On-track competition in passenger services has traditionally been limited in European railways, with private operators offering marginal services in selected corridors in the UK, Sweden and Germany only. In recent years, a larger scale and more stable wave of open access market entry has...

Accessibility is one of the key aspects of current transport planning, especially in reliance to public transport and pedestrian traffic facilities. This paper deals with this subject by outlining which are or could be the benefits of improved accessibility to the transport system with a special...

More, not less, competition in the EU's gas markets is required to achieve a Single Market and to therefore reduce Europe's vulnerability to gas supply cuts originating in Russia. In particular, the East-West divide within the EU in terms of competition policy revealed in this paper must be...

This paper weighs the case for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and Taiwan. It focuses on the role Taiwan has to play in the EU's economic and geopolitical strategy in Asia. Taiwan is one of the key players in the world's Information and Communication Technology (ICT)...

This study examines the potential gains from a transatlantic zero-tariff agreement on trade in goods. The idea of deeper transatlantic economic integration has become more attractive in recent years. The hopes for an ambitious multilateral trade deal in the Doha Round negotiations have diminished;...

This paper surveys and discusses the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) in the European Union and its compatibility with EU obligations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). More particularly, it intends to shed light on the evolvement of policies in Europe to protect biofuels producers from...

The European Union is currently reviewing its policy for trade defence instruments; instruments purported to defend European producers from unfair trade practices such as dumping and subsidized exports as well as protect them from sudden surges of imports. In a Green Paper published late last...

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...

China's exchange-rate policy has been under attack in the last years, especially in the United States. Now the critique of Beijing's policy is coming from Europe as well, and Chinese authorities are accused of boosting its own export, at others expense, by keeping its currency below its real...

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...