The European recovery plan is in a bad state. Already criticized for its slow implementation, the European Union now faces another issue with Germany, as the German Constitutional Court suspended on March 25 the ratification process of the "Next generation EU" plan at the national level.
Due to Brexit and multiple lockdowns, hundreds of thousands of expats have left Britain in 2020.
Pharmaceutical giants producing COVID-19 vaccines are open to collaboration with third parties, as long as they retain control on vaccine licenses and profits. EU member states complain about supply shortages, but fail to question the power of Big Pharma.
Climate change-related extreme events have seriously damaged the countries of the European Economic Area, accounting for loss of almost 3 percent of GDP for each country per year, according to a new report by the European Environment Agency.
A study has revealed the negative impact of e-commerce on employment, counting the number of jobs created and destroyed.
The United States are spending more money and more rapidly to support their economy than the Europeans are doing. And even if Biden's relief plan will result in higher imports, it is not the eurozone that will benefit the most from it.
The number of workers at risk of in-work poverty has increased in 16 countries in the European Union. In response to this, the European Trade Union Confederation is calling for the European Commission’s Minimum Wage directive to prohibit the setting of such wages below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold.
The coronavirus pandemic has instigated fears of economic uncertainty among various economic actors, including among consumers, distributors, and industry. However, the latest Eurostat figures show that confidence among economic actors is more or less holding up despite the health crisis.
When it was rumoured that banknotes could be spreading the coronavirus, banks that teamed up with card networks rubbed their hands with glee. Mastercard, Visa or the Internet giants like Google Pay or Apple Pay saw a unique opportunity to convince consumers to use their technology. Overnight, merchants in most European countries allowed card purchases for amounts that were sometimes less than one euro, with lower transaction fees, while supermarkets encouraged customers to pay for their groceries through contactless payment.
Without an agreement, it will be very difficult to export cars, medicines or Welsh lamb to the continent. Companies operating in these sectors are trying to prepare as best as they can.