New EU gig economy laws saved from oblivion by Belgian compromise

Directive aims to give taxi and delivery drivers such as those working for Uber and Deliveroo rights similar to those enjoyed by full employees

Europe is unprepared for risks from Russia and Trump, says Airbus boss

Aerospace group chief executive urges UK and Europe to pool efforts and merge fighter jet programmes

‘This factory kills everything’: the red dust of death in Italy’s under-developed south

Taranto residents separated from giant steelworks by a flimsy net fence tell a story that pits livelihoods against lives lost to cancer, the economy against the environment

National Lottery operator had borrowed millions from Kremlin-owned banks

Exclusive: Syndicate agreed to lend up to €640m to Allwyn in 2020, two years before contract awarded

Kristalina Georgieva wins backing to run for second term as IMF chief

Bulgaria’s ‘eternal optimist’ in favour with European finance ministers after first five-year stint encompassing Covid and Ukraine

Dutch ministers trying to stop tech firm ASML moving abroad over foreign labour fears

Prime minister will reportedly meet CEO of semiconductor equipment maker ASML, which has warned against anti-migrant stance

EU fines Apple €1.8bn over App Store restrictions on music streaming

Penalty for breaching competition law is four times higher than forecast as Brussels looks to send message to tech firms

Jeremy Hunt knows Brexit Britain can’t afford to cut taxes

The chancellor is prepared to inflict yet more austerity to pay for a budget bribe. But the UK needs more spending, not less

Battle to save pristine prehistoric rock art from vast new quarry in Norway

Archaeologists fear more than 2,000 carved figures in Vingen could be destroyed when digging begins

UK a ‘tax haven’ for polluting SUVs, says green thinktank

First-year vehicle excise duty is a fraction of that in countries such as France and the Netherlands

Food trade bodies consider legal action over post-Brexit ‘not for EU’ labelling

Producers say the labelling could add £250m a year to their costs, further fuelling inflation

MPs open inquiry into success of UK Treasury sanctions on Russia

Treasury committee to consider case for targeting buyers of Russian oil and gas as Moscow weathers penalties

Direct Line rejects £3.1bn takeover offer from Belgian rival

British insurer says offer last month from Ageas was ‘highly opportunistic’, after shares surge on talk of bid

Roman Abramovich business associate loses appeal against UK sanctions

Eugene Shvidler loses crucial legal test case but plans to lodge new appeal to the UK supreme court

As Ukraine’s economy burns, Russia clings to a semblance of prosperity

Kyiv could require $500bn to get the country back on its feet. But Moscow has so little debt that even sanctions have not done much damage … yet