Colin Stevens
Colin Stevens's Latest Posts
#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, […]
Why #Montenegro is not ready for EU accession
Montenegro has been waiting patiently in line to get into the EU for six years now, but the process appears to be picking up steam. On 4 December, Prime Minister Dusko Markovic (pictured) said that his government expects to open two more chapters in its negotiations with the bloc within the next two weeks. And […]
#Cryptocurrencies: To use or refuse?
On November 29 bitcoin has cracked another record by reaching $11 000 in price. The largest digital currency has risen to a staggering amount of more than 1,000 percent this year. This has increased total cryptocurrencies capitalization to $300 billion, including $161bn bitcoin capitalization. Second largest digital currency Etherium owns another $46bn of the total […]
#Brexit: Rise of the soft Brexiteers? Not so fast
As Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured) gears up to deliver his delayed Mansion House speech to the City of London, his purported “soft Brexit” bloc seems to be building steam and putting pressure on Theresa May to secure an extended transition period for Britain’s exit. The Chancellor’s argument against Britain making a sudden departure from both […]
The case of Renato Usatii as a symbol of a ‘captured state’ in #Moldova
Over the past six years Moldova has undergone a tragic transition from being hailed as the “success story” of the EU’s much-vaunted Eastern Partnership to what Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, has branded a “captured state”, writes Colin Stevens. Moldova also face the prospect of being a “failed state”, in the same company […]
