Новости за 08.08.2017

Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has said he is ready call an extraordinary cabinet meeting if Catalonia's authorities table a bill to organise the vote on 1 October.

The CDU party in German state Lower Saxony pledged Tuesday to better control the Volkswagen (VW) Group if it wins October's state elections. The move follows newspaper reports that the state's current SPD leader, Stephan Weil, had softened speeches critical of VW in the emissions scandal, at the company's request. Weil, who sits on VW's supervisory board, denied the reports. The car company's HQ is in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony.

Iceland, Sweden and Andorra are the most expensive countries in Europe for Airbnb accommodation, according to data compiled by Vouchercloud, a UK-based voucher app. Iceland has the highest rates for Airbnb accommodation, averaging €123 (£112) per night, while Macedonia has the lowest, €28 (£26) per person per night. Data was collected from the Airbnb website in February 2017, taking the average price of an Airbnb rental in each country.

The European Commission sent a letter to Warsaw saying that it is concerned new Polish rules on reintroducing a different retirement age for men (65) and women (60) could violate the EU's equality regulations, Reuters reported. The Polish government has argued that it is necessary because women have more responsibilities, including raising children. The issue is yet another rift between Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and the EU.

The European Commission said it has no plans to introduce quotas on electric cars, following a report in the German press saying the EU wanted to speed up the introduction of low emission cars by setting a quota from 2025. A spokeswoman for the EU executive said Monday that the Commission is looking into ways of promoting the use of low carbon transport, but it does not include a quota.

Slovak PM Robert Fico will meet with the three parties forming his ruling coalition Tuesday, after the nationalist Slovak National Party unexpectedly announced it wants to re-negotiate the deal to govern, struck after elections in March 2016. Leader of the Slovak Nationalist Party leader, Andrej Danko, said re-setting the rules and adjusting relations within the governing coalition was needed. Fico's government holds a narrow 79-seat majority in the 150-member parliament.

French president Emmanuel Macron will push for rules to better protect French workers from Eastern European cheap labour on a visit to the region later this month. Eastern countries have argued that they should be allowed to compete, using lower labour prices, in the West. Macron will travel to Austria, Romania and Bulgaria on 23-25 August, and will also meet with the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.