Agentic AI takes centre stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
As all the big industry names returned to this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this week, AI innovation like AI agents was a key focus.
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Agentic artificial intelligence (AI), or AI agents, took centre stage at this week's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona with some 100,000 visitors coming together to see the latest innovations on display at the major telecoms event.
"[AI] Agents sound scarier than it is," Joe Atkinson, global chief AI officer at PwC, told Euronews.
"Think of agents as AI that does specific things and maybe interacts with other groups of AI that do other specific things. So the kinds of tasks that we do every day," he said.
"Think of having a calendar agent, one that just focuses on how is my schedule, and another agent that maybe does my social media, one that just focuses on building my social media. In the simplest way, that's what the agents are doing.
"In the future, what we are going to see is the calendar agent coordinating with the social agent and letting a lot of that work happen for us instead of by us," Atkinson added. Other AI making impact at MWC 2025
Although agentic AI was the hot topic of conversation at MWC, it was not the only AI making waves.
Seville FC's chief data officer, Elias Zamora, explained how it has partnered with IBM to improve its scouting process.
He said AI-driven insights are helping the club find players that match specific criteria faster.
For example, narrowing down those with leadership qualities and attacking abilities.
"If I am looking for a given, or a specific kind of player, like, for example, give me a player that is a leader with some attacking abilities and mobility, the technology is able to understand this," he told Euronews.
He further explained how it is able to compare players and narrow down the hundreds of thousands of reports produced by the club.
For more from MWC 2025, watch the video in the media player above.
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Bulgarian MEPs delay vote on North Macedonian EU accession report
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The EPP's change of mind was pushed by its Bulgarian members, who managed to rally the entire group. 'The report mentions the 'recognition of Macedonian identity and language', which could lead to misunderstanding and wrong interpretation. We want more clarity on this point,' EPP MEP Andrey Kovatchev told Euronews. Kovatchev's party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, is at odds with recent remarks made by North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski about the report. 'He stated that this report refers to 'centuries-old Macedonian identity and the unique Macedonian language', which we dispute. Although this is not written in the report, we need more clarity on this point.' The identity dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria has long been an obstacle on Skopje's path to joining the EU. Essentially, the Bulgarian government believes that North Macedonia's language shares common roots with Bulgarian, a claim North Macedonians reject. In 2022, the EU included Bulgaria's demands in the conclusions related to North Macedonia's accession, to overcome Sofia's veto on the talks. To move forward with negotiations, North Macedonia was required to amend its Constitution to include the Bulgarian minority—something that has yet to be finalized. While North Macedonia now has 'an excellent and ambitious reform agenda' and 'demonstrates commitment to EU integration and alignment with EU policies', according to the draft report, identity and language remain contentious issues in bilateral relations with Bulgaria. 'Some Bulgarian MEPs have taken this accession progress report hostage for their domestic nationalistic agenda,' Waitz said in a statement to Euronews. Accusations of intimidation Waitz also denounced intimidation and threatening messages in the days leading up to the planned vote, which he considers part of 'a smear campaign designed to slow down North Macedonia's EU accession process.' 'The relentless attacks against me by parts of the Bulgarian far-right are completely unacceptable,' he told Euronews. Waitz's office provided Euronews with evidence that his phone number was leaked on social networks, along with several aggressive messages he received about the report. These messages accuse him of being influenced or corrupted by North Macedonia's government in drafting the report. 'I worked tirelessly for a well-balanced and impartial report on the democratic progress of this country. All political groups in the European Parliament were actively involved in the negotiations,' he said, denying the accusations. The vote on the report is now expected to be rescheduled for the 24th of June. The infamous meeting of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February upended the diplomatic world. Leaders and their advisors across the globe are considering different options before visiting the Oval Office in Washington. On 28 February, Ukraine's president had a heated argument with his US counterpart and Vice President JD Vance at the White House, ending with leaders raising their voices while confronting each other in an unprecedented diplomatic row in front of television cameras. The meeting sent shockwaves across the world as diplomats attempted to work on different strategies for dealing with Trump, when it comes to bilateral meetings at the Oval Office. Now that it's German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's turn for a moment in the Oval Office, here are some options for him to consider when dealing with the US president. Primary advice for leaders is to bear in mind they will not have much private time with Trump: most of the discussions will be live on air, in front of the cameras. "The first thing is to be prepared for everything. I think one of the biggest challenges that we saw with President Zelenskyy was that no one in their wildest imagination could have imagined that Donald Trump would want to discuss very controversial national security issues with a rolling camera," Bruegel think tank analyst Jacob Kirkegaard told Euronews. During their confrontation, Vance accused Zelenskyy of being disrespectful, while Trump reminded him he had no cards in the game. The meeting ended without signing the long-awaited mineral deal between the two sides. Another incident where the talks went south was Trump's meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May, which saw the US president rolling suspect news footage while alleging white genocide in the country. Trump said people are fleeing the country because of violence against white farmers, played television videos and handed over a pile of newspaper articles to his counterpart. The claim was rejected by President Ramaphosa, who said the majority of victims of violence in the country are black, adding that there is no genocide in South Africa. President Ramaphosa did manage to hit back at Trump afterwards, when he lamented not having a plane to give Trump, a reference to Qatar's offer of a $400 million (€350m) aeroplane to the US president. In May the US officially accepted a Boeing 747 airliner from Qatar to serve the famous Air Force One fleet of the president. The presence of cameras inevitably shifts the nature of any diplomacy on display. "One of the characteristics of Donald Trump is that he's always unfiltered. He says whatever he thinks at the moment, for good or bad, right, and that obviously is not the way diplomacy between countries is normally conducted," said Kirkegaard. Mostly, such conversations are kept well away from media scrutiny, according to Kirkegaard, who added: "Perhaps he feels that having a camera throws other leaders off balance." The next advice for those braving the Oval Office is to shower Trump with gifts and gestures, such as that Qatari plane. The gift sparked debates and legal concerns in the US, but the Trump administration never backed down from accepting the gift. Brett Bruen, the president of the Global Situation Room and a former US diplomat, told Euronews that European leaders should keep in mind that Trump is out for a prize, something that he can hold up. "It can be a flashy object and say, look, I got the biggest, the best deal, the substance doesn't really matter. Quite frankly, the strategy doesn't seem to matter very much," Bruen said. "So this is ultimately like, how do you deal with a toddler? A toddler is constantly going to come back and say I want more, I want this new toy." "Well, if I were advising European leaders, I would say have a bunch of small, shiny objects lined up and every time Trump comes and says, well, I want something else, you dole out that next shiny object to him," he explained. Bruegel's Kirkegaard agreed that Trump should sometimes be treated like a child. "I think you have to certainly deal with him, expecting a possible tantrum. He can be very unpredictable in a way that a child is. You clearly know he is a narcissist. So you have, if you want, to play to his ego," said Kirkegaard. Witness British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office handing the president a cartoon-sized invitation for a state visit to the UK from King Charles III. "This is really special, this is unprecedented, this has never happened before," Starmer told Trump in an attempt to charm him. A strategy that can pay off, according to the expert. "Obviously, if you are the British prime minister, you know that Donald Trump likes the royal family, has a fondness of the UK in general, of course, you would want to exploit that," Kirkegaard said. "In the same way that, for instance, a former Japanese prime minister who was a pretty keen golfer exploited that with Donald Trump as well, who's well known for his fondness for golf." After the disastrous Trump-Zelenskyy meeting back in February, many foreign dignitaries decided not see Trump. Asian leaders are particularly keen to avoid any nasty surprises that might spring from an encounter with the US president. Trump's temper might cause Beijing to think twice about accepting a bilateral meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping anytime soon. "In the case of Asia, political cultures or systems have a low tolerance for the unexpected, which requires a certain formality around their political leaders. One example is China," Kirkegaard said. "There's no doubt that the possibility of a Xi Jinping-Trump meeting is close to zero, or probably is zero under these circumstances. Because there's simply no chance that the Chinese government will risk putting Xi Jinping in this position where something not scripted could happen. I think that applies similarly to many other Asian countries," he explained. An exception to this rule is Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who had a fruitful meeting with Trump back in February, where they talked about a possible trade deal and more LNG transfer from the US to Japan. But the expert recalls that even those positive meetings will not bring results, questioning the necessity of those highly risky visits. "The reality is that there has been no breakthrough on trade deals with Japan. So the question is, why would anybody want to come? Whatever Trump agrees to, maybe or maybe not, in a bilateral meeting in the White House, might be forgotten the next day," according to Kirkegaard. "Again, go back to what happened to Keir Starmer. He thought he had a trade agreement with Donald Trump that exempted British steel exports to the US. Well, clearly he didn't have that. So, you know, it's very much for, especially countries like that in Asia, it is very high risk and essentially maybe no reward," Kirkegaard said. Visits by French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte went relatively well. In the case of Rutte, this is because the US is the main force in the alliance. "De facto Rutte works for Donald Trump, let's not forget that. He came, and he's basically done everything that the president would want him to do. They're working towards a 5% target for NATO defence expenditure for example," Kirkegaard said. For Merz's visit on Thursday, the stakes are high. The Trump administration is highly critical of Germany. Vance and Elon Musk supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the German election campaign and accused Germany of suppressing free speech. And Trump is also critical of the record German trade surplus. So far it's not clear which attitude Merz will take towards Trump. But standing up to him might be popular in Germany. "If you're the German chancellor, you go to the Oval Office and you hold your ground. You take a public confrontation with Donald Trump over issues, it might play well for Friedrich Merz domestically, to stand up to Donald Trump's bullying or perhaps refuting his fake news," said Kirkegaard. He said that when Macron interrupted Trump back in February, correcting the US president over European funding to Ukraine, it did him no political damage. And in the case of Zelenskyy, he even benefited domestically for not backing down. This could also be working on Merz's mind.
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How to survive a visit to the Oval Office - a guide for leaders
The infamous meeting of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February uptilted the diplomatic world. Leaders and their advisors across the globe are considering different options before visiting the Oval Office in Washington, DC. On February 28, Ukraine's president Zelenksyy had a heated argument with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House, ending with leaders raising their voices while confronting each other in an unprecedented diplomatic row in front of the television cameras. The meeting sent shockwaves across the world as diplomats attempted to work on different strategies for dealing with Trump, when it comes to bilateral meetings at the Oval Office. Now it's German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's turn for a moment in the Oval office, here are some options for him to consider when dealing with the US president. Primary advice for leaders is to bear in mind they will not have much private time with Trump: most of the discussions will be live on air, in front of the cameras. "The first thing is to be prepared for everything. I think one of the biggest challenges that we saw with President Zelenskyy was that no one in their wildest imagination could have imagined that Donald Trump would want to discuss very controversial national security issues with a rolling camera," Bruegel institute analyst Jacob Kirkegaard told Euronews. During their confrontation, Vance accused Zelenksyy of being disrespectful, while Trump reminded him he had no cards in the game. The meeting ended without signing the long-awaited mineral deal between the two sides. Another incident where the talks went south was Trump's meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May, which saw the US president rolling suspect news footage while alleging white genocide in the country. Trump said people are fleeing the country because of violence against white farmers, played television videos and handed over a pile of newspaper articles to his counterpart. The claim was rejected by President Ramaphosa, who said the majority of victims of violence in the country are black, adding that there is no genocide in South Africa. President Ramaphosa did manage to hit back at Trump afterwards, when he lamented not having a plane to give Trump, a reference to Qatar's offer of a $400 million aeroplane to the US president. In May the US officially accepted a Boeing 747 airliner from Qatar to serve the famous Air Force One fleet of the president. The presence of cameras inevitably shift the nature of any diplomacy on display. "One of the characteristics of Donald Trump is that he's always unfiltered. He says whatever he thinks at the moment, for good or bad, right, and that obviously is not the way diplomacy between countries is normally conducted," said Kirkegaard. Mostly such conversations are kept well away from media scrutiny, according to Kirkegaard, who added: "Perhaps he feels that having a camera throws other leaders off balance." The next advice for those braving the Oval office is to shower Trump with gifts and gestures - such as that Qatari plane. The gift sparked debates and legal concerns in the US, but the Trump administration never backed down from accepting the gift. Brett Bruen, the president of the Global Situation Room and a former US diplomat told Euronews that European leaders should keep in mind that Trump is out for a prize, something that he can hold up. "It can be a flashy object and say, look, I got the biggest, the best deal, the substance doesn't really matter. Quite frankly, the strategy doesn't seem to matter very much. So this is ultimately like, how do you deal with a toddler? A toddler is constantly going to come back and say I want more, I want this new toy. Well, if I were advising European leaders, I would say have a bunch of small, shiny objects lined up and every time Trump comes and says, well, I want something else, you dole out that next shiny object to him," Bruen said. Bruegel's Kirkegaard agreed that Trump should sometimes be treated like a child. "I think you have to certainly deal with him, expecting a possible tantrum. He can be very unpredictable in a way that a child is. You clearly know he is a narcissist. So you have, if you want, to play to his ego," said Kirkegaard. Witness Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval office handing the president a cartoon-sized invitation for a state visit to the UK from King Charles. "This is really special, this is unprecedented, this has never happened before," Starmer told Trump in an attempt to charm him. A strategy that can pay off, according to the expert. "Obviously, if you are the British Prime Minister, you know that Donald Trump likes the royal family, has a fondness of the UK in general, of course, you would want to exploit that. In the same way that, for instance, a former Japanese Prime Minister who was a pretty keen golfer exploited that with Donald Trump as well, who's well known for his fondness for golf," Kirkegaard said. After the disastrous Trump-Zelenskyy meeting back in February, many foreign dignitaries decided not see Trump. Asian leaders are particularly keen to avoid any nasty surprises that might spring from an encounter with the US president. Trump's temper might cause China to think twice about accepting a bilateral meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping anytime soon. "In the case of Asia, political cultures or systems have a low tolerance for the unexpected, which requires a certain formality around their political leaders. One example is China. There's no doubt that the possibility of a Xi Jinping-Trump meeting is close to zero, or probably is zero under these circumstances. Because there's simply no chance that the Chinese government will risk putting Xi Jinping in this position where something not scripted could happen. I think that applies similarly to many other Asian countries," Jacob Kirkegaard said. An exception to this rule is Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba, who had a fruitful meeting with Trump back in February, where they talked about a possible trade deal and more LNG transfer from the US to Japan. But the expert recalls that even those positive meetings will not bring results, questioning the necessity of those highly risky visits. "The reality is that there has been no breakthrough on trade deals with Japan. So the question is, why would anybody want to come? Whatever Trump agrees to, maybe or maybe not, in a bilateral meeting in the White House, might be forgotten the next day," according to Kirkegaard. "Again, go back to what happened to Keir Starmer. He thought he had a trade agreement with Donald Trump that exempted British steel exports to the US. Well, clearly he didn't have that. So, you know, it's very much for, especially countries like that in Asia, it is very high risk and essentially maybe no reward," Kirkegaard said. Visits of President Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte went relatively well. In the case of Rutte this is because the US is main force in the alliance. "De facto Rutte works for Donald Trump, let's not forget that. He came, and he's basically done everything that the president would want him to do. They're working towards a 5% target for NATO defence expenditure for example," according to the Bruegel analyst. For Merz's visit on Thursday, the stakes are high. The Trump administration is highly critical of Germany. Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk supported the far-right Alternative für Deutschland in the German election campaign, and accused Germany of suppressing free speech. And Trump is also critical of the record German trade surplus. So far its not clear which attitude Merz will take towards Trump. But standing up to him might be popular in Germany. "If you're the German Chancellor, you go to the Oval Office and you hold your ground. You take a public confrontation with Donald Trump over issues, it might play well for Friedrich Merz domestically, to stand up to Donald Trump's bullying or perhaps refuting his fake news," said Kirkegaard. He said that when Macron interrupted Trump back in February, correcting the US president over European funding to Ukraine, it did him no political damage. And in the case of Zelenskyy, he even benefited domestically for not backing down. This could also be working on Friedrich Merz's mind. Competing narratives have emerged following a series of deadly incidents which reportedly took place in the vicinity of the US-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) food aid distribution sites in south-west Gaza. According to accounts from local Hamas-run authorities, as well as eyewitnesses and medical professionals, troops from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) shot at and killed a number of Palestinians who were seeking to access the GHF sites in recent days. While shootings were reported near all three GHF hubs in southern Gaza, the heaviest occurred on Sunday and Tuesday at the Flag Roundabout, which is situated on a designated access route to a hub in the Tel al-Sultan district of Rafah. The UN has called for an independent investigation into the incidents, reminding Israel that it is required to facilitate humanitarian aid under international law. EuroVerify takes a look at the facts in order to build up a timeline of what we know. On Sunday, 31 Palestinians were reportedly killed by IDF shots as they attempted to access GHF distribution sites, said local Hamas-run authorities. To reach the GHF's sites in Rafah, Palestinians must walk for kilometres along a designated route, which the GHF says the Israeli military keeps secure. In statements to the public, the GHF has warned that people should stay on the road, stating that leaving it "represents a great danger." Before dawn on Sunday, thousands of Palestinians massed at the Flag Roundabout, approximately one kilometre northwest of GHF's site. By 3am, thousands had gathered and according to Palestinian witnesses, it is around this time that Israeli troops started firing at the crowd with guns, tanks and drones. NGO Médecins sans Frontières has stated that patients — who said they had been shot by Israeli forces near GHF distribution sites — began to stream into Khan Younis' Nasser hospital on Sunday morning. Another international organisation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), declared that on Sunday, 179 adults and children bearing shrapnel and gunshot wounds arrived at the organisation's field hospital in Rafah. According to the ICRC, its medical teams declared 21 individuals dead upon arrival. Israel has denied allegations its forces opened fire on locals queuing for aid in Rafah. On Sunday the IDF branded such reports "false" in a post shared on X, stating that an initial inquiry found that its forces "did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site." The GHF told EuroVerify that no incidents occurred at or in the surrounding vicinity of their distribution site on Sunday, adding that there were "no injuries, no fatalities." On Tuesday, Gaza's health ministry said Israeli forces had shot and killed at least 27 people near the GHF distribution centre. Civilians were fired at by tanks, drones and helicopters near the Flag Roundabout close to the distribution hub. Israel denies that such an incident happened and claims that it only fired warning shots at people it suspected were deviating from designated access routes to the GHF centre. "The troops carried out warning fire and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near individual suspects who advanced toward the troops," the IDF said in a post on X. It added that it was aware of reported casualties and that it was investigating the incident. "IDF troops are not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites," the IDF said. "The warning shots were fired approximately half a kilometre away from the humanitarian aid distribution site toward several suspects who advanced toward the troops in such a way that posed a threat to them." The GHF itself said that the distribution of food was carried out without any issues within its perimeter and that it was aware of the Israeli investigation into the reported injured civilians. On Wednesday, the GHF said it had paused aid distribution and discussing measures to improve civilian safety with the Israeli military, including changes to traffic management and troop training. The body began distributing aid on 26 May, after a three-month Israeli blockade on aid entering Gaza pushed the population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine. The GHF system limits food distribution to hubs guarded by armed contractors. Of the three hubs that are open, one is in central Gaza and two are in the far south on the outskirts of the mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah. Israel's ban on international media access to Gaza — which means that journalists must partake in an organised army press tour to enter the territory — has fuelled online speculation and renders independent on the ground verification a major challenge.
Euronews
8 hours ago
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Could defence demand fuel a German steel revival post-tariffs?
After US President Donald Trump announced last week that he would double steel and aluminium tariffs from 25 to 50%, the European Commission said it was prepared to impose retaliatory measures. Germany, one of the world's largest export economies — particularly in cars, machinery, electrical goods, and chemical products — could face repercussions if an oversupply leads to falling prices, which may especially impact its struggling steel industry. However, as the car industry turns its attention to rearming in the face of increased geopolitical tensions, the steel industry may be on the verge of a boom, as weapons need steel to exist. Following years of struggle, could the German steel industry be poised to make a comeback? German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has seen the value of its share price surge since the start of the year, after the new German government, led by centre-right Christian Democrat (CDU) Friedrich Merz, promised to unleash billions of euros in extra spending on Germany's defence. Hope is beginning to return to the industry as Germany ramps up defence supply production. German defence policy spokesperson and member of the German parliament, Thomas Erndl, told Euronews that the steel industry is "currently suffering from high energy prices, like much of the economy." He said that Merz's government has taken "action to quickly reduce this burden and support the industry with further market-based instruments. This is not just an economic issue but also a matter of security policy," although he added that subsidies are not currently being considered. According to the new German government coalition agreement, electricity tax will be reduced to the minimum allowed in Europe, slashing grid fees and cutting surcharges. Is lowering energy costs enough to save a dwindling sector? Due to cheap imports from China, exploding energy prices across Europe, and the transition to more climate-friendly hydrogen, the steel industry has been struggling and spluttering for a while. The number of employees within the steel sector in Germany has been declining dramatically for decades. Around 175,000 people were employed in the steel industry in 1990. Today, there are just over 78,000. Tobias Aldenhoff, head of economic and trade policy at the German Steel Association, told Euronews that the steel industry in Germany is currently under massive pressure. He pointed to the transition from fossil fuels to climate-neutral production and said the environment was already challenging to begin with. According to the association, crude steel production has fallen by 12% so far this year, and was hampered by crises last year. The steel industry is also important for the car, mechanical and engineering industries. "If the customer industries are doing better again, this will also have a positive effect on steel demand. The extent to which the steel companies can participate in this depends on the framework conditions," Aldenhoff added. The association said it's really important for the EU to employ "effective means of defending itself against the consequences of price dumping or the steadily increasing international overcapacities, especially in China". The European Commission launched a Steel and Metals Action Plan in March, designed to minimise unfair trade measures imposed on the steel sector by international competitors and review import limits that were set during the last Trump administration, and are due to end in June 2026. Aldenhoff said that "there is an urgent need for a new effective instrument that protects the EU market from being overwhelmed by mass imports. In addition, the existing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy instruments need to be revised." Bad news for the German economy However, German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp is reportedly preparing to sell an additional 30% stake in its steel division to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, who already acquired a 20% stake last year. The company is currently being broken up and sold off in parts, with plans to cut 11,000 jobs, according to media reports. The dismantling of the 200-year-old German firm serves as a metaphor for the broader German economy. Poor overseas investments and soaring energy costs have rendered steel production increasingly unprofitable. The industry is also suffering from a global oversupply of steel, primarily from Asia. ThyssenKrupp Steel recently posted a loss of €23 million for the first half of the year. A Rheinmetall spokesperson told Euronews that it welcomes the development of the armoured steel market diversifying, as new suppliers, including from Germany, are producing steel. After ThyssenKrupp stopped producing armoured steel a few years ago, Rheinmetall was mainly dependent on foreign supplies, predominantly from Sweden. Rheinmetall said it has already purchased the initial supplies from domestic sources within Germany. "Rheinmetall's demand for armoured steel amounts to several thousand tonnes per year, with demand doubling in the past two years alone," the spokesperson said, highlighting the price and availability are most important for Rheinmetall customers. Is now the right time for the ThyssenKrupp steel sector to close? The closing of the steel arm of ThyssenKrupp has been on the cards for a long time, although the company will still retain 50% ownership even if Křetínský does buy the other 30%. The possibility of the German government bailing out Thyssenkrupp is also highly unlikely, as they lack the expertise to manage such a company. If the company continues to incur losses, taxpayers would ultimately bear the financial burden. The new race to rearm Germany is not enough to keep a steel plant open. According to experts familiar with the German steel industry, companies currently have little competitive advantage in staying in Germany as the economy is stagnant. Steel has long been a global commodity, and Germany already collaborates with the Czech Republic in the automotive sector. So whilst the sale of Thyssenkrupp's steel division may not spell trouble for the defence industry, it is a significant loss for the German economy.
