EU laws

EU laws form the legal foundation of the European Union and shape far more areas of life than many people realize. The framework in which Brussels sets common rules, strives for harmonization and complements national legislators ranges from data protection and digital identities to financial and health policy. For entrepreneurs, citizens and administrations, this often means new standards, new obligations - but also new opportunities. Anyone who wants to understand how EU political decisions affect everyday life should be familiar with the mechanisms, background and practical consequences of these legal acts. This keyword brings together relevant developments, explains the context and classifies which EU laws will be particularly important in the future.

Energy, power and dependency: Europe's path from world export champion to consumer

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Europe and energy

If you look around Germany today, you will notice one thing: The energy situation is different than it was twenty years ago. And fundamentally so. Two decades ago, Germany was considered the epitome of industrial stability. Reliable electricity supply, predictable gas prices, robust grid infrastructure. Energy was not an ongoing political issue, but a matter of course. It was there. It worked. It was affordable. It was - and this is crucial - plannable.

Today, however, energy has become a strategic uncertainty factor in Europe, especially in Germany. Prices fluctuate, industry is shifting investments, political debates revolve around subsidies, emergency reserves and dependencies. Energy is no longer just infrastructure - it is a power factor, a bargaining chip and a geopolitical lever.

In this article, we want to calmly trace this development. Not in an alarmist or conspiratorial way, but step by step. What has changed? What decisions have been made? Who benefits? And above all: how did a continent that was sovereign in terms of energy policy end up in a situation in which it barely has any independent control over its most basic foundation - its energy supply?

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Russia, NATO and the fear of war: what can be proven - and what can't

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NATO, Russia and the fear of war

This article is not the result of a current impulse, indignation or partisanship. Rather, it is the result of a long period of observation - and a growing sense of unease. I have been studying Russia not just since the war in Ukraine. My interest goes back further. I had already studied Russian as a foreign language at school, and at that time I studied the language, history and mentality in a very relaxed way. This early interest led me to follow developments there over the years without constantly changing my perspective.

This is precisely why I am shocked today by how crude, how simplistic and how self-assured many images about Russia and its alleged goals are placed in the public sphere - often without sources, without context, sometimes even without any internal logic. It becomes particularly irritating when such narratives not only appear in talk shows or commentary columns, but are also adopted almost without reflection by journalists, politicians or other official voices. At some point, the question inevitably arises:

Is that actually true?

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Climate protection with tunnel vision - electromobility, lobbying and the suppressed costs

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Electromobility without ideology

This article is not an indictment of electromobility. Nor is it an attempt to denigrate a technological development that works perfectly well for many people in their everyday lives. I am writing this text because it has become increasingly clear to me in recent years that there is a gap between the political narrative, public perception and physical reality that is hardly ever talked about. And I'm not writing it from the perspective of an outsider. I have been driving a plug-in hybrid myself for years. I know electric driving from my own experience, not from brochures or talk shows. I know how pleasant it is to glide silently through the city, how direct the power delivery is and how relaxed it feels. Anyone who has ever driven an electric car regularly quickly understands why this type of drive is emotionally compelling. There's nothing to belittle about it.

This is precisely why I believe it is necessary to take a step back and ask soberly: What do these vehicles actually achieve - and at what cost, systemically speaking?

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Rule-based world order and international law: between claim, reality and breach of law

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International law and rules-based world order

For years now, I have noticed how often politicians and the media talk about a „rules-based world order“ is being discussed. The current conflict between the USA and Venezuela has brought this topic back to the fore. In the past, this term hardly ever came up, but today it almost seems like a standard reflex: if something happens somewhere, it is quickly said that we have to „defend the rules“. At the same time, I have gained the impression that the same people who refer to these rules particularly often no longer feel consistently bound by them themselves when in doubt. It was precisely this contradiction that made me wonder.

What's more, the more often you hear such terms, the more vague they seem. „Rules-based“ sounds clear, but often remains vague. And „international law“ is often used as a moral seal of approval, although it is actually a legal framework - with conditions, limits and loopholes. I have therefore decided to take a closer look at this topic. Not as a lawyer, but as someone who wants to understand what this order once was at its core - and what its real strength lay in.

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Understanding digital money: Bitcoin, stablecoins and CBDCs explained simply

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CBDCs, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins

There were times when money was simply „there“ in everyday life. You earned it, withdrew it, paid with it, transferred bills - done. And that was one of the quiet qualities of the old system: it was so reliable that you hardly noticed it.

Many technical things work best when they remain invisible. Cash is a good example of this: it is tangible, easy to understand and allows for an exchange without a system immediately running in the background that logs or evaluates everything. This was normal for decades. You didn't have to be an expert to participate in business life. That will change in the future.

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Understanding high energy prices in Germany: Gas, electricity and gasoline explained simply

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Energy prices in Germany

I am comparatively unaffected by high energy prices in my everyday life. I mainly work with Apple computers that have been optimized for efficiency for years and move around the city almost exclusively electrically. Soberly speaking, that doesn't cost the earth. And yet I can't shake off one thought: all around us, companies are coming under pressure, production facilities are closing or relocating. The same phrase keeps cropping up in conversations, reports and side notes:

Energy prices are too high.

If you take a closer look, a strange contradiction emerges. For many private individuals, energy has become noticeably more expensive, but is still manageable. For companies, on the other hand, it seems to be increasingly threatening their existence. This inevitably raises the question: What is the actual reason for this? And why is it so difficult to get a clear, understandable answer?

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Jeffrey Sachs warns Germany: Why Europe's security needs to be rethought

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Jeffrey Sachs writes open letter to Chancellor Merz

In his open letter to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, published in the Berliner Zeitung on December 17, 2025, the well-known economist and professor Jeffrey D. Sachs speaks out with a clarity that has become rare in the current European debate. Sachs speaks not as an activist, not as a partisan and not as a commentator from a distance, but as an economist and political advisor who has worked for decades at the central interfaces of international crises, security architectures and economic upheavals. The open letter contains an unusually sharp quote:

„Learn history, Mr. Chancellor.“

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Game theory explains 25 years of geopolitics: How Europe lost its strategic role

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Game theory explains 25 years of geopolitics

For many, game theory sounds like dry mathematics, like formulas, like something that only plays a role in lectures or business games. In reality, however, it is an ancient thinking tool that existed long before its academic formalization. Diplomats used it, commanders used it, captains of industry used it - long before it was even called that. In the end, it is nothing more than a sober question:

„When several players have to make decisions in an uncertain situation - what options do they have and what are the consequences?“

This kind of thinking has become surprisingly rare today. Instead of analyzing alternatives, much is narrowed down to moral narratives or spontaneous interpretations. Yet in geopolitical issues in particular, a clear analysis of the possibilities would be the foundation of any mature policy. It is precisely this old craft that I would like to take up again in this article.

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