In March, 2007, the Treaty of Rome celebrates its 50th anniversary. The chief lesson from this remarkable period of European cooperation is the contribution to growth and prosperity from economic integration. The common commercial policy that emerged from this treaty has had a significant impact...

Sweden has been one of the leading voices for free trade in the post-war era. Its support for the multilateral trading system has been strong. Today is different. Sweden is defensive in services sector that are protected by regulations, belong to the welfare-state domain, or have been perceived...

EU-China trade and economic relations have deteriorated. The rhetoric has become tougher on both sides, and the EU has imported the culture of "China bashing" from US politics. Increasingly hostile rhetoric and the danger of tit-for-tat protectionism are reason enough to establish a new process...

The forces of the Wealth of nations are not at work for the Health of nations. Economic and trade integration have progressed over the last fifty years and yet one sector remains conspicuously un-globalized: health care. Interest groups and international organizations, like the World Health...

Globalization has been accused of "stealing jobs" and depressing wages in the developed part of the world. China's entry into the world economy, in particular, has sparked fears about a "middle-class squeeze". These fears resemble the anxiety in previous eras over the rise of new emerging...

Europe is dependent on Russia for its energy supply and finds itself at odds with designing a policy that addresses its rising number of concerns over Russia while not putting its energy imports at risk. Russia's new assertiveness, in energy and as well as in other external relations, has...

The G20 summit in London offers an opportunity for world leaders to prevent a continued slide towards protectionism. Yet the summit is already at risk of ending in failure as expectations run too high. The agenda is already far too wide and cover areas characterized by sharp differences of...

The European Union has set out a new strategy for growth and competitiveness. A successor to the Lisbon agenda, the 2020 strategy aims to usher Europe into an era of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It is of tremendous importance that Europe speeds up growth. Fiscal stabilization can...

Four years after the launch of Global Europe - the European Union's trade strategy from 2006 - policymakers are now confronted with the first negotiated agreement with one of the rising economic powers in the Far East. The EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (hereafter EUKOR) is the first of Europe's...