Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz unveiled a joint plan to push regulatory simplification, stronger industrial policy and closer cooperation on energy, defence and migration

International News via Reuters:

Germany and Italy pledged on Friday to coordinate within the EU to promote deregulation of industry, a sign of the bloc’s two biggest manufacturers exploring closer alignment as their interests diverge from those of members including France.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz unveiled a joint plan to push regulatory simplification, stronger industrial policy and closer cooperation on energy, defence and migration.

The two governments said Europe must strengthen its ability to act in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and wider global challenges, while boosting growth and resilience in the EU’s industrial base.

Berlin and Rome see their industrial strength increasingly eroded by China and challenged by EU regulations, notably the so-called Green Deal which has upended the automobile market.

“Today I believe Italy and Germany are closer than ever,” Meloni said, speaking at a news conference alongside Merz, adding that the EU’s ecological transition had “brought our industries to their knees” and empowered China.

Recent transatlantic tensions have also highlighted policy gaps with France, whose President Emmanuel Macron pushed this week for a tough line against Washington. Germany and Italy, the EU’s two biggest exporters to the United States, have been more cautious in public.

Though Meloni’s party has roots in the far right, Merz sees her as a pragmatic ally who shares his focus on protecting Europe’s industrial base, such as managing U.S. pressure over Greenland without escalation.

“During this eventful week, the two of us have spoken with each other almost every day about how to deal with the difficult issue involving Denmark and Greenland,” Merz said.

SLOW MOVING EUROPE SLIPPING BEHIND

In their 19-page plan of action, Berlin and Rome called for a simplification of rules within the 27-nation EU and urged “legislative and regulatory self-restraint” to help cut red tape.

The two nations backed deeper single-market integration, especially in services, while highlighting industrial priorities, including automotive and energy-intensive sectors.

Their bid to improve cooperation underscores growing concern in European capitals that the EU will fall further behind the United States and China on technology, industry and economic security unless member states move in step.

On critical raw materials, they pledged to work together on securing supply chains, looking to counter China’s growing influence on prices. With an eye on cheap Chinese e-retailers, they called for the EU to move to ensure fair competition.

Meloni and Merz said they supported the swift entry into force of an EU trade agreement with South and Central American nations – another issue where they have diverged from Paris, which wants more protection for farmers. They also supported finalising Indo-Pacific trade deals.

The two countries also signed a defence cooperation accord to deepen joint work across land, air, maritime and electronic-warfare systems.

Writing by Crispian BalmerEditing by Peter Graff

Jacques Moretti and his wife Jessica are under investigation for suspected crimes including negligent homicide and the former was detained on Jan. 9 due to a perceived flight risk

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A Swiss court said on Friday that the owner of a bar that caught fire on New Year’s Day could go free after authorities received funds to bail him.

Jacques Moretti and his wife Jessica are under investigation for suspected crimes including negligent homicide and the former was detained on Jan. 9 due to a perceived flight risk. Both of them have voiced grief over the tragedy which killed 40 people and injured over 100 and vowed to cooperate with prosecutors.

The court ordered measures to counter Jacques Moretti’s flight risk which included a 200,000 Swiss Franc ($253,485.42) bail payment and the obligation to report daily to a police station, it said in a statement.

Swiss prosecutors have so far conducted two sets of hearings with the bar owners, currently the only suspects in the case, they said earlier on Friday. The hearings lasted over 10 hours each and covered safety issues and renovations of ‘Le Constellation’ bar, they said.

They have ordered searches, secured evidence and seized assets, they said.

Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by James Mackenzie

If confirmed, a deal including options for about 50 more aircraft on top of the main order could be announced within days as Asia’s largest low-cost carrier pursues a turnaround, the sources said, asking not to be named

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Airbus is closing in on a deal to sell around 100 A220 jets to AirAsia, marking the budget airline’s first foray into regional narrowbody aircraft, industry sources said.

If confirmed, a deal including options for about 50 more aircraft on top of the main order could be announced within days as Asia’s largest low-cost carrier pursues a turnaround, the sources said, asking not to be named. 

Both companies declined to comment.

“We have no announcements to make at this time,” an AirAsia spokesperson said.

Discussions to become the first buyer for a potential high-density, 160-seat version of the A220 first emerged ahead of last year’s Paris Airshow, with Brazil’s Embraer also vying for a chance to break Airbus’ exclusive hold on AirAsia.

Reuters reported last week that Airbus had renewed efforts to close a deal with AirAsia for some 100 A220s, possibly as early as this month.

AirAsia is one of the European planemaker’s biggest customers with more than 350 larger A320-family jets already on order. In July it ordered 50 long-range A321XLR aircraft.

AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes told Reuters last June the airline was ready to broaden its fleet by picking smaller planes to support new destinations.

This week, deputy Group CEO Farouk Kamal told Reuters that AirAsia continued to work with planemakers for regional-type aircraft, as it considers ordering a further 150 jets.

AirAsia has led a boom in low-cost carriers in the region in the past two decades as incomes rose.

However, pandemic travel restrictions crippled the airline’s parent Capital A, prompting Malaysia’s stock exchange to classify it as financially distressed in a measure known as PN17.

Fernandes, who is CEO of Capital A, said in a statement on Friday that the group had finished its PN17 regularisation plan and was “now working towards the uplift”.

Consolidation of all AirAsia-branded aviation businesses under AirAsia X will allow the airline to focus on expanding operations and reducing costs, while Capital A focuses on reviving its finances.

Reporting by Tim Hepher; Additional reporting by Danial Azhar; Editing by Susan Fenton

Geopolitical uncertainty has increased sharply this month, partly on threats by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would take over Greenland and impose punitive tariffs on nations not going along with his plan

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The European Central Bank must be cautious in adjusting policy preemptively to mitigate uncertainty, Austrian central bank chief Martin Kocher told German media outlet Platow in an interview published on Friday.

Geopolitical uncertainty has increased sharply this month, partly on threats by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would take over Greenland and impose punitive tariffs on nations not going along with his plan.

But Kocher said he would be cautious in acting before risks actually materialised, especially if inflation risk were not clearly skewed in one particular direction.

“I would be cautious,” Kocher said. “Some risks can be addressed in advance, but many cannot, because otherwise one commits to a course of action too early and communication becomes difficult.”

He added risks had “shifted slightly to the positive” in the past six months, with slightly stronger growth expectations for the eurozone and stable financial markets.

“Now we have new developments again, but I would not reinterpret the initial situation within a week,” Kocher said.

Markets currently expect no action from the ECB and see steady rates throughout 2026.

Reporting by Balazs KoranyiEditing by Francesco Canepa

Sunday’s deadly collision in Adamuz, Cordoba province, killed 45 in one of Europe’s worst train accidents

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A fracture in the rail appeared to have occurred before a high-speed train derailed in southern Spain last Sunday, rail accident investigating body CIAF said in a preliminary report published on Friday.

Sunday’s deadly collision in Adamuz, Cordoba province, killed 45 in one of Europe’s worst train accidents. A first train belonging to private consortium Iryo derailed and smashed into another oncoming high-speed train from state-owned rail company Renfe.

“Based on the information available at this time, it can be hypothesised that the rail fracture occurred prior to the passage of the Iryo train involved in the accident and, therefore, prior to the derailment,” read the CIAF report, posted on the body’s website.

Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Pietro Lombardi