Trump to seal $10B trade and tech deal during UK state visit
President Donald Trump is set to finalize a major trade and investment deal with the UK during his state visit this week, U.S. officials said Monday. ...
Italy has failed to accelerate its use of EU COVID-19 recovery funds, with government data showing it has spent only about half of the money received so far.
By 2026 Rome is due to have received 194.4 billion euros ($209.87 billion) from the EU's so-called Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), but the government is struggling to put the latest windfall to good use due to red tape and administrative delays.
As of December 2024 Rome had spent 63.9 billion euros of the 122 billion of EU funds it had received since Brussels began disbursing the cash in instalments in 2021, EU Affairs Minister Tommaso Foti said in a statement on Thursday.
When including the seventh instalment worth 18.2 billion euros, for which Italy requested payment to EU authorities at the end of last year, the spending rate stood at 45%, unchanged from June last year.
In late 2022, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni targeted investment of around 108 billion by the end of 2024.
"Around 92% of the entire plan is in the implementation or closure phase," Foti said in a statement.
Opposition parties asked the government for an urgent report to parliament over the implementation of the plan.
However, Meloni's office said Italy was first in Europe for total resources received and number of payment requests formalised.
Rome had hoped to see a major economic boost from the EU cash, but the euro zone's third largest economy has expanded by just 0.7% in each of the last two years, and economists expect a similar rate this year.
Foti said all relevant institutions would make every effort to achieve the objectives needed to unlock the last three instalments worth 54 billion euros.
Italy, which has already revised its recovery plan four times, is also negotiating with Brussels a final overhaul with the aim of replacing or downscaling projects that the government will be unable to complete by the 2026 deadline, with others that could be wrapped up within the allowed timeframe.
Delays affect dozens of projects in areas including the rollout of ultra-fast broadband networks, high-speed train lines and plans to create more affordable childcare.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Music mega-star Taylor Swift and National Football League player Travis Kelce announced their engagement. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married," the couple wrote in a joint Instagram post, alongside photos of Kelce proposing to Swift in a garden of pink and white flowers.
President Donald Trump is set to finalize a major trade and investment deal with the UK during his state visit this week, U.S. officials said Monday. The agreement is expected to bring more than $10 billion in new investments.
Pakistan on Monday urged the UN to suspend Israel, calling for an Arab-Islamic task force to combat "expansionist designs."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday marked the anniversary of the liberation of Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, from enemy occupation.
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
Russian gas supplies to Armenia will be suspended for 10 days beginning from Tuesday due to planned maintenance work on the North Caucasus-Transcaucasia main pipeline in Russia’s Stavropol region,Gazprom Armenia announced on Monday.
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