In 2024, 68% of EU residents living in households lived in housing owned by their household, which is 1 percentage point less than a year earlier (69% in 2023), according to the European Union’s statistical service (Eurostat).
According to Eurostat, the share of those living in rented housing increased to 32% (31% in 2023).
At the same time, the largest share of owners was recorded in Romania (94%), followed by Slovakia (93%) and Hungary (92%). The only EU country where there are more tenants than owners is Germany (53% of the population are tenants).
Eurostat specifies that the indicator reflects not the number of properties, but the share of people living in owner-occupied or rented households (EU-SILC data). In 2024, 44.2% of people in the EU lived in housing owned by the household without a mortgage or housing loan, and 24.3% lived in housing owned with a mortgage or loan. Among tenants, 21.1% paid market rent, while 10.5% lived at a reduced rate or free of charge.
A previously unknown drawing by Michelangelo was sold at Christie’s auction for $27.2 million, setting a new record for the master’s works.
According to Christie’s press release, the small sketch, depicting a foot, was done in red chalk and dates from 1511-1512. The drawing was estimated to be worth $1.5-2 million before the auction.
The owner of the drawing sent a photograph for a preliminary appraisal, unaware that the work belonged to Michelangelo. An auction house expert identified it as a sketch of the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl, one of the key figures depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
It is noted that the drawing is the only previously unregistered sketch for the Sistine Chapel frescoes ever to be offered at auction. Art historians are aware of about 10 drawings by Michelangelo, all of which are in private collections.
The lot was part of Christie’s auction dedicated to drawings by “old masters” and British painting, which also included works by Rembrandt, Titian, and William Blake.
Coffee prices fell on Thursday amid expectations of a high harvest in Brazil, the world’s largest coffee supplier.
Arabica futures fell 0.2% to $3.0785 per pound at the end of trading in New York yesterday. This is the lowest price in five months.
Brazil’s new coffee crop, which will begin harvesting in a couple of months, could reach a record 75.8 million bags, Reuters reports, citing a forecast by EISA. One bag weighs 60 kg.
EISA expects the Arabica coffee harvest to amount to 48 million bags and the Robusta harvest to amount to 27.8 million bags.
At its meeting on February 5, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) granted Landex Agro LLC permission to acquire direct control over Zemli Slobozhanshchyny LLC.
According to the regulator’s Facebook post, this involves the acquisition of assets that provide control over the enterprise.
Lands Agro LLC (Lozova, Kharkiv region) was registered at the end of 2023. The ultimate beneficiary of the company is businessman Alexander Katsuba, former deputy chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine. Given the purchase of a number of agricultural enterprises in the Kharkiv region, he is currently forming a new agricultural group.
In particular, in December 2025, Katsuba formed a land bank by purchasing more than 6,000 hectares of land in the Izyum district of the Kharkiv region from the Novaagro group. In addition to the agricultural business, where he also owns the companies Ivak Agro, Lozovsky Agropromtechservice, and the agricultural firm Podolevskaya, Katsuba is the owner of the gas production company Alfa Gas and the online publications Avtocenter and AvtoBazar.
Zemli Slobozhanshchyny LLC was established in 2023 and has its headquarters in Kharkiv. It specializes in real estate transactions and auxiliary activities in crop production.
The Kametstal plant, part of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group (Kamensk, Dnipropetrovsk region), has certified B500SP and B500B grade rebar for supply to Lithuania.
According to the company, Metinvest’s steel products are conquering EU construction sites.
At the same time, it is noted that at the end of 2025, Kametstal’s rebar took a new step in European geography: from the “green light” on the Romanian market for B500C class profiles in October to the official certification of B500SP and B500B classes for Lithuania in December.
“The certification process for B500SP and B500B grade rebar with a nominal diameter of 8 to 32 mm, produced on the 400/200 rolling mill, has been successfully completed. As a result, certificates have been obtained that enable Kametstal to supply its products to customers in Lithuania,” the company said in a statement.
It is noted that the certification was preceded by intensive preparation and coordinated work by a team of specialists from Kametstal and the management company of the Metinvest Group. An offline audit, during which an experienced expert, Valdemaras Gauronskis, director of the Construction Products Certification Center (Statybos produkcijos sertifikavimo centras – SPSC), visited Kametstal, took place at the end of October. Based on the results of the production inspection, a positive decision was made regarding the compliance of the specified grades of reinforcing steel with the Lithuanian standard.
Kametstal is part of the Metinvest Group.
CERTIFICATE, EUROPE, EXPORT, LITHUANIA, reinforcement, Каметсталь
According to Serbian Economist, the municipality of Knyazhevats has begun the process of preparing a detailed regulation plan for the construction of the Knyazhevats solar power plant in the community, as follows from the decision to develop planning documentation.
The deadline for preparing the plan is set at 12 months. The municipal administration (urban planning and construction) has been designated as the project manager, Projektura d.o.o. (Belgrade) as the developer, and Central Europe Energy Company d.o.o. (Belgrade) as the initiator, which is also financing the preparation of the documentation.
The project involves the construction of Serbia’s largest solar park in Tresibabi with a capacity of 170 MW, with investments estimated at approximately €200 million.
Approximately 270 hectares of low-quality state-owned land have been leased for the project, with a lease rate of €1,050 per hectare per year, of which 40% goes to the community budget and 60% to the republican budget.
Central Europe Energy Company is registered in Belgrade, with Qin Zhang listed as the responsible person, according to CompanyWall data.
