Author: staff

Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of French luxury conglomerate LVMH, called on Thursday for a free trade zone between the European Union and the United States and said that unresolved trade tensions could seriously hurt European industries.His remarks, in the wake of the tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, appeared to echo a similar call by Elon Musk on 5 April for a zero-tariff zone between the US and EU. The EU has long pushed for a “zero-for-zero” trade agreement — with both sides dropping tariffs — but Trump has rejected the offer.Speaking at LVMH’s annual shareholder meeting, Arnault said…

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said over the weekend that the country would “resist” von der Leyen’s proposals. Putting a new tax on top of strict EU regulation on Big Tech would be “putting petrol on [the] fire,” he said. Ireland is among the European countries most exposed to a trade war with the U.S. because it hosts subsidiaries of U.S. digital giants and also exported over €44 billion worth of pharma products to America in 2024. “Ireland has an extremely concentrated corporate tax base, which is heavily reliant on U.S. multinationals in particular,” said Aidan Regan, a professor of political economy at…

The trouble is, the finance industry makes money from the practice. Governments, heavily lobbied by asset managers, insurers, and others who benefit from the kickbacks, pressured the Commission into removing the ban before the text was even officially proposed back in 2023. A final agreement on the proposal still hasn’t happened.  Another proposal, for an EU ticker tape which would publish data on the prices and volume of traded securities in the EU, improving overall price transparency and competition, was hollowed out after — again — pressure from governments lobbied by their stock exchanges, whose business model of distributing that…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez are among the latest voices to support the idea of a European army to ensure a credible and lasting peace in the continent. “It is time to create a European army, EU armed forces with troops from all 27 member countries, working under a single flag with the same objectives,” Sánchez said. “This is the only way that we become a true union.” On paper, the concept is attractive. It could boost the interoperability of military systems, weapons, and forces, and would also involve a joint command structure to improve coordination among…

The Trump administration has announced the imposition of fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-owned vessels docking at US ports, marking a further escalation in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.The decision, revealed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), follows a one-year investigation initially launched under the Biden administration.“Ships and shipping are vital to American economic security and the free flow of commerce,” said Ambassador Greer. “The Trump administration’s actions will begin to reverse Chinese dominance, address threats to the US supply chain, and send a demand signal for US-built ships,” the USTR said in…

Beyond the political decisions on sanctions, the EU official also pointed to “major safety and security issues” related to the possible reopening of EU airspace to Russian jets, as “it is not known if Russian air operators and air traffic services have been properly maintained over the past three years, putting the airworthiness of the Russian fleet seriously in question.” Since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian airlines have been banned from landing in and flying over the territory of the EU and the U.S., as well as from accessing spare parts for aircraft from Western manufacturers such as…

The rising cost of living is the top area of concern for European citizens, according to a 2024 Eurobarometer survey. The finding is perhaps unsurprising as the price of housing continues to increase across the EU. In the fourth quarter of 2024, house prices in the region increased by 4.9%, while rents rose by 3.2% compared to the same period in 2023. Over the course of 2024, the annual growth in EU house prices was 3.3%, and rents saw a 3.1% increase.Price fluctuations varied across Europe, with some countries even experiencing declines. But which European countries experienced the highest increases in…

Gerald Knaus analysiert im Gespräch mit Gordon Repinski den neuen Koalitionsvertrag und benennt konkret, was eine echte Migrationswende ermöglichen könnte – und was bloß Symbolpolitik bleibt.  Es geht um Abschiebungen nach Afghanistan, sichere Herkunftsstaaten, das EU-Türkei-Abkommen, Drittstaatenlösungen, z.B. mit Kenia und um die Frage, ob Friedrich Merz und Alexander Dobrindt liefern können. Ein Gespräch über Realismus, Rechtsstaatlichkeit und Europas Verantwortung. Gerald Knaus ist Migrationsforscher und Gründer der Denkfabrik European Stability Initiative (ESI). Er gilt als Architekt des EU-Türkei-Abkommens von 2016 und berät seit Jahren Regierungen in Europa in Fragen der Migrationspolitik. Knaus verbindet wissenschaftliche Analyse mit politischer Umsetzbarkeit – und…

Lithuania aims to deter Russia by upgrading ‘critical’ road and anti-border defenses – POLITICO Skip to main content

Things were so much easier back then. That’s why POLITICO decided to extend to Brussels to cover European politics: If there’s something journalists love, it’s doing something easy. And so, POLITICO Europe was born. Making EU policy sexy? Piece of cake. Shining a light on European institutions to make them more intelligible? You got it. Covering overly complex processes to pass laws that most people don’t like, only some understand, and no one will ever hear about in the 27 member states? Sign us up. We went through the terrible twos with Brexit and Donald Trump in power in the…