Friday

29th Mar 2024

Ticker

Oettinger warns of 'billions' in fines for German carmakers

German carmakers may face fines into the billions, EU commissioner Guenther Oettinger told Monday's Bild newspaper. The EU competition authority "does not pay attention to big names," he said, adding that Brussels does not shrink from penalties that "hurt and frighten the business". Germany's major automakers stand accused in a US lawsuit of acting as a cartel, colluding for nearly two decades to limit technological advances and stifle competition.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us