Photo by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash The BusinessEurope SME Roadshow kicked off today in Finland’s capital city, Helsinki. Finland is the first stop in a series of events across the EU to highlight the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in getting out of the crisis mode in Europe. The event was organised by BusinessEurope together with its…
Business
Ukrainian Railways Wins Europe’s Rail Champion Award
Photo by Todd Trapani on Unsplash The 2023 European Railway Award has been held in Brussels in a 16th edition strongly marked by current events in Ukraine and the sector’s commitment to diversity. The Rail Champion prize was presented to Ukrainian Railways (UZ) for their “remarkable resilience and continuation of transport services in times of war and unimaginable hardship.” Additionally, Eglė Šimė was recognised as…
Ukrainian Railways Wins award
Photo by Marissa Beletti on Unsplash This year’s European Rail Champion Award 2023 has been awarded to Ukrainian Railways. The award is made by the Association of the European Rail Supply Industry and the community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies It aims to celebrate the achievements of inspired individuals whose bright ideas, ingenious innovations and bold policy initiatives have contributed to enhance, grow…
EU Domestic Production of Semiconductors
Photo by L N on Unsplash MEPs are pushing for the European Union to develop its own capacity for the production of semiconductor chips to keep industry running and jobs in Europe. A majority in the European Parliament’s committee on industry, research and energy improved the legislative proposal made earlier by the European Commission on the measures for…
Unshell Directive Seeks Tax Justice
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash The European Parliament has adopted a near-unanimous position on proposed EU legislation intended to prevent tax evasion by establishing fake companies. Some 637 members voted in favour of what has become known as the Unshell Directive and only two against, an endorsement the Parliament says gives a “uniquely strong message in support…
Croatia Adopts the Euro and Joins Schengen
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash Today, 1 January 2023 Croatia adopts the euro as its currency and fully joins the Schengen area. The EU said last Friday that this “marks an important milestone” in the history of Croatia, of the euro and Schengen areas and of the EU as a whole. “It follows a period of intensive…
Société Générale’s Russian Chapter Continues to Draw Scrutiny
Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash French bank Société Générale had perhaps hoped to have heard the last of its Russian adventures when it closed its sale of its Russian business Rosbank to the Interros group, a firm linked to Russian oligarch Vladimir Potantin. The sale resulted in Société Générale taking a 3.2 billion Euro hit, according to…
New Building Wave Provokes Asbestos Crisis
Millions of construction workers risk getting cancer from asbestos exposure during the EU-wide building renovation wave, it is claimed. To better protect them, organised civil society has called for stricter exposure limits than the European Commission proposes in its amended asbestos at work directive. This call was made at the European Economic and Social Committee…
The Risks of a Digital Euro
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) says it supports the European Central Bank (ECB) in its assessment of the risks and benefits of introducing a digital euro. The EESC believes the adoption of a digital euro will benefit everyone in the euro area by making payment transactions quicker and more efficient, but financial and…
Cyberattack Threats on EU Banks
MEPs have called for action to protect banks in Europe against possible attacks from Russia, China or Iran. Senior MEP Frances Fitzgerald said, ““We are now all more conscious than ever of the threat posed by hackers to European citizens, including from regimes such as Russia, China, or Iran. “Recent months have highlighted the need…