Page 41 - European Union

Why is Israel arch-enemy Hezbollah threatening a small EU country with war?

Hezbollah's threat came a day after Israel warned that the prospect of an 'all-out war' in Lebanon was 'getting very close'

China accuses EU of foul play, says escalation could trigger 'trade war'

China's Commerce Ministry on Thursday accused the European Union of making unreasonable demands in its investigation into imports of Chinese electric vehicles before announcing it was raising tariffs by as much as 38 per cent. Ministry spokesman He Yadong said the European side had demanded excessive amounts of information from Chinese automakers and then unfairly accused the Chinese companies of failing to cooperate. The types, scope, and amount of information collected by the European side are unprecedented, far exceeding the requirements of anti-subsidy investigations, He said. He said that included requiring details on manufacturing and development, technology and product formulas, among other aspects, from Chinese electric vehicle and battery companies. "After Chinese companies did their best to cooperate with the investigation and provided information, the European Commission still unreasonably accused Chinese companies of not fully cooperating and imposed punitive high tax ..

EU electric car sales fall in May as German demand slumps, says industry

Overall new car sales in the bloc fell by 3 per cent in May from the same month in 2023, the second drop this year

'EU laws on sustainable products to hurt exports from developing nations'

Since most products covered are consumer products, the price rise may lead to inflation in the EU, the report said

Euro 2024: Italy, Spain meet for fifth European Championship in a row

Defending champion Italy plays Spain on Thursday in one of the most anticipated games at Euro 2024. Spain leads Group B ahead of Italy on goal difference after both teams won their opening games. Croatia and Albania are the other teams in the group. Kick-off is at 9 pm local (1900 GMT) in Gelsenkirchen. Here's what to know about the match: Match facts Italy survived a scare against Albania when Nedim Bajrami scored after 23 seconds - the fastest goal in Euros history. A 2-1 come-from-behind win avoided embarrassment for Luciano Spalletti's team. There were no such concerns for Spain after a dominant 3-0 win against World Cup semi-finalist Croatia. Italy beat Spain on penalties in the semi-finals of the last Euros after a 1-1 draw through extra time at Wembley Stadium. The team, then coached by Roberto Mancini, also needed penalties to beat England in the final. Build up to the last game in Gelsenkirchen - Serbia vs. England - had been overshadowed by concerns about fan violence.

China requests Britain to stop sanctioning Chinese firms over Russian links

Britain last week imposed its first sanctions targeting vessels in Russian President Vladimir Putin's "shadow fleet" that it said was used to circumvent Western sanctions on the trade in Russian oil

EU Commission plan may exempt long-haul flights from new emissions rules

The EU is developing plans to require airlines to track and report their contribution to climate change from January 2025

Chinese automakers urge Beijing to impose retaliatory tariffs on EU cars

China's current import tariff for cars is 15%

Here's why EU's ecodesign regulation can hurt export of textiles, footwear

EU's ecodesign regulation mandates rigorous energy performance and environmental sustainability, prohibiting the disposal of unsold textiles and footwear, potentially impacting India's export volumes

China hits Europe's pork imports after EU imposes tariffs on Chinese EVs

The Chinese government is taking aim at European farmers instead of German automakers by launching an investigation into European Union pork imports, just days after the EU said it plans to impose provisional tariffs on China-made electric vehicles. The Commerce Ministry didn't mention the EV tariffs when it announced Monday that it is opening an anti-dumping investigation into pork from Europe, but the move is widely seen as a response to the EU move on electric cars. It also gives China a bargaining chip in any trade negotiations. China could have slapped a 25% duty on imports of gasoline-powered vehicles with large engines in the name of combating climate change, a step that would would have hit Mercedes and BMW hard. In choosing not to do so, at least for now, the government may be acknowledging the public opposition of the German auto industry to the EU tariffs, as well as its sizeable production in China. The Chinese market is a major one for German automakers, and the head of

Nato targets AI, robots and space technology in $1.1 billion fund

On Tuesday, the Nato Innovation Fund (NIF) confirmed it had directly invested in four European tech companies

European Union leaders break off talks over top job nominees without result

Leaders of European Union countries reached no final agreement on candidates for the bloc's top jobs Monday, but several praised the record of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and she appeared on track to secure their endorsement later this month for a second term in office. "There is no agreement tonight at this stage," EU Council President Charles Michel said after chairing an informal dinner summit in Brussels. The 27 leaders were weighing the fallout from the recent European elections and how to take those results into account as they nominate candidates for the top posts. "This conversation was today a useful step to prepare the next European Council," Michel said, referring to the next meeting of EU presidents and prime ministers June 27-28. He refused to be drawn out on the chances of von der Leyen and others, saying only: "It will be clarified next week." The June 6-9 elections saw the European Parliament shift to the right and dealt major blows to ...

China opens anti-dumping investigation into EU pork imports: Report

It was prompted by a complaint submitted by the China Animal Husbandry Association on June 6 on behalf of the domestic pork industry, the ministry said

India has option to hit back at EU tariffs with retaliatory custom duties

India has the option to propose the imposition of retaliatory customs duties under the WTO norms on goods imported of a certain value from the EU, as the two sides have failed to reach a consensus on the European Union's safeguard measures on some steel products, an official has said. The EU has extended safeguard duties on certain steel imports, scheduled to expire this month, by another two years till 2026. This is the second extension of the safeguards that take the form of the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ), first imposed in 2018. India is one of the countries affected by this measure as it has a substantial interest in steel exports to the EU. In 2023-24, India's iron and steel and their products exports to the EU increased to USD 6.64 billion from USD 6.1 billion in 2022-23. India, along with other countries, has earlier raised concerns at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the European Union's (EU) move to extend safeguard duty on the import of certain steel products till ...

Landmark EU nature restoration plan gets nod as bloc gives green light

European Union countries on Monday gave final approval to a major and long-awaited plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc. After surviving a razor-thin vote by lawmakers last summer, the so-called Nature Restoration Plan faced opposition from several member states for months amid relentless farmers' protests that contributed to leave the bill in a deadlock. The law, which aims at restoring ecosystems, species and habitats in the EU, was finally adopted at a meeting of environment ministers at Luxembourg after rallying the required support from a qualified majority representing 15 of the 27 member states and 65 per cent of the EU population. This is the final step before this law can enter into force, said the Belgian presidency of the EU Council. The Nature Restoration plan is a part of the EU's European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world's most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets, and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate ...

EU cybersecurity should not discriminate against Big Tech: Industry groups

The European Commission, EU cybersecurity agency ENISA and EU countries will meet on Tuesday to discuss the scheme

EU leaders to discuss top jobs, policies goals at Brussels meeting

The leaders are to discuss who should be the next presidents of the European Commission and European Council, and the foreign policy chief, but their minds seem already made up

78 nations at Swiss conference agree Ukraine's territorial integrity must

Nearly 80 countries called Sunday for the territorial integrity of Ukraine to be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia's two-year war, though some key developing nations at a Swiss conference did not join in. The way forward for diplomacy remains unclear. The joint communique capped a two-day conference marked by the absence of Russia, which was not invited. Many attendees expressed hope that Russia might join in on a road map to peace in the future. The all-out war since President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people, unsettled markets for goods like grain and fertiliser, driven millions from their homes and carved a wedge between the West which has sanctioned Moscow and Russia, China and some other countries. About 100 delegations, mostly Western countries, attended the conference that was billed as a first step toward peace. They included presidents and prime ministers from France, Germany, Britai

Iran swaps EU diplomat for Sweden freeing convict for '88 mass executions

Iran and Sweden carried out a prisoner swap on Saturday that saw Tehran release a European Union diplomat and another man for an Iranian convicted in Stockholm of committing war crimes over his part in 1988 mass executions in the Islamic Republic. The arrest of Hamid Nouri by Sweden in 2019 as he travelled there as a tourist likely sparked the detentions of the two Swedes, part of a long-running strategy by Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution to use those with ties abroad as chip in negotiations with the West. As Iranian state television claimed without evidence that Nouri had been illegally detained, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described the detentions of diplomat Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi as a hell on earth the two men faced. Iran has made these Swedes pawns in a cynical negotiation game with the aim of getting the Iranian citizen Hamid Nouri released from Sweden," Kristersson said. It has been clear all along that this operation would require difficult decision

PM Modi, Meloni review progress of India-Italy strategic partnership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni have reviewed the progress of the bilateral strategic partnership and agreed to strengthen cooperation in global fora and multilateral initiatives, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. The two leaders met on Friday towards the end of Prime Minister Modi's day-long visit to Apulia, southern Italy, during which he thanked the Italian Prime Minister for the invitation to attend the G7 Summit. A Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) readout of the meeting said the leaders committed to fulfil their shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific and also discussed the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Both leaders look forward to joint activities to be implemented under the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative framework to fulfil their shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," the Ministry of External Affairs said, amidst China's aggressive actions in the region. They also discussed