In recent piece for Politico Europe, Italian Jean Monnet professor Alberto Alemanno backs down on the (already dead) idea of transnational lists for European elections. According to him, current problems of European democracy can be solved through more internationalised elections. He’s very wrong.
Be it bans for plastic straws, taxes on plastic bags, or the phenomena of banning styrofoam in major cities: there is a part of the political spectrum obsessed with ridding the world of plastic. However, their measures beg the question if they’re actually achieving their goals, and what unintended consequences accompany the anti-plastic obsession.
Back in November, I wrote an FTN piece about the fight of students such as Frédéric Jollien, against the mandatory media royalties in Switzerland. They campaigned for the abolishing of a yearly tax of 450 CHF (€385/$453), used to finance public TV and radio stations. One of the most vile criticisms howled at them was that such […]
The European Union finds itself in a massive debate over migration. Ever since waves of migrants began arriving on the shores of Europe, states have given very different responses, ranging from a complete refusal to accept them, to criticism of countries that “don’t do their part.” In an effort to sort out the mess, the […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) is increasingly focussing on combating non-communicable diseases (NCD). In the process, it agitates governments to crack down on lifestyle freedoms. With the track record of the organisation itself, and its mind-bogglingly wasteful spending, there is a case for defunding it.
Le Conseil européen a adopté un projet de conclusions concernant la commercialisation de produits dits “junk-food” (malbouffe), dans lequel il appelle à des restrictions sur la publicité de ces produits, dans le but de protéger les enfants. Les cibles sont les aliments riches en énergie, les graisses saturées, les acides gras, le sucre et le […]
Many companies have “self-regulated” by launching initiatives that improve the marketplace, e.g. setting ethical work standards or by providing consumers with more information. These policies are particularly encouraging because they are completely voluntary. However, governments are continuously perverting self-regulation for their own narrative. A Few Examples of Self-Regulation There are many reasons why companies choose […]
Public-health advocates are moving in on the one danger we’ve all been missing: cereal-box cartoon characters. That’s right, Tony the Tiger, Cap’n Crunch, Count Chocula, and Snap, Crackle and Pop are all after our children. But, luckily, the European Union, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Jamie Oliver are here to protect us. No, I’m […]
Dans un nouveau rapport (1), l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) revient sur sa position de taxation sur le sucre, afin de lutter contre les maladies non-transmissibles (MNT).
In a crushing report, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) went after EU spending on plans for a European high-speed rail network. The institution calls current plans “very unlikely”, and describes them as having “low added” value. And yet, the Juncker Commission does little to nothing to reduce cohesion spending, which, according to its own […]
