Page 30 - European Union

EU seeks assurances from Syria's leaders in exchange for dropping sanctions

European Union nations on Monday set out conditions for lifting sanctions on Syria and kick-starting aid to the conflict-ravaged country amid uncertainty about its new leaders' intentions just over a week after they seized power. At a meeting in Brussels, the EU's top diplomats said they want guarantees from members of Syria's interim government that they are preparing for a peaceful political future involving all minority groups, one in which extremism and former allies Russia and Iran have no place. Since Damascus fell on Dec 8 and leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow, Syria's transition has been surprisingly smooth. Few reports have surfaced of reprisals, revenge killings or sectarian violence. Most looting or destruction has been quickly contained. But the new leadership has yet to lay out a clear vision of how Syria will be governed. The interim government was set up by former opposition forces led by the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, a former al-Qaida ...

India shifts motor fuel exports towards Asia amid reduced European demand

Lower import orders from Europe, reduced exports by China behind the shift

EU imposes new sanctions on Russia, illicit oil shipments, targets China

The EU began adding ships this year in response to an increase in the number of vessels transporting cargoes that are not regulated or insured by conventional Western providers. The listing included

Ten EU nations write letter seeking wider sanctions on Russian-origin metal

There are more than 2,000 individuals and entities on the EU's sanctions list, but not Russian metal producers such as Rusal or primary metal produced in Russia

Germany's Scholz loses confidence vote, setting up early election in Feb

Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union's most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in February. Scholz won the support of 207 lawmakers in the 733-seat lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 voted against him and 116 abstained. That left him far short of the majority of 367 needed to win. Scholz leads a minority government after his unpopular and notoriously rancorous three-party coalition collapsed on Nov 6 when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalize Germany's stagnant economy. Leaders of several major parties then agreed that a parliamentary election should be held on Feb 23, seven months earlier than originally planned. The confidence vote was needed because post-World War II Germany's constitution doesn't allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself. Now President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has to decide whether to dissolve parliament and call an ...

EU slaps sanctions on dozens more Russian officials; targets oil, gas fleet

The European Union on Monday imposed fresh sanctions on dozens of officials linked to Russia's war on Ukraine, including two top North Korean defence officials, a military unit blamed for an attack on a Kyiv children's hospital and the heads of companies in the energy sector. Russia's vast shadow fleet of ships that Moscow is exploiting to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and gas, or carrying stolen Ukrainian grain, was also targeted. Fifty-two vessels were added to a growing list of ships banned from European ports and deprived of services. This package of sanctions is part of our response to weaken Russia's war machine and those who are enabling this war, also including Chinese companies, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. We will stand by the Ukrainian people on all fronts: humanitarian, economic, political, diplomatic and military. In all, EU foreign ministers froze the assets of 54 people and 30 entities, which are usually companies, ministries, government agencies

French economist Thomas Piketty for emulation of 20th-century wealth tax

India abolished wealth tax in 2015, holding that it had become burdensome to the administration without substantial collections

India lays stress on 'transition period' for European Union green norms

India-EU FTA was launched in June 2022. Nine rounds of negotiations have already taken place

Formula 1 owner's $3.8 billion MotoGP deal faces full-scale EU probe

MotoGP is just the latest asset to be taken over by billionaire John Malone's sprawling Liberty Media empire that already includes a wide range of media, communications and entertainment businesses

ECB cuts rates 25 bps to 3% amid worsening growth outlook for Euro zone

The ECB has been easing policy as inflation worries largely evaporate and the debate shifts to whether it is cutting rates fast enough to support an economy that is lagging global peers

India-EU trade pact talks need political directions for meaningful deal

The proposed free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the European Union (EU) need political directions to reach a commercially meaningful deal while understanding each other's sensitivities, an official statement said on Thursday. The pact came up for discussion during an interaction between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Ambassadors of the European Commission delegation. Goyal said that both sides are aiming for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial FTA. "The FTA negotiations, after 9 rounds of intense engagement, need political directions to arrive at a commercially meaningful deal while understanding the sensitivities of each other," the commerce and industry ministry said. The minister also noted that any sustainability discussions must appreciate the principle of 'Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR)' and implementation of such measures should take into account differing paths of development. These remarks

EU gives inputs to India on cos supplying items to Russia despite sanctions

The European Union has provided India with inputs on the alleged involvement of certain Indian entities in supplying "high priority" goods with possible military application to Russia in violation of Western sanctions, people familiar with the development said. EU Sanctions Envoy David O Sullivan said he visited India in October to discuss with Indian authorities "systemic solutions" to stop the "illicit flow" of the common high priority items to Russia. There was no immediate comment from the Indian side on the matter. India has been maintaining that as a matter of policy, it only recognises UN sanctions. "I travelled to India in October 2024 for the second time to discuss with Indian authorities systemic solutions to stop the illicit flow of common high priority items to Russia," Sullivan said in response to a query. It is learnt that he provided certain details to the Indian authorities about the Indian firms allegedly supplying products to Russia circumventing the sanctions ...

Ahead of 2025 summit, India, EU to hold strategic foreign policy dialogue

India and the European Union on Tuesday agreed to hold the first-ever ministerial strategic foreign policy dialogue soon to jointly navigate an array of critical challenges including geo-political tensions and Chinese belligerence in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The decision to institute the strategic dialogue was taken during a phone conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart from the 27-nation bloc Kaja Kallas. In a post on 'X', Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said it was agreed to hold the first ministerial strategic foreign policy dialogue soon. The move to hold the dialogue comes months before India and the EU hold summit-level talks in New Delhi that is expected to see significant outcomes in terms of deepening of cooperation in a range of areas such as security, digital public infrastructure and trade. It is expected that the dialogue at the level of foreign ministers of the two sides will provi

16 member countries urge to include vapes in EU's tobacco tax law

Initiative, led by Netherlands, has support of Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, Slovenia and Portugal

European Union on collision course with Trump on Big Tech crackdown

The most immediate dilemma for the EU may be how to approach the X platform

Rachel Reeves to push for UK, EU reset at finance ministers' meeting

Britain's Labour government is pushing to reset ties with the EU after coming to power in July and improve trading relations in a bid to raise growth

Europe's economy to suffer if chaos continues in France, Germany: Experts

Even before the French and German governments collapsed, Europe's economy had enough difficulties. Tepid growth and lagging competitiveness versus the US and China. An auto industry that's struggling. Where to find billions for defense against Russia? And now Donald Trump threatening tariffs. Solutions will be harder to find while the two countries that make up almost half of the eurozone economy remain stuck in political paralysis well into 2025. Where once there was the so-called French-German axis to push Europe ahead, now there's a vacuum. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned Thursday after losing a vote of confidence, and while President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a successor, the new head of government will lack a majority. Elections are not constitutionally permitted until at least June. Germany's coalition led by Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz with the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats fractured in November, triggering an early election on Feb. 23.

EU probes Nvidia over potential bundling practices in AI chip market

The company has seen high demand from customers involved in generative AI and accelerated computing for its chips

Georgia opposition party leader arrested as protests over EU row continue

Georgian police on Wednesday raided the offices of an opposition party and arrested its leader in an apparent attempt to squelch a wave of mass protests triggered by the governing party's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union. During the past six nights, riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the Georgian capital's central boulevard. More than 300 protesters have been detained since Thursday and over 100 people have been treated for injuries. On Wednesday, the Coalition for Change opposition party said that police raided its offices and detained its leader, Nika Gvaramia. It shared a video showing several officers dragging Gvaramia into a car. Georgian media reported that police also raided the offices of several other opposition groups and non-government organizations. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the Georgian Dream party said the raids targeted those

EU condemns Taliban's reported suspension of medical education for females

The European Union on Thursday condemned the Taliban for violating human rights and women's access to education after media reports that the Taliban's leader has ordered private and public institutions to stop providing medical courses for women and girls in Afghanistan. The Taliban have neither confirmed the order nor responded to the media reports. The Public Health Ministry spokesman was unavailable for comment. In September 2021, a month after they returned to power, the Taliban stopped schooling for girls after grade six. They banned women from university in December 2022. Medical education, like nursing and midwifery, was one of the few ways they could continue their learning in classrooms. The BBC and others reported that five institutions across Afghanistan said the Taliban had instructed them to close until further notice, and women training as midwives and nurses were ordered not to return to classes Wednesday. The EU said the Taliban's latest reported decision represent