Europe

"Sooner or later, we will sit at the negotiation table with the U.S. and find a mutually acceptable compromise," EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told a news conference.

He also said the EU would start would start collecting a first tranche of targeted retaliatory duties on U.S. imports from April 15 and a second wave from May 15, in reaction to the U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminium.

He also made clear that while preferring to negotiate the removal of the tariffs with the U.S., the EU was ready to step up its response. This could include the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), which would allow it to target U.S. services or to limit U.S. companies' access to public procurement tenders in the EU.

Angered by the inadequate government measures to manage the flow, locals across Spain staged hunger strikes, plastered visitor hotspots with anti-tourism messages, and squirted tourists with water guns.

One major impact is the spiralling cost of housing as accommodation is snapped up for tourist lets and land bought for building new resorts.

Two high-ranking officials from France’s biggest far-right party publicly opened the door on Monday to bringing down the government a week after Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement and subsequently barred from running for president.

https://archive.ph/OMHLx

Archived

• Unmanned Russian vehicles have been discovered lurking next to deep-sea communications cables.
• The Ministry of Defence had credible intelligence that superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs may have been used to conduct underwater reconnaissance.
• The navy has discovered other sensors planted on the sea bed. The UK government is looking at requiring technology and energy companies to work more closely with the military and fund the protection of underwater infrastructure.

https://archive.is/mYHrR

Heiner Herkenhoff, managing director of the German Bankers Association

“There is no point in striking back hastily with additional measures,” Herkenhoff said

Archived

The European Union and Central Asian countries have agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership.

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Chaired by the Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the gathering was attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

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To anchor the upgraded relationship, von der Leyen announced a €12bn investment package under the EU Global Gateway strategy that rivals China’s Belt and Road Initiative (CBI) and investments committed by Russia to the ex-Soviet region, geopolitically now seen as much more “in play” given Moscow’s concentration on its war in Ukraine and the growing need of big powers to source critical minerals for the tech and energy transitions.

The funding will target priority sectors including critical raw materials (CRM), including a pledged emphasis on keeping added-value in processing local, as well as transport connectivity, digitalisation, water and energy. It will be allocated as follows:

• €3bn for sustainable transport initiatives
• €2.5bn for critical minerals development
• €6.4bn for hydropower and climate projects
• €100mn for satellite internet connectivity

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Several schools in the German city of Duisburg remained closed on Monday as a precaution after warnings that they would be targeted with criminal actions.

The messages contained "threatening and right-wing extremist statements," police in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia said.

https://archive.ph/saXRL

The revised regulations give carmakers more flexibility to achieve the annual sales targets for electric vehicles and reduce the penalties for not meeting them.

Stellantis, for example, had threatened to close its van plant in Luton rather than invest in the planned e-van production there – and it did indeed shut down the factory at the end of March.

Norwegian investigators have charged four people in connection with an alleged marine insurance fraud scheme linked to the Russian dark fleet, accordi...

Global markets from Europe to Asia have continued to feel the pain of Donald Trump's tariffs. The US president has shown no sign of reconsidering despite the economic turmoil. DW has the latest.

In a sprawling exhibition centre in Hanover, Germany, thousands of businesses, including 250 from Canada, are taking part in one of the world's largest trade fairs focused on industrial technology and innovation.

Rows of booths and flashy displays are meant to spark conversation, but much of the discussion has been about the U.S. tariffs, which have roiled markets, compromised relations and forced some businesses to accelerate their push for new trading partners.

"I was scared, I was very nervous, but it has been absolutely overwhelming to see the response and the reception we are getting from European markets," said Brad Sparkman, president of Ontario-based Innovating Finishing Solutions.

As both Canada and the European Union (EU) take stock of the tariffs levied by the U.S., their most important trading partner, businesses are trying to assess exactly how they will be impacted — and whether they can mitigate some of the economic hit by strengthening other trade relationships.

Archived

Which are the countries spending most on defence? The countries with the highest defence spending in recent years are the United States, China, Russia, India, and Saudi Arabia. European growth is outpaced by Russia's rising military spending, which has more than doubled the levels before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

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How much do Nato members spend on defence? Even now, Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain have not hit the target of two percent of GDP, agreed upon back in 2014.

The defence spending of the 23 EU countries that are Nato members amounted to 1.99 percent of their combined GDP in 2024 and is projected to reach 2.04 percent in 2025.

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Defence is a tech-driven industry that calls for massive investment in research and innovation. Defence R&D funding in the EU reached €3.9bn in 2022, according to Eurostat. However, according to the Dragi report, next-generation defence systems will require massive R&D investment. Since 2014, the US has prioritised R&D spending above all other military expenditure categories. France, Germany and Sweden are at the top of EU countries investing in R&D for defence.

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Since 2014, countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, North Macedonia, Slovakia, and Sweden have doubled their defence expenditures, while Luxembourg, Latvia, and Lithuania have tripled their spending. Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland have also nearly doubled their defence budgets.

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The total number of active military personnel in Europe, including the UK, is estimated to be around 1.5 million. However, its efficiency is undermined by the lack of a common command structure and military systems.

By the end of 2024, the number of Russian troops in Ukraine was approximately 700,000. However, it is estimated that Russia has about 1.3 million active military personnel and two million reservists.

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Is Europe moving towards a joint army?

No. Some countries, like France, have traditionally supported stronger EU military autonomy, while others, such as Poland and the Baltics, prioritise Nato. But rather than moving toward a single European army, the EU is focusing efforts on closer military cooperation, joint procurement, and faster response forces, as seen in the 2022 Strategic Compass, whose goal was to have a 5,000-strong rapid deployment force by 2025. Military mobility is still today one of the priorities of the EU’s defence strategy since no harmonised rules to move troops or equipment between countries in a situation of emergency.

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The invasion of Crimea in 2014, followed by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has reshaped EU security policy, forcing the EU and Nato to rethink defence strategies and increase military spending to boost capabilities. The war in Ukraine and the Trump administration's apparent pivot towards Moscow has also revived discussions on EU strategic autonomy, with France (and now even Germany) pushing for more independence from US-led security structures.

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With its ReArm Europe plan, the European Commission aims to mobilise €800bn to boost EU defence spending, support Ukraine, and expand Europe’s industrial base.

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What challenges does the EU face in strengthening its military capabilities?

Defence cooperation, including joint ventures and shared procurement, is growing, but it remains limited. There have been specific efforts to boost artillery ammunition production, an area where Ukraine has a high demand. But the EU’s pledge to deliver one million 155-mm-calibre artillery shells between March 2023 and 2024 was impossible to fulfil in time, showing the challenges ahead. The EU Commission estimated in 2022 that the lack of cooperation leads to annual costs ranging from €25bn to €100bn.

Another of the key issues for the EU’s defence industry is fragmentation, especially outside the aeronautics and missile sectors. Fragmentation not only triggers duplication and higher production costs but also interoperability problems, limiting its scale and operational effectiveness in the field. As an indication, EU member states have provided ten different types of howitzers to Ukraine, according to the Draghi report. In addition, the EU operates 12 different types of battle tanks, whereas the US manufactures just one (the M1 Abrams).

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Marine Le Pen’s political future is cloudy for now, but Sunday’s rally in support of her took place under an impeccably sunny spring sky in an upscale neighborhood of central Paris, with temperatures nearing 20 degrees Celsius.

But despite ideal weather, the crowd didn’t show up.

https://archive.ph/LqE8j

What’s the news?

• Czech billionaire and energy magnate Daniel Křetínský has made an unusual public intervention: calling on the EU to delay carbon emissions targets and rely on fossil fuels until green alternatives become cheaper.
• An investigation by Follow the Money reveals how Křetínský would gain from such a strategy, as he invests heavily in coal and gas, while taking hundreds of millions in subsidies from governments who say they want to transition to green energy.

Why does it matter?

• While Křetínský keeps a low public profile, his vast wealth – along with investments in retail and logistics – has made him an increasingly influential figure.
• His call for targets to be delayed comes at a pivotal moment for European policymakers, as Trump’s support for fossil fuels and roll-back of environmental protections send shockwaves around the world.

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