Page 59 - European Union

Govt fixes sugar exports quota at 5,841 tn for EU under TRQ scheme

India on Friday notified sugar exports of 5,841 tonnes to the European Union under the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) scheme for 2023-24 (October 2023 to September 2024). TRQ is a quota for a volume of exports that enters the European Union (EU) with relatively low tariffs. After the quota reaches its limit, a higher tariff is applicable to additional shipments. "The Director General of Foreign Trade hereby allocates quantity of 5,841 MT for export of sugar to EU from India under TRQ for the year 2023-24 (October 2023 to September 2024)," an official notification said. It said that a Certificate of Origin, if required, for preferential export of sugar to EU, shall be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai on the recommendation of APEDA regarding the entity and quantity for which it is eligible. The quota will be operated by the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) as the implementing agency for the export of TRQ items to

Firefighters in Greece discover another body, death toll reaches 21

Authorities battling a major wildfire in northeastern Greece that has been described as the European Union's largest single recorded fire have recovered another body, the fire department said Friday, bringing the total death toll from wildfires in Greece this week to 21. The fire department said firefighters recovered the body of a man from the Dadia forest national park, which lies near the border with Turkey, on Thursday. Eighteen bodies were discovered Tuesday near a shack in an area near the northeastern city of Alexandroupolis and the body of one more person had been found Monday in a forest. In central Greece, a man was found dead Monday in a sheep pen after reportedly trying to save his livestock from an advancing wildfire. With no reports of missing people in northeastern Greece, authorities suspect the bodies found in the area are those of migrants who may have crossed into the country recently from the nearby border with Turkey. Greece's Disaster Victim Identification Team

PM Modi lays wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldier, receives Guard of Honour

Beginning his official engagements during a day-long official visit to Greece, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid a wreath at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier in Athens on Friday.Prime Minister Modi also received a guard of honour following the wreath-laying ceremony.PM Modi on Friday arrived in Greece for his maiden visit at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. At the Athens International Airport, PM Modi was received by Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.He received a rousing welcome upon his arrival at the Hotel Grande Bretagne with the Indian Community gathered at the hotel breaking out into chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai,' 'Modi, Modi.'The members of the Indian Community were ween waiving the tricolour and some of them were also beating drums to mark PM Modi's visit, the first Indian Prime Minister in the last 40 years to visit the country.At the hotel, PM Modi interacted with children and their parents. A little girl offered PM Modi a Greek headdress and

PM Modi lands in Greece amid chants of 'Bharat Mata ki jai', 'Modi, Modi'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome upon his arrival at the Hotel Grande Bretagne with chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai,' 'Modi, Modi'

As Europe cracks down on Big Tech, here are things that will change

Starting Friday, Europeans will see their online life change. People in the 27-nation European Union can alter some of what shows up when they search, scroll and share on the biggest social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook and other tech giants like Google and Amazon. That's because Big Tech companies, most headquartered in the U.S., are now subject to a pioneering new set of EU digital regulations. The Digital Services Act aims to protect European users when it comes to privacy, transparency and removal of harmful or illegal content. Here are five things that will change when you sign on: YOU CAN TURN OFF AI-RECOMMENDED VIDEOS Automated recommendation systems decide, based on people's profiles, what they see in their feeds. Those can be switched off. Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, said users can opt out of its artificial intelligence ranking and recommendation systems that determine which Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories and search results to show. ..

PM Modi arrives in Greece on first prime ministerial visit in 40 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Greece on Friday for talks with the European country's top leadership to strengthen bilateral ties. Modi arrived here in the Greek capital from South Africa where he attended the 15th BRICS Summit and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders to further cement India's relations with those countries. Modi is here at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," Modi had said. The last high-level visit to Greece took place in September 1983 when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi travelled to the country. India and Greece enjoy civilisational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people ties. Prime Minister Modi will hold talks with Prime Minister Mitsotakis to discuss ways to further deepen the relationship. He is also exp

Economic data in Europe gets worse, ECB interest rate pause on cards

Wall Street futures also pointed to a bounce having been pressured on Tuesday by higher bond yields, which hit 16-year highs

'Advance preparation by exporters, Centre must comply with EU's carbon tax'

Government and exporters have to take urgent steps like devising mechanisms for monitoring emissions data, and providing incentives for the adoption of greener technologies to deal with the European Union's carbon tax as it would impact exports of sectors like metals, a report said. Suggesting a nine-step action plan, the report by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that Indian firms have less than 40 days to prepare for the CBAM (carbon border adjustment mechanism) transition. The CBAM 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. "The CBAM tax will start from January 2026, but there are penalties on not reporting, negligent reporting or mis-reporting of data from October 1, 2023, onwards," GTRI co-founder Ajay .

Europe's sweeping rules for tech giants to kick in, here's how they work

Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online. The first phase of the European Union's groundbreaking new digital rules will take effect this week. The Digital Services Act is part of suite of tech-focused regulations crafted by the 27-nation bloc long a global leader in cracking down on tech giants. The DSA, which the biggest platforms must start following Friday, is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that's either illegal or violates a platform's terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans' fundamental rights like privacy and free speech. Some online platforms, which could face billions in fines if they don't comply, have already started making changes. Here's a look at what's happening this week: WHICH PLATFORMS ARE AFFECTED? So far, 19. They include eight social media .

G20 meet: India to hold FTA talks with UK, EU and Canada next week

All platforms being used to flag non-tariff barriers impacting trade

Finland's Ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb will run for president in 2024

Finland's former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said on Tuesday he will run as a candidate in the presidential election early next year, in a race that also includes a popular former Finnish foreign minister who was a key negotiator of the Nordic country's recent membership in NATO. Stubb, 55, who headed the Finnish government in 2014-2015 and later served as foreign minister, said he was both honoured and thankful for the trust bestowed upon me". Prime Minister Petteri Opo and Finland's conservative National Coalition Party had asked him to run. The Finnish head of state is elected by a popular vote every six years. Finland's president has substantial powers, particularly in matters related to foreign and security policy, which the president decides together with the government. The president also signs bills into law, can veto legislative proposals and acts as Finland's supreme military commander. The two-leg Finnish presidential elections will be held in January and February ..

Indian diamond industry set to focus on domestic markets, ASEAN countries

The diamond industry is set to focus on domestic markets and emerging markets in ASEAN countries in an attempt to neutralise the impact of reduced demand from the US and the European Union (EU)

EU naval forces participate in Indo-Pacific security seminar in Mumbai

Atalanta Deputy Commander, Italian Rear Admiral Giovanni Galoforo, participated in the seminar that was co-organized by the Italian Embassy in India

LIVE: PM does not obey SC, Kejriwal after RS passes Delhi services Bill

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Amid disagreements over Ukraine, China bats for more dialogues with EU

Earlier in July this year, China cancelled European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy Josep Borrell's visit to Beijing, The Diplomat reported citing the EU

High-level India-EU meetings this month to boost FTA talks, says official

High-level meetings between India and the European Union (EU) will be held this month to take stock of the progress of talks on the proposed free trade agreement, according to an official. "The EU officials are coming for the G20 trade ministers meeting this month in Jaipur. There is a high-level meeting at the minister level on August 26 in the national capital between India and the EU. "Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal is also likely to meet EU Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand in Jaipur," the official added. These meetings would give an impetus to the ongoing negotiations between the two sides on the free trade agreement (FTA). The G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting, under India's G20 Presidency, is scheduled at Jaipur on August 24-25. So far, five rounds of talks have been held on the agreement. India and the 27-nation bloc resumed negotiations on June 17 last year after a gap of over eight years on the proposed agreements on trade, investments and Geographi

EU imposes sanctions on dozens in Belarus over support for Russia

The European Union on Thursday imposed sanctions on several Belarus police, justice and prison officials over a crackdown on anti-government activists, and on media personnel and a company accused of supporting Russia's war on Ukraine. Travel bans in Europe and asset freezes were slapped on 38 officials, including several judges and prosecutors. The EU also froze the assets of state oil and chemicals giant Belneftekhim. It said the company represents a fundamental asset for the Belarusian economy and foreign policy, in particular in relation to the cooperation between Russia and Belarus in developing a common oil market. Belneftekhim benefits from the support provided by President Alexander Lukashenko's regime to lessen the impact of Western sanctions, it said. The EU also extended an export ban to firearms and the aviation and space industries. It now has imposed restrictive measures on more than 230 people and almost 40 entities - often companies, banks or organizations - since

GTRI wants India to prep exporters to deal with EU deforestation compliance

Regulation will hit agri exports of $1.3 bn to the bloc: Think tank

EU prez warns Europe won't tolerate aggression in Ukraine or Indo-Pacific

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Monday that Europe would not tolerate aggression in Ukraine or the Indo-Pacific, as she renewed in a speech the EU's recognition of a 2016 arbitration decision that invalidated China's expansive claims in the disputed South China Sea. Von der Leyen spoke in a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations. The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines for a free-trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Marcos's predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. She underscored the need for security cooperation citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which showed how authoritarian leaders are willing to act on their threats." "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the UN charter and the fundamental principles of ...

Will hold talks with other nations to resolve Rohingya crisis: EU official

Eamon Gilmore, European Union's Special Representative for Human Rights spent a full day in Cox's Bazar and met the Rohingyas who fled from Myanmar over the past six years