Mikko Tuovinen

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Global Trade VS Public Health – A Fair Tug of War?

I wrote an article with the following: headline #GlobalTrade VS #PublicHealth – A Fair #Tug-of-War? Check it out! #WTOlaw #Competitionlaw #PublicHealth #PrecautionaryPrinciple

I am fascinated by legal arguments that successfully defy main rules. It is a lot of fun to read and to hear how the best legal minds can turn certain defeats into good fights –or even unlikely wins. This is also perhaps one of the main reasons why I wanted to study law in the first place and why it remains an interesting discipline to explore.

I recently wrote my bachelor’s thesis on arguments…

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One year as a CEO

One year as a CEO

On last Tuesday I ended a journey, which has kept me quite busy for many days and evenings. This journey has also meant that I have not been writing to my blog for a while. I thought that now it is a good moment to change this trend and at the same time I’ll wrap things up for my year as a fixed-term CEO of a small cafeteria.

I think this post will be more of a reminder to myself of the main…

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The reform at the European Court of Justice – will it ease the workload?

I wrote an article to the latest LexPress on the reform at the European Court of Justice. Main points:

In the future, the General Court will have two judges from each Member State, instead of just one.

The Civil Service Tribunal was dissolved as of 1th of September 2016.

Judge Kanninen: “the main benefit is that the Court will be able to deliver high quality legal protection swiftly enough”.

Kann…

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Theresa May's Brexit letter to Donald Tusk

Theresa May's #Brexit letter to Donald Tusk in 8 points #EU #UK

I read Theresa May’s Brexit letter to Donald Tusk. If you don’t feel like reading 6 pages of European history in the making, here is my summary of that letter:

My main takes from May’s letter to Tusk:

1) the UK aims to restore its self-determination,

2) the UK shall withdraw from the EU and the EURATOM,

3) the UK shall convert the EU “acquis” (EU law) into UK law; (of course after the two-year…

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Crimean juncture – defending the good, the bad or the ugly?

Crimean juncture – defending the good, the bad or the ugly?

Crimea is an area of small size (27,000 km2) but of great diplomatic, military and symbolic importance. It is a juncture that reflects regional disputes and tensions originating well before 2014 when the Russian sanctions kicked in. Ukraine is known as “the granary of Europe”: Ukrainian crops were the fuel that the hard-working Soviet workers needed to keep the communist wheels turning.…

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An opened parcel: an infringement of your privacy or the only way to protect our safety?

Opened #parcel: #infringement of #privacy or way to protect our #safety? #Post #ECHR

Nowadays almost anything can be ordered online 24/7/365. This makes the world seem smaller and more accessible. The amount of sent parcels increase every year, especially during holidays. For example, Posti Group (a Finnish postal service operator) reported an all time high of more than 1 million parcels in one week during Christmas 2015. In Switzerland, Swiss Post reported more than 18 million…

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Greece at the brink of a default: has the EU shown enough solidarity?

#Greece at the brink of a default: has the #EU shown enough solidarity? #eurozone #eurogroup

The Greeks are running out of cash and time. Source of the picture: ECB /uploaded by Blackfish, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Why is #Greece at the brink of a default and has the #EU shown enough solidarity?

Read this article by Labor MEP Richard Corbett to find out: http://www.richardcorbett.org.uk/greece-dont-take-it-at-face-value/ #eurozone

A few passages from the article:

“Unlike many other highly indebted…

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How much is an attack on Clash of Clans or a nice cup of espresso worth to you?

How much is an attack on #ClashofClans or a nice cup of #espresso worth to you? #electricity #reliability #energy #energia #smartgrid

Clash of Clans is a popular game application. Source of the picture: Themeplus, modified, CC by SA 2.0.

Benjamin Franklin once said: “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” In my opinion, the same can be applied to electricity and power outages. I come originally from a rural region in Finland, where outages, especially during heavy snowing, are a common occurrence. For us having a…

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Can subsidies for offshore wind be quickly and substantially reduced?

Can subsidies for #offshorewind be quickly and substantially reduced?

Mike Parr’s latest article on EnergyPost[1] presents numbers that surprised me, big time. According to him, it’s already cheaper to operate offshore wind turbines than combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT’s). He calculated some estimates for Danish offshore sites called Anholt (built), Horns Rev3 (planned) and Saeby (soon out for tender) to prove his point:

“Dong invested €1.355 billion in Anholt.…

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Does Statoil practise what it preaches?

Statoil is a Norwegian energy company that has 23 000 employees, activities in 36 countries and a stock market value of about 55bn dollars. Therefore, it is a big energy company in Scandinavian standards. As a comparison, ExxonMobil has circa 75 000,[1] Shell 92 000 [2] and BP 84 000 [3] employees, and stock market values of about 355bn, 120bn and 170bn, respectively.

Anders Bjartnes, an…

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No innovation, no future –Is China winning the sustainable energy innovation race?

No #innovation, no future –Is #China winning the #sustainable #energy #innovation race?

After a century of a rather stable progress, the energy sector is now in turmoil and only those who keep themselves on the cutting edge of this transformation will reap the best benefits of the new normal. Like it or not, we are heading towards a more sustainable energy infrastructure but the million dollar questions are by what means, by who and how fast. The answer to these questions lies not…

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Is Gaza a gas-war-to-happen?

Is #Gaza a #gas #war-to-happen? #Israel #Palestine #LevantineBasin #oil

The gas of the Levantine Basin has many claimants. Picture: Public Domain, EIA.

Michael Schwartz’ recent articleon TomDispatch is a great read. Even if you are not really much into the whole Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I think you should read Mr. Schwartz’ point of view on how Gazan natural gas became the epicenter of an international power struggle. It opened my eyes and I hope it will do the…

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No need to wait: should we give a clear green light to energy storage?

No need to wait: should we give a clear green light to #energystorage ? #california #energytransmission #energia

Energy storage methods come in many shapes and sizes. And prices. Source: Bexi81, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Do you think that energy storage is a viable part of tomorrow’s energy system but it is not yet at grip parity and therefore not yet a real solution? Well, if you ask Mr. Roy Day, he would say that you are wrong. Let’s take a look at some interesting points he makes in his recent articleat…

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SNAPSHOT: Divestment from fossil fuels not the answer? R&D and innovation are?

#Carbonbubble cancelled? #Divestment from #fossilfuels not the answer? #R&D and #innovation are? #oil #gas #climatechange

Is divestment from oil and gas the answer? Picture: Brylie Oxley, CC 3.0

You might have heard about a movement that demands investors to divest from fossil fuels. This movement has been especially active in American universities and colleges, and they organized a ‘Global Divestment Day’ on Friday and Saturday (02/13 – 02/14/2015) [1]: they had around 150 events, all around the world. Their…

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Reducing emissions or/and promoting renewables? A glance at electricity markets, renewables and ETS –Part 3

An ounce of #performance is worth pounds of #promises in #climate policies. #energy #EUETS #energia #carbonpricing #marketmodels

As the slogan of a renowned newspaper goes, we are living financial times. This means that the most important incentives for societal change, on an institutional level, are dollars, euros, yens, pounds and francs. On an individual level, we might have other incentives too but in this blog post we will concentrate on the big scheme of things. More specifically, we will now talk about emission…

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SNAPSHOT: is hacking the EU ETS becoming easier despite complex security procedures?

Is #hacking the #EUETS becoming easier despite complex #security procedures? #climatechange #carbonmarket #EU #Holcim

Are long fingers a threat to carbon markets? Image: GeorgeThomas, server hacking, CC2.0.

In a world where everything is online, international crime is becoming more attractive and more profitable. The EU ETS has not been safe from this trend. According to McKenzie Funk, carbon crimes go “well beyond stealing and reselling credits”. The list of carbon crime includes, but is not limited to, tax…

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SNAPSHOT: Are we witnessing the end of the OPEC?

Are we witnessing the end of the #OPEC? #oil #climatechange #energy #energia #carbonbubble

Source: CC0 Public Domain_lalabell68

According to Elias Hinckley (an energy and tax partner with the law firm Sullivan and Worcester), the oil markets as we know them since 1970s, might no longer be coming back. So far the Saudis have acted as global swing producer, influencing global prices by increasing or decreasing production to expand or reduce available global supply. However, the Saudis…

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