Page 75 - European Union

EU climate chief defends including 'carbon farming' to climate plans

The European Union's top climate official on Wednesday dismissed criticism from environmental groups over its proposal to incorporate carbon removal methods into its climate plans, insisting the plan won't undermine the bloc's efforts to tackle global warming. Dozens of organisations issued a joint call on Monday slamming the EU's plans to certify so-called offsets carbon absorbed through nature or with technological means which could then be bought by polluters to reduce their emissions balance. The groups, including Friends of the Earth, Corporate Accountability and the Centre for International Environmental Law, argue that subtracting carbon captured in this way from the 27-nation bloc's emissions total amounts to greenwashing. Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the EU's executive Commission, insisted the plans for carbon removal certificates were consistent with the bloc's legally binding climate targets. It's additional to what we're doing, and it's not instead of what we'r

EU warns Elon Musk to beef up Twitter controls ahead of new rules

A top European Union official warned Elon Musk on Wednesday that Twitter needs to beef up measures to protect users from hate speech, misinformation and other harmful content to avoid violating new rules that threaten tech giants with big fines or even a ban in the 27-nation bloc. Thierry Breton, the EU's commissioner for digital policy, told the billionaire Tesla CEO that the social media platform will have to significantly increase efforts to comply with the new rules, known as the Digital Services Act, set to take effect next year. The two held a video call to discuss Twitter's preparedness for the law, which will require tech companies to better police their platforms for material that, for instance, promotes terrorism, child sexual abuse, hate speech and commercial scams. It's part of a new digital rulebook that has made Europe the global leader in the push to rein in the power of social media companies, potentially setting up a clash with Musk's vision for a more unfettered ...

India's revised data protection bill 'promising, clear': Meta's Nick Clegg

'Real process of openness' and listening to feedback in preparing legislation, he says

ESMA deadlock: European regulator's interference unfortunate, says RBI DG

"Potential disruption to the forex markets can be serious"

Reserve Bank of India, Japanese regulator hold talks on clearing houses

Dialogue on clearing houses come after CCIL derecognition by ESMA, BoE

Germany seeks to boost immigration of skilled workers from outside EU

The German government said on Wednesday that it plans to ease entry rules for immigrants from outside the European Union to help meet Germany's demand for skilled workers. Experts say Europe's biggest economy needs about 400,000 skilled immigrants each year as the country's ageing workforce shrinks, particularly to fill vacancies in the health care, IT and construction sectors. Lack of workers endangers Germany's ambitious plans to boost the roll-out of renewable energy, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said. We've known for years that we're going to have a demographic problem but nothing was done about it, he told reporters in Berlin. Cabinet agreed on a draft proposal that would help would-be immigrants from outside the EU get their skills and qualifications recognised and lower bureaucratic hurdles such as language requirements for some sectors such as IT. Labor Minister Hubertus Heil said that apart from providing more language training abroad, Germany would also have to do mo

How feasible are Rolls-Royce and easyJet's hydrogen engines for planes?

Rolls-Royce and easyJet said that they have successfully run an aircraft engine using green hydrogen created by wind and tidal power

EU seeks specialised court to investigate Russia war crimes in Ukraine

The European Union proposed Wednesday to set up a U.N.-backed specialised court to investigate possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, and to use frozen Russian assets to rebuild the war-torn country. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will work with international partners to get the broadest international support possible" for the tribunal, while continuing to support the work of the International Criminal Court. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, his military forces have been accused of abuses ranging from killings in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha to deadly attacks on civilian facilities, including the March 16 bombing of a theater in Mariupol that an Associated Press investigation established likely killed close to 600 people. Investigations of military crimes committed during the war in Ukraine are underway around Europe, and the Hague-based International Criminal Court has already launched ...

European Union adopts new legislation to strengthen cybersecurity

It will strengthen the EU's cybersecurity work by improving the resilience of public and private entities, introducing stricter enforcement and increasing information-sharing

Environmental groups ask EU to drop carbon removal from climate plans

Scores of environmental groups issued a joint appeal on Monday for the European Union to drop carbon removal methods from its climate plans, arguing that some of them rely on untested technology while others may not absorb as many greenhouse gas emissions as claimed. The EU's executive Commission has proposed creating a system for certifying so-called offsets carbon absorbed through nature or with technological means which could then be bought by polluters to reduce their emissions balance. But some 170 groups including Friends of the Earth, Corporate Accountability and the Centre for International Environmental Law argue that plans to use fields, forests or machines for future large-scale removal of carbon from the atmosphere are a greenwashing fantasy. They have instead called for the Commission to commit to real, or gross, cuts in emissions, instead of net cuts that many countries and companies are currently touting in their climate plans. The 27-nation EU aims to achieve net .

India-EU trade pact: Negotiators begin third round of talks, says official

Senior officials of India and the European Union (EU) on Monday commenced the third round of talks on a proposed free trade agreement, which aims at boosting trade and investments between the two regions, an official said. India's bilateral trade with the EU rose by 43.5 per cent to USD 116.36 billion in 2021-22. At present, the EU is India's second largest trading partner after the US, and the second largest destination for Indian exports. India and the EU on June 17 this year formally resumed negotiations on the proposed India-EU Trade and Investment Agreement, including the Geographical Indications (GI). The EU delegation is here for the third round of talks and the talks will continue till December 9, the official said. The second round of negotiations were held in Brussels. According to the commerce ministry, the trade agreement with the EU would help India in further expanding and diversifying its exports of goods and services, including securing the value chains. A GI is .

ESMA to derecognise CCIL: Banks, RBI discuss alternative clearing methods

Fresh clearing options came up in discussions with RBI, banks in touch with offshore regulators

Global oil mkt signals short-term weakness ahead of EU ban on Russian oil

The global oil market is signaling a potential shift, as traders and analysts worry about reduced crude demand and an oversupplied market in the coming months

Rise in cigarette taxes, first EU-wide vaping levy on the cards

The changes to legislation, part of a push by Brussels to cut smoking rates, will increase the EU's minimum excise duty on cigarettes from 1.80 euros to 3.60 euros per pack of 20

Russia drafts decree banning sale of oil to price-cap participants

It would essentially ban any reference to a price cap in contracts for Russian crude oil or products, and prohibit loadings destined for any countries that adopt the restrictions

EU diplomats suspend talks on capping Russian oil prices as divisions stick

Poland and the Baltic nations are outraged at a proposal to cap Russian oil prices at $65 per barrel limit, as the level is above the rates Moscow sells crude now

European Union's medicines regulator warns of Covid spike in winter

"This virus is maintaining a fast pace in its evolution and new subvariants of Omicron such as BQ.1.1 and its offsprings are on the rise and replacing Omicron BA.5"

EU heads for December agreement for proposed price cap on imported gas

Any agreement on the European Commission's proposal to cap the price of imported gas will be postponed until the middle of December, said Jozef Sikela, the Czech minister of industry and trade

Poland to receive European Union post-Covid recovery fund in 1.5 yrs: PM

Poland will receive support from the European Union (EU) post-pandemic recovery fund within a year and a half, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said

Twitter, others slip on removing hate speech, says European Union review

Twitter took longer to review hateful content and removed less of it in 2022 compared with the previous year, according to European Union data released Thursday. The EU figures were published as part of an annual evaluation of online platforms' compliance with the 27-nation bloc's code of conduct on disinformation. Twitter wasn't alone most other tech companies signed up to the voluntary code also scored worse. But the figures could foreshadow trouble for Twitter in complying with the EU's tough new online rules after owner Elon Musk fired many of the platform's 7,500 full-time workers and an untold number of contractors responsible for content moderation and other crucial tasks. The EU report found Twitter assessed just over half of the notifications it received about illegal hate speech within 24 hours, down from 82% in 2021. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube also took longer, while TikTok was the only one to improve. The amount of hate speech Twitter removed after it was flagged