Health & Lifestyle Briefings

February 4, 2021

Over-reach: the Eu’s Lifestyle Regulation Plans

A report published by the European Commission on 3 February 2021 proposes a range of nanny state interventions intended to reduce the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes and ‘unhealthy food’ (European Commission 2021).
November 1, 2017

Accepting the Scientific Consensus: GMOs in the EU

The ECJ ruled that Italy had been wrong to ban the cultivation of an EU-approved genetically modified maize. This was a big victory for the plaintiff, an Italian farmer who was denied the right to grow the MON 810 maize.
November 1, 2017

Health by Stealth: Mandatory Food Reformulation

Food and soft drinks manufacturers are continually reformulating their products and bringing new products to market in response to consumer demand. In recent years, there has been growing interest in mandatory reformulation to reduce the salt, sugar and/or fat content of food.
May 28, 2017

Reforming the Common Agricultural Policy

The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has undergone several waves of reforms over the last few decades. Yet, many market- and trade-distorting practices still persist, and the EU’s agricultural sector remains disproportionately dependent on public support when compared to its counterpart in other developed countries, such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
April 1, 2017

Education 4.0

Current schooling systems are badly equipped to deal with rapid technological innovation and changing work patterns such as the sharing economy and the rise of portfolio careers. This is particularly true of southern European countries where centralisation has restricted educational freedom and has led to weaker student performance and persistently high rates of youth unemployment