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Atlantic Council blogs provide short-form analyses from Council experts and a wider community of global voices on the world’s most important news stories.
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EconoGraphics

Aug 9, 2019

Breaking Down France’s Digital Tax

By BY ANDREW LASCALEIA, EDITED BY OLE MOEHR | GRAPHICS BY MARIANNA ASLUND AND ANDREW LASCALEIA

In July, France’s parliament ratified a new law to tax big digital tech firms making it the first country to pass a tax law of this manner. Paris’ new tax scheme triggered criticism from the Trump Administration and is further complicating the transatlantic relationship. This edition of the EconoGraphic explains the motivation behind taxing digital technology firms more aggressively, the way that the French tax will work, and the potential impacts and response to the tax.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

UkraineAlert

Aug 8, 2019

Time is running out to kill Putin’s pet project

By Diane Francis

Russia’s disregard for European votes, laws, and court rulings against the pipeline should be reason enough to ban the project.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Oil and Gas

UkraineAlert

Aug 8, 2019

Why are men still running everything in Ukraine?  

By Melinda Haring

On inauguration day, the new president issued a picture of him and his inner team strutting down the red carpet. The picture is remarkable for the energy it conveys but it’s also remarkably male. There are no women in his inner circle.

Political Reform Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 8, 2019

One way to ease Ukraine’s labor shortage

By Svitlana Butenko, Stuart Linder, and Valeriia Mykhalko

Ukraine can create the conditions where both refugees and asylum seekers can provide for themselves.

Inclusive Growth Migration

New Atlanticist

Aug 7, 2019

US ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman resigns

By David A. Wemer

US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman announced in an August 6 letter to US President Donald J. Trump that he intends to resign from his post effective October 3, 2019.

Russia

New Atlanticist

Aug 7, 2019

No-Deal Brexit comes further into focus

By Nick Brown

Johnson’s political honeymoon lasted a matter of days. Financial markets are swiftly repricing the greater odds of a messy exit.

United Kingdom

IranSource

Aug 7, 2019

Why Germany resoundingly rejected joining a US-led mission against Iran

By Gert Hilgers

On July 31, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced Germany’s refusal to join a US-led military mission to safeguard the international shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian aggression and criticized what he called America’s “maximum tension” approach.

European Union Germany

AfricaSource

Aug 6, 2019

Demystifying Malawi’s ‘Tipp-Ex election’

By Luke Tyburski

The use of white-out on results sheets in Malawi’s May election has brought international media attention to the small southern African country, leading some to dub the polls Malawi’s ‘Tipp-Ex election’ after the popular white-out brand.

Africa Elections

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2019

Washington brands Beijing a currency manipulator as trade tensions mount

By David A. Wemer

While the official ramifications of the currency manipulator designation will be limited, it risks escalating the trade tensions between the two countries even more

China Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Aug 6, 2019

Don’t write off the Donbas yet

By Alexander Khrebet

On July 21, three pro-Western parties collectively won 37 percent in the Donbas. These election results show that true political competition has come to the Donbas for the first time.

Elections Political Reform