‘France negotiating Ukrainian minerals deal,’ says defence minister Lecornu
French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu has confirmed Paris was in talks with Ukraine over access to key raw materials, particularly for military use amid growing…
Economy
Latest reporting and analysis on economy.
Industry chiefs deride EC’s Clean Industrial Deal plan
Industry leaders have poured scorn on the European Commission's Clean Industrial Deal proposal, designed to reinforce European industry and cut energy prices while…
EU ‘helps Putin’s war effort by buying Russian gas’, says EC energy chief
European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jørgensen has said the European Union was “helping Putin finance his war” by continuing to buy Russian gas, despite years…
EC ‘will react firmly’ to Trump’s 25% EU tariffs decision
The European Commission says it will react "firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade" after US President Donald Trump said his…
Germany’s Bundesbank reports record €19.2bn loss
Germany's national bank has reported record losses of €19.2 billion, marking its first deficit since 1979.
Belgium U-turns, joins EU nuclear energy alliance
Belgium has officially become a member of the European Alliance for Nuclear Energy (EANE), reversing more than two decades of anti-nuclear policy that began in the…
EU lifts key sanctions on Syria to aid reconstruction and economic recovery
The European Union has suspended a range of sanctions against Syria, aiming to support the country's economic recovery and reconstruction after nearly 14 years of…
EC to propose establishing emergency repair fleet for undersea cables
The European Commission has said it would propose boosting surveillance of undersea cables and establishing a fleet of vessels available to repair cables in emergencies.
European Commission drops ‘green’ bias in new EU agriculture programme
In the presentation of its new vision for European Union agriculture and food, the European Commission has announced a notable course correction.
Germany’s Habeck claims climate protection not cause of soaring electricity prices
According to Robert Habeck, German vice chancellor and economy and climate minister, the country's high electricity prices were driven by fossil fuels, not by ideologically-based…
‘Buy, buy, buy!’: Denmark to boost military spending by €6.7bn
Denmark has said it will increase its military budget by a combined 50 billion Danish krone (€6.
Billions of euros in frozen Russian assets not so ‘Russian’, Belgian news outlet says
A large portion of the €258 billion being held in Belgium under Russian sanctions has reportedly been found to belong to Western banks and non-sanctioned individuals…
EU agrees new Russia sanctions targeting metals and ‘shadow fleet’
European Union envoys have agreed on the 16th round of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on primary aluminium imports and the listing of 73 "shadow-fleet"…
German new residential building permits drop to 14-year-low
The number of new building permits in Germany for apartments has dropped by 17 per cent to the lowest level since 2010 - in what was described as “a balance sheet…
EU antitrust chief says Trump has upended Europe-US relations
The EU's competition chief says US President Donald Trump has upended the "trustful relationship" between the United States and Europe, and that Brussels should…
Troubled EU poster child Northvolt has liabilities more than twice as large as assets
Swedish battery developer and manufacturer Northvolt has made massive losses since bankruptcy talks began.
Trump targets EU and others in tariffs threat
US President Donald Trump has tasked his economics team with devising a plan to impose recipricol tariffs on every country that imposed duties on US imports in a…
Porsche plans to cut additional 1,900 jobs by 2029
Carmaker Porsche plans to cut an additional 1,900 jobs across the entire company over the next four years after a programme that has already started was determined…
Fancy a cricket? EU green-lights new insect powder
European supermarkets could soon see a surge in products containing insect-based ingredients.
French cosmetics industry worries it could be targeted in any US-EU trade war
The French cosmetics industry has braced for three potential outcomes as a trade war between the US and the EU looms.
Industry chief contradicts Scholz: ‘German deindustrialisation is real’
Nicole Grünewald, president of the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Köln), has dismissed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's remarks about the state of…
Trump raises tariffs on aluminium, steel imports in latest trade war salvo
U.S.
Explosive: US government’s deep involvement in European journalism
The US government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has been funnelling millions of dollars into student and professional…
EU and Canada defence spend up by 20% in 2024, says NATO chief Rutte
Defence spending by NATO's European members and Canada was 20 per cent higher in 2024 than the previous year, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said, ahead of a…
German-French firm to turn train factory into tank factory in Eastern Germany
The German-French defence group KNDS has acquired a factory for train wagons in Eastern Germany and will turn it into a production facility for battle tanks and…
China’s Temu, Shein targeted as EU cracks down on ‘unsafe’ e-commerce imports
The European Commission has cracked down on Chinese digital marketplace players Temu and fast-fashion retailer Shein amid a flood of cheap e-commerce imports into…
Norway’s ‘Trump whisperer’ Stoltenberg in as new finance chief, urges US engagement
Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who has became Norway's new finance minister, said engaging with the administration of US President Donald Trump on trade was…
US reasserting their role as the primary superpower with breathtaking speed
As I have written elsewhere, I have always been suspicious of the idea of an emerging multipolar world order.
‘Western companies make billions selling oil tankers to Russia,’ report claims
Western shipowners have earned billions by selling tankers to Russia’s shadow fleet, helping Moscow circumvent European Union sanctions and keep its war economy…
Tusk tries to seduce Trump with US weapons purchase proposal
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has urged the European Union to stay “united” and respond in a “clear and firm” way to US President Donald Trump’s warning…