European Institute

(Dec. 8)   Key regulators of broadband internet service on both sides of the Atlantic seem set to adopt rules that will allow the “carriers” (such as phone companies) to “amend” notions about the prevailing doctrine of “net neutrality.”  The touchstone of “net neutrality” is the impermissibility of discriminating among users and providers. But increasingly, particularly in wireless broadband, some discrimination is starting to be countenanced to ensure that large carriers, who provide the “pipes” for the internet, continue investment in the infrastructure to permit wide access to high-speed Internet. 

(Dec. 3)  Rome - -  Italy's government faces a precarious test in the form of a confidence vote in parliament later this month -- a symptom of worsening  political instability that is serious not only for the Italian economy but also for the economic stability of the EU.  The Italian parliament is in the process of considering a new austerity budget, crucial for the future of the Italian economy.  If the government falls -- and the austerity budget fails or is postponed -- it will be another domino in an already dire series of fiscal crises affecting the eurozone. 

In its latest controversial referendum, Swiss voters have approved a measure put forward by a far rightwing political party to automatically deport foreigners convicted of crimes ranging from murder to welfare fraud.