Colin Stevens
Colin Stevens's Latest Posts

#Prešov region keen to win funds for rural development
The EU has been urged to “focus” on Europe’s poorer regions in deciding the bloc’s next long-term budget, writes Colin Stevens. The appeal was made by the President of the most populated region in Slovakia during a visit to Brussels. Milan Majerský, President of the Prešov self-governing region, said, “We are just asking the EU […]

#Kazakhstan – EU to step up co-operation with and support for Central Asian countries
Kazakhstan and central Asia should not be the source of a “competition” between East and West Europe, a conference in Brussels was told. The comments, by a senior EU official, come amid concern that oil-rich countries like Kazakhstan may be tempted to move towards the east,namely Russia, or Europe and the west in the future. […]

Huawei has made a “peace offering” to the United States in a bid to defuse the potentially highly damaging dispute between the two sides.
Huawei has made a “peace offering” to the United States in a bid to defuse the potentially highly damaging dispute between the two sides. The boss of the Chinese telecom giant, facing a ban in the US, has said that he was open to a dialogue with Washington and was willing to “license the entire […]

Powering the #Data Economy
The growth of Europe’s data centres highlights the need for energy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Google made headlines this weekend with its commitment of an extra €600 million in 2020 to expand its new “data centre” in Hamina, Finland. Data centres are the infrastructure which underpin cloud computing, making everyday data processing and storage […]

#Bristol is still one of the best for business
When we think of cities in terms of business, investment and economic credentials, the ones that immediately come to mind include London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Newcastle. There is no doubt these places are well suited for business, with some even making the case that cities like Manchester having the real potential of deposing London as […]

Banking on the next #FinancialCrisis
A series of scandals and setbacks in the banking sector in Europe and elsewhere threaten to undermine public confidence in the industry. While there is considered little chance of an economic downturn on the scale of the 2008 banking crisis, there is concern that recent events in the sector could reverse efforts made to restore […]

Green shoots of democracy in #Kazakhstan
Behind the headlines about the protests on the streets of Nur-Sultan (Astana) and Almaty last week, there are encouraging signs that Kazakhstan’s young democracy is maturing, writes Colin Stevens. The presidential elections held on Sunday 9 June returned Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as Kazakhstan’s new President. He was sworn into office on 12 June, and received a congratulatory telegram from the […]