Europe – Western Europe

Left or right, German election leaves investors braced for more spending

The purse strings have been loosened and will stay that way, no matter who heads Germany's new government. That's the verdict from investors who see potential gains for segments such as…

Read More Here

EU would be our trade priority, UK opposition Labour Party says

The UK opposition Labour Party would make rebuilding Britain's ties with the European Union its top trade priority, putting the bloc above U.S and Indo-Pacific deals in the post-Brexit era, its trade policy chief Emily Thornberry said…

Read More Here

German CDU’s Laschet admits ‘painful losses’ in federal election, insists on coalition talks

Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) expressed concern on Monday at the scale of the party's defeat in the former Communist East in Sunday's federal election that marks the end of the…

Read More Here

Amazon to start offering insurance to UK businesses -broker

Amazon.com Inc is to start offering insurance to small and medium-sized UK business customers, the technology giant's first foray into business insurance in the country, broker Superscript said on Monday.…

Read More Here

Aldi to invest $1.8 billion to accelerate growth in Britain

The British and Irish arm of German discount supermarket group Aldi will invest 1.3 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in its business over the next two years as it attempts to…

Read More Here

Possible German coalition governments

Germany faces the possibility months of tough negotiations to form a coalition government after the federal election on Sunday, with three parties needing to team up to clear the threshold…

Read More Here

EU parliament chief congratulates Scholz as German election winner

The head of the European Parliament congratulated Olaf Scholz, the chancellor candidate for Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) as winner after a narrow election victory, the first official European Union reaction…

Read More Here

Britain has no plans to get army to drive trucks yet, minister says

Britain has no plans yet to get the army to drive trucks to deliver fuel to petrol stations after a shortage of drivers strained supply chains, Environment Secretary George Eustice…

Read More Here

Berliners vote to expropriate large landlords in non-binding referendum

A majority of voters in Berlin wants city hall to expropriate major landlords such as Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen to help reduce rents in the German capital, provisional referendum results…

Read More Here

German capital Berlin to get first female mayor

The Social Democrats (SPD) won the regional election to lead the state government in Berlin, according to provisional results on Monday, meaning that their candidate Franziska Giffey will become the…

Read More Here

Panic buying leaves up to 90% of fuel pumps dry in major British cities

Up to 90% of British fuel stations ran dry across major English cities on Monday after panic buying deepened a supply chain crisis triggered by a shortage of truckers that…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Pledging stability, German SPD seeks three-way alliance to succeed Merkel

German Social Democrat Olaf Scholz vowed on Monday to strengthen the European Union and keep up the transatlantic partnership in a three-way coalition government he hopes to form by Christmas…

Read More Here

German SPD seeks allies to replace Merkel-led coalition

Germany's Social Democrats were set on Monday to start the process of trying to form a government after they narrowly won their first national election since 2005 to end 16…

Read More Here

German SPD beat conservatives in vote to decide Merkel successor

Germany's Social Democrats narrowly won Sunday's national election, projected results showed, and claimed a "clear mandate" to lead a government for the first time since 2005 and to end 16…

Read More Here

British PM to consider using army to supply fuel stations – Guardian

Sept 26 (Reuters) - The British army could be called on to deliver fuel to petrol stations running dry across the country under an emergency plan expected to be considered…

Read More Here

German SPD edges ahead of conservatives in vote to decide Merkel successor

BERLIN, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats came first by a narrow margin in Sunday's national election, projected results showed, putting them in pole position to lead a government…

Read More Here

UPDATE – German CDU’s Laschet vows to try to build conservative-led government

UPDATE - BERLIN, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Germany's conservative CDU chancellor candidate Armin Laschet said his party could not be satisfied with the results of an election on Sunday but…

Read More Here

How politicians reacted after exit polls from Germany’s election

BERLIN, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Reactions from senior German politicians and others after exit polls from Sunday's national election https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germans-vote-close-election-decide-merkel-successor-2021-09-25 showed Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz's…

Read More Here

Behave normally, UK transport minister tells Britons queuing for fuel

BRIGHTON, England, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Transport Minister Grant Shapps on Sunday called on Britons to behave normally when buying petrol, saying there was no shortage of fuel and the…

Read More Here

UK Labour Party hints at wealth taxes on shareholders and landlords

BRIGHTON, England, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party hinted on Sunday at new taxes on wealth, identifying landlords and shareholders as possible targets if it won power at…

Read More Here

Update – Swiss back same-sex marriage

Update Swiss voters overwhelmingly backed same-sex marriage in a referendum on Sunday, according to preliminary results. Euronews reports that pollster gfs.bern predicted that the motion to allow same-sex marriage was…

Read More Here

UK university launches first-of-its-kind cloud computing course with Microsoft to bridge digital skills gap

A first-of-its-kind cloud computing course has been launched in the UK to help give students the highly sought-after skills they need to launch their digital careers. The University of Lincoln’s…

Read More Here

Britain expected to ease visa rules as truck driver shortage bites

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Britain is expected to announce plans to issue temporary work visas to truck drivers to ease an acute labour shortage that has led to fuel…

Read More Here

UPDATE – Germans vote in close election to decide Merkel successor

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germans went to the polls on Sunday in a national election too close to call, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) mounting a strong challenge to retiring Chancellor…

Read More Here

Analysis – A guide to Germany’s electoral system

BERLIN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Sixty million voters, casting twice as many votes for 47 parties, leading to a parliament that could have anywhere from 700 to as much as 1,000…

Read More Here

Long queues and fuel rationing as Britain faces truck driver shortage

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Lengthy queues of vehicles snaked their way to gas stations in Britain on Saturday where an acute shortage of truck drivers has led to fuel…

Read More Here

InDepth – German Bundestag could expand again after elections

Berlin (dpa) - The next German parliament could be even bigger than the current one, according to a leading election researcher. Based on the latest polls, Robert Vehrkamp from the Bertelsmann media group…

Read More Here

Jamaica, traffic lights or kiwis: Germany’s coalition conundrum

A narrowing of the polls has turned what looked like a homeward romp for Germany's conservatives into a tight race to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel, with multiple potential coalitions after…

Read More Here

German millionaires rush assets to Switzerland ahead of election

A potential lurch to the left in Germany's election on Sunday is scaring millionaires into moving assets into Switzerland, bankers and tax lawyers say. If the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD),…

Read More Here

Final rallies in Germany before Sunday’s knife-edge vote

Germany's election is too close to call, with the latest polls putting the two main parties fighting to come out top almost neck and neck. Polls suggest an unusually tight…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Dutch marchers protest new COVID-19 pass to enter bars, restaurants

Hundreds of protesters marched against the introduction of a "corona pass" in the Netherlands on Saturday, as proof of COVID-19 vaccination became compulsory to get into bars, restaurants, theatres and…

Read More Here

UPDATED: British government working on temporary visa scheme to ease lorry driver shortage

Britain is expected to announce plans to issue temporary work visas to truck drivers to ease an acute labour shortage that has led to fuel rationing at hundreds of gas…

Read More Here

Britain has 10 days to save Christmas, retail sector says

LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Britain's retail industry warned the government on Friday that unless it moves to alleviate an acute shortage of truckers in the next 10 days then…

Read More Here

Brazil’s Bolsonaro says UK’s Johnson sought ’emergency’ food deal, embassy differs

BRASILIA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom he met this week in New York, asked him for an…

Read More Here

As queues form at gas stations, Britain vows to solve trucker shortage

LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Britain on Friday vowed to do whatever it takes to resolve a trucker shortage that has closed petrol stations and strained supermarket supply chains to…

Read More Here

Climate change protesters block UK’s Port of Dover

LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Britain's Port of Dover, Europe's busiest trucking port, said protesters had blocked its entrance and exit on Friday, the latest disruptive action by climate change…

Read More Here

German conservatives raise spectre of far-left rule ahead of election

A shadow is looming over Germany's election: the spectre of the far-left Linke party, heir to the communists who once ruled East Germany, coming in from the political wilderness. At…

Read More Here

Don’t panic buy, Britain tells consumers

Consumers should not panic buy products as Britain is not heading back into a 1970s-style "winter of discontent" of strikes and power shortages, a junior minister said on Thursday. Soaring…

Read More Here

British Airways to scrap Gatwick short-haul operations

British Airways said it was scrapping most short-haul operations at London's no.2 airport Gatwick, blaming pilots for rejecting a plan to set up a new low-cost unit to better compete…

Read More Here

German election race tightens three days before vote

The German election race heated up on Thursday as the lead of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) over Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives narrowed to just four points, three days before…

Read More Here

UK appealing to former drivers to tackle shortage, minister says

Britain is working on a number of options to tackle the shortage of truck drivers, including luring former employees back to the market, amid warnings from the food industry that…

Read More Here

Germany seeks backing for Tedros at WHO as deadline for proposing candidates set to expire

Germany is seeking support from other European Union members to ensure a second term for Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the helm of the World Health Organisation, but African states have…

Read More Here

England’s top medic says COVID-19 transmission highest in children

LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty on Wednesday said that children were currently driving transmission of COVID-19 at the moment, and that without vaccination, almost…

Read More Here

Divided Swiss to vote on same-sex marriage

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss voters decide on Sunday whether to allow same-sex couples to wed and adopt children after a highly charged campaign pitted gay rights activists against conservative opponents…

Read More Here

Britain tells its food industry to prepare for CO2 price shock

LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Britain warned its food producers on Wednesday to prepare for a 400% rise in carbon dioxide prices after extending emergency state support to avert a…

Read More Here

German Social Democrats’ lead narrows days before election

BERLIN/STRALSUND, Germany, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) saw their lead over Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives narrow in a poll published on Tuesday, pointing to a tightening race…

Read More Here

WHO’s Tedros wins German backing for second term

BERLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - German Health Minister Jens Spahn backed a second term for World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and called on other countries to support the…

Read More Here

Biden, Johnson talk trade and trains in White House meeting

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday discussed the dangers of climate change and bantered about the joys of rail travel during…

Read More Here

German electoral race remains open but SDP solidifies lead

Less than a week before Germany's federal election, the race remains open with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) leading in voter polls as the country searches for a new chancellor…

Read More Here

UK set for most widespread pay rises in over a decade – CBI

More British employers are planning pay rises than at any time since the global financial crisis as they struggle to recruit staff following the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit, data from…

Read More Here

UK meat industry warns some firms have just five days CO2 supply

Some of Britain's meat processors will run out of carbon dioxide (CO2) within five days, forcing them to halt production and impacting supplies to food retailers, the head of the…

Read More Here

No target date for lifting coronavirus curbs, German govt says

The German government was not giving a target date for lifting coronavirus-related social distancing regulations since there was no certainty about how the pandemic would develop this winter, a spokesman…

Read More Here

UK may offer loans to energy companies after gas price soars – BBC

Britain is considering offering state-backed loans to energy firms after wholesale gas prices soared, the BBC reported on Monday. A jump in gas prices has already forced several domestic energy…

Read More Here

SPD’s Scholz wins third TV debate as German election draws close

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz brushed off a last-gasp attack from his conservative rival in a televised election debate on Sunday, cementing his position as front runner to succeed Chancellor Angela…

Read More Here

Study shows Dutch are world’s tallest people

It is, perhaps, with just a hint of satisfaction that the Dutch office for national statistics has confirmed that the men and women of the Netherlands remain the tallest people…

Read More Here

Merkel aide warns against protracted coalition talks as TV debate nears

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff called on political parties to agree quickly on who should succeed her after next Sunday's election and avoid the kind of protracted coalition…

Read More Here

Harry reveals grandfather Duke of Edinburgh was ‘very much a listener’

The Duke of Sussex has spoken for the first time about how his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, gave him the space to talk about serving in Afghanistan and was…

Read More Here