EUROPEAN HEADLINES

FT Europe – Big-ticket foreign deals take China to its largest share of global M&A. One-sixth chunk of Q1 activity. Western bankers off-guard. Borrowing fuels binge.

WSJE Europe – Tragedy in India as overpass collapses. An under-construction overpass fell in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. At least 18 people were killed and 78 more trapped.

INYT (IHT) – Nationalist Serb acquitted of war crimes. Decision by UN tribunal provokes wave of outrage among victims’ relatives.

BBC Europe – Turkey ‘illegally returning Syrian refugees’ – Amnesty. Turkey has illegally forced thousands of refugees to return to Syria, a report by Amnesty International says.
The group says about 100 Syrians have been sent back to their war-torn country every day since mid-January in breach of international law.

FRANCE

Le Monde – Public policies forget young adults. According to France Stratégie, France is doing less for young adults than for older unemployed, leaving a growing number of them in poverty. Youth unemployment in France is the highest in Europe, standing at 25.9%, Eurostat reports.

Les Echos – Air France’s plan to gain a foothold on the low cost market. The Air France-KLM group wants to double the size of its low cost company Transavia. The objective is to gain more negotiating weight against Ryanair, Easyjet and others, with 20 million passengers by 2019.

GERMANY

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) – Vojislav Šešelj acquitted in The Hague. UN Tribunal: crimes improvable. Serbian nationalist demands compensation.

Suedeutsche Zeitung (SZ) – Serb nationalist not guilty. Vojislav Šešelj agitated his compatriots against other ethnic groups during the Yugoslav wars. But the Hague Tribunal sees “no criminal plan.”

ITALY

La Repubblica – Guidi resigns as minister, betrayed by her phone calls. The minister for Economic Development, Federica Guidi, has resigned. A phone call where the minister warned her partner about the details of an official investigation concerning him was made public.

Il Sole 24 Ore – Investigation on oil, Guidi resigns. The minister: I’m of good faith. Renzi: ‘I agree with her decision’. The M5S and the Lega attack the PM and Boschi.

POLAND

Gazeta Wyborcza – Pope calls for peace in Poland. Gazeta Wyborcza has found out that it was a letter from Pope Francis that made Jarosław Kaczyński appease his rhetoric. In a letter, the Pope asked politicians to put an end to feuds until his arrival in Poland for the International Youth Days.

SPAIN

El País – Spain’s excessive deficit to require tough adjustments from the incoming government. Higher spending by the regional authorities and in the social security system has contributed to the higher deficit. Montoro announced that he will freeze regional spending. PSOE and Ciudadanos will adjust their pact.

Expansión – Santander to close 400 subsidiaries and to reduce jobs. The group wants a network made of 3,000 subsidiaries that will be bigger. The restructuration is also to affect central services and may lead to a 1,000 job losses.

UK

The Times – Steel crisis blamed on desire to woo Beijing. Cameron’s industrial policy is being dictated by China, critics claim.

The Guardian – Ministers start hunt for Tata steel buyers. Cameron rules out nationalisation as government response is condemned.

©europeanunion2016