German Power Hits Year's Biggest Gap Over France on Wind Lull
The spread between power prices in Europe's two biggest electricity markets climbed to the highest so far this year amid scant wind generation in Germany.
German day-ahead power for Thursday rose 4.3%, pushing the premium over its French counterpart to the widest since December. The growing disparity highlights the ongoing volatility gripping Germany's energy system, which is increasingly reliant on renewables — sources that are dependent on weather.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Trump-backed former boxer who is Poland's new president
Karol Nawrocki, a political novice backed by the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), has won a surprise victory in Poland's presidential election. Mr Nawrocki won 50.89 per cent of the vote, edging out centrist candidate Rafał Trzaskowski who picked up 49.11 per cent. The 42-year-old trailed Mr Trzaskowski for much of the campaign but surged ahead in the second round after hard-right candidates dropped out, consolidating the nationalist vote. A former amateur boxer with a colourful past, Mr Nawrocki has close ties to the Trump White House and is likely to ruffle feathers in neighbouring capitals with his strident 'Poland First' views. His victory is expected to prolong the political deadlock at home, following outgoing president Andrzej Duda's refusal to approve Prime Minister Donald Tusk's plans to liberalise abortion laws and reform the judiciary. Mr Nawrocki, a trained historian, has drawn particular controversy for his stance on Ukraine. He has pledged to block its bids to join Nato and the EU, citing unresolved grievances dating back to the Second World War. Referring to a 1943 massacre of Poles by Ukrainian militias, Mr Nawrocki said: 'A country that cannot answer for a brutal crime against 120,000 of its neighbours cannot be part of international alliances.' However, his victory does not signal a softening towards Russia. As head of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, he oversaw the removal of Soviet-era Red Army monuments, prompting the Kremlin to place him on a 'wanted' list. At home, Mr Nawrocki secured support from trade unions and social conservatives. He pledged to protect the minimum wage and defend Christian values, opposing liberal calls to remove crosses from public buildings. He also won the endorsement of Poland's largest union, Solidarity, by vowing to shield coal miners from EU climate regulations. Abroad, he is backed by the likes of Mr Trump and Hungary's autocratic leader Viktor Orbán. Mr Trump met with Mr Nawrocki earlier this month at the White House and sent his Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to a meeting of the conservative pressure group – the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) – in Poland where she offered a strong endorsement. Ms Noem even dangled the prospect of closer US-Polish military ties in the event of a Mr Nawrocki win, with the implied warning that a Trzaskowski victory could jeopardise Poland's security. Mr Orbán, who maintains close Kremlin ties, also gave his support to Mr Nawrocki at a CPAC meeting in Budapest on Thursday. His win is likely to strain relations with Berlin, however, after he renewed PiS's call for wartime reparations from Germany, an issue that has long soured ties across the Oder river. Despite his success, Mr Nawrocki's campaign was dogged by scandal. Former colleagues from his days as a doorman at a five-star hotel accused him of procuring prostitutes for guests, a claim he vehemently denied. He was also caught using an alias to praise his own books on television and has been accused by Mr Tusk of having links to organised crime. Mr Nawrocki's campaign also admitted he was involved in a bare-knuckle mass brawl between rival football hooligans. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nawrocki's victory is a huge triumph for Trump
Poland has a history of confounding its critics and opponents to its West as well as its East. In Brussels or Moscow, the outcome of Poland's presidential election is a disappointment. The EU Commission had obviously hoped for the victory of the liberal Europhile mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, who was a vocal proponent of the Brussels consensus on abortion, gay rights and even the liberalised migration rules backed by Poland's current premier and ex-EU insider, Donald Tusk. But these views were vehemently rejected by the nationalist winner, Karol Nawrocki. The new president also has a track record of being a fierce critic of Russia and has personally antagonised the Kremlin by supporting the removal of Soviet war memorials as well as Communist monuments in Poland, but his victory is a mixed blessing for Ukraine. Unlike the EU's two pro-Russian governments in Hungary and Slovakia, Nawrocki is no Kremlin apologist. As an historian Nawrocki has emphasised Poland's long history of repression by the Russian empire as well as the Soviet Union, so he is not a friend of the Kremlin. But, like his ally, the current Polish President, Andrzej Duda, Nawrocki does not ignore the bitter history of Polish-Ukrainian relations which Putin's invasion briefly papered over. Economic factors also haunt Warsaw's relations with Kyiv. Polish farmers made up a key component of the new Polish president's election winning coalition. They have been bitterly opposed to the EU's lifting of tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural exports since Putin's invasion. Although Brussels has in fact announced a reintroduction of tariffs on Ukrainian exports, the prospect of Ukraine's joining the EU means free trade in foodstuffs is back on the horizon. Recently, Poland's economy has grown at far faster rates than the sclerotic big three of the EU, Germany, France and Italy. Economic prosperity has boosted Poland's ability to fund a serious defence build up. Given the powerful voice that the Polish president has in foreign affairs and defence matters, Nawrocki's election will give Trump an important ally among the European leaders and sideline Donald Tusk, whose status as the EU's man in Warsaw makes him a red rag to the US president. Nawrocki's victory is the first success for Trump-style populism after the interventions by his vice-president, JD Vance, and other Maga voices in the recent German and Romanian elections had backfired. But Poland's new president got a boost from American Republicans in the days before the polls and looks set to continue his predecessor's close relationship with the Trump White House. Nawrocki's victory will add to Trump's pressure to turn EU rhetoric about rebuilding European states' defence capacity into concrete measures on the Polish model. Poland will emphasise US leadership rather than the more nebulous European strategic autonomy as promoted by France's Emmanuel Macron. Nawrocki's upset victory is a win for the West, but not for 'Europe'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
European industry hit hard by Trump tariffs, Salzgitter CEO warns
DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Salzgitter, Germany's second-biggest steelmaker, on Monday warned that Washington's tariff policy was dealing a severe blow to European industry, after the U.S. administration unveiled plans to double steel import levies to 50%. "The erratic tariff policy of the USA is hitting Europe's economy hard - especially Germany," Salzgitter CEO Gunnar Groebler said in a written statement. Shares in Salzgitter fell along with larger European peers Thyssenkrupp and ArcelorMittal, all down between 0.5 and 2.1%. Groebler said that apart from the direct tariffs on exports to the United States, there was also increased import pressure on the EU market as a result of rising volumes of cheaper Asian steel in Europe. According to Germany's steel association, the United States accounted for around a fifth, or 4 million tonnes, of European steel exports outside of the EU, making it the most important export market. "An increase in steel import duties in the USA to 50% should prompt the EU Commission to accelerate its efforts to implement the measures under the Steel and Metals Action Plan," Groebler said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
