PRESS EURO ITALY

No say

ITALY will protect Pirelli's independence by blocking a Chinese company from taking control of tyre-making giant Pirelli. Beijing-controlled chemical giant, Sinochem, which is Pirelli's biggest shareholder with a 37 per cent stake in the Milan company, will not be allowed to nominate candidates for Pirelli’s chief executive post.

PIRELLI: Chinese-owned Sinochem may not nominate CEO

I robot

Island lure

IRELAND will provide grants of more than €80,000 to people willing to live on more than 30 islands not linked to the mainland by bridges and cut off by the tides. “Our policy is ensuring that sustainable, vibrant communities can live and thrive on the offshore islands for many years to come,” the government said.

Oh dear!

RECENT European Commission data revealed Ireland as the most expensive country in the European Union, with prices 46 per cent above the EU average, followed by Denmark (45 per cent higher), Finland (27 per cent) and Sweden (24 per cent). Meanwhile, alcohol prices doubled the EU average.

One-track

GERMAN newspaper Bild announced a €100 million cost-cutting programme that will involve around 200 redundancies. Although the current job losses are not linked to AI, the tabloid warned staff that it foresees further editorial cuts in future thanks to “the opportunities of artificial intelligence and automated processes.”

Double trouble

VOLKER TREIER, the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s head of Foreign Trade declared that Brexit was an economic disaster for both sides of the Channel. Germany exported goods worth €73.8 billion to the UK last year, 14.1 per cent less than in the 2016 referendum year, Trieier said.

Germany France

Spaced out

FRANCE will regulate visits to popular tourist sites, announced Tourism minister Olivia Gregoire. Outlining plans to prevent “overtourism” she said that as the world’s biggest tourist destination, France needed to manage high season influxes that threatened “the environment, quality of life for locals, and experiences for visitors.”

Cheers, boys

PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON was criticised for downing a beer without stopping for breath as he congratulated Toulouse’s rugby team after they had won the domestic league title in Paris. “Toxic masculinity in political leadership in one image,” Sandrine Rousseau, an MP for the Greens party, tweeted afterwards.

Deep down

Short week

SEVERAL of Norway’s railway lines are saturated, leading to bottlenecks on the tracks and timetable delays, Bane NOR said. Norway’s mostly single-track rail routes have practically no capacity left, and the rail infrastructure company explained that it is having to turn down operators asking permission to operate more trains.

NORWAY’S government intends to open its waters to deep-sea mining despite opposition from environmentalists and some countries. Despite its vast oil and gas reserves Norway is leading the global race to mine the ocean floor for metals that are in high demand as countries transition away from fossil fuels.

Norway Finland

Aid cut

FINLAND’S new government will no longer give development aid to governments and countries that support Russia’s war in Ukraine. “The government will not only cut development aid by millions, but it will also prioritise and redirect it,” said Finland’s Foreign Trade and Development minister Ville Tavio.

Smart idea

TOURISM officials in uninhabited UlkoTammio, one of several islands inside the Eastern Gulf of Finland national park, announced they want it to be “phone-free.” Instead, they are urging visitors to switch off their smart phones and to stop and genuinely enjoy the islands, explained local tourism expert Mats Selin.

Golden rule

PORTUGAL announced that it is trialling a four-day week, following the success of other programmes elsewhere in Europe. Since the government-funded pilot scheme was announced in early June, 39 private companies have signed up for the project in partnership with the non-profit group, 4 Day Week Global.

GOLDEN visas are still available to foreign citizens investing more than €500,000 in venture capital funds, according to the Jornal de Negocios newspaper. There will also be residence permits for those investing more than €500,000 in a commercial company that generates at least five jobs or ensures the continuance of at least 10.