Author: Euronews

Repeated delays and a farmer-led green policy backlash have left the flagship “Farm to Fork” strategy in doubt. ADVERTISEMENTIn 2020, the European Commission unveiled its “Farm to Fork” food strategy – yet over half of its promises are still unmet, an analysis by Euronews has found.It’s supposedly a flagship element of the EU’s environmentally-focused green deal, but there’s been a recent high-profile backlash by protesting farmers.Of the 31 actions promised as part of Farm to Fork, 15 have not got off the ground – and one, a contentious proposal on pesticides, was even withdrawn by Commission President Ursula von der…

EU Commissioner Sinkevičius claims the Hungarian prime minister is “isolated” among other EU leaders, and that his actions only serve Europe’s enemies in the Kremlin. ADVERTISEMENTEU Commissioner for Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius has described Hungary’s continuous blocking of important milestones in the West’s defence against Russia as “shameful”.“It’s shameful” – he said, speaking to Euronews – “to postpone decisions; not to have a vote on Sweden joining NATO, these are obvious actions against collective security.””It’s against the interests of the EU, against the interests of the Western world. And that’s something that can only satisfy one side: the Moscow regime,” he said.Victor Orbán’s pre-Christmas refusal…

A new legislation fast-tracked through parliament and approved earlier this month would abolish the special prosecutor’s office, which handles serious crimes such as graft, organized crime and extremism. ADVERTISEMENTSlovakia’s president said on Friday that she will challenge at the Constitutional Court an amendment to the country’s penal code that eliminates the office of the special prosecutor dealing with major crimes and corruption.President Zuzana Caputova said she was also asking Slovakia’s top court to freeze the legislation, which was approved by lawmakers loyal to populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, until it decides on her complaint. It is not clear when the…

European countries are some of the best places for pensions in the world, analysis shows, and AI is having an increasing impact on how each system works. ADVERTISEMENTThe Netherlands is top of the class when it comes to comparing pension systems around the world, according to a recent global pensions report from the Mercer CFA Institute.The ranking looked at more than 50 indicators and compared 47 retirement income systems, covering 64% of the world’s population.The most relevant measurements were the level of private and public sector pension benefits available, the sustainability of the system to last decades into the future…

Japan slips into recession, becoming the 4th-largest economy, behind the US, China and now Germany. ADVERTISEMENTJapan’s economy is now the world’s fourth-largest after it contracted in the last quarter of 2023 and fell behind Germany.The government reported the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.4% in October to December, according to Cabinet Office data on real GDP, though it grew 1.9% for all of 2023. It contracted 2.9% in July-September. Two straight quarters of contraction are considered an indicator an economy is in a technical recession.Japan’s economy was the second largest until 2010, when it was overtaken by China’s. Japan’s…

Nvidia is already popular among investors with its market capitalisation rising to $1.83 trillion on Wednesday, surpassing Alphabet’s $1.82 trillion market cap – and now the AI darling of the markets has helped boost the stock of other AI companies by revealing its stake in them. ADVERTISEMENTThe chipmaker said in an SEC filing this week that it held investments in Arm Holdings, SoundHound AI, and biotech company Recursion Pharmaceuticals, as of 31 December 2023.Following the update, the share prices of the companies climbed, reflecting investor sentiment around anything AI related and linked to Nvidia.At the end of trading on Thursday,…

Shares in Italy’s Eni SpA fell on Friday after the company published its latest financial results. ADVERTISEMENTEni said in a press release that its full-year profits for 2023 stood at €8.3 billion, down almost 40% from the previous year, when energy prices were at record levels. Its adjusted operating profit (EBIT) for Q423 came in at €3.8 billion, which the company attributed to “steady” exploration and production results, a record-breaking GGP performance and a positive contribution from its Plenitude subsidiary.Specifically, Eni said its GGP adjusted EBIT was €0.68 billion and was helped in part thanks to a favourable outcome in…

A group of member states blocked on Friday a law designed to improve the conditions of platform workers across the European Union, pushing the legislation to the brink of limbo. ADVERTISEMENTThe coalition was large enough to act as a blocking minority and derail the political agreement reached last week between the Council and the European Parliament.Germany, the bloc’s most powerful state and host of Delivery Hero and Free Now, chose to abstain, complicating the arithmetic to obtain the required level of support.Greece and Estonia also abstained, while France, a vigorous opponent of the law, said it could not support the…

Consumer prices fell 0.2% in Europe’s second-largest economy in January compared to the previous month. ADVERTISEMENTDriven by a slowing increase in food and energy costs, annual consumer inflation in France, meanwhile, was confirmed at 3.1% in January 2024 from 3.7% in December, according to the French statistical office INSEE. The annual inflation rate was below expectations and marked the lowest price increase since January 2022. The decline was mainly due to a slowdown in energy prices, which rose by 1.9%, following a 5.7% price increase in December 2023. Food prices also receded somewhat, the overall food inflation reached 5.7% after 7.2%…

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews. The passage of CSDDD is not negotiable: it is an essential stride towards a more just, sustainable, and accountable future. The decision on this law is an opportunity for the EU to lead by example, setting a standard that resonates globally, Catherine Howarth writes. ADVERTISEMENTIn an era marked by unprecedented global challenges, the imperative of enacting robust legislation that prioritises human rights and environmental protection cannot be overstated. As the EU stands at a crossroads, facing the choice…