Colin Stevens
Colin Stevens's Latest Posts
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 […]
#Kazakhstan – International forum and dialogue platform
An international forum and dialogue platform founded by the first president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev was one of the significant political events of 2019, writes Colin Stevens. The Summit of Heads of State of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was held in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. The CICA is an organization […]
Spotlight on #TobaccoControl in #Bucharest, but industry disinformation persists
Romania, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, hosted the 4th annual meeting of the European Network for Smoking Prevention (ENSP) from March 27th to 29th in Bucharest. The event allowed representatives from every corner of the public health sector to discuss how to optimise tobacco control strategies. Academics from Harvard rubbed shoulders with Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, while […]
#ASIC – Why not litigate?
Because it could very well expose your shortcomings. Securities regulators around the world should be paying close attention to a potentially very concerning situation evolving in Australia, writes Colin Stevens. The recent sweeping reforms of the Hayne Royal Commission have found many deficiencies in the Australian financial system and have recommended that the Australian Securities […]
#EP Debate: We need to put the reins on Big Tobacco
As always, the devil is in the details. That was the overall conclusion of a public hearing on the illicit tobacco trade in Europe organized by MEP Cristian Silviu Bușoi in the European Parliament on January 29th. Bușoi has emerged as one of the most vocal MEPs in the on-going fight to decouple the European […]
The EU cracks down on #Tobacco, but does it go far enough?
New reports suggesting that Germany will back the European Commission’s crackdown on tobacco waste are just the latest sign that Europe is taking increasingly decisive action on cigarettes. Activists will no doubt cheer comments from German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze that those who produce tobacco filters (and other disposable plastic products) should fund the clean-up […]
#Kazakhstan highlights achievements and increased collaboration with the EU
Kazakhstan is moving towards the status of a welfare state, developing into the ‘Nordic model’. The country’s social and economic progress was emphasized by Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, earlier this month during his annual state of the nation address. It highlighted growing income and GDP per capita, increases in standards of living and business development, […]
