EUROPE needs to protect its own industries with a “Made in Europe” strategy, EU industry chief Stephane Sejourne said in a newspaper article published on Sunday evening, co-signed by more than 1,100 CEOs and other business leaders.

“Without an ambitious, effective and pragmatic industrial policy, the European economy is doomed to be just a playground for its competitors,” Ms. Sejourne said in the article that was published in newspapers across Europe.

“We must establish, once and for all, a genuine European preference in our most strategic sectors,” the French member of the European Commission said.

Ms. Sejourne’s opinion piece comes ahead of the proposed implementation of the Commission’s Industrial Accelerator Act later this month, which will likely set requirements to prioritize locally manufactured products.

The proposal is an attempt to boost European industries in the face of cheaper imports from China, but has split EU countries.

Governments including France are championing the idea, but others, including Sweden and the Czech Republic, warn that “buy local” requirements could deter investment, raise prices in government tenders and hurt the EU’s competitiveness globally.

Ms. Sejourne said Europe’s best answer “can be summed up in three words”: ‘Made in Europe’.

“The Chinese have ‘Made in China’, the Americans have ‘Buy American’, and most other economic powers have similar schemes, that give preference to their own strategic assets. So why not us?” he said.

“Whenever European public money is used, it must contribute to European production and quality jobs.” — Reuters

BERLIN — Commuters across Germany faced freezing temperatures and empty platforms on Monday as tens of thousands of public transport workers walked off the job in a strike called by trade union Verdi, shutting down bus and tram services in most cities.

Verdi, which represents nearly 100,000 transport workers, called the strike after talks with municipal and state employers over working conditions stalled last week.

The union is demanding shorter shifts, longer rest breaks and higher pay for night and weekend work even as cities grapple with budget constraints.

The walkout affects about 150 municipal transport companies in all but one of Germany’s 16 federal states, including Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen.

One of the largest coordinated actions in local transport sector in years, the strike began as planned, Serat Canyurt, the leading negotiator for Verdi, told rbb radio on Monday, adding that public transport operators were now expected to return to the negotiating table.

COMMUTERS SEEK ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORT IN FRIGID TEMPERATURES
In Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Freiburg, services will grind to a halt for the entire day, union officials said.

Temperatures fell below zero in much of the country, worsening the situation for commuters forced to seek alternative transportation.

Still, Deutsche Bahn said Friday its urban railway S-Bahn trains in cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart, along with long-distance services, would run as normal on Monday as staff were not represented by Verdi.

Talks between Verdi and employer associations have been tense, with union leaders accusing municipalities of seeking to cut benefits and lengthen shifts.

In Berlin, Verdi negotiators said operators wanted workers to fund improvements themselves by giving up sick pay and flexible hours.

The next round of negotiations is scheduled for February 9.

Union leaders warned that further industrial action could follow if employers do not offer significant concessions. — Reuters

SINGAPORE — US Federal Aviation Administration head Bryan Bedford said his agency accepted findings by the US National Transportation Safety Board that a series of systemic failures by the FAA led to a devastating mid-air collision that killed 67 people last year.

The January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was the deadliest US aviation disaster in more than two decades.

The NTSB determined last week that the accident was caused by the FAA’s decision to allow helicopters to travel close to the airport with no safeguards to separate them from airplanes and its failure to review data and act on recommendations to move helicopter traffic away from the airport.

“We don’t disagree with anything that the NTSB has concluded from their investigations. Many of the recommendations have already been put into action. Those that haven’t, we’re going to evaluate,” Mr. Bedford told reporters on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Singapore.

Separately, Mr. Bedford declined to say if the FAA would decertify Canadian-made planes after President Donald Trump threatened last week to do so if Canada did not approve some of US private jet maker Gulfstream’s models.

“Our concern is whether or not sufficient resources are being applied to US products equal to the resources that we’re applying to certify foreign products. So we just want a level playing field,” Mr. Bedford said.

Canadian officials said last week they were working to resolve the dispute after Mr. Trump’s threats to decertify ‌and slap tariffs on Canada-made aircraft sent shares of business jet maker Bombardier down 6% on Friday.

Airline officials said if the US could decertify airplanes for economic reasons, it would give other countries a powerful weapon and could put the entire aviation system at risk.

Mr. Bedford said the FAA was still evaluating a request by Boeing to increase production of its best-selling 737 MAX aircraft from 42 per month to 47 per month. — Reuters

LONDON — Britain’s foreign minister said she would use a visit to Ethiopia on Monday to focus on measures to try to stem rising numbers of migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking to reach the United Kingdom.

Yvette Cooper said job creation partnerships would dissuade people from leaving Ethiopia while stronger law enforcement cooperation was essential to counter smuggler gangs and speed up returns of migrants with no right to stay in Britain.

“We are working together to tackle the economic drivers of illegal migration and the criminal gangs who operate globally, profiting from trading in people,” Ms. Cooper said in a statement.

“That includes new partnerships to improve trade and create thousands of good jobs in Ethiopia so people can find a better life back home instead of making perilous journeys.”

Successive British governments have tried to tackle illegal immigration, an issue which has helped to propel populist campaigner Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party into a commanding opinion poll lead.

Around 30% of people crossing the English Channel on small boat over the past two years were nationals from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan, the British foreign ministry said.

To help boost job creation in Ethiopia, Ms. Cooper is due to sign an agreement with the country to take forward two energy-transmission projects led by Gridworks, a UK investment organization.

She was also due to announce 17 million pounds worth of funding for tackling violence against women and girls, assistance for 68,000 children suffering malnutrition, and for projects working with displaced people. — Reuters

MOSCOW — Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that Moscow continues to support Beijing over Taiwan, state news agency TASS reported on Sunday.

China and Russia have forged close ties in recent years and declared a “no limits” strategic partnership days before Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not renounced using force to bring it under its control. Beijing has offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” model, similar to Hong Kong, though no major political party in Taiwan supports this.

Russia has repeatedly said it opposes Taiwan’s independence in any form and considers the island an inseparable part of China.

“We see that China’s ill‑wishers continue to destabilize the situation in the Taiwan Strait. For our part, I want to reaffirm our consistent and unwavering support for Beijing on the Taiwan issue,” Mr. Shoigu said, according to TASS news agency.

“We proceed from the fact that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China,” he added.

Mr. Shoigu, a former Russian defense minister, arrived in China earlier on Sunday. The Russian Security Council said Mr. Shoigu and Wang Yi would meet to discuss security issues.

Mr. Wang said China and Russia have an “obligation” to practice multilateralism and to advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.

China’s top diplomat called on both countries to maintain close communication on major issues related to bilateral relations, and increase mutual support for each other’s core interests.

China is willing to work with Russia to strengthen strategic communication, deepen strategic coordination and enhance bilateral ties this year, Mr. Wang said.

The trip coincides with talks between Russia, Ukraine, and US officials aimed at ending the almost four-year long conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Mr. Shoigu also met Mr. Wang in December in Moscow. — Reuters