Category Archives: BCCG Commentary

Identifying Drivers for Policy Innovation

Innovation has long driven transformation, reshaping industries and societal behaviors. Consider the automobile: When Henry Ford introduced affordable mass production in 1908, horse-drawn transport and related industries disappeared within two decades.A similar transformation is unfolding today. The shift from internal combustion engines (ICE) to battery-electric vehicles (BEV) is reshaping the automotive industry, compelling OEMs and…

Unprepared – Europe after the Munich Security Conference

Evidently, European representatives were surprised by the appearance of the U.S. Vice President at the Munich Security Conference (MSC). They were unprepared for the new U.S. doctrine. Confronting the Vice President’s blunt demeanor with strong words creates a dangerous self-assurance: While European media significantly carry the events, they play an insignificant role within the U.S.…

The AI Bubble and the Case for AI Risk Management: A Call for Diligence in an Era of Rapid Expansion

The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is advancing with almost evangelical zeal. In 2023, the global AI market was estimated at $207 billion, and its value is projected to skyrocket to over $1.8 trillion by 2030. But history warns us to approach such exponential growth with caution. Like the dot-com era of the late 1990s, the…

Wasserstoffhochlauf in Deutschland – Ein Schlüssel zur Energiezukunft und zur Dekarbonisierung der Industrie?

Warum Wärmepumpen alternativlos für die Energiewende sind

Third round of the German-British innovation funding program ZIM D-UK opens

This Monday, the German-British innovation funding program ZIM D-UK enters its third round. This is remarkable and a good sign. Remarkable, firstly, because the general ZIM – Central Innovation Program for SMEs, according to the federal government ‘the largest and most important funding instrument for SME research and development’ – was closed as recently as…

UK-US Data Bridge: Großbritannien tritt in das EU-US Data Privacy Framework ein

Ab 12. Oktober 2023 können auch britische Unternehmen personenbezogene Daten an US-amerikanische Unternehmen weitergeben, wenn diese durch das EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) zertifiziert sind. Über die UK-US Data Bridge wendet Großbritannien das bilaterale DPF direkt an, obwohl Großbritannien bei den Verhandlungen zwischen der EU und den USA gar nicht beteiligt war. Erst in diesem…

German climate spending hangs in the balance after constitutional court ruling

German federal constitutional court rules that government funding of Climate and Transition Fund was unconstitutional On 15 November the “Bundesverfassungsgericht” (the German federal constitutional court) ruled that the current coalition government comprising the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Liberals had acted unconstitutionally when it re-allocated emerging funding raised during the Covid pandemic into…

Why Britain is a lucrative location for German FDI

German FDI was the tenth largest source of the UK’s stock of FDI in 2021, when the German investment position stood at £40bn, roughly in line with the 2020 position. The biggest sectors of investment from German companies are retail (£7bn) and financial services (£5bn). Some of the largest German companies investing in Britain include…