European Union

Europe seeks to increase migrant deportations using Trump-style tactics

The European Union is expanding its powers to track, raid and deport migrants to "return hubs" in third countries in Africa and elsewhere, quietly adopting tactics of the Trump administration that have drawn public criticism across the 27-nation bloc. The EU continues to tighten migration policies after right-wing parties took power in some countries in 2024. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, from the centre-right European People's Party coalition, has said the new measures will prevent a repeat of the 2015 crisis caused by the civil war in Syria, when about one million people arrived to seek asylum. "We have learnt the lessons of the past. And today, we are better equipped," von der Leyen has said. The new policies, known as the Pact on Migration and Asylum, go into effect on June 12. Far-right parties in Europe have praised the deportation policies of US President Donald Trump and called for the EU to adopt a similar approach. Human rights groups warn that ...

European Parliament approves US trade deal but adds safeguard clauses

The European Parliament voted Thursday to approve a trade deal between Washington and Brussels but with amendments added to protect European interests should the United States fail to hold up its end of the bargain. The deal was negotiated last July in Turnberry, Scotland, by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It set a 15 per cent tariff on most goods in an effort to stave off far higher import duties on both sides that might have sent shock waves through economies around the globe. New language now says that the deal can be suspended if Washington "undermined the objectives of the deal, discriminated against EU economic operators, threatened member states' territorial integrity, foreign and defence policies, or engaged in economic coercion." That clause was forged because of the tensions over Greenland, said Bernd Lange, a German lawmaker and head of the EU's parliamentary trade committee. Trump drew widespread condemnation across th

Australia, EU sign free trade pact after eight years of negotiations

The deal follows intensified talks amid sharply higher US tariffs under the Trump administration and growing Western concerns over China's dominant position in rare earths and other critical minerals

Europe, Australia agree to free trade deal to boost ties, defy US

The conclusion of negotiations for the agreement was announced by Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Ursula von der Leyen, the EU's top executive

EU leaders brace for multi-year energy squeeze after Qatar gas plant hit

Gas prices on Thursday surged to levels not seen in three years, while the European Central Bank said a prolonged disruption would push euro-zone inflation to 6.3% and trigger a brief recession

UK, EU leaders say ready to 'contribute' for safe passage through Hormuz

The joint statement reflects growing concern that Iran's retaliatory attacks in response to US-Israeli bombardment threaten to stoke inflation and further disrupt global trade

EU summit will focus on West Asia war, loan to Ukraine blocked by Hungary

European Union leaders are holding a summit in Brussels on Thursday for talks on the Iran war, energy prices, migration and an enormous loan for war-ravaged Ukraine being held up by Hungary. Many of those leaders have deflected entreaties by US President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the global flow of oil, gas and fertiliser. Rising energy prices because of the war and fears in Europe of a new refugee crisis have pushed leaders to make the Middle East one of the top priorities at the summit. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, has floated the idea of a "toolbox" of measures to lower energy prices for leaders to discuss because no single policy will work across the myriad markets in the 27-nation bloc to blunt economic shocks from the war, according to a senior European diplomat who wasn't authorised to be publicly named so spoke on condition of anonymity. The summit will also focus on a long-brewing standoff

EU proposes 'EU Inc' plan to boost startups against US and China

While the EU proposal to operate under a single set of EU rules is available to any European businesses, it is mainly aimed at new companies with innovative technologies to help them scale up

EAM Jaishankar meets EU leadership, discusses West Asia, India-EU FTA

EAM S Jaishankar met EU leaders in Brussels to discuss West Asia, energy security and push early signing of the India-EU free trade agreement and deeper strategic ties

EU patrol boat capsizes near Greek island; Estonian ambassador rescued

A European Union border agency patrol boat carrying five people, including the Estonian ambassador to Greece, has sunk off Greece's easternmost island, the Greek coast guard said Monday. Four injured people were airlifted to a hospital on the island of Rhodes. The Frontex patrol boat sank off the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo after capsizing, the coast guard said. It did not give a reason for the sinking. Four Estonians, including the ambassador, and one Greek Frontex liaison officer were on board at the time. The five were rescued by a Greek coast guard boat and a passing sailboat and transported to Kastellorizo, from where four injured people were airlifted to Rhodes. The coast guard did not specify whether the ambassador was among the four. Last July, a Frontex patrol boat operated by the Portuguese Maritime Police sank off the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos during a search and rescue operation involving a boat carrying migrants. There were no injuries reported from that ...

EU considers redirecting Red Sea naval mission to protect Strait of Hormuz

The EU operation in question is Aspides, which was launched in 2024 after the Houthis attacked shipping vessels in the Red Sea

RBI-Esma pact likely to need reboot if India's concerns not resolved

EU regulator's demand to audit Indian central counterparties' books seen as extraterritorial

US opens new unfair-trade probes to rebuild Trump's tariff pressure

USTR Jamieson Greer said that Section 301 ​unfair trade practices probe could lead to new tariffs imposed against China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico by ​this summer

EU urges US to strictly enforce G7 price cap on Russian oil exports

G7 finance ministers said on Monday they were ready to release oil from strategic reserves ​to help lower prices, if necessary

Meta to allow AI bot rivals on WhatsApp in bid to stave off EU action

Facing scrutiny from European Union antitrust authorities, Meta says competing AI chatbots will be permitted on WhatsApp in Europe for a year through the Business API, though access will involve fees

PM Modi moots 'reform partnership charter' with industry, lenders

At a post-Budget webinar, PM Modi calls for a reform partnership charter to formalise collaboration among government, industry, FIs and academia, and urges deeper reforms and investment

India-EU FTA leaves carbon tax intact, talks to address concerns: Official

The European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will not see any exceptions despite the concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but both sides have committed to technical discussions to find the best way forward, a senior German environment ministry official said here. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, emphasised that the CBAM is not targeted against any specific country but serves as a necessary protective measure once carbon pricing is introduced domestically in the EU. "CBAM is not against anyone. Once you introduce carbon pricing, you need to have some kind of protection," Flasbarth told PTI Videos on Wednesday during his ongoing visit to India, where he held discussions with officials from the Ministries of New and Renewable Energy, Power, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change. "With the carbon pricing, we need to do something, and that is

Report flags need for hypersonic response against Russia's missile defences

The A-235 anti-ballistic missile system and S-500 air defence systems around the capital have advanced to the point where they could keep UK and French nuclear warheads from getting through

EU hits pause on US trade deal after Trump announces 15% global tariff

Frustrated European officials pushed Monday for clarification on how US President Donald Trump's declaration of a 15 per cent global tax on imports would affect the trade deal they struck with Trump this summer as EU legislators hit pause on the deal's ratification until they get clarity. The European Parliament's trade committee postponed a committee vote on ratification after Trump said he would impose the new tariff, after the US Supreme Court struck down his use of an emergency powers law to set new import taxes. Trump then turned to another section of trade law to justify his imposition of the 15 per cent global rate, which take effect Tuesday. The EU position is expressed in five words: "A deal is a deal," said commission spokesman Olof Gill. "So now we are simply saying to the US, it is up to you to clearly show to us what path you are taking to honor the agreement." The US-EU deal called for a 15 per cent cap on tariffs on most European goods imports, while tariffs on US ...

Govt will fund major EU compliance costs for SMEs, says Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal says the government will fund key compliance costs for small exporters needing EU approvals under CBAM and REACH, as India expands trade deals and targets $2 trn exports