IFC: Moving to Green Growth in Emerging Europe, Central Asia and the Greater Middle East

As global temperatures rise, weather patterns shift and natural disasters dominate headlines seemingly every other week, climate change has become a priority for policymakers across the globe. But businesses and investors would be wise to put it front and centre

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How to Tame an Unruly Bear

You heed Teddy’s advice: Speak softly and carry a big stick. That’s how a bear is brought to its senses. Hardly rocket science. With his simple, yet effective approach to foreign policy, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) – the 26th US president

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Shami Chakrabarti: The Need for Loyal Dissent

In a free society, dissent is a civic duty. The presumed fallibility of those in power leads to a system governed not by men, but by laws – a system of rights and due process. Fear can undermine this system.

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EU Statement on Crimea

As stated by all 28 EU Heads of State or Government on 6 March 2014, the European Union considers the holding of the referendum on the future status of the territory of Ukraine as contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution and

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EU: Single Rule Book in Banking

The European Commission has adopted a package of Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) needed to implement important provisions of the Capital Requirements Regulation and Directive (CRR/CRD). The nine RTS define the ways in which competent authorities and market participants must, inter

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European Environment Agency: EU 2050 – Green Economy Needs Fundamental Change

The EU is largely on track to meet its climate change-related goals for 2020. While this is a considerable achievement, I believe there is a lot more to do. Most critically, the incremental gains we are currently achieving to meet

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European Investment Bank: Bank at the Heart of Europe’s Crisis Response

When the leaders of international financial institutions and development banks gathered in Washington DC for their bi-annual meeting a few weeks back, the key focus was somewhat different from the previous ones – for the first time in years, the

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Mr Putin Spills His Coffee Reading the Morning Paper

Where is a leader when you need one? He is probably jogging around the White House with his running-mate Joe Biden, trying to keep in shape while figuring out how to keep the Russians in check. Meanwhile in Moscow, Mr

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OECD: Time, Trade and Trade Facilitation

Time is money and a lot of money and opportunities are being lost due to painstakingly long customs procedures, waiting times at ports and long lead times. Although “time is money” is a universal idiom, few have looked into how

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Fata Morgana in the High Alps: Musings on Davos

While currencies crumbled in emerging markets ranging from Turkey to Argentina, the world’s mostly self-appointed leaders and assorted hangers-on gathered in Davos, Switzerland to assure global audiences that the future looks bright and promising indeed. Keep Calm and Carry On.

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