Author: Euronews

Nine candidates from Madrid to Riga will present their case at a grueling 12-hour hearing next week. ADVERTISEMENTThere are nine candidates to host the EU’s new anti-money laundering agency, AMLA – each set to face cross-examination at a grueling set of hearings next week.The 12-hour session could see lawmakers and governments argue over rent prices, school quality and transport connections in cities large and small, from Paris to Vilnius.A recent significant overhaul of EU anti-money laundering rules has already seen politicians agree to ban large cash transactions and apply dirty-money checks to the world of football.Now they just need to…

Member states have given a new chance to the Platform Workers Directive, whose survival hangs by a thread. ADVERTISEMENTAmbassadors to the EU agreed on Friday to a revised mandate, which enables the Council, represented by Belgium, to head back to negotiations with the European Parliament.The face-to-face talks are expected to take place as early as next Tuesday in a race against the clock before the legislative cycle grinds to an absolute halt in anticipation of the upcoming EU elections to be held 6-9 June.The road, however, is not yet clear: according to a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity,…

The latest economic data from Spain’s government agency, the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, shows employment in the country has improved. ADVERTISEMENTSpain’s unemployment rate fell to 11.76% in the fourth quarter of 2023, down from 11.84% in the previous quarter, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE).  The INE also said that the country added 783,000 new jobs in 2023.”The job market data for 2023 show the strength and resilience of the Spanish economy’s recovery,” Economy Minister, Carlos Cuerpo, said.  By gender, employment decreased by 64,000 for men and increased by 45,000 for women. In terms of nationality, it declined by…

Holocaust survivor and author Irene Shashar told Euronews during a visit to Brussels to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day that she “dreams of a peaceful Middle East” modelled on the European Union. ADVERTISEMENT”If I have a neighbour, like in Europe, a united Europe, next to me, I can live with that neighbour in peace, it could be two, three, five, seven or 10 (neighbours). Exactly like in Europe, like a Europe united. Why can’t we have a United Middle East?” she said.Asked whether she supports the two-state solution, one for Israel where she lives and the other for Palestine, the 86-year-old…

The average UK rent price has risen to yet another new high, although supply and demand is starting to even out. ADVERTISEMENTAdvertised UK rents outside London reached an average of £1,280 (€1,500) per month in the final quarter of 2023, according to a report from property site Rightmove.Despite the price figure reaching a record high for the 16th month in a row, the figure is only a £2 (0.2%) increase on the July to September figure.Looking at annual changes, advertised rents are now 9.2% higher than last year, the lowest annual growth rate seen since 2021.”We can’t keep seeing double…

EU says it’s “extremely concerned” by Israel’s allegations that staff of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were involved in October 7th attacks. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called in a joint statement for UNRWA to “provide full transparency on the allegations and to take immediate measures against staff involved.”UNRWA announced earlier on Friday it was probing the potential involvement of several of its staff members in Hamas’ 7 October attacks, which left more than 1,200 Israelis dead and provoked a war in Gaza that has left claimed the lives of more than 26,000 Palestinians.According to…

European markets benefited from spillover sentiment from US equities this week, as well as upbeat economic data. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean shares closed the week on an upbeat note, drawing optimism from the record performance of the S&P 500 this week, which was at all-time highs of $4,894.17 (€4,500.34) on Friday afternoon. A surprisingly robust advance estimate for the Q4 2023 US gross domestic product (GDP) report contributed significantly to the positive sentiment.The CAC 40 index inched up 2.52% this week to €7,637.8, with the Stoxx 600 index also rising 2.71% to €484.1. The FTSE 100 index closed up 2.46% at £7,640.9 (€8,956.2).Gold…

Farmers’ protests across Europe sparked a surge in popularity of right-wing populist parties and have made agricultural policy one of the main topics of the upcoming European election campaign. ADVERTISEMENTFarming policy has long been a sensitive issue in the European Union with farmers acquiring a track record of disruptive protests, especially in France, the EU’s biggest agricultural producer.This week, following similar protests in countries from Germany to Romania, their French colleagues hit the barricades – or rather built barricades.The protests were over a series of long-standing grievances, including low pay, new environmental regulations and rising energy costs which farmers say…

The latest economic data from Ireland’s national statistical office shows the economy is continuing to contract. ADVERTISEMENTIrish gross domestic product (GDP) experienced a 0.7% quarter-on-quarter contraction in the fourth quarter of 2023. According to a preliminary estimate published by the Central Statistics Office on Friday, GDP was 3.4% lower compared with the same period last year.The decline was mainly driven by decreases in the multinational-dominated sectors between October and December 2023.”In today’s release, GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.7% in Q4 2023 in volume terms when compared with Q3 2023, driven by decreases in the multinational-dominated sectors of…

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews. Encouraging some 13,500 teenagers to start driving lorries would be a dangerous experiment, leading to many more of the highest-risk group of drivers behind the wheel of vehicles that cause the most devastation when crashed, Antonio Avenoso writes. ADVERTISEMENTImagine driving a car along a rural road at night with your kids asleep in the back. Conditions are a little foggy, and visibility is reduced. All of a sudden, a 40-tonne articulated lorry is coming towards you from the…