European Union

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 …

Politico Europe reports: The European Union said on Thursday it was ready to deploy its strongest trade weapon against the U.S. after President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs and scorned the EU as having been created to “screw” America. “We have an Anti-Coercion Instrument, and we will have to use it,” Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said in Paris …

The Washington Post reports: Hungary’s government said Thursday that it would ban a Pride march through central Budapest this summer, as Viktor Orban and his ruling Fidesz party escalate their long-standing push to enact anti-LGBTQ+ policies ahead of elections next year. “The country does not have to tolerate Pride marching through downtown Budapest,” Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said …

The Independent reports: Exit polls published in Germany’s election suggest Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has come out well in front, as the far-right AfD make large gains. In polling being watched closely across Europe and in the US, the CDU/CSU bloc was on course to win first place with 28.5 per cent of the vote, followed …

The BBC reports: Germans are going to the polls after an intense election campaign dominated by their country’s faltering economy and a succession of deadly attacks that have made migration and security a focal issue.  Friedrich Merz, the 69-year-old conservative leader, is in pole position to become Germany’s next chancellor, in a vote closely watched in Europe and the US. He …

Politico Europe reports: “It is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelenskyy’s democratic legitimacy,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday night. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Zelenskyy on Wednesday night and, according to a readout released by Downing Street, told the Ukrainian president that he supports him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader and said that it was …

The Associated Press reports: European leaders gathered in Paris Monday for emergency talks on how to react to the U.S. diplomatic blitz on Ukraine, which has thrown a once-solid alliance into turmoil and left the Europeans questioning the reliability of their key transatlantic partner. Shortly before the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, but Macron’s …