European Union

The Baltic Times reports: The institution of partnership, as now defined in Lithuania’s Civil Code, is unconstitutional because it only provides for a union between a man and a woman, excluding same-sex relationships, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday. “Article 3.229 of the Civil Code, insofar as it allows only a partnership between a man and a woman, runs counter …

Politico Europe reports: There’s at least one mainstream European politician JD Vance is a fan of: iconic French postwar leader Charles de Gaulle. In an interview with British news and opinion website UnHerd, the U.S. vice president said that de Gaulle — who led the French World War II resistance against the Nazis and was president from 1959 to 1969 …

The Daily Beast reports: U.S.-bound European Union executives will be given burner phones and laptops to mitigate the risk of espionage, a strategy usually reserved for officials headed to China and Eastern Europe. Ahead of important annual meetings next week in Washington, D.C., there is real fear that the U.S. government could infiltrate European Commission devices, according to sources who …

The Washington Post reports: The European Union hit back at President Donald Trump’s steel tariffs Wednesday, approving levies up to 25 percent on a broad list of U.S. products, as European leaders attempt a carrot-and-stick approach to bring Washington to the negotiating table. While the list of products was not made public, a copy of the E.U. plan, seen by …

Reuters reports: The European Commission proposed counter-tariffs of 25% on a range of U.S. goods on Monday in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium, a document seen by Reuters showed. The tariffs on some goods will take effect May 16 and others later in the year, on December 1, the document said. The goods are wide-ranging …

Courthouse News reports: Poland should honor the rights of same-sex couples who got married in other EU countries, a legal adviser to the bloc’s top court said Thursday. EU advocate general Jean Richard de la Tour wrote in an advisory opinion for the European Court of Justice that the country should register the marriage certificate of two Polish citizens who …

The New York Times reports: European Union regulators are preparing major penalties against Elon Musk’s social media platform X for breaking a landmark law to combat illicit content and disinformation, said four people with knowledge of the plans, a move that is likely to ratchet up tensions with the United States by targeting one of President Trump’s closest advisers. The …

Bloomberg News reports: French President Emmanuel Macron urged companies to pause investments in the US after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on the European Union and other regions. It makes little sense for firms to invest there while the US hits out against Europe, Macron added, speaking ahead of a meeting with representatives of industry groups affected by tariffs. “What …

Reuters reports: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described U.S. Donald Trump’s universal tariffs as a major blow to the world economy and said the European Union was prepared to respond with countermeasures if talks with Washington failed. “We are already finalising the first package of countermeasures in response to tariffs on steel,” she said in a statement read …

Bloomberg News reports: French hotel group Accor SA has warned that forward bookings from Europe to the U.S. are down 25% this summer as travelers that feel put off by U.S. President Donald Trump’s ’s crackdown on immigration divert to other locations. The company is seeing a “pretty strong deceleration” across the Atlantic, CEO Sébastien Bazin said on Tuesday in a …

The Washington Post reports: Scrambling to respond to the Trump administration’s cascading list of tariffs, the European Union is weighing whether to hit one of the most lucrative U.S. exports: billions of dollars’ worth of digital services that American Big Tech companies sell to European consumers. The debate over digital services risks expanding the trade war from manufactured goods such …

Newsweek reports: Denmark and Finland have revised their travel guidance for transgender individuals planning to visit the United States. A new section has been added under Denmark’s visa rules for entry into the United States. It states that when applying for a U.S. visa, there are only two gender options available, male or female. Meanwhile in Finland, the advisory notes …

Agence France-Presse reports: The EU’s commissioner for equality took aim Tuesday at a Hungarian bill aimed at banning Budapest’s annual pride march, asserting the “fundamental right” to peaceful assembly in the 27-nation bloc. The European Commission, 16 member states and the European Parliament have taken Budapest to court over a 2021 law banning the “promotion” of homosexuality to minors — …

Politic Europe reports: French President Emmanuel Macron wants to lead a charm offensive to convince EU countries to stop buying U.S. defense equipment and buy French and European instead. Macron, who has been calling for years to direct defense spending toward EU products, said he wants to convince other European countries that are currently “buying American” to shift to local options. …

Politico Europe reports: Portugal ruled out replacing its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets with more modern F-35s because of Donald Trump — in one of the first examples of the U.S. president killing a potential lucrative arms deal. The country’s air force has recommended buying Lockheed Martin F-35s, but when outgoing Defense Minister Nuno Melo was asked by Portugese media Público …

NewsNation reports: The CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States on Wednesday warned that a European whiskey tariff would be “very, very devastating.” “We’ve just gotten the news early, early this morning, that the [European Union (EU)] is poised to put a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey. That will be very, very devastating,” Chris Swonger told …

ABC News reports: The European Union responded on Wednesday to the Trump administration’s metals tariffs, saying member states would place countermeasures on some 26 billion euros, or about $28 billion, worth of U.S. goods. The U.S. at midnight began imposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from all trading partners, with no exceptions or exemptions, the White House …

The LBC reports: German chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians do. Therefore we are working on a common path to a lasting and just peace. Ukraine can rely on Germany – and on Europe.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “Ukraine, Spain stands with you.” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: …

The Kyiv Independent reports: French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that Russia is the aggressor in its war against Ukraine following a heated exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 28. “There is an aggressor, which is Russia, and an attacked people, which is Ukraine,” Macron told reporters in Portugal. He …

France 24 reports: The European Union on Thursday pushed back hard against allegations by US President Donald Trump that the 27-nation bloc was out to get the United States, and warned that it would vigorously fight any wholesale tariff of 25 percent on all EU products. Thursday’s EU pushback came after Trump told reporters that “the European Union was formed …