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In Amsterdam and other Dutch ports, at least half the fleet is idle this week because high diesel prices are making large parts of the fishing industry unprofitable. Particularly affected are the fuel-intensive beam trawlers targeting North Sea species such as sole, turbot, and plaice, which represent around 7 percent of the EU fleet. The […]

The European Commission has warned Spain over its planned reduction of the value-added tax (VAT) on fuels from 21 to 10 percent, classifying the move as a violation of current EU law. This is according to a letter dated March 28 to the Spanish authorities, as reported by El País. The warning stems from a

At the end of March 2026, an act of sabotage targeted the power supply of a pumping station on the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL) near Terzo di Tolmezzo in northern Italy, disrupting the flow of crude oil to southern Germany for approximately three days. Refineries in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were particularly affected, as they were only

Germany in April 2026: Soaring fuel prices are burdening drivers, commuters, freight companies, and ultimately almost all consumers. The German government primarily attributes the price pressure to the war in Iran. While the external trigger may lie in the Middle East, the real crisis has been brewing domestically for years, as Germany’s energy policy generates

The global shortage of gas turbines is worsening, but it is primarily the exploding prices that are increasingly hindering the construction of new gas-fired power plants. This development is triggered by the rapidly growing electricity demand of AI data centers, while consumption in industry, transportation, and buildings is also rising. The market is concentrated in

In Germany, fuel prices have risen sharply since the start of the Iran-Iraq War on February 28, 2026, while the federal government is simultaneously recording substantial additional revenue through value-added tax (VAT). According to calculations by NIUS, this extra revenue had already totaled more than €390 million by April 8. Since mid-March, it has sometimes

The widespread power outage on the Iberian Peninsula on April 28, 2025, struck Spain and Portugal almost simultaneously, crippling key parts of the power grid within seconds. The final report cites a dangerous combination of severe voltage fluctuations, high solar power generation, and a lack of stabilizing power plant capacity as the cause. New audio

At Olympus in Hamburg, a total of 234 full-time positions have been eliminated from the workforce plan since April 1, 2026. All of the medical technology company’s locations in the city are affected. The reduction is part of a global cost-cutting program, announced by Olympus in November 2025, which encompasses approximately 2,000 positions. The trigger

In Germany, thieves repeatedly stole large quantities of diesel fuel over the past two weeks, particularly between March 25 and April 5, 2026. The main targets were Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Bavaria. Trucks parked at highway rest areas and individual company premises were primarily affected. The perpetrators took advantage of the nighttime hours, siphoning fuel from

In Leipzig, the gas trader VNG warned of a growing risk to Germany’s gas supply this coming winter, even though the war in Iran, according to the company, will not trigger an acute supply crisis in the short term. At the beginning of April, German gas storage facilities were at a historic low of only

South Korea has restarted the Gori-2 nuclear reactor in Busan after nearly three years of shutdown. The 640-megawatt reactor at the Gori Nuclear Power Plant is one of the country’s oldest facilities, having first gone into operation in 1983. It was shut down in April 2023 after its 40-year operating license expired, prompting operator Korea

According to a study by JP Morgan, Europe could enter a critical phase regarding oil supplies starting April 10th, because the Strait of Hormuz is effectively blocked, preventing any new crude oil shipments from the Persian Gulf. The US investment bank estimates that the last shipments sent before the start of the war in the

The new purchase incentive for electric cars in Germany is launching with a clear contradiction between political promise and practical implementation. The online application portal for the subsidy will not be activated on May 1, 2026, as planned, but later in May. At the same time, the incentive will apply retroactively from January 1, 2026.

At General Motors’ Factory Zero on the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, electric vehicle production has been halted since March 16, 2026, and the shutdown is now scheduled to last until at least April 13. The reason is weaker demand for electric vehicles in the US, which has come under further pressure following the elimination

In Germany, the financial crisis of local authorities will worsen in the spring of 2026. This became particularly evident at the end of March in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, where the district council rejected the 2026 budget, prompting District Administrator Andreas Müller to warn: “We are bankrupt; starting Monday, we will no longer be able to