Author: Euronews

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews. The European Commission needs to identify key strengths and weaknesses of the European innovation landscape, and how best to overcome these, Olivier Joris writes. ADVERTISEMENTThe EU is losing ground to its global competitors, and this is partly due to legislation that sometimes creates unexpected barriers to research and innovation.This is problematic since innovation is critical for achieving Europe’s green and digital transitions towards sustainability, for strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and for delivering on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. As…

Recovery and reconstruction are part of Japan’s DNA. The Asian country is aiding war-torn Ukraine in several ways that include managing the disposal of debris, building infrastructure, and providing humanitarian aid. ADVERTISEMENTAs the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, Euronews reporter Cinzia Rizzi headed to Tokyo to learn more about how Japan is supporting the war-torn country. It comes as the Asian country geared up for the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Reconstruction.Despite being left with almost nothing after World War II, Japan recovered quickly with the record period of economic growth garnering the label “the Japanese…

Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny who died in a Russian prison on Friday, delivered a charged political message ahead of a meeting with European Union foreign ministers on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT”I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny, continue to fight for our country. And I invite you to stand next to me,” Navalnaya, an economist known widely as the ‘first lady’ of Russia’s silenced opposition, said in a video message on social media.”Keep fighting and do not give up. I’m not afraid, and neither should you be,” she added.Her words come three days after her husband…

The French government’s predictions for lower economic growth in 2024 put an early dampener on the mood of the markets. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean shares were fairly downbeat on Monday morning, following French stocks being particularly downcast due to the French government cutting the country’s economic growth for 2024.France’s gross domestic product (GDP) outlook was slashed from 1.4% to 1% for the year, due to the ongoing damage caused by the Russia-Ukraine war as well as reduced trade with China and Germany.The CAC 40 index dropped 0.43% to 7,734.6, whereas the Stoxx 600 index was mostly flat at 491.6. Conversely, the FTSE 100…

The European Union on Monday formally launched a bespoke naval mission to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. ADVERTISEMENTMission ‘Aspides’ – Greek for shield – will aim to preserve freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a region plagued with instability since October when Houthi rebels began targeting vessels navigating the waterway with a barrage of drone and rocket attacks.The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls a part of Yemen, say their attacks are in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza that has so far claimed the…

The funds will allow the Palestinian Authority to pay teachers, health workers and other public sector employees. ADVERTISEMENTNorway says it will transfer tax funds to the Palestinian Authority (PA) that have been frozen for months because of a dispute with Israel.Under interim peace agreements dating back to the early 1990s, Israel collects taxes and customs on behalf of the PA, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and also helps pay for public services in Gaza.After Hamas’ attack on 7 October triggered the war in Gaza, Israel reduced the transfers by the amount that was spent on the territory.…

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has confirmed her intention to lead the executive for five more years. ADVERTISEMENTThe announcement was made at a meeting of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin, the DPA news agency reported. It caps off weeks of relentless speculation in Brussels over her political future, which has also been linked to NATO, and heats up the race to preside over the Commission, the most powerful institution in the European Union.Von der Leyen’s nomination will be confirmed by acclamation in early March during the annual congress of her political family, the centre-right…

Investors have previously aired concerns about the Spanish bank having operations across a number of countries throughout the world. ADVERTISEMENTSpanish bank Santander has announced a share buyback programme of €1.5 billion and says it will raise its dividend for 2024 by 50%.Shares, which have lagged behind other banks, rose more than 2% in early trading following the announcement.The average purchase price of shares would not be more than €4.76, with an average price of €3.95 expected, revealed Reuters, quoting Santander. The move means some 40% of the bank’s pre-tax profits will go back to shareholders while the rest will go towards…

In this edition of State of the Union we focus on considerations by the EU aviation safety authority and some airlines to cut one pilot for cost reasons. The pilots are vehemently opposed to this. ADVERTISEMENTThe world has gotten used to nonsensical remarks by Donald Trump.That’s why European leaders rarely comment on them, they usually hold their noses and move on.But Trump’s suggestion during a campaign rally that the United States would not protect NATO allies who fail to spend enough on defense sparked a rare public backlash.“Dangerous”, “unhinged”, “appalling” – those were some of the friendlier reactions.Here’s the EU’s…

The country’s finance minister said in a TV interview that spending cuts will be made across every government ministry with immediate effect. ADVERTISEMENTFrance is dropping its GDP growth forecast for this year from 1.4% to 1% and will slash spending by about €10 billion, the country’s finance minister has said.Bruno Le Maire announced in a TV interview on French channel TF1 on Sunday that the government will cut the budget of each ministry and certain governmental initiatives with immediate effect, to offset the sluggish growth outlook.Doing so will enable France to keep its target of lowering its deficit to 4.4%…