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Health Minister Kaisa Juuso quits

Health Minister Kaisa Juuso quits

Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso on Thursday suddenly announced that she has resigned. Juuso, a lawmaker of Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party), the second largest component of the four-party alliance government made the announcement in a post on her social media platform Facebook. "I have submitted my resignation as minister," Juuso wrote in the post, adding that the work has been really hard and it was very tough to make difficult decisions to secure services that are important to Finns. “I think I've done my best, but now it's time for someone else to continue. I wish a lot of strength to my successor, whom I will help as best I can," she said. Juuso also said that she would be on sick leave for the time being and would not make further comment in this regard. Meanwhile, Perussuomalaiset Chair and Finance Minister Riikka Purra at a hurriedly arranged press conference in the afternoon announced that Kaisa Juuso has resigned from the position of the Minister of Social Affairs and Health. Purra said that her party would choose a replacement next week. Earlier on the previous day, the Health Minister published a major report on reining in social welfare services costs. She has been leading a working group on finding ways of cutting social services costs by 100 million euros since last summer. The group proposed cuts of only about 50 million euros. Last autumn, she faced controversy over the future of a hospital in Kemi, and appointing her 25-year-old son to replace her previous assistant, who left the job after terming social welfare recipients as "losers" in a post on social media.

Hundreds of flights grounded in Germany due to Lufthansa strike

Hundreds of flights grounded in Germany due to Lufthansa strike

Hundreds of flights were cancelled across Germany on Thursday as pilots and flight attendants at the Lufthansa airline went on strike over pay and working conditions, reported dpa. At the country's largest airport in Frankfurt, 450 of 1,117 departures were scrapped, with 275 of 920 flights leaving from Munich also grounded. Around 4,800 pilots at Lufthansa and its cargo subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo are striking in a dispute over higher company pensions. Meanwhile, cabin crew are staging a warning strike to force negotiations on several collective bargaining issues. The UFO union has also called on staff at regional subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine, which is facing closure, to join the walkout. Management has rejected the unions' demands. "The strike is going as we expected," said UFO expert Harry Jaeger on Thursday at Frankfurt airport, where long queues formed at Lufthansa counters. Passengers were advised not to travel to the airport without checking their flight status. The Cockpit Association pilots' union also said it has seen "very good participation in Frankfurt." "What we need is a new offer," said the union's president, Andreas Pinheiro. "Lufthansa has not been in touch." He warned that further strikes could take place in future. "As a trade union, we do not have many means at our disposal other than industrial action," Pinheiro explained. "If there is no offer, the spiral of escalation continues." (By Isabell Scheuplein and Christian Ebner)

Germany, France signal unity in race to revive economy after discord

Germany, France signal unity in race to revive economy after discord

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have demonstrated unity in how to revive Europe's ailing economy after recent public disagreements. "We want to speed up the European Union, we want to make it better, and we want to ensure that we have a competitive industry in Europe," said Merz, as he arrived at a meeting of EU leaders on Thursday. The talks at the Alden Biesen Castle close to Rijkhoven in eastern Belgium focuses on how to respond to stifling global competition and take on internal challenges to unlock growth. Approaches in Berlin, Paris and beyond to addressing these issues however differ. Merz has been advocating for less red tape to reduce the reporting burden on businesses, reducing trade barriers between EU countries and more free trade agreements. Macron has called for joint debt, which Germany opposes, is a stern opponent to a recent free trade deal between the EU and four Latin American countries and pushes the idea of giving preference to European companies. Speaking alongside in Rijkhoven, Merz and Macron signaled that their positions are moving closer. "I believe we share this sense of urgency, that our Europe must take very clear action," said Macron. The French president stressed that France and Germany would in particular agree on harmonizing capital markets across the EU. The European Commission has proposed streamlining national rules to create a so-called savings and investment union. Harmonizing financial rules in Europe has, however, proven difficult in the past. Frustration over low speed of reforms mounts Europe's economic issues, including high energy prices, extensive bureaucracy and low growth rates, have been persistent for years. EU leaders gathered in at the Alden Biesen Castle are not expected to decide on policy reforms but are to pave the way for decisions expected in March and the coming months. Two landmark reports on the bloc's economic hurdles, written by former Italian prime ministers Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, were considered wake-up calls at the time of their publication in 2024. The report by former European Central Bank (ECB) chief Draghi is arguing that the EU requires massive investments and a new sense of unity if it wants to remain economically relevant. In January however the European Policy Innovation Council concluded that only 15% of the recommendations put forward by Draghi have so far been fully implemented. On the evening of the Rijkhoven summit, leading European industry representatives urged EU leaders to take on the bloc's economic challenges with a greater urgency. "We urge you to move from diagnosis to delivery, and from plans to results, with a single objective: Save our industry. Not next year, not next week, but today," a joint industry statement read.