Photo by Johanne Pold Jacobsen on Unsplash The global expansion of luxury brands outside of the US, UK and EU is being fuelled by the opening of new markets, particularly in emerging economies in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. China has emerged as a critical player in the luxury goods market, with other countries like India, Malaysia,…
Photo by Petr Sevcovic on Unsplash The Asian Catering Federation [ACF] has criticised restaurant takeaway delivery platforms in the UK for “undermining” the hospitality sector and High Street trade in general. The ACF represents the nation’s 35,000 Asian and Oriental restaurants in the UK and the sector employs over 100,000 people and contributes more than £5 billion to…
A respected Brussels political pundit says he is relieved that predictions of a major breakthrough for Far Right parties in the EU elections was not realised. Some nationalist parties did score heavily in certain EU member states such as France, Italy and Germany. But the centre right EPP group is still by far the biggest…
Photo by ThisisEngineering on Unsplash A new app to help charities and voluntary organisations protect staff and volunteers working in the community has been developed thanks to a partnership between a leading sight loss charity and PwC. Fife-based charity Seescape worked with the global consultancy firm to produce the app through the Scottish Tech Army initiative. The project…
Photo by Viktor Hesse on Unsplash The suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the European Union will be extended for another year, it has been announced. The EU said the move shows it is “delivering once again on its commitment to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.” These so-called Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs) have been in…
Photo by Robert Lukeman on Unsplash PLAY, a low-cost carrier based in Iceland, will relaunch its Brussels flights on May 28, the third consecutive year it has served travellers from the Belgian capital. It offers three flights a week from Brussels Zaventem Airport to Reykjavík, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, between 28 May and 7…
Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash The European Commission has designated Apple with respect to iPadOS, its operating system for tablets, as a gatekeeper under the digital markets act (“DMA”). Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance of iPadOS with the DMA obligations. The case dates to 5 September 2023 when the Commission designated Apple as a…
Alessandro Bertoldi, Executive Director of the Milton Friedman Institute, invites the EU to revise the sanctions regime against insurance companies to reduce the risks of environmental disaster in light of a recent naval incident and oil spill off Tobago. On the 7th of February, a critical incident unfolded off the south shore of Tobago when…
China will seek to “embrace the world in its opening-up process,” says the country’s ambassador to Belgium. Ambassador Cao Zhongming was speaking in Brussels at an event hosted by the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (BCECC). The outgoing diplomat said he “appreciates” the long-time optimism about China of the Belgian business community and the “great efforts”…
Photo by Fas Khan on Unsplash There has been no improvement in the declining attractiveness of the EU as a business location, says a new report. It adds that the majority of business federations believe that the EU’s attractiveness as investment destination for global firms stagnated or declined over the past year. The EU is a less attractive investment location in…
