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Jamestown Foundation Posts Commentary: Former Russian Space Entrepreneur Producing Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine
WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by John C. K. Daly, non-resident fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington, in the foundation's Eurasia Daily Monitor:
* * *
Former Russian Space Entrepreneur Producing Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine
Executive Summary:
* On May 18, Dutch defense company Destinus unveiled plans to begin production on the Ruta Block 3 mini-cruise missile, offering a 1,242-mile range to provide Europe and Ukraine with a cheaper, mass-produced long-range strike capability.
* Destinus--founded by the ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by John C. K. Daly, non-resident fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington, in the foundation's Eurasia Daily Monitor: * * * Former Russian Space Entrepreneur Producing Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine Executive Summary: * On May 18, Dutch defense company Destinus unveiled plans to begin production on the Ruta Block 3 mini-cruise missile, offering a 1,242-mile range to provide Europe and Ukraine with a cheaper, mass-produced long-range strike capability. * Destinus--founded by theformer head of Russia's first private space company, Mikhail Kokorich--pivoted to defense after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has since supplied thousands of drones and Ruta Block 1 mini-cruise missiles to Ukraine and Europe.
* Kokorich, who renounced his Russian citizenship in January 2024, says Destinus is developing long-range strike programs across Europe and aims to produce missiles faster and more cheaply than existing systems.
* In April, Russia labeled Destinus a military target, underscoring the company's growing role in strengthening Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities and Europe's defense-industrial base.
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Destinus, a company owned by Mikhail Kokorich, the founder of Russia's first private space company, has begun to produce long-range missiles for Europe and Ukraine. In January 2024, Kokorich renounced his Russian citizenship. Destinus has supplied drones and mini-missiles to Ukraine and European countries since 2022. It hopes to supplement expensive Western missiles, which are in short supply and for which Europe is heavily dependent on the United States. Kokorich has said, "Long-range strike is one of the largest sovereign capability gaps in European defense today." On May 18, Destinus unveiled plans to begin production of its Ruta Block 3 mini-cruise missile system by the end of the year. Its range will be 1,242 miles, surpassing that of the U.S. Tomahawk at 994 miles, upon which Europe has long relied and which the United States administration has not approved for transfer to Ukraine (Destinus News, May 18). The Ruta program is expressly intended to transition long-range European missiles from limited stocks to sustainable industrial production, overcoming the previous shortages of costly, high-precision weapons that occur during a long-term confrontation (UA.news, May 18). The Ruta series is also designed to utilize International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-standard container launch architecture, which will allow missile launches from mobile land, sea, and stationary platforms (PravdaTUTnews, May 19).
According to Kokorich, Destinus is involved in long-range missile capacity programs in several European countries, and Ukraine is seeking deepened cooperation with them. Destinus' goal is to create systems that will be "10 times cheaper" than existing ones. Besides cost, Kokorich is concerned with rapidly scaling up production, noting that the ability to replenish and develop weapons on an industrial scale during long-term high-intensity operations is a decisive factor (Kyiv24.news, May 18).
In the early 2000s, Kokorich founded and bought a series of retail chains, including Technosila. In 2012, he created the first private space company in Russia, Dauria Aerospace (Dauria Aerospeis). The company developed and launched ultra-small satellites for remote sensing of the Earth and navigation monitoring. Dauria launched its first two Perseus-M satellites in June 2014 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (Vedomosti, December 22, 2015). Dauria's Perseus-M satellites are equipped with automatic identification system (AIS) units, a system for exchanging data between ships and land-based shipping services. The system can warn of possible collisions between vessels and allows the operator to transmit information about the location of the vessel and its identification number, course, speed, dimensions, draft, and destination (Vedomosti, June 18, 2014). In December 2012, Dauria signed a contract with Russia's state space corporation, Roscosmos, but two years later the cooperation ended, and in 2015 Kokorich sold his stake in the company (The Bell, October 19, 2018). Dauria's success was such that, in mid-October 2015, it raised $70 million from the People's Republic of China (PRC) investment fund Cybernaut to create a constellation of microsatellites called Urban Observer, which captured images of more than 100 cities around the world from space. Cybernaut is the only investor in Urban Observer (Vedomosti, December 22, 2015). In October 2018, Roscosmos filed a lawsuit against Dauria over the contract, and protracted legal action eventually forced the company to declare bankruptcy in February 2020 (CNews, February 4, 2020).
After leaving Russia in 2012, Kokorich worked in the United States and Switzerland. Kokorich has said that he left in part because of his support for the Russian opposition and the country's deteriorating political climate (Nasa Niva, May 20). In 2017, he founded a space startup, Momentus, with Lev Khasis in California. He left the United States in 2021 after national security restrictions forced him to step down from Momentus, which develops dual-use technologies for civilian and military applications (Radio Svoboda, January 14, 2024). He founded Destinus in Switzerland in 2021, which initially developed high-speed aircraft and propulsion systems, but pivoted to defense manufacturing shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In January 2024, Kokorich renounced his Russian citizenship, writing, "It was a conscious decision driven by my fundamental disagreement with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the policies of Putin's government" (LinkedIn/Mikhail Kokorich, January 12, 2024).
In 2025, Destinus moved its headquarters to the Netherlands and raised nearly $464 million, including loans from shareholders and a credit line of $58 million from the German Commerzbank. Destinus is in the process of raising another $242 million (The Financial Times, May 20). It has production sites in several countries and a staff of about 1,000 people. In 2025, Destinus acquired the Swiss startup Daedalean for $223 million to equip its hypersonic drones with satellite-free navigation systems, a key technology in next-generation warfare (Forbes.ua, October 25, 2025). Destinus has produced thousands of its long-range drones and Ruta Block 1 mini cruise missiles for European governments and deployment in Ukraine. Kokorich has said that Destinus is developing "long-range strike programs" across "multiple European countries." Kokorich credits Destinus's distributed production model and vertical integration for helping it rapidly scale production.
Kokorich predicted the extraordinary rise of drone technology in 2015, seven years before Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He said that the drone market will "very soon blow up the market of logistics, security, and law enforcement ... The technological revolution in microelectronics, software, and micromechanics made it possible to democratize the creation of spacecraft" (Vedomosti, October 6, 2015).
Destinus plans to begin production of a new Ruta Block 2 rocket with a range exceeding 435 miles (700 kilometers) by the end of the year (LinkedIn/Mikhail Kokorich, April 23). The Ruta Block 2 will be part of a joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall, Europe's largest defense company, which already operates in Ukraine (Rheinmetall, April 13).
In April, Russia's Ministry of Defense published a list of 21 enterprises where it claims that drones for Ukraine are produced. Ukrainian and joint-venture factories producing drones are in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Czechia, Spain, Italy, Turkiye, and Israel. Destinus was on the list. Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev called these factories legitimate targets for the Russian military (Gazeta.ru, April 15). Dutch Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dylan Jeschilgoz-Zegerius subsequently visited the Destinus plant, saying that the Netherlands' defense industry would not allow itself to be intimidated. He confirmed that Destinus produces drones and missiles for Ukraine (Gazeta.ru, April 17).
Kokorich was explicit about how Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed the focus of his company, writing:
Destinus did not begin as a missile company in the narrow sense ... When the war began, we moved into long-range strike drones for one basic reason: to help Ukraine ... [Ruta] emerged from urgent wartime requirements from Ukraine and was designed from the outset for serial production (LinkedIn/Mikhail Kokorich, April 13).
The company makes many of its own key components, including turbojet engines and warheads, rather than relying on a long line of suppliers (Oninvest, May 20). In the ceaseless quest for investor capital, Destinus has started fielding pitches from banks looking for roles on its planned initial public offerings (IPO), with Amsterdam as a possible listing venue (Bloomberg Businessweek, May 28). Destinus is working with Rothschild & Co. and UniCredit SpA to raise about $228 million ahead of the planned IPO.
On April 21, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that it is seeking to produce more than seven million drones this year as part of scaling up its defense-industrial capability (Aviation Week, April 21). Ukraine produced more than four million military drones in 2025. The United States produces about 1/50th of that volume (Forbes, April 26). On May 31, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is still hoping to conclude a major agreement to purchase advanced U.S. military drones, calling it a potentially huge game-changer. Zelenskyy said that combining the dramatic advancements that Ukraine has made with its drone technology because of its combat experience with the United States' extraordinary military capabilities would be beneficial for both countries (CBS News, May 31). He wrote a five-page missive to U.S. President Donald Trump on May 25 asking him for more Patriot missile systems, contending that while Ukraine has considerable drone defense technology, it is lacking in ballistic missile defense (The Kyiv Independent, May 27).
Destinus has already produced thousands of its long-range drones and Ruta Block 1 mini cruise missiles for European governments and deployment in Ukraine. The company's value is about cost--when asked if the cost ratio versus a Tomahawk or a Taurus is roughly one to ten, Kokorich replied, "Broadly, yes, and that ratio is the whole argument" (Corriere della Sera, June 1). Unsurprisingly, in October 2025, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a case of violent seizure of power and organization of activities of a terrorist community against Kokorich and other members of the Anti-War Committee of Russia because of their adoption of the "Berlin Declaration" on the need for a change of power in Russia (OVD-info, October 14, 2025).
Destinus' innovative production program, incorporating low costs with weaponry that can be quickly produced in mass, will become an increasingly important element in defending Ukraine against Russia's largely Soviet-era weaponry production rates. Ukrainian drone and missile technology is now bringing Moscow and St. Petersburg within striking distance; contributions by Destinus will only add to the growing miseries of Russia's aerial defenses.
* * *
Dr. John C. K. Daly is a Eurasian foreign affairs and defense policy expert for The Jamestown Foundation and a non-resident fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington DC.
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Original text here: https://jamestown.org/former-russian-space-entrepreneur-producing-long-range-missiles-for-ukraine/
[Category: ThinkTank]
* * *
Former Russian Space Entrepreneur Producing Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine
Executive Summary:
* On May 18, Dutch defense company Destinus unveiled plans to begin production on the Ruta Block 3 mini-cruise missile, offering a 1,242-mile range to provide Europe and Ukraine with a cheaper, mass-produced long-range strike capability.
* Destinus--founded by the ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by John C. K. Daly, non-resident fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington, in the foundation's Eurasia Daily Monitor: * * * Former Russian Space Entrepreneur Producing Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine Executive Summary: * On May 18, Dutch defense company Destinus unveiled plans to begin production on the Ruta Block 3 mini-cruise missile, offering a 1,242-mile range to provide Europe and Ukraine with a cheaper, mass-produced long-range strike capability. * Destinus--founded by theformer head of Russia's first private space company, Mikhail Kokorich--pivoted to defense after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has since supplied thousands of drones and Ruta Block 1 mini-cruise missiles to Ukraine and Europe.
* Kokorich, who renounced his Russian citizenship in January 2024, says Destinus is developing long-range strike programs across Europe and aims to produce missiles faster and more cheaply than existing systems.
* In April, Russia labeled Destinus a military target, underscoring the company's growing role in strengthening Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities and Europe's defense-industrial base.
-
Destinus, a company owned by Mikhail Kokorich, the founder of Russia's first private space company, has begun to produce long-range missiles for Europe and Ukraine. In January 2024, Kokorich renounced his Russian citizenship. Destinus has supplied drones and mini-missiles to Ukraine and European countries since 2022. It hopes to supplement expensive Western missiles, which are in short supply and for which Europe is heavily dependent on the United States. Kokorich has said, "Long-range strike is one of the largest sovereign capability gaps in European defense today." On May 18, Destinus unveiled plans to begin production of its Ruta Block 3 mini-cruise missile system by the end of the year. Its range will be 1,242 miles, surpassing that of the U.S. Tomahawk at 994 miles, upon which Europe has long relied and which the United States administration has not approved for transfer to Ukraine (Destinus News, May 18). The Ruta program is expressly intended to transition long-range European missiles from limited stocks to sustainable industrial production, overcoming the previous shortages of costly, high-precision weapons that occur during a long-term confrontation (UA.news, May 18). The Ruta series is also designed to utilize International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-standard container launch architecture, which will allow missile launches from mobile land, sea, and stationary platforms (PravdaTUTnews, May 19).
According to Kokorich, Destinus is involved in long-range missile capacity programs in several European countries, and Ukraine is seeking deepened cooperation with them. Destinus' goal is to create systems that will be "10 times cheaper" than existing ones. Besides cost, Kokorich is concerned with rapidly scaling up production, noting that the ability to replenish and develop weapons on an industrial scale during long-term high-intensity operations is a decisive factor (Kyiv24.news, May 18).
In the early 2000s, Kokorich founded and bought a series of retail chains, including Technosila. In 2012, he created the first private space company in Russia, Dauria Aerospace (Dauria Aerospeis). The company developed and launched ultra-small satellites for remote sensing of the Earth and navigation monitoring. Dauria launched its first two Perseus-M satellites in June 2014 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (Vedomosti, December 22, 2015). Dauria's Perseus-M satellites are equipped with automatic identification system (AIS) units, a system for exchanging data between ships and land-based shipping services. The system can warn of possible collisions between vessels and allows the operator to transmit information about the location of the vessel and its identification number, course, speed, dimensions, draft, and destination (Vedomosti, June 18, 2014). In December 2012, Dauria signed a contract with Russia's state space corporation, Roscosmos, but two years later the cooperation ended, and in 2015 Kokorich sold his stake in the company (The Bell, October 19, 2018). Dauria's success was such that, in mid-October 2015, it raised $70 million from the People's Republic of China (PRC) investment fund Cybernaut to create a constellation of microsatellites called Urban Observer, which captured images of more than 100 cities around the world from space. Cybernaut is the only investor in Urban Observer (Vedomosti, December 22, 2015). In October 2018, Roscosmos filed a lawsuit against Dauria over the contract, and protracted legal action eventually forced the company to declare bankruptcy in February 2020 (CNews, February 4, 2020).
After leaving Russia in 2012, Kokorich worked in the United States and Switzerland. Kokorich has said that he left in part because of his support for the Russian opposition and the country's deteriorating political climate (Nasa Niva, May 20). In 2017, he founded a space startup, Momentus, with Lev Khasis in California. He left the United States in 2021 after national security restrictions forced him to step down from Momentus, which develops dual-use technologies for civilian and military applications (Radio Svoboda, January 14, 2024). He founded Destinus in Switzerland in 2021, which initially developed high-speed aircraft and propulsion systems, but pivoted to defense manufacturing shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In January 2024, Kokorich renounced his Russian citizenship, writing, "It was a conscious decision driven by my fundamental disagreement with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the policies of Putin's government" (LinkedIn/Mikhail Kokorich, January 12, 2024).
In 2025, Destinus moved its headquarters to the Netherlands and raised nearly $464 million, including loans from shareholders and a credit line of $58 million from the German Commerzbank. Destinus is in the process of raising another $242 million (The Financial Times, May 20). It has production sites in several countries and a staff of about 1,000 people. In 2025, Destinus acquired the Swiss startup Daedalean for $223 million to equip its hypersonic drones with satellite-free navigation systems, a key technology in next-generation warfare (Forbes.ua, October 25, 2025). Destinus has produced thousands of its long-range drones and Ruta Block 1 mini cruise missiles for European governments and deployment in Ukraine. Kokorich has said that Destinus is developing "long-range strike programs" across "multiple European countries." Kokorich credits Destinus's distributed production model and vertical integration for helping it rapidly scale production.
Kokorich predicted the extraordinary rise of drone technology in 2015, seven years before Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He said that the drone market will "very soon blow up the market of logistics, security, and law enforcement ... The technological revolution in microelectronics, software, and micromechanics made it possible to democratize the creation of spacecraft" (Vedomosti, October 6, 2015).
Destinus plans to begin production of a new Ruta Block 2 rocket with a range exceeding 435 miles (700 kilometers) by the end of the year (LinkedIn/Mikhail Kokorich, April 23). The Ruta Block 2 will be part of a joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall, Europe's largest defense company, which already operates in Ukraine (Rheinmetall, April 13).
In April, Russia's Ministry of Defense published a list of 21 enterprises where it claims that drones for Ukraine are produced. Ukrainian and joint-venture factories producing drones are in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Czechia, Spain, Italy, Turkiye, and Israel. Destinus was on the list. Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev called these factories legitimate targets for the Russian military (Gazeta.ru, April 15). Dutch Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dylan Jeschilgoz-Zegerius subsequently visited the Destinus plant, saying that the Netherlands' defense industry would not allow itself to be intimidated. He confirmed that Destinus produces drones and missiles for Ukraine (Gazeta.ru, April 17).
Kokorich was explicit about how Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed the focus of his company, writing:
Destinus did not begin as a missile company in the narrow sense ... When the war began, we moved into long-range strike drones for one basic reason: to help Ukraine ... [Ruta] emerged from urgent wartime requirements from Ukraine and was designed from the outset for serial production (LinkedIn/Mikhail Kokorich, April 13).
The company makes many of its own key components, including turbojet engines and warheads, rather than relying on a long line of suppliers (Oninvest, May 20). In the ceaseless quest for investor capital, Destinus has started fielding pitches from banks looking for roles on its planned initial public offerings (IPO), with Amsterdam as a possible listing venue (Bloomberg Businessweek, May 28). Destinus is working with Rothschild & Co. and UniCredit SpA to raise about $228 million ahead of the planned IPO.
On April 21, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that it is seeking to produce more than seven million drones this year as part of scaling up its defense-industrial capability (Aviation Week, April 21). Ukraine produced more than four million military drones in 2025. The United States produces about 1/50th of that volume (Forbes, April 26). On May 31, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is still hoping to conclude a major agreement to purchase advanced U.S. military drones, calling it a potentially huge game-changer. Zelenskyy said that combining the dramatic advancements that Ukraine has made with its drone technology because of its combat experience with the United States' extraordinary military capabilities would be beneficial for both countries (CBS News, May 31). He wrote a five-page missive to U.S. President Donald Trump on May 25 asking him for more Patriot missile systems, contending that while Ukraine has considerable drone defense technology, it is lacking in ballistic missile defense (The Kyiv Independent, May 27).
Destinus has already produced thousands of its long-range drones and Ruta Block 1 mini cruise missiles for European governments and deployment in Ukraine. The company's value is about cost--when asked if the cost ratio versus a Tomahawk or a Taurus is roughly one to ten, Kokorich replied, "Broadly, yes, and that ratio is the whole argument" (Corriere della Sera, June 1). Unsurprisingly, in October 2025, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a case of violent seizure of power and organization of activities of a terrorist community against Kokorich and other members of the Anti-War Committee of Russia because of their adoption of the "Berlin Declaration" on the need for a change of power in Russia (OVD-info, October 14, 2025).
Destinus' innovative production program, incorporating low costs with weaponry that can be quickly produced in mass, will become an increasingly important element in defending Ukraine against Russia's largely Soviet-era weaponry production rates. Ukrainian drone and missile technology is now bringing Moscow and St. Petersburg within striking distance; contributions by Destinus will only add to the growing miseries of Russia's aerial defenses.
* * *
Dr. John C. K. Daly is a Eurasian foreign affairs and defense policy expert for The Jamestown Foundation and a non-resident fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington DC.
* * *
Original text here: https://jamestown.org/former-russian-space-entrepreneur-producing-long-range-missiles-for-ukraine/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Ifo Institute: Business Climate in Germany's Chemical Industry Considerably Improved
MUNICH, Germany, July 2 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release on July 1, 2026:
* * *
Business Climate in Germany's Chemical Industry Considerably Improved
The business climate in Germany's chemical industry improved significantly in June. The Business Climate Index rose to -17.8 points, up from -29.0* points in May. Companies assessed the business situation as considerably better. The figure rose to -2.9 points, up from -16.5* points in May. Business expectations were also considerably brighter, rising from -40.7* to -31.5 points.
"The business climate in the chemical industry ... Show Full Article MUNICH, Germany, July 2 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release on July 1, 2026: * * * Business Climate in Germany's Chemical Industry Considerably Improved The business climate in Germany's chemical industry improved significantly in June. The Business Climate Index rose to -17.8 points, up from -29.0* points in May. Companies assessed the business situation as considerably better. The figure rose to -2.9 points, up from -16.5* points in May. Business expectations were also considerably brighter, rising from -40.7* to -31.5 points. "The business climate in the chemical industryis benefiting from slight declines in the prices for energy and certain intermediate products following the emerging easing of tensions in the Middle East conflict," says ifo industry expert Anna Wolf.
According to the ifo expert, a one-time effect in international trade is responsible for the improved figures: Due to missed deliveries from the Middle East and the fact that Asia has been particularly hard hit by that, demand for chemical products is shifting to German manufacturers.
Companies also received more orders in June than in the previous month, and production stabilized.
At the same time, chemical companies are hoping for more exports than in the previous month: The figure rose to -4.8 points, up from -16.1* points in May. However, the supply of intermediate goods remains tense. The majority of companies expect prices to rise again in the coming months. "It's still too soon to talk of a sustainable turnaround," says Wolf. "But a glimmer of hope is finally emerging again for the first time in a long while."
*Seasonally adjusted
* * *
More Information
Survey (https://www.ifo.de/en/facts/2026-07-01/business-climate-germanys-chemical-industry-considerably-improved)
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Original text here: https://www.ifo.de/en/press-release/2026-07-01/business-climate-germanys-chemical-industry-considerably-improved
[Category: ThinkTank]
* * *
Business Climate in Germany's Chemical Industry Considerably Improved
The business climate in Germany's chemical industry improved significantly in June. The Business Climate Index rose to -17.8 points, up from -29.0* points in May. Companies assessed the business situation as considerably better. The figure rose to -2.9 points, up from -16.5* points in May. Business expectations were also considerably brighter, rising from -40.7* to -31.5 points.
"The business climate in the chemical industry ... Show Full Article MUNICH, Germany, July 2 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release on July 1, 2026: * * * Business Climate in Germany's Chemical Industry Considerably Improved The business climate in Germany's chemical industry improved significantly in June. The Business Climate Index rose to -17.8 points, up from -29.0* points in May. Companies assessed the business situation as considerably better. The figure rose to -2.9 points, up from -16.5* points in May. Business expectations were also considerably brighter, rising from -40.7* to -31.5 points. "The business climate in the chemical industryis benefiting from slight declines in the prices for energy and certain intermediate products following the emerging easing of tensions in the Middle East conflict," says ifo industry expert Anna Wolf.
According to the ifo expert, a one-time effect in international trade is responsible for the improved figures: Due to missed deliveries from the Middle East and the fact that Asia has been particularly hard hit by that, demand for chemical products is shifting to German manufacturers.
Companies also received more orders in June than in the previous month, and production stabilized.
At the same time, chemical companies are hoping for more exports than in the previous month: The figure rose to -4.8 points, up from -16.1* points in May. However, the supply of intermediate goods remains tense. The majority of companies expect prices to rise again in the coming months. "It's still too soon to talk of a sustainable turnaround," says Wolf. "But a glimmer of hope is finally emerging again for the first time in a long while."
*Seasonally adjusted
* * *
More Information
Survey (https://www.ifo.de/en/facts/2026-07-01/business-climate-germanys-chemical-industry-considerably-improved)
* * *
Original text here: https://www.ifo.de/en/press-release/2026-07-01/business-climate-germanys-chemical-industry-considerably-improved
[Category: ThinkTank]
Center of the American Experiment Issues Commentary: CPI + Xcel - The New Electricity Misery Index
MINNETONKA, Minnesota, July 2 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by policy fellow Darren Nelson:
* * *
CPI + Xcel: The new electricity Misery Index
An idea popped into my head last week to create a new simple index of electricity prices for Minnesota's Twin Cities of Minneapolis St Paul (MSP). Which I then did. I am calling it the MSP Electricity Misery Index. Or MEMI for short. But provocatively pronounced ME-oh-MI.
CPI index
In recent weeks, I have been ... Show Full Article MINNETONKA, Minnesota, July 2 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by policy fellow Darren Nelson: * * * CPI + Xcel: The new electricity Misery Index An idea popped into my head last week to create a new simple index of electricity prices for Minnesota's Twin Cities of Minneapolis St Paul (MSP). Which I then did. I am calling it the MSP Electricity Misery Index. Or MEMI for short. But provocatively pronounced ME-oh-MI. CPI index In recent weeks, I have beengathering and analysing official data on electricity prices, in the form of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). I have presented some of my findings to date in two articles on this website.
The first of these on June 15 was "Electricity inflation: the forgotten affordability burden." One of the comparisons in this article was electricity CPI versus overall CPI, for the MSP metro area, between 2006 and 2024. The former's total growth outpaced the latter by 31.5%.
The second piece on June 24 was "The PUC: the 'black box' of electricity inflation." One of the observations there was that, in terms of annual growth in MSP electricity CPI, "there are three years above eight percent: 8.3% in 2006; 11.0% in 2013; and 10.3% in 2022."
Index numbers
Like CPI, MEMI is a statistical index number. An index number is a pure measure of change over time. Any time series of data can be turned into an index. It is particularly useful for observing, not just change from period-to-period, but sustained trends in growth or decline.
To create an index, a time period is selected and set to 100. The formula to be applied to any period, usually a subsequent one, but sometimes before, is: ( Next Period / Base Period ) x 100. An index uses 100, instead of 0, as any number multiplied by zero is zero. Percentage changes can easily be seen as Future Period minus Base Period, say 110 less 100 is 10%.
CPI is usually quoted in the news as a percentage change from a previous period, such as a month, quarter or year, rather than as a change in the index itself. However, that approach can make inflation appear to be 'not too bad' in any one period of change. The index proper better captures that inflation can grow like compound interest over time.
Misery index
MEMI is a simple addition of two numbers, as is the famous Misery Index. MI was created by economist Arthur Okun in the 1960s. It was later adopted by President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s. It was popularised by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, to Carter's detriment.
MI is easily calculated as the inflation rate (usually CPI) plus the unemployment rate, but expressed as a percentage change not as an index number. Given that inflation and unemployment are each bad in themselves, large and increasing MI is even worse. That being stagflation.
The first chart below presents a nationwide MI, from 1948 to 2026. It shows that some of the most miserable times were under the following presidents: 19.90% in January 1975 under Gerald Ford; 21.98% in June 1980 under Jimmy Carter; 12.47% in November 1990 under George H.W. Bush; 12.87% in August 2011 under Barack Obama; 15.03% in April 2020 under Donald Trump; and 12.66% in June 2022 under Joe Biden.
[View chart in the link at bottom.]
CPI - X index
MEMI is a variation on CPI minus X. CPI - X is an approach to electricity and public utilities regulation used in Australia and elsewhere. The X is an efficiency factor which has at times, when larger than CPI, decreased actual prices and not just slowed down the increase.
CPI - X is a form of incentive regulation, and is quite different to American cost-plus or rate-of-return regulation. It was created by UK Professor Stephen Littlechild, as RPI -X in the early 1980s, in the context of the privatisation reforms of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
In an Aussie version of a rate case, CPI - X is applied to the revenue requirement. The latter is derived there, like here, from operating and capital costs, including depreciation and a return. When X is larger than CPI, prices will be declining, and vice versa. I was the first in the world to apply CPI -X to a state budget in 2022-23, and then to the federal budget in 2023-24.
CPI + X index
MEMI can also be stated as CPI + Xcel or CPI + X. This is inspired by CPI - X, but CPI + X is calculated as the reverse i.e. X - CPI. This means, MSP electricity CPI minus MSP overall CPI. When MEMI is positive and growing, electricity inflation in the Twin Cities is worse than, and to some extent even pulling up, overall inflation in MSP. Thus, the title CPI plus Xcel.
MEMI formula: Xcel - CPI = MSP Electricity CPI - MSP Overall CPI
The second chart below shows MEMI from 2006 to 2024, noting that renewables really started to take off in Minnesota in the 2000s onwards. The green index line better shows, than the gold percentage line, how electricity prices have inflated bills over time to MSP households: by 25.3 points in 2013; 31.1 in 2018; and 31.5 in 2024.
[View chart in the link at bottom.]
If 2006 to 2024 is important context, and it is, then 1978 to 2024 provides yet greater context. As can be seen in the third chart below, MEMI drops 10.0 index points between 1978 to 1981 and a further 10.9 from 1990 to 1991. It then, from 1995 to 2002, plunges 29.2 points. From 2002 to 2018, MEMI 'sky rockets' 67.2 index points, which is a 165% turnaround for the worse.
[View chart in the link at bottom.]
Conclusion
MEMI shows the difference between electricity inflation and overall inflation, using official CPI data for metro MSP. Xcel Energy is the PUC-regulated franchise monopoly for the area, which is why MEMI is also called CPI + Xcel. This new index clearly shows how electricity inflation has increasingly delivered affordability misery in the 21st century to residents of Minnesota's Twin Cities. ME-oh-MI.
* * *
Darren Nelson is a Policy Fellow at Center of the American Experiment.
darren.nelson@americanexperiment.org
* * *
Original text here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/cpi-xcel-the-new-electricity-misery-index/
[Category: ThinkTank]
* * *
CPI + Xcel: The new electricity Misery Index
An idea popped into my head last week to create a new simple index of electricity prices for Minnesota's Twin Cities of Minneapolis St Paul (MSP). Which I then did. I am calling it the MSP Electricity Misery Index. Or MEMI for short. But provocatively pronounced ME-oh-MI.
CPI index
In recent weeks, I have been ... Show Full Article MINNETONKA, Minnesota, July 2 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by policy fellow Darren Nelson: * * * CPI + Xcel: The new electricity Misery Index An idea popped into my head last week to create a new simple index of electricity prices for Minnesota's Twin Cities of Minneapolis St Paul (MSP). Which I then did. I am calling it the MSP Electricity Misery Index. Or MEMI for short. But provocatively pronounced ME-oh-MI. CPI index In recent weeks, I have beengathering and analysing official data on electricity prices, in the form of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). I have presented some of my findings to date in two articles on this website.
The first of these on June 15 was "Electricity inflation: the forgotten affordability burden." One of the comparisons in this article was electricity CPI versus overall CPI, for the MSP metro area, between 2006 and 2024. The former's total growth outpaced the latter by 31.5%.
The second piece on June 24 was "The PUC: the 'black box' of electricity inflation." One of the observations there was that, in terms of annual growth in MSP electricity CPI, "there are three years above eight percent: 8.3% in 2006; 11.0% in 2013; and 10.3% in 2022."
Index numbers
Like CPI, MEMI is a statistical index number. An index number is a pure measure of change over time. Any time series of data can be turned into an index. It is particularly useful for observing, not just change from period-to-period, but sustained trends in growth or decline.
To create an index, a time period is selected and set to 100. The formula to be applied to any period, usually a subsequent one, but sometimes before, is: ( Next Period / Base Period ) x 100. An index uses 100, instead of 0, as any number multiplied by zero is zero. Percentage changes can easily be seen as Future Period minus Base Period, say 110 less 100 is 10%.
CPI is usually quoted in the news as a percentage change from a previous period, such as a month, quarter or year, rather than as a change in the index itself. However, that approach can make inflation appear to be 'not too bad' in any one period of change. The index proper better captures that inflation can grow like compound interest over time.
Misery index
MEMI is a simple addition of two numbers, as is the famous Misery Index. MI was created by economist Arthur Okun in the 1960s. It was later adopted by President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s. It was popularised by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, to Carter's detriment.
MI is easily calculated as the inflation rate (usually CPI) plus the unemployment rate, but expressed as a percentage change not as an index number. Given that inflation and unemployment are each bad in themselves, large and increasing MI is even worse. That being stagflation.
The first chart below presents a nationwide MI, from 1948 to 2026. It shows that some of the most miserable times were under the following presidents: 19.90% in January 1975 under Gerald Ford; 21.98% in June 1980 under Jimmy Carter; 12.47% in November 1990 under George H.W. Bush; 12.87% in August 2011 under Barack Obama; 15.03% in April 2020 under Donald Trump; and 12.66% in June 2022 under Joe Biden.
[View chart in the link at bottom.]
CPI - X index
MEMI is a variation on CPI minus X. CPI - X is an approach to electricity and public utilities regulation used in Australia and elsewhere. The X is an efficiency factor which has at times, when larger than CPI, decreased actual prices and not just slowed down the increase.
CPI - X is a form of incentive regulation, and is quite different to American cost-plus or rate-of-return regulation. It was created by UK Professor Stephen Littlechild, as RPI -X in the early 1980s, in the context of the privatisation reforms of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
In an Aussie version of a rate case, CPI - X is applied to the revenue requirement. The latter is derived there, like here, from operating and capital costs, including depreciation and a return. When X is larger than CPI, prices will be declining, and vice versa. I was the first in the world to apply CPI -X to a state budget in 2022-23, and then to the federal budget in 2023-24.
CPI + X index
MEMI can also be stated as CPI + Xcel or CPI + X. This is inspired by CPI - X, but CPI + X is calculated as the reverse i.e. X - CPI. This means, MSP electricity CPI minus MSP overall CPI. When MEMI is positive and growing, electricity inflation in the Twin Cities is worse than, and to some extent even pulling up, overall inflation in MSP. Thus, the title CPI plus Xcel.
MEMI formula: Xcel - CPI = MSP Electricity CPI - MSP Overall CPI
The second chart below shows MEMI from 2006 to 2024, noting that renewables really started to take off in Minnesota in the 2000s onwards. The green index line better shows, than the gold percentage line, how electricity prices have inflated bills over time to MSP households: by 25.3 points in 2013; 31.1 in 2018; and 31.5 in 2024.
[View chart in the link at bottom.]
If 2006 to 2024 is important context, and it is, then 1978 to 2024 provides yet greater context. As can be seen in the third chart below, MEMI drops 10.0 index points between 1978 to 1981 and a further 10.9 from 1990 to 1991. It then, from 1995 to 2002, plunges 29.2 points. From 2002 to 2018, MEMI 'sky rockets' 67.2 index points, which is a 165% turnaround for the worse.
[View chart in the link at bottom.]
Conclusion
MEMI shows the difference between electricity inflation and overall inflation, using official CPI data for metro MSP. Xcel Energy is the PUC-regulated franchise monopoly for the area, which is why MEMI is also called CPI + Xcel. This new index clearly shows how electricity inflation has increasingly delivered affordability misery in the 21st century to residents of Minnesota's Twin Cities. ME-oh-MI.
* * *
Darren Nelson is a Policy Fellow at Center of the American Experiment.
darren.nelson@americanexperiment.org
* * *
Original text here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/cpi-xcel-the-new-electricity-misery-index/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Center for American Progress: America's Business Tax Code Is Built for an Economy That No Longer Exists
WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Center for American Progress issued the following news release on July 1, 2026:
* * *
America's Business Tax Code Is Built for an Economy That No Longer Exists
The richest Americans increasingly rely on complex pass-through businesses resembling shell companies to avoid taxes and generate wealth
A new Center for American Progress analysis finds that the American business landscape has fundamentally changed over the past four decades, with partnerships and other pass-through businesses overtaking traditional corporations as the largest source of business income. Business ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Center for American Progress issued the following news release on July 1, 2026: * * * America's Business Tax Code Is Built for an Economy That No Longer Exists The richest Americans increasingly rely on complex pass-through businesses resembling shell companies to avoid taxes and generate wealth A new Center for American Progress analysis finds that the American business landscape has fundamentally changed over the past four decades, with partnerships and other pass-through businesses overtaking traditional corporations as the largest source of business income. Businessincome earned by pass-through businesses increased from 44 percent in 1988 to an average of 68 percent from 2013 to 2022, reflecting a broad shift away from traditional corporations. These dynamics have transformed how business profits are taxed, reduced federal revenue, and increasingly concentrated tax benefits among the wealthiest Americans.
While much of the public debate around business taxation focuses on corporations, most business income is now earned through pass-through entities that often face lower effective tax rates and less IRS oversight. The analysis argues that tax policy must evolve to reflect today's economy by addressing tax avoidance through large partnerships and other complex pass-through businesses.
"Our tax code is still built around the assumption that corporations dominate American business, but that's no longer true," said Corey Husak, director of tax policy at the Center for American Progress and co-author of the analysis. "Today, many of the country's largest and most profitable businesses operate as partnerships while benefiting from lower tax rates and weaker oversight. If policymakers are serious about building a fairer tax system, they have to look beyond corporations and ensure that wealthy pass-through businesses are paying what they owe."
Key findings from the analysis include:
* Partnerships now generate a larger share of U.S. business income than traditional corporations. From 2013 to 2022, partnerships accounted for 36 percent of business income, compared with 32 percent for C corporations.
* Pass-through businesses pay no federal business level tax, and their owners typically pay less tax than shareholders of C corporations. Because they are exempt from tax at the entity level, profits earned through pass-through businesses face lower overall tax rates than profits earned by corporations.
* Recent tax policy has widened the gap. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created Section 199A deduction, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made it permanent--lowering the top tax rate on qualifying pass-through income from 37 percent to 29.6 percent, with nearly 90 percent of the benefits flowing to households earning more than $200,000 annually and roughly half going to millionaires.
* Pass-through income is even more concentrated among wealthy Americans than corporate income. In 2022, the top 1 percent received roughly one-quarter of their total income from pass-through businesses, and one study found that 69 percent of partnership income accrued to the top 1 percent. In comparison, the top 1 percent receive 45 percent of corporate income.
* Large partnerships pose growing enforcement challenges. Complex ownership structures make it harder for the IRS to trace income and conduct effective audits, allowing sophisticated businesses to better avoid taxes legally owed. Husak has recently argued that the United States needs a "shell company tax" to ensure these businesses are properly paying taxes.
The analysis recommends modernizing business tax policy by looking beyond the corporate tax code and addressing the rapid growth of large pass-through businesses. Potential reforms include taxing shell companies in complex business partnerships, eliminating the Section 199A deduction, improving IRS enforcement of large partnerships, and requiring some partnerships to be taxed as corporations.
Read the full analysis: "Business Income Has Moved Beyond Corporations, and Tax Policy Must Follow" (https://www.americanprogress.org/article/business-income-has-moved-beyond-corporations-and-tax-policy-must-follow/) by Corey Husak and Mimla Wardak
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Christian Unkenholz at cunkenholz@americanprogress.org.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release-americas-business-tax-code-is-built-for-an-economy-that-no-longer-exists/
[Category: ThinkTank]
* * *
America's Business Tax Code Is Built for an Economy That No Longer Exists
The richest Americans increasingly rely on complex pass-through businesses resembling shell companies to avoid taxes and generate wealth
A new Center for American Progress analysis finds that the American business landscape has fundamentally changed over the past four decades, with partnerships and other pass-through businesses overtaking traditional corporations as the largest source of business income. Business ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Center for American Progress issued the following news release on July 1, 2026: * * * America's Business Tax Code Is Built for an Economy That No Longer Exists The richest Americans increasingly rely on complex pass-through businesses resembling shell companies to avoid taxes and generate wealth A new Center for American Progress analysis finds that the American business landscape has fundamentally changed over the past four decades, with partnerships and other pass-through businesses overtaking traditional corporations as the largest source of business income. Businessincome earned by pass-through businesses increased from 44 percent in 1988 to an average of 68 percent from 2013 to 2022, reflecting a broad shift away from traditional corporations. These dynamics have transformed how business profits are taxed, reduced federal revenue, and increasingly concentrated tax benefits among the wealthiest Americans.
While much of the public debate around business taxation focuses on corporations, most business income is now earned through pass-through entities that often face lower effective tax rates and less IRS oversight. The analysis argues that tax policy must evolve to reflect today's economy by addressing tax avoidance through large partnerships and other complex pass-through businesses.
"Our tax code is still built around the assumption that corporations dominate American business, but that's no longer true," said Corey Husak, director of tax policy at the Center for American Progress and co-author of the analysis. "Today, many of the country's largest and most profitable businesses operate as partnerships while benefiting from lower tax rates and weaker oversight. If policymakers are serious about building a fairer tax system, they have to look beyond corporations and ensure that wealthy pass-through businesses are paying what they owe."
Key findings from the analysis include:
* Partnerships now generate a larger share of U.S. business income than traditional corporations. From 2013 to 2022, partnerships accounted for 36 percent of business income, compared with 32 percent for C corporations.
* Pass-through businesses pay no federal business level tax, and their owners typically pay less tax than shareholders of C corporations. Because they are exempt from tax at the entity level, profits earned through pass-through businesses face lower overall tax rates than profits earned by corporations.
* Recent tax policy has widened the gap. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created Section 199A deduction, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made it permanent--lowering the top tax rate on qualifying pass-through income from 37 percent to 29.6 percent, with nearly 90 percent of the benefits flowing to households earning more than $200,000 annually and roughly half going to millionaires.
* Pass-through income is even more concentrated among wealthy Americans than corporate income. In 2022, the top 1 percent received roughly one-quarter of their total income from pass-through businesses, and one study found that 69 percent of partnership income accrued to the top 1 percent. In comparison, the top 1 percent receive 45 percent of corporate income.
* Large partnerships pose growing enforcement challenges. Complex ownership structures make it harder for the IRS to trace income and conduct effective audits, allowing sophisticated businesses to better avoid taxes legally owed. Husak has recently argued that the United States needs a "shell company tax" to ensure these businesses are properly paying taxes.
The analysis recommends modernizing business tax policy by looking beyond the corporate tax code and addressing the rapid growth of large pass-through businesses. Potential reforms include taxing shell companies in complex business partnerships, eliminating the Section 199A deduction, improving IRS enforcement of large partnerships, and requiring some partnerships to be taxed as corporations.
Read the full analysis: "Business Income Has Moved Beyond Corporations, and Tax Policy Must Follow" (https://www.americanprogress.org/article/business-income-has-moved-beyond-corporations-and-tax-policy-must-follow/) by Corey Husak and Mimla Wardak
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Christian Unkenholz at cunkenholz@americanprogress.org.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release-americas-business-tax-code-is-built-for-an-economy-that-no-longer-exists/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Capital Research Center Issues Commentary: Enemies of Energy - 350.org
WASHINGTON, July 2 (TNSrpt) -- The Capital Research Center issued the following excerpts of a commentary on July 1, 2026, by Managing Editor and Director of Content Ken Braun to the Enemies of Energy:
* * *
Enemies of Energy: 350.org
350.org has been pushing weather dependent wind and solar electricity on Africa ... where hundreds of millions still live with functionally zero power.
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Enemies of Energy (https://capitalresearch.org/article/enemies-of-energy/), a research report created for the Capital Research Center.
-
350.org is a 501(c)(3) tax ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 (TNSrpt) -- The Capital Research Center issued the following excerpts of a commentary on July 1, 2026, by Managing Editor and Director of Content Ken Braun to the Enemies of Energy: * * * Enemies of Energy: 350.org 350.org has been pushing weather dependent wind and solar electricity on Africa ... where hundreds of millions still live with functionally zero power. Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Enemies of Energy (https://capitalresearch.org/article/enemies-of-energy/), a research report created for the Capital Research Center. - 350.org is a 501(c)(3) taxexempt nonprofit that was founded in 2008 by anti-energy extremist Bill McKibben, then a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont. Today, the NGO claims to be "building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis." True to its word, 350.org's tax return for the year ending September 2023 reports nearly $7.9 million of $22.8 million in total expenses spent overseas, and another $517,000 distributed to 350.org affiliates in ten states. The 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit reported $19.5 million total revenue for that year, and net assets of $9.7 million. [i]
A November 2025 report in Politico credited 350.org with "spearheading" the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline and generating the "opposition that ultimately led then-President Barack Obama to deny the permits for the pipeline designed to bring heavy oil from Canada to Texas." [ii]
An equal opportunity enemy of all hydrocarbons and nuclear power, 350.org was a cosigner on a joint letter to the U.S. Congress in May 2021 that demanded the enactment of a "federal renewable electricity standard." The signatories stipulated that only "technologies like solar and wind" should be included, and that the Congress should reject "false solutions," such as natural gas and nuclear, "which are significant sources of pollution and carry a host of health and safety risks." [iii]
As of March 2025, the homepage of the 350.org website featured six campaigns "across the globe to end fossil fuels and power up just and accessible renewables." None of the six appear to be focused on the United States, though a "No Blood for Oil" addendum denounced the Trump administration's foreign policy objectives in "Venezuela and the Middle East."[iv]
"REPower Afrika" is the first of the six listed campaigns. The page for this project claims that "17 out of 20 countries most threatened by the climate crisis are in Africa" and that the REPower Afrika effort is "a campaign to speed up the shift away from fossil fuels to distributed, community-owned renewable energy." [v]
This would be hilariously silly if it were not so tragically awful. According to Our World in Data, nearly half of sub-Saharan Africans--588 million souls as of 2023--live without enough electricity to power basic lighting, a radio, or charge a cell phone for more than four hours per day. "Afrika" doesn't need a "shift away from fossil fuels" because they have had too little access to modern hydrocarbons in the first place. The idea of setting them up with unreliable, weather restricted wind turbines and solar panels to replace their already unreliable electricity is the epitome of climate colonialism. [vi]
While it's tempting to accuse 350.org of trying to keep Africans in energy poverty, they have recently landed in the real thing back here in America. At the end of 2025 the NGO announced a 25 percent drop in income over the previous year, a temporary suspension of programming, and a 30 percent reduction in global staffing that would include retaining only three of 350.org's domestic employees. [vii]
* * *
[i] 350 Org. (EIN: 26-1150699). 2023 IRS Form 990 (covering the year through September 2024). Accessed March 13, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/261150699/202501999349301000/full
[ii] Colman, Zack. "Enviro group that helped lead Keystone Pipeline opposition suspends US operations." Politico. November 13, 2025. Accessed March 13, 2026. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/13/green-group-350-org-suspends-us-operations-00651124
[iii] Letter from Center for Biological Diversity et. al. to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Joe Manchin, and Rep. Frank Pallone. "RE: CONGRESS SHOULD ENACT A FEDERAL RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD AND REJECT GAS AND FALSE SOLUTIONS." May 12, 2021. Accessed March 13, 2026. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/energy-justice/pdfs/2021-5-12_600-Group-Letter-for-RES.pdf?_gl=1*1c9h3t8*_gcl_au*MTc3NjM3MTM1Mi4xNjg5OTU1MzAz
[iv] 350.org (homepage). Accessed March 13, 2026. https://350.org/?r=US&c=NA
[v] REPower Afrika. 350Africa.org. Accessed March 13, 2026. https://350africa.org/repower-afrika/
[vi] "Number of people with and without electricity access, Sub-Saharan Africa (WB)." Our World in Data. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-people-with-and-without-electricity-access?country=~WB_SSA
[vii] Colman, Zack. "Enviro group that helped lead Keystone Pipeline opposition suspends US operations." Politico. November 13, 2025. Accessed March 13, 2026. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/13/green-group-350-org-suspends-us-operations-00651124
* * *
Ken Braun
As managing editor and director of content of CRC, Ken Braun edits Capital Research magazine. He also conducts investigative research and drafts profiles for InfluenceWatch.org.
* * *
REPORT: https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/FINAL-PDF_CRC_EnemiesofEnergy.pdf
* * *
Original text here: https://capitalresearch.org/article/enemies-of-energy-350-org/
[Category: ThinkTank]
* * *
Enemies of Energy: 350.org
350.org has been pushing weather dependent wind and solar electricity on Africa ... where hundreds of millions still live with functionally zero power.
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Enemies of Energy (https://capitalresearch.org/article/enemies-of-energy/), a research report created for the Capital Research Center.
-
350.org is a 501(c)(3) tax ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 (TNSrpt) -- The Capital Research Center issued the following excerpts of a commentary on July 1, 2026, by Managing Editor and Director of Content Ken Braun to the Enemies of Energy: * * * Enemies of Energy: 350.org 350.org has been pushing weather dependent wind and solar electricity on Africa ... where hundreds of millions still live with functionally zero power. Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Enemies of Energy (https://capitalresearch.org/article/enemies-of-energy/), a research report created for the Capital Research Center. - 350.org is a 501(c)(3) taxexempt nonprofit that was founded in 2008 by anti-energy extremist Bill McKibben, then a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont. Today, the NGO claims to be "building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis." True to its word, 350.org's tax return for the year ending September 2023 reports nearly $7.9 million of $22.8 million in total expenses spent overseas, and another $517,000 distributed to 350.org affiliates in ten states. The 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit reported $19.5 million total revenue for that year, and net assets of $9.7 million. [i]
A November 2025 report in Politico credited 350.org with "spearheading" the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline and generating the "opposition that ultimately led then-President Barack Obama to deny the permits for the pipeline designed to bring heavy oil from Canada to Texas." [ii]
An equal opportunity enemy of all hydrocarbons and nuclear power, 350.org was a cosigner on a joint letter to the U.S. Congress in May 2021 that demanded the enactment of a "federal renewable electricity standard." The signatories stipulated that only "technologies like solar and wind" should be included, and that the Congress should reject "false solutions," such as natural gas and nuclear, "which are significant sources of pollution and carry a host of health and safety risks." [iii]
As of March 2025, the homepage of the 350.org website featured six campaigns "across the globe to end fossil fuels and power up just and accessible renewables." None of the six appear to be focused on the United States, though a "No Blood for Oil" addendum denounced the Trump administration's foreign policy objectives in "Venezuela and the Middle East."[iv]
"REPower Afrika" is the first of the six listed campaigns. The page for this project claims that "17 out of 20 countries most threatened by the climate crisis are in Africa" and that the REPower Afrika effort is "a campaign to speed up the shift away from fossil fuels to distributed, community-owned renewable energy." [v]
This would be hilariously silly if it were not so tragically awful. According to Our World in Data, nearly half of sub-Saharan Africans--588 million souls as of 2023--live without enough electricity to power basic lighting, a radio, or charge a cell phone for more than four hours per day. "Afrika" doesn't need a "shift away from fossil fuels" because they have had too little access to modern hydrocarbons in the first place. The idea of setting them up with unreliable, weather restricted wind turbines and solar panels to replace their already unreliable electricity is the epitome of climate colonialism. [vi]
While it's tempting to accuse 350.org of trying to keep Africans in energy poverty, they have recently landed in the real thing back here in America. At the end of 2025 the NGO announced a 25 percent drop in income over the previous year, a temporary suspension of programming, and a 30 percent reduction in global staffing that would include retaining only three of 350.org's domestic employees. [vii]
* * *
[i] 350 Org. (EIN: 26-1150699). 2023 IRS Form 990 (covering the year through September 2024). Accessed March 13, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/261150699/202501999349301000/full
[ii] Colman, Zack. "Enviro group that helped lead Keystone Pipeline opposition suspends US operations." Politico. November 13, 2025. Accessed March 13, 2026. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/13/green-group-350-org-suspends-us-operations-00651124
[iii] Letter from Center for Biological Diversity et. al. to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Joe Manchin, and Rep. Frank Pallone. "RE: CONGRESS SHOULD ENACT A FEDERAL RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD AND REJECT GAS AND FALSE SOLUTIONS." May 12, 2021. Accessed March 13, 2026. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/energy-justice/pdfs/2021-5-12_600-Group-Letter-for-RES.pdf?_gl=1*1c9h3t8*_gcl_au*MTc3NjM3MTM1Mi4xNjg5OTU1MzAz
[iv] 350.org (homepage). Accessed March 13, 2026. https://350.org/?r=US&c=NA
[v] REPower Afrika. 350Africa.org. Accessed March 13, 2026. https://350africa.org/repower-afrika/
[vi] "Number of people with and without electricity access, Sub-Saharan Africa (WB)." Our World in Data. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-people-with-and-without-electricity-access?country=~WB_SSA
[vii] Colman, Zack. "Enviro group that helped lead Keystone Pipeline opposition suspends US operations." Politico. November 13, 2025. Accessed March 13, 2026. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/13/green-group-350-org-suspends-us-operations-00651124
* * *
Ken Braun
As managing editor and director of content of CRC, Ken Braun edits Capital Research magazine. He also conducts investigative research and drafts profiles for InfluenceWatch.org.
* * *
REPORT: https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/FINAL-PDF_CRC_EnemiesofEnergy.pdf
* * *
Original text here: https://capitalresearch.org/article/enemies-of-energy-350-org/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Capital Research Center Issues Commentary to Legal Insurrection: Treasury is Rightly Focused on Nonprofit Transparency
WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Capital Research Center issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by senior research analyst Robert Stilson to Legal Insurrection:
* * *
Treasury is rightly focused on nonprofit transparency
The Treasury Department recently announced the IRS would be proposing revisions to Form 990, the annual return that most nonprofits are required to file with the IRS. While the regulatory language has yet to be released, the Department's focus appears to be on two issues that indeed warrant further scrutiny within the tax-exempt sector: government funding for nonprofits and ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Capital Research Center issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by senior research analyst Robert Stilson to Legal Insurrection: * * * Treasury is rightly focused on nonprofit transparency The Treasury Department recently announced the IRS would be proposing revisions to Form 990, the annual return that most nonprofits are required to file with the IRS. While the regulatory language has yet to be released, the Department's focus appears to be on two issues that indeed warrant further scrutiny within the tax-exempt sector: government funding for nonprofits andfiscal sponsorship. This makes the announcement welcome news.
Form 990 is a public document, and the most comprehensive source of information about the financials and operations of American nonprofits. Public transparency is the 990's core purpose, and the Treasury Department's press release promises to improve this by providing "clearer reporting" in two specific areas.
The first of these concerns government grants and contracts, a topic that has been of heightened interest amid recent allegations of fraud and mismanagement in federal funding. Many nonprofits receive substantial funding from the federal government, and some receive almost all of their revenue from taxpayers. In other instances, public dollars flow to activist groups with clear ideological agendas. This places the American taxpayer in the position of not only incentivizing these groups with favorable tax treatment, but also directly funding their operations.
While it would seem wise to favor robust transparency in such cases, Form 990 currently provides almost no detail regarding government funding to the filing nonprofit. There is merely a single revenue line aggregating all contributions from federal, state, local, and foreign governmental entities into a single lump sum. More detailed public disclosure of government funding on the 990 would give Americans a much more comprehensive picture of a given nonprofit's finances. Moreover, it raises none of the legitimate privacy concerns that accompany other forms of donor disclosure.
The second area of focus concerns fiscal sponsorship, an arrangement through which a nonprofit "sponsor" houses a "project" group, providing it with administrative support and allowing it to make use of the sponsoring nonprofit's tax-exempt status in exchange for a fee. Fiscal sponsorship has become increasingly common, and it offers legitimate benefits. However--intentionally or not--it can also conceal details about the sponsored projects from public scrutiny. Those sponsored projects do not file their own Form 990s, and the current version of the form does not require nonprofits to disclose their fiscal sponsorship activities; in practice, very few do.
The Capital Research Center has previously called for reforms along these lines, suggesting that a new schedule could be appended to Form 990, in which basic details regarding projects and their financials would be reported by the sponsoring nonprofit. This would significantly improve fiscal sponsorship transparency without meaningfully restricting any of its legitimate purposes.
Notably, the Department's press release refers only to section 501(c)(3) public charities. If the proposed regulations end up excluding section 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, that would be a significant oversight.
501(c)(4)s engage in fiscal sponsorship as well, but unlike 501(c)(3)s they can do so in partisan ways. The Sixteen Thirty Fund and Beyond Impact (formerly Tides Advocacy) are two examples of major 501(c)(4) fiscal sponsors that operate in an explicitly political manner. Any requirement to report fiscal sponsorship on Form 990 should apply equally across all nonprofit categories.
Ultimately, details like these can be worked out through the public comment process, and there may be other important considerations to address once the regulatory text is officially released. For now, the Department is to be commended for its attention to this important and overlooked matter of nonprofit transparency.
* * *
Robert Stilson, Senior Research Analyst
Robert runs several of CRC's specialized projects. Originally from Indiana, he has a B.A. from Hanover College and a J.D. from University of Richmond School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude.
* * *
URL: Legal Insurrection
* * *
Original text here: https://capitalresearch.org/article/treasury-is-rightly-focused-on-nonprofit-transparency/
[Category: ThinkTank]
* * *
Treasury is rightly focused on nonprofit transparency
The Treasury Department recently announced the IRS would be proposing revisions to Form 990, the annual return that most nonprofits are required to file with the IRS. While the regulatory language has yet to be released, the Department's focus appears to be on two issues that indeed warrant further scrutiny within the tax-exempt sector: government funding for nonprofits and ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Capital Research Center issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by senior research analyst Robert Stilson to Legal Insurrection: * * * Treasury is rightly focused on nonprofit transparency The Treasury Department recently announced the IRS would be proposing revisions to Form 990, the annual return that most nonprofits are required to file with the IRS. While the regulatory language has yet to be released, the Department's focus appears to be on two issues that indeed warrant further scrutiny within the tax-exempt sector: government funding for nonprofits andfiscal sponsorship. This makes the announcement welcome news.
Form 990 is a public document, and the most comprehensive source of information about the financials and operations of American nonprofits. Public transparency is the 990's core purpose, and the Treasury Department's press release promises to improve this by providing "clearer reporting" in two specific areas.
The first of these concerns government grants and contracts, a topic that has been of heightened interest amid recent allegations of fraud and mismanagement in federal funding. Many nonprofits receive substantial funding from the federal government, and some receive almost all of their revenue from taxpayers. In other instances, public dollars flow to activist groups with clear ideological agendas. This places the American taxpayer in the position of not only incentivizing these groups with favorable tax treatment, but also directly funding their operations.
While it would seem wise to favor robust transparency in such cases, Form 990 currently provides almost no detail regarding government funding to the filing nonprofit. There is merely a single revenue line aggregating all contributions from federal, state, local, and foreign governmental entities into a single lump sum. More detailed public disclosure of government funding on the 990 would give Americans a much more comprehensive picture of a given nonprofit's finances. Moreover, it raises none of the legitimate privacy concerns that accompany other forms of donor disclosure.
The second area of focus concerns fiscal sponsorship, an arrangement through which a nonprofit "sponsor" houses a "project" group, providing it with administrative support and allowing it to make use of the sponsoring nonprofit's tax-exempt status in exchange for a fee. Fiscal sponsorship has become increasingly common, and it offers legitimate benefits. However--intentionally or not--it can also conceal details about the sponsored projects from public scrutiny. Those sponsored projects do not file their own Form 990s, and the current version of the form does not require nonprofits to disclose their fiscal sponsorship activities; in practice, very few do.
The Capital Research Center has previously called for reforms along these lines, suggesting that a new schedule could be appended to Form 990, in which basic details regarding projects and their financials would be reported by the sponsoring nonprofit. This would significantly improve fiscal sponsorship transparency without meaningfully restricting any of its legitimate purposes.
Notably, the Department's press release refers only to section 501(c)(3) public charities. If the proposed regulations end up excluding section 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, that would be a significant oversight.
501(c)(4)s engage in fiscal sponsorship as well, but unlike 501(c)(3)s they can do so in partisan ways. The Sixteen Thirty Fund and Beyond Impact (formerly Tides Advocacy) are two examples of major 501(c)(4) fiscal sponsors that operate in an explicitly political manner. Any requirement to report fiscal sponsorship on Form 990 should apply equally across all nonprofit categories.
Ultimately, details like these can be worked out through the public comment process, and there may be other important considerations to address once the regulatory text is officially released. For now, the Department is to be commended for its attention to this important and overlooked matter of nonprofit transparency.
* * *
Robert Stilson, Senior Research Analyst
Robert runs several of CRC's specialized projects. Originally from Indiana, he has a B.A. from Hanover College and a J.D. from University of Richmond School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude.
* * *
URL: Legal Insurrection
* * *
Original text here: https://capitalresearch.org/article/treasury-is-rightly-focused-on-nonprofit-transparency/
[Category: ThinkTank]
CSIS Issues Commentary: Europe Should Center Anti-Corruption in Its Democratic Resilience Efforts
WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by Donatienne Ruy, fellow in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program:
* * *
Europe Should Center Anti-Corruption in Its Democratic Resilience Efforts
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Well, singling out one country is perhaps unfair; a more accurate paraphrasing of the famous line would be "something is rotten in the state of democracy." Across Europe, democracy is under pressure. Trust in democracy's functions and results (though not in the idea itself) has fallen, ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by Donatienne Ruy, fellow in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program: * * * Europe Should Center Anti-Corruption in Its Democratic Resilience Efforts Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Well, singling out one country is perhaps unfair; a more accurate paraphrasing of the famous line would be "something is rotten in the state of democracy." Across Europe, democracy is under pressure. Trust in democracy's functions and results (though not in the idea itself) has fallen,and extreme political forces have fed on this distrust and polarization. Perceptions of corruption--and actual corruption scandals--have worsened.
Trust in public institutions and systems is critical for public support of policies, redistribution programs, challenging reforms, and, more broadly, societal cohesion: People must trust that their representatives are making decisions in the public's interest without granting preferential treatment to a group or abusing their power. The "Flamingo Revolution" in Albania is the most recent and prominent example of civic uprising seeking accountability for this abuse of power.
This popular disenchantment is happening at a time when Europe is facing major policy challenges (e.g., slowing economic growth, climate transition, and heightened defense spending) and major elections are on the horizon in France, Poland, and Italy. These dynamics are made more difficult by public distrust. Fighting corruption is therefore a values-based and practical goal.
Corruption at the Root of Discontent
At the root of this fraying public buy-in is corruption, defined as "the abuse of entrusted power for private gain." It has become a key corrosive agent to democracy: By redirecting public resources away from their intended purpose--or skewing decisionmaking toward specific actors--corruption severs the accountability link between electors and their elected officials. It also breaks down trust between citizens: It is hard to make compromises or envision a positive shared future when people think someone is getting one over on them.
Corruption can take many forms, such as bribes or misuse of public funds or office. It affects trust in the value of the tax and public funding system itself. It deepens inequality, undermines the economy and reliability of public services, and connects to other societal and economic ills such as organized crime and money laundering. It can threaten national security by opening the door to malign actors who seek to abuse democratic systems. It is often upstream of other externalities such as environmental degradation or unsafe public spaces. These dynamics have unfolded in places such as Moldova and Bulgaria, among others.
Europe remains the least corrupt region in the world, with disparities between Western and Eastern Europe (where corruption remains highly pervasive) as well as between EU members and neighboring countries. Yet it has seen a decade-long decline in corruption perceptions scores, and "clean" countries can still enable the hiding of corruption proceeds across borders through opaque financial systems and money laundering schemes. In the past 12 months, the number of citizens who perceive corruption as "widespread" has risen in 17 EU member states (the largest increases were in France and Belgium) and dropped in only 7 EU countries (the largest decreases were in Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg, and Croatia). In a 2021 survey, only 30 percent of EU citizens said they believe their government takes their views into account when making decisions--not a direct measure of corruption, but an indication that other interests are likely being served over public ones.
EU citizens perceive bribery and abuse of power for personal gain as most widespread in three areas: (1) political parties; (2) politicians at the national, regional, or local level; and (3) officials awarding public tenders. It is no surprise, then, that anti-establishment parties have seen their vote share increase. Similarly, the misallocation of public tenders decreases trust in fair taxation and redistribution and puts into question transparent business ecosystems and markets.
Corruption is closely tied to democratic backsliding: Authoritarians and aspiring autocrats wield corruption for their own undemocratic or illiberal aims. Steps taken to concentrate power and shield officials from accountability--resulting in regulatory capture or reduced independence of the press, for example--also tend to weaken the fight against corruption.
In this way, corruption enables the commingling of political and economic interests, greasing the wheels of a machine that redirects value and public resources toward fewer and fewer beneficiaries. In recent years, this was most visible in Hungary, where former Prime Minister Viktor Orban channeled funds and public contracts to his inner circle and family members. The centrality of corruption to the system explains why some corrupt actors immediately target anti-corruption institutions and tools upon taking office. This has occurred in Slovakia, where a controversial reform of the criminal code led to the closure of the Special Prosecutor's Office, which oversees serious cases of corruption by high-level officials. In Hungary, Orban long prevented Hungary from joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).
Some corrupt or illiberal actors have even used corruption as a campaign tool by presenting themselves as anti-establishment crusaders who will root corruption out of public life. This was the case of Andrej Babis's campaign, even though Czechia's corruption scores fell during his first tenure and he had been under scrutiny for his company's profiteering from public subsidies (a court later cleared him).
At times, the proceeds of corruption and illiberal governance have veered into the socio-cultural space. Viktor Orban notoriously used public resources to fund think tanks and cultural institutions that pushed his far-right, conservative agenda and in turn elevated his illiberal style of governance. A high-level Greek Orthodox abbot was accused of conducting improper land swaps with the state in 2008 (he was ultimately acquitted in 2017); he and his monastery have close ideological and financial ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian state, which advocated for him to be released from jail in 2011. Russian operatives were also accused of bribing protesters in North Macedonia and Greece in 2018 to oppose a name-change deal that allowed North Macedonia's entry into NATO. In this way, corruption and non-transparent lobbying practices can inflame societal tensions around immigration, nationalism, or gender issues by encouraging people to look for scapegoats even when those issues are not at the root of people's quality-of-life woes.
The many facets of corruption do not just undermine a country's democratic credentials, but also ultimately threaten the European Union's legitimacy and financial interests when corruption happens within member states. Corruption breeds distrust within a country and between countries. In the European Union, that can impact relations between members and with candidate countries and neighbors, too. Recent history shows no member state is immune, nor is it geographically or socioeconomically restricted. The Qatargate scandal in the European Parliament implicated representatives from Italy, Belgium, and Greece. A former Austrian vice chancellor was found guilty of corruption in the context of the 2019 Ibiza affair. The list goes on, but it simply shows pointing fingers at a few countries does not help grasp the full picture.
Some Countries Show the Way
There are bright spots in this picture. Hungary's new government has taken swift action to identify and recover the proceeds of the previous government's corruption and prevent the return of such graft. Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies exposed embezzlement within the country's ministry of defense; the case drew accusations of entrenched corruption in Ukraine, but its existence is proof that Ukraine continues to fight corruption at home while it counters Russia's invasion. Organic protest movements have emerged in Serbia and Albania against perceived public corruption and the allocation of public spaces to private interests.
In 2025, the European Union passed its first-ever Anti-Corruption Directive. It was supported by 581 out of the 720 members of the European Parliament, a significant majority, though member states will need to drive its enforcement. The European Anti-Fraud Office helped retrieve or guard an estimated Euros6.8 billion in EU funds in 2025. And in a 2026 Eurobarometer survey, perceptions of corruption were some of the lowest among public prosecution services compared to other institutions.
Where We Go from Here
Trust that institutions will prioritize public benefit over private interests or gain is critical to a well-functioning democracy. Yet research shows simply holding elections does not significantly enhance trust in public institutions. As the pillars of democratic societies become shaky, citizens need more than performative governance, and corruption has emerged as a lightning rod of discontent. Even in situations where ideological alignment exists between voters and governments, abuse of power and funds erodes support--and though some authoritarians are true ideologues, oftentimes, it is about the grift.
So, what can be done? Broadly, a critical step in coming years will be to restore a sense of agency for people and trust that they can effect change. More specifically, EU states and their partners should consider the following actions:
* Support open civic spaces to enhance transparent governance. Support for investigative journalism (through funding and legal frameworks) contributes to this transparency, both from EU and U.S. sources--public and private--but also from partners such as Japan and Australia. Relatedly, legal frameworks must maintain strong protections for whistleblowers.
* The European Commission should continue to consistently apply the conditionality mechanism. This can help ensure respect of fundamental values and the proper use of EU funds across member states. It can connect its efforts to build a "Democracy Shield" with other anti-corruption work to show a holistic approach to democratic resilience.
* Every EU member state should fully join the EPPO. Prosecutors should be given full access to information and suspected perpetrators, and attacks against EPPO prosecutors, or impediments to their work, should not be tolerated. EU leaders should fully resource the office in the next EU budget, negotiations for which are ongoing.
* Member states should empower national-level prosecutors' offices and courts. Judicial systems should be enabled to pursue corruption cases freely, even when they concern high-level officials--with reasonable guardrails against political persecution.
* Enforce transparency in political donations. Transparency in political funding remains critical to avoid corruption or the appearance thereof, particularly ahead of major elections in 2027. Harmonizing disclosures across the European Union would help in this endeavor.
* EU member states should transpose the Anti-Corruption Directive ahead of the June 2028 deadline. They should also consider additional guardrails that were considered but discarded in the final text, including level of abuse of office and corporate liability.
* Support continued law enforcement investigations of cryptocurrency schemes. Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a real money laundering and fraud risk in Europe, one that could help hide the proceeds of corruption. The recent EU anti-money laundering framework aims to bring crypto-assets in line with Financial Action Task Force standards. Member states should make sure they are fully ready for its entry into force by July 2027.
* Continue to work with allies and partners to confront corruption. S. cooperation remains critical: Sanctions against corrupt individuals, law enforcement partnerships in cross-border investigations, and banking designations in the case of systemic risks all support anti-corruption efforts in Europe.
Fighting corruption prevents the waste of public funds and the corrosion of trust in democratic institutions at a time when citizens want more accountability and responsiveness from their leaders. In a time of complex policy challenges and necessary trade-offs, few things could be more important.
* * *
Donatienne Ruy is a fellow in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.csis.org/analysis/europe-should-center-anti-corruption-its-democratic-resilience-efforts
[Category: ThinkTank]
* * *
Europe Should Center Anti-Corruption in Its Democratic Resilience Efforts
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Well, singling out one country is perhaps unfair; a more accurate paraphrasing of the famous line would be "something is rotten in the state of democracy." Across Europe, democracy is under pressure. Trust in democracy's functions and results (though not in the idea itself) has fallen, ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary on July 1, 2026, by Donatienne Ruy, fellow in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program: * * * Europe Should Center Anti-Corruption in Its Democratic Resilience Efforts Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Well, singling out one country is perhaps unfair; a more accurate paraphrasing of the famous line would be "something is rotten in the state of democracy." Across Europe, democracy is under pressure. Trust in democracy's functions and results (though not in the idea itself) has fallen,and extreme political forces have fed on this distrust and polarization. Perceptions of corruption--and actual corruption scandals--have worsened.
Trust in public institutions and systems is critical for public support of policies, redistribution programs, challenging reforms, and, more broadly, societal cohesion: People must trust that their representatives are making decisions in the public's interest without granting preferential treatment to a group or abusing their power. The "Flamingo Revolution" in Albania is the most recent and prominent example of civic uprising seeking accountability for this abuse of power.
This popular disenchantment is happening at a time when Europe is facing major policy challenges (e.g., slowing economic growth, climate transition, and heightened defense spending) and major elections are on the horizon in France, Poland, and Italy. These dynamics are made more difficult by public distrust. Fighting corruption is therefore a values-based and practical goal.
Corruption at the Root of Discontent
At the root of this fraying public buy-in is corruption, defined as "the abuse of entrusted power for private gain." It has become a key corrosive agent to democracy: By redirecting public resources away from their intended purpose--or skewing decisionmaking toward specific actors--corruption severs the accountability link between electors and their elected officials. It also breaks down trust between citizens: It is hard to make compromises or envision a positive shared future when people think someone is getting one over on them.
Corruption can take many forms, such as bribes or misuse of public funds or office. It affects trust in the value of the tax and public funding system itself. It deepens inequality, undermines the economy and reliability of public services, and connects to other societal and economic ills such as organized crime and money laundering. It can threaten national security by opening the door to malign actors who seek to abuse democratic systems. It is often upstream of other externalities such as environmental degradation or unsafe public spaces. These dynamics have unfolded in places such as Moldova and Bulgaria, among others.
Europe remains the least corrupt region in the world, with disparities between Western and Eastern Europe (where corruption remains highly pervasive) as well as between EU members and neighboring countries. Yet it has seen a decade-long decline in corruption perceptions scores, and "clean" countries can still enable the hiding of corruption proceeds across borders through opaque financial systems and money laundering schemes. In the past 12 months, the number of citizens who perceive corruption as "widespread" has risen in 17 EU member states (the largest increases were in France and Belgium) and dropped in only 7 EU countries (the largest decreases were in Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg, and Croatia). In a 2021 survey, only 30 percent of EU citizens said they believe their government takes their views into account when making decisions--not a direct measure of corruption, but an indication that other interests are likely being served over public ones.
EU citizens perceive bribery and abuse of power for personal gain as most widespread in three areas: (1) political parties; (2) politicians at the national, regional, or local level; and (3) officials awarding public tenders. It is no surprise, then, that anti-establishment parties have seen their vote share increase. Similarly, the misallocation of public tenders decreases trust in fair taxation and redistribution and puts into question transparent business ecosystems and markets.
Corruption is closely tied to democratic backsliding: Authoritarians and aspiring autocrats wield corruption for their own undemocratic or illiberal aims. Steps taken to concentrate power and shield officials from accountability--resulting in regulatory capture or reduced independence of the press, for example--also tend to weaken the fight against corruption.
In this way, corruption enables the commingling of political and economic interests, greasing the wheels of a machine that redirects value and public resources toward fewer and fewer beneficiaries. In recent years, this was most visible in Hungary, where former Prime Minister Viktor Orban channeled funds and public contracts to his inner circle and family members. The centrality of corruption to the system explains why some corrupt actors immediately target anti-corruption institutions and tools upon taking office. This has occurred in Slovakia, where a controversial reform of the criminal code led to the closure of the Special Prosecutor's Office, which oversees serious cases of corruption by high-level officials. In Hungary, Orban long prevented Hungary from joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).
Some corrupt or illiberal actors have even used corruption as a campaign tool by presenting themselves as anti-establishment crusaders who will root corruption out of public life. This was the case of Andrej Babis's campaign, even though Czechia's corruption scores fell during his first tenure and he had been under scrutiny for his company's profiteering from public subsidies (a court later cleared him).
At times, the proceeds of corruption and illiberal governance have veered into the socio-cultural space. Viktor Orban notoriously used public resources to fund think tanks and cultural institutions that pushed his far-right, conservative agenda and in turn elevated his illiberal style of governance. A high-level Greek Orthodox abbot was accused of conducting improper land swaps with the state in 2008 (he was ultimately acquitted in 2017); he and his monastery have close ideological and financial ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian state, which advocated for him to be released from jail in 2011. Russian operatives were also accused of bribing protesters in North Macedonia and Greece in 2018 to oppose a name-change deal that allowed North Macedonia's entry into NATO. In this way, corruption and non-transparent lobbying practices can inflame societal tensions around immigration, nationalism, or gender issues by encouraging people to look for scapegoats even when those issues are not at the root of people's quality-of-life woes.
The many facets of corruption do not just undermine a country's democratic credentials, but also ultimately threaten the European Union's legitimacy and financial interests when corruption happens within member states. Corruption breeds distrust within a country and between countries. In the European Union, that can impact relations between members and with candidate countries and neighbors, too. Recent history shows no member state is immune, nor is it geographically or socioeconomically restricted. The Qatargate scandal in the European Parliament implicated representatives from Italy, Belgium, and Greece. A former Austrian vice chancellor was found guilty of corruption in the context of the 2019 Ibiza affair. The list goes on, but it simply shows pointing fingers at a few countries does not help grasp the full picture.
Some Countries Show the Way
There are bright spots in this picture. Hungary's new government has taken swift action to identify and recover the proceeds of the previous government's corruption and prevent the return of such graft. Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies exposed embezzlement within the country's ministry of defense; the case drew accusations of entrenched corruption in Ukraine, but its existence is proof that Ukraine continues to fight corruption at home while it counters Russia's invasion. Organic protest movements have emerged in Serbia and Albania against perceived public corruption and the allocation of public spaces to private interests.
In 2025, the European Union passed its first-ever Anti-Corruption Directive. It was supported by 581 out of the 720 members of the European Parliament, a significant majority, though member states will need to drive its enforcement. The European Anti-Fraud Office helped retrieve or guard an estimated Euros6.8 billion in EU funds in 2025. And in a 2026 Eurobarometer survey, perceptions of corruption were some of the lowest among public prosecution services compared to other institutions.
Where We Go from Here
Trust that institutions will prioritize public benefit over private interests or gain is critical to a well-functioning democracy. Yet research shows simply holding elections does not significantly enhance trust in public institutions. As the pillars of democratic societies become shaky, citizens need more than performative governance, and corruption has emerged as a lightning rod of discontent. Even in situations where ideological alignment exists between voters and governments, abuse of power and funds erodes support--and though some authoritarians are true ideologues, oftentimes, it is about the grift.
So, what can be done? Broadly, a critical step in coming years will be to restore a sense of agency for people and trust that they can effect change. More specifically, EU states and their partners should consider the following actions:
* Support open civic spaces to enhance transparent governance. Support for investigative journalism (through funding and legal frameworks) contributes to this transparency, both from EU and U.S. sources--public and private--but also from partners such as Japan and Australia. Relatedly, legal frameworks must maintain strong protections for whistleblowers.
* The European Commission should continue to consistently apply the conditionality mechanism. This can help ensure respect of fundamental values and the proper use of EU funds across member states. It can connect its efforts to build a "Democracy Shield" with other anti-corruption work to show a holistic approach to democratic resilience.
* Every EU member state should fully join the EPPO. Prosecutors should be given full access to information and suspected perpetrators, and attacks against EPPO prosecutors, or impediments to their work, should not be tolerated. EU leaders should fully resource the office in the next EU budget, negotiations for which are ongoing.
* Member states should empower national-level prosecutors' offices and courts. Judicial systems should be enabled to pursue corruption cases freely, even when they concern high-level officials--with reasonable guardrails against political persecution.
* Enforce transparency in political donations. Transparency in political funding remains critical to avoid corruption or the appearance thereof, particularly ahead of major elections in 2027. Harmonizing disclosures across the European Union would help in this endeavor.
* EU member states should transpose the Anti-Corruption Directive ahead of the June 2028 deadline. They should also consider additional guardrails that were considered but discarded in the final text, including level of abuse of office and corporate liability.
* Support continued law enforcement investigations of cryptocurrency schemes. Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a real money laundering and fraud risk in Europe, one that could help hide the proceeds of corruption. The recent EU anti-money laundering framework aims to bring crypto-assets in line with Financial Action Task Force standards. Member states should make sure they are fully ready for its entry into force by July 2027.
* Continue to work with allies and partners to confront corruption. S. cooperation remains critical: Sanctions against corrupt individuals, law enforcement partnerships in cross-border investigations, and banking designations in the case of systemic risks all support anti-corruption efforts in Europe.
Fighting corruption prevents the waste of public funds and the corrosion of trust in democratic institutions at a time when citizens want more accountability and responsiveness from their leaders. In a time of complex policy challenges and necessary trade-offs, few things could be more important.
* * *
Donatienne Ruy is a fellow in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.csis.org/analysis/europe-should-center-anti-corruption-its-democratic-resilience-efforts
[Category: ThinkTank]