Populist parties form EU election bloc
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy PM and leader of the far-right League party, introduced an alliance of four nationalist parties who will contest next month’s European Parliament elections together. Joining: Germany’s AfD, the Danish People’s Party and Finland’s Finns Party. Missing: Marine Le Pen of France’s National Rally and Viktor Orban of Hungary’s Fidesz. Reported by the AFP, DW, Guardian and Politico. More on the European elections in Delano’s April/May magazine.
Fighting approaches Tripoli
Forces loyal to the Benghazi militia leader Khalifa Haftar have reached the suburbs of Tripoli, with an air strike closing the Libyan capital’s airport. Haftar has ignored calls by the EU and UN to halt his offensive. Reported by the BBC, France 24 and Guardian.
US to put Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on terrorism list
Donald Trump said he would classify Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist organisation, increasing economic pressure on the country. Tehran retaliated by designating US military forces a terrorist organisation. Reported by DW, the Financial Times and Reuters.
Washington threatens tariffs over Airbus
The Trump administration proposed adding tariffs on $11bn worth of European goods in response to EU subsidies to the aerospace giant Airbus, which break World Trade Organization rules. Reported by the AFP, DW and Financial Times.
Carmaker makes emissions agreements
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will pay $110m to settle a lawsuit claiming it misled investors over diesel emissions, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. Separately, the Financial Times reported that Fiat Chrysler “has agreed to pay Tesla hundreds of millions of euros so the electric carmaker’s vehicles are counted in its fleet in order to avoid large fines for breaking tough new EU emissions rules.”
Paris wants to add digital tax, cut others
France’s lower house of parliament approved a 3% tax on (mostly American) digital giants, according to the AFP news service. The measure now moves to the upper house for debate. More on digital taxation in Delano’s February/March magazine. Separately, the French prime minister said his government must quickly lower taxes on its citizens, reported the AFP and BBC. The conclusion came out of the “Great national debate” which followed protests by the Gilets jaunes (yellow vest) movement.
Britain to start tech regulator
The British government outlined plans to regulate social media firms, although it has not yet introduced legislation in the UK parliament. Reported by Channel 4 News, Cnet and the Financial Times.
Burgundy passports
The UK has started issuing passports without “European Union” written on the front cover, as reported by the BBC, DW and New European.
Later today
Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank executive boards will, separately, vote on continuing merger talks. The IMF and World Bank start their annual joint Spring Meetings, which runs through Sunday. The Romania Luxembourg Business Forum hosts a conference on “Investing in art & the art of investing” in Kirchberg at 6:30pm.
Looking ahead
Wednesday: Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, will speak at a press conference after an interest rate meeting in Frankfurt.
Snakes in a swamp
Staff at a natural reserve in Florida have caught a 5.2m, 64kg female python, carrying 73 developing eggs, which is believed to be the largest python ever caught in the Everglades. Reported by the Guardian, NPR and Washington Post.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald