Claude Forthomme

Italy, London

ESG Director and Columnist at Impakter

ESG Director & columnist at https://t.co/BgRYt1LADE, explanatory #journalism; economist (Columbia U.), former #UN director; #fiction writer, painter, Italy fan❤️

Featured in: Favicon

impakter.com

linkedin.com Favicon

realcleardefense.com Favicon

redgreenandblue.org Favicon

bartday.com

Articles

TRUMP'S Trade War: What Is the Right Response?

3 weeks ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

Napoleon won his wars by hitting the enemy where it was least expected, and that’s what needs to be done with Trump. The proper response to the “reciprocal tariffs” he unleashed on the world on April 2 is not in tit-for-tat tariffs-on-goods. That’s stuff for kids, the kind of tariff policies that were believed in centuries ago, in the good old days of 17th-century mercantilists.
Omnibus Package: Approved by EU Council, the EU Parliament is Next

4 weeks ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

On March 26, 2025, the EU Council agreed on the “stop-the-clock” mechanism proposed by the EU Commission in the Omnibus package that was released by the EU Commission in February. The political motivation is clear, as Adam Szłapka, Minister for the European Union of Poland, said: “Simplification is one of the priorities of the Polish presidency.
From ReArm Europe to Readiness 2030: What’s Behind the Words

1 month ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

Once again, European politicians disappoint, showing that they are not able to call a spade a spade and prefer to resort to the “safety” of bland language to make everyone happy. Last Friday, we learned that the EU Commission had agreed to change the name of its European defence plan.
Trump’s Attack on American Universities: What It Means

1 month ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme |Richard Seifman

Trump describes his attack on American universities as a war on antisemitism in academia. But the real question is: To what extent does this attack place higher education in America at risk? Could America lose its role as a world leader in academia?
Trump's War on ESG: How the Finance Industry Is Holding Up

1 month ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

At first glance, it looked like the CFA Institute, the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, had caved into the Trump administration’s war on ESG. The Institute is a premium global professional investment association founded in 1962 by Lewis F. Powell, a famous conservative Republican who later became Supreme Court Justice.
Trump’s Elimination of USAID: What it Means - Impakter

1 month ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

The elimination of USAID was a foretold disaster, and the news came out yesterday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that following Elon Musk’s DOGE expedited review, of the over 6000 programs that constituted USAID’s work, only about 1,000 remained, or about 18% of the agency’s total budget. He further clarified that he would take those remaining programs into the State Department, although what they consist of, at this point in time, nobody knows.
Ukraine Peace Deal: Why EU Needs to Negotiate Directly with Russia

1 month ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

When Trump arrived at the White House, a breakdown in diplomatic relations with Europe was in the cards. We all hoped it wouldn’t happen, but it has. And Europeans must now face a new geopolitical reality: The post-World War II based on a close US-Europe alliance is no more. It means that the EU can no longer rely on the US and needs to open direct negotiations with Russia to achieve a peace deal in Ukraine.
Unthinkable: America Sides With Russia on Ukraine Resolution

1 month ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

This is the end of an era: We are now seeing the United States ditch its historic allies and side with its longtime enemies, Russia, Belarus and North Korea, voting against the Ukraine Resolution at the United Nations that was to mark the third year of the war on February 24. And all because the language in the Resolution blamed Russia for the war. And to think that until a month ago, the US had fully supported Ukraine’s war effort. It was, of course, Trump’s doing.
German Election 2025: Why It’s A Wake-Up Call for Europe

2 months ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

For the electorate, as the German election results clearly show, the issue that mattered most was migration, an issue also known as “refugees and asylum”. That was generally seen as more important than “protection of the climate” or “pensions.” Yet most important of all were “peace and security,” “social justice,” and the “economy,” or to put it more precisely, the lack of investment, the threat of stagnation, of falling out of the digital tech and AI revolution led by America.
Ukraine Peace Talks: Trump’s Tricks To Shift Blame on Zelenskyy in Case of Failure

2 months ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

Today, on his social media, Truth Social, Trump said: “I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and millions have unnecessarily died.