Page 32 - European Union

EU set to choose company for critical minerals joint buying platform

EU's rationale for pooling together buying orders is that it would hand participants more leverage to achieve more favourable deals and prices for critical minerals essential for the green transition

Early results show 50% of Moldovans vote 'yes' in EU aspirations referendum

Moldova's pro-Western president early Monday looked set to win the first round of a presidential race but accused criminal groups of undermining a referendum asking voters to decide whether to secure a path toward European Union membership, which risked being narrowly rejected. Nearly 95% of votes were counted in the EU referendum that asks voters to choose whether to enshrine in the country's constitution a path toward the EU. About 52% of a total 1.2 million ballots voted no, while 47% voted Yes. However, ballots cast among the country's large diaspora were still being tallied and tended to favour the EU path. Criminal groups, working together with foreign forces hostile to our national interests, have attacked our country with tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda, using the most disgraceful means to keep our citizens and our nation trapped in uncertainty and instability, said President Maia Sandu after about 90% of the votes had been counted. We have clear evidence tha

EU leaders seek to tighten borders amid rising far-right migration concerns

European Union leaders on Thursday lauded a groundswell of support for tightening their borders and making the bloc a more hostile destination for migrants and asylum seekers following a recent surge in support for the extreme right, which has fomented opposition to foreigners. They also backed Poland's moves to rein in migration after Warsaw said it wants to temporarily suspend the right to asylum because it feels Russia and Belarus are seeking to create chaos by pushing migrants across the EU border as a form of hybrid warfare targeting the 27-nation bloc. At the end of a summit dominated by migration issues, EU leaders were already fostering plans to speed up initiatives to get migrants not eligible to stay in the EU out of the bloc and process asylum applications far outside their borders, seeking to buttress a reputation as a Fortress Europe. Echoing comments from many quarters, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Things are changing in the European Union. Now the

EU may impose fine on X by including revenue from Musk's other businesses

The European Commission has been investigating X for several potential breaches of the Digital Services Act, newly introduced rules meant to ensure platforms police illegal content

President Zelenskyy heads to EU, Nato to seek backing for 'victory plan'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will seek support from European Union leaders on Thursday for what he is calling his victory plan to end the devastating war with Russia. Zelenskyy will address EU leaders at their summit in Brussels before shuttling across town to meet with NATO defence ministers. The EU is a key supporter of Ukraine a candidate member of the 27-nation bloc as it fights Russia's invasion that began more than 2 1/2 years ago. Zelenskyy outlined the five-point plan to Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday without disclosing confidential elements that have been presented in private to key allies, including the United States. Reaction was muted at NATO, where Secretary-General Mark Rutte said only that he and the allies take note of it. He did not discuss when Ukraine might join the world's biggest military alliance, beyond insisting that it would eventually become a member. The plan has many aspects and many political and military issues we really need to hammer

EU thought it had new migration plan but it may be too little, too late

European Union leaders will use a summit Thursday to seek ways to make the bloc a more hostile destination for migrants and asylum seekers following a recent surge in support for the extreme right, which has fomented opposition to foreigners. As the summit opens in Brussels, the 27 EU leader are looking at plans to speed up initiatives to get unwanted migrants out of the bloc and process asylum applications far outside their borders. The tenor of the debate is a far cry from 2015, less than a decade ago, when the EU was faced with a migration crisis. Well over a million migrants and refugees sought help then, mainly from the Middle East and Afghanistan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the EU's dominant national leader at the time, famously said, We can manage that. Now, EU leaders want to manage and seal off their borders ever more tightly, embracing initiatives that would have looked unacceptable only a few years ago. In recent weeks, Poland has said it wants to temporarily suspe

EU AI act checker exposes compliance gaps in big tech's AI models

However, the company's "Large Language Model (LLM) Checker" uncovered some models' shortcomings in key areas, spotlighting where companies may need to divert resources in order to ensure compliance

India is Russia's no. 2 supplier of restricted tech, say US, EU officials

Indian exports of restricted items such as microchips, circuits and machine tools surpassed $60 million in both April and May

India-EU leaders flag slow progress in free trade agreement talks

Delphin and Goyal also highlighted the need to resolve constraints and regulatory hurdles faced by companies while doing business in India and the EU, respectively

European Union's deforestation regulation, carbon tax unfair: Piyush Goyal

The European Union's (EU) deforestation regulation and carbon tax are unfair and would impact Indian industries, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. He also said the EU's safeguard measures on some steel products are irrational too. Addressing industry and representatives of EU here on the launch of Federation of European Business in India (FEBI), he said Indian industries are "confronted with unfair rules of deforestation, rules around CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) and various other measures". Major agriculture-exporting countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia and the US, have raised objections to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The EUDR was adopted on May 16, 2023, and seeks to prevent the import of specified goods contributing to deforestation and forest degradation in the EU market. The covered products include coffee, leather, oil cake, wood furniture, paper, and paperboard, with plans to expand the product list further. How

EU's new system to sanction people indulging in sabotage on Russia's behalf

The European Union on Tuesday set up a system for imposing sanctions against people accused of cyberattacks, information manipulation or acts of sabotage on behalf of Russia to undermine EU support for Ukraine. NATO warned earlier this year of Russian hostile state activity against the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the U.K., and said that the Kremlin's actions constitute a threat to allied security. The EU said that it too has detected an increasing number of a broad range of activities. It said that Russia also continues to disrupt satellite communications, violate European airspace and organize physical attacks against people. The challenge is that many of the activities fall below a threshold that might require a military response and both organizations are struggling to discourage such attacks effectively. The EU's new framework will allow it to target people, agencies or organizations that seek to undermine its fundamental values or security,

China imposes deposits on EU brandy in tit-for-tat after EV tariff vote

As of Oct 11, importers of brandy originating in the EU will have to put down security deposits mostly ranging from 34.8 per cent to 39.0 per cent of the import value, the ministry said

Malaysia hopes EU legislators will be accommodative on sustainable policies

n the engagements we have made with EU, we are ready to comply. We just need a little bit more time for our small holders... the government will assist them to comply

Carmakers don't plan price changes to China-made EVs after EU backs tariffs

MG Motor France said tariffs were "excessive" and hamper Europe's green transition

Meta must limit data use for targeted advertising, rules top EU court

Schrems took his grievance to an Austrian court, saying he had been targeted by advertisements as a result of Meta's personalised advertising based on processing personal data

India, EU regulators in negotiations as October deadline on oversight looms

The Reserve Bank of India denied European Securities and Markets Authority's request to co-supervise Indian transactions, citing concerns over "extra-territorial reach"

Germany's Thyssenkrupp loses fight against EU veto of Tata Steel JV

EU competition enforcer said the deal, which had aimed to tackle over-capacity and other challenges in the steel industry, could result in price hikes

EU governments face pivotal vote today for imposing Chinese EV tariffs

In the absence of a qualified majority either way, the EU executive can adopt the tariffs, however, it could also submit an amended proposal if it wanted to secure greater backing

EU headed for 'economic cold war' with China: Hungary's PM on EV tariff

Earlier on Friday data showed Hungary's industrial output falling by a worse-than-expected 9.5 per cent in August, which Budapest said was due to the weakness of the German economy

India must balance EU carbon tariffs with economic interest, climate action

India must also press developed countries to fulfil their commitments on climate finance and technology transfers