State aid: Commission approves €100 million Austrian measure to reduce electricity consumption in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved a €100 million Austrian measure to reduce peak electricity consumption in Austria in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. This is the first measure aimed at supporting electricity consumption reduction that the Commission has approved under the State […]

State aid: Commission approves €110 million Austrian scheme to support agricultural producers in context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved a €110 million Austrian scheme to support primary agricultural producers in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022 and amended […]

Recovery and Resilience Facility: Belgium, Italy, Austria, and Slovenia submit official recovery and resilience plans

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission has received official recovery and resilience plans from Belgium, Italy, Austria, and Slovenia. These plans set out the reforms and public investment projects that each Member State plans to implement with the support of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The RRF […]

The European Commission and Austria secure COVID-19 vaccines for the Western Balkans

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission and Austria are announcing today the conclusion of agreements for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for the Western Balkans. The 651,000 BioNTech/Pfizer doses are funded by the European Commission and will be shared with the facilitation of Austria. The first delivery […]

EU Cohesion policy: first REACT-EU support measures for recovery and transition approved for the Netherlands and Austria

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission approved the first decisions under REACT-EU (Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe) involving a modification of four operational programmes for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the Netherlands and Austria that will increase the funding available for investments […]

State aid: Commission approves €300 million Austrian scheme for package travel organisers and facilitators of linked travel services in the context of the coronavirus outbreak

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €300 million Austrian scheme for package travel organisers and facilitators of linked travel services in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “The package […]

State aid: Commission approves €300 million Austrian scheme to support organisers of events affected by coronavirus outbreak

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €300 million Austrian scheme to support organisers of events affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework. Today’s decision confirms the agreement in principle reached in […]

State aid: Commission approves €150 million Austrian subordinated loan to compensate Austrian Airlines for damages suffered due to coronavirus outbreak

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has found an Austrian €150 million subordinated loan (convertible into a grant) in favour of Austrian Airlines AG to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure aims at partly compensating the airline for the damages suffered due to […]

Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain receive €279m after natural disasters in 2019

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Parliament on Wednesday approved €279 million in EU aid following extreme weather events in Austria, Italy, Portugal and Spain in 2019. The report by José Manuel Fernandes, (EPP, PT) was adopted by 680 votes in favour, 7 against and 1 abstention, to allocate €279 […]

Austria: reforms will be necessary to uphold high well-being levels

‌ This article is brought to you in association with OECD. Austria stands out for its high levels of economic and social well-being. Preserving these will require reforms to improve competition in the service sector, increase access to risk capital for firms of all sizes, encourage more women and migrants into the workforce and lengthen work […]

The result of European Elections 2019 seals the end of the business as usual era in Brussels

On the morrow of the European election 2019, the ballots showed to Brussels that it will not anymore continue to do tax free business as usual for long. 10 years after the global economic crisis, this election’s result shows that the excuse that austerity brought disappoitnment which subsequently lead towards the rise of far right […]

EU elections 2019: Trump’s share in the support of populism

It was last Monday when the US President Donald Trump met the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the White House. Both leaders had the beautiful chance to praise each other at a gathering which lasted less than an hour. Only a few days ahead of the EU elections, the US President clearly shows his […]

EU elections 2019: Rise of nationalist trends and populism in Europe challenges the EU edifice

The European elections are going to be held in just two weeks’ time and far-right propaganda is gaining momentum creating concerns to everyone regarding the future of the EU, which is at stake. Populism and nationalism have dramatically risen in the EU during the last years menacing democratic institutions within a number of European member […]

Impossible Brexit options: WTO or new referendum?

In western Austria’s ‘saltcastle’ – Saltzburg – the baroque native city of Mozart, the last EU Summit which took place there left a very bitter Brexit taste. The city’s confectioners’ efforts of supplying an unlimited variety of chocolates, baring the face of the celebrated composer, were to no avail. The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, […]

Who can unlock the stalled Brexit negotiations? UK Premier sticks to her proposal

The Brexit cataclysm comes to its apex. On the one side is Prime Minister Theresa May, and on the other around 50 unrepentant Brexiteer Tory MPs. The sides are about to cross swords within and without Parliament. Reportedly, May could pass her own – not so mild but negotiable in Brussels – version of Brexit […]

Migration crisis update: mutual actions and solidarity needed as anti-migrant policies thrive

An EU summit is taking place today in Salzburg, Austria where the EU leaders will discuss about the immigration crisis in the region and Brexit deal negotiations. The Parliament’s request to the member states regarding Hungary’s breach of the EU founding values is creating turbulences to the unity and solidarity of the Old Continent. The […]

Commission hardens its stance against carmakers ensuring emissions reductions targets

The car industry will be under tighter surveillance by the European Commission after 2020 when the next phase of the EU’s emission regulation will take place. All car manufacturers who do not meet the 2021 fleet CO2 emissions compliance for new passenger vehicles sold in the Old Continent will face fines of more than €14 […]

Austria’s EU Presidency: Chancellor Sebastian Kurz aims to “build bridges”

  This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament.  Borders, migration, the MFF, and enlargement were key issues in a debate with Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on the EU work programme for the rest of 2018. During its six-month presidency in the Council, the Austrian government intends primarily to promote stronger protection […]

The US calls off globalization, targets Germany. Paris offer to Berlin comes at a cost

Last Friday, the ‘America first’ President Donald Trump repeated his threats to impose a super tariff on imports of European cars, obviously having in mind the German automotive industry. His latest menace came only hours after the European Union moderately retaliated to the US aggressive trade action, by levying additional import duties on American goods […]

EU budget: Will Germany alone manage Britain’s gap?

The EU budget will be the main topic of the EU summit which will be held in Brussels on Friday. The leaders of the 27 member states have to deal with the annual gap that UK will leave after Brexit occurs ensuring that the priorities set for the Union will be adequately funded. According to […]

What Merkel and Macron are to tell Trump in Davos?

Donald Trump, the American President, is to deliver the closing speech at this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of 23-26 January in Davos, which as usually is set in the unsullied Alpine landscape. Perhaps, he has something new to say about how America sees Europe. Most probably though, he is simply to repeat his […]

Minority governments ‘à la mode’ in Europe but can they last long?

With the Italian elections set for 4 March and anticipated to produce a hang parliament, four out of the five bigger European countries will be in political limbo for a good part, if not for the entire new year 2018. France is the only exception in this Euro-plague of political uncertainty. In some cases the […]

Europe’s far-right launches attacks on neighboring nations

This newspaper had predicted that Europe’s extreme right wing, almost fascist political parties, unable to deliver their phoney promises after reaching government posts, will try to play the aggressive chauvinism card. Old Continet’s’s nations have paid dearly in the past millennia for jingoism and chauvinist violence. However, after many decades of peace in Europe and […]

Czech Babis, Austrian Kurz and others threaten Europe with nationalist populism

Andrej Babis, a media magnate and second wealthier Czech leading his anti-immigration, nationalist and populist ANO party, won last Sunday’s election, with around 30% of the vote. He is to become the next Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Babis did that on an anti-systemic Trump-like ticket. He was recently implicated in a tax fraud […]

Chauvinism and xenophobia will lead to global assertiveness and more wars

The immigration crisis of 2015 in Europe exposed the hollowness of the political system of the new millennium in the Old Continent, anguishing to cover the huge social cavities the economic neo-liberalism has created. Unfortunately, economic neo-liberalism didn’t lead to political liberalism, but instead to chauvinism, xenophobia and the insurgence of the extreme right wing […]

Refugee crisis update: Commission is struggling alone with little help from EU or G7 leaders

The European Commission has been fighting the migration crisis urging the EU countries for their support to tackle this long-lasting issue but no or little contribution is provided. Last Thursday, the president of the EC prompted the Czech Republic to change its decision regarding their denial on accepting asylum seekers from Greece and Italy under […]

Will the EU ever tackle the migration crisis despite the lack of political will?

Despite the fact that migration crisis figures have decreased compared to last year, the disappointing commitment of some countries to fulfil their obligations receiving asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy combined with the worsening situation in the Mediterranean are perpetuating this crisis. The European Commission (EC) continues its hard work towards the completion of the relocation […]

EU prepares for the worst case scenario as Turkey seems to be withdrawing from the migration deal

The EU Foreign Ministers convened in Brussels two days ago with Austria calling for a tougher stance towards the Turkish membership urging the EU to freeze negotiations due to the recent security crackdown in Turkey. The EU leaders will discuss the EU-Turkey refugee deal on Thursday which is directly linked to the Turkish accession talks. Erdogan […]

Trump and Brexit: After the social whys the political whereto

The economic, social and political gaps between the power hubs of New York and Washington on the one hand and the American Mid-West and Southern states on the other is equal to the space dividing London from the rest of Britain. These distances probably compare to the vacuity separating earth from the moon. This is […]

Is it just visa-free travel that Erdogan demands from the EU to not break the migration deal?

Last Monday Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, mentioned in the German newspaper Bild that Turkey is most likely to step out of the refugee deal signed with the EU last March unless the latter provides to the Turks visa-free travel to the bloc in October. These comments come only a few days after the Turkish […]

EU revengefully shows no mercy to Cameron by demanding a fast and sloppy Brexit now

One of the most historicals EU summits is taking place today in Brussels with 27 instead of 28 member states attending the meeting, leaving Britain and David Cameron out due to the recent decision of the British people to vote in favor of leaving the European Union. The EU referendum has caused severe consequences not only to […]

For how long and at what cost can the ECB continue printing trillions to keep euro area going?

Last Tuesday Eurostat, the EU statistical service issued a Press release revealing that the GDP of Eurozone (EU19) and EU28 rose in the first quarter of this year by 1.7% and 1.8% respectively, compared with the same three-month period of 2015. On the yearly developments platform, there is more good news. The same source revealed […]

Unemployment and exclusion brings EU cities to boiling point

Last Tuesday Eurostat, the EU statistical service release its latest estimates about the April unemployment rate and May inflation in Eurozone, which unfortunately didn’t diverge markedly from the gloomy predictions of analysts. This week however, the same source published a very interesting survey about the labor market situation in EU. It’s a special report about […]