Author: Euronews

Greece put up a 30% stake in Athens International Airport SA, subsequently drawing strong investor interest. ADVERTISEMENTAthens International Airport SA shares had a staggering start on the stock exchange in the Greek capital, following strong investor interest in what is being called the biggest initial public offering (IPO) in two decades in the country. The price soared by 15% at the start of the trading, Bloomberg reported. It comes after Greece completed a major privatisation last Friday, selling its 30% stake in the biggest airport operator in the tourism-reliant country during an initial public offering, releasing the shares on the Athens stock…

European producers are racing against the clock to build enough wind farms to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets by 2030. Euronews correspondent Andrea Bolitho speaks to the European manufacturers leading the charge for Business Planet. The European Commission says the EU needs to expand its wind power capacity and build an additional 31 GW (gigawatts) of wind farms every year if it is to meet the EU’s renewable energy target of 42.5 per cent by 2030.This ambitious target will require a massive increase in wind farms. A record number of wind farms were built across the continent in 2022,…

BP has been trying to transition into renewable and more sustainable energy for some time but has suffered a series of setbacks. ADVERTISEMENTBritish Petroleum (BP) released its Q4 2023 results on Tuesday. The company announced a $13.8 billion (€12.85 billion) underlying replacement cost profit, also considered a proxy for net profit, for the full year 2023. This figure was supported by industry refining margins being considerably lower, as well as gas trading picking up steam.Although 2023’s full-year profit was about half that of 2022’s $27.7 billion (€25.8 billion), when energy prices spiked due to the Russia-Ukraine war, it was still the…

Consumer demand has slumped following two months of improved retail growth, suggesting Europeans are still feeling the cost of living pinch. ADVERTISEMENTThe volume of eurozone retail sales fell by 1.1% in the month to December, Eurostat figures have revealed.Following November’s reading of 0.3% growth, the recent figures mark a disappointing fall into negative territory.Compared with the same period in 2022, the reading from the end of last year was down 0.8%, and the average for the whole of 2023 was down 1.8% on the previous year.Following a sharp drop in consumption at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, retail sales…

The European Commission has proposed updated rules that expand the definition of child sexual abuse and lengthen the statute of limitations. ADVERTISEMENTThe revision of the 2011 directive, unveiled on Tuesday afternoon, attempts to close the loopholes opened by the sudden advent of artificial intelligence, which has enabled criminals to produce synthetic images of child abuse and evade law enforcement.One in every five children in Europe is estimated to be a victim of some form of sexual abuse or exploitation. The scourge is pervasive and insidious: 1.5 million cases were reported in 2022, compared to one million in 2020.”With the high…

The United Arab Emirates appears on the EU’s list of suspect dirty-money jurisdictions. ADVERTISEMENTThe EU securities-market watchdog today (6 February) removed its recognition from the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC) given money laundering fears.The move, which blocks EU banks from using the financial infrastructure, comes after the bloc badged the United Arab Emirates as a money laundering threat.The European Securities and Markets Authority, ESMA, had originally tried to blacklist the DCCC last year, but the attempt was put on hold pending an appeal.The Board of Appeal “found no evidence that the adverse economic consequences DCCC faced were disproportionate,” said a…

The European Union must slash greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, Brussels said on Tuesday in a recommendation aimed at ensuring climate neutrality becomes a reality by mid-century. ADVERTISEMENTThe 90% reduction, as compared to 1990s levels, would entail a massive deployment of renewable systems, the irreversible abolition of coal, and the near-total disappearance of gas from the bloc’s energy system, as well as profound changes in transport, food, buildings, factories and waste management.The target is necessary to keep the EU aligned with the 2015 Paris Agreement, which committed nations to keep the Earth’s long-term average temperature well below 2°C and, preferably,…

The Swiss bank has reported pre-tax losses in the last three months of 2023 but has impressive goals, including raising dividends. ADVERTISEMENTUBS Group AG reported a pretax loss of $751 million (€699.7 million) for the closing three months last year, as the Swiss banking giant continued to integrate its longtime rival Credit Suisse after a government-orchestrated merger.A big part of the Zurich-based lender’s losses, $508 million (€473 million), was linked to an investment in SIX Group, which operates Switzerland’s main stock market. The net loss in the quarter came in at $279 million (€260 million), which translates to a loss of 9 cents per share.…

In this episode of Smart Regions, we take a deep dive into Sicily’s underwater laboratory that could help us better understand the origins of our universe. IDMAR is Europe’s largest underwater telescope. It is located off the coast of Portopalo di Capo Passero, at the southern tip of Sicily.Spherical underwater nodes look and listen out for what’s happening in the Mediterranean, transmitting valuable information to researchers in real time.”IDMAR is located 100 kilometres from here, to the east, and through this wire, at a depth of 3500 metres, it provides us with information on geophysics, volcanology, biology and above all…

Euronews Business takes a closer look at tax across Europe to see where people are paying the most – and the least. ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the Tax Foundation, single average wage workers in Europe were paying about one third of their wages in taxes in 2022. Unsurprisingly, tax burdens across Europe vary significantly, with workers in Western European and more developed countries paying considerably more.Denmark (55.9%), Austria (55%), Portugal (53%), Sweden (52.3%) and Belgium (50%) are some of the countries with the highest personal income tax rates. On the other hand, Romania (10%), Bulgaria (10%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (10%), Kosovo (10%) and…