Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1513566
€1.50 THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2023 • ISSUE 236 WWW.BUSINESSTODAY.COM.MT EU ministers agree on more flexible rules on national spending cuts EU Court annuls state aid to Air France, in case filed by Malta Air and Ryanair KURT SANSONE EUROPEAN finance ministers have agreed to make EU deficit rules more flexible by allowing countries to reduce their deficits more gradu- ally during a meeting on Wednesday. "is is good news for Europe and a unanimous political agreement for fiscal budget rules has been achieved," Spanish Economy Minis- ter Nadia Calviño said at the end of the informal virtual meeting. Calviño said a proposal put for- ward by the Spanish presidency, which ends this month, would see a gradual reduction in deficits to pro- tect public investments, especially green, digital and defence invest- ments. PAGE 5 STAR PERFORMER MSE FTSE 100 EUR EXCHANGE RATES Trading Date: 20 Dec 2023 Number of Trades: 97 Turnover: €1,088,748.71 MSE TRX Index: 7915.020 Change: -0.066% Name: 3.7% GAP PLC SEC MT0001231225 - Currency € Last Traded: 20 Dec 2023 Price 99.970 Change +2.470 US Dollar 1.0522 British Pound: 0.86477 Japanese Yen: 144.59 Australian Dollar: 1.5451 Swiss Franc: 0.98700 7,613.67 78.12 7,613.39 / 7,312.00 Value Net variation High / Low +0.86% MATTHEW AGIUS THE Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has annulled two previous decisions by the European Commission, that had approved State aid by France to two French airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two decisions were handed down by the Eighth Chamber of the Court of Justice earlier today, in cases filed by Ryanair and Malta Air against the European Commission, supported by Germany, France, the Netherlands, together with airlines Air France-KLM and Société Air France. Ryanair and Malta Air had filed an action under Article 230 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which empowers the CJEU to, amongst other things, review the legality of legislative acts of the Commission. PAGE 4 Production in construction down by 0.7% in the euro area Production in construction (2015=100, seasonally adjusted series) In October 2023 compared with September 2023, sea- sonally adjusted production in the construction sector decreased by 1.0% in the eu- ro area and by 0.6% the EU, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statisti- cal office of the European Union. In September 2023, production in construction grew by 0.9% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU. PAGE 5 EU finance ministers have agreed to change the rules to allow a more gradual reduction in national deficits BUSINESS TODAY will not be published over the holiday season and will be back in print on 11 January