Business & Economy

May 18, 2026

Europe Has 65,000 Investment Funds. The US Has 7,500. Brussels Wants to Fix That.

The EU's Market Integration and Supervision Package would give ESMA direct supervisory power over cross-border trading for the first time — targeting the fragmented fund structure that leaves European savers paying more for smaller returns.

Business & Economy

May 18, 2026

Brussels Goes ‘Made in Europe’ — and China Is Already Threatening Retaliation

The EU's Industrial Accelerator Act is the bloc's most ambitious industrial policy in a generation: local content rules, foreign investment screening, and a systematic effort to reduce Chinese dominance of clean tech supply chains. Beijing is not pleased.

Business & Economy

May 18, 2026

25% and Rising: How Trump Is Unmaking the EU-US Trade Deal

Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on EU cars to 25%, violating the Turnberry accord's 15% cap — triggered by Merz's criticism of the Iran war. Europe has tools to respond but little appetite to use them.

Business & Economy

May 18, 2026

Poland's Energy Industry Pushes for Flexible EU Efficiency Rules Post-2030

The Polish electricity industry body PKEE is calling on Brussels to prioritise cost-effective flexibility over binding targets in its post-2030 energy efficiency framework — with Poland's district heating modernisation alone estimated to cost up to €110 billion by 2050.

Business & Economy

May 18, 2026

Squeezed Out: Why the Trump-Xi Thaw Is Europe's Critical Minerals Problem

As Trump and Xi move toward normalising trade relations, Europe is scrambling to secure its position in the global critical minerals supply chain — a race it is currently losing.

Business & Economy

May 18, 2026

Orbán Is Out, and Hungary's Bond Markets Are Already Pricing In the Euro

Péter Magyar's landslide victory has unlocked €34 billion in frozen EU funds and defence loans, sent the forint to a four-year high, and launched Hungary's most serious push for eurozone membership in over a decade.