Page 2 - European Union

EU rules: What makes the USB-C port the gold standard of charging ports?

Even Apple will be forced to comply with EU rules mandating USB-C ports for all phones and tablets etc. Here we try to explain what makes this port the right choice for everyone

Apple opens iPhone ecosystem in EU: What it means for consumers, developers

Apple has announced changes to iOS, Safari, and App Store that will be limited to the 27 EU member countries and will roll out with the iOS 17.4 update in March

This EU rule may let you replace your phone battery yourself from 2027

From February 2027, the EU will require many devices to have removable batteries, a shift that could make phones easier to repair, extend their lifespan, and influence global design standards

EU to push for jet fuel diversification as Iran war threatens supply

Flights in Europe could start to be cancelled from the end of May due to a lack of jet fuel, the International Air Transport Association's director general Willie Walsh said

EU's proposed CBAM expansion may impact Indian exporters, says GTRI

The European Union is planning an expansion of its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the move could increase carbon tax costs on Indian manufactured exports to Europe, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. It said that Indian exporters selling into Europe may need to accelerate emissions accounting, supply-chain traceability, and decarbonisation investments to remain competitive in one of the country's key export markets. In a draft report issued on April 10, 2026, the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) proposed five major changes to the CBAM regime. The changes include extending CBAM to around 180 additional steel- and aluminium-based manufactured products from January 1, 2028; and tightening carbon accounting rules for scrap-based production by including emissions from pre-consumer scrap, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. It also includes examining expansion of the mechanism to indirect emissions from ...

EU unveils age verification app as social media bans gain steam

The software was originally pitched as a way to prevent children from accessing obscene or harmful content online and comes as many EU members are debating restricting social media for minors

Europe mulls fallback plan if US pulls back from Nato amid Trump's threats

An anxious Europe scrambles for solutions after US President Donald Trump has threatened to annex Greenland from Denmark, and called Nato a 'paper tiger'

EU launches critical minerals platform to reduce reliance on China

The EU's Energy and Raw Materials Platform opened to submissions from buyers on Monday in the first phase of a multi-month process, an EU spokesperson told Reuters

PM Modi congratulates Hungary's Peter Magyar for landslide victory in polls

Magyar's victory is being widely seen as a turning point in Hungarian politics, potentially reshaping the country's domestic policies as well as its relations within the European Union

'Flagrant violation': EU condemns Israel over 30 new West Bank settlements

The reaction came following Israel's recent decision to establish more than 30 new settlements in the occupied West Bank

European nationalists, once MAGA allies, turn against Trump over Iran war

When President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, he was eager to pick up where he left off by strengthening ties with Europe's right wing. But now many of those same factions are expressing open revulsion at the Iran war, rupturing relationships that were supposed to usher in a new international order. Although Vice President JD Vance campaigned for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban this week, such a display has become the exception rather than the rule among conservatives and far-right leaders in Europe. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni refused to let the United States use an air base in Sicily to launch attacks on Iran. France's National Rally leader Marine Le Pen described his war goals as "erratic." And the head of Germany's Alternative for Germany party called for American troops to leave their bases in the country. Even with a fragile ceasefire in place with Iran, Trump's support for Orban may not work out for the autocratic Hungarian leader, who fac

EU pushes for profit caps on energy firms as Iran conflict drives prices up

The finance ministers of Spain and four other European countries are urging the European Union to impose a bloc-wide windfall tax on energy companies, concerned that surging oil and gas prices driven by the war in Iran will fuel inflation and strain households. Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said on Saturday that his counterparts from Germany, Italy, Portugal and Austria had signed a letter to the European Commission citing "market distortions" caused by the price spike. "The conflict in the Middle East has caused oil prices to rise, placing a significant burden on the European economy and on European citizens," the letter, dated Friday and made public by Cuerpo in an online post, said. "It is important to ensure that this burden is distributed fairly," it added. Europe is largely dependent on imported oil and gas, leaving it vulnerable to external shocks. In 2022, turmoil in energy markets following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine pushed inflation into double digit

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