Latest news with #ThierryBreton
Euractiv
15-07-2025
- Business
- Euractiv
Defence lobby pushes for ‘bare minimum' €100bn arms fund in next EU budget
The EU's new long-term budget should include €100 billion for defence programmes, ten times the €10 billion assigned right now, the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) said in a position paper out Tuesday. The European Commission will unveil the structure and the figures for its next seven-year budget due to start in 2028 on Wednesday, with the €100 billion figure repeatedly touted as the amount needed to seriously fund a rearmament drive. The €100 billion budget, including an innovation programme, a production boost fund and incentives for joint purchases, with a focus on buying local, 'represents the bare minimum for starting to rebuild Europe's defence industrial capacities after accumulating a defence investment deficit of €600 billion during the decades of the 'peace dividend'," the ASD position document reads, Documents seen in advance of the formal budget publication by Euractiv show the Commission is planning on merging all defence industry programme with other funds aimed at boosting strategic sectors, notably in tech and those favouring EU-made products and procurement. The €10 billion in the EU's current budget for the arms industry goes on ammo production, innovation under the European Defence Fund and procurement incentives. EU countries altogether spent €326 billion on defence in 2024 . By way of comparison, the US Department of Defense pitched nearly three times as much for next year, a whopping $961.6 billion (€818 billion). The first one to raise the €100 billion figure, was former Defence Commissioner Thierry Breton. Since then, his replacement, Andrius Kubilius, along with Saab CEO Micael Johansson and several Eastern European capitals have also pushed the figure. For French EPP MEP Christophe Gomart, defence should make up 5% of the next seven-year budget, which works out at roughly €91 billion. Defence could even rise to €100 billion, he told Euractiv, by reducing the EU's humanitarian aid or scaling down the bloc's diplomatic network. EU countries could also factor cohesion funds into their defence expenditure, he added. Charles Cohen contributed to reporting. (jp)
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk Burns Exiting CEO With 5 Dismissive Words
Elon Musk noted that X CEO Linda Yaccarino is leaving the social media platform with a far-from-heartfelt five-word message. 'Thank you for your contributions,' Musk posted on X on Wednesday. Musk's post was in reply to one from Yaccarino announcing she's leaving the company after two years. 'When Elon Musk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company,' Yaccarino wrote. 'I'm immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App. I'm incredibly proud of the X team — the historic business turnaround we have accomplished together has been nothing short of remarkable.' Musk and Yaccarino have had a sometimes fractured relationship during her tenure as CEO of X. In September 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk was going over her head and was still the one making major decisions regarding the platform. In June 2024, the Financial Times reported that Yaccarino was nervous because Musk was piling on the pressure for her to 'raise revenues and lower her expenses,' including cutting staff from U.S. and U.K. sales teams. Soon after Yaccarino announced she was leaving X, Thierry Breton, a business executive and former commissioner for the internal market of the European Union, asked Musk if he 'need[s] help,' writing, 'Europe's got talent.' Musk responded 'sure [cry laughing emoji]. Yaccarino did not provide further details on why she's leaving the social media app formerly known as Twitter, which Musk has owned since 2022. Her departure comes on the heels of a new fiasco involving Grok, Musk's own AI chatbot integrated into X, which recently began spewing antisemitic posts, praising Adolf Hitler, and referring to itself as 'MechaHitler.' Musk's artificial intelligence firm xAI later deleted the posts and vowed that it has 'taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X.' Grok has run into trouble several times since its launch on X, including saying it was 'skeptical' that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust and ranting about claims of 'white genocide' in South Africa. Musk has also had to publicly criticize Grok, accusing it of 'parroting legacy media' after it suggested that right-wing violence has become 'more frequent and deadly' than left-wing attacks in recent years. The latest antisemitic posts from Grok arrived just days after Musk promised that the chatbot had improved 'significantly' following its previous rogue responses. In her statement announcing her departure, Yaccarino added: 'X is truly a digital town square for all voices and the world's most powerful culture signal. We couldn't have achieved that without the support of our users, business partners, and the most innovative team in the world. I'll be cheering you all on as you continue to change the world.' Elsewhere, shares in Musk's eclectic vehicle company Tesla fell further amid the billionaire's falling out with President Donald Trump, which has included Musk threatening to set up a new third political party.
Euronews
09-07-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Companies warn against introducing mandatory fees in telecom plans
A group of 84 associations – including the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Euroconsumers and European Digital Rights (EDRi) – reject the potential introduction of a mandatory fee to help infrastructure build-out in upcoming telecom proposals, in a joint statement published on Wednesday. The Digital Networks Act (DNA), legislation aimed at overhauling telecom rules to improve connectivity, is set to be presented by the European Commission in December. Companies say they regret that this 'fair share' mechanism – where content providers would be required to pay telecom operators fees for delivering traffic – is 'still being actively considered' in the ongoing discussions, as it endangers the principle of net neutrality, they claim. 'Measures introducing interconnection charges would risk driving up costs, limiting choice and open access to information, undermining the affordability, quality, and diversity of digital products and services,' the letter says. The public consultation, asking companies for feedback, ends this Friday and largely builds on a White Paper published in February of last year. It spells out the different policy options that could be included in an overhaul of the existing telecom regulation, as well as new initiatives including spectrum management and sustainability targets. The plan, heavily lobbied by the telecom industry when former EU Tech Commissioner Thierry Breton started working on the rules, sought to charge online platforms and other network users for the build-out of telecom infrastructure. It has been watered down since. Options could include broadening the scope of today's EU telecoms rules, which safeguard network access and competition, to 'ensure a regulatory playing field' with equal rights for all companies active in the sector. Connect Europe, an association representing telecom providers, called in a publication earlier this month for increased investment in the telecoms sector.
Straits Times
10-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Elon Musk, the Rocket Man who fell to Earth
The writer says we are no longer in the realm of enterprising conquistadors but conflicted taxpayer-backed trade empires. PHOTO: REUTERS The popcorn emoji is out in force as the world's richest person feuds with its most powerful leader. Even Mr Thierry Breton, the European regulator who was a frequent target of Mr Elon Musk's ire, is at it. Still, as entertaining as the billionaire's spat with US President Donald Trump may be, it also carries costly lessons for a US$630 billion (S$811 billion) space economy dominated by Mr Musk's Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX – such is the danger of codependence between de facto monopolies and increasingly protectionist states. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Bloomberg
10-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Musk Is the $350 Billion Rocket Man Who Fell to Earth
The popcorn emoji is out in force as the world's richest person feuds with its most powerful leader. Even Thierry Breton, the European regulator who was a frequent target of Elon Musk's ire, is at it. Still, as entertaining as the billionaire's spat with Donald Trump may be, it also carries costly lessons for a $630 billion space economy dominated by Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. — such is the danger of codependence between de facto monopolies and increasingly protectionist states. This danger wasn't high on the agenda at the peak of Trump's bromance with Musk, when the president-elect described SpaceX's reusable rocket revolution in the way a Renaissance monarch might have praised a successful colonial expedition — with a mix of national pride, geopolitical influence and financial potential: ' I called Elon. I said, 'Elon, was that [landing maneuver] you?' He said, 'Yes, it was.' I said, '...Can Russia do it?' 'No.' 'Can China do it?' 'No.' 'Can the United States do it, other than you?' 'No, nobody can do that.' 'That's why I love you, Elon.''
