Page 38 - European Union

Euro 2024 quarterfinals: Ronaldo heads home as France beats Portugal 5-3

France's heartache in penalty shootouts is over. So is Cristiano Ronaldo's last-ever European Championship. In a clash of the soccer superstars, it was Kylian Mbapp and not Ronaldo, his idol advancing to a semifinal match against Spain as France beat Portugal 5-3 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw on Friday. Portugal substitute Joao Felix hit a post with the only miss in the shootout and Theo Hernndez showed no sign of pressure by converting the clinching kick into the top corner. It was a record sixth and final European Championship for the 39-year-old Ronaldo, who scored Portugal's first penalty in the shootout and ended up consoling fellow veteran Pepe afterward as the 41-year-old defender cried on his captain's shoulder. We need to go through this moment of our loss, which is very painful, Pepe said. Ronaldo's 20-year career in the Euros included the title in 2016 when Portugal beat France in the final and it remains to be seen if the five-time world player of the year wil

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism aims for global decarbonisation: EU

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism aims to treat imported goods the same as EU-produced goods to help global decarbonisation, the Director-General of the European Commission has said following a visit to India to discuss tax and custom issues. Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is the European Union's planned tax on the carbon emitted while making goods imported from countries like India and China. The move has sparked a debate at multilateral forums, including the United Nations climate conferences, as the poorer countries fear such tariffs will harm livelihoods and economic growth. Director-General of the European Commission, Gerassimos Thomas, led a group of officials to New Delhi to discuss tax and customs issues, with a focus on CBAM, on July 1 and 2. He met the Indian government officials and business leaders to explore the manner in which it might affect the Indian industries and explain CBAM's goals and timeline. Thomas welcomed India's plans to decarbonise its ..

Visa, Mastercard to extend non-EU tourist card fee caps to 2029, says EU

Visa, the world's largest payments network operator, and its closest rival Mastercard, in 2019 agreed to a 0.2% fee cap on non-EU debit card payments

Germany fears victory for far-right could harm close relations with France

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is worried about the outcome of the run-off election in France. Scholz, who is normally tightlipped when asked about domestic politics in other European countries, has in recent weeks more than once expressed concern that the far-right, nationalist National Rally may win the second round of elections in neighbouring France on Sunday. Earlier this week, the decidedly pro-European German chancellor even revealed that he and beleaguered French President Emmanuel Macron are texting on a daily basis as the election draws closer. We are discussing the situation, which is really depressing," Scholz said at a summer gathering of his Social Democratic Party in Berlin on Tuesday, according to German news agency dpa. In any case, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the French, whom I love and appreciate so much, the country that means so much to me, will succeed in preventing a government led by a right-wing populist party," Scholz added in an unusually emotiona

UK elections: How Starmer defied expectations to lift Labour back to power

He has now led the Labour party to victory, on track for the biggest majority in Parliament since at least Tony Blair's New Labour landslide in 1997

China urges EU to show sincerity in talks as EV tariffs take effect

The government has repeatedly called on the European Union to cancel its tariffs, expressing a willingness to negotiate

EU announces investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles

The European Union (EU) is launching an investigation into subsidies that China provides to electric vehicle makers, the head of the bloc's executive branch said Wednesday, as concern grows that the aid is harming European companies. Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars, and their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France. As we do not accept this distortion from the inside in our market, we do not accept this from the outside, von der Leyen said. So, I can announce today that the commission is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles coming from China. China's leaders have helped make the country the biggest market for electric vehicles by investing billions of dollars in subsidies to get an early lead in what is seen as a promising industry. Global automakers face growing competition in their hom

UK elections: Five questions ratings firms have for the new government

With a relatively modest 1.3 percentage point of GDP primary budget deficit likely this year, the UK isn't as far away from a debt-stabilizing balance as G7 peers the US, France and Italy are at least

Europe holds breath for France polls; Macron's role in EU to get diluted

The big fear for the EU's traditional political mainstream is an outright RN victory, forcing Macron to 'co-habit' with a government hostile to his vision of European sovereignty

Xi Jinping greets EU Council president ahead of EV tariffs taking effect

EU trade policy has turned increasingly protective over concerns that China's production-focused development model could see it flooded with cheap goods

Lufthansa gets EU nod for $350 million stake in Italy's ITA Airways

ITA also offers key long-haul routes to Lufthansa, which has an option to take full ownership if the Italian airline's financial performance improves

EU approves Sanofi's Dupixent injection to treat chronic lung disease

The EU Commission approved Dupixent to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in patients that cannot be helped by standard inhaled drugs

At its lowest level in three years, German inflation eases to 2.5% in June

Economists pay close attention to German inflation data, as the euro zone's biggest economy publishes its figures before the euro zone inflation data release

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta faces EU charges for Digital Markets Act breach

After Apple, the European Commission is preparing to charge Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook for its 'pay or consent' model

Euro rises after first-round of France's snap elections, yen struggles

The euro, which has fallen some 0.8% since Prez Emmanuel Macron called the election on June 9, was last 0.24% higher at $1.0737

French voters give strong lead to far-right in first-round of elections

French voters propelled the far-right National Rally to a strong lead in first-round legislative elections on Sunday and plunged the country into political uncertainty, according to polling projections. French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the surprise elections just three weeks ago, urged voters to rally against the far right in the second round of balloting. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen called on voters to give the National Rally an absolute majority at parliament. She said a National Rally majority would enable the far right to form a new government with party President Jordan Bardella as prime minister in order to work on France's recovery. Projections by polling agencies suggest the National Rally stands a good chance of winning a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time, with an estimated one-third of the first-round vote, nearly double their 18 per cent in the first round in 2022. The party is building on its success in European elections

Hungary's Orbn to take over EU presidency as many issues hang in balance

When Hungary takes over the helm of the European Union on July 1, many politicians in Brussels will have the same thing on their minds: whether populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbn will use the role to further his reputation as the bloc's main spoiler. Orbn in recent years has seemed to relish opportunities to block, water down or delay key EU decisions, routinely going against the grain of most other leaders on issues like the war in Ukraine, relations with Russia and China, and efforts to defend democracy and the rule of law. His public opposition to EU policies and stances has long frustrated his partners in the bloc and pushed him to the margins of the continent's mainstream. Hungary's motto for its presidency Make Europe Great Again raised eyebrows for its resemblance to the famous tagline of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The EU presidency rotates among its member countries, and while the post holds little real power, it does allow countries to put their priorities high

Microsoft's $13 billion investment into OpenAI faces extra EU scrutiny

Margrethe Vestager, the bloc's antitrust chief, announced Friday that the EU has ruled out an investigation under the EU's merger rules into the deal

China's Xi calls for 'bridges' amid trade, diplomatic & territory disputes

China will never leave the road of peaceful development, Xi said at a conference commemorating China's guiding principles for foreign affairs first formulated 70 years ago

EU leaders agree on officials who will be face of European Commission

European Union leaders signed off on a trio of top appointments for their shared political institutions on Thursday, reinstalling German conservative Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission for another five years. At the side of von der Leyen, who heads the EU's executive branch, would be two new faces: Antonio Costa of Portugal as European Council president and Estonia's Kaja Kallas as the top diplomat of the world's largest trading bloc. Mission Accomplished, outgoing EU Council President Charles Michel told reporters after chairing a summit of the bloc's leaders, as von der Leyen and Kallas accompanied him at a joint a news conference. Costa took part via video-link. Von der Leyen expressed her gratitude for a shot at a second term of office, saying: I'm very honored and I'm delighted to share this moment. Kallas, who as the EU's top diplomat will lead the bloc's foreign and security policy with Russia's war on Ukraine in its third year, noted that there is