Author: staff

If launched, the digital euro will be “profit-making” for payment service providers, Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) executive board, reassured MEPs on Thursday. “We do not have the impression that this project will be loss-making. I think this is an assumption that needs to be proved,” Cipollone told members of the European Parliament’s economic affairs committee in Brussels. “For what we know, the taking up of the digital euro will not be so huge that it puts in danger the financial stability, but will be enough to provide a signal to the central bank to…

At least 10 people were killed and 55 injured after a freight train slammed into a double-decker bus at a crossing near Mexico City on Monday, authorities said. The accident took place in the town of Atlacomulco, northwest of the Mexican capital. The bus from the Herradura de Plata line, which was reportedly carrying 51 passengers, was ripped apart by the collision, after reportedly trying to overtake other vehicles at the crossing. The driver of the bus is in custody. The injured, who were between the ages of 19 and 48 according to local media, were taken to hospitals throughout…

“A year after Draghi called for stronger EU energy markets, our data shows affordability risks remain high, with retail prices still 40–70 percent above pre-crisis levels in much of Central and Eastern Europe,” said Martin Vladimirov, one of the report’s authors. Affordability is now by far the greatest threat to the EU’s energy resilience, outstripping the uncertainty created by Russia’s weaponizing of energy flows, by the climate transition and by system reliability. “It affects not only citizens’ trust, but also the capacity of businesses to compete globally,” the Center for the Study of Democracy assessment cautions. “For Europe to succeed…

It’s that time of the year: the State of the European Union speech. Known in jargon as SOTEU, the hour-long address marks the start of the working season after the balmy holidays of August. Its protagonist, the president of the European Commission, relishes the all-eyes-on-me moment to show off recent achievements, preview forthcoming initiatives and set the political tone for the next 12 months. This year, however, the speech will sound anything but victorious. When Ursula von der Leyen steps on the floor of the European Parliament on Wednesday morning, she will find herself in a position that has until…

Europe remains a place of safe refuge for those fleeing conflict and climate change. But I am of the firm belief that migration needs to be managed. That is why, after the launch of the Migration and Asylum Pact, we created a plan to streamline deportations, toughen penalties for rejected migrants who do not leave the bloc, and create hubs in countries outside the EU to house people awaiting deportation. Migration is often exploited by populists for political gain. But we want to create a system that supports those with a genuine asylum claim while making clear the rules on…

In Gaza, more than 15,600 residents — many of whom suffer from life-threatening illnesses or conflict-related injuries —are in need of urgent medical evacuation, according to figures provided by the World Health Organization. But since the Hamas-led 7 October attack, fewer than 350 people, the majority of whom are children, were able to leave the embattled Strip and get medical treatment in the European Union.  Despite an ever-deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, countries like Germany, Denmark and Austria have either welcomed very few patients from the strip or have not made any offer to take them in. Some government officials…

Gold has surged to the top of investors’ wish lists in 2025. The yellow metal, long revered as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical turmoil, has seen its price rocket to record highs above $3,600 (€3,080) per ounce, delivering returns of nearly 40% year-to-date ––gold’s best year since 1978. While global equity markets have delivered positive returns this year, they remain well behind gold’s performance. In contrast, bonds are enduring yet another year of disappointing performance. Why bonds no longer offer protection US Treasuries and European sovereign bonds have long served as shock absorbers in balanced portfolios. In times of…

Published on 09/09/2025 – 7:03 GMT+2 This August was the world’s third-warmest August on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Temperatures were 0.49°C above the 1991 to 2020 average for the month. C3S data shows that August 2025 was 0.22°C cooler than the two warmest Augusts on record in 2023 and 2024. Compared to the pre-industrial level, last month was 1.29°C warmer. And C3S says the last 12 months, from September 2024 to August 2025, have been 0.64°C above the 1991 to 2020 average and 1.53°C above the pre-industrial level. Overall, this summer has been the…

Zum Start der IAA in München steht Friedrich Merz als „Autokanzler“ unter massivem Druck. Eingekeilt zwischen Chinas E-Autos, Trumps Zöllen und dem Druck von Markus Söder muss der Kanzler die deutsche Schlüsselindustrie durch die Krise führen. Gordon Repinski analysiert die schwierige Mission.Im 200-Sekunden-Interview: Hildegard Müller. Die VDA-Präsidentin spricht von einer „Standortkrise“ und erklärt, wo sie dringend notwendige Änderungen sieht und wieso sie die Debatte über das Verbrenner-Verbot 2035 nicht als die dringlichste sieht.Außerdem: ein vorbestrafter Mitarbeiter und eine Fraktionsführung, die abtaucht. Pauline von Petzold über den neuen Ärger in der AfD-Fraktion.Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab…

MEPs are trying to prevent Hungarian Premier Viktor Orbán from accessing blocked EU funds after the midterm review of the EU’s cohesion funds. This review aims to reshuffle previously unused funding for defence and dual-use goods and to speed up the spending of the funds in the second half of the EU’s seven-year budgetary period. MEPs claim that the Hungarian government could unfreeze some money previously blocked by the European Commission, with the help of the reallocation, without fulfilling the EU’s conditions of academic freedom or LGBTQ+ rights. Hungary has already sought re-shuffling of cohesion funds German Green MEP Daniel Freund told…