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Commission approves €2.6 billion state aid to RWE for early closure of lignite-fired power plants in Germany

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

The European Commission has found a €2.6 billion German support measure in favour of RWE Power AG (‘RWE') to be in line with EU state aid rules. The aid will compensate RWE for the early phase-out of its lignite-fired power plants in the Rhenish mining area.According to the German coal phase-out law, the use of coal for the production of electricity will have to phase-out by 2038. Germany decided to enter into agreements with the main producers of lignite-fired electricity, RWE and Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG (‘LEAG'), to encourage the early closure of lignite-fired power plants. In 2021, it notified the Commission of its plan to compensate these operators with €4.35bn: €2.6bn was earmarked for the RWE lignite installations located in the Rheinland and €1.75bn for the LEAG installations in the Lausitz. In March 2021, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Germany's plans amounted to state aid. In December 2022, Germany notified to the Commission an amend...

EU agrees 2024 fishing opportunities with Norway and UK worth over €1 billion to EU fishers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

Late on Friday (8 December), the EU reached agreements with Norway and the United Kingdom on fishing opportunities for 2024.The agreement with the UK covers 85 total allowable catches in the Northeast Atlantic. It secures fishing opportunities of almost 388,000 tonnes for the EU fleet, estimated to be worth around €1 billion based on historic wholesale prices, adjusted for inflation.The agreement will contribute to the sustainable management of fish stocks jointly managed by the parties, as well as provide stability and predictability for the respective fleets and operators.The agreement was reached under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) after the fourth annual consultations on fishing opportunities between both parties. The EU based its positions on its legal framework, including sea-basin related multiannual plans. The negotiations were guided by the best available scientific advice on the status of fish stocks. Socioeconomic considerations were ...

Is the secrecy of arbitration enabling behaviour which perverts the course of justice?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

Given the broad and sustained trend toward transparency in the corporate sector, what to make of the privacy and secrecy attached to the increased use of arbitration as a means to settle knotty disputes?The relative merits of arbitration vs. litigation are, of course, by now well-known. As any lawyer could tell you, arbitration offers more flexibility than litigation (at less cost) and can be written into commercial agreements. It also affords a measure of privacy that is impossible to deliver via an open court process. The arbitration process can, for example, help a smaller business keep their secret sauce away from the open market as they settle a dispute. But are some companies now abusing the privacy of arbitration - and the secrecy it promotes - in the search for large awards?Whatever the particulars of pursuing arbitration in any single case, the stakes in aggregate are immense, secret or otherwise. They might not be $50bn immense, as in the famous 2014 Yukos arbitration vs. ...

Harriette Cole: He hasn’t told his therapist about this big problem

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend who drinks a bit too much. He does not get drunk every day, but he does have wine or beer frequently and does not eat as much as he should.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My mom’s rule kept me stuck at home for the holiday break Advice | Harriette Cole: I can see myself skipping class a lot this winter Advice | Harriette Cole: I can’t get my home organized. What am I doing wrong? Advice | Harriette Cole: This person’s remarks are affecting my confidence on the court Advice | Harriette Cole: I’d rather not get a new boyfriend if I can improve my current one I do not want to get into his business too much because he is going through something right now, but his coping mechanisms are not the healthiest. He said that he was seeking therapy, but he has not brought up drinking as one of his concerns.It is not to the point of staging an interventi...

Miss Manners: I’m offended that they think my husband knows best

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’m at a loss. I work full-time in a home improvement business with my husband. We have been working together in this business for 25 years. There’s just the two of us, and we work extremely hard.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Do they think that as doctors they have some special aura? Advice | Miss Manners: I’m taking the high road when it comes to the fruitcake Advice | Miss Manners: Is it vindictive to cross these people off my cookie list because of what they said? Advice | Miss Manners: I wish the cleaning lady wouldn’t openly covet my belongings Advice | Miss Manners: The bride told everybody she’d be selling their gifts I am on site at least 35 hours a week, as well as handling most of the emailing and accounting, half the estimate writing, and all of the scheduling.Obviously, it is crucial that we communicate with the customers before, durin...

Don’t give in to Orbán’s blackmail over frozen billions, warn EU party leaders

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

The heads of Europe’s largest political groups are ready to warn Brussels: Don’t give Hungary billions of euros in frozen funds until the country completely resolves its rule-of-law problems.“We would like to express our deep concern as regards the imminent positive assessment of the Hungarian judicial reforms,” reads a draft letter obtained by POLITICO and due to be signed by the heads of the European People’s Party, the Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe and the Greens. While the letter has not yet been published, people directly aware of the letter at all four parties confirmed their leaders had signed or planned to sign it.According to senior EU officials, the European Commission plans to unblock €10 billion in frozen funds for Hungary ahead of a key gathering of leaders this week where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is threatening to block a major package of European financial aid for Ukraine, as well as the opening of accession talks to...

The price tag of COP28’s renewable energy pledge

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

COP28 wrapped on Wednesday with officials touting a pledge to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030. It even came twinned with a vow to double global energy-saving efforts over the same period. Predictably, the promise came with some high-flying rhetoric. COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber, the oil CEO helming the talks, claimed the goal “aligns more countries and companies around the North Star of keeping 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach than ever before,” referring to the Paris Agreement target for limiting global warming.But are the flashy pledges as ambitious as they sound? POLITICO crunched the numbers and here’s what we found: While the renewable energy target is well within reach, progress on energy efficiency has been a lot slower. Countries would need to cut their energy intensity — the amount of energy used per unit of GDP — at least twice as fast between 2023 and 2030 as they did in previous years, which calls for major investments and substantial ...

Climate summit makes ‘historic progress’ — but the world still can’t quit oil

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Climate talks in Dubai ended with a deal to curb the use of fossil fuels that was both historic and 30 years too late.The two-week conference, held in the oil-rich desert kingdom of the United Arab Emirates and presided over by an oil CEO, brought two competing realities into a painful collision. The planet is overheating, yet humanity remains inextricably reliant on coal, oil and natural gas.The talks ended on Wednesday with a deal among almost 200 countries that committed to “transitioning away from fossil fuels,” notably by speeding up that shift before 2030. But the agreement also appeased oil-rich Gulf states by explicitly sanctioning those fuels’ use during the transition. And organizers gaveled it through so hastily that representatives for vulnerable island nations, who had a series of misgivings about the text, had yet to enter the room.Still, leaders of the U.N. summit and representatives of major governments were quick to endorse the nonbindi...

4 takeaways as the Chicago Bulls drop a second-straight loss to the Denver Nuggets — including Nikola Jokić’s early ejection

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

Nikola Jokić didn’t last long in Chicago on Tuesday night.The Denver Nuggets star was just beginning to warm into the game in the second quarter as the Bulls scrabbled to chip down a six-point deficit. When center Nikola Vučević swiped Jokić while contesting a shot with barely a minute left in the first half, the Nuggets center immediately took it up with referee Mousa Dagher while jogging back on defense.The interaction lasted three seconds, but that was enough. Dagher immediately ejected Jokić from the game, drastically shifting the tone of the matchup with 1:02 left in the first half.Jokić and Denver coach Michael Malone protested the ejection on the court. On the NBC Sports Chicago home broadcast commentators Adam Amin and Stacey King criticized the decision even though it benefited the Bulls. And Chicago fans weren’t pleased with the decision.Although it wasn’t an official theme night, the game was marketed toward the Serbian comm...

Man rushed to hospital following overnight shooting near Little Italy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:57 GMT

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after an overnight shooting in Toronto’s west end.Emergency crews were called to College Street and Ossington Avenue around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.Police say a man was gunned down in the middle of the intersection. Paramedics tell CityNews the victim was rushed to hospital with serious injuries and is now in stable condition.The shooter was last seen running southbound on Ossington. No other suspect information has been made available.The intersection of College and Ossington is closed for the investigation.