Author: staff
“The current law is no longer adapted to the expectations of consumers and retailers, nor to the development of e-commerce, which is much more flexible than physical stores, causing distortions of competition,” Eléonore Simonet, Belgium’s minister for small businesses, the self-employed and SMEs, said in a statement in July 2025. “More flexibility should ensure that retailers can adapt to current expectations,” she added. While large retailers have welcomed the increased flexibility, employees have raised concerns. Earlier this week, workers at Aldi, one of Belgium’s largest supermarket chains, went on strike after the company told unions it would start exploring the…
8. Italy doesn’t want to pay for Brussels building work Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni isn’t happy about plans to renovate the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels (that’s the building just off the Schuman roundabout that looks like a 1970s leisure center and is next to the giant glass egg building). “We cannot propose renovating the European Council’s headquarters at a cost of €800 million. This is something Italy cannot afford, and it would send the wrong message to citizens,” Meloni said while in Cyprus. 9. Mutual defense needs work Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU’s mutual…
Raising taxes But EU institutions and countries such as France are calling for a more ambitious package, arguing the bloc needs to invest in strategic sectors and compete with its Asian and American rivals. For them, a bigger budget does not necessarily mean asking EU countries with strained public finances to pay more. Instead, they argue, the bloc should raise taxes that flow directly into the European budget, known in EU jargon as “own resources.” In July, the Commission proposed levies on carbon-intensive imported goods through the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), emissions through the ETS, non-recycled electronic waste, tobacco…
By Alessio Dell’Anna & video by Léo Arnoux Published on 24/04/2026 – 10:45 GMT+2 As the world waits for a new round of talks between Washington and Tehran, unlikely to take place imminently, oil prices spiked again on Thursday, hovering at more than $100 a barrel. The standoff is choking off nearly all exports through the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime. In the year preceding the American-Israeli attack on Iran, prices at the pump had been drifting down across most of the EU, but the shock provoked by the blockade has sent them…
Honeymoon’s over That’s not to say they didn’t find some common ground. A few voiced optimism about the EU’s chances of finding consensus without the pugnacious Hungarian premier. “For the first time in years there are no Russians in the room,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on social media, alluding to Orbán’s closeness to President Vladimir Putin. “Huge relief.” Michal, the Estonian prime minister, told POLITICO that without Orbán in the room, leaders were going through a honeymoon period. “You can feel the positive energy,” he said. “Viktor Orbán was a symbol somewhat — nothing personal — but the…
The European Union and United States signed an agreement Friday to coordinate on the supply of critical minerals needed for key industries including defence. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a Strategic Partnership for Critical Minerals in the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington. Rubio stated ahead of the signing that the awareness and commitment to the European Union shows “the importance of supply chains and critical minerals to the success of our economies, and to our national security.” Rubio highlighted that the over-concentration of…
The French president also said he expected tensions with the U.S. to outlast President Donald Trump. “This is a historical trend,” he said. “We can engage with the U.S. on some issues, and [that] still makes a lot of sense because of the common values and historical bonds, but I really believe that this U.S. approach will last,” he added. He said the main difference between the first and second Trump terms was that many European countries thought the first term was an aberration that would end, not requiring fundamental changes. “Now, a lot of colleagues are more lucid, because…
EU leaders vowed to boost security and economic ties with Middle East partners and push for a diplomatic end to the Iran war, after talks in Cyprus focusing on the fallout from the conflict. Leaders from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Jordan as well as the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, were in Nicosia to meet their European Union counterparts on the sidelines of an EU summit. “The current situation clearly underscores how closely Europe’s security is linked with that of the Middle East, and how vital our cooperation on security and defence has become,” European Council president António…
Mandelson served as EU trade commissioner from 2004 to 2008 and was a senior figure in the U.K.’s Labour Party. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently dismissed the seasoned politician from a senior Foreign Office role following allegations of ties to Epstein, after appointing Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to the United States at the start of his mandate despite a failed security vetting, as reports revealed last week. Mandelson previously said he was wrong to have continued his association with Epstein and apologized “unequivocally” to Epstein’s victims.
Published on 24/04/2026 – 19:50 GMT+2•Updated 19:53 Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz won’t attempt to defend his French Open title due to an injury to his right wrist. Alcaraz posted on X on Friday that he would also not play in the preceding Italian Open in Rome, where he also won last year. No. 2-ranked Alcaraz was injured at the Barcelona Open this month during his first-round win and withdrew the day after. He pulled out of this week’s Madrid Open and attended the Laureus World Sports Awards in the Spanish capital on Monday wearing a wrist support. Alcaraz was…