EU TRANSPORT - European transport ministers are meeting in Luxembourg today. François Bausch and his counterparts will discuss the reform of the driver’s licence, in particular whether a medical check should be harmonized in Europe. It is also planned to introduce a digital form of the permit. Other points of discussion are possible restrictions on private jets and an update of the European declaration on bicycles, which would recognize bikes as a proper means of transport.
ECB/BCL ANNIVERSARY - The European Central Bank, as well as the Luxembourg BCL, are celebrating their 25th birthday today. They were founded on June 1, 1998, a few months before the Euro was introduced. More than 5,000 people are currently employed at the ECB with its headquarters in Frankfurt. Croatia became the newest member of the Eurozone at the beginning of this year.
RAIFFAISEN PAYCONIQ - Over the past weekend, several bank clients encountered issues with the Payconiq app, with customers of Raiffeisen Bank being notably impacted. Customers encountered error messages while attempting transfers, despite the funds being deducted from their accounts. Raiffeisen says the problem was a purely technical issue and assures that the app is now functioning properly again.
UKRAINE ATTACKS - Ukrainian officials say three people, including two children, have been killed in an overnight air attack on Kyiv. Four others have been injured.
NATO MEETING - NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Oslo today and will try to narrow divisions on Ukraine’s push to join, upping spending and finding a new alliance chief, ahead of a July summit. But there are splits on key issues, chief among them is Kyiv’s push to join NATO.
EPC MEETING - European leaders are meeting today in a show of diplomatic force designed to pressure Moscow. The European Political Community, which groups 27 EU members with 40 of their allies and excludes Russia and Belarus, chose Ukraine’s tiny neighbour Moldova for its second summit. It is unclear whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take part, as his travel plans are never announced in advance, for security reasons.
NASA UFOs - NASA held its first public meeting on UFOs yesterday. Scientists called for a more rigorous scientific approach to clarify the origin of hundreds of mysterious sightings and announced that an independent team of 16 scientists are due to report their findings in a report by the end of July. This is the first time NASA is investigating unexplained phenomena in the earth’s skies.
FOOTBALL - Sevilla found their Europa League magic formula last night, beating Roma 4-1 on penalties to make it a perfect seven out of seven in finals in the competition. The game finished 1-1 following extra-time after Paulo Dybala’s opener was earlier cancelled out by an own goal from Roma defender Gianluca Mancini.
SMALL STATES GAMES - In the Small States Games in Malta, Luxembourg is in third place in the medal table on the third day of the competition with 6 gold, 8 silver and 13 times bronze medals in total. Three gold medals were added yesterday: in shooting for Lena Bidoli, in the 100 meter backstroke for Remi Fabiani and in the men’s 4x 200m freestyle swimming relay. Today’s programme includes athletics, table tennis, judo and sailing.
TENNIS - Novak Djokovic brushed aside the furore surrounding his recent comments about clashes in Kosovo by easing into the French Open third round yesterday evening. Djokovic came through a marathon first set against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics before prevailing 7-6 (7/2), 6-0, 6-3.
This week’s wonderful weather looks set to continue today as blue skies and lots of sun settle over the Grand Duchy. The morning starts off 15-18°C, rising up to 22-25°C in the afternoon.
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