Publications Archive

• On 4 and 5 November, more than 25 Nordic companies and foundations will present their first joint initiatives in Gothenburg. The alliance reverses the usual direction of EU policy: firms name the barriers and commit their own resources before asking governments to act.
• A common Nordic stock exchange would make the headlines. Yet whether Nordic capital crosses borders depends also on factors like withholding taxes, insolvency rules or the design of pension schemes, which only governments can change.
• Germany leads the E6 group of large EU economies but has no Nordic partner in it. The cep recommends an E6-Nordic dialogue on capital markets and raw materials.

While the US midterm elections dominate political attention, the industry alliance Nordic Compass presents its first initiatives in Gothenburg. Chaired by former Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, the alliance wants to implement the Draghi report faster than the EU-27 can. The Centre for European Policy (cep) examines whether this ‘implementation from below’ could serve as a model for Europe.

• Nordic countries such as Finland offer cheap, low-emission electricity, a cool climate and rapid grid connections for training large AI models. Meanwhile, Germany provides the industrial demand. Bundled, multi-year off-take agreements would make large-scale facilities financially viable.
• Europe must also catch up in terms of pace. The cep is calling for binding deadlines for planning permission and grid connections.
• Many objections to data centres do not stand up to empirical scrutiny. Above all, questions regarding ownership and the local distribution of tax revenue remain unresolved.

Germany and Finland could work together to play a key role in developing a sovereign European AI infrastructure. While Finland offers favourable conditions for large AI data centres, such as cheap energy and fast network connections, Germany has a strong industrial base and high demand for AI applications. A recent study by the Centre for European Policy (cep) recommends a European division of labour.

• With the recent, unauthorised approach of Kosmos 2612 to the ICEYE-X36 radar satellite, Russia is extending the logic of grey-zone warfare – familiar to Europe from the damaged undersea cables in the Baltic Sea – to near-Earth orbit.
• As with the Shahed drones, the economic advantage lies with the attacker: a comparatively inexpensive pursuer with sufficient fuel can tie down a high-value reconnaissance satellite without ever firing a shot. The defender is left with nothing but costly evasive manoeuvres.
• In its current form, the EU Space Act is designed to address collision avoidance and space debris, not deliberate approaches. Europe needs an accurate picture of the situation in space and more defensive space capabilities.

In Germany, there has been a fierce debate about pension reforms for months. One aspect that has so far received little attention is the European Commission’s efforts to strengthen funded pension schemes. The Centre for European Policy (cep) has examined those efforts in a recent study. Conclusion: The cep sees great potential in the EU’s plans – but warns against state interference and distortions of competition.

As it builds its hydrogen economy, Europe risks falling into new energy dependencies. In a recent study, the Centre for European Policy (cep) calls for a coordinated European hydrogen import strategy that combines economic efficiency, security of supply and geographical diversification.

China’s pursuit of ‘intelligentised warfare’ has become a key security concern for NATO member states. In a new study, the Centre for European Policy (cep) systematically examined, for the first time, the applications that Beijing prioritises in this regard, its intentions in communicating on the subject, and how NATO might respond.

Sweden’s election has produced a narrow opposition victory, but no ready-made government. The Helsinki-based Nordic hub of the Centre for European Policy (cep), cep Nordic Countries, offers an initial analysis of the results. “The vote shows that Sweden’s traditional bloc politics has run out of room.  Neither traditional bloc can command a majority on its own, so the next government will have to seek support beyond the conventional left–right bloc divide”, argue Anselm Küsters, Scientific Director of cep Nordic Countries, and Astrid Arnheim Bonnier, Research and Project Support Officer.

• The European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi on 13 and 14 September comes at just the right time: climate change is opening up new Arctic sea routes, and the EU intends to update its Arctic strategy this autumn.
• However, strategic capacity for action in the Arctic does not arise from summit declarations, but from capabilities that are difficult to replace, such as Finnish icebreakers. Finnish companies have designed around 80 per cent of all icebreakers worldwide and built around 60 per cent – a chokepoint that Finland has already tested in 2022 with an export ban on Russia.
• Rather than merely measuring market shares and relying on multi-billion-euro mega-projects, the EU needs a sovereignty policy that safeguards unassuming yet hard-to-replace capabilities – organised through the control of demand and regulations, not through state ownership.

With significant delay, the European Commission is presenting its proposal for a European Innovation Act (EU Innovation Act) today. The goal of this ambitious initiative is to strengthen Europe’s overall capacity for innovation.

The train journey from Helsinki to Turku takes around two hours. Throughout the year, it regularly carries tourists to attractions such as the city’s castle and the Sibelius Museum. In the last week of August, however, it carries EU practitioners to Turku’s Europe Forum. This year marked the ninth annual event, which cep’s new Finnish network hub, cep Nordic Countries, was able to attend for the first time. The three-day programme took place at Turku City Theatre under the motto “Values, Innovation and Security as the Foundation for the EU’s Success”.