Europe — page 3 of 5 — NewsBriefing.eu
Germany and Sweden lead calls to end unanimity as Hungary blocks €90 billion Ukraine loan and West Bank settler sanctions, exposing a system unable to match the speed of geopolitical crises.
German growth forecasts halved to 0.6% while French electricity costs a fifth of Germany's, forcing a reckoning over energy strategy that abandoned nuclear after Fukushima.
March data shows the sharpest annual price rise in over a year, forcing the ECB to weigh rate hikes against an economy already strained by expensive energy.
Preliminary Eurostat data shows headline inflation breaching the ECB target in March, driven by a 4.9% jump in energy costs after the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Preliminary European Commission data shows the sharpest monthly deterioration since the war began, with employment expectations weakening across retail, services and industry while the ECB warns of stagflation risks.
Christine Lagarde says a 'not-too-persistent' overshoot could warrant policy tightening as energy shock pushes 2026 forecast to 2.6% and severe scenario sees 6% peak
The EU has transformed its electricity supply but households remain exposed to fossil fuel price shocks as petrol cars and gas boilers persist.
The ECB, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and Riksbank all kept policy unchanged on Thursday, citing material upside risks to inflation from surging energy prices triggered by the conflict in Iran.
Four years after vowing to end reliance on Russian gas, the EU finds itself dependent on US LNG and Norwegian pipeline gas, with prices surging 20 percent after the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen rules out any reversal of Russian fossil fuel bans as Hungary and Belgium push for cheaper supplies amid Iran conflict disruption.
Persian Gulf closure pushes European benchmark prices up sharply, reviving fights over electricity market design, the emissions trading system and the pace of electrification.
Gas prices have nearly doubled since Friday's attacks on Iran. The ECB says it will monitor but not yet act, yet the last energy crisis showed monetary policy was slow, blunt and damaged the green transition while corporate profits drove two-thirds of inflation.
Emergency meeting of trade committee puts legislative work on hold as 15% universal levy throws Turnberry agreement into doubt
Yannis Stournaras argues narrowed spreads and ECB consensus make common issuance essential for defence, green transition and innovation, but Friedrich Merz remains opposed.
Brussels meeting exposes deep divisions over joint debt and capital markets union while the dollar still dominates 60 percent of global goods invoicing.
Joachim Nagel argues Europe needs a permanent joint borrowing instrument to finance defence and technology, putting the Bundesbank at odds with Chancellor Merz and marking a historic shift for Germany's central bank.
Flash estimate shows headline rate dropping from 2% in December while core inflation eases only marginally to 2.2%, leaving the central bank little reason to cut rates further.
Renewables reached 30% of generation in 2025, edging past coal and gas at 29%, but curtailment in Greece signals storage and grid bottlenecks that could stall further progress.
A new study shows the EU and UK now rely on American LNG for the majority of imported gas, replacing Russian pipelines with a supplier whose president explicitly treats energy exports as a tool of geopolitical leverage.
Eurozone finance ministers defied parliament and frontrunner expectations to back the Croatian central bank governor, reshaping the race for the ECB's top jobs over the next two years.
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