Comuniq.EU

UPDATED: France, Germany, Italy back EU sanctions scheme to target Hamas

By Andrew Gray and Angelo Amante BRUSSELS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - France, Germany and Italy called for the European Union to set up a special sanctions scheme to target Hamas…

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Europe’s support for Ukraine teeters as Hungary plays hardball

High stakes for Ukraine exhausted after nearly two years of war EU aid decision comes as doubts mount over U.S. support EU executive to unlock funds for Hungary before summit…

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No quick EU path to give Ukraine profits on sanctioned Russian assets

By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive is due to approve next week a legal proposal on using proceeds from Russian assets frozen under sanctions,…

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UPDATED: Italy’s Mario Draghi not interested in EU commission presidency role

ROME, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is not interested in becoming president of the European Commission, a source close to Draghi said on Friday, responding to a…

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UPDATED: EU ministers narrow gaps on fiscal rules, eye end-year deal

By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - France, Germany and the EU executive expressed hope on Friday that EU governments would reach an agreement on the bloc's fiscal rules…

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Eva Kaili tried to invite EU Parliament chief Roberta Metsola to Qatar World Cup

Leaked documents from the so-called Qatargate investigation, seen by POLITICO, shed new light on the activities of Eva Kaili. Kailli is involved in the biggest corruption scandal to hit the…

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EU members seek to add nuclear, e-fuels to clean tech goals

By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - EU governments agreed on Thursday that nuclear and sustainable fuels should be added to a list of strategic "net-zero" technologies that the…

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UPDATED: EU countries, lawmakers halt 22-hour long AI talks, to continue on Friday

BRUSSELS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - EU countries and lawmakers on Thursday halted negotiations on landmark rules governing artificial intelligence after failing to find consensus on key points despite 22 hours…

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Mercosur summit overshadowed by fate of EU trade deal, Milei in the wings

By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Presidents of the four Mercosur nations meet for their annual summit on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro with black clouds hovering over…

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UPDATED: China’s Xi warns top EU officials not to engage in confrontation

BEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday warned top EU officials that China and Europe should not view each other as rivals or engage in confrontation…

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EU clears up to 1.2 bln euros of aid for cloud computing

The European Commission approved on Tuesday up to 1.2 billion euros ($1.30 billion) of state aid for a European cloud computing project to try to boost the involvement of EU…

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EU pledges to step up fight against hate crimes

BRUSSELS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday pledged to step up its fight against hate crimes throughout Europe, as ongoing military conflicts have been fuelling antisemitic and…

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EU proposes move to avoid tariffs on EV trade with Britain

By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday delaying by three years a tightening of local content rules that would have led to import…

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Disputed landmark AI rules face crunch EU talks

By Foo Yun Chee, Supantha Mukherjee and Martin Coulter BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM/LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - European Union ambitions to take a lead in landmark rules for artificial intelligence hang in the…

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EU warns of ‘huge risk’ of terrorist attacks before Christmas

There is a “huge risk” of terror attacks in the EU ahead of Christmas, European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson warned on Tuesday, linking the threat to the ongoing war…

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Climate change-2023 will be the warmest year on record – EU’s Copernicus

Dec 6 (Reuters) - European Union scientists said on Wednesday that 2023 would be the warmest year on record, as global mean temperature for the first 11 months of the…

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Pause or paralysis? EU-Mercosur hitch stalls EU trade momentum

Just a week after hailing approval of a trade agreement with New Zealand as a sign the European Union's free trade ambitions were back on track, a hitch in a…

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Far-right parties eye gains in next year’s EU parliament elections

By Alvise Armellini European far-right parties met in Italy on Sunday vowing to reshape the European Union after next year's European Parliament elections, toughening the bloc's approach on immigration and…

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EU’s electric dreams short-circuited by EV charging gridlock

By Julia Payne BRUSSELS, (Reuters) - Electric vehicle drivers hoping to top up their batteries at one of Repsol's 1,600 Spanish charging stations might well be disappointed, with nearly half…

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China says summit with EU leaders to discuss global economic issues

By Liz Lee BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - An China-EU summit will be held on Thursday in Beijing, China's foreign ministry said on Monday, where leaders of both sides will…

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EU keeps EastMed gas pipeline on new list of priority projects

By Francesca Landini The European Commission has maintained a proposed pipeline connecting the gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean to Greece via Cyprus and Crete on its new list of…

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Generative AI a stumbling block in EU legislation talks

By Supantha Mukherjee, Foo Yun Chee and Martin Coulter STOCKHOLM/BRUSSELS/LONDON, (Reuters) - EU lawmakers cannot agree on how to regulate systems like ChatGPT, in a threat to landmark legislation aimed…

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EU states push against ‘no Russia clause’ in sanctions package -sources

By Julia Payne BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU countries are digging in against parts of the Commission's latest proposed package of sanctions on Russia, namely the so-called "no Russia clause", retaliatory…

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Meta must provide details on measures against child sexual abuse by Dec. 22, EU says

BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - EU tech regulators on Friday ordered Meta Platforms to provide details on measures taken to tackle child sexual abuse material on Instagram by Dec. 22.…

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Europe agrees on rules to protect smart devices from cyber threats

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, (Reuters) - EU countries and EU lawmakers on Thursday agreed to rules to protect laptops, fridges, mobile apps and smart devices connected to the internet…

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Euro banknotes set to get a facelift, ECB says

FRANKFURT, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Euro banknotes are set to get a new design with themes focused on European culture, birds and rivers in an effort to make them more…

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EU’s defence strategy needs to include Ukraine, von der Leyen says

BRUSSELS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The European Union should take Ukraine's military needs into account as it determines the future strategy of Europe's defence industry, EU Commission President Ursula von…

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Anti-SLAPP: MEPs reach deal with member states to defend critical voices

The European Parliament has reached a deal with EU member States on rules aimed to ensure the EU-wide protection of journalists, media organisations, activists, academics, artists and researchers against unfounded…

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EU must become a State says ex Italian PM Draghi

Ex-premier and former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Wednesday admitted to feeling "concern" about Europe's future, saying that the EU was at a "critical moment". "Let's hope that…

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Most online hate targets women, says EU report

(Reuters) - Women are the main targets of online hate, including abusive language, harassment and incitement to sexual violence, a European Union report said. This should encourage the EU and…

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European Parliament puts up Nativity scene

For the second year running, thanks to the persistent campaign by Spanish MEP Isabel Benjumea, a Nativity scene was once more put up in the European Parliament headquarters for the…

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UK should rejoin EU to ‘fix’ Brexit, says Ursula von der Leyen

The United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union to “fix” Brexit, Ursula von der Leyen has said, after Labour pledged to forge closer ties with the bloc if elected. The…

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EU court says public employees may be barred from wearing head scarf

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The top European Union court ruled on Tuesday that public authorities in member states can prohibit employees from wearing signs of religious belief, such as an Islamic…

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ECB’s inflation fight progressing but not yet done: Lagarde

Euro zone inflation pressures are easing as expected but wage growth is still strong and the outlook is especially uncertain, so the European Central Bank's fight to contain price growth…

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Four-day truce in Israel-Hamas conflict is important first step – EU’s Borrell

By Joan Faus BARCELONA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict was an important first step but much more was needed to find a way out…

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EU official channels gloom over Russia’s war in Ukraine

By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A European Union decision next month to launch membership talks with Ukraine is "at risk" and there is no agreement in the bloc to…

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Israel not attending EU-Med summit

Israel accused organizers of an EU-Med summit of putting its war with Hamas at the heart of talks without consulting them. Foreign ministers from the Union for the Mediterranean —…

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Almost 400,000 deaths in Europe in 2021 attributable to filthy air -EU report

Almost 400,000 deaths in Europe in 2021 were related to three main air pollutants and some could have been avoided if pollutants had been reduced to World Health Organisation-recommended levels,…

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EU plans boost for power grid investment

By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS, (Reuters) - The European Commission has drafted plans to scale up investment in Europe's power grids, including dozens of projects earmarked for priority access to permits…

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EU mulls wider scope for cybersecurity certification scheme

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, (Reuters) - The European Union is considering broadening the scope of proposed cybersecurity labelling rules that would affect not just Amazon, Alphabet's Google and Microsoft…

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EU executive approves 900 mln euros in funds for Hungary

By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The European Union executive on Thursday approved 900 million euros ($1 billion) in advance payments under Hungary's hitherto frozen recovery fund, as…

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UPDATED-Amazon to win unconditional EU nod for iRobot deal

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Amazon is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot , three…

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Frankfurt builds up clearing volumes as EU seeks to pull business from London

Deutsche Boerse's derivatives arm said that it has been building up volume in its Euribor futures contract in Frankfurt as the European Union vies with London for the multi-billion-euro market…

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ECB’s Lagarde warns against premature inflation celebration

The European Central Bank has time now to assess how inflation unfolds after a record string of rate hikes but victory has not yet been won and bets based on short term…

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Euro zone to tighten fiscal policy in 2024, some still to spend too much

Euro zone fiscal policy will be tighter on aggregate next year but several countries, including France and Italy, plan to spend too much, breaking EU recommendations, the European Commission said…

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ECB should shed half its bonds and then buy some more -staff paper

The European Central Bank should halve its stock of bonds by mid-2026 before resuming purchases to underpin banks' lending to the economy, according to a paper by top ECB staff.…

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EU antitrust regulators raid online food delivery companies, probe no poach deals

EU regulators on Tuesday raided several online food delivery companies in two EU countries on concerns that they may have breached EU rules against cartels, with the focus also on their no poach agreements. The European…

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EU backs fund focused on cutting energy wastage

By Tommy Wilkes and Simon Jessop LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A private fund that plans to build power projects on sites such as hospitals and data centres to reduce…

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UPDATED: EU Commission president ‘unfazed’ by Hungarian billboard campaign

The European Commission’s chief spokesperson, Eric Mamer, declined to directly criticise a new Hungarian government campaign which includes billboards depicting commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Open Society Foundations…

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Hungary’s call for review of EU policy on Ukraine sets stage for weeks of wrangling

Hungary this week sought a review of the European Union's policy towards Ukraine, disagreeing with Germany, Lithuania, Finland and Ireland that backed bringing Kyiv closer to the bloc swiftly and…

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EU poised to propose extending energy crisis measures – official

By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS, (Reuters) - The European Commission wants to extend emergency energy measures passed last year to cope with Europe's gas crisis to guard against future price shocks…

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Only Palestinian Authority can run post-war Gaza -EU’s Borrell

MANAMA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Only the Palestinian Authority can run Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war is over, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday. "Hamas cannot…

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EU to ban Russian diamonds from start of 2024, to ban sale of tankers to Russia – EU sanctions proposal

BRUSSELS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The European Commission is proposing to ban imports of Russian diamonds and diamond jewellery from the start of 2024 as part of a new sanctions…

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ECB’s Lagarde says Europe needs single market watchdog in push for capital union

FRANKFURT, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Europe needs a capital markets union, including a single supervisor and trading infrastructure, to finance its digitalisation and green transition, European Central Bank (ECB) President…

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Enlargement will protect Western Balkans from malign influences -EU’s Michel

Enlargement of the European Union will make the wealthy 27-bloc safer and more prosperous and also secure stability and peace for the Western Balkan countries, European Council President Charles Michel…

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EU reaches deal to stop sending waste to countries that can’t process it

PARIS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers and member states have reached a deal to revise the bloc's waste shipment regulation and end exports of certain types of waste…

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EU Commission to renew glyphosate authorisation for 10 years

BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The European Commission to renew glyphosate authorisation for 10 yearsCommission will renew its authorisation of glyphosate for a further 10 years, it said on Thursday,…

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