ECB’s Rehn calls for joint European investment in air defence, drones
Europe must adopt common policies such as joint procurement of air defence equipment and drones to support Ukraine and strengthen its own defence despite large public…
Economy
Latest reporting and analysis on economy.
Volkswagen profits tumble 30 per cent
Volkswagen's net profit plummeted by more than 30 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Another hyped ‘green’ sustainable energy company files for restructuring
Danish electrolyser manufacturer Green Hydrogen Systems has announced a plan to file a petition for court restructuring because it could not secure sufficient funding…
New doubts over digital-euro plan after ECB outage
European lawmakers have voiced fresh doubt about the European Central Bank’s digital-euro project after an outage in the ECB’s existing payment system caused…
Huge fire off English coast after oil tanker and cargo ship collide
An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided off the northeastern coast of England on Monday, March 10, causing a huge fire, with authorities mounting…
Germany’s Greens may refuse to back Merz in threat to massive debt plans
Germany's Greens may refuse to back plans by likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz for a massive increase in state borrowing with a party source, on March 10, warning…
Italian whippet proves top dog at UK’s Crufts
A whippet from Venice in Italy has been named best in show at the 2025 Crufts international dog show in the UK.
Corruption in Pakistan: A risk for South Asia’s stability and a threat for Europe
As Pakistan backs away from its anti-corruption transparency pledge, the consequences could ripple beyond its $7 billion IMF loan programme, threatening regional…
‘Boycott USA’ : Consumer revolt spreads across Europe
French and Danish consumers have been turning their backs on US products, launching a growing boycott movement in protest against Washington's foreign and economic…
‘Increased defence spending couldn’t come at worse time,’ says ING think-tank
ING Economics, the think-tank of international lender ING Bank, has warned that the planned €800 billion spending spree on defence announced by the European Commission…
Belgian defence minister eyes Brussels-based Audi factory as military production site
Belgium’s recently closed Audi Brussels factory could soon be transformed into a military defence production site, the country's Minister of Defence Theo Francken…
Passenger misery ahead: Almost all German airports to be hit by strikes
Almost all of Germany's airports will be hit by a 24-hour strike after trade union Verdi called for employees in the public sector and ground handling to walk…
Nuclear energy ‘could slash electricity bills by 40 per cent’, says Italian energy minister
Italian environment and energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin has claimed nuclear energy could lead to a big reduction in electricity bills for Italians: up to…
German post to cut 8,000 jobs as part of cost-saving strategy
DHL unveiled plans on March 6 to cut about 8,000 jobs in Germany this year as part of a strategy to save more than €1 billion by 2027, after the logistics group…
EU rearmament plan is just ‘announcement politics’
Former president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has derided European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's Rearm Europe plan, saying it was "insufficient"…
German nuclear group wants power plants back online by 2030
The German Nuclear Energy Association (KernD) has urged likely chancellor-to-be and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz to get to work…
Likely German coalition government agrees almost €1tn debt-fuelled spending spree
Parties negotiating the formation of a new German government have agreed to authorise €500 billion in new debt for infrastructure projects.
German National Bank proposes letting go of strict fiscal policy
Germany's Bundesbank proposed a reform of the country's debt brake, allowing Berlin to borrow an additional €220 billion by 2030, a break from its traditional…
EC’s Omnibus package ‘risks undoing sustainable finance ambitions’, warns think-thank
Bruegel, a leading European think-tank, has warned that the European Commission’s first 'Omnibus package' could jeopardise the European Union’s sustainable finance…
Trade wars erupt as Trump hits Canada, Mexico, China with steep tariffs
U.S.
European defence stocks soar as leaders call for major military rebuild
European leaders have been scrambling to rebuild their long-neglected militaries, spurred by the US hard-line geopolitical stance in the Eastern Pacific.
Austria’s economic crisis: GDP slump worse than expectations
Austria’s economy shrank by 1.1 per cent in real terms in 2024, it was was announced on March 3 by the country’s federal statistical bureau Statistik Austria.
BP drops ‘green’ ambitions and boosts fossil-fuel production spending
BP has announced it would raise spending on oil and gas to $10 billion (€9.53 billion) a year - and drop its interests in "green" energy.
Dutch ‘must pay €195 billion for green energy transition’, says report
The Dutch will have to invest nearly €200 billion over the next few years to keep the power grid running in line with the "green" transition, according to operators.
‘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…
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…