Volkswagen is considering deeper cost cuts — potentially up to 100,000 jobs and multiple factory closures in Germany. But unlike many global carmakers, VW faces a powerful force: its workers. Backed by strong unions and the unique “Volkswagen Law,” labour has significant influence over the company’s biggest decisions.
European Union - News and Updates
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Volkswagen is considering deeper cost cuts — potentially up to 100,000 jobs and multiple factory closures in Germany. But unlike many global carmakers, VW faces a powerful force: its workers. Backed by strong unions and the unique “Volkswagen Law,” labour has significant influence over the company’s biggest decisions.
The European Union buys nearly a third of Pakistan's exports but how important is Pakistan to Europe?
Western Europe just recorded its hottest June ever, driven by a severe heatwave. The news comes as another heatwave sweeps across Europe this week. As the world's fastest-warming continent, Europe is experiencing more frequent and intense heatwaves.
'Project Firepower': Inside Rheinmetall's gunpowder expansion as Europe races to replenish its ammunition
Scarcity of gunpowder is seen as a choke point for ramping up production of ammunition for militaries, and a barrier for Europe to ensure defense sovereignty
Hidden among forests and farmland beneath the Bavarian Alps, Rheinmetall’s sprawling industrial site feels more like a small village than one of Europe’s most strategically important defense facilities.
Factory buildings are spread across roughly 90 hectares of land as construction crews work on a vast expansion, known as “Project Firepower,” that will transform the site into one of Europe’s largest gunpowder plants.
The quiet surroundings belie the significance of what is being built there. As European governments dramatically increase defense spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the biggest challenges has become producing enough ammunition. And one of the biggest constraints on that effort has been gunpowder.
Gunpowder prices have spiked as the war in Ukraine depleted stockpiles.
“Without gunpowder, it’s impossible to protect our people because at the end of the day, you need gunpowder for ammunition,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach at the Bavarian site on Wednesday. “Without gunpowder, no warhead will go out of the barrel.”
Severe wildfires in Spain and France have forced thousands of people to leave their homes as firefighters struggle to control the flames. In Spain, three wildfires west of Madrid have merged into one massive blaze. Officials said the fire is currently beyond fire-fighters’ ability to fully contain because of extreme heat, strong winds, and dry conditions. Spain’s government has declared a national emergency, with more than 60,000 people in the Madrid region have been affected, with around 30,000 evacuated and others ordered to stay indoors.
Madrid’s regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso called it the worst wildfire in the region’s history. The Military Emergency Unit has been sent to protect towns near El Escorial and other affected areas.
In south-west France, more than 140,000 people have been evacuated as wildfires spread through the Gironde and Landes regions. The Gironde fire has destroyed homes and burned more than 19,000 hectares of forest. Authorities said the fire is unusually powerful and difficult to control because of drought, high temperatures, and strong winds.
French President Emmanuel Macron has sent additional support, including military assistance and help from European countries. Around 50 firefighters have been injured while fighting the flames.
Italy's Interior Ministry has ordered the closure of the country's sea and air borders with Spain, temporarily suspending the Schengen free movement regime between the two countries.
The move was announced on Thursday evening by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini following the arrival of thousands of migrants in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta.
"The temporary suspension of Schengen with Spain is a necessary choice to safeguard the security of our citizens and defend the European borders. A measure provided for by the treaties and made unavoidable today," Tajani wrote on X.
"The migrant crisis in Ceuta reminds us that the management of the Union’s borders is a shared responsibility among our countries, one toward the other. We must work together to prevent uncontrolled migrant flows from entering EU territory, with all the consequent risks and the threat of terrorism, which must be countered without hesitation."
Spain has said the death toll in the Ceuta border crisis with Morocco has risen to 72. The victims include migrants who drowned and others who died in a stampede while attempting to cross into the Spanish enclave. In response to the unprecedented influx, Spanish authorities have begun installing a 500-metre-long containment barrier along the sea border between Ceuta and neighbouring Morocco to curb illegal crossings.
Meanwhile, the European Union will hold emergency talks on Tuesday to discuss the migration crisis in Ceuta. Twenty-two member states have issued a joint letter calling for coordinated action and the strengthening of the EU’s external borders after around 60,000 migrants entered the Spanish enclave from Morocco earlier this week. Spain’s Interior Ministry said most of the migrants have already returned to Morocco, while authorities on both sides continue efforts to restore order and address the humanitarian situation.
Spain to impose border controls against Italy as row over Ceuta migrant influx intensifies
Italy introduced border controls following an influx of about 78,000 migrants from Morocco into the neighbouring Spanish exclave of Ceuta.
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Spain has imposed border controls on all air and sea travel from Italy as a row between the two EU countries intensifies.
The measures - which started at midnight (22:00 GMT) and will last for a month - come a week after Italy introduced similar restrictions following an influx of about 78,000 migrants from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta.
On Friday, Spain demanded Italy reverse its checks by Sunday. Rome said they would stay until at least 15 August - when, it said, Spain "expects a new wave of migration" to hit Ceuta.
The crisis has pitted Spain's socialist leader Pedro Sanchez against Italy's conservative leader Giorgia Meloni - who has long called for stricter EU migration rules.