Author: Euronews

In a damning report, the UK’s public spending watchdog – the National Audit Office (NAO) found HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) customer service was “in a declining spiral” and had not met its goals for responding to taxpayer correspondence or telephone calls for several years. ADVERTISEMENTThe report by National Audit Office revealed that customers cumulatively spent 798 years on hold waiting to speak with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in 2022-23 – more than double the time spent waiting in 2019-20.The public spending watchdog said that a variety of factors had contributed to poor call handling performance by HMRC. They…

On Monday, students and faculty members from multiple universities in the Netherlands protested, voicing their opposition to Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. Source link

Top EU policymakers are set to discuss artificial intelligence and the green transition, as the bloc heads to the polls in June. ADVERTISEMENTEU’s foremost policymakers are gathering in Brussels today (16 May) to discuss the artificial intelligence, the green transition, and the impact of the bloc’s enlargement.The Brussels Economic Forum, organised by the European Commission, begins at 11am, with prime ministers, MEPs, and officials addressing topics like innovation, climate change and sluggish growth. Forecasts published on Tuesday suggest the bloc might be about to turn the corner after years ravaged by the affects of the pandemic, the Ukraine war, and high…

Lengthy discussions in Brussels failed to yield an agreement following long-standing divisions over border checks and airport management. Source link

The entrepreneur is preparing a consortium to buy TikTok as US President Joe Biden pushes the platform’s China-based parent company to sell. ADVERTISEMENTBusinessman Frank McCourt, owner of the Olympique de Marseille football club and former owner of the LA Dodgers, said on Wednesday that his organisation Project Liberty is putting together a consortium to bid for TikTok’s US business.McCourt, who is organising the bid in consultation with investment bank Guggenheim Securities, is one of a number of investors hoping to benefit from a new federal law that requires TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the platform or face a ban.US…

Vautmans, who represents Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats, or Open Vld (Renew Europe), has denied the allegations appearing in Belgian media, maintaining that her actions were compliant with regulations. Source link

With fresh elections looming, senior officials are unrepentant for making climate change a priority of their five-year term. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission’s lead economic official doesn’t regret making climate change a centerpiece of its political agenda, attendees at the Brussels Economic Forum heard  today (16 May).  With a rising backlash against EU green policies, and polls predicting a swing to the right in upcoming EU elections, some worry if Brussels’ environmental agenda hangs in the balance.Europe has been beset by protests, led by farmers concerned about the impact of EU environmental rules on the agriculture sector – while the fate of the bloc’s…

Valérie Hayer says the agreement to form a new government in the Netherlands contravenes the values her political group holds dear. ADVERTISEMENTThe president of the European Parliament’s centrist faction, Valérie Hayer, has slammed the deal struck between her group’s member party – the Dutch VVD – and Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) to form a four-way coalition government in the Netherlands.”I would like to communicate my total disapproval and deep concern about how discussions to form a government coalition in the Netherlands have evolved,” Hayer wrote in a statement shared on social media platform X. “(Wilder’s) PVV is the opposite…

The European Union’s REPowerEU Plan, initiated in May 2022, has put nuclear energy at the forefront of its strategy to secure energy and achieve climate goals. France continues to heavily invest in nuclear power, whereas Germany has largely moved away from it. ADVERTISEMENTThe geopolitical upheaval caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict has reshaped Europe’s energy strategy. The EU’s REPowerEU Plan, worth nearly €300 billion, aims to eliminate reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Central to this strategy is the role of nuclear power in securing energy supplies and supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.This ambitious strategy places nuclear energy…

The Munich public prosecutor’s office is conducting an investigation into Petr Bystron, a prominent figure on the German far-right party’s list for the European elections. Source link