EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from Jan. 16 until Jan. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
By Raf Casert
The European Union pushed forward on Tuesday with a major clean tech industrial plan which not only should keep the continent in the vanguard of plotting a greener future but also guarantee its economic survival as it faces challenges from China and the United States.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the outlines for her “Green Deal Industrial Plan” that will make it much easier to push through subsidies for green industries and pool EU-wide projects that are boosted with major funding as the EU pursues the goal of being climate neutral by 2050.
“We know that we have a small window to invest in clean tech and innovation to gain leadership before the fossil fuel economy becomes obsolete,” von der Leyen said.
Von der Leyen used a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos to say that on top of feeding its own industry, the 27-nation bloc will become much more forceful in countering unfair trading practices, if they come from Washington, or more importantly, Beijing.
“We see aggressive attempts to attract our industrial capacities away to China and elsewhere,” she said.
And as it is trying to wean itself of an overdependence on Russia energy since the war in Ukraine started almost a year ago, the EU doesn't want to become as dependent on China for rare earth materials, which are critical to the development of battery storage, hydrogen and wind energy.
“We have a compelling need to make this net-zero transition without creating new dependencies,” von der Leyen said.
Even if the EU has gripes with both Washington and Beijing about being squeezed out of their markets, von der Leyen came down much harder on China in her speech, underscoring she still has hopes of making amends with the Biden administration — with which the EU sorely needs to stand shoulder to shoulder in opposing Russia.
In Brussels too, where EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis had talks with his U.S. counterpart Catherine Tai, both went out of their way to play down the EU’s complaints about the $369 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
“Going our own way is neither efficient nor desirable. Instead, we should create economies of scale across the Atlantic and set common standards,” Dombrovskis said.
Von der Leyen's plan will now become the key driver for debate among the EU's member nations before their 27 leaders meet for a Feb. 9-10 summit on the issue. Before such a plan becomes reality, the EU needs to find a balance on the ability of economic juggernauts like Germany and France to splurge state aid and, on the other side, grant funds to small member states, which have no such firepower.
No specific figures were mentioned, but going on what the United States is putting in its U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and how the EU already waved through 672 billion euros ($727.5 billion) in aid to allow member states to deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, any EU commitment will be massive.
Many EU leaders saw the U.S. act as an attempt to cut European firms out of the lucrative American market for clean energy technology like electric vehicles and excessively favors a “made-in-America” approach that discriminates against European multinationals.
In a letter to EU member states, European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager wrote last week that the U.S. plan “risks luring some of our EU businesses into moving investments to the U.S.”
It underscores a continuing unease in the EU that it will become irrelevant in the economy of the future, as it is squeezed by the U.S. and China.
“As a union, we are not living up to our full economic potential. Our productivity lags behind and fewer and fewer of the biggest firms on the planet are EU-based,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
