Friday

29th Mar 2024

Ticker

Merkel and Macron back Western Balkans enlargement

"It is in the European Union's very own interests to drive the [enlargement] process forward here," in the Western Balkans, German chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday in a video-summit on the region. French president Emmanuel Macron said he "very clearly" supported enlargement, while EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted to "accelerate" it. Enlargement is currently stuck due to a Bulgarian veto and ongoing Kosovo-Serbia enmity, however.

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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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