The International Working Group on Russian Sanctions aims to provide expertise and experience to governments and companies around the world by assisting with the formulation of sanctions proposals that will increase the cost to Russia of invading Ukraine

The European Commission on Thursday said Germany will be the biggest drag on euro zone growth this year and next, with growth of only 0.3% in 2024 rather than 0.8% expected in November and 1.2% in 2025, after a 0.3% recession last year.

The aid provided by seven countries is expected to unlock an additional 5.4 billion euros in private investments, with 32 companies participating in 33 projects, the commission said.

In a statement, Rosneft’s law firm Malmendier Legal said such an expropriation would be “unprecedented in Germany’s post-war history” and that the Kremlin-controlled company would take “all necessary measures” to protect the rights of its shareholders.

The European Commission set up a European SMR pre-Partnership in June last year with the overall objective of identifying enabling conditions and constraints,

Russia is interested in “how scrupulously” German authorities will approach the investigation given Germany “has lost a lot due to this terrorist attack,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, when asked about Sweden’s decision, according to Interfax.

Industrial production fell in December by 1.6% compared with the previous month. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.4% fall.

Volatility has become a dominant feature of Europe’s market as it transforms into an international hub for gas trading.

The US was the supplier of 56% of the total, with some 14% coming from Russia and 10% from Algeria. Notably, around 7% was also originating from Qatar and 4% from Nigeria.

Russian gas continues to flow to the European Union through Ukraine under the current deal. Some nations still rely on this fuel, while most of northwest Europe has replaced flows from Moscow with cargoes of liquefied natural gas.

Nuclear advocates have pushed for SMRs for more than a decade, but so far Russia is the only country to put them into commercial use.

Europe is benefiting from record renewables power installations last year, together with massive gas stockpiling and a relatively mild winter — some cold snaps aside.

Currently, about 15% of Britain's energy needs are met by nuclear power, a drop from 27% in the 1990s as older plants have been decommissioned and new ones are taking time to build.

For the ITER project, which is under construction in Cadarache in southern France, Russia's responsibilities include manufacturing 179 of the most energy intensive (up to 5 MW per square metre) panels of the first wall, which is 40% of the total area of ​​the reactor wall.

Nuclear's share of energy in the UK is currently about 16%, however all but one of its existing reactors are due to retire by 2030.