Search Results for: Spain

The European Union (EU) is struggling to tackle corruption in its own institutions with real and perceived cases of backdoor lobbying, undue influence, cash for questions, conflicts of interest and revolving doors (to jobs with industry). These are harming the reputation of the European Parliament, the executive European Commission, the Council of Ministers and several EU agencies.…

Signatory universities of the Magna Charta Universitatum declaration are meeting in Poland to assess how research and teaching can help reconstruct cities harmed by war, environmental pressures and socio-economic change.

This conference chimes with the aims of the declaration, which highlights the value of academic freedom, institutional autonomy and community collaboration, and which has been signed by 960 universities from 94 countries worldwide.…

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has forced 6.2 million people from the country (UN figures) (1) and caused more than USD151 billion in infrastructure damage, says the Kiev Schol of Economics (2), Ukraine’s fashion retail market has been transformed.

While energy price rises have started levelling off after 2022 steep inflation, the need to boost sustainable electricity capacity in Europe, carried by strengthened transmission networks, boosting security of supply against unreliable partners such as Russia and further reduce carbon emissions, is becoming ever more pressing.…

Portugal’s footwear industry is trying to maintain its near-shoring position as a western production hub, while attracting more business as a reliable alternative to Asian manufacturing hubs, investing in innovation, quality and sustainability.

Portugal comprises an important part of the remaining European footwear sector, which according to the World Footwear Yearbook 2023 produced just 2.7% of global output in 2022 (1).…

Higher education leaders in Niger have raised concerns about how last week’s (July 26) military coup my home and already fragile higher education system in this Francophone Sahel country.

As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) considers force to restore the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum, elected in April 2021 in the country’s first peaceful transfer of power, students and academics have warned of potential disarray in Niger universities.…

The potential benefits and risks posed to AML systems by quantum computing are becoming clearer, as more powerful and efficient quantum computing systems are developed.

Quantum systems draw processing strength from exploiting how quantum states involve superposition (a particle inhabits two or more places at the same time) and entanglement (two or more particles influence each other), to make quicker and larger calculations.…

Time was that whistleblowing laws were a novelty. No longer – they are increasingly commonplace in developed economy jurisdictions and offer a widening range of protections.

Take the USA. A bipartisan bill was proposed in March (2023) by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren to strengthen whistleblower protections at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).…

The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is pushing the European Union (EU) and the UK into paying more subsidies to attract battery electric vehicle (BEV) and battery production to Europe.

While the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Center (APC) forecasts 5 million more BEVs globally by 2030, requiring 3,306 gigawatt hours (GWh) in batteries, (1), the US and China may benefit more in production terms.…

High energy and raw material prices and wage inflation have been pushing packaging sector converters to reduce waste, and hence costs, with the added benefit of helping the industry meet growing sustainability requirements from regulators and consumers.

Sensing a market opportunity, many packaging converters were already targeting sustainability, developing innovative packaging materials and designs to cut packaging weight and promote re-use and recycling.…