to manage cyber risks during the planning and conduct phases of an operation.

A dedicated CySAP Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG) comprising the contributing Member States, EDA and additional subject matter experts and stakeholders started work on a Common Staff Target (CST), Common Staff Requirements (CSR) and a Business Case which describes which operational elements are needed to achieve a cyber situation awareness for the EU Armed Forces. CySAP follows a modular approach which means that the adopted SA capability architecture will influence additional cyber defence solutions to achieve interoperability. Other spirals, subject to future commitments and out of the scope of the first step, are planned to further develop CySAP towards a final CySA capability. CySA is a key aspect in all cyber defence efforts and initiatives currently pursued within the EU and other international organizations.

As part ofthis endeavour, EDA hosted two capability awareness days with the support of industry and academia in order to allow the military to benefit from existing products and trends related toCyber Situation Awareness. Since its inception in 2016, EDA’s Cyber Research and Technology AHWG has supported CySAP. This working group promotes collaborative cyber defence research within a cyber Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) looking into research activities to address capability gaps. Following the Cyber Ranges Federation project launched by 11 EU Member States in 2017 CySAP is the second EDA collaborative Cyber Defence project and the first collaborative R&T project in the domain.
 

Background

Cyberspace is the fifth domain of operations, alongside the domains of land, sea, air, and space: the successful implementation of EU missions and operations is increasingly dependent on uninterrupted access to a secure cyberspace, and thus requires robust and resilient cyber operational capabilities. 

The updated EU Capability Development Plan (CDP) endorsed by the EDA Steering Board in June 2018 reconfirmed cyber defence as a priority for capability development in the EU. The CDP recognises the need for defensive cyber operations in any operational context, based on sophisticated current and predictive cyberspace situational awareness. This includes the ability to combine large amounts of data and intelligence from numerous sources in support of rapid decision making and increased automation of the data gathering, analysis and decision-support process. In November 2018, the European Council adopted an updated version of the EU cyber defence policy framework (CDPF). 

Supporting the development of Member States’ cyber defence capabilities is a priority area where the now established CySAP project serves as a core to guide future research and operational capabilities.

 

Written by Martina Prpic and Rosamund Shreeves,

© Giuseppe Porzani / Fotolia

The European Union (EU) is committed to eliminating inequalities and promoting gender equality ‘in all its activities’ and has made considerable advances over the years. Nevertheless, the situation remains uneven across the EU, and in recent times progress has slowed, stalled or even regressed in some areas. Yet, the evidence points clearly to the benefits of gender equality for individuals, the economy and society as a whole.

Public opinion surveys show that a large majority of Europeans agree that promoting gender equality is important for a fair and democratic society, the economy and for them personally and that a growing share of citizens would like the EU to do more in this area. Europeans also expect increased EU action on related policies.

During the current legislative term, as part of a broader gender equality programme, the EU institutions have been working on proposals for new EU laws to improve work-life balance and combat violence against women and promoting equality between women and men will remain one of the major challenges in the coming years. Demographic trends, technological developments and changes to the way we work are just some of the issues where different impacts on women and men will need to be considered.

Options for further EU involvement could include better implementation and enforcement of existing legislation, moves to modernise it, fill gaps in protection and address emerging issues, and non-legislative measures such as data collection and monitoring, awareness-raising, and support for national and grassroots initiatives. It will require the political will at all levels to tackle issues across a broad spectrum of policies, together with the provision of the necessary institutions, tools and resources to put that resolve into action.

Read the complete briefing on ‘EU policies – Delivering for citizens: Promoting equality between women and men‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

• gender gap in employment
• gender gap in education
• percentage of respondents who would like the eu to intervene more than at present
• expectations for more eu action than at present – percentage points difference between 2016 and 2018
• perception of eu action as adequate at present – percentage points difference between 2016 and 2018

Written by Ionel Zamfir, Martina Prpic and Rosamund Shreeves,

© high_resolution / Fotolia

In the 70 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the first international document to set common standards of achievement for all states – the pivotal role and moral, legal and political significance of human rights in the international arena have become indisputable. However, despite considerable progress in many areas on recognition, codification and implementation, human rights have also come under increased attack. Whether in theatres of war or in the political arena, human rights are now rejected on ideological grounds. The EU itself has not been spared by the current backlash. In its Member States, a populist wave has empowered political forces that increasingly question the significance of core human rights, such as the right to freedom of expression.

In these troubled times for human rights, opinion polls show that European citizens perceive human rights as one of the most important values for them personally and one of the values that best represent the EU itself.

Having emerged from World War II and its atrocities, European countries were determined to secure lasting peace, and the Union they created is now founded on respect for democracy, the rule of law and human rights, which guide and shape its legislation and policies. Within the EU, recent action has included new legislation on data protection and access to justice, the European Pillar of Social Rights, and initiatives to combat inequality, discrimination and hate speech. There is also an acknowledgement that more needs to be done to complete the legal framework to combat discrimination and strengthen internal mechanisms for upholding the rule of law. Human rights are additionally a general objective of EU external action. The EU is deeply committed to promoting human rights, as enshrined in international treaties, in its relations with third countries and with other multilateral regional and global institutions. During the last EP mandate, the EU consistently applied and deepened a range of policy approaches that strengthen its role and image as a normative power that inspires others through its example. Maintaining and consolidating this policy remains vital for preserving the EU’s image and credibility as a normative power, based on values, that has the capacity to act at a time when the principle of multilateralism is increasingly questioned.

Read the complete briefing on ‘EU policies – Delivering for citizens: Human Rights‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

• Human rights as the most important personal value, per Member State, in %
• Human rights as a value that best represents the European Union, per Member State, in %

Four former EU top-ministers are in the running to replace Norway's Thorbjorn Jagland as secretary general of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organisation, from 1 October. They all come from EU member states, despite the 47-member state body extends wider than the European Union. A vote in June will chose between Belgium's Didier Reynders, Lithuania's Andrius Kubilius, Greece's Dora Bakoyannis, and Croatia's Marija Pejcinovic Buric.

The transformation brought by renewable energies will alter the global distribution of power, relations between states, and the environmental drivers of geopolitical instability, according to a major international study published on Friday (11 January).