Page 62 - European Union

India-EU case: WTO agrees to defer adoption of panel's ruling till Sep 19

The WTO's dispute settlement body on Thursday agreed not to adopt a ruling against India's import duties on certain information and technology products untill September 19, following a request for the same by the country and the European Union (EU). Both regions have requested this as they are engaged to resolve the dispute bilaterally. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) in a statement said that the members have agreed at a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on June 15 to a request from the EU and India to grant it additional time to consider the adoption of the panel ruling. In a communication to the World Trade Organisation earlier this month, both regions have called for a special meeting of the WTO's dispute settlement body (DSB) on June 15. They had asked the DSB not to adopt the ruling, which was given by a WTO dispute settlement panel in April. The dispute panel of the WTO has ruled that the import duties imposed by India on certain informational and technology ..

India seeks carve out for MSMEs from European Union's carbon tax

The CBAM's transition-phase will kick in from October, followed by levying of carbon tax from January 2026

India seeks exemptions from EU's carbon tax for MSMEs: Commerce Secy

India has sought exemption for its MSMEs from the European Union's carbon tax, which would kick in from October this year, as the levy would impact the domestic industry in certain sectors, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Thursday. The EU is introducing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from October 1 this year. According to a report of the think-tank GTRI, CBAM would translate into a 20-35 per cent tax on select imports into the EU starting January 1, 2026. From October, domestic companies from seven carbon-intensive sectors -- including steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium and hydrocarbon products -- will have to seek compliance certificates from the EU authorities to comply with the CBAM norms. The secretary said that they held a stakeholders' consultations meeting on the issue last month and discussed the preparedness of the industry for CBAM compliance. The compliance is in two parts - a requirement of filing data from October and later imposition of the

India must set its own artificial intelligence regulation: Experts

India must set its own AI regulation: Experts

Spotify fined $5.4 mn for data protection regulation violations in Sweden

Music streaming platform Spotify has been fined about $5.4 million in Sweden for breaching the data access rights of users in the European Union (EU)

Eurozone slips into recession after GDP shrinks 0.1% in Jan-Mar: Report

The Eurozone has fallen into recession, new data show, as its economy contracted over the winter, according to a media report

EU mechanism to track carbon intensive imports is an opportunity for India

Indian industry has made commendable progress in becoming energy efficient and less carbon intensive

EU makes fresh attempt to overcome yearslong crisis over migrants

European Union interior ministers on Thursday made a fresh attempt to overcome one of the bloc's most intractable political problems as they weighed new measures for sharing out responsibility for migrants entering Europe without authorisation. Europe's asylum system collapsed eight years ago after well over a million people entered most of them fleeing conflict in Syria and overwhelmed reception capacities in Greece and Italy, in the process sparking one of the EU's biggest political crises. The 27 EU nations have bickered ever since over which countries should take responsibility for people arriving without authorisation, and whether other members should be obliged to help them cope. Arriving for the meeting in Luxembourg, the EU's top migration official, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said it was an extremely important day to resolve what has been a marathon issue for Europe. Of this marathon, we have maybe 100 metres left. So, we are so close to actually find an ...

PGA Tour, Europe to merge with Saudi Arabia and end LIV litigation

The most disruptive year in golf ended Tuesday when the PGA Tour and European tour agreed to a merger with Saudi Arabia's golf interests, creating a commercial operation designed to unify professional golf around the world. As part of the deal, the sides are dropping all lawsuits involving LIV Golf against each other effective immediately. Still to be determined is how players like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, who defected to Saudi-funded LIV Golf for nine-figure bonuses, can rejoin the PGA Tour after this year. Also unclear was what form the LIV Golf League would take in 2024. Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a memo to players that a thorough evaluation would determine how to integrate team golf into the game. The agreement combines the Public Investment Fund's golf-related commercial businesses and rights including LIV Golf with those of the PGA and European tours. The new entity has not been named. They were going down their path, we were going down ours, and after a lot

India hoping to negotiate with EU on carbon tax instead of WTO complaint

India filed a discussion paper with WTO about how environmental regulations impact trade, but with respect to CBAM specifically, it hopes direct negotiations with the EU will yield speedy resolution

European Union wants Big Tech to alert users about AI's 'dark sides'

Jourova has met with over 40 companies that signed up for the code. Elon Musk's Twitter left last month

WTO ruling on IT products: India, EU to jointly defer appeal by 3 months

A deferment through mutual agreement of an appeal will give both parties time to resolve the dispute

European Union for greater transparency for default swaps on 8 banks

US banks saw total deposits decline by a record 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2023

Twitter has dumped bloc's code of practice on disinformation: EU official

Twitter has dropped out of a voluntary European Union agreement to combat online disinformation, a top EU official said Friday. European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that Twitter had pulled out of the EU's disinformation code of practice that other major social media platforms have pledged to support. But he added that Twitter's obligation remained, referring to the EU's tough new digital rules taking effect in August. You can run but you can't hide, Breton said. San Francisco-based Twitter responded with an automated reply, as it does to most press inquiries, and did not comment. The decision to abandon the commitment to fighting false information appears to be the latest move by billionaire owner Elon Musk to loosen the reins on the social media company after he bought it last year. He has rolled back previous anti-misinformation rules, and has thrown its verification system and content-moderation policies into chaos as he pursues his goal of turning Twitter into a digital

More than 9,000 Afghans file asylum applications in EU in a month

It is reported that Syrians and Afghans are the largest groups of asylum seekers in the EU member states over the past years

EU's proposed carbon tax won't affect trade relation with India: Timmermans

European Union's climate policy chief Frans Timmermans on Friday said the bloc's proposed carbon tax will not have any negative effect on its trade relationship with India and that it would do nothing that is in violation of World Trade Organisation rules. The EU plans to implement a carbon import tax of 25 to 30 per cent on high carbon goods such as steel, cement, aluminum, iron, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. This has led to concerns about the impact on developing nations heavily reliant on carbon-intensive industries. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CABM), expected to be introduced in its transitional phase from October, is part of the EU's larger climate strategy which focuses on incentivising member countries to reduce their carbon emissions and adopt greener practices. "If India fulfills all its ambitions in terms of greening the economy and reducing the carbon footprint and creating comparable footprints to the EU, there is no worry that CBAM will have a ...

India appeals to the void in WTO dispute over ICT tariffs on mobile phones

A trade expert said India's appeal only against the Japan case and not against the EU one could be to avoid EU retaliation

Europe's AI rules are not for negotiation: EU's Breton on OpenAI threat

Altman's comments at a conference a day earlier came as the European Union seeks to expand its AI rules to cover generative AI tools, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT

India, EU should use trade council for stable green energy supplies: Frans

European Union's climate policy chief Frans Timmermans on Thursday suggested using the India-European Union Trade and Technology Council to have access to technology and raw material necessary for stable green energy supplies to fight the climate crisis. On the first day of his two-day crucial diplomatic mission to India to discuss developments on emission reductions and clean energy transition, Timmermans also called for collectively setting a renewable energy generation goal on the international stage. Addressing the 'Confederation of Indian Industry Annual Session 2023' here, he said the whole nature of the cooperation between the EU and India should be focused on how "we create the instruments that will allow us transform our economies and societies in a way that we create sustainable jobs". "If you want to depend more on sustainable energy, you have to develop systems which create stability in energy supplies which means battery systems and green hydrogen systems for which you

European Commission's climate policy chief on two-day mission to India

The European Commission's climate policy chief Frans Timmermans is arriving in India on Thursday for a two-day crucial diplomatic mission to discuss latest developments at the national level on emission reductions and clean energy transition. Environmental protection and the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai later this year will also be part of the discussion. According to a statement from the Delegation of the European Union to India, the Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal will hold bilateral meetings with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav; Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of Coal Prahlad Joshi; and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri. These meetings aim to foster collaboration and explore potential avenues for cooperation between the European Union (EU) and India in tackling the pressing climate challenges. Timmermans will participate in a high-level round table organised by the