Volkswagen plans closures, layoffs postponed, union says – DW – 12/20/2024

German union IG Metall said on Friday it has reached a deal with Volkswagen to avoid involuntary redundancies at the carmaker’s production sites in Germany by 2030. Union representatives have been in talks for weeks with the company – Europe’s biggest automaker – over cost-cutting measures, including plans to close three plants and cut jobs. … Read more

‘You need peace’ to send EU troops to Ukraine: Belgian FM Quintin

Preparing to support Ukraine “in all scenarios’ – that’s how the head of the EU Council described the gist of the last European summit of the year, before Donald Trump returns to the White House. We explore the EU’s preparedness with Belgian Foreign Minister Bernard Quintin He raises the thorny issue of possible troop deployments … Read more

A cultural stroll through Paris with graphic novelist Riad Sattouf and sculptor Nathalie Decoster

This week on Paris des Arts: Riad Sattouf, the graphic novelist and film director, takes us to Paris’s Musée des Arts et Métiers. His comic books have been translated into 23 languages, as he captivated the world with his series “The Arab of the Future,” which sold 3.5 million copies. He tells us more about … Read more

Erasmus programme, consumer protection, online safety: What the EU gets right

Things may look bleak for the European Union in the depths of winter, with challenges across the board: the threat of a trade war with the US, weakened political figures in Germany and France, European farmers threatening protests about the Mercosur deal, an uncertain outcome for the conflict in Ukraine, more budgets being tightened for … Read more

What next for Romania after the recent election chaos? – DW – 12/20/2024

As has so often been the case since the overthrow of communism 35 years ago, Romania is currently teetering between the tragic and the macabre. It is simultaneously sad and disgusting that a massive backlog of reforms and a deep distrust of politicians have propelled extreme right-wing, pro-Russian fraudsters to major electoral successes in recent … Read more