Latest news with #EU27
Wall Street Journal
29-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
The EU Doesn't Need Trump for a Trade War
President Trump appears to be annoyed that trade negotiations with the European Union are dragging along too slowly. Join the club, pal. The biggest victims of Brussels' indecision and sloth on trade are the Europeans themselves. Even if Mr. Trump's tariffs fall to U.S. courts, it won't liberate the Continent from trade war. The bloc is too good at doing damage to itself. The EU finds itself under an uncomfortable Klieg light after Mr. Trump's weekend fulminations about the bloc. The 27 countries that make up the EU have been grappling with uncertainty since April 2—Liberation Day—when Mr. Trump threatened 20% 'reciprocal' tariffs, only to suspend them for 90 days pending further negotiation.
Wall Street Journal
26-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
European Markets Rebound After Trump Delays Tariffs
European markets started the week in positive territory after President Trump agreed Sunday to delay a threatened 50% tariff on European imports until July 9, from June 1. In a social-media post Trump said he received a call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requesting an extension after he threatened the duties on the 27-nation bloc Friday saying that talks were 'going nowhere.' In a statement on X, von der Leyen said the EU was 'ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Just 8% of Italian enterprises using AI, many people lack digital know-how
ROME (Reuters) -In Italy, long burdened by slow economic growth, the number of companies using artificial intelligence is limited compared to other European Union countries, according to figures released on Wednesday by national statistics bureau ISTAT. In its wide-ranging annual report, ISTAT said that only eight out of 100 Italian enterprises were using AI last year, a lower percentage than the figure for France and Spain, and well below the level of almost 20% in Germany. In general, digital know-how in Italy falls short of European targets, ISTAT said. Only 45.8% of Italians aged 16-74 had at least basic digital skills in 2023, according to the latest available data, compared to an EU27 average of 55.5% and European targets aiming for 80% by 2030. The percentage declines to a low of 36.1% in the economically underdeveloped Mezzogiorno - Italy's six southern regions plus the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Against a challenging economic backdrop, compounded by a deep demographic crisis, a growing number of young educated Italians have decided to try their luck abroad. In 2023, 21,000 graduates aged 25-34 left Italy, a 21.2% year-on-year rise, ISTAT said, adding that the net loss of qualified young workers was 97,000 over 10 years. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government halved its full-year 2025 growth forecast last month to 0.6% from a 1.2% target set in September, amid mounting uncertainty due to U.S. trade tariff policy. In the first quarter the Italian economy grew by 0.3% from the previous three months, based on preliminary data. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Just 8% of Italian enterprises using AI, many people lack digital know-how
ROME, May 21 (Reuters) - In Italy, long burdened by slow economic growth, the number of companies using artificial intelligence is limited compared to other European Union countries, according to figures released on Wednesday by national statistics bureau ISTAT. In its wide-ranging annual report, ISTAT said that only eight out of 100 Italian enterprises were using AI last year, a lower percentage than the figure for France and Spain, and well below the level of almost 20% in Germany. In general, digital know-how in Italy falls short of European targets, ISTAT said. Only 45.8% of Italians aged 16-74 had at least basic digital skills in 2023, according to the latest available data, compared to an EU27 average of 55.5% and European targets aiming for 80% by 2030. The percentage declines to a low of 36.1% in the economically underdeveloped Mezzogiorno - Italy's six southern regions plus the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Against a challenging economic backdrop, compounded by a deep demographic crisis, a growing number of young educated Italians have decided to try their luck abroad. In 2023, 21,000 graduates aged 25-34 left Italy, a 21.2% year-on-year rise, ISTAT said, adding that the net loss of qualified young workers was 97,000 over 10 years. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government halved its full-year 2025 growth forecast last month to 0.6% from a 1.2% target set in September, amid mounting uncertainty due to U.S. trade tariff policy. In the first quarter the Italian economy grew by 0.3% from the previous three months, based on preliminary data.
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
EU proposes allowing deportation of asylum seekers to third countries
May 20 (Reuters) - The European Union executive on Tuesday proposed amending EU law to allow member states to deport rejected asylum seekers to countries with which they have no connection, a move rights groups say would undermine the right to asylum. The European Commission said the changes, which would let countries remove an asylum applicant if they could be sent to a third country deemed safe by the EU, would "accelerate asylum processes and reduce pressure on asylum systems". The proposal would lift the requirement for a connection between the asylum seeker and the safe third country. 'The revised Safe Third Country concept is another tool to help member states process asylum claims more efficiently, while fully respecting the EU's values and fundamental rights,' said EU internal affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner. Anti-immigration sentiment has grown across the 27-nation EU since over a million people - mostly Syrian refugees - arrived via the Mediterranean in 2015, catching the bloc unprepared. Unable to agree on how to share responsibility, EU countries have primarily focused on returns and reducing arrivals. The amendments also stipulate that if asylum seekers appeal their rejected requests, they cannot automatically remain in EU territory during the appeals process. Amnesty International sharply criticised the proposal. 'Let's be clear: this revision would only further weaken access to asylum in Europe, diminish people's rights, and increase the risk of refoulement and widespread arbitrary detention in third countries - especially given the EU's increasingly evident inability to monitor and uphold human rights in its partner countries,' said Olivia Sundberg Diez, Amnesty's EU Advocate on Migration and Asylum. The proposal stems from the EU migration pact that was adopted in 2023 and is expected to take effect in 2026. However, it will require approval by the European Parliament and EU member governments. In April, the EU Commission included states such as Egypt and Tunisia - where human rights records have come under scrutiny - on a list of "safe countries" to which failed asylum seekers could be returned. A month earlier, it proposed that member states be allowed to set up centres in non-EU countries where migrants whose asylum claims were rejected would await deportation.
