Europe

is that it is not interconnected with Europe

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THE SPANISH ELECTRY RED (REE) He has ruled out A cyber attack as the origin of the blackout that affected the country yesterday. The preliminary cause is pointing to a massive disconnection of renewable energy, especially in the peninsular southwest. This vulnerability of the system, According to RBC Capital Markets in statements to Reutersit is because “the Spanish system depends strongly on solar energy, but lacks storage and a robust backup network.” Isolated from Europe. The European Union has one of the networks more interconnected in the worldallowing countries to import or export electricity in moments of shortage. In fact, just a few days ago, Spain before the renewable boom had to export energy to Portugal and France. However, this timely case does not hide a structural underlying problem: the entire peninsula It is still an energy island. Other places where it does work. Denmark has more than 80% of its electricity from wind energy, so the question arises from why it does not suffer blackouts. The answer is in the interconnection, since in case of fall it can import from Germany, Sweden or Norway almost immediately. The Nordic model. Being part of the Nordic electric market or Nord Pool has adopted A flow -based market coupling model to improve network efficiency and facilitate the integration of renewable energy. This system has optimized the flow of energy in the Nordic and Europe a flexibility which allows you to maintain the stability of your electricity network even with a high proportion of renewable energies. The door: France. Spain Only exchange 2.8% of its capacity with France, well below of 15% target established by the European Union for 2030. One of the projects that is in development to improve this situation is underwater interconnection by the Gulf of Bizkaia, which will connect Gatika (Spain) with Cubnezais (France). Managed by INELFE will increase the exchange capacity up to 5,000 MW and is expected to enter into operation in 2028. However, the progress of interconnections has faced obstacles. France has shown reluctance to increase electrical connections with Spain beyond the submarine cable of Biscay, which has generated diplomatic tensions and has slowed the process, According to EFE. Besides, You are using Its nuclear network as a strategic tool to maintain under the level of interconnection of Spain, consolidating its role as dominant node in the European electric flow. In this way, France is allowing its nuclear to “monopolize” part of the export system to central Europe. Facing the future. The blackout highlighted the need to reinforce electrical infrastructure to guarantee system stability, such as Expand the interconnections With other countries such as underwater cable with Italy, maintain plants such as hydroelectric or thermal, and invest in storage technologies, such as Large -scale batteriesthat They replicate the inertia of traditional systems. Image | Pxhere Xataka | What is the “energy zero” and why the supply can go suddenly but it takes hours to recover

Spotify will rise in price this summer in Europe and Latin America, according to FT. Some countries will be out of adjustment

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Everything indicates that Spotify will adjust its prices again. According to Financial Timesthe streaming giant plans a new climb that will affect several countries in Europe and Latin America as soon as this summer. It would be a strategic change that, for the moment, has not been officially announced and that relies on anonymous sources. What seems clear is that the United States would be out of movement. It is not a minor detail: it is its largest market and already lived a price increase in July last year. The scope of the adjustment is not yet confirmed. There is no concrete list of affected countries, but the British medium offers clues that allow anticipating the course. In recent weeks, and almost silently, Spotify has increased its rates in the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In both cases, the price of the individual plan has gone from 10.99 to 12.99 euros per month. For the rest of Europe and Latin America, however, there is talk of a more gradual approach. According to these same sources, the company would be considering a rise of only 1 euro in the individual plan. It would be a more content adjustment, probably to avoid any adverse reaction in markets where there are millions of customers. In the case of Spain, the history of upload is limited. For more than ten years, the individual plan remained at 9.99 euros. It was not until July 2023 when Spotify applied its first adjustmentraising the price up to 10.99 euros. If the rumors are confirmed, the new price could be at 11.99 euros per month from this summer. It should be remembered that in the United States, where the climb is already a fact, users are currently paying $ 11.99 a month for the same plan. It will be necessary to see how the market reacts if this new round of increases is formalized. And above all, what countries are finally included. At the moment, the only certain thing is that Spotify moves. And it is not an isolated movement. All this happens at a key moment for the company. Spotify has just registered benefits after 18 years accumulating losses. A milestone that marks a before and after in its financial strategy. Besides, The rumors point to work in a new subscription that would finally include audio in high fidelity. A long -awaited promise that could be part of the redesign of its offer to justify the new price positioning. Images | Emojisprout emojisprout.com | Eyestetix Studio In Xataka | Modern algorithms decide for us to see. YouTube is the last redoubt where the algorithm does not choose for you

Europe has focused on stopping Chinese electric cars. The true threat is in its cars with combustion engines

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He returned with other motor partners of the motor of the presentation of a new model or of a first contact. I do not remember the car that was but it was at Frankfurt airport, almost a second house for whom we have entered this world, and we were in 2023. I receive a call from a phone that I didn’t have saved. To the answer, the person on the other side of the phone is presented and explains that Chery, the company that owns Omoda and Jaecoo, are finalizing the details for their first events in Spain. The Chinese group was going to land In our country. It was already an open secret But I talk a few minutes on the phone to learn more details. They explain that they are very clear: they will enter the market with combustion vehicles. It is not that its bet is clearly focused on low ranges but they are sure that their arrival in Europe should be through models with thermal motors. The electric car is perhaps the future (and yes, they have options saved to launch) but for now they will focus on gasoline and hybrid vehicles because they are still preferred by European customers. Although logical, the speech did not stop crashing. It is not that they rejected the electric car but they were clear that they were going to follow that very own philosophy of Toyota to sell in each market what the client asks. And the client, in Europe, continues to prefer the hybrid car or the pure combustion. When Omoda made his long in Spain, we explained that he had MG as a reference. Saic’s company is the Chinese manufacturer who More cars is selling And, in fact, this Chinese state group is the most successful in our continent at the moment. His MG4 Electric It is one of the great supervants because by size and autonomy it was much cheaper than its rivals. However, Saic knew how to smell very well what the client claimed. The MG4 Electric is especially interesting in markets such as Spanish, where we prioritize cheap cars. But for all those who do not want or cannot afford the jump to the electric car, the former British company has offered a good handful of pure combustion products that have managed to place themselves in the lower market. And the results have not been waiting. We looked at the electric car … Given that electric offensive of Chinese cars for Europe, with the MG4 Electric leading a landing to which Byd has joined as a great reference between plug -in vehicles, child, Xpeng, Dongfeng, Leapmotor and, more discreetly, Chery (omoda/Jaecoo), the European Union decided to lift commercial barriers to the cars arrived from the cars arrived from the Asian country. Those commercial barriers are translated, Since October 2024in specific tariffs on each company, taking into account the alleged help that the brand has received from the Chinese State and the degree of collaboration they have shown with the European authorities in their investigation. The Tariffs apply to electric cars And even those brought by European companies from there as a result of their association with Asian companies. But those commercial barriers They do not apply to combustion vehicles nor to the plug -in hybrids that is where, truly, China is hurting. We do not know if it is part of a strategy not to make tariffs a direct attack on the Asian country or because from Europe it was considered that the real danger was in the Chinese and cheap Chinese car and that local businesses could fight with low -end combustion cars. But the truth is that where they begin to get a part of the cake is exploit those cars with combustion engines. For proof, the SAIC growth presented in Europe under different brands. According to ACEA dataThey sold in Europe 157,340 units in 2024, 6.7% more. A figure that places them above Jaguar-Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Honda. Its market share stood at 1.5%. And in what we have this yearSaic keeps making his way. In what we have been registered 52,508, a third of the cars that placed in 2024, with a 52.3% growth in the first quarter of the year. At the moment, he has left Suzuki behind, who had it ahead in 2024, he is shot by Volvo, and his market share has grown up to 1.9% (compared to the 1.2% last year at this point at this point). As for the other Chinese companies, we have no data at European level. We do know that Chery has announced That Omode and Jaecoo will extend to a total of 19 markets this year. So far, they only operated in eight markets but in 2025 we will see them. With this extension they expect to sell about 10,000 units when April ends and reach 75,000 units at the end of the year. It is a small figure with respect to what we have seen with omoda but will allow them to place themselves above companies such as Honda or Mazda if the figures end up closing. In Spain, Registrations reflect that Omode is already selling almost as much as Fiat, accumulating 2,539 units in what we have been over, and surpassing brands fully settled in our country such as Honda or Suzuki. In addition, Chery adds 1,945 units of Jaecoo and 1,154 of Ebro. Right now, their more than 5,700 units sold as a group place them in a competitive position despite only offering a handful of models and without having received the options with eco or zero emissions stickers They are a claim. With very little time in the market, the Jaecoo 7 plug -in hybrid is already the fourth most selling model in our country. For its part, Byd already sells more than Tesla In our country (3,809 units compared to 3,169 units of Elon Musk cars) but focuses the bulk of its registration on … Read more

Hermès already has an answer to the US tariffs and the Chinese offensive: to manufacture more in Europe

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The luxury products market is living a silent transformation marked by counterpoints such as fever by Hermès bags as an active financial, and the uncertainty of tariff policies imposed by the US. The French house has experienced such a high demand that, even with endless waiting lists, its bags remain desire on all continents. Given such success, Hermès has drawn her strategy for the coming years: to open four new workshops in France, increase your production of bags and transfer to the US client the cost of tariffs. The anti -barred shield: “Made in France”. Unlike other industries, the luxury industry has not considered transferring its workshops to the US to avoid tariffs. Far from that, Hermès maintains her commitment to “fact in France” and European artisanal manufacturing announcing the opening of four new factories in France in the next four years. With this decision, Hermès is positioned with other luxury brands such as Ferrari, which Does not contemplate In no scenario move its production outside Italy, or Rolls-Royce, which also You will expand Your Goodwood facilities. William Susman, managing director of the Cascadia Capital Investment Bank, assured to The New York Times That this same reaffirmation in its essence is common to many other European luxury brands: “In each conversation that I have had with customers during the last five to ten days, not a single person talked about building a factory in the United States.” Common Front: Money is not a problem. Both Hermès and Ferrari and Rolls-Royce have a client profile with high purchasing power and enormous appreciation for the quality of luxury products. That has made the three brands have adopted the same position on the scenario of uncertainty: maintain production in Europe and transfer the extra cost caused by tariffs to their customers. Assume that an increase of 10% or 20% in the final price will not be an obstacle to its millionaire customers. “The price increase that we are going to implement will be only for the US, since it aims to compensate for tariffs that only apply to the US market, so there will be no price increases in the other regions,” said Eric du Halgouët, Executive Vice President of Finance of Hermès, in statements collected by CNBC. Four factories and thousands of jobs. The new Hermès workshops will be located in different regions of France: Colombelles, isle d’Eguegnac, Loupes and Charleville-Mézières. Each of these workshops will have about 260 specialized artisans, which means the creation of more than 1,000 New jobs In the coming years. Hermès forms these artisans in their own school, the École Hermès des Savoir-Fairewhich qualifies them to manufacture their boring bags and products. According to The specialized medium Wwd, The Colombian workshop, the factory will be built on an old industrial land and is expected to be operational in 2028 and will be especially dedicated to producing its Kelly and Constance bags. The Isle d’Eguegnac plant will open its doors at the end of this year, while those of Loupes and Charleville-Mézières will do so in 2026 and 2027, respectively. The delicate balance of scarcity. Hermès’s sustained growth is reflected in her Financial results of the first quarter of 2025. The company billed 4,129 million euros, 8.5% more than the previous year and registered a 10% increase in sales of leather items compared to the previous year. This performance has allowed Hermès to overcome LVMH as The most valuable luxury company in the worldwith a capitalization of 276.3 billion dollars. The strategy of maintaining limited production, based on exclusivity, has proven profitable and sustainable in the luxury sector, which has used it in all its versions. For this reason, Hermès cannot simply manufacture its products and must very carefully monitor the increase in units that puts on the market to preserve the value of those that have already been sold. “We try to increase production at a fast pace, but we stay in the artisanal model, which in our opinion is synonymous with quality. We are not going to start looking for increases in productivity,” said Wwd Guillaume de Seynes, executive vice president of the manufacturing division and capital investments of Hermès. Deminting myths: production is not in China. If you have opened Tiktok or Instagram in recent weeks you will have seen any of the thousands of Chinese influencers videos They have risen to their profiles, ensuring that Hermès and LVMH bags are manufactured in China by $ 1,400, but these brands multiply their price by ten. This is an argument widely used by the imitations market and the “top blanket”, which is A whole industry in China. The reality is very different. The true added value of these brands lies in artisanal production in Europe. Hermès manufactures your leather bags and products in The 20 workshops that he has in France. LVMH, meanwhile, He does it in workshops located in France, Spain, Italy and the United States. Their watches are manufactured exclusively in watch workshops in Switzerland, while the jewelry lines of the signature of Bernard Arnault are created in France, Italy and Switzerland. In Xataka | Luxury brands hoped to land in the US after their fall in China: tariffs have cut their wings before taking off In Xataka | How Louis Vuitton makes money: of the unattainable luxury to mass luxury Image | Hermès (Alfred Piola, Kevin Scott)

The production of renewables in Europe is so strong that it is forcing nuclear power plants to work

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In Europe there is a division around the closure of nuclear. Some countries have already disconnected them at all, such as Germanyor are in the process of doing so, like Spain. Meanwhile, France keeps them as a pillar of its electrical system. However, the arrival of spring has evidenced something that was suspected: the rise of renewables have forced nuclear plants to stop. A lot of light and little demand. The production of renewable energy has saturated the electrical networks in several European countries. According to Bloombergthe immediate consequence has been the fall in electricity prices, which on holidays (Easter and Easter) and with low demand have even become negative. In Spain, five of the seven nuclear reactors They stopped or reduced their burden And, in the case of France, its electric company, known by its acronym EDF, has cut its atomic production in an average of 4GW daily in March, double a year earlier. Negative prices When talking about negative price it may seem that electricity will be free, but it is not. This means that the electric market, based on time auctions, can yield negative prices when there is too much supply and very little demand. In those hours, producers or electrical companies have to pay to place their energy on the network. Renewables, which have legal priority of access, continue to function. On the other hand, nuclear cannot lower their power so quickly and operate in these conditions, especially in countries such as Spain where the tax burden has increased by 71% since 2019, According to PWC. The clean boom. The rise of renewables is promoting many countries to operate with energy 100% cleanrecently Spain He joined this new coverage. Yes, it is true that the increase in installed total capacity has grown vertiginously in a few years, reaching almost 700 GW According to the Global Energy Review 2025. In this commitment to clean generation systems, storage systems also enters batteries either Reservoirsin addition to creating A good electric structuredespite the fear of companies around The uncertainty of the closure of nuclear. What about nuclear energy? If the nuclear operate less hours and with low prices, they lose profitability. And if they also have to stop and restart due to demand variations, costs rise and technical risks increase. As has detailed The New York medium, France, with 70% of its electricity still of nuclear origin, is seeing how that technical rigidity collides with a system in transformation. EDF has warned that frequent variations hinder maintenance and routine tests. Spain already has put closing date To all its reactors between 2027 and 2035, and other countries follow that path. Forecasts According to Staffan Bergh, chief analyst of Bodecker Partners: “We will see many more hours with negative prices, and these will only increase during spring.” In this line the analyst explained that it is not necessary to install more renewable, but in knowing how to use them well, manage them better and complement them with intelligence. Image |Nuclear forum Xataka | A Tesla co -founder has done business with tariffs: it extracts rare land from old batteries without going through China

Vestager stopped the mergers but Ribera wants to bless them. Europe plays its last letter in telecos

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Two months have passed since Financial Times He advanced, on the eve of MWC 2025the plan of the new European Competition Commissioner, Teresa Ribera, to rewrite the rules of the game. That short period has been enough to certify that Ribera does not look like much Margrethe Vestager. Or at least he wants to evolve his legacy not only to continue it. Where the Danish saw concentration, the Spanish sees competitive muscle. Vestager raised the low price dogma to legislative totem. Ribera, in his first three months in office, added three axes: Innovation. Reinvestment. And environmental and social criteria. He has also made it clear that the price will no longer be the only Lighthouse in Brussels. The underlying message: a company that breathes can think about the future. An asphyxiated, no. Why is it important. This year’s MWC was the one chosen by European telecos to close ranks and launch a joint proclamation: consolidation or inconsequence. Europe has 34 operators for 450 million citizens. The United States has 3 operators for 335 million. The stock market value of telecos in Europe has fallen 40% since 2015 with a slight recovery in recent months. Without scale it is difficult for investments to arrive for the 5g Stand-Alonethe universal fiber or the AI ​​at the network level. European digital sovereignty is settled on mud. And Ribera lands coinciding with the Clean Industrial Deal and the Draghi report claiming “continental champions” capable of standing face and Chinese. He Timing It couldn’t be better for those who want to move. The name. Marc Murtra, about to fulfill his symbolic first hundred days in front of Telefónica, has smelled the blood: Everything is ready to go to sign smaller fish if Brussels open the window. And Ribera is in it. What is cooked. Three keys: Domestic consolidation. Each country could go from four or five large networks to two or three. The reason: Relieve Capex duplicities. Cross -border mergers. The real objective. The union Telefónica-Vodafone He has put on the table again. AND Digi Figure as tactical piece. Repricing stock market. With a regulator predisposed to bless size and investment, telecos could sell a growth story, not just survival. Narrator’s voice: Investors love growth stories and flee from survival. Between the lines. Ribera speaks of “being able to reinvest” and “lead green standards.” Translated from Bruslense: Yes to the scale, but with environmental and social counterparts. The turn fits with the new Brussels compass: Geoeconomy over dogma Low Cost. And the clock runs: Nvidia, Openai or Tesla will not wait for Europe to decide how much their cables cost. The next. If Ribera converts the words into an official guide before summer, 2025 could close with the first large paneurpeo marriage of the decade. And with the definitive confirmation that the Vestager era – define the competition only for the price of the minute – already belongs to the history books. In Xataka | 100 years after his birth, Telefónica faces the greatest existential dilemma in its history: what wants to be older Outstanding image | European Commission, Xataka

Europe is so desperate for housing that there are already people asking for rehabilitating factories like houses

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More than the progress of the economy, unemployment, emigration, politics or corruption. If there is something really We are worried To the Spaniards, something that takes away our dream, is housing. The CIS says it in Your latest barometerbut it is something that is perceived in the street: only a few weeks ago tens of thousands of people mobilized in almost 40 cities to show their discontent anger precisely because of the escalation in the price of houses, with rentals Beating records and the cost of m2 Nailing with the values ​​prior to the real estate bubble. With that backdrop (which It is not exclusive from Spain) There are those Believe That part of the solution to the housing crisis is right before our noses: the thousands of square kilometers of unused industrial areas distributed throughout Europe. “Urban Regeneration”. Proof that housing worries, in Spain (and many other countries), is that every time studies, comparative and statistics are published that either put the thermometer to the sector or venture to propose solutions. Does A few months It was done by the Systemiq company with a report that insists again and again on the potential of the “Urban Regeneration” To alleviate, at least in part, the housing problem of Europe, where prices in cities They have climbed until hinder access to homes. And what does “urban regeneration” understand? “Transforming infra -utilized land and obsolete buildings into compact and dynamic places to live, work and do business,” he explains The study Before stressing that it is “a strategy that could relieve the housing crisis in Europe and at the same time revitalize its cities.” That last nuance is not accidental. The company recalls that it grows above all the interest in housing located in urban environments, which leaves cities in the face of the challenge of finding the ground with which to cover the demand. A fact: 19,000 km2. Systemiq’s study is just that: a study. With their biases, strengths and weaknesses. However, it is interesting to approach an approach that over the last years It has sounded In the sector and even big promotions residential And it is among other things because it provides some illustrative figures. According to the authors of the report, in Europe there are approximately 19,000 square kilometers of “abandoned industrial land” and between 200 and 300 km2 of offices “available for conversion in attractive areas”. All this, the firm recalls, while in Europe you seek precisely new developments. “The demand for housing in dynamic cities is booming, just like that of mixed and alternative spaces, such as coexistence developments or new types of work spaces,” The technicians add of system. Enough for more than 10 years. “The appropriate locations for urban regeneration could satisfy most, if not the totality, the demand for new buildings provided in Europe for the next 10-15 years and would save cities about 20% of the planned infrastructure costs,” The report abounds. Its authors even throw themselves with some calculations and projections in the future, although without specifying how they get to them. In his opinion, “a fraction” of that wide area, around 300 square kilometers of empty offices and commercial premises and between 1,000 and 1,500 km2 of “vacant lots”, to meet the European land demand for a decade or decade and a half view. The key would go to allocate to spaces for housing and commerce. The report It also estimates that during that same period a total considerable investment would be reached that would be around four or six billion. Is it a new proposal? No. The country appointment For example, a 2024 JLL manager report that identifies 20,529 km2 of wasteland in Europe that could be used for that purpose. “His analysis suggests that the re -urbanization of a small part of those lands in the region would create between 713,750 and 1,247,500 new homes,” Comment to the newspaper Laura Nolier, from the Ginkgo firm. A few years ago the organization Habitat for Humanity He also performed A study in which he explored the potential of empty spaces to face the lack of housing. As remember The Archdily Specialized Website, Habitat technicians chose the United Kingdom as a pilot study area. His study ended up locating about 7,000 commercial and businesses in England, Scotland, Wales that were in the hands of local authorities and carried out without use for more than a year. Only empty office spaces could be transformed, according to their calculations, in more than 16,000 residential units. Commercial disuse spaces would give for 3,500. Beyond the theory. Not everything is theory. There are public administrations and promoters who have already opted to give a second life to empty buildings. In recent years, both inside as Out of Spain They have converted into homes office buildings, quarters, temples, Factories of different guys either Wineries that they have ended up reopening like luxury residences. Any initiative has even gone further by raising the transformation of an entire industrial zone into a residential area, as is the case In Vallecas PuenteMadrid. Are all advantages? No. Urban regeneration projects or give a second chance to industrial spaces and offices for homes to also face challenges. Both urban and architectural, normative and bureaucratic. In fact there are projects that directly They stay along the way and others end with a questionable result, such as Terminus Housein Essex, a rehabilitated office building as a block of floors. For frustration of his tenants, he ended up with tiny apartments and away from basic services. Opportunities and challenges. “A change in land use may imply urban impact studies, municipal approval and compliance with specific regulations. Depending on the city, there may be restrictions,” warns in The country Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado, of the promoter Corporation Vía Agora. To those challenges are added the licenses, certifications, the need for technical studies, the possibility that the soil is contaminated and, the case, the adaptation of constructions that were originally thought for residential use. Another key … Read more

Europe is caught in gas contracts with Russia. Now look for a way to break them without paying the price

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This winter has ended with an alarming fact for gas in Europe: German reserves are practically empty, 7% of their capacity. Energy expert Javier Blas He explained That the winter of 2024-25 has left the very low gas inventories, and the cost to fill the natural reservoir of Rehden amounts to almost 2,000 million euros. In addition, the continent has entered the discount timesince the European Union has demanded that the deposits be filled at 90% before November 1. However, the European Union has made a decision to close the door forever to the dependence of Russian gas. Close the tap to Russia. From Brussels different legal routes are being explored so that European companies can terminate long -term Russian gas contracts without paying large fines to Moscow. According to Financial Timesthe European Commission has been studying the possibility of declaring force majeure to terminate contractual obligations and not have to pay additional rates. The Russian supply. After three years of war that still persists, this situation has caused a great energy crisis in Europe, reducing its dependence on Russian gas. Currently, the Kremlin supply represents 11% of the block compared to almost two fifths at the beginning of the conflict, such as They have detailed in the British environment. From a more economical vision, the EU paid 21.9 billion euros Russia for oil and gas between February 2024 and February 2025, According to the Clean Energy and Air Research Center. And they continue to depend. Russian liquefied natural gas volumes (LNG) They have increased significantly In the last three years. In addition, Russia has continued to export gas disguised under azeri flag or through relations with two member countries, Hungary and Slovakiawhich has generated tensions within the EU. As He has pointed out The Financial Times, there are important ports such as those of France, Spain and Belgium that continue to receive loads of Russian LNG, showing the complexity of cutting energy ties immediately. Until two years. The European Commission has promised a final roadmap to completely cut energy ties with Russia before 2027. Although its publication has already been delayed twice, the document is expected for May 6, According to Reuters. This delay responds to the conversations reactivated by the United States about the future of the Nordstream gas pipeline, which connects Germany and Russia. The project has gained importance amid the efforts of the Trump administration, since they want look for an approach that implies them in gas transmission. Exploring alternatives … The commission, that He has denied To comment to the Financial Times, you are looking for new supplies. United States, which It takes time exporting LNG to Europehas been profiled as the largest supplier and is seen as a viable replacement. However, with the tariff war in dispute Everything will be to see. But there is an unexpected exit. Continuing with the tariffs, which have been intensified in A bilateral war Between China and the United States. The Asian giant He has found A strategic opportunity: take advantage of contracts signed with American gas to resell it to Europe. This phenomenon has exposed how the global mechanisms of energy trade do not respond to political strategies, but to market logics. An uncertain future. Although the date is marked in 2027, the road map has already suffered several delays and remains surrounded by political and commercial unknowns. In addition, the growing tension with the United States and The lack of a really solid energy plan they leave a European Union corrula, reacting too late before the agency with Russia. Image | Brian Cantoni Xataka | The price of gas has already reached 2022 levels. Now the European industry depends on one thing: that the cold does not return

The US tariffs threaten the massive arrival of ridiculously cheap Chinese products. Europe has a plan

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First was the United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Stamer, which made clear The posture of the nation in front of the tariff war. China was more ally than enemy against the turbulence of the global market. Then It was Pedro SánchezPresident of Spain, the one that manifested in the same line. Somehow, both leaders showed that, in the commercial war, there are different interpretations In Europe, and that happens while a word next to China, which will test the regulations of the old continent: dumping. The challenge after tariffs. For years, Europe has seen in China a formidable economic competitor, but many media such as The New York Times They have begun to slide a fear of the escalation of commercial tensions between Beijing and Washington, and how it can transform that challenge into A threat potentially destabilizing for the continent. As? The imposition of Extraordinary tariffs On the part of Trump has raised a commercial wall that prevents Chinese exports from addressing its traditional market, which has lit alarms in Brussels due to the possibility that an avalanche of subsidized products, from electric vehicles to industrial steel, be redir massively to Europe. With key industries such as those of France, Germany or Italy already in a vulnerable situation, the fear is that the so -called dumping (the practice of selling below the cost to eliminate local competition) intensifies until eroding the foundations of European production. Of course, it does not have to be so, and Europe has “weapons” to avoid it. Diplomatic balancing. One thing does seem true. The European bloc is caught between two fires: on the one hand, the pressures of American protectionism and, on the other, the need to contain the Chinese overproduction without triggering an open conflict. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has tried articulate an answer that combines firmness with pragmatism: he has promised to “closely monitor” the Chinese merchandise flowhas created a working group to detect dumping practices and has warned that Europe “cannot absorb excess global capacity.” Her messidated position was applauded by analysts, who consider her the best way to avoid an economic disaster. However, The Times explained that the unit of the continent can begin to show cracks in the face of the magnitude of the problem. Here are the words we commented at the beginning of leaders like Sánchez or Starmer betting on a greater approach to China as a shield in the face of the turbulence of the global market, while other EU members cry out for a more energetic defense of the European industrial fabric. Europe has a plan. The truth is that, in the face of the catastrophic image that has been warned in many media, for years the European Union has adopted a rigorous regulatory approach to contain the massive entry of Chinese products in your market. As? Through A combination of tariff measures, technical controls and non -tariff barriers that act as effective filters against dumping and unfair competition. Among the most outstanding tools are Antidumping research carried out by the European Commission, which have resulted in more than 100 current measures against Chinese products, covering from stainless steel to electric bicycles. In addition, the Rasff system (Fast food and feed alert network) constantly monitor the entry of non -compliant products with European quality and safety standards, blocking dozens of shipments every year. And the reach. To this is added the strict compliance with the regulation called Like Reachwhich requires any well imported good to register and evaluate its chemical substances, a firewall that prevents numerous Chinese industrial products from freely accessing the community market. Thanks to this normative network and its ability to activate ex officio investigations, the EU not only responds to concrete threats, but can also proactively dissuade the entry of goods that They do not meet the standards Europeans, configuring a legal wall that, until now, has effectively mitigated the wave of Asian overproduction. An asymmetric relationship. That said, and beyond the immediate context, the bottom of the problem may lies in an unbalanced commercial relationship. The Times told that Europe has accumulated a record deficit with China, one that in 2023 reached the 332,000 million dollarsfed by state subsidies that distort the market and by regulatory barriers that hinder the access of European companies to the Chinese market. Plus: the European Commission already has classified China as a “systemic rival” And bilateral relations have cooled in recent years, especially after Beijing support to Moscow during the invasion of Ukraine. European commissioners have expressed directly Your concern During recent diplomatic visits to China, demanding more equitable conditions and voluntary restrictions on exports of subsidized goods. Opportunistic messages and alliances. Despite these disagreements, China has intensified its Diplomatic offensive and media to present themselves as a strategic partner of Europe against chaos generated by Washington. From sponsored articles In influential media of Brussels until Official Communities That omit real tensions, Beijing tries to cultivate an image of stability and collaboration. In parallel, he has accepted Resume negotiations With the EU around European tariffs to Chinese electric vehicles, while minimizing disagreements. Meanwhile, European spokesmen respond cautiousspeaking of “reviews” or “continuation of conversations”, without offering clear adhesion or a firm rejection. An ambiguity that reflects not only the complexity of the situation, but also, perhaps, the fragility of a common strategy within the block. A crucial summer. So things, and with a photo that only points to A fear If we rely on European events and norms, the immediate future of European commercial policy could play a key game in the coming months. One is scheduled UE-China Summit For the second half of July, a meeting in which both blocks will try to soften friction before the impact of US tariffs is translated into an overestrial crisis in the European market. At the moment, the EU seems to have adopted a containment strategy: to endure the pull, maintain the balance between firmness and flexibility, and prevent the … Read more

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe has been closed by the war in Ukraine. Now the United States wants to reopen

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At the beginning of the Ukraine War, the first thing the Russian Army did It was taking control of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe: Zaporiyia. During these three years, the Kremlin has established a military base and has been the objective of attacksso it has remained closed. Recently, the United States has decided to reopen this booty. Your part of the cake. There was no agreement with any of the two parties around To the rare earthsnow the focus is positioned in the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. In a telephone call, Trump suggested to Zelenski that the United States could help to manage, and possibly possess, Ukraine nuclear energy plants, according to a statement by the US presidential administration to which which has had access Reuters. All this to guarantee the energy security of Ukraine. The problem with “property.” From the same medium They have pointed out that the problem came with the word: “property.” The Ukrainian president has revealed that he would have no problem that the US investing money, only in the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant to rebuild it once again recover it. However, reject in a resounding way Give the central because they do not want to lose energy sovereignty in the country. A strategic central. The control of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe has reinforced Moscow’s power over the region, making it an energy pressure tool. According to The Washington PostRussian Foreign Minister has declared that the transfer of the central to any other nation is “impossible”, a position that highlights the strategic importance. A great loss for Ukraine. The largest nuclear plant in Europe is a great booty of war. In fact, for the nation of Zelensky it has meant a very large loss, since before the occupation it represented 20% of the country’s electrical production, such as They have reported in The Washington Post. In addition, the Ukrainian nation is now forced to allocate its limited resources to avoid a nuclear crisis. However, since the Russian occupation it has remained closed. Security problems From the closure of the plant, both parties They have accused mutually bombarding her repeatedly, so they had to close it for the risk of attacks and the growing concern for the integrity of cooling systems. Until today, the nuclear power plant has not produced energy again and has been negatively reflected in the Ukrainian electricity network. Can it be reactivated? The central was operated by Energoatom a Ukrainian public society. Its executive director, Petro Kotin, has warned in an interview for The Guardian on the problems that exist safely restart the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant. The senior executive stressed that there is a lack of trained personnel, the damage to infrastructure and the insufficiency of cooling water, after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in 2023 reduced access to the water of the Dnieper river. In an assumption that Ukraine recovered control of the central, Kotin explained that the restart process would take a long time between two months and two years, depending on the state of the nuclear plant. Moscow’s position. Russia has made it clear that it has no intention of giving control of the Zaporiyia plant and has plans to reactivate the plant, but it has not yet specified when it would happen. According to The Washington Postthe future of the Zaporiyia plant remains one of the main challenges that will define not only the energy balance of the region, but also the course of the Ukraine War. Image | DPA Germany Xataka | A Russian drone has opened one of the greatest engineering works. The problem: it was the sarcophagus of Chernobil reactor 4

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