Wall Street’s grip on European investment banking proved far more resilient in 2025 than many policymakers and even some bank executives expected when President Donald Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariff package in April. A common assumption at the time was that European corporates and governments, facing a new layer of U.S. trade friction, might shift advisory and underwriting mandates toward domestic lenders as a matter of political optics or strategic autonomy.

Instead, client behavior largely stayed commercial rather than political: U.S. banks maintained their dominant share of investment banking fees across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and in some fee pools, especially equity issuance and M&A, they actually increased their share.

RWE, Germany’s largest utility, has signed a major green hydrogen supply agreement with French oil giant TotalEnergies, marking a significant step in Europe’s decarbonization efforts. Under the deal, RWE will supply TotalEnergies’ Leuna refinery in eastern Germany with around 30,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually from 2030 to 2044. The hydrogen will be produced at RWE’s 300-megawatt electrolysis plant in Lingen, western Germany, which is set to begin operations in 2027.

This agreement represents the largest amount of carbon-neutral hydrogen ever contracted from a German electrolysis facility and signals confidence in the future of hydrogen despite ongoing skepticism about its economic viability. Green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, is a cleaner alternative to traditional hydrogen production methods that rely on natural gas.

India and France have strengthened their bilateral ties, particularly in the defense sector, with a focus on joint production of military equipment. During French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit, India and France agreed to collaborate on the production of defense equipment, including helicopters and…