Gijs Leenders

: 🌞 Are you looking to expand your knowledge of EU affairs during the summer? Or perhaps you want to learn more about EU Enlargement and EU integration? 📚 Make sure to follow the LinkedIn account of Connecting Europe, a joint initiative by Stiftung Mercator GmbH and European Policy Centre, to not miss out on their recently launched summer reading list! They will be regularly posting new recommendations. 📖Their first recommended read is an Australian Institute of International Affairs Op-Ed by Dr. Ruji Auethavornpipat. This publication is part of the re:constitution project and is a must-read for anyone interested in Migration, the EU, and the Rule of Law. 🔍 To learn more, check out the original Connecting Europe post that was put together by Johannes Greubel, Liza Saris, and me. ⬇️ #SummerReading #ReadingList #Migration #RuleOfLaw

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How two global-scale climate policies—the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (#CBAM) and Article 6.2 of the #ParisAgreement—can be aligned to accelerate climate action? 🌍⤵️ In this think piece, Ruth Dawes from HFW, Alexandra Soezer, Director of the Climate Action Center of Excellence (CACE), and I join efforts to tackle this timely question. "Policymakers, governments, and the private sector are encouraged to begin promptly exploring the synergies between Article 6.2 and CBAM. This paper aims to ignite further discussions on effectively implementing these synergies, addressing associated risks, and outlining viable pathways forward." With the CBAM transitional phase ending in December 2025, time is of the essence ⏳ Full article here: https://lnkd.in/g5D8R4wQ

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For those monitoring the aftermath of the French elections, we've published an initial wave of post-election research which takes a look at policy preferences by political ideology across a wide range of issue areas to help inform scenario planning involving a divided France. As my colleague Sonnet Frisbie who led this research has noted, French adults do not differ hugely across the left-right spectrum in their advocacy for more wage equality and labor force protections. They also roughly agree on the role of the state in the economy. But they sharply disagree on cultural pluralism. Our view is that this disagreement will yield increased political uncertainty characterized by intensifying culture wars, in line with ongoing public concern in some quarters over the recent importation du wokisme from America and the backlash it has entailed. You can find the full analysis here: https://lnkd.in/eJTWdUAj

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🚀 I have had the pleasure of presenting at the PwC’s Government and Public Sector Day on Mario Draghi’s Future of European Competitiveness report. The report highlights key areas for Europe's growth: 📈 Innovation – Boosting R&D and bridging the tech investment gap, by creating more start-ups and increasing their financing. 🔋 Strategic Autonomy – Reducing dependencies on critical raw materials and technologies. 🌱 Clean Energy Transition – Accelerating the energy transition to build a resilient economy. 🪖 Defence – Increasing Europe's defence industrial base and procuring jointly across Member States #PwC is uniquely positioned to support EU Institutions on this transformative journey, helping Europe build a stronger, sustainable, and more resilient future. This is a truly exciting time to be part of our Public Sector Consulting practice! 💪 #EU #Government #EUCompetitiveness #Innovation #GreenTransition #Draghi Philippe PIERRE Daniela C. Lucas Novelle Araújo Tsvetelina Blagoeva Bastian Vomhof Andrea Lucchini Christophe Mazand Jacques-Félix WIRTZ Catherine Frideres Christelle Sapata Hannah Louisa Felstead PhD Ivan Hampel Apolline Mertz Giovanni Signorini Virginia D'Orazio Charlotte Gauthier

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Recommendation: Articulating Crisis and Creating Radical Alternatives for Global Tapestry of Alternatives. By Shrishtee Bajpai and Vasna Ramasar Because now more than ever we need to create and weave transformative alternatives and build inclusive narratives of possibility. Enjoy!

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How are you managing political and geopolitical risks in this super-election year? Come and join us on Tuesday 2 July at 3pm BST to hear our view on key political challenges over the rest of 2024 and how to manage these: https://lnkd.in/enZqif6f #PoliticalRisk #GeopoliticalRisk #Elections2024 #ESG

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Highly recommend this article to anyone working on either green transition or digital transformation policies. The article analyses the way that the European Green Deal strategy and its supporting documents treat with issues related to resource needs and extraction for the "green transition" and points out how much silence there is around the impact of this resource extraction on the areas in the Global South where the resources will largely come from. Essentially, this serves to position the European Union as pioneers in the fight against climate change, when really, the impacts will likely be felt by people in the Global South, and the benefits accrue in Europe, mirroring systems of colonial extraction and benefit. The article focuses specifically on the European Green Deal, but notes that its findings hold true for wider debates about climate change policies and transition imaginaries. I would love to see this type of analysis done also for narratives around digital transformation, and particularly AI, as the resource demands are... intense, and this is rarely included in the policies I have seen. Some favourite quotes: 📢 "For the European Union, current projections suggest that materials critical for the transition to a low-carbon economy greatly will outstrip their current total consumption. The European Commission (2020a) estimates that under a medium demand scenario, additional consumption of batteries, fuel cells, wind turbines and photovoltaics in 2050 for renewables and e-mobility alone will ❗ exceed total current consumption in the European Union by around twenty times for lithium, six to seven times for graphite, and four to five times for cobalt ❗ ." "In sum, the costs of the green transition in Europe is paid by the people that has the least responsibility for the current environmental crises, and which have benefitted the least from the increase in material wealth that has accompanied the emergence of these crises." "The European Green Deal commits to ‘do no harm’ and ‘leave no one behind’, but the type of transition it aims to achieve will drive an increase in extractive activities with negative social and ecological impacts." "[The European Green Deal] commits to be being ‘just’, but the negative impacts from these extractive activities will disproportionally impact the people that have contributed the least to the environmental crises the European Green Deal is purporting to address, while the economic growth it aims to bring about will take place in one of the wealthiest regions of the world." "Given that there are limits to growth, there is a need to discuss how much growth is needed, and how this growth and its costs should be distributed. Failing to address this tension jeopardizes the intended positive environmental outcomes and risks undermining the narrative of a just and inclusive transition that has contributed to recent enthusiasm for the European Green Deal and similar transition initiatives."

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The journey of a #founder might seem like a solo endeavour, but it’s not. Founders need the right support mechanisms and resources to turn their vision into a reality. As the #startup ecosystem evolves, so too must #accelerators to meet the ever-changing needs of founders. Explore more on this topic in my latest blog post below. ✨

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three really good takeaways here. read on...

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The momentum of transparency is now.

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Today in the “common place” post for my “Disinformation in the Digital Age” course, I want to highlight a new framework for responding to disinformation. Camille François outlines the “three key vectors characteristic of viral deception” to help “guide regulatory and industry remedies.” She argues that manipulative actors, deceptive behaviors, and harmful content work in concert to fuel the proliferation of disinformation. This “ABC” framework is a promising tool to better understand disinformation. By exploring the who (actors), what (content), and how (behaviors) within a specific “where” (social media), it helps bring together different approaches to countering disinformation. Most importantly, it emphasizes the interconnected nature of these vectors and the necessity of a balanced approach that responds not just to harmful content, but also to the deceptive behaviors and manipulative actors that create and drive it. #Disinformation

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🌍 I've just completed the International Monetary Fund's course on the Macroeconomics of #Climate Change! This course delved into the science and economic costs of climate change, exploring key policies for #adaptation and #mitigation such as carbon pricing and fossil fuel subsidy removal. Climate change disrupts natural, economic, and social systems, affecting food supplies, industry chains, financial markets, infrastructure, and public health, there is no time to lose to protect the planet! #Climatechange #Sustainability #Greeneconomy #ClimatePolicy

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In March, we organised an event on EU engagement in central Sahel states, together with the Just Future alliance, and co-hosted by the Belgian EU presidency. We just launched the outcome document, and while there was a wide variety of views in the room, there were some red threads that everyone agreed upon: that Team Europe should remain deeply engaged in the Sahel. And that this requires fresh thinking on engagement modalities at national and subnational level to ensure support continues to reach the population, and to accompany positive, locally-led transitions.  And yes, while EU member states are debating heavily on whether to be values-driven or more pragmatic (which both can be interpreted in many ways!), participants felt both were important, and the compass leading our thinking and actions should be protection of civilians and wellbeing of the Sahelian population. Isolation will not lead to better respect for human rights, nor to better outcomes for the civilian population and there is nothing to be gained from a forceful or militarised approach leading to further destabilisation of the Sahel. 👉 check out our outcome report in English or French!

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🤯 Talking with many #youth at #COP28, several of them mentioned the difficulty of feeling prepared for the conference. It’s not easy to stay ready and follow what happens at COP, even if you are present there (and I can confirm this from personal experience). The topics discussed are vast and diverse, the conference area is enormous, and time flies faster than it seems (as always!). 🫠 Despite the high effort put into seeking information, understanding who will be present, and knowing which debates will be held, a sense of confusion and unpreparedness is still present, especially for first-time attendees. Could this be due to a gap in the information system and pre-COP communication? 🌎 For instance, #LossAndDamage is among the hot topics of recent COPs, as evidenced by the creation of its fund at COP27 and its operationalisation during the first day of COP28. So, how many youth were aware of it, and what did they know about it? 📰 What emerged is that the majority of the youth interviewed have probably been influenced by #media coverage in forming their opinions, particularly those with a more general and superficial awareness of the topic. So this brings to another question: how can media better #support youth on #technicaltopics like this, making them more #accessible and #engaging? The objective would be to create #curiosity and develop #criticalthinking, going beyond summarising brief information. 🔍 Find out more about these points in my new article for Rethinking Climate and let me know your thoughts!

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Sharing my latest paper on "Return migration, self-selection and labour market outcomes", in collaboration with researchers at the European Youth Think Tank. According to the literature, migration is often temporary rather than permanent. This paper offers a chronological review of the literature analysing the impact of labour market outcomes on the return decision. https://lnkd.in/dw2nczEh

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Excited to share my latest blog on International IDEA's #DemocracyTracker, focusing on the progress and setbacks of this super-cycle election year on women's political representation and gender equality worldwide. To learn more, check out "2024 Election Super-Cycle: A Key Moment for Gender Equality?" at http://bit.ly/3NOWDdM

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The threat of an #mpox pandemic has emerged again, with new cases every day and two emergency declarations in effect for the African continent and for the world. As my colleagues Lawrence Gostin, Sam Halabi and I wrote today in the The New York Times, urgent, coordinated action is needed to stop the spread — especially the equitable sharing of vaccines to countries currently affected. Covid-19 and too many health emergencies before that have taught us that complacency and delayed action pose a threat to all of us. #VaccineEquity, #GlobalHealthLaw O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

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In light of the climate and biodiversity crises and the strong links between them and the violation of human rights, establishing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is critical for the fulfilment and maintenance of human rights.

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