Europe news

ECB: "Digital euro will help banks. And it will cost less than Visa and Mastercard"

ECB: “Digital euro will help banks. And it will cost less than Visa and Mastercard”

The digital euro will have lower costs than traditional systems such as Visa and Mastercard, and will help financial institutions face the challenges of the future. These are the predictions of the Italian member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, Piero Cipollone. The achievement of this objective also passes through a fundamental reason according to the member ...

An Islamic State is Born in Europe (But with Free Alcohol and Women Without Veils)

An Islamic State is Born in Europe (But with Free Alcohol and Women Without Veils)

Albania is in the process of creating a liberal Muslim microstate within its capital. An avowedly Islamic but moderate microstate that will follow the practices of the Bektashi Order, a Shiite Sufi order founded in the 13th century in Turkey but which moved its headquarters to Tirana almost a century ago after being banished from the Anatolian country by Mustafa ...

Austria goes to the polls: it is the EU country that depends most on Russian gas

Austria goes to the polls: it is the EU country that depends most on Russian gas

It is the European Union country that depends most on Russian gas imports and risks falling into the hands of the pro-Russian far right. The elections in Austria on September 29 could mark a real watershed, not only for Vienna but also for the rest of Europe. Having a member state that still depends so heavily on Moscow for its ...

The Barnier era begins in France, but the nightmare of new taxes looms

The Barnier era begins in France, but the nightmare of new taxes looms

Higher taxes for the richest people and some big companies. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier intends to use these measures to fill a huge hole in public finances. At the same time, he promises to protect the middle and lower classes. The 2025 budget is the main headache for the new French government, which was born on September 23, more ...

Duties yes, maybe no: Brussels continues agreement with Beijing and postpones vote on electric cars

Duties yes, maybe no: Brussels continues agreement with Beijing and postpones vote on electric cars

Will the European Union permanently apply tariffs on Chinese electric cars? This is the question to which Beijing is trying to find a more advantageous answer for itself. And to stem the blow of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the communist government sent Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao to Brussels to talk to the outgoing Union Trade Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis. ...

What Scholz risks with the Brandenburg elections

What Scholz risks with the Brandenburg elections

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been grappling with a gigantic crisis for months. And Brandenburg could be fatal for him. This weekend, local elections are expected in Germany in the state where the socialists are historically victorious and where the head of state has his bastion. However, the political landscape has changed profoundly and the far-right party AfD could win ...

Orban and Salvini's sovereignists nominate Musk for the Sakharov Prize

Orban and Salvini’s sovereignists nominate Musk for the Sakharov Prize

Elon Musk has been nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. It was the sovereignist group of Viktor Orban and Matteo Salvini who proposed the name of the founder of Tesla and patron of X for the recognition that the Community Chamber awards every year to people who distinguish themselves in the fight for freedom of thought and ...

Von der Leyen's majority is already split: the People's Party allies itself with the far right

Von der Leyen’s majority is already split: the People’s Party allies itself with the far right

A new majority has emerged in the European Parliament, showing how, in this legislature more than ever, alliances in the Chamber could be variable. The People’s Party managed to get a resolution passed in the Community Assembly by voting together with all the radical right groups: from the Conservatives of Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, to the Patriots for Europe ...