In brief | 20 September '24

Bloomberg: Tesla could help far right secure win in German state vote

Tesla’s first factory in Europe was supposed to revitalize the region near Berlin with thousands of jobs and millions in extra tax revenue. It succeeded on both those counts, but discontent over the site could still help deliver the state of Brandenburg to the far-right AfD in elections on Sunday (22 September).

Bloomberg: EU’s Von der Leyen pledges €10 billion for flood relief

The sum will come from the EU’s cohesion fund and won’t require co-financing from member states to allow more flexibility, said von der Leyen, as “extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures.”

Guardian: Teresa Ribera: the Spanish deputy PM set to become one of most powerful people in Brussels

Socialist and veteran climate campaigner will be one of six executive vice-presidents in European Commission team.

dpa: French PM has formed government, Paris says weeks after snap election

The political landscape in France remains unstable following the snap parliamentary elections some two and a half months ago, which failed to produce a clear majority or coalition capable of forming a government.

Eurostat: Inland waterway freight transport drops again in 2023

In 2023, the freight transport performance in the EU inland waterways decreased by 4.6% (or 6 million tonne-kilometres) compared with 2022.