Category: luxtimes.lu

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Germany sees no need to revise its stance on common European debt, backing Chancellor Friedrich Merz in opposing recent calls for more joint borrowing. “There are currently sufficient funds available,” Klingbeil said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published on Sunday. “I don’t see any need for the […]

Luxembourg’s love affair with cars continues, with the country boasting the second-highest rate of cars relative to population anywhere in the EU in 2024, according to data published on Friday by the bloc’s official statistics agency Eurostat. Only Italy, with 701 cars per 1,000 inhabitants in 2024, had a higher rate of car ownership than […]

Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau said his successor must be independent and committed to Europe after his early resignation gave President Emmanuel Macron a surprise opportunity to pick the next central bank chief. “Competence is of course necessary, and the independence that underpins credibility and expertise, and independence has several dimensions,” Villeroy […]

“In light of recent geopolitical events in our current geopolitical context, there are risks that the international financial and monetary system is being used as a political tool,” said Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who chairs the meetings of his euro-area peers. “It is thus existential for us to safeguard the international role of the […]

The planned reform of the European Union’s carbon market should involve a slower annual pace of emissions reductions for industries from chemicals to cement, according to a member of the biggest political group in the bloc’s parliament. Peter Liese, a German lawmaker of the European People’s Party and its lead on environmental issues, said his […]

The European Central Bank will assess the effects of the euro’s recent rally on consumer-price growth in its quarterly forecasts due in March, but recent moves have been rather limited, Executive Board member Piero Cipollone told Cyprus News Agency. Officials consider the exchange rate as one element “to project inflation dynamics,” the Italian policymaker said, […]

Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden returned to Harvard University on Friday to deliver a speech at the Kennedy School of Government, where he once studied, using the occasion to argue against what he described as a “persistent narrative of European decline”. In his speech, Frieden rejected the idea of a continent stuck in the past, […]

Italy’s cabinet approved a decree expanding police powers, a step that is triggering criticism from opposition parties and civil-rights groups. The sweeping new rules backed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will let authorities detain protesters up to 12 hours without a charge and make it easier for police or others to claim self-defense. Interior Minister […]

The European Union has proposed new Russian sanctions that would replace its price cap on Russian oil with a ban on maritime services, while also barring imports of some metals, chemicals and critical minerals. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, released the proposal on Friday. All EU member states have to approve the package […]

Estonia’s President triggered a backlash from the government of one of the European Union’s biggest Russia hawks by declaring his support for direct talks between the bloc and Moscow. Alar Karis said in an interview with Euronews this week that the bloc’s policy of cutting off dialogue with Moscow has cost it a seat at […]