Highlights 

Blockchain could benefit supply chain management and international trade processes. See the new STOA study of potential use cases, their impacts, and potential policy responses. Blockchain technology could be valuable for supply chain management and international trade processes which require cooperation and trust between several actors arranged in complex relationships across different regulatory frameworks. Blockchain could facilitate of trade through a combination of digitalisation, information ...

The European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) brings together the various European Union (EU) institutions and bodies in a process of administrative-level cooperation designed to identify and analyse the medium- and long-term trends facing the European Union and their implications for policy-makers. This dialogue was established in the early 2010s as a means of promoting longer-term thinking in the EU policy process and encouraging the Union’s various institutions to cooperate more closely ...

It is increasingly recognised that the internet, in spite of all its benefits to society, can also be correlated with significant harms to individuals and society. Some of these harms have been studied extensively, particularly harms to privacy, harms associated with security and cybercrime, and harms resulting from digital divides. This report covers less studied but equally important harms: harms associated with internet use that concern the health, well-being a functioning of individuals, and ...

Recent research suggests that the future combat against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) may involve probiotic-based approaches. Their use in our microbial ecosystems, including humans, animals and the healthcare environment, may provide a novel approach which deserves exploration.