Managing Critical Issues & Risks Across Emerging Markets

The Speyside Central and Eastern Europe team is closely monitoring the intensifying debate around the European Union’s competitiveness agenda and the emerging concept of “Buy European” or “European preference.” For business, this debate is no longer a distant Brussels policy discussion but an emerging framework that will shape future market access, public funding, regulatory burdens and industrial opportunities across the EU. With the growing focus on economic sovereignty, MNCs may face pressure to localise production and adjust supply chains to align with EU priorities.

The Asia Pacific Speyside team analyzes ASEAN's Energy Transition Realities, assessing how geopolitical Disruption is forcing a pivot toward regional Resilience. With global conflicts disrupting roughly 20% of global oil flows, Southeast Asia is reframing its energy transition as a critical national security imperative rather than solely an emissions-reduction effort. To mitigate reliance on imported fossil fuels, the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) has emerged as an operational and financing priority, aimed at connecting national electricity systems and diversifying power supplies through cross-border renewable energy trade.

Speyside Group analyzes the structural forces shaping Brazil’s 2026 elections, highlighting that the race is currently being defined by early institutional moves, shifting political alignments, and the critical necessity of coalition-building. Rather than relying strictly on campaign rhetoric, this electoral cycle is a profound test of governance capacity and institutional balance.