Author: Euronews

Sweeping gains for far-right and Eurosceptic parties could allow a populist right-wing coalition to take control of the European Parliament this year for the first time, a new study finds. ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank, Eurosceptic populists should top the polls in nine EU countries – including Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands – during the 6-9 June European elections. They should also come second or third in a further nine countries.The far-right surge could allow a coalition of Christian democrats, conservatives and the radical far-right to piece together a majority and steer EU policy for the…

European shares climbed up as investors expect the ECB to keep rates steady at its monetary policy meeting this week. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean stocks started the week bright on Monday, drawing optimism from US equities, following the S&P 500 index touching record highs on Friday. However, impending interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan later this week have kept investors on their toes.The Stoxx 600 index was up 0.57 per cent to €471.8, while the CAC 40 inched up 0.4 per cent to €7,399.4. The FTSE 100 also advanced 0.06 per cent to £7,465.2.Regarding the ECB decision,…

As we move into 2024, Europe’s second largest economy is likely to need to weather many storms before its economy reaches a stable point. ADVERTISEMENTThe recent controversial immigration bill will create further challenges for France which needs to address its ongoing labour shortages while facing the threat of the far right taking over the helm of affairs. French manufacturing worsened towards the year end and, with the level of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty at present, its recovery will not be smooth. The extraordinary debt levels across the major economies in the world pose a risk to France, too, as it faces the…

One of the most prominent themes to emerge from the latest World Economic Forum in Davos was the rising potential and associated challenges for generative AI. ADVERTISEMENTEuronews Business digs deep and considers the opportunities and challenges for Europe from Generative AI.What is generative AI?Generative AI refers to learning models which assist in the creation of new content in any required format. It is trained on “vast databases” and is designed to generate high-quality content in response to given prompts. Considering the ever-increasing popularity of generative AI such as Chat GPT, Dall E & Claude, it is estimated to grow at…

The average UK citizen is £10,200 poorer than they were as a result of the “Great Recession”, says a new report by the Centre for Cities. ADVERTISEMENTHad the economy grown at its pre-2010 trajectory, people in the UK would be £10,200 (€11,928) wealthier on average, according to the Cities Outlook 2024.”The UK has had a torrid time,” said Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of the Centre for Cities.”Everywhere, up and down the country, including places that were doing relatively well before, has been levelled down because of the lack of growth.”A comparison of the UK’s 63 largest cities and towns shows…

Reliance on US tech to get into orbit is causing jitters, as the prospect of a second Trump presidency gets closer. ADVERTISEMENTThe EU has vowed to safeguard its access to space, as the failure of the landmark Ariane programme leaves the bloc reliant on US launchers.An “unprecedented crisis” required a “paradigm shift”, the European Commission’s Thierry Breton told a conference in Brussels today (23 January), after repeated delays to Ariane 6 put ambitions at risk.Launchers are required to get space projects into orbit – including the EU’s satellite navigation system Galileo, and environmental monitoring technology Copernicus.But last year the bloc…

Trump’s return to the White House after his decisive victory in the Iowa caucus could spell trouble for the European Union. ADVERTISEMENTA renewed trade war and lesser support for Ukraine are just some of the issues facing the EU if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House.Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo – who has taken over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU – warned in a speech to MEPs earlier this week the bloc could be bereft of one of his biggest allies this year should “America First” prevail again. But he said Europe should not fear…

A Russian court has ruled that Apple misused its dominant market position through the App Store, resulting in another fine for the tech giant. ADVERTISEMENTApple has paid a fine of RUB 1.18 billion (about €12.29 million) to Russia after a Moscow-based court found the US tech giant allegedly abused its dominant market position through the app store, Russia’s FAS antitrust agency said on Monday.This followed a November ruling that found Apple had prohibited app developers from informing customers about alternative payment options outside the App Store.The payment will go straight into the Russian budget, strengthening the Kremlin’s funds during a…

Austria, France and Italy pushed for putting lab-grown meat on the ‘menu’ of the next gathering of EU agriculture ministers, taking the helm of the 12-country coalition against this food technology. ADVERTISEMENTThe countries’ delegations have placed fake meat on the agenda of agriculture ministers meeting in Brussels next week (23 January), the first time the issue will be debated at this level, according to the latest version of the EU Council agenda.The term lab-grown meat – also known as artificial, cultivated or cell-based meat – refers to edible tissue gleaned from harvesting animal muscle cells which are nurtured in bioreactors…

Hopes for a cut in taxes as UK government borrowing in December shows a dramatic drop. ADVERTISEMENTThe UK government borrowed £7.8 billion (€9.1 billion) to cover spending costs in December, a fall of £8.4 billion (€9.8 billion) year-on-year and the lowest December figure since 2019.It is also substantially less than the £14 billion (€16.3 billion) borrowing total predicted by the UK’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).Government savings on interest payments contributed to the surprise result, as payouts on state debt fell to £4 billion (€4.7 billion), helped by falling inflation.The government paid out a much larger sum of…