The Flemish government is moving in favour of postponing the January sales in 2021, according to the region’s economy minister Hilde Crevits (CD&V). Under the latest set of regulations for dealing with the Covid-19 epidemic in Belgium, which were published today, non-essential shops will be able to open again from Tuesday, just in time for Sinterklaas and later Christmas. Traditionally, the official sales period in January stars on the first opening day of the New Year, at which time the rules on shopping will still be as strict as ever:…
Read MoreMonth: November 2020
Pandemic Motors: Europeans snap up old cars to avoid public transport
Want a cheap used car to nip around town without running the gauntlet of coronavirus on public transport? Welcome to Pandemic Motors, we have just what you need. Across Europe, people are snapping up old bangers, clunkers, Klapperkasten, tacots and catorci, desperate to avoid buses and trains but wary of splashing out on a shiny new motor in uncertain economic times. “Public transportation is terrific here, but with the COVID and all that, it’s better to avoid it,” said Robert Perez, who recently moved to Spain’s capital Madrid from Argentina….
Read MoreProtesters clash with police at Paris protest against police violence
Hundreds of black-clad protesters clashed with police at the end of a demonstration against police violence in Paris on Saturday (28 November) after masked protesters launched fireworks at police lines, put up barricades and threw stones. The majority of the thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully, but small groups of masked protesters dressed in black smashed shop windows and set two cars, a motorcycle and a cafe on fire. The fires were put out quickly. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowds and in early evening water…
Read MorePutting the patient at the centre – Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe welcomed by hospital pharmacists
This week the European Commission delivered on one of the items mentioned in the mission letter of Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. The new Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe forms an essential building block for the European Health Union that was announced earlier this month. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and its members welcome the publication of the Pharmaceutical Strategy and its all-encompassing nature focusing on the whole life cycle of a medicine stretching from research and authorisation over its supply to the safe distribution to…
Read MoreGuardiola: I hope Lionel Messi ends career at Barcelona
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he is unsure what the future holds for Lionel Messi but hopes as a Barcelona fan that the Argentine forward will remain at the La Liga club until the end of his career. Guardiola, who has guided City to two Premier League titles, three League Cups and the FA Cup following his arrival in 2016, signed a new two-year deal on Thursday that will keep him in charge until the end of the 2022-23 season. The former Barca manager’s extension at City has opened…
Read MoreThe EU’s green finance taxonomy: an Orwellian mechanism
The European Commission’s sustainable finance taxonomy bears all the hallmarks of failed governance: opacity, imprecision, and subjectivity with a punitive approach albeit not assumed, writes Daniel Guéguen. In short, it’s an Orwellian mechanism, he argues. Daniel Guéguen is professor at the College of Europe and associate partner at EPPA, a specialist management consultancy. The word “taxonomy” has the whiff of authority and makes one think of a kind of economic statism. Regulation 2020/852 of 18 June 2020, adopted via co-decision, sets a “framework for sustainable investment”, i.e. investment that contributes…
Read MoreBelgium’s biggest Lego store to open in Brussels
Belgium’s biggest Lego store will open in Brussels next year, with the news that the toy giant will open a new store on Rue Neuve in Spring 2021. The 270 square metre store is the latest opening of the Lego brand, known for its toy bricks, which have been named “toy of the century” twice. First started in 1932, the brand has grown eponentially, with stores in over 40 countries. The new store will be the second in Belgium. “We are very excited that after the Lego Store in Wijnegem,…
Read MoreEU failed to properly assess climate risk of gas projects, watchdog says
The European Commission granted priority status to natural gas projects without properly assessing their impact on climate change, the European Union’s Ombudsman said in a decision on Tuesday. The EU Ombudsman launched an inquiry in February into the Commission’s process for approving fossil fuel projects as “Projects of Common Interest” (PCI) – a label that means they can receive funding from the bloc and fast-tracked permits. In the conclusion of its inquiry, the Ombudsman said the Commission’s sustainability assessments of gas projects had been “suboptimal”. The Commission acknowledged a lack…
Read MoreFrench economy continues shrinking, the results of the fourth quarter is under pressure
The French economy will be shrinking again in the fourth quarter due to the reintroduction of lockdown measures against the rising coronavirus. That’s what the French statistical office Insee reported. In the best-case scenario, where the restrictions end on 1 December and economic activity picks up strongly again, a quarter-on-quarter contraction of 2.5 percent is expected. If the pandemic continues and economic activity does not improve, the decline can be 6%, says Insee. For the whole of 2020, the bureau is counting on a 9% to 10% reduction in the…
Read MoreMacron strikes back against liberal press
French president Macron has a problem with the Foreign Press. He believes that non-French journalists give negative view of his policy against Muslim extremists and terrorists. Last Thursday, the president personally contacted The New York Times. “He called me from his palace to complain,” writes columnist Ben Smith from the prestigious American newspaper. “He seems to have a score to settle. He thinks we’re prejudiced.” Macron said to the journalist: “in the attacks of five years ago, everyone was behind us. Now there are foreign newspapers saying that France is…
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