Skoda Kodiaq automobiles on the production line at the Volkswagen AG plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images A small landlocked country in the heart of Europe appears to be uniquely exposed to President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” economic agenda. Nicknamed the “Detroit of Europe” due to … Read more
In the line of fire Criticism of EU corporate disclosure regulation is not new. In a leaked policy paper drafted by former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the minister said Berlin should seek to abolish the EU regulation on sustainability reporting rules, among others. The suggestion echoed one made by French Prime Minister Michele Barnier … Read more
The negotiator role would also involve acting as an EU “sherpa” — representing the prime minister in negotiations with the bloc — and leading talks with Brussels on a proposed security cooperation agreement. It will also include dealing with existing Brexit agreements and upcoming changes to EU border rules that aim to digitalize entry to … Read more
Consider Anca Gheorghe, a 23-year-old Roma woman from Romania. She attended a poorly resourced school with unqualified teachers and faced unfair discrimination, leaving her with limited opportunities. Left with virtually no other options, she joined an EU-funded vocational program to train as a hairdresser, hoping for financial independence. Yet, there are already enough hairdressers in … Read more
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a trained medical doctor, put her skills to use mid-flight on Wednesday after a passenger suffered an emergency during her return to Brussels from the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Commission president stepped in to provide medical assistance to a passenger who “needed medical attention,” after … Read more
In exchange for supporting Italy’s hard-right commissioner nominee Raffaele Fitto, which the socialists initially refused to do, S&D and Renew demanded that the EPP commit to sticking with the centrist mainstream majority, rather than turning to a right-wing majority in the Parliament. But the agreement falls short of that, and does not add a new … Read more
Brazilian officials held a bilateral meeting with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday. Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Carlos Fávaro told reporters on Monday: “The deal would be very good for Brazil and the EU,” and added: “We have never been so near to finalizing this deal.” Scholz argued that delays would harm … Read more
“I will say this simply, we cannot ask our farmers in Europe … to change their practices, to not use certain products and develop quality farming and, at the same time, open our markets to massive imports,” he said. The French president is on a whirlwind tour of South America that takes him to Argentina, … Read more
Now, encouraged by a wave of support from civil society — as well as the realization that promises to restart the factory were going nowhere — the cooperative born out of this struggle is taking matters into its own hands, outlining a plan for sustainable bottom-up reindustrialization. And yet, as of now, these former GKN … Read more
There are two ways the remaining commissioners could pass. Either — as has been the case for most of the commissioners so far — the groups will need to secure a two-thirds majority in each of the committees that grilled the commissioners from Nov. 4-12. Or — if talks on a package deal go nowhere … Read more
