Belgium spends €1 billion to buy 23 buildings from the EC
The Belgian Government has acquired 23 office buildings from the European Commission for nearly €1 billion through its sovereign wealth fund SFPIM.
Economy
Latest reporting and analysis on economy.
European Council adopts fiscal reform with new rules for budgets and debts
The European Council has adopted three pieces of legislation designed to reform the European Union’s economic and fiscal governance framework.
Head of EU’s EIB lending arm calls for spending cap to be scrapped
The head of the European Union's EIB lending arm has called on the bloc's member states to scrap a spending cap currently imposed on the development bank.
G7: 2035 could be end date for coal-fired power plants
Energy ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy countries meeting in Italy are discussing setting a common target date of 2035 to shut down their coal-powered power…
The dark side of veganism
Veganism is a phenomenon. Young people are going vegan en masse.
Europe’s debt is rising again as politics erodes budget resolve
Some of Europe’s most indebted governments are heading for a painful reckoning this year as their ambitions to cut down on borrowing collide with political reality.
EU and US eye new sanctions against Russia as Moscow moves to seize $440 million from JPMorgan
Barely 24 hours after a $440 million seizure order imposed by Russia on US financial giant JPMorgan Chase came to light, the European Commission is reported to be…
Top German officials accused of manipulating nuclear phase-out advice
The decision to close down the last working nuclear power plants in Germany was made on manipulated information, Berlin-based Cicero magazine has claimed
Dutch province of Utrecht returns to fossil fuel as power-grid faces meltdown
The Dutch province of Utrecht announced it will switch back to fossil fuel to relieve the overworked electricity grid, as the road to net-zero in the Netherlands…
Green Deal champion Ribera to lead Spanish Socialists in the EP
Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera, a staunch champion of the European Green Deal, will be the new leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)…
EP’s crackdown on dirty money in football ‘doomed to fail’
The European Parliament is set to vote to add the football industry to its money-laundering directive, an attempt to stop corrupt oligarchs and criminals from laundering…
EU launches investigation into Chinese medical device market
The European Commission launched an investigation on Wednesday into Chinese public procurement of medical devices, in the latest move to try to protect European Union producers…
Forint wobbles boost euro’s appeal among German investors in Hungary
The volatility of the forint EURHUF has boosted support for introducing the euro among German investors in Hungary to its highest level in 13 years, a survey by…
ECR takes on Green Deal and China in new policy roadmap
The European Conservative and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament has targeted China and the Green Deal in a roadmap for the next legislature of the…
EU Left wants to ‘blackmail’ opposition with Green Deal
It comes ahead of a debate titled "The attack on climate and nature: far-right and conservative attempts to destroy the Green Deal and prevent investment in our…
Two years into Ukraine war ‘EU still depends on Russian gas,’ says energy regulator
The European Union still cannot do without Russian liquefied natural gas, despite it being two years since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU Agency for…
EU capital markets proposal is an EU power grab, member states say
A French proposal to further integrate the European Union's capital markets drew opposition from a majority of member states, who attacked it as a Brussels power…
JDE Peet’s sees coffee industry struggling to meet EU deforestation law
DE Peet's JDEP.
‘Russian economy to outgrow all advanced nations in 2024,’ IMF forecasts
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted the Russian economy will this year grow faster than those of the Western countries trying to isolate it.
EU drafting error creates financial trading ‘Wild West’
In an embarrassing drafting mistake, the European Securities and Markets Authority - the European Union's financial markets regulator - created an 18-month window…
G-20 Nations are giving would-be climate investors the jitters
The European Union and UK have been world leaders for implementing policy to promote clean energy technologies, but their crown is starting to slip.
Fragmented Europe to make new bid for US-style capital market
After years of struggling to raise capital in European Union markets, Mews - a hospitality software firm with Czech roots -finally secured funding by registering…
Germany courts Beijing as Scholz and Macron push for EU-China trade ‘rebalancing’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron are advocating for a "rebalancing" of trade between Europe and China amid Berlin's efforts to…
Antwerp’s diamond chief not forever as he quits ‘over sanctions on Russian stones’
Ari Epstein, the Chief Executive of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), has resigned.
China’s trade minister warns EU over ‘green’ tech probes
China's top trade official warned Brussels against protectionism, saying Beijing was puzzled by European Union inquiries into "green" technology exports and the…
Final death toll rises to seven after Italy hydroelectric blast
Italian rescuers have found the bodies of the last two missing workers from an explosion at a hydroelectric plant near Bologna three days ago, a spokesperson for…
Brussels big guns fire up nuclear energy option
Top Commission officials praised the technology at a high-level event in Brussels on April 11, ending a policy that had seen the Brussels executive sit on the sidelines…
Six European countries sign deal to protect North Sea systems from Russian sabotage
Six European countries with North Sea coastlines signed an agreement to work together to protect the marine region’s rapidly expanding underwater infrastructure…
German homeowners’ group blames Berlin for climate-policy shortfalls
A leading German homeowners' association has blamed Berlin after studies showed the Government is missing its targets on building renovation as part of its climate-control…
EU gives coffee exporter Uganda €40 million to help it comply with forest policy
The EU has given Uganda a 40 million euro grant to help Africa's largest coffee exporter comply with a new EU policy that bars imports of commodities whose production…