The European Union is at a crucial moment in the enforcement of sanctions against Russia. While military and financial support for Ukraine remains paramount, sanctions are an effective tool to hinder and disrupt Russian military operations. Our inter-organizational task force has issued this new report, containing concrete recommendations for EU institutions to strengthen the implementation of anti-Russian sanctions.

While much attention has been given to Chinese investments in developing countries, less focus has been placed on China's growing presence in NATO-aligned Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. As China strengthens its partnership with Russia amidst the war in Ukraine, the region’s relationship with China has come under increasing scrutiny.

The Czech Republic is one of the most active supporters of Ukraine in terms of direct military support, provision of protection to Ukraine citizens or by leading the widely-respected ammunition initiative announced in February 2024. The Czech government has also profiled itself within the EU by supporting tough sanctions against Russia. Still, there are several options available for the current administration to strengthen the implementation of sanctions through legislative and non-legislative measures. 

Following a flurry of proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress addressing the risks associated with investments linked to authoritarian states, PSSI’s latest Perspective urges Europe to emulate or match these measures. The report emphasizes the geopolitical importance of managing capital flows to avoid inadvertently supporting undemocratic regimes and associated corporate bad actors, through highlighting ten such legislative proposals in particular. 

Problematic content such as disinformation is difficult to address in a legal space where such content is not defined. However, as this publication shows, the creators of this content generally tend to operate in the gray zone of law and ethical business, and therefore their reach and profit can be limited by the traditional legal and regulatory tools already available.

Given the recent U.S. Congressional report on the acute national and economic security threats posed by the crane manufacturer ZPMC, PSSI has issued a Flash Traffic report recommending capital markets sanctions against both ZPMC itself (SS.600320) and its parent company CCCC (HK.1800, SS.601800).

Video obsah se stává stále populárnějším zdrojem informací a jeho objem v informačním prostředí roste. Lákavost audiovizuálního obsahu si uvědomují i ​​tvůrci problematického obsahu, včetně těch, kteří dlouhodobě a systematicky šíří dezinformace. Jejich aktivita na platformách jako YouTube roste a s tím i jejich sledovanost, která dosahuje desetitisíce až sto tisíc sledovatelů. Kromě platformy pro rozšíření dosahu jim YouTube slouží jako monetizační platforma, ať už pomocí reklam, členských poplatků nebo finančních darů.

Given the recent revelation that S.B. Submarine Systems, China’s leading subsea cable installer, has been flagged by U.S. officials as presenting acute security risks, PSSI has issued a Flash Traffic report recommending capital markets sanctions against its parent company, China Communications Services (HK.0552). 

As the Members of the European Parliament’s ninth term closed their books, PSSI teamed up with Political Capital and partners to track the views of incumbent MEPs from the V4, Austria, Bulgaria and Romania on authoritarian regimes. We used qualitative and quantitative methods to build an accurate picture of MEPs’ positions on authoritarian countries. PSSI contributed to the effort with an analysis of Czech MEPs.