Page 68 - European Union

US nominee to head World Bank, Ajay Banga, to visit China, other countries

Banga said he believes the scientific evidence on climate change, and underscored the need for the bank to continue to work on poverty reduction and inequality

European inflation eases slightly, consumer pain from higher costs persists

Inflation eased only slightly in the 20 countries that use the euro currency as the pain from higher costs for food and fuel persists and gives the European Central Bank no reason to slow interest rate increases aimed at getting prices back under control. The consumer price index reached 8.5 per cent in February compared with a year earlier, a drop from 8.6 per cent in January, the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat said Thursday. The figure was higher than analysts' expectations of 8.3%. Inflation is down from its peak of 10.6 per cent in October but its persistence has surprised economists, with figures from Germany, France and Spain coming in higher than expected this week. Prices for food, alcohol and tobacco rose 15 per cent, up from an already painful 14.1 per cent in January, outpacing even energy costs amid Russia's war in Ukraine. Energy prices grew 13.7 per cent from a year ago but were lower than the 18.9 per cent boost in January. Higher prices for natural gas,

Stocks, Euro register fall after stubborn Euro zone inflation data

MSCI's broadest index of world shares dipped 0.2%, hovering near 7-week lows. The STOXX 600 index slid 0.3% and Wall Street's S&P futures were down 0.6%

Oil gains on demand growth from China, but European inflation remains high

China's seaborne imports of Russian oil are set to hit a record high this month as refiners take advantage of cheap prices

European Union's carbon tax may hurt metal exports, says GTRI report

"High tariff walls will disrupt world trade," the think tank said

India feeling 'little challenged' about EU's carbon tax: Official

India on Wednesday said it is concerned about the European Union's announcement of imposing carbon tax, saying such measures require New Delhi to recalibrate its approach towards a free trade agreement. In January last year, India and the EU resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement, investment protection and Geographical Indications (GI). "Apart from the sustainability and all other issues, we are also a bit, I would not say perturbed but we are feeling little challenged with the announcement of CBAM recently and it is going to cover 5-6 sectors which are key to Indian industry and supply chains," Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Nidhi Mani Tripathi said. The EU is introducing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from October 1 this year. CBAM will translate into a 20-35 per cent tax on select imports into the EU starting January 1, 2026. Speaking at an event organised by industry body CII, she said there is also another regulation which is to come up -

UK PM travels to Belfast to convince his toughest audience on Brexit deal

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Belfast on Tuesday to sell his landmark agreement with the European Union to its toughest audience: Unionist politicians who fear post-Brexit trade rules are weakening Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom. The UK and the 27-nation EU announced Monday that they had struck a deal to resolve a dispute over Northern Ireland trade that has vexed relations since the UK left the bloc in 2020. The agreement will ease customs checks and other hurdles for goods moving to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. that were imposed after Brexit to maintain an open border between the north and its EU neighbour, the Republic of Ireland. The deal, dubbed the Windsor Framework, was hailed by London and Brussels as a breakthrough. But Northern Ireland's British unionist politicians have yet to give it their blessing. Their support is key to restoring Northern Ireland's semi-autonomous government, which has been toppled by the trade feud, leaving 1

India expects Free Trade Agreement with EU to be 'game-changer': Jaishankar

India expects its proposed free trade agreement with the European Union to be a "game-changer" and is looking forward to a mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation process for the pact within a "short planned timeline", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday. In an address at an event at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Jaishankar also said that Europe and India can strengthen each other's strategic autonomy by reducing dependencies, cooperating on critical technologies and ensuring supply-chain restructuring. "We expect the India-EU FTA will be a game-changer for the India-EU relationship. We look forward to a mutually beneficial, mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation process within a reasonably short planned timeline," he said. In June last year, India and the European Union restarted the negotiations for the long-pending trade and investment agreement after a gap of over eight years. Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for t

UK, EU conclude new post-Brexit trade arrangement for Northern Ireland

The agreement - dubbed the 'Windsor Framework' - was struck over the Northern Ireland Protocol, aiming to ease the trading issues created by the Protocol

$61-billion VMware deal: Broadcom to get warning from regulators

The EU competition enforcer, which will decide on the deal by June 7

UK and EU leaders to hold talks amid hope to fix Brexit trade dispute

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen are set to hold face-to-face talks, with expectations high they will seal a deal to resolve a thorny post-Brexit trade dispute. That would mark a breakthrough after months of bitter wrangling that has soured UK-EU relations, sparked the collapse of the Belfast-based regional government and and threatened to set back Northern Ireland's decades-old peace process. In a joint statement on Sunday the UK and the EU said European Commission President von der Leyen will travel to Britain on Monday so the leaders can work towards "shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. Sunak's office set out a tightly choreographed agenda for Monday suggesting a deal is all but done. It said the leaders' lunchtime final talks would be followed by a meeting of the UK Cabinet, then, if there is a deal, by a joint news conference and a statement by Sunak

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EU imposes sanctions on top Russia officials, banks, trade as war continues

The European Union agreed on Saturday to impose new sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine targeting more officials and organisations accused of supporting the war, spreading propaganda or supplying drones, as well as restricting trade on products that could be used by the armed forces. The EU's Swedish presidency said the sanctions "are directed at military and political decision-makers, companies supporting or working within the Russian military industry, and commanders in the Wagner Group. Transactions with some of Russia's largest banks are also prohibited. Asset freezes were slapped on three more Russian banks and seven Iranian entities - companies, agencies, political parties or other organizations - that manufacture military drones, which the EU suspects have been used by Russia during the war. The new measures, proposed by the EU's executive branch three weeks ago, were only adopted after much internal wrangling over their exact make-up, and made public one day aft

I will get personally involved: German Chancellor on India-EU FTA

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday underlined the importance of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union for boosting two-way trade and said he will personally get involved to see its early fruition. After holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Scholz said the finalisation of the FTA and the investment protection pacts will contribute significantly to expand India-Germany trade as well. The German Chancellor said he and the Indian prime minister are committed to finalising the deal. "We want to further deepen trade relations between the European Union and India and this is why we speak strongly for the free trade agreement. It is an important topic and I will get personally involved to ensure that this does not drag on," he said. Scholz said over 1,800 German companies are operating in India and have provided thousands of jobs. "India has so much talent to offer and we want to benefit from that cooperation. We want

European Union slaps sanctions on top Russia officials, banks, trade

The European Union agreed on Saturday to impose new sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine targeting more officials and organizations accused of supporting the war, spreading propaganda or supplying drones, as well as restricting trade on products that could be used by the armed forces. The EU's Swedish presidency said the sanctions "are directed at military and political decision-makers, companies supporting or working within the Russian military industry, and commanders in the Wagner Group. Transactions with some of Russia's largest banks are also prohibited. Asset freezes were slapped on three more Russian banks and seven Iranian entities companies, agencies, political parties or other organisations that manufacture military drones, which the EU suspects have been used by Russia during the war. The new measures, proposed by the EU's executive branch three weeks ago, were only adopted after much internal wrangling over their exact make-up, and made public one day after

European Union agrees for new sanctions against Russia on war anniversary

The European Union on Friday, the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, agreed to a new round of sanctions against Moscow, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.This comes as the tenth sanction package to be adopted by the EU member states.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during her visit to Kyiv earlier this month that the EU would "aim to have the tenth package of sanctions in place" by the one-year mark of Russia's invasion, according to DW.The new sanctions target entities supporting war and spreading Russian propaganda.According to Sweden, which took over the Council's rotating presidency at the beginning of the year, the new measures "targeted restricted measures against individuals and entities supporting the war, spreading propaganda or delivering drones used by Russia in the war.""Together, the EU member states have imposed the most forceful and far-reaching sanctions ever to help Ukraine ...

Free trade agreement with EU may take longer to conclude, says Piyush Goyal

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU) will take longer as negotiations with the 27-country bloc will be prolonged. Active negotiations for the FTAs (free trade agreements) are ongoing with two-three countries and the EU, Goyal said speaking at the Technotex event here organised by industry lobby Ficci. He said there will soon be some "good news", the pact with the EU may take longer. "EU will take a longer time, because there are 27 countries which have to come on the same page," the minister said. Last year, India signed FTAs with Australia and United Arab Emirates. Reports had suggested that the country is in talks with other countries including the United Kingdom, Israel and Canada. Goyal said the government is mulling to come out with a production linked incentive scheme for the finished goods sector, but did not elaborate on the same. He said the government has received applications for only Rs 250 crore for .

European Union carbon price passes symbolic 100 euros as reforms bite

The price of releasing planet-heating carbon into the atmosphere rose above 100 euros (about $107) in the European Union for the first time this week, a signal that experts said Wednesday speaks for the bloc's efforts to make polluting costlier. The EU has laid down a path to become carbon neutral by 2050, meaning it would only emit as much carbon dioxide as can be absorbed again through natural or artificial means. In 2005 it established an emissions trading system, or ETS, where major emitters have to buy allowances for every ton of CO2 they release. The price, calculated per ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, had long remained under 25 euros before rising sharply about two years ago. It had hovered around 90 euros for the past year until Tuesday, when it passed the 100-euro mark for the first time. No one thought it would be likely or feasible that the price would go up to such a level in such a short time, said Michael Pahle, who heads the energy polic

China-US superpower rivalry grows after war sweeps away multipolar world

The world order that seems to be emerging out of the Ukrainian rubble looks an awful lot like that of the Cold War

Microsoft's Xbox makes case for Activision merger amid EU scrutiny

Microsoft's Xbox video game division has announced new partnerships with Nintendo and chipmaker Nvidia as it tries to persuade European regulators to approve its planned USD68.7 billion takeover of game publishing giant Activision Blizzard. A key audience for the announcements were the European Union antitrust regulators who held a closed-door meeting Tuesday with executives from Microsoft and some of their competitors, including Sony and Google. Microsoft announced a 10-year agreement with chipmaker Nvidia to bring Xbox games to Nvidia's cloud gaming service. Microsoft also said it has now signed a similar deal with Nintendo, formalizing a commitment it revealed late last year. What it does not have is an agreement with Xbox's chief rival, PlayStation-maker Sony, which has sought to convince antitrust regulators around the world to stop the Activision Blizzard merger. The all-cash deal, which is set to be the largest in the history of the tech industry, faces pushback from regulat