Two court rulings in one day save Margrethe Vestager’s legacy as EU Competition Commissioner. The European Court of Justice confirmed her decisions to order Apple to pay €13 billion in back taxes in Ireland and to demand a fine of €2.4 billion for abuse of a dominant market position in the Google Shopping case.During her […]
Christian Baukhage, the closest colleague of German EU Ambassador Michael Clauß, died unexpectedly at the weekend. “The news of the sudden and unexpected death of our colleague Christian Baukhage has hit us all deeply and saddens us immensely“, said a spokesperson for the Permanent Representation. Baukhage was only 48 years old.Since April 2022, the diplomat […]
The first reactions were not long in coming: Mario Draghi had barely finished his press conference at midday when German Finance Minister Christian Lindner already had his say: “Joint borrowing by the EU will not solve the structural problems,” explained the FDP leader. Germany would not agree to this.Draghi had largely ignored this sensitive topic, […]
A ruling by the European Court of Justice is fueling the debate about a reform of competition law. The Luxembourg judges annulled the EU Commission’s decision to prohibit the US medical technology manufacturer Illumina from taking over Grail. The EU competition authorities should not have examined the deal because the start-up Grail did not meet […]
Ursula von der Leyen is holding many talks these days; yesterday alone, the Commission President interviewed half a dozen Commissioner candidates. Next Wednesday, Sept. 11, she wants to present her new team. Firstly, in the late morning to the group chairmen in the European Parliament, then to the public.The new college is not yet as […]
Paolo Gentiloni will in all likelihood only be in office for a few more weeks, so the outgoing EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs can speak more freely about political developments in member states. “Resentment against everything and everyone has triumphed,” commented the Italian Social Democrat on the strong performance of the AfD and the Sahra […]
Under normal circumstances, a state election is not worth a headline in the international media. Yesterday evening, however, the Financial Times and Le Monde even sent out breaking news. The AfD’s victory in the state elections in Thuringia, the first for a radical right-wing party since the end of the Second World War, is being […]
Former ECB President Mario Draghi will brief the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament on his report on European competitiveness next Wednesday. Draghi will give an outlook on his eagerly awaited report at the Conference of Presidents (CoP) meeting in the afternoon, as was reported in Brussels on Thursday. He will publish […]
Roberta Metsola has appointed her long-time colleague and brother-in-law Matthew Tabone to head her cabinet as President of the European Parliament. Tabone started as head of Metsola’s MEP office in 2013 and was most recently responsible for public relations in her cabinet.He replaces Leticia Zuleta De Reales Ansaldo, who will become the European Parliament’s Director […]
On Sunday, new state elections will be held in Saxony and Thuringia, and the results have the potential to shake up the political landscape in Germany. If the polls prove correct, the AfD could become the strongest force in both federal states with around 30 percent (in Saxony, CDU Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer is still […]