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The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Young people don't feel part of the EU – and they're right
The former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi produced his much-awaited prescription for how to reboot Europe's economy last year. The Draghi report was rightly applauded as a rude awakening for a European Union that is far too complacent about its own obsolescence. Draghi concluded that an €800bn-a-year public spending boost would be needed to end years of stagnation. If Europe did not catch up with its rivals, he warned, it would face a 'slow and agonising' decline. And yet, one ingredient was missing from Draghi's recipe. In his nearly 400-page roadmap for rescuing the EU, the word 'democracy' is mentioned only three times (once in the bibliography). By contrast, 'integration' is used 96 times and 'defence' 391 times. It's true that Draghi's report was explicitly devoted to the future of European competitiveness (and not more widely to the Europe of the future). But if the EU can't find a way to better engage its citizens, it will be difficult to achieve any more of the integration that Draghi says is indispensable to make a still-fragmented single market more competitive and Europe more capable of defending itself. One thing is sure: the old method of decision-making that a generation of European leaders relied on is obsolete. We urgently need to reform the EU, but the top-down approach to doing so is no longer fit for purpose. True, the debate on the 'democratic deficit' is as old as the EU itself. Direct elections to the European parliament, the first and only international assembly elected in this way, were introduced in 1979 to respond to the same criticism. However, at least until the end of the last century, the discussion on European democracy was seen as a niche for thinktanks – something nice to have to complete an integration project mostly run by an enlightened elite. Today, the picture has radically changed: the European parliament's powers have increased over time, but only about half of people who are entitled to vote in European elections bother to do so. Less than 50% of those vote for the two political 'families' (centre-right and socialist) that for decades provided the consensus that the EU project required to function. And no less worryingly, according to a recent survey from Cluster17, a French polling company, the percentages of European citizens who say the EU is not democratic and instead describe it as bureaucratic and disconnected are higher among younger age groups (becoming a solid majority among those aged 34 and under). More competitiveness requires a larger EU budget (it currently stands at just 1% of GDP) and more money for European 'public goods' (goods for which there is a clear economic case for producing them at EU level, for example, satellite-based telecommunication services or trans-European high-speed trains). But you can't ask for new taxation to fund joint EU spending without more representation. More common defence should be a commonsense direction given the existential threats that Europe is facing and the inefficiencies that running 27 military budgets imply. However, it requires a sufficiently wide public perception that such spending is going to benefit every citizen of the community we want to defend. And yet, surprisingly perhaps, according to Cluster17's poll, younger people feel less European even than their parents, preferring to call themselves citizens of the world. Without a European demos, it will be difficult to create an EU army – if that is what emerges from the debates on security – but also a real European democracy. And if we have neither citizenship nor engagement, we risk a political backlash like the ones we have seen on the green deal or the austerity measures that came after the global financial crash and the eurozone crisis, even when the policies are theoretically right. Last month about 100 policymakers, politicians, journalists, academics and students from all the major European countries (EU and beyond) gathered in Siena to consider how a Europe of the future could deal with some of its biggest challenges, such as common defence, the threat posed by global trade wars and AI. The outcome is a paper that prioritises identifying ways to better engage voters in each of the big decisions. A recent European Commission initiative – a citizens' panel in which 150 randomly selected EU citizens were enlisted to help the EU decide how to spend its money in the future – was considered a good start. But the conference in Siena identified changes that will be essential if citizens' recommendations are to be included in a systematic way. In EU budgetary decision-making for example, the language must change so that citizens can understand what goal is being achieved in any spending plans. The budgetary logic must be 'zero based' (which in accountancy parlance means not decided on the basis of incremental adjustments to past spending). Such an approach could ensure that 'participatory democracy' becomes a mainstream instrument of EU policymaking. No less crucial is a set of 'positive actions' that a group led by Luca Verzichelli of the University of Siena drew up to promote the European demos. The most eye-catching proposal – and one that attracted the broadest consensus – was to make the Erasmus student programme free and mandatory for all EU students in secondary and tertiary-level education. A quarter of the money spent by the EU on farmers would be enough to cover an expanded version of Erasmus, the Vision thinktank that convened the Siena conference calculates. I have no doubt the results would be more transformational. The democracy deficit is not just a European problem. Representative institutions are suffering more broadly from what seems to be a form of technological obsolescence. The internet has massively altered the control of information, which is power. This requires a radical transformation of the mechanisms through which power is acquired, restrained and exercised; and of the instruments we use to transmit individual preferences and convert them into collective choices. The EU needs more clarity about what it is for, and it needs to go well beyond superficially involving citizens to give its messages cosmetic legitimacy. But it has the paradoxical advantage of being an unfinished project. This means it has the flexibility to experiment with new forms of participation, policymaking and citizenship. It must urgently acknowledge that the only way to protect democracy is to adapt its forms to a radically different technological context. Francesco Grillo is a visiting fellow at the European University Institute, Florence and director of the thinktank Vision
Irish Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Ireland's clean energy transition mired in policy gridlock, report claims
Ireland's clean energy transition is mired in 'policy gridlock and incoherence', lobby group Ibec has claimed. In a new report, the employers' group is highly critical of what it describes as the lack of a 'clear and compelling vision' for what a net-zero economy 'means and looks like in practice'. The reduction in emissions is not happening fast enough because the State is struggling 'to decouple economic growth from emissions growth', particularly in the transport and enterprise sectors, it said. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects that emissions cumulatively across all sectors are set to fall by 9 to 23 per cent this decade on 2018 levels, well below the national goal of 51 per cent. READ MORE The 2024 Draghi report on EU competitiveness stated that Ireland had the worst permit-granting process for onshore wind at nine years, 50 per cent slower than the EU average and three times longer than the process in Finland. 'There are several technology-specific strategies, policy frameworks, action plans, and initiatives, but no central co-ordinating office or instrument,' Ibec said in its report. 'Ownership of the transition is widely spread across government departments and agencies with no single authority able to resolve interdepartmental conflicts, solve problems, direct resources, and make decisions where trade-offs are necessary,' it said. The main consequence of this policy gridlock is regulatory and investment uncertainty, it said. Ibec said the State must play a more active and hands-on role funding the energy transition. 'In practice this means scaling up and developing new capital and operational supports for renewable technologies with more generous incentives,' it said. Ibec also claimed energy costs could be reduced by replacing Ireland's electricity public service obligation with a dedicated fund and reducing other energy fixed costs through direct state investment in energy networks and enabling infrastructure. It claimed this level of intervention was going on in other EU countries while Ireland was uniquely placed to pursue a more active role given its access to significant capital through the Climate and Nature Fund (€3.1 billion), annual carbon tax funds (€900 million). Ibec noted that the estimates suggest Ireland's energy transition could cost up to €200 billion over the next 25 years with at least €17 billion needed each year by the year 2030. 'The State has a critical role in mobilising, derisking and crowding-in this private investment through targeted supports. It must also be prepared to step-in where there is market failure,' it said. In its report, the business lobby said Ireland faces 'an enormous challenge' to get its net zero process back on track while noting the task has not been made any easier by the current economic and geopolitical environment. 'A slowdown in the world economy and the closing of Chinese markets for US oil and gas could lead to lower gas prices further threatening the business case for costly climate solutions and investment in renewables,' it said.
Euronews
16-06-2025
- Business
- Euronews
EU slowly catching up with Korea, Japan on 5G: report
Even though Europe is still lagging in the deployment of standalone 5G networks, the bloc is slowly catching up with other regions in the world, a European Commission report on connectivity targets published Monday suggested. The so-called Digital Decade report said that targets to have all EU households connected to 5G by 2030 - presented by the Commission in 2021 - ware likely to be met. 'The percentage of households covered by 5G (all spectrum bands) rose by 5.3 percentage points, from 89.0% in 2023 to 94.3% in 2024. This represents a year-on-year increase of 6.0%. According to the forecast along the baseline trajectory, 100% of the target is expected to be achieved already by 2027,' the report said. When it comes to rural areas, just under 80% were reached by 5G coverage, up from 71% in 2023. Korea leads with 100% coverage, followed by Japan (99.2%) and Norway (99.0%). The US (97.0%), India and China (all 95%) also exceed or match the EU's coverage rate. 5G connections are deemed necessary as the use of internet connected devices, industrial appliances and data volumes increase. The report – which also looked at digital skills, cloud and AI uptake -- said that overall, the EU made 'steady progress' in 2024 in digitalising key public services, but a substantial portion of governmental digital infrastructure continues to depend on service providers from outside the EU. 'The data shows persisting challenges, such as fragmented markets, overly complex regulations, security and strategic dependence. Further public and private investment and easier access to venture capital for EU companies would accelerate innovation and scale up,' the report said. In December, the Commission is set to present its Digital Networks Act (DNA), an overhaul of the bloc's telecom rules to address connectivity issues. A consultation on the DNA is currently open. In a response to Monday's report, Alessandro Gropelli, director general of telecom association Connect Europe, said a 'deep reform of Europe's connectivity policies is required.' 'We support an ambitious Digital Networks Act inspired by the Draghi Report: in the 21st century, there is no competitiveness without strong connectivity companies,' he added. Laszlo Toth, head of Europe at mobile network operators' trade association GSMA, said the report was encouraging but cautioned against complacency. "Getting a basic level of 5G coverage across Europe is one thing but actually providing people with the level of connectivity they need remains a huge challenge under current regulatory circumstances. We need the Commission to continue to look to the future in the upcoming DNA and merger reviews and promote a simplified and pro-investment environment where our digital ecosystem can truly thrive," said Toth. The 27 EU member states will now discuss the Commission's report and discuss the way forward. Next year, the EU executive will review the targets and whether they still reflect the evolving demand of the EU's priorities. Data centres are the digital world's powerhouses – but they come with a heavy environmental cost. Globally, they consume an estimated 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity each year, equivalent to the energy needs of 153 million homes. Without intervention, their carbon footprint could reach 3.2% of global emissions by 2025. Teja Potočnik, a 26-year-old Slovenian researcher, is working to change that. Her invention – an automated nanomaterial integration platform – optimises the manufacture of advanced semiconductor devices, otherwise known as chips. These advanced chips, in turn, power the servers and hardware that run today's data centres. By enabling the production of more energy-efficient chips, her innovation directly contributes to reducing the massive energy consumption of data centres worldwide. 'The problem we are solving is the ever-increasing demand for faster, more efficient and more powerful microchips. This is because of the demand of AI, quantum computing and data storage users', Potočnik explains, 'Our invention can help with the manufacture of more energy-efficient chips using nanomaterials, which means that there can be enormous energy savings.' This pioneering project has earned her a place among the selected innovators honoured at the 2025 Young Inventors Prize, awarded by the European Patent Office. As chips become smaller and more powerful, manufacturers are turning to materials like graphene, carbon nanotubes and quantum dots to push performance boundaries. But while these nanomaterials hold immense promise, integrating them at scale remains a major challenge. Potočnik's invention, LithoTag, addresses that bottleneck. By embedding nanoscale markers into semiconductor wafers, the platform enables precise alignment and integration of nanomaterials with high repeatability. This bridges the gap between laboratory research and industrial manufacturing. 'The industry cares about reliability, replicability, and integration into manufacturing processes,' she says. 'No matter how good a technology is, it holds little value if it can't be scaled.' Originally from Slovenia, Potočnik moved to the UK to study materials science and engineering, where she says she 'fell in love with nanomaterials'. Potočnik co-founded the startup Nanomation while completing her PhD in nanofabrication at the University of Cambridge. With backing from Cambridge Enterprise, she and her team filed a patent application and began exploring commercial partnerships with chip manufacturers. But it's not just about business: Potočnik's work directly supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – by improving the scalability of sustainable microelectronics. It could lead to more energy-efficient consumer devices and data centre infrastructure, with widespread environmental benefits. Looking ahead, Potočnik envisions her technology becoming standard in advanced electronics manufacturing. 'The real advantage of our technology is that it can be applied to any material and any sort of electronic design, so we really hope to become the industry standard in integrating nanomaterials into advanced circuits,' she explains. Beyond the lab, the young Slovenian innovator hopes her story will encourage others to pursue bold, scalable ideas that can make a difference. 'To all the inventors who are thinking about realising their new idea, I would say just have an open mind and be brave,' Potočnik advises.
Irish Examiner
12-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Ryanair's Irish business being hampered 'by failed regulation and political inaction', says Michael O'Leary
Ryanair chief executive, Michael O'Leary, has stated that the airline's home market in Dublin is being hampered "by failed regulation and political inaction'. Mr O'Leary makes his comments in Ryanair's 2025 annual report which reveals that this year Mr O'Leary received a remuneration package of €3.83m that included bonus payments of €600,000. The report shows that in the 12 months to the end of March this year, Mr O'Leary received the maximum bonus possible of €600,000 or 50% of basic pay under his contract as Ryanair recorded pre-tax profits of €1.78bn on the back of revenues climbing to €13.94bn. The airline achieved the revenues as passenger numbers increased by 9% to a record 200 million for the first time. Mr O'Leary's pay package was made up of basic pay of €1.2m, a bonus payment of €600,000 and share options of €2.03m. A note attached to the accounts states that the €2.03m component is through the company recording a technical non-cash accounting charge in relation to share options granted to Mr O'Leary. The note states that no such payment was made to Mr O'Leary and the share options remain unvested. At the end of May, Mr O'Leary qualified for share options worth more than €100m as part of a bonus scheme and the 64-year-old will have to stay at Ryanair until the end of July 2028 to collect them. The annual report shows that, while overall Ryanair revenues increased by €505m or 3.75% to €13.94bn, its Irish revenues contracted by 4% from €791m to €757.5m. The airline's Irish business accounted for 5.4% of overall revenues as Italy was the airline's most lucrative market at €2.96bn, followed by Spain at €2.47bn and UK revenues at 2.04bn. Dublin Airport In his message to shareholders, Mr O'Leary said that the home market in Dublin is being 'hampered by failed regulation and political inaction'. He said that at Dublin Airport over €320m has been invested in a new second runway, which doubles the capacity from 32 million to over 60 million passengers per annum. He said that "Dublin's airlines are prevented from using this growth capacity, because an 18-year-old planning restriction artificially caps Dublin Airport traffic at 32 million per annum over fears (in 2007), that road access around Dublin Airport would be 'overwhelmed' at this volume of passengers". He said that Ireland's newly elected Government 'committed to removing this outdated traffic cap, yet three months later no action has been taken'. He said: Only in Ireland would we allow this vital access infrastructure to be built, but then refuse our airlines and citizens the ability to use it, due to bureaucratic failure to abolish an absurd and outdated planning restriction. "This is a clear example of the sort of regulatory failure, which the Draghi Report has encouraged Europe to reform and remove.' Booking verification The annual report also makes reference to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) here launching an inquiry into Ryanair's booking verification process last October. The report states that Ryanair has engaged with the DPC "explaining that its verification requirement is designed to ensure compliance with safety and security protocols, and that the process of verification fully complies with the requirements of the GDPR". The report says that the inquiry is expected to take at least one year "and while Ryanair is confident in its position, the DPC may ultimately find that the verification process has not fully complied with the GDPR, which could lead to the imposition of a substantial fine". Boeing planes In his message to shareholders, Mr O'Leary says that 'the biggest medium-term challenge we face, remains the risk to Boeing deliveries'. He said: 'While the final units of our 210 Boeing 737-8200 order were contracted to deliver in December 2024, at our March 2025 year end Boeing left us short 34 of these deliveries. 'We got five more in April but the remaining 29 are not expected to deliver until the second half of FY26, hopefully in time for summer 2026. The quality and timeliness of Boeing deliveries has recently improved under their new management, but this needs to be reflected in rising monthly production if Boeing is to erase its current delivery backlog.' Mr O'Leary says that over the next decade Ryanair hopes to buy 300 more Boeing MAX-10 aircraft, to grow to 300 million guests per annum and to create approximately 10,000 new jobs. The aggregate amount of compensation paid by Ryanair to its key management personnel was €14.7m including a €4.2m non-cash technical accounting charge in relation to unvested share options. In the 12 months to the end of March, the airline employed an average of 27,076 as staff costs totalled €1.75bn.
Irish Daily Mirror
12-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Michael O'Leary's 2025 pay revealed as Ryanair boss banked megabucks bonuses
Ryanair chief executive, Michael O'Leary this year received a pay-package of €3.83m that included bonus payments of €600,000. That is according to the 2025 annual report by Ryanair which shows that Mr O'Leary received the maximum bonus possible of €600,000 or 50pc of basic pay under his contract as Ryanair recorded pre-tax profits of €1.78bn on the back of revenues climbing to €13.94bn. The airline achieved the revenues as passenger numbers increased by 9pc to a record 200m for the first time. Mr O'Leary's pay package was made up of basic pay of €1.2m, a bonus payment of €600,000 and share options of €2.03m. A note attached to the accounts states that the €2.03m component is through the company recording a technical non-cash accounting charge in relation to share options granted to Mr O'Leary. The note states that no such payment was made to Mr O'Leary and the share options remain unvested. At the end of May, Mr O'Leary qualified for share options worth more than €100m and the 64 year-old will have to stay at Ryanair until the end of July 2028 to collect the share options. The annual report shows that Ryanair's Irish based revenues last year totalled €757.5m which were down 4pc on the Irish revenues of €791m. The airline's Irish business accounted for 5.4pc of overall revenues as Italy was the airline's most lucrative market at €2.96bn, followed by Spain at €2.47bn and UK revenues of €2.04bn In his message to shareholders, Mr O'Leary said that 'our home market in Dublin is also being hampered by failed regulation and political inaction'. He said that at Dublin airport over €320m has been invested in a new second runway, which doubles the capacity of Ireland's main airport from 32m to over 60m passengers per annum. He said that "Dublin's airlines are prevented from using this growth capacity, because an 18-year-old planning restriction artificially caps Dublin Airport traffic at 32m p.a, over fears (in 2007), that road access around Dublin Airport would be 'overwhelmed' at this volume of passengers". He said that Ireland's newly elected Government committed to removing this outdated traffic cap, yet three months later no action has been taken. He said: 'Only in Ireland would we allow this vital access infrastructure to be built, but then refuse our airlines and citizens the ability to use it, due to bureaucratic failure to abolish an absurd and outdated planning restriction. This is a clear example of the sort of regulatory failure, which the Draghi Report has encouraged Europe to reform and remove.' The annual report also makes reference to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) here launching an inquiry into Ryanair's booking verification process last October. The report states that Ryanair has engaged with the DPC "explaining that its verification requirement is designed to ensure compliance with safety and security protocols, and that the process of verification fully complies with the requirements of the GDPR". The report states that the inquiry is expected to take at least one year "and while Ryanair is confident in its position, the DPC may ultimately find that the verification process has not fully complied with the GDPR, which could lead to the imposition of a substantial fine". In his message to shareholders, Mr O'Leary says that 'the biggest medium term challenge we face, remains the risk to Boeing deliveries'. He said: 'While the final units of our 210 Boeing 737-8200 order were contracted to deliver in December 2024, at our March 2025 year end Boeing left us short 34 of these deliveries. He said: 'We got five more in April but the remaining 29 are not expected to deliver until the second half of FY26, hopefully in time for summer 2026. The quality and timeliness of Boeing deliveries has recently improved under their new management, but this needs to be reflected in rising monthly production if Boeing is to erase its current delivery backlog.' Mr O'Leary states that over the next decade Ryanair hope to buy 300 more Boeing MAX-10 aircraft, to grow to 300m guests per annum and to create approximately 10,000 new jobs. The aggregate amount of compensation paid by Ryanair to its key management personnel was €14.7m including a €4.2m non-cash technical accounting charge in relation to unvested share options. In the 12 months to the end of March, the airline employed an average of 27,076 as staff costs totalled €1.75bn.
