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29th Mar 2024

Ticker

Belgian mayors give Juncker a tongue-lashing

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker ought to "apologise" for comments he made on a recent visit to the Belgian seaside, Jean-Marie Dedecker, the mayor of Middelkerke, has said. The mayor of Ostend, Bart Tommelein, called Juncker's comments "strange". Juncker had said he now spoke German in the region instead of French, as he did 30 years ago, because "tolerance" of French speakers had declined. Belgium has three native language groups.

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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."

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