Corporate Dispatch Pro

The seasons of a revolution – Dr Tonio Borg

by Tonio Borg The popular revolts that raged across the Arab region in 2011 were a turning point, but the direction of change varied from country to country. Dr Tonio…

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The unbroken promise of Libya

by John Naudi ‘Democracy!… Stability!… Prosperity!’. These were a few of the buzz words used by many when the political uprisings and widespread protests erupted in 2011, known as the…

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Fifth instalment of SURE financial support to Member States

by Keith Zahra The European Commission has disbursed €9 billion to seven EU Member States in the fifth instalment of financial support to Member States under the SURE instrument. View…

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Commission sets research & innovation priorities for a sustainable future

by Keith Zahra The European Commission has adopted the first strategic plan for Horizon Europe, the new EU research and innovation programme worth €95.5 billion in current prices. View and…

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Dutch tilt

In February, Amsterdam replaced London as Europe’s largest trade sharing centre. The Capital had held the title for decades, but a ban on EU-based financial institutions trading in the UK…

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Ewropej: ‘Children’s rights should be safeguarded during the pandemic’

Children’s rights should be safeguarded during the pandemic, Member of the European Parliament Josianne Cutajar said. View and Download your free edition of CD Pro here:

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EU extends Ukraine-related sanctions

by Keith Zahra The European Council has extended the sanctions targeting those responsible for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine for a further six months…

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Ewropej: EU is late on COVID-19 vaccine distribution – European Commission

The European Parliament discussed the Covid-19 vaccine in the presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last month. During the debate, the European Commission President admitted that the…

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Eurogroup Finance Ministers warn against premature withdrawal of financial support

by Keith Zahra Eurozone Finance Ministers agreed that respective Member States will ensure that until the health crisis is over and recovery is firmly underway, they will continue to protect…

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Danone CEO exit gives France governance upgrade

by Dasha Afanasieva via Reuters Breakingviews Activist shareholders may find a more receptive audience in Paris. The ouster of Danone boss Emmanuel Faber shows French companies can no longer be…

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Biden’s vaccine pledge looks too modest

by Robert Cyran via Reuters Breakingviews President Joe Biden wants all Americans to be eligible for a shot by May 1 and for the country to be on a path…

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Generating fairness

This month, a consortium in New South Wales, Australia, announced plans for the world’s biggest battery. And at an estimated $2.4 billion, it will also be the priciest. View and…

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Renewables approaching a tipping point

One of the executive orders signed by President Biden on his first day in office, was to revoke the permits for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline connecting tar…

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Moving on from oil

At the height of the Covid-19 emergency, the CEOs of some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, reiterated their commitment to an emissions-reduction manifesto announced in 2014. The…

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The canary leaves the coal mine

In early 1882, Holborn Circus in central London came alight with a burst of electricity generated by a newly-built facility nearby. The Holborn Viaduct power station became the world’s first…

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The social function of communities

by Prof. JosAnn Cutajar A community consists of a group of individuals or families that share certain values, interests, services, institutions, and/or geographical proximity. Fellin (2001) defines ‘community’ as a…

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EC forecasts challenging Winter for Europe, but light at end of the tunnel

by Keith Zahra The European Commission is forecasting a challenging winter but sees light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccination process gathers pace. In its Winter 2021…

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Stronger trade enforcement rules enacted

by Keith Zahra Robust new trade enforcement rules have entered into force to further strengthen the EU’s toolbox in defending its interests. With the update of the EU’s Trade Enforcement…

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MEPs call for better regulation of social media

by Keith Zahra MEPs have called for democratic oversight of tech giants to safeguard freedom of expression. View and Download your free edition of CD Pro here:

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Greek banking reform takes hazy turn

by Lisa Jucca via Reuters Greece’s reform of its hard-hit financial sector is taking a hazy turn. On the eve of a big recapitalisation of Piraeus Bank, the head of…

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Russian retail IPO offers crowded bet on misery

by Dasha Afanasieva via Reuters A stagnant economy, sanctions and low oil prices are the standard risk factors that Russian companies hoping to go public tend to flag to investors.…

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Vivendi’s $40 billion music spinoff is Bolloré shuffle

by Liam Proud via Reuters The only surprising thing about Vincent Bolloré’s plan to spin off a chunk of Universal Music is that he didn’t think of it sooner. The…

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Myanmar on the brink

Hours before the Burmese parliament was set to certify the results of the general election held in November, the country’s powerful armed forces seized control of government and declared a…

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Commission to consult on environmental crime

by Keith Zahra The Commission has launched a public consultation on environmental crime, as parts of its efforts to review EU rules on the subject. The results of this public…

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Shared scooters jump into a profitable future

by Karen Kwok via Reuters Electric scooters are not kids’ toys anymore. The pandemic has helped turn two-wheeled transportation into an essential part of urban traffic. More cities are also…

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Housing in Malta – The Cultural Goals vs. Institutionalised Means Conundrum

by Dr. Maria Brown The current housing situation in Malta needs to be contextualised in a mainstreamed culture where home ownership is considered as the ideal tenure status (Parliamentary Secretariat…

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The calm during the storm

The invocation of Article 50 by the UK opened the door to a whirlwind that has blown past two British Prime Ministers, two EU Commissions, two UK elections, an EU…

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Commission launches a public consultation on the digital levy

by Keith Zahra The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a new digital levy. This initiative aims to ensure fair taxation in the digital economy, while at the…

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A great deal of expectation

After years of hard-nosed negotiations, false starts and inconclusive talks, the post-Brexit deal announced by the UK and the EU on December 24th felt nothing short of a Christmas miracle.…

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Portugal sets out Presidency’s priorities

by Keith Zahra Portugal has taken over the Presidency of the European Council for the fourth time from January 2021. View and Download your free edition of CD Pro here:

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A rocky road to the White House

As a young boy, Joe Biden used to say he wanted to become President of the United States when he grew up. Sure enough, he announced his first presidential bid…

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EU conferred more powers to protect its trade interests

by Keith Zahra The European Parliament has approved the strengthening of the so-called enforcement regulation, which allows the EU to protect its trade interests against partners acting illegally. View and…

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Commission sets out key actions to beat Covid-19

by Keith Zahra The EU executive set out a number of actions needed to step up the fight against the pandemic. View and Download your free edition of CD Pro…

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CorporateDispatchPRO eJournal – A year in review, a year to preview

The word ‘disruption’ was spoken with quasi-glorification in thought-leadership circles until disruption hit in a very real way in 2020. In fact, the world beyond the pandemic is being propelled…

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Stoking embers in Ethiopia

by Tonio Galea A year ago, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace after formally ending a two-decade conflict with neighbouring Eritrea. Some weeks ago,…

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Eurozone facing doubledip recession

by Keith Zahra The euro zone is on track for its first double-dip recession in nearly a decade, according to a Reuters poll of economists which points to a more…

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New mechanism to fight barriers to trade in the EU

by Keith Zahra The European Commission has launched a new complaints system for reporting market access barriers and breaches of Trade and Sustainable Development commitments in the EU’s trade agreements…

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Education – The panacea to a technology enabled future

by Isabelle Micallef Bonello The pandemic has accentuated the need for digitalisation in all spheres of society and economy. From home schooling to teleworking to interacting with our older family…

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Britain’s Brexit dilemma outlasts its architect

by Peter Thal Larsen Britain’s dilemma over Brexit will outlast its architect’s grip on power. Dominic Cummings, who masterminded the campaign to leave the European Union, will step down as…

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America makes up its mind

Georgia and North Carolina were the last states to be called in the US Presidential race, ten days after the election. Democratic nominee Joe Biden won 306 Electoral Votes in…

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Education for a changing society

by Dr. Michelle Attard Tonna It is often said that that education shapes social change, but it is also true that social change shapes education. In many ways, education is…

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Education without end

by Jesmond Saliba Industry 4.0 is still a realm in the making, but restless keynoters are already heralding the coming of Industry 5.0. Economies will change, societies will adapt, and…

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Cathay is still overweight after layoffs

by Sharon Lam via Reuters Breakingviews Cathay Pacific’s layoffs may not be the last. Hong Kong’s beleaguered airline is cutting around 8,500 jobs, or 24% of the group’s headcount, and…

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Stored carbon could morph into investment gold

by George Hay via Reuters Breakingviews If wind and solar power are zero-carbon energy’s golden boys, carbon capture is its problem child. Climate activists often see the process of removing…

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Google exhausts search for antitrust tolerance

by Jennifer Saba and Gina Chon via Reuters Breakingviews Google has met its Microsoft moment. The U.S. Justice Department is suing the Alphabet-owned unit, slamming its dominance in online search.…

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EP adopts proposals to regulate Artificial Intelligence

The European Parliament has adopted proposals on how the EU can best regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in order to boost innovation, ethical standards, and trust in technology. View and Download…

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Half of Human Trafficking Victims trafficked in their own State

Nearly half of the human trafficking victims in the European Union are EU citizens (49%), and one third (34 %) of the victims were trafficked within their own EU Member…

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EU invests a further €144.5 million in world-class supercomputers for researchers and businesses

The European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, which pools European resources to buy and deploy world-class supercomputers and technologies, co-signed a contract worth €144.5 million to acquire the LUMI supercomputer. View and Download…

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EU issues first social bond under SURE instrument

The European Commission has issued a €17 billion inaugural social bond under the EU SURE instrument to help protect jobs and keep people in work. The issuing consisted of two…

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A vote for the world

The stage of the American election is as big as the world. Every nation follows the US Presidential change-of-season every four years with interest. In 2020, things have gone up…

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The bumpy countdown to November

The American Presidential election funnel is fairly straightforward. Parties field multiple candidates into the fight-fest more commonly known as the Primaries whittling down their number until the last one standing…

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Trump, Biden, or else

Suburbs across America are dotted with blue-and-red yard signs, but not all of them are shout-outs to Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Or even Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. The…

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The swingest of them all

The US Presidential contest is a competition for counties– the local units of government that make up an American state. The results in a handful of counties can determine which…

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The sum of parts is greater than the whole

Donald J. Trump registered the biggest defeat of any winning presidential candidate in US history. If that statement needs reading twice, it is because of the peculiarity of the American…

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The Disunited States of America

Joe Biden has been leading the national and toss-up state polls for a steady seven months now. But when your adversary is the Republican Party in the unpredictable form of…

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Pope says free market, ‘trickle-down’ policies fail society

The COVID-19 pandemic was the latest crisis to prove that market forces alone and “trickle-down” economic policies had failed to produce the social benefits their proponents claim. View and Download…

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Italy Payments Deal Trades Value for State Power

The Italian state has planted its investment flag in another important industry. Local payments group Nexi’s all-share deal to buy state-controlled Sia will create a 15 billion euro domestic champion…

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