Tag Archives: European Union

Politico Europe reports: Britain and the European Union are set to sign a formal declaration committing to “free and open trade” in defiance of Donald Trump’s tariff agenda. A leaked draft seen by POLITICO promises a “new strategic partnership” between London and Brussels based on “maintaining global economic stability and our mutual commitment to free and open trade.” It comes as …

Politico Europe reports: The European Commission issued the first fines under its Digital Markets Act on Wednesday, slapping tech giants Apple and Meta with penalties for breaching the EU’s new digital rulebook. Apple faces a €500 million fine for breaching the regulation’s rules for app stores, while Meta drew a penalty of €200 million for its “pay or consent” advertising …

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 Associated Press reports: Hungary’s parliament has passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities. Legal scholars and critics call Monday’s decision another step toward authoritarianism as the populist government continues to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ communities. The amendment passed along party lines, with 140 votes for and 21 against. …

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 …

Politico Europe reports: Sometimes it’s better not to know what your so-called friends say behind your back. Case in point: When your closest ally calls you “PATHETIC,” accuses you of “free-loading” and says you should be made to pay for something you never knew they were going to do. British and European officials and diplomats reacted with a mix of …

Politico Europe reports: Tesla’s downward spiral is turning into a rout, with its share of European electric car sales falling by 58 percent in the first two months of this year, dropping from 18.4 percent in 2024 to 7.7 percent for the same period this year, according to data from JATO Dynamics. To add insult to injury, Chinese EV brands …

“We’re very under-leveraged when you look at the asset value of this country. But we’re over-leveraged in terms of cash flow. We’re gonna have big cash flow. We’re gonna take in. For years, we allowed our country to be raped and pillaged. Raped and pillaged. Terrible expressions. And that’s what happened. Much of it was done by our friends. Look …

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 …