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Europe
European Union
(22 March 2025) EU lender shifts strategy toward defence and critical minerals. The European Investment Bank (EIB) ’has taken steps to begin financing Europe’s security and defence industry’ and infrastructure, the Luxembourg headquartered lender announced yesterday evening. Until now, EU rules did not allow the EIB to finance production of military equipment. ’The EIB’s eligibility criteria have now been expanded to ensure that excluded activities are as limited as possible in scope, the bank said. The move will allow the EIB to finance security and defence projects in areas like barracks and storage facilities, land and aerial vehicles, drones and helicopters, radars and satellites, advanced avionics, military mobility, cyber security, etc. ’The bank yesterday also announced its intention to double its investment for security and defence projects this year’. ’The message of European leaders is clear: we must strengthen Europe’s security and defence capabilities. Today’s decisions show that the EIB is part of the solution,’ said EIB Group President Calviño. ’It follows calls from EU leaders at a special European Council on 6 March for stronger financial backing of Europe’s defence industrial base’. In parallel, the bank launched a new strategic initiative on critical raw materials (CRM), a vital input for semiconductors, defence and aerospace. The initiative includes a €2 billion financing package for 2025, a new task force, and a one-stop-shop to help project developers access funding and technical support. The bank also approved a total of €8.9 billion in new financing across transport, energy, education, water and small and medium enterprises (SME) sectors. These include rail investments in Germany, Czechia and Spain, port upgrades in Estonia. (Source: Luxembourg Times)
Asia
China
Mar 22, 2025 US Senator Daines, a strong supporter of President Trump, met China’s Vice-Premier He, today, marking the first visit by a US politician to Beijing since Mr Trump returned to the White House. Mr Daines was to meet with Premier Li tomorrow, coinciding with the start of the annual China Development Forum in Beijing that is expected to be attended by dozens of foreign executives, including representatives from US companies. Ahead of his visit, Mr Daines told on Fox News he would be talking with Chinese leaders about “what they can do” on fentanyl. Mr Daines also said he was planning to talk about the trade deficit the United States has with China, and what can be done to change “trade practices”. (Source: The Straits Times - Singapore / Reuters - United Kingdom)
Turkey
22/03/2025 The detained opposition politician, the 53-year-old Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu faces questioning over allegations of corruption and terror links. The arrest of the major has sparked consecutive nights of protests across Turkey. Imamoglu's arrest came just days before he was to have been formally named as the main opposition CHP's candidate in the 2028 presidential race. He is widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging Erdogan. Police have arrested 343 people since the start of the protests. (Source: France 24)
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