Page 55 - European Union

EU wants free trade deal with India for 'real' mkt access: Spain's Minister

"There is an enormous interest from the member states, but only if there will be an access to the real market, without which the deal would be emptied"

Israel-Hamas war: EU demands Meta, TikTok to curb illegal content

The European Union (EU) ratcheted up its scrutiny of Big Tech companies on Thursday with demands for Meta and TikTok to detail their efforts to curb illegal content and disinformation during the Israel-Hamas war. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive branch, formally requested that the social media companies provide information on how they're complying with sweeping new digital rules aimed at cleaning up online platforms. The commission asked Meta and TikTok to explain the measures they have taken to reduce the risk of spreading and amplifying terrorist and violent content, hate speech and disinformation. Under the EU's new rules, which took effect in August, the biggest tech companies face extra obligations to stop a wide range of illegal content from flourishing on their platforms or face the threat of hefty fines. The new rules, known as the Digital Services Act, are being put to the test by the Israel-Hamas war. Photos and videos have flooded social media of t

EU debates how to handle challenges as Israel-Hamas war provokes concerns

European Union interior ministers met Thursday to discuss how to manage the impact of the war between Israel and Hamas on the bloc, after a firebomb assault on a Berlin synagogue and killings in Belgium and France by suspected Islamist extremists. Sweden hosted a meeting of ministers from eight countries, among them Germany, Belgium and France, focused on how to handle incidents where people burn the Muslim holy book, the Quran. Prosecutors are trying to establish whether that was a key motive for a Tunisian man who shot three Swedes in Brussels on Monday, killing two of them, ahead of a Belgium-Sweden soccer match in the capital. While the Quran burnings are not directly linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, they are a sign of rising tensions between religious and other communities in Europe. The war that began Oct 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and m

Amazon, X will likely avoid paying bill for enforcing EU's content rules

The commission estimates it needs $47.7 mn to enforce Digital Services Act this year. Very large online platforms required to divvy up those costs based on the number of users they have

Poland's voters reject their right-wing govt, but many challenges lie ahead

Poland's voters delivered a clear verdict. After eight years of rule by a right-wing government, they have had enough. While the conservative ruling Law and Justice party won more votes than any other single party in a parliamentary election on Sunday, it lost its majority and will not hold enough seats to govern the country. Three opposition groups who waged an energetic campaign on promises to help restore national unity, rule of law and cooperative ties with the European Union and other allies, are poised to get their turn to steer the Central European nation of 38 million people. But the path ahead will be demanding. Here are five challenges facing the country in its transition. Transition of power Some Poles have voiced concerns that the ruling party, like former President Donald Trump in the United States and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, might resist the verdict of the voters. Some anxiety was triggered by words uttered Sunday night by party leader

Investors can partner with India to participate in IMEEC: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said investors have an opportunity to partner with the country, and be a part of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC). Speaking after the inauguration of the Global Maritime India Summit here, Modi said India took the lead at the G-20 summit to form a consensus on the corridor. Very few countries are blessed with development, demography, democracy and demand, Modi said and invited global investors to be part of India's growth journey. He said whenever India's maritime capabilities have been strong in history, the country and the world have benefitted from it, and added that his government has been working to strengthen the maritime sector in the last 9-10 years. PM Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for port-related projects worth over Rs 18,800 crore at the third edition of the summit. He also launched the foundation stone for the Rs 4,539-crore Tuna Tekra all-weather deep-draft terminal at the Deendayal Port ...

EU leaders to hold summit with Western Balkans nations for joining the bloc

Leaders from the European Union and the Western Balkans will hold a summit in Albania's capital on Monday to discuss the path to membership in the bloc for the six countries of the region. The main topics at the annual talks called the Berlin Process are integrating the Western Balkans into a single market and supporting their green and digital transformation. The nations in the region are Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The senior EU officials attending the summit in Tirana are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel. They will be joined by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. The six Western Balkan countries are at different stages of integration into the bloc. Serbia and Montenegro were the first Western Balkan countries to launch membership negotiations a few years ago, followed by Albania and Macedonia last year, while Bosnia and Kosovo have only begun the fi

EU regulators delay approval of Novavax's revised Covid-19 vaccine

Novavax said it was working closely with the EMA and is looking forward to the recommendations from the regulator

Could turn more protectionist if trade deficit isn't reduced: EU to China

The European Union's top foreign policy official warned Friday that public sentiment in Europe could turn more protectionist if the region's trade deficit with China is not reduced. Josep Borrell, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, called for improved access for European companies that want to export to or invest in China. He said that political leaders in Europe could face pressure from voters to disengage from the world's second-largest economy. And we don't want to disengage and much less, much less, to decouple from China, Borrell said in a speech at Peking University, one of China's top schools. The EU trade deficit with China topped USD 17 billion in September, bringing the total for the first nine months of the year to USD 170 billion, according to Chinese trade figures released Friday. Borrell, who held talks later Friday with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, is the latest EU official to visit China as the two sides lay the groundwork for a leaders summit late

Israel-Hamas war: EU asks X for information on hate speech, illegal content

The European Commission on Thursday made a formal, legally binding request for information from Elon Musk's social media platform X over its handling of hate speech, misinformation and violent terrorist content related to the Israel-Hamas war. It is the first step in what could become the EU's inaugural investigation under the Digital Services Act, in this case to determine if the site formerly known as Twitter is in compliance with the tough new rules meant to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content. San Francisco-based X has until Wednesday to respond to questions related to how its crisis response protocol is functioning. Responses to other questions must be received by Oct 31. The commission said its next steps, which could include the opening of formal proceedings and penalties, would be determined by X's replies. Representatives for X did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The company's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, said earlier that the site h

Google vows to fight European Union's threat to break up its ad business

The EU case is a direct attack on the black-box of online advertising where Google automatically calculates and offers ad space and prices to advertisers and publishers as a user clicks on a web page

EU's CBAM: Taxing trade for transition amid global climate concerns

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism strains global trade, questions Paris Agreement's ethos, writes Advocate Jatinder Cheema

EU reverses earlier announcement that it was suspending aid to Palestinians

The European Union on late Monday reversed an earlier announcement by an EU commissioner that the bloc was immediately suspending aid for Palestinian authorities and instead said it would urgently review such assistance in the wake of the attacks on Israel by Hamas. There will be no suspension of payments at the moment, a terse European Commission statement said late Monday, five hours after EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi had said that all payments from the development programme for Palestinians would be immediately suspended. All projects put under review. All new budget proposals postponed until further notice. No immediate explanation for the reversal was given. A full European Commission statement always trumps a statement from an EU commissioner, but the reversal on a 691 million-euro ($730 million) programme capped an embarrassing day at the EU's executive at a time of extreme geopolitical sensitivities.

EU suspends 'all payments immediately' to Palestinians post Hamas attack

European Union Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said Monday the bloc is suspending all payments immediately to the Palestinians because of what he called the scale of terror and brutality during the attacks of Hamas against Israel. The surprise announcement by Varhelyi came just hours after EU officials stressed that no EU money whatsoever was going to Hamas in the first place and that contacts had been frozen for 16 years. The EU considers Hamas a terror group. Queries about what the move entailed and whether it would hit all humanitarian aid to Palestinians were not immediately answered. Varhelyi said that as the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, which he said amounted to 691 million euros. It was not immediately clear what funds were included and excluded. Varhelyi said the measures include that all payments (be) immediately suspended. All projects put under review. All new budget proposals... postponed

Meta mulls paid option for ad-free Instagram, Facebook in India: Details

It follows Meta's talks to launch a similar plan in the European Union (EU) to conform with its privacy concerns

EU Parliament condemns 'gender apartheid policy' of Taliban in Afghanistan

They also condemned the increase in human rights violations in Afghanistan, particularly arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, and torture by former security forces

EU summit to look at changes bloc needs to make to welcome Ukraine, others

A day after pledging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy their unwavering support, European Union leaders on Friday will face one of their worst political headaches on a key commitment - how and when to welcome debt-laden and battered Ukraine into the bloc. The 27-nation EU has said since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022 that at the end of the war it would work steadfastly on lasting unity that would eventually translate into Ukraine's membership in the wealthy bloc. For a nation fighting for its very survival, that moment cannot come quickly enough. For the bloc itself, that remains to be seen. On Friday, the leaders will assess enlargement as they call it at their informal summit in southern Spain's Granada. Beyond Ukraine, several western Balkan nations and Moldova are also knocking with increasing impatience at the door. In his summit invitation letter, EU Council President Charles Michel asked the leaders critical questions, such as: What do we do together?

EU approves world's first green bond standards to avoid greenwashing

Europe is the world's biggest issuer of green bonds, accounting for more than half of global volume in 2021, though issuance is still only 3% to 3.5% of the overall bond market

Russia starts fresh attacks on Ukraine as Zelenskyy attends European forum

Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another major attack early on Thursday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of around 50 European leaders. Ukraine's air force said that the country's air defences intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions. Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire. He said there were no casualties. The attack came as Zelenskyy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he said in a statement posted on his ..

Instagram without ads: Meta to charge $14 per month from mobile users in EU

Meta will charge the users $17 for the desktop versions of Facebook and Instagram together in the coming weeks