The article explains why Lilium, the Munich‑based flight‑taxi startup, never received the €100 million KfW loan it had sought, despite state and Bavarian guarantees, and how the missed financing could affect its planned test flight and investor confidence.
eJobs, Romania’s leading online job board, announced that more than 110,000 new jobs were posted in the first six months of 2026, a 15% decline from the previous year, while candidate activity surged to 6.7 million applications – the highest level since the pandemic peak of 2021. The surge was driven by increased job‑search activity among candidates aged 45+ and teenagers aged 16‑18. Retail attracted the most applications (2.2 million), and employers continued to focus on entry‑level positions.
Polish food‑delivery platform Pyszne.pl will shut down its in‑house courier fleet and outsource delivery logistics to third‑party partners, aiming to finish the switch by August 2026.
The Dutch online supermarket Picnic achieved a positive EBITDA of €4 million and positive operating cash flow in the Netherlands for the first time, while its overall 2025 results showed a net loss of €272 million due to continued investment in growth, including new distribution centres in Germany. Revenue grew 24% to €1.9 billion and the company now serves 3.6 million customers across the Netherlands, Germany and France.
Contents announced its sixth acquisition, buying Spanish fintech software firm Balio. The deal expands Contents’ European footprint, adds Balio’s financial‑wellbeing platform and its trusted corporate client base to Contents’ AI‑driven enterprise suite, and will accelerate Balio’s growth across Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.
German protein producer Nutracorp, which manufactures supplements for the More Nutrition and ESN brands, was finally ordered by the Elmshorn labour court to establish a works council after five legal battles, confirming employees’ right to co‑determination.
Swedish luxury towel startup Juniper is slowly but steadily growing, adding new product categories such as fragrances and bath towels, and targeting a future turnover of 100 million euros.
Sportadmin, a Swedish platform used by many sports clubs for administration, retained most of its customers after a cyberattack and saw revenue increase by nearly 15%
Omio Group, a Berlin‑based multimodal traveltech scale‑up, has agreed to acquire Rail Europe, integrating its B2C booking platform, B2B distribution business and the Rome2Rio brand. The deal will give Omio access to Rail Europe’s network of travel agencies and operators in over 70 countries, expanding its rail ticket sales to 22 million tickets per year and strengthening its position in global ground transport.
Copenhagen‑based microalgae startup Algiecel bolstered its leadership with two senior female appointments—CFO Mette Ingeman Pedersen and Board Chair Tove Feld—while gearing up to expand its sustainable marine bioactives ingredient production for nutrition, pet food and personal care markets.