Table.Briefings

Feature

Agreement on oil embargo outline

At the extraordinary summit in Brussels, the EU heads of state and government agreed on the EU Commission's compromise proposal for an oil embargo. The landlocked countries of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia remain exempt for the time being and also pushed through guarantees should the Dushba pipeline be interrupted.

By Stephan Israel

ZEW Achim Wambach

'Detach from dependencies, but not from China itself'

Russia's invasion of Ukraine also calls Germany's economic ties to China into question. Xi Jinping rules in a similar authoritarian manner to Putin. But decoupling from China would hurt the German economy more than Russia's. And so Achim Wambach argues for more free trade. The Head of the ZEW economic research institute explains why in today's interview conducted by Felix Lee.

By Felix Lee

Dispute over oil embargo overshadows EU summit

A compromise proposal by the EU Commission on the oil embargo has not brought the hoped-for breakthrough for now. The proposal envisages initially only imposing an embargo on imports of Russian oil by ship. The EU ambassadors want to make another attempt at reaching an agreement on the sixth sanctions package today before the heads of state and government arrive for the extraordinary summit.

By Stephan Israel

G7 energy ministers: agreement on coal phase-out with restrictions

The G7 meeting of energy, climate, and environment ministers ended on Friday. The most important signal from Berlin: Climate protection and the decarbonization of industry and energy supply are not to be abandoned, even given the current energy crisis and the partial return to coal. However, some goals remain vague for now.

By Lukas Knigge

'Giving a voice to the defenseless'

Fang Fang has gained international acclaim with "Wuhan Diary". In it, the successful Chinese writer shows that hardly any light has been shed on the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in Wuhan. Recently, another of her books has been published in German. Ning Wang spoke with Fang Fang's translator Michael Kahn-Ackermann about "Wuetendes Feuer" (Raging Fire). The interview focuses on changes in society and the lives of women living far away from the big cities.

By Ning Wang

Order from Europe: China sites are to save CO2

Europe's companies have their headquarters breathing down their necks: They are also expected to reduce emissions in China as quickly as possible. Although the People's Republic does have climate targets, the actual framework is largely lacking and the conditions are difficult.

By Christiane Kuehl

Germany refuses trade subsidy over Xinjiang

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology is changing course toward human rights. For the first time, it has refused investment guarantees to a company – with reference to the situation in Xinjiang. But this is just the beginning. Once the Supply Chain Law comes into force, the rules will become even stricter.

By

REPowerEU funding through ETS: a Pandora's box

Europe's energy independence is also supposed to be financed by selling CO2 certificates from the reserve. Although this is only a small part of the REPowerEU investment, it is causing the most criticism because it could set a precedent.

By Lukas Knigge

European mining: back to the future

After Russia, Europe wants to free itself from other unhealthy dependencies and develop more stable raw materials supply chains. Suddenly, everyone is talking about rebuilding the European mining industry. How could this succeed?

By Leonie Düngefeld