Taking a quarter-century to build a European internal market for electricity may seem an incredibly long journey. The aim of achieving a European-wide market might be reached, but we have gone through – and should continue to go through – a process subject to many adverse dynamics. The EU...

Nowadays, the European electricity systems are evolving towards a generation mix that is more decentralised, less predictable and less flexible to operate. In this context, additional flexibility is expected to be provided by the demand side. Thus, how to engage consumers to participate in...

Motivated in large part by recent economic and financial crises in several high-income donor countries, the emergence of new official donors (such as China), and the increasingly important role of private donors (philanthropy), the quest to identify alternative (or innovative) sources of...

The disagreements between the old and new trade powers in the WTO on market access issues that have deadlocked the Doha Round are in part a reflection of the “special and differential treatment” that developing countries have historically pursued in the WTO. A re-thinking of that approach is...

Since the early 1950s Latin American countries have made systematic efforts to foster regional transactions. Nevertheless, the indicators of relative importance of regional trade remain well below the corresponding figures in other regions. This paper argues that a process of integration should...

While the control of irregular migration and the return of undocumented migrants to their countries of origin has been a priority in the European migration policy since the late 2000s, it has now achieved a new sense of urgency. The EU is faced with a double challenge: to limit irregular...

This paper provides a comprehensive discussion of the market value of variable renewable energy (VRE). The inherent variability of wind speeds and solar radiation affects the price that VRE generators receive on the market (market value). During wind and sunny times the additional electricity...

Reducing public sector deficits and high debt burdens in part will require an increase in net exports – which is only possible if the countries concerned are able to produce goods and services that are 'competitive' on world markets. Policies aimed at enhancing competitiveness may be offset by...

This paper discusses the challenges that confront the WTO, inspired by the recent appointment of a new Director-General for the organization and various views that have been expressed by knowledgeable observers as to how these challenges should be addressed. The paper focuses in particular on...

The institutional setting of open gas networks and markets is revealing considerably diverse and diverging roads taken by the US, the EU or Australia. We will show that this is explained by key choices made in the liberalization process. This liberalization is based on a redefinition of the...