Economy & Jobs
Michel offers flexible EU budget to convince sceptics
More flexibility within the Common Agriculture Policy and more money to less developed regions instead of a larger budget is what European Council President Charles Michel will offer to sceptic countries to agree on a new EU 7-year blueprint next week.
Time for a stronger and more sustainable Economic and Monetary Union
Despite continuous efforts by all decision-makers to reform and strengthen the Economic and Monetary Union, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) believes that its architecture still remains to be completed, writes Stefano Palmieri.
EU leaves economic forecast unchanged despite risks
The European Commission kept unchanged its economic forecast for moderate eurozone growth for this year and 2021 despite the impact of looming risks, especially the coronavirus.
EU starts to chart shipping’s new green course
The shipping industry will soon have to pay for its environmental impact in the EU, as both the European Commission and Parliament are moving forward with plans to include vessels in the bloc’s flagship carbon market. But there are choppy waters ahead.
Dried out: trade war cuts US whiskey sales to EU
Europeans have developed a taste for American whiskey over the past decade but trade disputes have slashed US exports of the booze, an American trade group said Wednesday (12 February).
EU to give Turkey more time to avoid tax blacklisting
European Union diplomats have reached a preliminary agreement to give Turkey more time to meet tax transparency requirements, two diplomatic sources said, in a move that could weaken the bloc’s blacklist but at the same time avoid a new clash...
MEPs bare teeth at illegal cats and dogs trade
The European Parliament is calling for a halt to the illegal trade in pets to protect animal welfare and public health but also to combat what has become an all too lucrative business. EURACTIV's partner Ouest-France reports.
‘Too early to assess’ the economic impact of coronavirus, Commission says
The European Commission won't consider the effects of the coronavirus outbreak in its updated growth forecast, expected on Thursday (13 February), saying it is "too early" to estimate the impact of the virus on the region’s output, EU sources told EURACTIV.
Commission warns of Green Deal failure if Transition Fund not well financed
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday (12 February) that the European Green Deal would fail if member states declined to provide the necessary funds to workers and regions affected by the climate transition.
After Clearview AI scandal, Commission ‘in close contact’ with EU data authorities
The European Commission is in consultation with EU data protection authorities following the news that US technology firm Clearview AI has scraped more than three billion facial images from social media sites including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, without obtaining the permission of users.
New EU regions president: ‘Citizens feel left out from the European process’
Apostolos Tzitzikostas (EPP), the governor of Central Macedonia (Greece), has been elected as the new president of the European Committee of the Regions. He talked to EURACTIV about his main priorities, which include a bottom-up approach to shaping European policies as the only way to overcome the "democratic deficit".
Google vs EU: a decade-long saga goes to court
Google and the EU have a big day in court Wednesday (12 February) as the search engine giant enters a new phase of a legal saga that began a decade ago.
Italy faces existential threat over low birthrate, president warns
Italy's future is threatened by its diminishing birthrate, President Sergio Mattarella said on Tuesday (11 February), as new data showed the population had shrunk once again in 2019.
United States accuses WTO’s Appellate Body of overreach in dispute handling
The US Trade Representative's office on Tuesday (11 February) accused the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body, which decides trade disputes between member countries, of "persistent overreaching" and failure to comply with WTO rules.
Parliament to approve EU-Vietnam trade deal despite human rights ‘concerns’
The European Parliament is set to approve on Wednesday (12 February) a trade agreement with Vietnam, despite some MEPs and NGOs called for postponing their consent until the human rights situation improves in the country.
GSMA to decide on Mobile World Congress cancellation, amid coronavirus concerns
GSMA, the global mobile network industry group, is set to make a decision on Friday (14 February) as to whether this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona will go ahead, amid concerns that the event may aggravate Europe's management of the deadly coronavirus.
Trump: Time to negotiate ‘very seriously’ with EU on trade
President Donald Trump said Monday (10 February) the time has come to pursue trade negotiations with the European Union which he said imposes "incredible" barriers to US goods.
The disengaged youth, a pending challenge in the EU
The financial crisis of the previous decade was particularly hard on young people. However, as the latest data shows, 15% of young Europeans are neither at work nor studying (NEETs), which means this remains a structural issue.
US packaged foods juggernaut under EU antitrust probe
US consumer goods group Mondelez International is being investigated for suspected anti-competitive practices covering EU several member states, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed to EURACTIV.
‘There is overlap’ between EU’s green trillions, says EIB energy chief
The European Investment Bank decided to scrub its loan books of fossil fuels in 2019 but the lender's head of energy policy, Andrew McDowell, insists that there is more to the change of direction than ditching coal and gas.
Germany should be more Chinese – at least a bit
While China has shown it needs a few days to build a hospital, infrastructure projects in Germany are making no progress. But politicians from the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) now want to change this. EURACTIV's partner WirtschaftsWoche reports.
The Brief – A lucrative day’s work
Getting €93,000 for one day’s work is a lucrative business in almost anyone’s world – unless, perhaps, you are a Kardashian. It’s slightly more than Lionel Messi earns and nearly four times as much as Cristiano Ronaldo racks up on a bar bill.
Coronavirus could hurt German economy due to its reliance on China
Since the coronavirus outbreak started, the Chinese economy has begun to suffer. As a result, Germany, and particularly its car industry, could also lose out as China is its most important trading partner. EURACTIV Germany reports.