European Union

Bloomberg News reports: Latvia’s parliament elected long-time Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics as the Baltic nation’s new president, making him the European Union’s first openly gay head of state. Fifty-two lawmakers in the 100-seat legislature in Riga voted for Rinkevics, who has served as Latvia’s top envoy for almost 12 years, to succeed President Egils Levits. Rinkevics has been a consistent …

TechCrunch reports: Twitter has withdrawn from the European Union’s Code of Practice on online disinformation, per the bloc’s internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton. In a tweet last night — which confirmed earlier reports of Twitter’s impending exit from the EU Code — Breton issued the social media platform with a blunt warning: Telling Twitter it cannot hide from incoming legal …

Euractiv reports: Twitter told the European Commission it is seriously considering withdrawing from the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation, a voluntary agreement that preludes upcoming binding rules, EU officials told EURACTIV. The announcement of Twitter’s withdrawal from the code would come as little surprise to those involved in the voluntary pledge. Since Elon Musk took over the tech company …

CNBC reports: Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion) by European privacy regulators over the transfer of EU user data to the U.S. The decision links back to a case brought by Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems who argued that the framework for transferring EU citizen data to America did not protect Europeans from U.S. surveillance. …

The Guardian reports: Hungary has stepped up threats to block further EU funds for weapons to aid Ukraine, marring a show of unity from western nations at the G7 summit. The Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, has said his government will block a further €500m from the European peace facility, a fund used to reimburse EU member states that supply …

TechCrunch reports: The European Union has confirmed the names of over a dozen platforms that will face the strictest level of regulation under its recently rebooted and expanded ecommerce rules, aka the Digital Services Act (DSA). The list is a mix of familiar digital services, from social media apps to search engines and app stores — with no real surprises. …

Yahoo News reports: Hungary has blocked a joint statement by the European Union member states on the issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Due to Budapest’s veto, the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, issued a statement on his own behalf, in which he “took note of the decision …

Reuters reports: The European Union told Elon Musk to hire more human moderators and fact-checkers to review posts on Twitter, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing four people familiar with talks between Musk, Twitter executives and regulators in Brussels. The demand complicates Musk’s efforts to reorganize the loss-making business he acquired for $44 billion in October. He has slashed …

EuroNews reports: In the new year, Croatia will become the latest country to join the Eurozone and the Schengen area, a move that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says makes the European Union stronger. As of Sunday, the country will “join a community of 347 million Europeans who use the euro in their daily lives,” von der Leyen …

From a joint EU and US press release: The European Union and the United States of America are concerned about the continued tense situation in the north of Kosovo. We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, to take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation, and to refrain from provocations, threats, or intimidation. We are working with President Vučić …

The Daily Beast reports: Four European Union leaders have been charged with participation in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption, tied to alleged bribes from FIFA World Cup host Qatar. Raids on diplomats’ homes in Brussels and Strasbourg, where the E.U. parliament meets, uncovered “bags of money.” Greek EU vice president Eva Kaili—who is languishing in a Belgium jail …

Politico Europe reports: Twitter needs to comply with EU rules on content moderation and other online policies, French President Emmanuel Macron told Elon Musk in a meeting on Friday. “Transparent user policies, significant reinforcement of content moderation and protection of freedom of speech: efforts have to be made by Twitter to comply with European regulations,” Macron said after what he …

Bloomberg News reports: Members of the European Parliament voted to force companies such as Apple Inc. to adapt products that don’t already feature a standard USB-C charger to use one. This would include iPhones, in Apple’s case. A total of 602 lawmakers voted for the plan on Tuesday, with 13 against, and eight abstaining. The deal, provisionally agreed in June …

Courthouse News reports: Inflation in the 19-nation eurozone rose to 9.1% in August, up 7.1% from just a year earlier, according to data released Friday by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency. It remains 1% lower than the 10.1% inflation rate across the broader 27-member EU, which recorded a rate of just 3.2% in August 2021. The latest EU rate broke …

Reuters reports: The European Union executive recommended on Sunday suspending some 7.5 billion euros in funding for Hungary over corruption, the first such case in the 27-nation bloc under a new sanction meant to better protect the rule of law. The EU introduced the new financial sanction two years ago precisely in response to what it says amounts to the …

The Associated Press reports: Viktor Orban is facing a reckoning with the EU, which appears set to impose financial penalties on his government over corruption concerns and alleged rule-of-law violations that could cost Budapest billions and cripple its already ailing economy. The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, has for nearly a decade accused Orban of dismantling democratic institutions, taking …

Politico Europe reports: The EU should significantly expand but must first undergo fundamental reforms to ensure an enlarged bloc can still function, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday. During an hour-long speech at Charles University in Prague, Scholz outlined his vision for an EU of the future — one that has absorbed up to nine new members on its eastern …

Politico Europe reports: EU foreign ministers are set to back a suspension of the bloc’s visa facilitation agreement with Moscow, the Financial Times reported, citing three officials involved in talks. Authorities have discussed limiting travel permits for Russian citizens, with some member states calling for an outright ban on Russian tourist visas, but there is no majority in favor of …

The Voice Of America reports: A smaller dose of the monkeypox vaccine appears to still be effective and can be used to stretch the current supply by five times, the European Medicines Agency said Friday, echoing a recommendation made earlier this month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The EU drug regulator said in a statement that injecting people …

Reuter reports: Euro zone inflation reached a new record high of 8.9% year-on-year in July, the EU’s statistics office confirmed on Thursday, with the core measure, excluding the most volatile components and key for monetary policy, also sharply up. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said consumer prices in the 19 countries using the euro rose in July for a …