SpainMore than half of ’ football fans plan to watch the 2026 World Cup games in the bar. This is the figure from a study of LaLiga’'s football watching habits, and it shows that the Spaniards are the most likely Europeans to follow the tournaments away from their homes.
But on the field, the truth is more subtle. Santi Vidal, owner of the bar El Cuadro in Madrid's ’in Carabanchel district, does not expect a stampede at the opening matches: “People prefer to watch them at home. As La Roja progresses through the tournament, we expect only a large crowd.”RTVE’ye told me. They didn't make any special preparations for their first game against Cape Verde.
The pandemic is a turning point, Vidal points out: Before the coronavirus, football night was crazy. After COVID-19’, many people prefer to relax and reunite with friends at home.”
According to Numerator’'s Worldpanel consultancy, it's a change in habits that the data itself confirms. Two out of three fans will follow the World Cup ’ from the living roomFood and Drinks to Take Home %He'll spend six more. The Glovo report goes even further: the Spanish People %It reveals that 80’in prefers to stay at home, and pizza and burgers are ordered most often during matches.
the Industrial Association, Hostelería de España, He predicts that bars may increase their purchases.On match days when there are appropriate start times %With the 25 tween the 30s. SpainIf ’ reaches the finals, the total benefit to the sector could exceed 130 million Euro’. Average spend per customer during the tournament %It is expected to increase around 11, while spending is estimated to be between 13 and 18 euros per person per match.
The association also notes a side effect: Reservations in restaurants drop when matches are broadcast for free. In these cases, orders placed through food distribution platforms are increasing. The Glovo report supports this: Participants in the survey %the 82 ’siPrioritize orders for pizzas and burgers before the starter hit.
Bars adapt and change their menus
Many organizations are changing their offerings in order to attract customers. Julocho García, who bought the beach bar El Amarillo’ in Cabañas, La Coruña’ last year, is temporarily changing its menu, which consists of the usual fresh produce for sandwiches, nachos, burgers and empanadas: “ We know that people want to have a snack and eat fast food while watching games.”Jacob Medina has served as a reserve staff at ’'s Villarrubia de los Ojos’taki (Ciudad Real) El Portón bar for weeks: “If Spain enters the qualifying stage, Bar is normal %Fifty more full, even. more intense.”TVE’ye told me.
Brands and distributors have also taken action. Medina says her usual supplier gives her more than just drinks: “We have decorations, cherry birds, face paints. . . They gave us scratch cards with prize draws and merchandise.” Bar also decided to make an official Spanish scarf draw among its customers.
Medina, Spain, adds an element that rarely stands out in the analysis of the World Cup in ’'s hospitality sector: Moroccan national team. “Villarrubia’ has a large immigrant population from that country.They live the World Cup’ very intensely and they know that Fas’ has a real chance, so I expect the bar to be full if the Mohamed Ouahbi’nin team goes forward.”
The time difference with the United States, Canada, and Mexico is another factor that bar and restaurant owners take into account. Matches between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia will start at 19:00’ (Houston, Texas, local time); June 27 Spain-Uruguay match starts at 18.00’de (Guadalajara, Mexico, local time). For Vidal, the early evening hours work according to bars in cities such as Madrid:On the contrary, “ García sees this as an advantage for the beach bar on the Galician coast: “People go to sea in the afternoon and then come to watch the game. It's the perfect time for dinner when the match is over.” So much so that he plans to open the games early in the morning.if there is demand.
The supply chain is also feeling the effects.Guillermo López Menchero, sales representative of Villarta de San Juan’ (Ciudad Real) distributor Menchero Gil SA’, says the bars have been pushing their orders for weeks: “They tend to order early, especially to avoid beer, soft drinks and water shortages.”Moreover, the change in the beer brand they worked with this year also increased the interest of the businesses in the province.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung celebrated the signing of a new digital trade agreement at a ceremony in Brussels’ on Wednesday.
The event marked ’'s 11th summit in the EU and South Korea, where everything from security and defense to trade is on the agenda.
Von der Leyen, “Korea, Europe in the Indo-Pacific region and on the global stage is one of ’'s closest partners, ” said. In today's uncertain world, stable and reliable partnerships like ours are more valuable than ever.“
The trio issued a joint statement praising the value of the talks and stating the two sides' commitment to building a solid and friendly relationship.
"We reaffirm our shared commitment to effective multilateralism and a free and fair economic order based on stable and predictable rules," the statement said.
Semiconductor factor
At a time of heightened tensions with both China and the United States, both sides have an interest in diversifying their trade relations, and the EU-South Korea digital trade agreement comes more than a decade after a landmark free trade agreement.
According to figures from the European Commission’, trade between the EU and South Korea has doubled since 2015’, with trade in goods reaching approximately €124.25 billion in 2025’.
The European Council António Costa said on Wednesday that the “European Union-Korea Free Trade Agreement, since its entry into force in 2011, remains one of ’'s most successful trade agreements.
South Korea is becoming an increasingly important investor in Europe’, especially in strategic sectors such as batteries, electric vehicles and semiconductors.
An important goal for the EU is to secure semiconductor supply chains while enabling Korean companies to attract more investment to Europe’.
An EU official, “Korea, said ” has a global leadership position in semiconductors. “This is clearly an area with significant cooperation potential that will benefit both parties.”
According to another EU official, the digital trade agreement signed on Wednesday is expected to complement the wider trade partnership by reducing “ unnecessary barriers to ” digital trade and providing more “ legal certainty for businesses operating in the two markets. It will facilitate cross-border data flows while banning forced transfer of source code.
The agreement is also designed to establish robust online consumer protection rules; However, both partners aim to protect their own levels of protection for personal data and privacy.
Economic security also topped the summit agenda, and the two sides agreed to engage in a high-level dialogue on the resilience of the supply chain.
Supply chains came under pressure last year after China’in imposed restrictions on the export of strategic materials, including green technologies and rare elements essential for the defense sector, as well as products linked to the chip industry critical to automotive production.
Security and defense
The information security agreement, touted by EU officials before the summit as a way to strengthen the flow of confidential information between Brussels and Seoul, was something that did not cross the line.
"I hope that the “ Information security agreement will be adopted soon so that Korea and the EU can share confidential information securely, which will allow the two sides to actively engage in industrial and research cooperation through the exchange of information," President Lee said on Wednesday.
The agreement will build on the Security and Defense Partnership agreement signed by South Korea and AB’ in 2024’te. This agreement is designed to facilitate cooperation in areas including maritime security, combating hybrid threats, combating foreign information manipulation and interference, and more.
Ahead of talks this week, a senior EU official said the main topic of negotiations would be to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, as North Korea continues to keep a small but worrying stockpile of ’'s nuclear-armed warheads.
The source said that North Korea (North Korea) and Russia, ’ at the summit, were considered major questions“, and Brussels, ”, Seoul and Ukraine, were ready to share information about ’'s support for ’.
In a joint statement from the summit, North Korea reiterated its condemnation of ’ye and Russia, as well as of other countries that have allowed ’ to continue its war of aggression against Ukraine’.
"We urge “, Russia and North Korea, to immediately cease such activities and to comply with all United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to the UN Charter," the statement said.
The new Eurostat figures reveal sharp differences in working hours across Europe.
According to the latest data on actual working hours from the bloc's statistics office, people at AB’ work an average of 35.9 hours per week. The figure covers full-time and part-time employees between the ages of 20 and 64 in their main jobs.
The data also reveal significant differences between countries, raising questions about why some Europeans work longer hours than others.
Balkan countries record longest working hours
Actual weekly working hours within the EU range from 31.9 hours in Netherlands’ to 39.6 hours in Greece’. When EU’ candidate countries and EFTA members are included, this figure increases to 42.4 hours in Turkey’. It is followed closely by two other candidate countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (40.9 hours) and Serbia (40.6 hours).
These are the only countries where average working hours exceed 40 hours per week; This is equivalent to more than eight hours a day in a five-day work week.
This is followed by Greece (39.6 hours), North Macedonia (39.5 hours) and Bulgaria (38.7 hours). The Balkan countries lead the list of longest working weeks, while Greece and Turkey are generally considered part of the wider Balkan region.
Professor David Spencer of the University of Leeds, ’, told Euronews Business’a: “In no country do workers choose the hours they will work ‘: Instead of ‘normal’ they work in an hour interval (the latter is under the influence of employers). Low productivity may explain the lack of labor power in addition to longer working hours in the above countries.”
Jorge Cabrita, senior research manager at Eurofound’, said differences in working time-setting regimes could help explain why some countries record longer working hours than others.
The Netherlands has the shortest working hours
The Netherlands stands out as the country with the shortest average working week in Europe ’, with people working only 31.9 hours per week.
Cabrita, Netherlands, where part-time employees have an approximate total employment in ’ %He said it made up 43’, which is much higher than other EU member states. The country also has one of the shortest average working weeks agreed collectively in the bloc.
Spencer told Euronews Business’a: “Dutch turned to more part-time work, which helped reduce the average work week; But the working week of full-time workers is still close to 40 hours.”
This is followed by Germany, Norway and Denmark with 33.9 hours; This means that workers in ’ in the Netherlands work about two hours less per week than workers in the nearest countries.
Average working hours are also below 35 hours per week in Austria (34.0), Belgium (34.3) and Finland’ (34.7). The average working day in these seven countries is less than seven hours in a five-day work week.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain work fewer hours than ’
With 33.9 hours, Germany records the shortest working week among AB’'s four largest economies. Workers in ’, Germany, France, work 1.7 hours less per week than those in ’ (35.6 hours).
Spain (36.3 hours) recorded the longest working week among the four major EU economies, while Italy (36.1 hours) was above the EU average of 35.9 hours. The difference between Germany and both countries exceeds two hours per week.
“, for example GermanyThe shortening of working hours at ’ partly reflects the strength of the unions and the positive impact of collective bargaining, ” said.
In other places, the average weekly working hours are Poland’da 38.7, Romania’da 38.2, Czechia’da 37.5, Hungary’da 37.4, Switzerland’da 35.9, Sweden’te 35.4 and Ireland’da 35.1’.
Why are working hours so variable?
In general, Northern and Western European countries tend to have shorter working weeks than Eastern and Central European countries.
Cabrita pointed out working time determination regimes, employment structures and wider economic structures as the main factors of the differences between countries.
The role of trade unions and collective bargaining
Cabrita said that countries where unions and collective bargaining play a larger role in determining working time limits tend to have shorter actual working hours.
He added that stronger collective bargaining is also associated with less overtime and greater compliance with labor regulations.
The impact of part-time and freelance work
Employment structure also plays an important role, including how workers are distributed according to occupations, sectors, employment status, and contract types.
The greater the share of part-time employment, the shorter the average working hours tend to be, Cabrita said.
Self-employed people, who often have more autonomy over their schedules, tend to work longer hours than employees, especially if they employ others.
Economic structure is also important. The relative weight of different sectors in an economy can affect average working hours because some industries often need longer work schedules than others.
Working hours vary significantly by industry
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fisheries workers Record the longest working weekAt AB’, 42 hours are followed by executive occupations (40.6 hours) and occupations in the armed forces (39.4 hours).
At the other end of the scale, workers in basic occupations recorded the shortest average work week at 31.8 hours, followed by office support workers (33.0 hours) and service and sales workers (34.5 hours).
While the EU is trying to protect its market from the rise in low-cost Chinese imports, alarm is mounting in the face of a new phenomenon in the European Union: Chinese companies are introducing ways to overcome the bloc's tariff barriers.
France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Lithuania are increasingly fuzzy and complex actions to avoid EU customs duties, the European Commission jointly warned “ on ”.
In an informal proposal last month, which did not name any Chinese company, the quartet called for ’ improvements to AB“'s anti-skipping tool, which would allow ’AB” to guarantee the legal effect and effectiveness of existing trade defense measures.
Euronews found that online Chinese companies offer ways to explicitly avoid EU trade defense measures, including anti-dumping duties imposed on imports sold at AB’ at prices below their normal values in Brussels’in China’.
Skipping practices include setting up production facilities or making small changes to products in countries where EU extra tariffs are not targeted. Not all of this is illegal unless businesses at AB’ provide solid evidence that they are harming their industry, but many are thought to be at least controversial, prompting the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to launch an investigation into the true origin of certain products.
As the EU faces a wave of China's ’ overcapacity, exceeding tariffs has become an even more pressing concern. European manufacturers have filed a growing number of complaints against Commission’a, alleging unfair trade practices in various sectors and the strain on the resources of EU officials.
Transfer through third countries
One of the ways Chinese companies are already pursuing is to establish production facilities in so-called “gate countries, such as Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey or various southeast Asian countries, which benefit from favorable trade agreements or are not subject to EU anti-dumping taxes.
Other methods include minor product changes designed to change the customs classification and minor changes designed to transfer goods through ’gate “ countries to create the impression that the goods were actually manufactured there, even though they were entirely made in China”.
Euronews’in research has revealed that some Chinese companies do not hide their activities and openly offer online services to overcome trade barriers.
Xin Rui Da Logistics, a logistics supplier from Shenzhen’, specializes in “anti-dumping research and providing transit trade solutions for third countries. the Website.
The company says it has solved the problems of many Chinese businesses and foreign importers with restricted products in “, such as anti-dumping, compensatory, quota restrictions and trade barriers such as CIQ (Customs, Inspection and Quarantine), ” says, and “ explains that it has re-exported from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong”.
Xin Rui Da Logistics is currently working on a variety of products, from e-bikes to steel, aluminum and plywood product categories; All of these have been hit by AB’'s anti-dumping taxes in recent years.
The company did not respond to the interview request.
Sale of converted chemicals
The chemical sector, where competition between the EU and China is particularly intense, is particularly exposed to the risk of exceeding customs tariffs. European manufacturers are already under pressure due to the surplus of China’in production capacity, which is flooding the EU market with imports and increasing competitive pressure.
On the complaint of EU producers, the European Commission imposed an anti-dumping tax on a specific chemical imported from China’: titanium dioxide (TiO2), a strategic chemical used in green technologies and aerospace. The missions were temporarily brought to ’ on July 2024 and finalized on January 9, 2025.
But some Chinese producers are looking for ways to adapt to the new tariffs to export the chemical to AB’.
ChinaZontai Titanium Dioxide ’in manager Nina Zhu, a company based in Guangdong province, south of ’, He wrote itA few months before AB’ introduced its customs duties on LinkedIn’de: “AB’'s anti-dumping taxes will be introduced at the end of the year. It is advisable to prepare inventory in advance to provide you with a variety of titanium dioxide solutions.”
Euronews’in contacted Zhu, who confirmed that the company can supply products with TiO2 content below 80 percent’ to avoid EU tariffs.
Linkedin (linked
Later, 2025’te NanJing Titanium Industry International described in theThe recently commercialized new type of mixed TiO2’ “, with excellent performance, qualifies as the highest quality”, adding: “Furthermore, its unique features allow you to bypass certain regional anti-dumping taxes, saving you significant costs. It's a game-changer for your business!”
The company did not respond to Euronews’'s requests for comment.
Linkedin (linked
In some cases, as soon as the EU launches an anti-dumping investigation that could result in additional taxes, Chinese companies begin offering such services.
This is what led to the introduction of new tariffs in January 2025, following the Commission's decision to launch an anti-dumping investigation against Chinese TiO2 producers in ’ on 13 November 2023.
In a LinkedIn post on January 23, 2024, an executive of Titan Industry’, a Shandong-based company, offered EU customers certificates of origin for shipments via “ Vietnam or Thailand to deal with anti-dumping taxes imposed by ”AB. Such certificates may have obscured the true origin of the product produced in China’.
Since then, the company has removed the post from social media, saying it has stopped offering such transfer solutions because Euronews’e is not allowed to.
Instead, “ said it would build a new TiO2 factory in ’, Vietnam.
‘Shoot the mole’
Like many other Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam is often seen as ’, a country where Chinese companies invest in exporting to AB“. However, in some cases, companies cannot maintain a real production presence in the country.
The situation is hitting a ’ mole, according to Deborah Elms’e, a trading expert from the Hinrich Foundation ’ in Singapore“ problem.
Euronews’e said: “If you go after a particular company for illegal transfer, you'll discover that this is the mailbox address of a company that changed its name and moved to another location very quickly.”
“If the tariffs are high enough, there is always an incentive for companies to try to circumvent this illegally.”
Linlin Liang, spokesman for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce ’'s European Union (CCCEU), told Euronews’e that CCCEU’ is not aware of Chinese companies offering online solutions to overcome EU tariffs.
Liang, “Generally, the risks of circumvention are not specific to any country” said, adding that AB’ has a rooted anti-survival system“, and the important thing is that these ”tools are implemented in a transparent, evidence-based and proportionate manner“.
“Unfortunately, EU trade defence measures have so far largely targeted imports from China’, ” said.
Beijing has repeatedly threatened to retaliate if AB’ tightens its trade defence measures. But with AB’'s trade deficit with China reaching a record high of 359.9 billion euros in 2025’te, the European Commission announced last week that the current state of the “ trade and investment relationship is not sustainable.
AB’'s executive branch is expected to propose strengthening AB’'s trade defence system to EU leaders, who will meet for a summit in mid-June. The draft results shared by diplomats do not include the name Çin’in, but China’in is expected to be at the center of the discussions when the leaders meet.
OLAF is investigating
In its 2025 annual report, it said the issue of exceeding tariffs had become important enough for OLAF’ to take over investigations into such cases.
In particular, the report pointed to a case involving e-bikes, which would likely be imported from Indonesia’ to AB’, if the bloc's anti-fraud authority had not intervened.
It turns out that most of the components are actually of Chinese origin and are processed only in Indonesia’; This means that the goods must be labeled as of Chinese origin. OLAF assessed that if the products are exported to AB’, this plan could lead to €7.2 million avoiding EU import taxes. In the end, they weren't.
Thomas Grjebine, an economist at the French Centre for Research and Expertise in World Economy ’, Euronews’e “ChinaThe greater ’'s competition, the more difficult it will be, ” said.
In an important report for the French government's advisory body recently, it warned of the impact of Chinese competition on EU industry.
Grjebine, “We will not launch investigations into thousands of products, this is a complicated situation, ” said. Moreover, the investigations are carried out at the European level and customs checks are mostly carried out at the national level.“
Beyond commercial defense measures targeting specific products, industries such as the EU's automotive, metals and chemicals are facing an increase in cheap Chinese imports, while questions about the protection of all industrial sectors are also being raised.
But Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey, China, which has invested billions of dollars in building factories in ’, already knows how to overcome industry-wide tariffs, leaving AB’ with even more challenges.
Official data released on Tuesday showed that industrial production in ’, Germany, rose in April for the first time since the start of the war in the Middle East’; But analysts have warned that single-month earnings mask a much worse picture of Europe's largest economy.
GermanyAccording to ’'s federal statistical office Destatis’, production was mainly affected by construction in April compared to the previous month. %It's up 0.4.
Readings put an end to a series of defeats dating back to last November ’, but few consider it a turning point.
According to ING Global Macro President Carsten Brzeski’, in a research note published on Tuesday, the April figure was “too few”, production effectively stagnated during the first four months of 2026’, and pre-pandemic levels were still about %It looks like it's under 12.
Number of headlines, compared to the previous month %2.4 received support from the encouraging jump in growing construction activities.
Exports also created an upward surprise; the March %Compared to the month before 0.5 level %It increased by 0.9, but the trade surplus did not change much due to the even faster increase in imports.
Just months ago, what seemed to be the foundation of a promising year with increased confidence, rising orders and a major financial contribution to defense and infrastructure under Chancellor Friedrich Merz's rule once again cast doubt.
Iran war, shrinking energy prices and bleak outlook
The background of the April data is quite clear.
According to the ING analysis, Germany remains one of ’'s largest net energy importers, accounting for about 6% of its oil imports from Middle Eastern countries, while energy-intensive industries employing close to one million people account for about 17% of its industrial gross added value.
Conflict has caused energy prices to spiral; Germany’'s inflation rate in April on an annual basis %It's up to 2.9’a. This rate, compared to the previous year %With the impact of rising energy products prices above 10’, January 2024 reached the highest level since ’.
In April, the German government cut its 2026 growth forecast in half, and at the moment, GDP growth is only %He predicts 0.5.
Tuesday's production data followed an extremely discouraging ordering report released the day before. According to the provisional Destatis figures, new manufacturing orders are made monthly in April. %It's down 3.8.
Automotive industry, orders %While it was among the worst affected by the fall of more than 5’, electrical equipment and machinery also recorded sharp declines. Category: Foreign orders %4Lowered over ’ and domestic orders approx %3 is down.
Struggling steelmaker ThyssenKrupp’un Duisburg, GermanySteel in roll cars before shipping at its main factory in ’, February 2025
According to ING’den Brzeski’, industrial orders are monthly for four consecutive months after last summer. %The boom, with an increase of over 4’, was sharply reversed in 2026’, with orders averaging every month until April. %He fell more than 2’.
The momentum from domestic defense stockpiling and supply chain pre-orders has evaporated for now.
According to the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, ’, any normalization is expected to take quite some time, given the extent of the damage to production capacity in the region and the accumulated workload caused by bottlenecks in energy and commodity supply.
Brzeski concluded that the expected industrial recovery in 2026’ did not occur, and in a note he described the mood as “, a theme he expected to continue in the coming weeks, with great hopes and broken dreams.
Manfred Weber, head of the European People's Party in the European Parliament, ’, warned that “ needs to turn a new page in its relations with China. Bild am Sonntag.
“ called on the bloc to defend its economic interests more clearly and consistently and to reset its relations with China.
Ahead of the EU summit in ’, FranceMany ’-led member states are pressuring Beijing to take a tougher stance on ’, and China warns that ’'s overproduction and low-priced exports are undermining the already fragile European economy.
Think tanks, politicians and the media are sounding the alarm about the upcoming EU-China trade war. On May 29, the European Commission said in a press release that although China is a critical partner of ’, the current state of the ’ trade and investment relationship is not sustainable.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič confirmed this idea after meeting with his Chinese counterpart, trade envoy Li Chenggang, at Paris’te on Thursday. He told reporters that EU and Chinese officials would engage in deeper dialogue to resolve the trade deficit with “China, which has become unsustainable.
Weber echoed that sentiment and said: The picture is“ said the nearly one billion-euro ” trade deficit per day puts Europe’'s industrial base and high-quality jobs at risk. Either we resist “, or he'll cripple parts of our Chinese industry. The EU must now use its trade policy tools resolutely and without hesitation.”
He cited AB’'s tariffs on China’'s electric vehicles as an example of vehicles that Brussels’ should be prepared to use more widely, and perhaps even expand.
He also addressed criticism that EU funds indirectly benefit Chinese firms. A recent case involved EU-backed development assistance used to supply the Senegal’e 380 natural gas buses, in which China's lower-cost offering outperformed a European ’ opponent.
He insisted that this should never happen again: “ European development assistance funded by taxpayers should not benefit Chinese companies.”In the future, everyone who wants to sell on “ must play by European rules, ’ added.
However, a tougher trade stance brings with it potential negativities. Beijing could retaliate by restricting the export of critical materials such as rare earth elements, which could pose a risk to European production, especially Germany. Existing trade agreements with partners, including Canada, Mercosur countries and India, may not fully compensate for such disruptions.
Weber argues that Europe’ has significant influence and stresses that access to a single market is vital for China. “, arguing that this dependency should be used to ensure fair competition, said ’, China” needs us.
Manfred Weber, head of the European People's Party in the European Parliament, ’, warned that “ needs to turn a new page in its relations with China. Bild am Sonntag.
“ called on the bloc to defend its economic interests more clearly and consistently and to reset its relations with China.
Ahead of the EU summit in ’, FranceMany ’-led member states are pressuring Beijing to take a tougher stance on ’, and China warns that ’'s overproduction and low-priced exports are undermining the already fragile European economy.
Think tanks, politicians and the media are sounding the alarm about the upcoming EU-China trade war. On May 29, the European Commission said in a press release that although China is a critical partner of ’, the current state of the ’ trade and investment relationship is not sustainable.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič confirmed this idea after meeting with his Chinese counterpart, trade envoy Li Chenggang, at Paris’te on Thursday. He told reporters that EU and Chinese officials would engage in deeper dialogue to resolve the trade deficit with “China, which has become unsustainable.
Weber echoed that sentiment and said: The picture is“ said the nearly one billion-euro ” trade deficit per day puts Europe’'s industrial base and high-quality jobs at risk. Either we resist “, or he'll cripple parts of our Chinese industry. The EU must now use its trade policy tools resolutely and without hesitation.”
He cited AB’'s tariffs on China’'s electric vehicles as an example of vehicles that Brussels’ should be prepared to use more widely, and perhaps even expand.
He also addressed criticism that EU funds indirectly benefit Chinese firms. A recent case involved EU-backed development assistance used to supply the Senegal’e 380 natural gas buses, in which China's lower-cost offering outperformed a European ’ opponent.
He insisted that this should never happen again: “ European development assistance funded by taxpayers should not benefit Chinese companies.”In the future, everyone who wants to sell on “ must play by European rules, ’ added.
However, a tougher trade stance brings with it potential negativities. Beijing could retaliate by restricting the export of critical materials such as rare earth elements, which could pose a risk to European production, especially Germany. Existing trade agreements with partners, including Canada, Mercosur countries and India, may not fully compensate for such disruptions.
Weber argues that Europe’ has significant influence and stresses that access to a single market is vital for China. “, arguing that this dependency should be used to ensure fair competition, said ’, China” needs us.
Google has entered into an agreement with SpaceX to lease the company's computing capacity. Google will pay €920 million per month for 32 months.
With this development, the roles were reversed; Just five years ago, Google agreed to provide SpaceX ’e computing resources to provide internet services via Starlink satellites.
However, since SpaceX acquired artificial intelligence firm xAI’ in February 2026’, both owned by Elon Musk’, it currently operates a large number of large data centers called ’Colossus’, with a total computing capacity of over 2 GW‘ in the U.S. ’, and the estimated combined value of ‘SpaceX/AI’ is now $1.25 trillion.
The deal came days before SpaceX’'s planned public offering. The company also announced a similar deal with Anthropic in May.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google’, invested in SpaceX’ in 2015, when the company was worth only $12 billion. Today, SpaceX plans to go public with a valuation of over $1.75 trillion. The Google deal is expected to further increase the IPO value.
In SpaceX's IPO file, “, which deals in computing services with third parties, wrote in the ” section, “, that we believe our computer infrastructure and related strategy provide us with significant flexibility in how we allocate capacity and monetize it.
Over a hundred thousand special processors
According to a regulatory filing on Friday, Google will use 110,000 Nvidia GPUs, processors and memory components deployed in SpaceX’in data centers.
The range of use will be from October 2026 to June 2029.
SpaceX’'s regulatory application
According to the agreement, SpaceX ’ “ will not be able to access the promised amount of GPU’ until September 30, 2026’, Google will be able to terminate the agreement immediately or accept GPU”s provided at a discounted fee after a one-month grace period.
The Google deal represents the second major infrastructure deal announced after SpaceX ’ merged with xAI.
According to NBC’, Google aims to scale capacity to meet the growing customer demand for AI platforms and intermediaries, especially among large businesses.
While Musk’'s Grok AI model is not yet profitable, it showcases these deals with the world's richest entrepreneur, Google and Anthropic, as a valuable return on investment in large-scale data centers.
Meanwhile, deep fake pornography created through Grok triggered a global regulatory response against xAI’; The tech firm is now facing numerous lawsuits and government investigations that could result in hefty fines for non-consensual obscene content. Only in the United Kingdom’ta, United Kingdom GDPRData protection violations under ’si will result in %It can lead to fines up to 4’.
How do you know if you're getting a fair wage? For most of Europe's ’, workers still have limited knowledge of how much work is paid and how their salaries compare to other workers doing similar work.
AB’'s Wage Transparency Directive aims to change this by requiring employers to be more transparent about salaries and by helping to strengthen the principle of equal pay for equal work.
The aim of the directive is to help reduce the gender pay gap in AB’, which is 11 percent; This means that according to Eurostat’, women's gross hourly earnings are on average 11 percent lower than men's.
For many women, failure to follow the directive can directly affect their income each year.
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) The predictions areFailure to implement wage transparency will cost women at AB’ at least 4.8 billion euros per year, potentially rising to 7.2 billion euros; That's between 465 and 700 euros per woman per year.
EU countries must enforce the rules by 7 June 2026, but most will miss the deadline after a three-year implementation period.
So which EU countries have implemented the Wage Transparency Directive ’ni? What's the latest for those left behind? So which countries have the highest rates of salary transparency in job postings across Europe?
Six EU countries have not yet taken any action
According to the implementation follower of international law firm Addleshaw Goddard’, as of May 2026, six of the 27 EU countries have not yet taken any action towards the implementation of the directive. These are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Luxembourg and Portugal’.
In September 2025, ’ was present in 10 countries.
While Sweden issued a proposal, the government suspended it indefinitely in March 2026 ’, citing the directive's heavy administrative burden on employers.
Germany’ is expected to update its legislation in 2026. The draft legislation is expected in Czechia, Finland, Greece, Slovenia and Spain’.
Ten countries publish draft legislation
Ten EU countries have published draft legislation, although it is at different stages of the process. These are Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands and Romania’.
The three countries (Belgium, Malta and Poland) partially implemented the directive.
Slovakia Parliament in ’ ratified the Equal Pay Act on April 15, 2026, which will come into force on June 7, 2026 in ’.
Real uncertainty in France’
France’'s Addleshaw Goddard’'s Employment Partner, Jérémie Paubel, told Euronews Business’: “FranceIn ’, it is very likely that the period until 7 June’ will not be followed. This creates real uncertainty, and even after the law is passed, the key elements will have to be defined by separate enforcement decrees without a clear timeline.”
He pointed out that the expectation is decisive, that companies should already take steps such as mapping business categories, auditing wage systems and structures, and identifying existing gaps, but most importantly, closely monitor the legislative process.
What will happen in ’, Germany?
Marijke Van der Most, Addleshaw Goddard’'s Employment Partner in ’, Germany, told Euronews Business’: “Acquired application dates do not create a clear legal pause. They create an interim period in which companies do not yet have clear internal rules, but courts, employees and business councils are already looking in the direction set by the Directive.”
He stressed that the difficult point for employers is not only that German law is overdue. At a time when the future standard is visible but the local rulebook is not yet complete, they may need to make salary decisions, answer employee questions, and prepare for litigation.
Salary transparency in job postings
According to global recruitment platform Indeed’, salary transparency in job postings is steadily increasing in many European countries.
England as of March 2026 %It had the highest rate at 56, while in May 2025’te had the highest rate at 56. %It was 65’.
the Netherlands (Dutch) and France () %It's over 40’. the Irish (Ireland) and Italy (), followed by Italy in May 2025. ’ten recovered significantly.
However, Spain and Germany are not only responsible for the and %It's on the lower end of the 12’, with salary information.
Indeed, the data also shows that most EU countries are ready to miss the deadline for wage transparency. Data from Indeed Hiring Lab’ outlines real outcomes for workers and economies, including continued gender pay gaps.
Employees are blind
Indeed, due to delays, European stresses that the majority of workers still apply for jobs without knowing what they are paying.
Indeed Hiring Lab EU Labour Market Economist Lisa Feist said: “The most important factor in people's search for a new job is pay. But that's what most job postings across Europe skip. Workers are applying blindly, and our research has revealed that the results of this are deeper and more diverse than we thought.
“There is an opportunity for employers who choose to be transparent despite these negative consequences. Those who take action now can strengthen trust in candidates, improve application quality, and prepare their recruitment strategies for the future.”
Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark wants the AI industry to hit the brakes before technology can begin to further develop itself without human input.
Speaking to BBC’, Clark said that 80 percent of Anthropic’'s coding work has already been done by AI Claude, and that this rate could rise to 100 percent ’ in a few years. But “ said it was a choice whether or not AI companies would let him go this far without stopping him.
Clark, “ said that we think this is a topic that the world needs to talk about more. “The artificial intelligence industry currently has an accelerator pedal, but the car does not have a brake pedal, and we want to do some work to create this pedal.”
According to Anthropic’ in a blog post on Thursday night, this process is called “ recursive self-improvement”, and in the process, artificial intelligence can improve itself without human contribution.
Anthropic said that in a recursive model, AI agents, which are autonomous workers created by a chatbot “, could become capable enough to build and train their own models”, so Claude’ could be continuously improved by “Claude.
Anthropic warns that recursive AI may bring some benefits to the fields of science and health, but this may mean that “ increases the risk of people losing control over artificial intelligence systems.
In his blog post, he writes: If “Systems are fully capable of creating their own successors, the way we secure them, monitor them, and shape their behavior becomes much more important.”
There is evidence that iteration will come sooner or later in the Anthropic’'s own model. This suggests that their staff's code correction rates have fallen steadily over the past year, which means there are fewer errors in what Claude’ produces.
Claude can also run his own research experiments when asked an open-ended question like “ and produce his own solutions without human intervention.
It says on the blog: “Evidence shows that the role of humans is shrinking at every step of the AI development process.”
Anthropic said the institute will conduct research to create a system that will control whether developers actually stop or slow progress toward recursive artificial intelligence.
But a real slowdown, “, will require that a large number of well-resourced laboratories in multiple countries, on or near the border, agree to stand under the same conditions.
