Think Tank

Policy-makers are seeking to 'future proof' policies in order to be better prepared for disruptive and unanticipated events. The application of foresight methods such as stress-testing can help achieve this goal. This study introduces a methodology for the European Parliament to stress-test legislation. The method can be integrated into existing law-making and scrutiny processes in the European Parliament. It draws on lessons learnt and recommendations stemming from independent research that encompassed ...

The EU has implemented the world’s largest carbon-pricing system, the emissions trading system (ETS). While pricing emissions can encourage industrial decarbonisation, it also risks carbon leakage, whereby EU companies move their production abroad. To date, the EU has mitigated carbon leakage through free allocations to certain industries, but with rising climate ambition and higher carbon prices, the Commission seeks to phase out free allocations. In parallel, a novel carbon border adjustment mechanism ...

In absolute figures, Cyprus's National Recovery and Resilience Plan amounts to €1.2 billion. Cyprus decided to use its allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) predominantly in grants (€1.005 billion), with €200.3 million in loans. These resources represent around 0.2 % of the entire RRF, but are equal to 5.2 % of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 (the RRF being 5.2 % of EU-27 GDP in 2019). They will underpin a vast programme of reforms and investments that aims ...

Estonia's Recovery and Resilience Plan – one of the last such plans submitted to the European Commission – sets out the reforms and public investment projects that Estonia intends to implement with the support of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The RRF is one of the main components of Next Generation EU, an EU instrument to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Estonia's plan is one of the smallest in the EU in terms of the total amount allocated. However, when taking into account ...

Latvia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) sets the package of reforms and investment measures designed by the country in the context of the European Union (EU) response to the crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. In absolute figures, Latvia has decided to use €1 826 millions of grant allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), while declining to avail of the loan component. These resources represent 0.3 % of the entire RRF, equal to 6 % of the country's gross ...