Press Reader

Compiled by Ana Ramic

This week’s Recap is focusing on all things digi, but we will still try to cover the biggest news of the last week. To that end, we begin with GDPR which went into effect on May 25 and proved to be an unexpected fountain of jokes on the internet, for which we are all grateful. According to Google search volume, GDPR is “bigger than Beyoncé.” And that’s big.

In less fun (and potentially world-ending) news, Trump’s withdrawal from JCPOA has had a series of consequences in the last 23 days, with Iran now set to decide its future course. For a counter-argument to the popular narrative, read Richard Goldberg’s thoughts on why Trump made the right decision in pulling out of the deal. And what does this mean for Europe’s relationship with Russia?

Happy reading!

POLICY & SECURITY

• America and Germany are about so much more than Trump: McDonough, Deißner, and Sokol on the transatlantic relationship
• Rep. Charlie Dent officially resigns from the House of Representatives: „Separation of political parties has replaced separation of powers as a guiding governing philosophy.“
• Will they-Won’t they game between the US and North Korea. Could the “flip-flopping” actually work?
• Italy seems to be imploding as of last Monday, after its government collapsed following its longest crisis since WWII. Italy’s left and right populist parties won half the votes in the election last March, but were unable to form a government, leading to the current constitutional crisis. The interim PM is Carlo Cottarelli, an economist with no political experience. The question now, of course, is what will happen to Italy’s place in the eurozone, and what have we learned post-Greece?
• Joschka Fischer on Trump’s decision to abandon the JCPOA and White House’s lack of strategy in the Middle East
• George Soros’s speech from Paris last Tuesday on “How to Save Europe”
• Missouri Governor Eric Greitens (R) has resigned last week following accusations of sexual misconduct
• Check out the latest Eurobarometer survey from last April, in the lead-up to the European elections next year

TECH & BUSINESS

• After failed negotiations, US instates 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs on EU, Mexico, and Canada on grounds of national security
• The White House continues to tie tariffs on cars with national security. See why trade expert Phil Levy thinks the case is weak
• Mark Zuckerberg continued his apology tour, this time in front of EU Parliament. Spoiler-alert: it was another missed opportunity.
• White House is set to reveal $50bil worth of tariffs on Chinese goods which will be subject to 25% tariff.  The list of those affected will be revealed by June 15.
• Artificial general intelligence – “when it arrives, we give it the utmost possible deference”

CULTURE & MEDIA

• White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has a rare moment of weakness as a child asks her about gun control: at 13:00 min
• FIFA vs the FBI – James Comey’s book should have included the backstory
• Ta-Nehisi Coates on Kanye, Trump, and white freedom: “Gods are fickle”
• And just like that, “Roseanne” has been cancelled due to her racist tweets. But not before wreaking havoc.
• AB Member Andrea Römmele on lies and their effect on democratic discourse
• In September 2017 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and caused unprecedented damage. The official death count is 64, but the new study from The New England Journal of Medicine estimates that the number of excess deaths related to the hurricane is more than 70 times the official estimate.