Technology and innovation Archives - IREF Europe

The Quantum Race Is On — And Europe Can’t Afford to Lose Again

Mohamed Moutii — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 08:11:24 +0000

Europe once again stands at the edge of a technological revolution—this time, in quantum computing. Widely regarded as the next tech frontier, quantum promises capabilities far beyond today’s supercomputers, with…

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European Fintechs – Few Signs of Renewed Public Financial Market Appetite

IREF — Wed, 29 May 2024 04:25:20 +0000

Introduction Two years after we last reviewed the fintech sector1, three significant trends are emerging which we explore in the body of this Newsletter: Investors remain wary of the sector…

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Biden’s AI Executive Order

Mohamed Moutii — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 04:46:01 +0000

On Oct 30, 2023, President Biden signed the Executive Order on AI, requiring AI developers and cloud providers to share safety tests and other crucial information with the government. It…

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How are Central Banks Likely to Appraise the Future Viability of Neobanks?

John Butler — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 07:29:29 +0000

Questionable business models in Fintech have been exposed, as predicted, in response to rising interest rates. In Europe, the UK and US, rates have risen from near zero levels at…

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A wide look at Digital Euro – part 2: monetary policy

Leonardo Baggiani — Wed, 19 May 2021 06:14:38 +0000

In a previous article, we pointed out a number of technical problems related to the Digital Euro (DE) and the expected benefits for the users. To make a long story short, the costs and risks of the project seem greater than the benefits. We now add some thoughts about the ECB monetary policy.

The ECB does not give the impression it has a clear view about how to inject DEs into the economy. Moreover, it is mired in deciding how to acquire assets to hold against the DEs it will be issuing. Buying bonds from banks and paying them with DEs is an option. However, it would run against the ECB’s intention to limit the use of DE to individuals.

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A wide look at Digital Euro – part 1: risks, costs, and benefits for the users

Leonardo Baggiani — Wed, 12 May 2021 05:47:46 +0000

The European Central Bank is working on her own digital currency: the Digital Euro (DE). Several details are provided in the specific ECB report. There are still many technical problems to solve and structural choices to make before implementing DE. Yet, some features seem clear. DE would be a new technology to use the euro, and will present both cash and deposit-money features. Three sets of reasons back the project. It aims at improving the public payment system on the user’s side; improving the effectiveness of monetary policy and protecting the transmission mechanism; answering some strategic and geopolitical concerns. The first set of issues is discussed in this contribution. A following article will examine the remaining topics.

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The Gig Economy: A good deal for workers

Kalle Kappner — Wed, 05 May 2021 05:39:28 +0000

Occasional sleeping in a shared flat; getting a lift from the airport to the city centre; moving house with the help of a bunch of students – an increasing number of people uses the diverse, often inexpensive offers of digital platforms such as Airbnb, Uber, or TaskRabbit. Although the economic significance of such digital platforms is still modest, the demand for deliveries has surged during the pandemic and it may further rise in the future.

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Should Covid-19 Vaccination be Mandatory?

Sergio Beraldo — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 12:14:41 +0000

Gallup conducted a panel survey in the very days the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was certified as effective. According to the survey, only 63% of Americans agree to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Things are similar in other Western countries. An article published by Nature Medicine last October (Jeffrey V. Lazarus et al, A global survey of potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine) surveyed 13,426 people in 19 countries, and examined potential acceptance rates and factors influencing acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Only 71.5% of participants reported that they would be likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine.

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Taxing Artificial Intelligence

Julian Arndts — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 15:48:55 +0000

WP 2019-05.

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The EU Needs Property Rights In Spectrum

Ryan Khurana — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 04:49:21 +0000

The European Union has been hard at work attempting to harmonise national markets in an effort to build a competitive and innovative Digital Single Market by reducing the ability for…

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