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500 Billion Euros in Funding to Lebanon Depends on Banking Restructure

A handout photo made available by Press Office of the Lebanese Presidency shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) during a meeting with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica (L) at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, 21 February 2025. (EPA/ Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by Press Office of the Lebanese Presidency shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) during a meeting with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica (L) at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, 21 February 2025. (EPA/ Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
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500 Billion Euros in Funding to Lebanon Depends on Banking Restructure

A handout photo made available by Press Office of the Lebanese Presidency shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) during a meeting with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica (L) at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, 21 February 2025. (EPA/ Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by Press Office of the Lebanese Presidency shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) during a meeting with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica (L) at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, 21 February 2025. (EPA/ Lebanese Presidency Press Office)

A visiting EU official said Friday that disbursing half a billion euros in funding to Lebanon was conditional on a banking sector restructure and reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

In May last year, the European Union announced one billion euros ($1 billion) in aid for Lebanon to help stem irregular migration to the bloc, with the assistance designed to strengthen basic services including education and health, after five years into an economic and financial crisis in the country.

The EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica on Friday said that of the allocated funds, “500 million (euros) was already adopted in August last year, and another 500 million will come soon, but there are some conditions,” according to AFP.

“The main precondition is the restructure of the banking sector... and a good agreement with the International Monetary Fund,” she told a press conference after meeting with President Joseph Aoun.

“Once these conditions are fulfilled, we will continue of course with disbursing” the funds, she added.

The international community has long demanded Lebanon enact reforms to unlock billions of dollars to boost the economy after a financial crisis widely blamed on mismanagement and corruption took hold in 2019.

Lebanon last month elected a new president after a more than two-year vacuum. This month it formed a government, replacing the previous administration that had been operating in a caretaker capacity.

This week, the IMF said it was open to a new loan agreement with Lebanon following discussions with its recently appointed finance minister.

Suica also said she discussed with Aoun a “new pact for the Mediterranean” which means “we will start bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership agreements with countries including Lebanon,” without providing details.

She and Aoun also discussed issues including a ceasefire in the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as Lebanon's army and the Syria crisis, she added.

During her visit to Beirut, Suica also met with other senior officials, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

The EU is desperate for stability in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region as it hopes to avoid major flows of migrants to Europe.

Lebanon says it hosts some two million Syrians, the world's highest number of refugees per capita, and has also been a launchpad for Europe-bound migrants.

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Business

ECB President Lagarde Reportedly Plans to Quit Before Macron's Term Ends

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde addresses the press following the ECB's Governing Council meeting, at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde addresses the press following the ECB's Governing Council meeting, at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo
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ECB President Lagarde Reportedly Plans to Quit Before Macron's Term Ends

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde addresses the press following the ECB's Governing Council meeting, at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde addresses the press following the ECB's Governing Council meeting, at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde plans to leave her job before next year's French presidential election to allow Emmanuel Macron to have an input into picking her successor, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Lagarde's term is due to end in October 2027 but some fear that the far right may win the French presidential race ‌in the spring of ‌2027, complicating the selection for the ‌new ⁠leader of Europe's most ⁠important financial institution.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, the FT said Lagarde has not yet decided on the exact timing of her departure but was keen on Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to be the key deciders in who succeeds her. Macron cannot run again for a third term.

"President Lagarde is ⁠totally focused on her mission and has not ‌taken any decision regarding the end ‌of her term," Reuters quoted an ECB spokesperson as saying.

The FT report comes only ‌a week after Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau ‌said he would step down in June this year, more than a year before the end of his term, allowing Macron to name his replacement before the presidential election that the far-right could win.

While it ‌will be up to all leaders from the 21-nation euro zone to pick Lagarde's successor, ⁠past practice ⁠suggests that any successful candidate must have both German and French support to clinch the role.

There are no formal candidates for the job yet but several names have been floating among ECB circles as potential ECB presidents. The most prominent among these are former Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot and Bank for International Settlements General Manager Pablo Hernandez de Cos.

Lagarde's non-renewable term at the ECB runs until October 31, 2027. Prior to heading the ECB, she was managing director of the International Monetary Fund from 2011 to 2019 and before that, the French finance minister.

Business

UK Inflation Falls to 3.0% in January

Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament during the early morning hours in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament during the early morning hours in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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UK Inflation Falls to 3.0% in January

Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament during the early morning hours in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament during the early morning hours in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain's annual ‌rate of consumer price inflation fell to 3.0% in January from 3.4% in December, official figures showed on Wednesday.

A Reuters poll of economists had shown a median forecast of 3.0% in January and the Bank of England projected earlier this month that the headline measure of inflation would slow to ‌2.9%.

British inflation ‌has run higher than in ‌the ⁠United States and in ⁠the euro zone where it stood at 2.4% and 1.7% respectively in January.

But the BoE expects the pace of price rises to slow sharply to almost its 2% target in ⁠April as last year's rises ‌in utility costs and ‌other government-controlled tariffs fall out of ‌the annual comparison.

Investors expect the central bank ‌to cut its benchmark interest rate to 3.5% at its next meeting in March after a tight vote to keep borrowing costs ‌on hold in February although some policymakers remain worried about underlying ⁠inflation ⁠pressure.

Financial markets on Tuesday also priced a second quarter-point interest rate cut by the BoE by the end of in 2026.

ONS data last week painted a downbeat picture of Britain's economy at the end of 2025 with output barely growing. Figures released on Tuesday showed the labor market was still losing jobs although there were some signs of a stabilization.

Business

Riyadh to Host Middle East’s Largest General Aviation Airshow in November 

The AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 will be held in Riyadh from November 24 to 28. (SPA)
The AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 will be held in Riyadh from November 24 to 28. (SPA)
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Riyadh to Host Middle East’s Largest General Aviation Airshow in November 

The AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 will be held in Riyadh from November 24 to 28. (SPA)
The AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 will be held in Riyadh from November 24 to 28. (SPA)

The Saudi Aviation Club announced that it will organize the AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 in Riyadh from November 24 to 28, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

The event is set to be the largest of its kind for general aviation in the Middle East, combining international business, investment, and innovation with live flying displays and interactive public experiences. It is being held in partnership with Messe Frankfurt Saudi Arabia.

Held at Thumamah Airport, the exhibition will bring together leading global companies operating in the general aviation industry, including aircraft and components manufacturers, avionics and navigation systems providers, as well as maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) companies, offering an integrated platform that covers the full value chain of the sector.

The event will also spotlight startups in advanced air mobility (AAM) and innovators of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, showcasing technologies and business models shaping the future of aviation.

General Supervisor of the Saudi Aviation Club Dr. Ahmed Alfahaid stated that AERO Middle East x Sand & Fun 2026 represents a qualitative leap for the Kingdom’s aviation sector and reinforces its positioning as a global hub for general aviation and advanced air mobility.

The partnership with Messe Frankfurt Saudi Arabia goes beyond presenting global innovations to providing a vital platform for international investment and strategic collaboration, he stressed.

Moreover, the event contributes to achieving Saudi Vision 2030 objectives, including the Kingdom’s ambition to rank among the world’s top 10 general aviation markets, he added.