Henrik odegaard

SummaryNext week will be a political group week and a committee week in the European Parliament.  Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will hold meetings with their respective political party to prepare the next plenary session, to be held from October 2 to 5, in Strasbourg.A few interesting discussions will take place in committee.On Monday, members of the Committee on International Trade (“INTA”) will vote on their report on the EU-Africa Strategy.  The objective of this report is to foster the EU’s contribution to Africa’s growth and development, by assisting Africa in improving its business climate, fighting against poverty, corruption and money laundering, and managing natural resources.  The EU would support initiatives aimed at enhancing the African economy and at ensuring that Africa enhances its production and processing capacity to reduce imports and take full advantage of Africa’s own resources. On the same … [Read more...] about The Week Ahead in the European Parliament – September 22, 2017

Standing in a shuttered General Motors plant in Wilmington, Del., Vice President Joe Biden heralded a half-billion-dollar Department of Energy loan that would transform the idled site into a production line for electric cars.“Folks, we're making a bet,” Biden said on Oct. 27, 2009. “We're making a bet in the future, we're making a bet in the American people, we're making a bet in the market, we're making a bet in innovation.”That loan is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made on two politically connected California electric carmakers producing sporty — and pricey — cutting-edge autos. One is Fisker Automotive , the project heralded by Biden and backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore and a campaign donor to President Obama. The other is Tesla Motors , whose prime backers include a major fundraiser for Obama and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey … [Read more...] about Energy’s risky $1 billion bet on two politically-connected electric car builders

Following Theresa May’s appointment as UK Prime Minister on July 13, she has formed a new UK Government. The UK’s key Cabinet Ministers with responsibility for Brexit negotiations all campaigned for the UK to Leave the EU: David Davis, the new Secretary of State for Exiting the EU; Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary; and Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade. Both Mr. Davis and Mr. Fox have expressed interest in a free trade-style agreement with the EU. However, both Mrs. May and Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister), supported the campaign to Remain in the EU, and are expected to seek to retain single market access, but with concessions on free movement of labor. Mrs. May has said she does not expect to trigger the formal two-year withdrawal process, under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, until she has found consensus on the UK’s negotiating position between central and devolved governments—Scotland, … [Read more...] about Brexit, Privacy Shield, Greenhouse Gas, Tax Transparency: EU Policy Update August 2016

In July 2002, the residents of Shishmaref, an Inuit hamlet on one of Alaska’s barrier islands just 20 miles south of the Arctic Circle, finally surrendered.They were defeated by decades of implacable change in their local environment. Rising sea levels, melting ice, deteriorating permafrost and increasingly violent storms were rendering their village uninhabitable.So they voted to pick up and go, says community leader Tony A. Weyiouanna Sr. “It was pretty clear that our island was going to wash away and that we needed to relocate,” he says.Four years later, however, the residents of the tiny Inuit community still occupy the threatened island as they struggle to pull together the $100 million to $150 million that Weyiouanna estimates is needed for all of them to move.Amid their difficulties, the residents of Shishmaref may not care whether their tiny village is at the front line of global climate change. And they may not appreciate the nuances of the ongoing scientific … [Read more...] about Feeling the Heat

As expected, today the European Commission announced the reshuffle of much of its senior management, moving 11 current Directors-General (i.e. the technocratic heads of the Commission’s 30+ departments, called “Directorates-General”) into new posts from September 1 onwards. The selection process began in March when Commissioners identified three senior managers they would like to see as their Director-General. Following this, President Juncker consulted the relevant Vice-Presidents.Reminiscent of his Commission appointment criteria, President Juncker again emphasized the importance of improving the gender balance among senior management in the European Commission. Two women became Directors-General in the reshuffle (joining the existing two appointees) and the Commission pledged to increase the share of female managers to 40% by the end of Juncker’s mandate.The most surprising move is Catherine Day’s departure from her post as Secretary General, as … [Read more...] about Reshuffle of Directors-General at European Commission