SOFIA
The Russian embassy in Bulgaria reacted sharply against criticism by a US diplomat in Sofia about corruption in the country. Read more.
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EU PRESIDENCY
Minister: Detachment from NATO would widen divisions in the EU. Any attempt to distance the European Union from NATO would only deepen the divisions among EU member states, Portugal’s defence minister, João Gomes Cravinho, has said, arguing instead that the mechanisms of cooperation between the two partners should be improved. Read the full story.
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BERLIN
German state leaders, local officials demand clearer vaccination plan. German state leaders and local officials called for a better-defined vaccination plan ahead of a meeting on Monday between EU, national, and state leaders, as well as members of the pharmaceutical industry. The so-called ‘vaccination summit’ was called to address a rocky immunisation rollout in the country. Read more.
Unemployment in France increased by 7 5% in 2020 euractiv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from euractiv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“We are a leader in Europe in everything related to foreign investment. (…) Our structural reforms are also bearing fruit,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the opening session of the Choose France video-conference meeting on Monday which brought together 100 CEOs of major foreign groups, adding that “the corporate tax will be reduced to 25%.”
“We are not going to abandon our position on wealth tax and we will lower taxes on production by around €10 billion per year, which is unprecedented,” the president told companies such as Nestlé, Siemens, Ericsson, Snapchat, Solvay, and Accenture.
Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Frank Riester, were also present.
French health minister defends vaccination strategy euractiv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from euractiv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“In spite of the pandemic, about 2,500 jobs have already been transferred and about fifty British entities have authorised the relocation of at least €170 billion in assets to France at the end of 2020,” Banque de France Governor, François Villeroy de Galhau, told the financial centre on Tuesday in reference to the UK withdrawing from the EU.
“We had actively prepared for this, and today the continuity of financial activities is fortunately assured,” said the governor, adding that other relocations are expected this year.
Brexit requires us to develop our European financial autonomy in a more structured way, said Villeroy de Galhau, adding that “a real ‘Financing Union’ should enable us to better mobilise the European savings surplus – nearly €220 billion – for the benefit of productive investments”.