Low-Carbon Technologies, Industrial Policy and Overcapacity in China
The analysis tracks China’s evolution into the world’s dominant supplier of low‑carbon technologies (LCTs) over the past two decades, highlighting how state‑driven industrial policy has propelled massive growth in solar panels, wind turbines and battery cells. While subsidies have secured near‑global market share, they have also generated chronic overcapacity that depresses prices and strains foreign competitors. The brief examines the implications of this surplus for international trade, especially as the EU prepares carbon‑border adjustments. Finally, it outlines China’s strategic pivot toward higher‑value LCTs such as hydrogen and carbon‑capture to rebalance its portfolio.
Study on Intellectual Property Domain Name Information and Alert System
The European Commission’s Directorate‑General released a study examining how geographical indication (GI) brands are abused through domain‑name registrations. The analysis, based on a sample of over 2,000 domains, shows that well‑known GIs are disproportionately targeted by cybersquatters. It also outlines...
ECoSR 2026: Best Practices of Supporting Small Retail by Finalist Cities - Pitches
The European Commission released the pitch presentations of the twelve finalist cities in the 2026 European Cities and Small Retail (ECoSR) competition. Each PDF outlines that city’s strategy for bolstering small‑retail ecosystems, from digital tools to local sourcing. The documents...
Repurposing European Idle Industrial Capacities for Defence Production
The brief proposes a four‑step framework to convert Europe’s idle manufacturing capacity into defence production, leveraging economic‑complexity metrics to pinpoint sectors with transferable capabilities. It first quantifies idle output, then matches those capabilities to specific defence product requirements, assesses proximity...