EU sanctions ‘could cost Kosovo €500 million’
Kosovo risks losing up to half a billion euros in funding because of European Union sanctions arising amid tensions with Serbia.
Economy
Latest reporting and analysis on economy.
EU set to exit from controversial energy charter treaty
The European Union is set to announce this week its withdrawal from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty, after a small group of nations argued that it clashes…
Watered down GMO Bill seen as sop to rogue EPP members
The move was “a very clear political message” to coax Manfred Weber's centre-right European People's Party (EPP) Group back to supporting Ursula von der Leyen's…
Germany now an energy importer after ditching nuclear power
Now that Germany has done away with nuclear power, the consequences of that decision are becoming clearer;
EU-UK relations defrost but trade remains prickly topic
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has hailed a new "close and friendly" era in post-Brexit European Union-UK relations but admitted issues such as migration,…
Economic expert says Germany needs 1.5 million immigrants a year
Monika Schnitzer, chairwoman of Germany’s Council of Economic Experts, claims her country needs 1.
Two dead after EU-funded hybrid car prototype explodes in Italy
Two researchers died after being severely injured when an EU-funded prototype hybrid electric car exploded in Naples, Italy.
EU considers concessions as Russia threatens Black Sea Grain Deal
The European Union is considering concessions that will allow more money to flow to Russia.
Australia says EU’s offer on free trade isn’t ‘good enough’
The European Union has failed to offer Australia satisfactory terms to seal a free-trade accord, Trade Minister Don Farrell said, as small but important sticking…
Germany sees investors fleeing amid economic downturn
Germany has seen investors fleeing the country at record levels as it enters its worst economic downturn in years.
Horizon science talks ‘crunchy’ as UK and EU seek new deal, says Hunt
Negotiations over the renewal of UK participation in the European Union’s Horizon Europe science programme are ongoing, despite reaching a "crunchy" phase, according…
Strange bedfellows: Dutch farmers party and greens to govern together
The Dutch Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), an agrarian party created as a result of widespread protests against ‘green’ legislation, will govern together with…
Renewables growth did not dent fossil fuel dominance in 2022, report says
Global energy demand rose one per cent last year and record renewables growth did nothing to shift the dominance of fossil fuels, which still accounted for 82 per…
Germany: heat-pump plan set to hammer homeowners
German homeowners face further pain over the country’s controversial heat-pump programme.
Ruble hits weakest in 15 months after Wagner challenges Putin
The ruble weakened as much as three per cent against the dollar on Monday, the most this year, after a mutiny by mercenary commander Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose brief…
Green groups put brakes on Germany’s biggest classic-car rally
It looks like the end of the road for Germany's biggest vintage-car rally, which has been cancelled just days before it was due to take place, amid environmental…
Macron calls for ‘public funding surge’ at Paris climate summit
French President, Emmanuel Macron, took a decidedly green turn at the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact in Paris on June 22, stating no country should have…
Brazil’s Lula says EU should ‘give up’ protectionism, be ‘more humble’
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on June 22 that the European Union should stop adopting a protectionist stance if it wants to reach a long-delayed…
Not so much Zeitenwende as progressive puffery: Germany’s first national security strategy is long on modish clichés and short on military thinking
Not since Willy Brandt’s 1970s Ostpolitik has a German geopolitical term made such waves as Olaf Scholz’s Zeitenwende.
Europe is falling behind. Other than regulation, is it still a world leader at anything?
Who remembers the EU’s Lisbon strategy of 2000? Probably not many, so let’s revisit its ambitious goals.
Member States approve watered-down Nature Restoration law by slim majority
In an extremely tight vote, EU Member States have agreed on a ‘general approach’ to the new Nature Restoration Law, despite strong opposition.
UK dodges Brexit slump, says upbeat French bank report
Despite doom-laden headlines dogging the UK post-Brexit predicting prolonged economic misery, one of Europe’s biggest banks has now concluded that leaving the…
EU climate chief fears green deal risks hit from ‘culture wars’
The European Union’s landmark green deal is at risk of being dragged into the “culture wars,” said the bloc’s climate chief Frans Timmermans as he warned…
Europe ‘in danger of losing the battery race’; green energy transition at risk
The EU's court of auditors is sceptical about the bloc’s push for an effective transition to greener energy, saying the whole process might be at risk.
European Commission urges Germany not to dig in on stricter EU debt rules
European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni urged governments to set aside rigid positions on the reform of the bloc’s debt rules and seek common ground as the…
EU Nature Restoration Act grinds to a halt amid growing division
The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) was forced to postpone the vote on a proposed nature restoration law…
British tourists visiting Spain to undergo finance, accommodation checks
British tourists visiting Spain will have to prove they can afford to stay for the duration of their holiday in the sun - and show where they will be based.
Timmermans on the defensive over EU environmental laws
European Commission Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, claims the Christian Democrats ‘ran away’ from an agreement on environmental legislation, accusing them…
Prince Harry, Sebastian Vettel, Greta Thunberg – practice what you preach before lecturing the rest of us
You cannot go far these days in Europe, indeed throughout the West, without being harangued by some celebrity about climate change or social justice.
EU agriculture chief slams boss von der Leyen over farmers’ aid delay
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been accused by one of her own top-ranking officials of dragging her feet over compensation payments to Member…