Page 54 - European Union

EU nations condemn Hamas for use of hospitals, civilians as 'human shields'

The 27 European Union nations have jointly condemned Hamas for what they described as the use of hospitals and civilians as human shields in the war against Israel. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that at the same time the bloc asked Israel for maximum restraint and targeting in order to avoid human casualties. At a meeting of the bloc's foreign affairs ministers, Borrell brandished a statement he issued on behalf of the 27 nations as a show of unity following weeks of often contrasting statements on how the group should address the Israel-Hamas war. You know how difficult it has been the last times, after the vote in the United Nations, where countries were voted in different ways, to present a completely united approach, Borrell said. Only hours after EU leaders professed unity over the Israel-Hamas war on October 28, the member states were totally split in a vote on a General Assembly resolution calling for humanitarian truces in Gaza leading to a cessation

European Union strikes landmark deal to protect and restore nature

"This law is a global first," said committee chair Pascal Canfin before the deal. "That's why there is concern that it could lead to a stress on food security."

iPhone maker to file challenge over Digital Markets Act in EU court

EU had designated 22 services of major tech firms as "gatekeepers" of online services, requiring them to inter-operate their messaging apps with rivals and let users decide which apps to pre-install

Hungary asks EU to take action against Bulgaria transit tax on Russian gas

Hungary has asked the European Union's executive to open a legal procedure against Bulgaria over a tax it recently imposed on Russian natural gas passing through its territory, a government minister said on Friday. Bulgaria believes the tax, which it levied in October, will reduce the privileged position of Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom in southeastern Europe and deter Russian influence in the region. But the tax has angered Bulgaria's neighbour Serbia, as well as fellow EU member Hungary, which are heavily dependent on Russian gas coming mostly via Turkey and Bulgaria through the TurkStream pipeline. In a Facebook video, Hungary's minister for EU affairs, Janos Boka, said he had sent a letter to the European Commission urging it to launch an infringement procedure against Bulgaria, the first potential step the bloc can use to ensure its laws are upheld by member states. Boka complained that Bulgaria had imposed the tax without consulting first with Hungary, and that

EU's major plan aimed at fighting climate change to go to final votes

European Union institutions and conservationists on Friday gave a conditional and guarded welcome to a major plan to better protect nature and fight climate change in the 27-nation bloc. The plan is a key part of the EU's vaunted 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 issues. Yet it has had an extremely rough ride through the EU's complicated approval process and only a watered down version will now proceed to final votes. Late Thursday's breakthrough agreement between parliament and EU member states should have normally been the end of the approval process. But given the controversy the plan had previously stirred, the final votes - normally a rubberstamp process - could still throw up some hurdles. The plan has lost some of its progressive edge during negotiations over the summer because of fierce opposition in the EU's legislature, particularly from the

Apple suffers setback in fight against European Union's $14 bn tax orde

"The judgment of the General Court on 'tax rulings' adopted by Ireland in relation to Apple should be set aside," he said in a non-binding opinion

Google, Meta, & TikTok win court fight against Austrian online content rule

European Union recently adopted new rules called the Digital Services Act (DSA) which require large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful online content

Will not accept unfair taxes on steel, aluminum industry: Piyush Goyal

Expressing serious concerns over the European Union's move to impose carbon tax on imports from certain sectors like steel, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday assured the domestic industry that India will not accept such unfair taxes and will fight to get a fair deal for producers and exporters. He said India has already flagged its concerns over the carbon tax with the European Union (EU) and in the WTO (World Trade Organization). The CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) or carbon tax (a kind of import duty) will come into effect from January 1, 2026, but from October 1 this year, domestic companies from seven carbon-intensive sectors, including steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium and hydrocarbon products, will have to share data with regard to carbon emissions with the EU. "I will assure you that we are extremely concerned about CBAM...We are taking it up with the WTO very very seriously. We shall try to work and fight to get a fair deal for the Indian ..

Regulating AI

World leaders have a long road ahead

EU asks AliExpress for details on measures against illegal products

The Commission said it wants to know what measures AliExpress has taken to comply with DSA rules against the dissemination and sale of illegal products online, such as fake medicines

Steel expansion plans threatened by scrap metal export restrictions

The country's consumption of ferrous scrap metal will jump 50% to 60 million tons by the end of the decade, and imports will double to about 20 million tons, it estimates

Govt weighs local tax options to avoid EU carbon levy: Piyush Goyal

"We will find a solution around a domestic tax to take care of equating with European taxes on carbon emissions," he said at an industry event

Behavioural ads: Meta faces EU crackdown on leveraging personal data

Regulators signed off on the new restrictions just as Meta announced its own plan to offer an ad-free version of the social media sites if users choose to pay a fee

Inflation in Europe region eased to 2.9% in October on lower fuel prices

The inflation that has been wearing on European consumers fell sharply to 2.9% in October, its lowest in more than two years as fuel prices fell and rapid interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank took hold. But that encouraging news was balanced by official figures showing economic output in the 20 countries that use the euro shrank by 0.1% in the July-September quarter. Inflation fell from an annual 4.3% in September as fuel prices fell by 11.1% and painful food inflation slowed, to 7.5%. The drop to under 3% is down from the peak of over 10% in October 2022 and puts the inflation figure at least within shouting distance of the European Central Bank's target of 2% considered best for the economy. But growth disappeared as output shrank after months of stagnation near zero.

Meta platform introduces ad-free plans for Instagram, Facebook in Europe

The EU regulations threaten to curb Meta's ability to personalize ads for users without their consent and hurt its major revenue source

G7 to agree on artificial intelligence code of conduct for companies

The voluntary code of conduct will set a landmark for how major countries govern AI, amid privacy concerns and security risks, the document seen by Reuters showed

INS Sumedha participates in maiden India-EU Joint Naval Exercise 2023

INS Sumedha, an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel, participated in the maiden India-EU Joint Naval Exercise 2023 from October 24-26.The exercise was conducted in two phases, which included a sea phase on October 24, followed by a harbour phase from 25 to 26 October 2023 at Tema, Ghana."INSSumedha's participation in the maiden #India - #EuropeanUnion Joint Naval Exercise & the anti-piracy patrols in Gulf of Guinea region - 12,000 Nautical Miles (22,200 km) from India stands testimony to the #IndianNavy's enhanced access, reach & sustenance," the Indian Navy posted on X.The sea phase witnessed air and surface exercises such as communication drills, anti-piracy and cross-deck helicopter operations.The harbour phase involved wide-ranging activities comprising cross-deck visits, professional exchanges, knowledge sharing and discussions on contingencies for the exchange of best practices among Indian and EU navies.The joint exercise at sea and professional ...

India criticises safeguard measures on steel import by EU, UK at WTO meet

Certain WTO countries, including India, Switzerland, Russia, and Japan, have criticised the safeguard measures imposed by the EU and the UK on imports of certain steel products, stating it is inconsistent with global trade rules, an official said. The comments were made by these countries during the meeting of World Trade Organisation's (WTO's) Safeguards Committee on Wednesday. The Geneva-based official said, "Switzerland, Brazil, Japan, China, Korea, Russia and India criticised the European Union's decision to maintain its safeguard measure on imports of certain steel products, which was imposed by the EU after the US imposed additional duties on steel imports during the Trump administration. These members regretted the EU's decision not to terminate the measure during a recent review and argued the safeguard was inconsistent with WTO rules, the official said. However, the EU argued that the safeguard will expire at the end of June 2024. Further India, Korea, Switzerland, Japan,

Amazon discloses 181 mn users in EU in first store transparency report

In August, the Digital Services Act (DSA) imposed new rules on content moderation, user privacy and transparency for platforms and search engines labelled as very large online platforms

Global billionaire tax could yield $250 billion: EU Tax Observatory

If levied, the sum would be equivalent to only 2% of the nearly $13 trillion in wealth owned by the 2,700 billionaires globally, the research group hosted at the Paris School of Economics said