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☆ Macron: France favours 'status quo' on Taiwan, position unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speak at a news conference during Macron's state visit to the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, Netherlands April 12, 2023. We're in favour of the status quo. This policy is constant and hasn't changed," Macron told a news conference during a state visit in the Netherlands. "So no, France does not support provocations, does not engage in fantasy politics and considers the status quo, respect and clarity are the best allies of European strategic autonomy," Macron said. The meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week - prior to China's drills - was a "provocation", the diplomat said.

☆ Dutch government to face no-confidence vote after election loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, April 5 (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government faced a no-confidence vote on Wednesday over plans to cut nitrogen emissions on farms, three weeks after being beaten in provincial elections by a farmers' protest party opposed to such cuts. Opposition parties said during Wednesday's parliamentary debate that the Rutte government had failed to offer any convincing policies to tackle nitrogen emissions as well as other issues such as high inflation and immigration. The opposition parties are expected to propose the no- confidence vote later in the day. Environmental groups have won a string of court cases since 2019 ordering the government to limit nitrogen emissions and preserve nature before new building permits can be granted. In a big shock for the Netherlands' political landscape, the farmers' protest party BBB (BoerBurgerBeweging - Farmer Citizen Movement) emerged as the clear winner of the provincial elections on March 15.

The EU's current 2030 target is for a 32% renewable energy share. The EU got 22% of its energy from renewable sources in 2021, but the level varied significantly between countries. Sweden leads the 27 EU countries with its 63% renewable energy share, while in Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Ireland, renewable sources make up less than 13% of total energy use. EU countries will have to raise to 29% the share of renewables in energy used by the transport sector. The deal must be approved by the EU Parliament and EU countries to become law, normally a formality.

☆ Philips expects to reach recall settlements this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Koninklijke Philips NV FollowAMSTERDAM, March 30 (Reuters) - Dutch health technology company Philips (PHG.AS) expects to reach settlements this year relating to its global recall of respiratory devices, CEO Roy Jakobs said in an interview with Dutch financial daily FD published on Thursday. "I think we can at least reach a settlement on economic damages this year," Jakobs said without giving details on the expected costs. Jakobs added he "hopes and expects" to also reach a settlement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year. A settlement with patients who claim the use of the recalled machines made them sick probably will take longer, he said. The economic damages claim was made by people, hospitals and health plans who say they suffered economic losses when the millions of machines were recalled.

BRUSSELS, March 27 (Reuters) - Alitalia, the predecessor of Italian state-owned airline ITA Airways, will have to repay a 400 million-euro ($430 million) loan to the Italian government because the money breached EU state aid rules, EU competition authorities said on Monday. Italy granted the loan in 2019, two years after giving a 900 million-euro loan to keep the loss-making company operating. The European Commission, which acts as the competition watchdog in the 27-country bloc, subsequently ruled that both loans constituted illegal state aid. The Commission had in 2021 it ordered Alitalia to repay the 900-million-euro illegal loan. Successive governments pumped an estimated 10 billion euros into Alitalia to keep it afloat in its last 14 years of life, despite heavy losses and bad management.

BRUSSELS, March 21 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have raided a company active in the energy drinks sector in several EU countries on suspicion of taking part in a cartel and also abusing its dominance, the European Commission said on Tuesday. Austrian energy drinks maker Red Bull confirmed that its premises had been searched, the Austrian news agency APA reported, although the company declined further comment when contacted by Reuters. "The Commission has concerns that the inspected company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices," the EU enforcer said in a statement. "The inspected company may also have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit abuses of a dominant position." Companies found breaching EU antitrust rules face fines of as much as 10% of their global turnover.

☆ EU to move towards joint buying of shells for Ukraine, says official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] 155mm artillery shells are seen during the manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S., February 16, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidBRUSSELS, March 17 (Reuters) - A number of European Union countries are expected to sign a "Project Arrangement" on joint procurement of 155 mm artillery shells for Ukraine on Monday, a senior EU official said on Friday. "(The Project Arrangement) is the basis for the European Defense Agency and its member states to move on, ... basically the terms of reference that are the legal basis to move on." The official could not confirm how many countries would sign, but said they were "quite confident to see many signatures on Monday", adding the project was open to all EU members plus Norway and countries would be able to join it at any time. Reporting by Andrew Gray and Bart Meijer; Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Details of ICC arrest warrant against Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday issued arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children's right. GROUNDSThe ICC said it sees reasonable grounds to believe that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the crimes, either for committing them directly, jointly with others and/or through others. JURISDICTIONRussia and Ukraine are not member states of the ICC, and Moscow has repeatedly said it does not recognise its jurisdiction. MEANINGThe arrest warrant obliges member states to arrest Putin or Lvova-Belova if he were to travel to their country. The ICC, however, has no own police force or other ways to enforce arrests.

☆ ICC judges issue arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. She added that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the world's permanent war crimes tribunal. In its first warrant for Ukraine, the ICC called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago. The ICC said in a statement Putin stands accused of the war crime of unlawful deportation from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

☆ Farmers' protest party set to shake up Dutch political landscape
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Bart H. Meijer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 15 (Reuters) - A farmers' protest party looks set to shake up the political landscape in the Netherlands on Wednesday, with polls indicating it will be the big winner in provincial elections that determine the make-up of the Senate. The BBB or BoerBurgerBeweging (Farmer-Civilian Movement) party is expected to ride a wave of protests against the government's environmental policies and is poised to win more Senate seats than Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD party, a poll by research company I&O showed last week. The BBB says the problem has been exaggerated and that proposed solutions will lead to farm closures and food production shortages. The party won a single Lower House seat in 2021, but its popularity has surged on the back of growing distrust of the government and anger over issues such as immigration. Rutte's government, in its fourth consecutive term since 2010, has dropped to a 20% approval rating, its lowest in a decade.

☆ Belgium bans TikTok from federal government work phones
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Reuters) - Belgian federal government employees will no longer be allowed to use the Chinese-owned video app TikTok on their work phones, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday. "That is the reality," the prime minister said in a statement. "That's why it is logical to forbid the use of TikTok on phones provided by the federal government. The European Commission and the European Parliament last month banned TikTok from staff phones due to growing concerns about the company, and whether China's government could harvest users' data or advance its interests. Belgium's Flemish regional government on Thursday announced it would restrict the access to TikTok on its staff's phones, and other regional governments were urged by De Croo to apply the same rules.

☆ Prosus considers sale of automotive classified advertising business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, March 2 (Reuters) - Technology investor Prosus (PRX.AS) is considering a sale of its OLX Autos classified advertising business, the company said on Thursday. Prosus said the pursuit of growth in the car advertising business was no longer the right approach because the second-hand car market had been hit by a "significant and persistent slowdown" owing to weakening economic growth and high inflation. "Prosus will explore all options for the OLX Autos business, acknowledging that significant value exists within local markets," the company's statement said. "The exit of OLX Autos will lead to a significant improvement in the profitability profile of the classifieds segment as a whole." OLX Autos increased revenue by 84% to $1 billion in the first half of its 2022/2023 financial year, Prosus said in November, but trading losses increased to $206 million owing to investment in expansion of the direct-to-consumer business.

☆ Dutch gov't, Shell and Exxon ignored Groningen risks for years, inquiry finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Workers rebuild homes in the northern Dutch town of Overschild, where earthquakes from natural gas extraction have made them unsafe, Netherlands, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Anthony Deutsch/File PhotoAMSTERDAM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The Dutch government and energy companies Shell (SHEL.L) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) ignored the risks of gas production in Groningen for years, to the detriment of people living in the province, a parliamentary inquiry concluded on Friday. The massive Groningen field is operated by Shell and Exxon joint venture NAM and was one of Europe's major suppliers of natural gas for decades. Groningen gas production has been cut back significantly over the past decade and will be halted in the coming year because of the threat to life and property from the resulting earth tremors. "Gas extraction in Groningen was so successful and lucrative for the Dutch government, Shell and Exxon Mobil that they hardly took any notion of the long-term risks and the ever-clearer signs of the detrimental effects for the people in Groningen," it said.

☆ NATO and EU react reservedly to Chinese ceasefire proposal for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a news conference during a NATO defence ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File PhotoTALLINN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday reacted reservedly to a Chinese proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying Beijing did not have a lot of credibility as a mediator. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said China had not shared a peace plan but some principles. "So we will look at the principles, of course, but we will look at them against the backdrop that China has taken sides," she added. Reporting by Bart Meijer and Reuters TV, writing by Sabine SieboldOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Philips management will not receive bonuses for 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

AMSTERDAM, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Dutch health technology company Philips' (PHG.AS) top management will not take any bonuses for 2022 after a global recall of respiratory devices resulted in a 70% plunge in the company's market value, it said on Tuesday. In light of the company's performance and negative experience of shareholders and other stakeholders, the supervisory and management boards have waived any 2022 annual incentive payouts, the company said in its annual report. "2022 was a very disappointing year for Philips and its stakeholders," it said. Reporting by Bart Meijer Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NATO's Stoltenberg: World more dangerous with Russia suspending START treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday Russia's decision to suspend participation in the latest START bilateral nuclear arms control treaty made the world a more dangerous place, and he urged Moscow to reconsider. "More nuclear weapons and less arms control makes the world more dangerous," Stoltenberg, standing alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, told reporters. "It is President Putin who started this imperial war of conquest ... As Putin made clear today, he's preparing for more war ... Putin must not win ... It would be dangerous for our own security and the whole world," Stoltenberg added. "I regret the decision by Russia to suspend its participation in (the) New START programme".

☆ Russia targets Netherlands' North Sea infrastructure, says Dutch intelligence agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

THE HAGUE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Russia has in recent months tried to gain intelligence to sabotage critical infrastructure in the Dutch part of the North Sea, Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD said on Monday. A Russian ship has been detected at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea as it tried to map out energy infrastructure, MIVD head General Jan Swillens said at a news conference. The vessel was escorted out of the North Sea by Dutch marine and coast guard ships before any sabotage effort could become successful, he added. "We saw in recent months Russian actors tried to uncover how the energy system works in the North Sea. "Russia is mapping how our wind parks in the North Sea function.

☆ EU to include Iranian judges on sanctions list, Luxembourg's Asselborn says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The European Union will impose sanctions against dozens of Iranians, including judges, for their role in imposing death penalties on protesters, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said on Monday. "Judges, prison workers, people who sentence others to death, dozens of them will get on the list," Asselborn said before a meeting with other foreign ministers from the EU in Brussels. Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Netherlands orders Russian embassy to downsize, Moscow says it will respond
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The Dutch government on Saturday said it would close its consulate in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and that it would limit the number of Russian diplomats allowed at the Russian embassy in The Hague. "At the same time Russia refuses to give visas to Dutch diplomats who would work at the consulate in St Petersburg or the embassy in Moscow." In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said it would respond to the move, RIA news agency reported. The Dutch government said it had decided to limit the number of diplomats at the Russian embassy in The Hague to match the number of those at the Dutch embassy in Moscow. "A number of diplomats shall therefore have to leave the country within two weeks," The Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement, without giving a specific number.

☆ Germany to restart production of Gepard ammunition for Ukraine, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Germany has signed contracts with Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) to restart the production of ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns it has delivered to Kyiv, German Defense minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday. "We will quickly start our own production of Gepard ammunition at Rheinmetall. I am very happy we have been able to guarantee the delivery of this important part of air defense," Pistorius said before a meeting with NATO ministers in Brussels. Germany has been trying for months to find new munitions for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns which its own military had decommissioned in 2010. Reporting by Bart Meijer and Sabine Siebold; Editing by Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. and NATO see Ukraine in urgent need of more arms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/10] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov attend a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 14, 2023. "Ukraine has urgent requirements to help it meet this crucial moment in the course of the war," U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said at a meeting of the so-called Ramstein group of allies of Ukraine. When it comes to artillery, we need ammunition, we need spare parts, we need maintenance, we need all the logistics to ensure that we are able to sustain these weapons systems." NATO defence ministers were also to discuss adapting a target for members to spend 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. Some nations see this as too low, given the Ukraine war, while others such as Germany are still far below the 2%.

☆ NATO Secretary General: incidents with balloons over U.S. form part of pattern
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Recent incidents regarding balloons shot down by the United States, which suspects they are surveillance balloons from China, form part of a pattern which highlights the need for NATO to be vigilant, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "What we saw over the United States is part of a pattern where China and also Russia are increasing surveillance activities on NATO allies," Stoltenberg told reporters on Monday. It was the fourth flying object to be shot down over North America by a U.S. missile in a little more than a week. China's foreign ministry said it had no information on the latest three flying objects shot down by the United States. Reporting by Bart Meijer, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold and Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ArcelorMittal expects to increase steel shipments by 5% in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal (MT.LU), the world's second-largest steelmaker, on Thursday said it expects its steel shipments to increase by around 5% this year, as it reported fourth-quarter earnings that were in line with expectations. The Luxembourg-based company said its fourth-quarter core profit (EBITDA), the figure most watched by the market, was $1.26 billion, down from $5.05 billion a year before but in line with the average forecast in a company poll. Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin approved supply of missiles that shot down MH17 in 2014, investigators say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

AMSTERDAM, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The international team investigating the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) by a missile has convincing evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally signed off on a decision to allow the Russian missile system into Ukraine, Dutch prosecutors said on Wednesday. The BUK-TELAR missile system was used to shot down MH17 on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, investigators said. However, they said the evidence was not enough to lead to prosecution. Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ABN Amro announces 500 mln euro share buyback as Q4 profit beats forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Net profit of the largely state-owned bank dropped to 354 million euros in the last three months of 2022, down from 552 million euros the year before - but much better than the 105 million euros analysts on average had predicted in a company-compiled poll. Impairments were 74% lower than a year before at 32 million euros as economic growth in Europe held stronger than expected despite surging inflation. Since its bailout by the Dutch state in 2008, ABN has refocused its operations and orientation on the Dutch market, cutting thousands of jobs in the process. One of three dominant banks in the Netherlands, it was re-privatized in 2015, but the Dutch state still owns 56% of the shares and has sold none since September 2017. The state will participate in the share buyback, which has been approved by the European Central Bank and will maintain its relative stake, ABN said.

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