Europe & Russia

Russian Roulette: the challenges of investing in Russia

After all but deserting Russia, foreign businesses are cautiously returning to take advantage of a weak currency. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased in 2016, recovering significantly from the nadir of 2014-2015. However, they face significant challenges not experienced by domestic firms. Rampant corruption, a weak economy and strong anti-West sentiment mean that foreign direct investment has still not returned ...

What does a Brexit mean for politics?

Executive Summary

• Britain’s decision to leave the E.U. is now irreversible. The result of yesterday's 23 June referendum revealed a fault-line in national politics which the major parties must now address.
• Tax revenues will fall as a result of the vote, necessitating a reallocation of the tax burden that is likely to produce a backlash against those politicians who initially stand to gain from the result.
• It is likely that the immediate threat of Scottish or Northern Irish secession is overstated, given the economic outlook and public mood respectively. Anglo-Spanish tensions over Gibraltar will escalate.

MALTA: Small country, big problems

Malta took on the rotating presidency of the E.U. at the beginning of the year, but members of the European Parliament are concerned that the country is not capable of leading the bloc in its major anti-money-laundering drive. The Panama Papers, a massive document leak that revealed the offshore banking practices of the world’s elite in April 2016, has damaged ...

Greek anarchist organisations

A number of anarchist and far-left groups are active in Greece and have proven resurgent during the long financial crisis in the country, with frequent violent confrontations between groups and the police or far-right movements. Though less organised than Greece’s extreme nationalist groups, anarchist groups more commonly employ improvised explosive devices (IEDs), causing more damage and injuries.

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DIY E.U.? The future of the 27-member bloc

The European Commission, the E.U.’s executive arm, has published a new white paper on the future of the bloc after the impending exit of the U.K., entitled ‘Avenues for Unity for the E.U. at 27’. It presents five scenarios for how the E.U. could evolve by 2025, and though the paper has been planned for several years, Brexit has changed ...