In addition to more reliable trading partners and more mining in Europe, the development of a circular economy in particular should secure the EU's supply of critical raw materials. At Raw Materials Week in Brussels this week, the word was out from all sides: Recycling is the solution – but the industry is not yet ready.
By Leonie Düngefeld
At COP27, Brazil's future president promised greater forest protection. Yet the country is to remain an agricultural power. Ecosystem scientist Friedrich Bohn explains how this could be achieved.
By Alexandra Endres
In his first ten years in office, Xi Jinping built a network of party commissions and working groups with which he manages the government's work. The party thus further strengthens its control over the state.
By Christiane Kuehl
The meeting between Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov was emphatically cordial. Those who had hoped for criticism from China were left disappointed.
By Redaktion Table
After COP is before COP. The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) will start in early December. Just like the Paris Agreement for the climate, a framework for nature conservation will be negotiated in Montreal. The experience gained in Paris could help the negotiators in this process.
By Lukas Knigge
The European cap on gas trading is to apply to only part of the market, according to new key points from the Commission. In it, the executive claims the power to suspend the price limit at any time. To appease the Council, however, there are already building blocks for a legislative text.
By Manuel Berkel
Member states are to increase excise taxes on tobacco and tobacco-related products sharply. In Germany, the minimum tax on cigarettes would double, and on cigars and cigarillos, it would increase by a factor of nine. The Commission's proposal is due on Dec. 7.
By Markus Grabitz
In its search for reliable raw materials partners, the EU also wants to increase cooperation with Ukraine. After all, 22 of the 30 raw materials critical to the EU are stored there. In an interview with Leonie Düngefeld, Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the Commission, explains how this will prepare the ground for reconstruction – and how the EU also wants to mark strategic projects in other third countries.
By Leonie Düngefeld
Julia Willie Hamburg is the new Vice-Minister President in Lower Saxony. This also grants the Green politician a post on Volkswagen's supervisory board. An appointment that has many critics up in arms.
By Christian Domke Seidel
The State Department wants its China strategy to provide clear guidelines for the government's actions. A first draft has now been released to the public. But the ambitious paper will be riddled with compromises in its final version.
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