EU competition chief warns against weakening rules to create champions
Margrethe Vestagerโs comments come as successor told to be โmore supportiveโ of companies
Companies
Labor unrest threatens to upend Harrisโ economic pitch
Tens of thousands of Boeing workers went on strike last week, with other strikes looming โ including one that could spell economic disaster for the country, and for Kamala Harrisโ campaign.
EU forms investors club amid tech doom and gloom
Investors are tipped to co-invest in capital-intensive tech alongside the EU’s fund.
The Red Sea: Time for Indiaโs Modi to step in
Nothing the West says or does will convince the Houthis to halt their campaign. But the Indian prime minister is perfectly suited to the task.
Vance and Walz to speak at gathering of CEOs this week
The two vice presidential nominees have previously bashed elite corporate interests.
โAnyone but himโ: Inside Ursula von der Leyenโs long breakup with Thierry Breton
The split between the Commission president and her biggest internal critic had been brewing for years.
‘Oil giants should pay for the damage’, Greenpeace activist says amid deadly floods in Europe
Exceptionally heavy rainfall pounding Central Europe has prompted deadly flooding in the region. FRANCE24’s Sharon Gaffney speaks to Ian Duff, head of Greenpeace International’s ‘Stop Drilling Start Paying’ campaign. He says that oil and gas companies…
West funding Putinโs soldiers with growing Russian fuel purchases, report warns
Countries opposed to Moscow are spending ever more on cheap fuel made from Russian oil, according to a new analysis shared with POLITICO.
US firms warn against Draghi reportโs โEuropean preferenceโ, risks for defence sector
Mario Draghiโs proposal that EU policymakers should favour European defence firms in public tenders would constitute a form of unjustified discrimination against foreign companies, the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU warned on Monday (16 Septemb…
Polandโs PiS picks the pockets of its MPs to make up for cash shortfall
The party’s finances are in tatters after an electoral watchdog ruled against it last month.
UKโs Starmer heaps praise on โremarkableโ Meloni
Britainโs new center-left prime minister touts far-right Italian leader’s progress on irregular migration.
Vestager welcomes Draghi report, asks businesses to trust EU single market
As double term as the European Commission’s competition chief draws to a close, Margrethe Vestager has welcomed the long-awaited Draghi report and said the single market must work better to allow companies to gain success, fairly.
Volkswagen is the anti-Tesla and China is to blame
The German carmaker faces a triple threat from China, a lagging EV transition and labor worries.
Donald Trumpโs unlikely weed wager
The former presidentโs pro-cannabis policies could bolster his efforts to gain support with key Democratic constituencies.
Never mind the war, the French Riviera still loves oligarchs
The south of France has long been a safe space for Russians.
RT running covert military supply operation for Russian forces, US says
The state-backed media outlet has been sending weapons to Russian units, including sniper rifles and suppressors, body armor, night vision equipment and drones, according to State.
Panic on the canals: How a battle over wages in Venice highlights the complex reality overlooked by policymakers
An escalating standoff between workers and employers in Venice over an expired contract has exposed the volatile reality behind the data that informs Europeโs economic decision-making.
Germanyโs Scholz wants new EU anti-deforestation law delayed
German media group has been lobbying against the rules.
Chinaโs green โtrojan horsesโ are starting to divide Europe
It hardly goes unnoticed that Chinese companies are stepping up green investments in Europe, write Leon de Graaf, Dominika Floriรกnovรก, Flora Wallace and Giorgia Andriola.
โDragon-Bearโ: How China and Russiaโs spy operations overlap in Europe
Beijing is recruiting agents among EU politicians who have demonstrated fealty to Moscow, underscoring their alignment, according to a senior European intelligence official.
Zelenskyyโs consolidation of power weakens Ukraineโs resilience
The war has done nothing to still the president’s populist impatience with the complexities of governing, and it’s playing against the country’s strengths.
The EU and the US’ fight against the digital giants is ‘a long march’
A spate of competition rulings against Google or Apple suggests a tougher stance, but the authorities’ fight against the big tech companies remains slow and difficult, writes Alexandre Piquard in his column.
Moscow importing western aircraft tyres despite ban, says Ukraine agency
Exclusive: Michelin, Dunlop, Goodyear and Bridgestone products have found way to Russia via intermediariesRussia-Ukraine war โ latest news updatesMore than $30m (ยฃ23m) worth of aircraft tyres made by western manufacturers including the French firm Mich…
Big oil faces a rising number of climate-focused lawsuits, report finds
Communities, states and advocacy groups push to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for role in climate crisisBig oil is facing a soaring number of climate-focused lawsuits, a new analysis has found. Itโs a sign that more communities are demanding a…
EU consumer groups slam โmanipulativeโ video game spending tactics
European consumer groups on Thursday (12 September) accused the world’s biggest video game companies of “purposefully tricking” consumers, including children, to push them to spend more.
Defence industry worries EU-funded innovation may be put on the shelf
A report, seen by Euractiv, drafted by large EU defence companies eying the reform of the European Defence Fund calls out governments for not supporting projects financially and for a lack of long-term perspective for their projects.
Can global leaders agree on a tough AMR plan?
Some experts lament the lack of bolder commitments in farming.
These are the most deadly pathogens โ so why arenโt drug companies targeting them?
Despite calls to step up efforts, investment in antimicrobial resistance is still insufficient.
Polish ex-MEP arrested over nephewโs private university scandal
The country’s new government under PM Donald Tusk has pushed for lawmakers from the former ruling Law and Justice party to face prosecution for corruption.
German union vows to fight UniCredit move on Commerzbank โtooth and nailโ
Berlin โnaiveโ to put key lender to Mittelstand companies on the line, Verdi says
Only 65% of UK firms have plan to cut emissions to net zero, study shows
Post-Brexit uncertainty partly blamed for low rate with just half of companies surveyed measuring their carbon footprintJust 65% of UK businesses have a plan to reduce their emissions to net zero by the 2050 deadline, the largest ever industry survey h…
The UK is backing away from oil
Britain has been drilling off the Scottish coast for generations. But the new Labour government has greener plans.
โฌ13B legal win over Apple made me cry, says shocked EU competition chief
Margrethe Vestager said sheโd been told to brace for defeat on Appleโs challenge against tax state aid finding.
Draghiโs report is the third to sound alarm on telecom competition policy
Large EU telcos said Draghi’s report sounded the alarm over the state of EU’s telecom competition policy, consumer associations and smaller telecom companies are repeating their stance against these findings.
Google loses court battle over first EU antitrust fine
The Court of Justice said Googleโs practice of favoring its own shopping search results over rival services โwas discriminatory.โ
European Commission scores stunning court win in โฌ13B Apple tax row
Competition czar Margrethe Vestagerโs surprise victory against Apple vindicates her finding that the tech giantโs Irish tax deals were illegal aid.
Businesses, unions clash on Draghiโs call to cut EU regulations
Mario Draghiโs call for EU policymakers to reduce companiesโ regulatory burden to boost the bloc’s faltering competitiveness was praised by European business groups on Monday (9 September) but criticised by Europeโs largest trade union confederation….
Europeโs new normal: High energy bills, fading industry and one chance to fix it
German manufacturers are being strangled. The EU is feeling the pinch. Mario Draghi on Monday warned the EU may be staring at โslow agony.โ
Musk praises Draghi, calls for less EU red tape
Elon Musk’s X is subject to a Commission probe on compliance with the bloc’s content-moderation rulebook.
Trump throws full support behind Florida pot legalization as DeSantis fights it
Trump also said he supported reclassifying marijuana under federal law.
EU relies too much on the US and other military suppliers abroad, report says
The European Union is failing to invest enough in military projects and relying too much on the US and other countries, according to a landmark report released Monday. Almost two-thirds of the EU’s defense orders between mid-2022 and mid-2023 were pla…
Poland says it smashed gang of Russian and Belarusian saboteurs
Hackers wanted to gain access to information for blackmail, according to Warsaw.
Buy your guns, missiles and tanks at home, Draghi tells EU countries
The EU should push countries to buy from the bloc’s military industrial complex, Draghi said in his new report.
Margrethe Vestagerโs legacy faces day of reckoning in Apple and Google rulings
The EUโs top court rules on final appeals of Appleโs state aid payback and Googleโs first big antitrust fine.
Swedenโs industrial companies are sending up a flare on global growth
Limp purchasing managersโ indices in July and poor figures for new orders hint that Europe is heading for broader slowdown
Is red tape strangling Europeโs growth?
Officials and companies fear the costs of complying with new environmental laws are smothering the EUโs competitiveness
Europeโs Draghi report unleashed: These are the 5 things to watch
A blueprint to make the EU more competitive with the rest of the world is published on Monday. It’s likely to prove controversial.
Why the Kremlin loves social media
This weekโs indictment of a social media content firm shows how itโs getting easier and easier for Russia to influence U.S. elections.
BT and Aviva back UK plan to report ethnicity pay gap
Government to make all large companies disclose remuneration data
French PM Barnier promises โfiscal fairnessโ will help keep debt under control
The new prime minister insisted he did not want to raise France’s โ already considerable โย debt levels.
Hunter Biden pleads guilty in tax case, avoiding trial after all
The presidentโs son will be sentenced for tax evasion in December.
โItโs disastrousโ: White evangelicals waver after Trumpโs shifts on abortion
Trump canโt win without overwhelming evangelical support. His recent comments on abortion have some of his allies on the religious right worried.
US announces measures to combat Russian interference ahead of presidential election
Two RT employees have been indicted for broadcasting content aimed at dividing America. The American offices of Russian media companies close to the Kremlin have been classified as foreign missions and some 30 internet sites have been frozen.
FBI dossier reveals Putinโs secret psy-ops in Europe
Russian psychological warriors identified Germany as a particularly vulnerable target for Moscow’s influence, U.S. law enforcement says.
US announces new crackdown on Russian disinformation in 2024 election
The U.S. Justice Department has seized more than 30 web domains that it said were part of a broader, ongoing, surreptitious effort by the Russian government to influence the 2024 U.S. election and American public opinion, federal authorities announced Wednesday.
Deutsche Bank chief tells Germans: Work longer and harder
CEO adds that political instability could hurt Germany’s appeal as an investment destination.
โIncompetence, dishonesty and greedโ: Key findings of Grenfell report
Fire inquiry points blame at cladding companies and past government ministers
Iran pays millions in ransom to end massive cyberattack on banks, officials say
IRLeaks, a group with a history of hacking Iranian companies, was said to be responsible.
โDecades of failureโ by UK government led to Grenfell fire, report finds
Successive administrations failed to hold companies manufacturing building products to reliable safety standards
Grenfell Tower report: UK government was โcomplacent and dismissiveโ before deadly blaze
Report slams ‘decades of failure’ in the run-up to the 2017 blaze that killed 72 people.
UK braces for damning report into 2017 Grenfell Tower blaze
Keir Starmer will address parliament as report on 2017 blaze that killed 72 โ and exposed deep divisions in the U.K. capital โ is published.
The Metsola exception: The European Parliament president and her lobbyist husband
The chamberโs new conflict-of-interest rules donโt apply to its most powerful member.
Tuesday briefing: Why the far rightโs success in German state elections canโt be written off as a local phenomenon any more
In todayโs newsletter: Alternative fรผr Deutschland have deployed Nazi rhetoric throughout their rise โ and they are pulling the mainstream further to the rightโข Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. For the first time since …
Europe needs concrete action on connectivity policy
Policymakers have already recognized the need for a new digital approach. Done right, it can take us into a more prosperous, fair and flourishing future.
Halla Tomasdottir, president of Iceland: ‘The pursuit of profit at the expense of the climate and well-being is just no longer an option’
Halla Tomasdottir, the second woman to hold her position, was elected on June 2 with 34.1% of the vote. She advocates for diversity in companies’ leadership and long-term thinking about the country’s economic model.
Ovo profits rose 11-fold in wake of energy crisis
UK energy companies were allowed by regulator to recoup rising costs through customer bills
EU plan for buying key commodities centrally is over-reach, warn tech groups
Trading software companies fear project will make Brussels a major competitor and believe tender misconceived
Ukraine to EU: You can still store gas with us despite Russian attacks
The country’s vast reserves helped the continent avoid a market crisis last winter.
Defense firms need full access to EU cash as Putin haunts Europe, Draghi says
Looming threats must spark major rethink of European defense policy, according to draft of new report seen by POLITICO.
The German problem? Itโs an analogue country in a digital world | Larry Elliott
Germany was once an economic model to emulate but its reliance on industries past their sell-by date is costing it dearSir Keir Starmer is not the first Labour leader to hanker after a closer relationship between Britain and Germany. Jim Callaghan snu…
How Trump could make good on his universal tariff threat
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act gives the president sweeping authority to control economic transactions.
How politics killed brat summerย
From Kamala Harris to Boris Johnson, the undefinable brat summer never had a chance once the politicians waded in.
Closing the backdoor: The new TurkStream is here. Can the West stop it?
Martin Vladimirov is director of the Energy and Climate Program at the Center for the Study of Democracy. Announcing its plans for what could be called TurkStream 2 on Aug. 21, Turkey finally dropped all pretenses. According to the countryโs energy minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, the state-owned gas monopoly BOTAล would now be able export around [โฆ]
3 unsolved mysteries in the case of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
Why does the Russian-born tech tycoon have so many nationalties? And where do his loyalties lie?
Sweden warns of heightened risk of Russian sabotage
Weapons facilities targeted as security companies report more sabotage attempts, espionage and cyber-attacksSwedish authorities have warned of a heightened risk of Russian sabotage, in particular of weapons facilities, as the defence industry said it w…
California’s new AI safety bill that would regulate large models passes first hurdle
The AI legislation is opposed by many tech companies.
China decides not to impose tariffs on EU brandy
Announcement will come as a relief to French cognac makers.
Slovakia urged not to destroy successful recycling system
Slovakia’s Environment Ministry should abandon legislative plans that could jeopardise the country’s highly successful Deposit Return System (DRS), which serves as a model for other EU countries, nine beverage packaging companies, including EUROPEN, th…
As France cracks down on Telegram, EU sits on the sidelines
Europe has moved slowly to regulate Pavel Durov’s social media app.
Revealed: US airlines lobbied EU over its plan to monitor plane emissions
Lobbyists from Airlines for America argued against European Commission draft rules to report cocktail of pollutants, freedom of information requests showUS airlines lobbied against plans to monitor the damage wrought by planet-heating pollutants pumped…
Zuckerbergโs new Washington game
Meta has largely won its legal battles over social media bias โ and now its CEO is hedging his bets against a potential Trump presidency.
New mandate, new opportunity: A competitiveness strategy for European life sciences
We have an important chance to regain Europeโs edge in one of its most important sectors โ and, in turn, help people live longer and feel better.
Germanyโs slow-motion move away from China
Germany is starting to distance itself from China, but the auto industry isnโt so keen.
The bewildering politics of Telegram
Here are two big reasons the controversial app just became a global flashpoint.
Steve Hilton, the British ex-Fox News host, wants to run for California governor
Hilton has supported Trump, but heโs also leaned into his own brand of โpositive populism.โ
Zuckerberg says he regrets caving to White House pressure on content
Metaโs CEO tells the House Judiciary Committee that he wishes he had been more outspoken against the Biden administration during the pandemic.
EU farm chief drafts secret law on food security in last hurrah
Departing Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski breaks protocol by concocting his own food security law.
Uber fined โฌ290 million for sending driversโ data outside Europe
Ride-hailing tech giant protests against what it called a “flawed decision.”
The Media Mogul and the President: A Cautionary Tale for Elon Musk
Musk isnโt the first media magnate to fall in love with a politician. See: The fallout over the bromance between Henry Luce and Dwight Eisenhower.
Foreign companies in Hungary complain of growing pressure from the authorities
More and more investors are denouncing what looks like expropriation attempts by Viktor Orban’s nationalist government.
Ukraine claims launch of home-made โPalyanytsiaโ drone missile at Russia
Kyiv hasn’t released details on the new weapon, but an official said the rocket drone is a form of high-speed precision-targeted projectile.
Ukraine war briefing: Biden and Zelenskiy talk as Ukraine prepares to mark independence day
US president pledges $125m in new military aid for Kyiv, while Narendra Modi tells Zelenskiy he is ready to help secure peace deal. What we know on day 913See all our Ukraine war coverageJoe Biden spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday and announced a …
9 style icons and fashion flops at the DNC
Some Democrats know how to turn a look. Others, not so much.
Hungary urges Ukraine to OK Russian oil loophole
Kyiv’s sanctions on Lukoil have riled Budapest, which has refused to divest from Moscow’s cheap crude.
Paris court rejects Agent Orange appeal against Bayer-Monsanto
Tran To Nga says she has had tuberculosis, cancer and type II diabetes after being exposed to the herbicide in 1966.
French court rejects appeal in Agent Orange lawsuit by French-Vietnamese ex-journalist
A Paris court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by French-Vietnamese former journalist Tran To Nga, who sought to sue Monsanto and other agrochemical companies for their role in producing Agent Orange, used by the US military to devastating effect durin…
UK regulator closes app store probe, but new rules could lead to renewed scrutiny of big tech
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority closed its investigation into Google and Apple app stores on 21 August, but new laws that would give it more power to control the dominance of big tech companies could ensure that scrutiny continues.
Donald Trumpโs dream team: Musk, Orbรกn and Farage
The would-be U.S. president wants the X boss in his team. But who else could get a top job?
This isnโt the 1968 convention. Could it be 1860?
The rise of a youth movement in the 19th century changed the country forever.
Tesla faces lowest duty on Chinese-made cars exported to EU
The 9% tariff is much less than the up to 36.3% others face after investigation into Beijingโs โunfairโ subsidies of EVsBusiness live โ latest updatesTesla will face a 9% levy on its Chinese-made cars exported to the EU, the European Commission has sai…