Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

ASCF News

Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

EU plans to curb Chinese grabs for big companies

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

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Brussels is seeking to strengthen its ability to control Chinese inroads into Europe’s economy, with proposed new powers to probe state-backed foreign companies seeking to snap up European firms.

The regulation, to be announced by European Union (EU) competition supremo Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday, is part of Europe’s hardening stance against Beijing, all while China remains the continent’s second biggest trading partner after the United States.

Brussels is trying to maintain a careful balancing act in its relations with the Asian superpower, with Germany eager to nurture ties with a country that remains a top destination for its exports.

But other member states point to China’s increasing authoritarianism, especially as seen in the plight of the Uyghur minority and in the political crackdown in Hong Kong.

According to an official document seen by AFP on Tuesday, the proposal would give Brussels new powers to investigate non-EU companies seeking to buy European firms with sales of 500 million euros or more.

State aid investigations could also be launched in companies bidding for big public contracts in Europe – such as trains or telecommunication equipment – worth 250 million euros or more.

Furthermore, the commission could open probes of its own initiative, without a transaction necessarily meeting those thresholds.

Topics covered include illegal subsidies, which could include companies enjoying zero-interest loans, preferential tax treatment or more traditional direct grants, the document said.

The proposal does not mention China and officially it is not intended to counter any country in particular, but sources agreed that long-held concerns about China were central to the idea.

The regulation comes shortly after the commission, which handles trade policy for the EU 27, surprised many by sealing an investment deal with Beijing when negotiations had been bogged down for years.

The investment pact faces a brutal ratification process and the anti-subsidy proposal by Vestager could reassure sceptics that the deal does not mean weaker scrutiny of Beijing.

The anti-subsidy regulation, after being announced by the commission, faces potential modifications by European Parliament and member states before coming into force.

Photo: The European Union has China in its sights. Photo: AFP/EPA

Link: https://asiatimes.com/2021/05/eu-plans-to-curb-chinese-grabs-for-big-companies/

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