EU gives banks just nine months to prepare for instant euro payments
The EU has given payment providers just nine months to get ready to accept instant euro payments, a move that the bloc hopes will help European payment providers…
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Economy
Latest reporting and analysis on economy.
EC hammers Apple with €1.8 billion fine and threatens ‘further action’
The European Commission has fined Apple €1.8 billion for breaking the bloc's anti-trust rules regarding music streaming.
EU forced-labour crackdown ‘could curtail Chinese solar-panel imports’
A proposed European Union crackdown on goods made with forced labour could cut the number of Chinese solar panels imported into the bloc, the European Commission…
Musk’s X in spotlight as EC ponders further regulation crackdown
The European Commission is mulling a further regulatory crackdown on Elon Musk's X, the body said.
A $1.5 trillion ‘ESG’ debt market has started bleeding clients
In the world’s second-biggest ESG debt market, corporate clients are starting to walk away.
Hundreds of tonnes of Russian wood reach Belgium, despite EU sanctions
Belgian authorities have intercepted hundreds of tonnes of Russian wood despite EU sanctions that have been in effect since early 2022.
EU unblocks about €2 billion from suspended funding for Hungary
Hungary managed to unblock about €2 billion in European Union funds as Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government made further progress in the recovery of crucial…
Musk sues OpenAI for ‘stark betrayal of aim to benefit humanity’
Elon Musk, the US billionaire owner of X, Tesla and SpaceX, is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman.
EC withholds some UN funds for Palestine but ups overall aid budget
The European Commission will hold back part of a payment of €82 million for the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) - but increase overall aid…
Tusk says Poland ‘will ignore EU Green Deal and Ukraine policies’ unless reformed
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met protesting farmers in Warsaw and called for reform of both the European Union’s Green Deal and the EU free-trade agreement…
German travellers left kicking their heels as transport workers strike
Travellers were left waiting in Germany as buses, trams and underground trains stood idle across most of the country at the culmination of a week of staggered public…
IEA: Global energy-related CO2 emissions hit record high in 2023
Global energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) hit a record high last year, driven partly by increased fossil fuel use in countries where droughts hampered…
Germany and Italy scupper EU law on company liability for supply-chain human-rights abuse
Germany and Italy torpedoed a European Union law at the last minute that would have made companies liable for human-rights abuses in their supply chains - such as…
Icy blast of bankruptcies loom for Swedish wind-power sector, experts warn
Two Swedish economists have issued a warning that the country’s wind-power industry is on the brink of a wave of bankruptcies.
MEPs back ‘quality’ produce protections amid farmers’ protests
MEPs have backed the implementation of further protections for so-called "quality" agricultural produce in the wake of the farmers' protests across Europe.
Eurocities report spotlights local green initiatives
Eurocities, Brussels
Von der Leyen’s serial private-jet use ‘a disgrace’, says Left party leader
European Commission President Usrula von der Leyen has long championed “green” development and environmental protection - but her own carbon footprint is less…
German home-building collapses amid economic downturn
Building permits for apartments in Germany fell 27 per cent in 2023, the statistics office said, underscoring a downturn in demand in the construction and real estate…
‘Reform crucial now for troubled EU,’ says Draghi
Former Italian Prime Minister and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has demanded a reform of European institutions, insisting that the single market was in…
Despite farmers’ protests, EP approves Nature Restoration Act
The European Parliament has given its final blessing to the controversial Nature Restoration Act.
Dutch EV drivers: ‘Don’t charge your cars between 4pm and 9pm’
Electric car charging station managers have been urged by the Dutch grid operator to shut down their services between 4pm and 9pm.
EC ‘taking action to help farmers’ after fiery Brussels protests
The European Commission has insisted it is already "taking action" to help farmers - despite the latest fiery protests in Brussels.
Denmark ends probe into ‘deliberate’ Nord Stream pipeline blasts
Denmark has dropped its investigation into the explosions in 2022 on the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany, police said on Monday, becoming…
Brussels burns as farm protests return to the EU capital
Fires blazed outside buildings belonging to the EU institutions on the morning of February 26, as the EU-wide farmers' protests returned to the streets of Brussels.
Kyiv urges Poland to punish those behind Ukrainian grain spills
Kyiv has urged Poland to punish those responsible for Ukrainian grain spills at the border over the weekend, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said…
EU carbon border tax will do little to cut emissions, ADB study says
A European Union plan to impose tariffs on high-carbon imports could hurt developing countries in Asia but is unlikely to lead to big reductions in greenhouse gas…
German, Dutch central banks post big losses, warn of more
The German and Dutch central banks on Friday posted multi-billion euro losses for 2023 and predicted more financial pain ahead, suggesting that they are unlikely…
Eurovision scrutinises Israel’s song lyrics amid Gaza furore
Eurovision Song Contest organisers are scrutinising the Israeli submission after lyrics leaked to the media appeared to refer to the October 7 attack by Hamas that…
Czech, Slovak farmers block borders in protest
Farmers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other central European countries protested along Czech borders on Thursday, blocking some crossings as they demanded…
The peasants are revolting: This year’s farmer protests are a mere foretaste of what is to come if Brussels does not change tack
Europe’s recent spate of protests by farmers may appear to involve a coincidental concurrence of otherwise unrelated concerns. They weren’t.