Author: Euronews

The European Parliament has for the first time called for a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza and the start of political efforts to find a solution to the war between Israel and Hamas. ADVERTISEMENTThe resolution, which is purely symbolic and carries no legal weight, was approved with 312 votes in favour, 131 against and 72 abstentions in Strasbourg’s plenary chamber on Thursday after a compromise was made to appease centre-right lawmakers.The ceasefire plea represents a significant shift in the Parliament’s previous position, agreed in October, which called for a humanitarian “pause” to step up the flow of aid reaching Gaza’s civilians.…

Brighter days could lie ahead for the housing market following a rocky period caused by inflated mortgage costs. ADVERTISEMENTEstate agents expect home sales to recover in the coming year after a plummet in demand seen in 2023, according to data released on Thursday by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).Rics’ annual sales expectations jumped by 10% between November and December, coming in at 34%.Meanwhile, Rics’ measure of new buyer enquiries was -3% in December, a strong improvement from November’s figure of -13%.The indicator for agreed home sales also increased to -6% last month, the highest level seen since March…

The European Commission is “very closely” following the political crisis in Poland and will “have to act” if the situation worsens and leads to violations of EU law, Věra Jourová warned on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT”We’re watching, of course,” Jourová, the Commission vice-president in charge of values of transparency, told Euronews in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Every day there is something happening.”Poland has for weeks been immersed in a fraught standoff between Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who returned to power last month with a mission to restore the rule of law in the country, and President…

Tech leaders at the World Economic Forum 2024’s Davos summit share what’s next for digital worlds and what stamping out misinformation ahead of elections could entail. ADVERTISEMENTEuronews is currently at the World Economic Forum’s 54th Annual Meeting, taking place in Davos, Switzerland this week. At a tech panel attended by some of the biggest tech company CEOs in the world, Meta and other companies discussed the next steps for digital worlds.This included more examples of use for artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse, as well as further plans for these technologies, including using AI more for youth education, staff training…

The European Union will, if needed, find a way to bypass Viktor Orbán’s veto and approve the €50-billion special fund for Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENTThe package, which is designed to provide Kyiv with financial support until 2027 and plug the government’s ballooning public deficit, is being held up by Hungary, an impasse that has left Brussels effectively without any money for the war-torn nation.Following a dramatic summit in mid-December, where Orbán made good on his threat and derailed the unanimous vote, EU leaders are set to reconvene again on 1 February to give the so-called…

Euronews’ Angela Barnes spoke to EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik in Davos about the economic risks we face as the world heads into 2024. ADVERTISEMENTTalking to Euronews Business at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Beata Javorcik said, though headline inflation has declined, “fighting core inflation [ed: excluding food and energy prices] is a lengthy and more painful process.”She also added, that the ongoing shipping disruptions in the Red Sea due to Yemeni Houthi attacks could potentially continue inflaming prices this year.Several shipping companies such as Maersk, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Hapag-Lloyd have already paused trips through the…

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has told Euronews she is “confident” that mainstream, pro-European political parties can ward off a far-right surge in June’s European elections. ADVERTISEMENTSpeaking in an interview in Strasbourg on Monday, Metsola said Europe’s moderate, pro-European parties needed to offer an “alternative” to voters.”I’m worried that if we don’t – as part of the pro-European, constructive (…) majority at the centre – appeal to our voters, then our voters will feel that they have no choice, that they have to retreat to the fringes, to those people who want to destroy rather than to build,” Metsola explained,…

A new EU law set to be agreed Wednesday may mean extra checks for major football clubs, and curbs on cash usage ADVERTISEMENTThe EU is on the cusp of agreeing new anti-money laundering curbs for major football clubs, cash payments and the super-rich.Though negotiations on the anti-money laundering regulation foundered in December, lawmakers and governments are poised to now extend its reach, after global standard-setters drew attention to the large and often unexplained flows of money flowing through international football.A meeting to be held Wednesday evening, known as a trilogue, is likely to finalise the bloc’s new anti-money laundering regulation,…

Record-breaking antitrust fines were justified as the search engine promoted its own services, Advocate General Juilane Kokott said ADVERTISEMENTA record-breaking €2.4 billion fine imposed on Google for anti-competitive promotion of its shopping service should stand in the face of a challenge by the tech giant, an opinion produced for the EU’s top court has said.In 2017, the European Commission said the company had acted unlawfully by making its own price-comparison service, Google Shopping, unduly prominent in search results.Now Juliane Kokott, one of the advisory Advocates-General of the EU Court of Justice, appears to agree.Google “was leveraging its dominant position on…

The consumer group slammed Starbucks’ alleged failure to adopt “meaningful reforms” to its coffee and tea sourcing practices. ADVERTISEMENTA consumer advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, saying the company’s claim that its coffee is ethically sourced is false and misleading.In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the National Consumers League cited media reports of abuses on farms that supply coffee and tea to Starbucks. The group said the cases cast doubt on Starbucks’ packaging, which states that the company is “committed to 100% ethical coffee sourcing”.Starbucks said Wednesday it was aware of the lawsuit and will “aggressively defend against…