Page 59 - European Union

EU boosts green aviation with 70% sustainable fuel at airports by 2050

EU lawmakers approved Wednesday new rules requiring airlines to use more sustainable fuels across the bloc in a bid to help decarbonise the sector. Under the new standards adopted during a European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France, 2 per cent of jet fuel must be sustainable as of 2025, with this share increasing every five years to reach 70 per cent by 2050. The Parliament said that sustainable fuels will include synthetic fuels, certain biofuels produced from agricultural or forestry residues, algae, bio-waste, used cooking oil or certain animal fats." Recycled jet fuels produced from waste gases and waste plastic, as well as renewable hydrogen, will be considered green, while food crop-based fuels and fuels derived from palm and soy materials won't. The aviation sector accounts for 13.9 per cent of transportation emissions in the EU, making it the second biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the sector after road transport, the European Commission said. If

Use of green energy to help industry deal with EU's carbon tax: Goyal

The government's initiative to increase the use of green energy and some policy interventions would help the Indian industry tide over the impact of the EU's decision to impose a carbon tax on sectors like steel and aluminium, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. He said that India is in dialogue with the European Union and with other countries to see how these new initiatives like CABM (carbon border adjustment mechanism) will impact Indian industry and manufacturers. The minister, however, assured the industry that the government will protect its interest. "Any amount of laws any country may bring out, we will ensure that it doesn't hurt any of your businesses. That you can rest assured...I personally look at all these not as an impediment but I am continuously examining to see how we can convert this so-called problem CBAM into an advantage for the Indian industry," he said here at an event of auto component makers. The EU is introducing the CBAM from October 1 this

Baltic states ban vehicles with Russian license plates due to EU sanctions

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have banned vehicles with Russian license plates from entering their territory, a joint and coordinated move in line with a recent interpretation of the European Union's sanctions against Moscow over its war on Ukraine. Estonia imposed the measure on Wednesday morning, matching similar actions by southern neighbours Latvia and Lithuania earlier in the week. Estonia's interior ministry said the decision by the Baltic nations which are all NATO members that border Russia followed the additional interpretation of the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation published by the European Commission on September 8. Under the EU's decision, motor vehicles registered in the Russian Federation are no longer allowed to enter the territory of the 27-member bloc, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltic states are among the most vocal European critics of Russia and President Vladimir Putin. The goal of the sanctions against Russia is to force the ...

European Union's enforcer wants big tech players to play by his rules

3-years ago, the EU was drafting what would become the bloc's landmark content moderation and competition rules, and executives had come to present their perspective

A new corridor

Geopolitics and next-generation trade explain the case for IMEC

Europe's economic outlook worsens as high prices plague consumers

The European Union has lowered its forecast for economic growth this year and next, saying inflation is taking a heavy toll on people's willingness to spend in shops while higher interest rates are sharply restricting the credit needed for investment and purchases. The revised forecast Monday from the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, comes as fears of recession grow and as the European Central Bank faces a key decision this week on whether to keep raising rates, which are aimed at getting inflation under control. The 20 countries that use the euro currency are expected to see growth of 0.8 per cent this year instead of 1.1 per cent projected in the spring forecast, the commission said. For next year, growth expectations were lowered to 1.3 per cent from 1.6 per cent. For the broader 27-country EU, the forecast also was lowered to 0.8per cent from 1 per cent this year and to 1.4 per cent from 1.7 per cent next year. "Weakness in domestic demand, in particular consumptio

Opportunities for Indian firms in execution of Europe corridor: Vaishnaw

The agreement is for developing trusted, resilient, and secure technology together for 6G and also collaborating in finalising the 6G standards, the minister said

Europe, partners should develop global framework for AI: EU Commission Prez

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday said Europe and its partners should develop a new global framework for artificial intelligence risks, asserting that it would protect against systemic societal risks and foster investments in safe and responsible AI systems. Addressing the "One Future" session of the G20 Summit here, the European Commission president said one thing seems clear that the future will be digital. "Today, I want to focus on AI and digital infrastructure. As it has been described, AI has risks but also offers tremendous opportunities. The crucial question is how to harness a rapidly changing technology," she said. It is telling that even the makers and inventors of AI are calling on political leaders to regulate it, she added. "In the EU, in 2020, we presented the first ever law on artificial intelligence. We want to facilitate innovation while building trust. But we need more. What the world does now will shape our future. I believe that Europ

US to sign Mideast-India-EU rail and shipping deal during G20 Summit

The plan is more than just an infrastructure project, US Deputy National Security Adviser Jonathan Finer told reporters Saturday in New Delhi on the first day of the Group of 20 summit

EU supports African Union joining G20, slams Russia for Ukraine war

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first proposed making African Union a member of G20

The case for decoupled elections

Both the EU and India follow a similar practice of separating elections and there are good reasons to keep it that way

EU looking forward to welcome African Union as permanent member of G20

The European Union on Friday said it is looking forward to welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 at its New Delhi summit. President of European Council Charles Michel said this a day ahead of the G2O summit being hosted by India. "The European Union is looking forward to welcome African Union as a permanent member of the G20," Michel said at a media briefing. "The European Union supports African Union's entry into G20," he said. In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the G-20 leaders pitching for according the African Union the full membership of the grouping at its New Delhi summit. Weeks later, the proposal was formally included in the draft communique for the summit during the third G-20 Sherpas meeting that took place in Karnataka's Hampi in July. A final decision on the proposal would be taken at the G-20 summit. The African Union (AU) is an influential organisation comprising 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent.

US, European Union plan new China steel tariffs aimed to end trade row

The scope of the measures, covering other countries that could be targeted and the level of the tariffs, are still being discussed, the report said

African Union to get full G20 membership; announcement likely during summit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is hosting the G20 summit, has made it a priority to grant the African Union full membership

India, EU ask WTO not to adopt ruling on ICT import duties till Dec 18

India and the European Union have again asked the WTO's dispute settlement body not to adopt a ruling against New Delhi's import duties on certain information and technology products till December 18 as both sides are engaged in bilateral talks to resolve the matter. Earlier, the two regions sought time till September 19 by making a similar request in June. The WTO's dispute settlement body (DSB) will meet on September 19 in which it would consider adopting a draft decision shared by India and the European Union (EU). "We consider that the draft DSB decision, if adopted, would facilitate the resolution of the dispute," according to a communication of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). For that meeting, they urged the DSB not to adopt the WTO's dispute settlement panel's ruling of April 17, which stated that India's import duties on certain information and technology products are inconsistent with the global trade norms. As per the rules of the WTO, the panel's ruling will have to

European Commission Prez Ursula von der Leyen arrives in Delhi for G20 meet

She was received at the airport by the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Anupriya Singh Patel

Industry seeks govt intervention on data requirements for EU's carbon tax

Indian industry from sectors like steel has flagged its serious concerns over the 'burdensome' work of data reporting requirement to comply with the European Union's carbon tax decision and has urged the government to take up the matter with the EU, an official said. The issue was flagged in a meeting called by the commerce ministry on September 6. The government and industry held discussions on implementation issues regarding the European Union's move to impose carbon tax or carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). Industry is of the view that the data sharing exercise is burdensome as the EU is seeking a lot of information. "Second, the industry also stated that the EU is also seeking commercially sensitive information. They want reduction in this reporting requirement. We discussed all those issues as to how that reporting will be done, we are trying to understand their problems," the official added. According to think tank GTRI co-founder Ajay Srivastava, CBAM imposes massive

Ukraine war will be main topic of discussion, says EU official ahead of G20

G20 is a major international grouping that brings together the world's major economies

EU targets Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft in digital crackdown

The European Union on Wednesday targeted Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta and TikTok parent ByteDance under new digital rules aimed at reining in the market power of online companies. The six companies were classed as online "gatekeepers" that must face the highest level of scrutiny under the 27-nation bloc's Digital Markets Act. The act amounts to a list of do's and don'ts that seeks to prevent tech giants from cornering new digital markets, with the threat of whopping fines or even the possibility of a company breakup. It's part of a sweeping update to the EU's digital rulebook that's starting to take force this year, and comes weeks after a companion package of rules aimed at keeping internet users safe, the Digital Services Act, started kicking in. It's "time to turn the tables and ensure that no online platform behaves as if it was too big to care,' European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who's in charge of the bloc's digital policy, said ahe

Govt meets steel industry to discuss readiness to comply EU's carbon tax

Top officers of government and industry representatives from the steel sector on Wednesday held discussions on implementation issues regarding the European Union's move to impose carbon tax, sources said. The meeting was called by the commerce ministry and was chaired by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal. Senior officials from ministries of Finance, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Power, Steel and Mines participated in the meeting besides the steel and engineering sector. They also said that India and the EU would soon decide on a schedule to discuss the matter during the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting. The meeting was a follow-up of a similar meeting held in May where the industry was asked to be ready for the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). The Wednesday's meeting comes amid the CBAM being implemented by the European Union (EU), which would have an adverse impact on India's exports of metals such as iron, steel and aluminium product