Aspen Institute Italia hosted a conversation on the results of the 17-21 July European Council between Minister Amendola and Giulio Tremonti, during which they discussed topics of major interest in the casual “off the record” style typical of the encounters organized by the Institute.
In the July 21 agreement guaranteeing the arrival of resources from Europe in response to the economic consequences of Covid-19, strategic sectors such as infrastructure are to receive significant support. Nevertheless, a series of both technical and institutional complexities threaten to slow the distribution of these funds. The controversy that has developed around a mechanism that hinges on the rule of law is paradigmatic: both the so-called “frugal four” countries and Finland consider the theme central, in contrast to the bitter opposition of countries such as Poland and Hungary.
Orbital angular momentum microlaser[1] – A semiconductor laser of micrometric size that produces twisted light by exploiting an “exceptional quantum point”: this is the study that won the fifth edition of the Aspen Institute Italia Award for collaboration and scientific research between Italy and the United States.
Joe Biden is not going to have an easy launch into the White House. Not only because of the way Donald Trump’s behaving but, essentially, because the Democrats have lost several seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate run-off elections in Georgia on January 5th could award the two missing seats to the Republicans, creating a “divided government” that would make it very difficult for Biden to stick to his agenda – especially in terms of the economy.
Modern medicine is in continuous evolution, with discoveries and technologies unimaginable until just a few years ago. The field of immunology could not have conceived, for example, of an immune system capable of being “educated” to combat tumor cells, and yet today there is a vast amount of clinical evidence of exactly that. Advancements in research have led to various paradigm changes that have overturned previous ideas about disease and the human body.
Enormous investments have been going into artificial intelligence for some time now. In some cases the returns have been unclear; neither are we entirely sure what artificial intelligence, machine learning and algorithms are, or what the difference between them is. What is certain, however, is that the future of the economy and of the society is inextricably bound to this new technological revolution.
The technological and economic convergence of electrical and gas grids will be what marks the future energy transition, and it will be up to a modern delivery system to create a more sustainable, efficient and circular energy system. The move is toward a change in the energy mix. Indeed, although 46% of electrical power is produced today from coal and nuclear, considerable growth in the use of renewable energies is expected for 2030. The most effective management of the transition, then, will mean keeping environmental and economic sustainability in mind.
The first 2019 meeting of the Aspen Junior Fellows focused on analyzing the European Union’s plans and prospects in this year of parliamentary elections.
“Knowing Europe in order to change it”, could be said to have been the discussion’s leitmotiv. The Treaties map out the objectives toward which the Union must strive, such as balanced economic growth and price stability, and the instruments employed must be capable of meeting the ambitious goals that the common project envisions.
