European Union

Politico Europe reports: What are you waiting for, Brussels? Elon Musk’s decision to host German far-right leader Alice Weidel in a livestream on X is sparking fury from European Union leaders and lawmakers, who on Monday urged Brussels to deploy its full legal might to rein in the billionaire tech magnate. In response, the European Commission said the SpaceX founder …

CNBC reports: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he told the European Union it must reduce its trade gap with the U.S. through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it …

Politico Europe reports: The Georgian government’s decision to suspend its efforts to join the EU has sparked a political crisis in the South Caucasus country, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to demand new elections even as police launched a violent crackdown on protesters. An estimated 100,000 protesters formed barricades around the parliament on Saturday night, …

Politico Europe reports: Social media giant X “strives to be the town square of the internet by promoting and protecting freedom of expression,” the Elon Musk-owned company told the European Commission in a legally mandated risk assessment made public on Wednesday. Under the Digital Services Act, very large online platforms (VLOPs) must evaluate and report on how they crack down …

Politico Europe reports: Former Trump administration officials are warning the European Union to expect President-elect Donald Trump to take early action to increase tariffs — and to potentially bypass the Brussels bureaucracy in favor of dealing with individual European capitals on trade concerns. Trump is threatening to impose up to a 20 percent across-the-border tariff on all $3 trillion worth …

Politico Europe reports: Meta was fined almost €800 million by the European Commission for pushing its classified ads service on social media users. The European Union executive said Meta wrongly tied Facebook Marketplace to its social network Facebook and imposed unfair terms on rival ad providers, it said in a press release. Meta was ordered to halt these practices. The …

NBC News reports: The Paris prosecutor on Wednesday requested a five-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from public office against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, at a trial where she and 24 others are accused of embezzling European Union funds. The trial, which comes almost a decade after initial investigations started, threatens to undermine her party’s efforts to polish …

Reuters reports: European diplomats are preparing to underpin sanctions on Russia anticipating that a return of former U.S. president Donald Trump could undermine Western efforts to isolate Moscow, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. The talks among EU officials and envoys are centred on several initiatives to ensure that European sanctions would remain in place longer term, bolstering …

Politico Europe reports: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is preparing to serve up a major policy gift for his best friend across the Atlantic, former United States President Donald Trump. He’s concocted a way to let Trump, if he successfully makes it to the White House for a second term come November, wriggle out of a $50 billion loan the …

Reuters reports: EU industry chief Thierry Breton told billionaire Elon Musk in a letter on Monday he must comply with EU law ahead of Musk’s interview with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on social media platform X. The interview, scheduled for 8PM Eastern Time, will also be accessible to users in the EU, Breton wrote, adding: “In this context, I …

Agence France-Presse reports: Social platform X said Friday it would work European regulators after agreeing to suspended its heavily criticized use of European users’ personal data to train its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. After Elon Musk’s social platform began using personal data in public posts made by European users Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the DPC, launched a court case arguing …

EuroNews reports: Bulgaria has passed a law banning LGBTQ+ “propaganda” in schools, in a new blow to human rights that advocacy groups and campaigners have widely condemned. The amendment to Bulgaria’s education law, voted through by parliament on Wednesday, bans the “propaganda, promotion, or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, in the education system of ideas and views related …

TVP World reports: It is Hungary, not Poland, that is conducting business with Russia, a Polish deputy foreign minister said on Sunday in response to the Hungarian prime minister accusing Warsaw of “hypocritical” policy towards Moscow. “We do not do business with Russia, unlike Prime Minister Orbán, who is on the margins of international society – both in the European …

Politico Europe reports: European Union foreign affairs ministers are set to snub Hungary by organizing their own foreign affairs summit in August instead of traveling to Budapest for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s event. Hungary, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, plans to host a foreign affairs summit in Budapest on August 28-29 — a prime …

Agence France-Presse reports: Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform is misleading users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines. EU regulators are unhappy with the blue badge system under Musk’s ownership since anyone can now obtain it with a premium subscription, …

Bloomberg News reports: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban traveled to Florida to meet Donald Trump in the latest stop on his self-styled “peace mission” to resolve the war in Ukraine, which has angered Western allies. Orban posted a photo with the Republican nominee and former US president at his Mar-a-Lago resort, showing the pair giving a thumbs up, in a …

Politico Europe reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed bilateral security agreement with Poland in Warsaw on Monday — aimed at strengthening ties with one of the country’s closest wartime allies. Poland has already provided 44 military aid packages to Ukraine worth €4 billion and has pledged to provide several more this year and into the next decade. Poland agreed to …

ABC News reports: European Union regulators accused social media company Meta Platforms on Monday of breaching the bloc’s new digital competition rulebook by forcing Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them. Meta began giving European users the option in November of paying for ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram as a way to …

The Associated Press reports: When Hungary takes over the helm of the European Union on July 1, many politicians in Brussels will have the same thing on their minds: whether populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will use the role to further his reputation as the bloc’s main spoiler. Orbán in recent years has seemed to relish opportunities to block, water …

Reuters reports: France’s far-right National Rally (RN) extended its lead in a poll published on the last day of campaigning before Sunday’s first round of parliamentary elections, with another survey showing it in sight of a slim majority. Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigrant, eurosceptic party has led polling since President Emmanuel Macron called a surprise snap election this month that has …