MEPs back new vehicle brake-emissions rules
MEPs have voted in favour of regulating vehicle-brakes’ environmental emissions as part of a new swathe of “green” transport rules.
Category
Economy
Latest reporting and analysis on economy.
EU farmers win MEPs’ backing in Ukraine agri-trade spat
The European Parliament has backed European Union farmers on the sensitive topic of Ukrainian agricultural trade.
French AI push ‘will cost €5 billion a year,’ report finds
France must pump €5 billion into AI development a year for the next five years if it wants to be competitive at the international level, a Government report has…
Belgium ‘risks becoming Greece on the North Sea’, warns national bank chief
The Governor of the National Bank of Belgium says debt seriously threatens the economy.
‘Digital enforcer’ Breton takes a bow as European Parliament approves AI Act
Brussels' self-styled "digital enforcer", European Commissioner Thierry Breton, has taken a victory lap on social media after the European Parliament approved the…
Germans ‘may be left in the cold three days a week’, energy titan warns
If German coal plants are closed down, as is required by 2030, the country faces around 100 power cuts of up to 21 hours annually, according to Westenergie, Germany's…
Apple’s pips squeezed harder as EU directive bites
Apple made a major concession in its battle to protect the dominance of its App Store on iPhones and other devices in Europe, saying developers will be free to…
‘Wake up or there’ll be no coffee to smell,’ German trade group warns Brussels
Europe's coffee merchants are sleepwalking into a caffeine crisis, the German Coffee Association (GCA) has warned.
No shift, Sherlock? Well, ECB hints of summer interest-rate cuts as Eastern Europe wields axe
It could be a sunnier summer for the Eurozone after the European Central Bank (ECB) hinted it might finally cut high interest rates that have enriched banks but…
EU CO2 tax may ‘make electricity more expensive and polluting’
A new “green” European Union tax might have some ugly, unintended consequences.
Groundbreaking Dutch CO2 storage-project costs soar
The Dutch Porthos project that aims to capture and store CO2 from industry in empty gasfields beneath the North Sea is proving much more expensive than initially…
Big Tech war-of-words breaks out as EU’s Digital Markets Act enters full force
Open verbal conflict seems to have erupted between Big Tech beasts amid the official commencement of the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Full-fledged American isolationism would be devastating – for its own interests, first and foremost
In his farewell address George Washington urged his compatriots and their descendants to restrict America’s involvement in the world and avoid entangling alliances.
Trump’s ‘nationalism a danger to US’, German Vice Chancellor warns
Former US president Donald Trump's “nationalism” poses a danger to his own country, Germany's Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck claimed.
Fortnite developer Epic Games claims ‘Apple breaking EU digital rules’
Apple is actively breaking the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), claimed Epic Games - developer of popular online gaming platform Fortnite.
Polish MP ‘tear-gassed by police’ at farmers’ protest in Warsaw
Sławomir Mentzen MP, a leader of the Polish right-wing Confederation party who was at a farmers’ protest outside the Polish Parliament, accused the police of…
Polish Government claims credit for EC revision of transport deal with Ukraine
Poland’s Government crowed that it persuaded the European Commission to revise a deal on road transport between the European Union and Ukraine, which had prompted…
German travellers left waiting as transport workers walk out
Many thousands of Germans were left facing delays as train drivers, airport-security workers and Lufthansa ground-staff walked off the job, spelling further headaches…
US court backs Apple, Tesla and other Big Tech over child-labour in Africa
A US federal appeals court refused to hold five major technology companies liable over their alleged support for the use of child labour in cobalt mining…
‘EC President cause of economic woes,’ says German finance minister
"It is Ursula von der Leyen's legacy that we have chosen regulation instead of innovation," Lindner told German newspaper Handelsblatt on March 6.
UK non-doms and vapers hit under Hunt’s taxation budget proposals
Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said he would abolish a so-called "non-dom" status that let residents, including those in European Union countries, avoid…
Dutch double-up on nuclear power
The Dutch Parliament passed a move to build four new nuclear-power plants, doubling the planned two major installations originally envisaged.
EU agrees creation of emergency force to counter cyber-attack threats
European Union institutions have reached a provisional agreement regarding the creation of an emergency force for fighting cyber attacks.
Is a commitment to climate orthodoxy a prerequisite to working for the European Central Bank? The Frankfurt institution has tied itself in knots over the true meaning of diversity
There are two key kinds of diversity in Western liberal democracies. One visible. and one invisible.
No more pacifism for an EU that gears up for war
The European Commission presented its first industrial defence strategy on March 5, along with a €1.
EU solar panel market showing signs of collapse
EU manufacturers of solar panels are swiftly going out of business, as cheaper Chinese imports outcompete them.
Hard-left eco-arsonists set fire to Tesla’s Berlin gigafactory
Hard-left environmentalists set fire to a high-voltage transformer in Tesla's Berlin-Brandenburg factory, resulting in a major power outage and a forced halt in…
Two years into the conflict, have Putin and the Russian economy been the real winners of the war in Ukraine? Depressingly that’s what the numbers suggest
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions of people have been displaced, Western economies…
Brno’s integrated strategy: using EU funds, connecting urban and rural communities for a brighter future
Brno, Czechia In the heart of South Moravia, the city of Brno stands as a vibrant hub of culture, education, and innovation.
EU agrees to ban goods made with forced labour, including many Chinese solar panels
The EU has decided to ban importing goods made using forced labour, in a move that also limits access to Chinese-made solar panels.