Author: Euronews

The European Commission’s 2024 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report looks at how digital adoption and sustainability across the single market has evolved in the past year. ADVERTISEMENTThe European single market was incorporated in 1993, to enable the free movement of people, goods, services and capital throughout the European Union. It is the biggest trading bloc in the world, made up of 27 European Union states, with more than 440 million consumers. Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway also have access to the bloc through the Agreement on the Economic Area, albeit with certain exceptions. Switzerland, on the other hand, can only…

Several EU leaders have said they hold the Kremlin directly responsible for the sudden death of Alexei Navalny. ADVERTISEMENTNavalny, 47, the face of Russia’s silenced opposition, died in prison on Friday following years of political persecution at the hands of the state.The EU, which has long saluted Navalny’s unwavering fight for Russian democracy, had previously attempted to exert pressure on the Kremlin for its systemic repression of government critics.EU leaders on Friday pinned blame for Navalny’s death – which has rocked Brussels and EU capitals – on Putin’s Russia.”The EU holds the Russian regime (solely) responsible for this tragic death,”…

French energy company EDF said on Friday that it returned to profit in 2023 as nuclear fleets reopened. ADVERTISEMENTThe power giant reported a net profit of €10 billion for last year, compared to the €17.9 billion loss it posted in 2022. This was largely due to higher nuclear power output in 2023.”In France, the 41.4TWh increase in nuclear power output to 320.4 Terawatt hour (TWh), in the upper end of the range announced for the year, illustrates EDF’s very good operational performance. “This turnaround was achieved by good management of the stress corrosion repairs and reactor outages, thanks to efficiency and reactivity…

Euronews Business looks at what the UK retail sales report for January could mean for the country as it goes through its current technical recession. ADVERTISEMENTThe UK’s month-on-month sales have risen to their highest rate since April 2021, boosted by gains in every sub-sector except clothing, according to new figures.This has led to increasing hopes that the UK could potentially see its way out of its current technical recession sooner than expected. The UK’s month-on-month retail sales report for January 2024 came out on Friday, showing that January retail sales clocked in at 3.4%, a huge step up from December’s -3.3%. The…

This article was originally published in Spanish Cheap Chinese solar panels are flooding the EU market and threatening the viability of homegrown companies. ADVERTISEMENTEurope’s solar industry warns it faces an “existential threat” and that unless action is taken soon, it could collapse in a matter of months. An industry group is calling on the European Commission to introduce emergency measures, for example by stocking up on solar panels to ensure liquidity.They say the influx of China-made solar panels, whose price is artificially lowered through generous state aid, into the EU market is to blame for the critical situation. According to the industry, Beijing has a…

An economy is widely considered to enter a technical recession following two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, which is usually measured by GDP. ADVERTISEMENTThe UK economy entered a technical recession in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics, as UK households cut back on spending in response to soaring prices.The quarter-on-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) report for Q4 2023 clocked in at -0.3%, worse than last quarter’s -0.1%. This was also a step down from analyst forecasts of -0.1%The year-on-year GDP growth rate for Q4 2023 was -0.2%, also down from…

Some social media users are falsely claiming the two recently freed hostages were rescued in December. Certain users accused Israel of using the ‘liberation’ to justify the country’s attack on Rafah, southern Gaza. ADVERTISEMENTTwo men taken captive by Hamas on 7 October were rescued on Monday by the Israeli military. During the early-morning raid, Israel carried out airstrikes that the Hamas-run Health Ministry said killed around 100 people in the southern city of Rafah in Gaza. The two men, Louis Har and Fernando Marman had been kidnapped in the kibbutz of Nir Yitzak and had spent 128 days in captivity.However, according to…

The EU’s economy entered 2024 with subdued momentum. The European Commission downgraded its growth forecast to 0.9% for the EU and 0.8% for the euro area. Yet while inflation rates are expected to decline more than previously predicted, challenges remain. ADVERTISEMENTFollowing a narrow escape from recession in late 2023, the European Union’s economy has entered 2024 with less vigour than anticipated, as confirmed by the European Commission in its latest Winter Economic Forecast.The new projections highlight a downgraded growth outlook for the year, now expected at a modest 0.9% in the EU, a decrease from the previously expected 1.3%, with…

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews. Every level of German society recognises this law is a key step towards a fairer and more sustainable world. It is unpopular with one party, run by a man who seems to be attempting to force his way into political relevance by creating needless controversy, Luisa Neubauer writes. ADVERTISEMENTIn December, European policymakers from across the political spectrum agreed to help stop some of the world’s worst abuses — like child labour — through a game-changing law that businesses and…

The head of the European Central Bank noted that, while economic activity will still be sluggish in the near future, data suggests things will pick up later on in 2024. ADVERTISEMENTThe eurozone will still have to do battle with gloomy economic activity in the near term, following on from a weak 2023 which saw GDP growth stagnate in the final quarter, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) has said.Speaking at an economic committee hearing at the European Parliament on Thursday, Christine Lagarde said that the weak economy couldn’t be pinpointed to a single sector, as activity has been…