EU

EU draws up economic security plans, with mind on China

The European Commission will set out plans on Wednesday to bolster the European Union's economic security through closer scrutiny of foreign investment and tighter controls on exports and outflows of…

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Most euro zone banks face risk from climate complacency, ECB finds

Most big banks in Europe are failing to adjust their business to the looming decarbonisation of the bloc's economy and thus face increased financial, reputational and legal risk, the European…

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Big Tech should seek rivals’ input on complying with EU rules, European businesses say

Schibsted, Allegro and more than 20 other small European companies and industry groups on Tuesday urged Big Tech to seek their input into how it plans to comply with new…

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100 million Europeans set to benefit from Disability Card Directive, asserts MEP David Casa

The Disability Card Directive cleared an important hurdle as the Employment and Social Affairs Committee unanimously approved the European Parliament’s report on the new law. “Equality is a core value…

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Turkey’s Erdogan says EU will ‘stall’ Ukraine, Moldova accession

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was on Tuesday cited as saying the European Union would stall Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the EU, adding that Ankara had long earned the right…

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EU sets critical mineral goals, but faces struggle to hit them

The European Union has set targets to dig up, recycle and refine lithium, cobalt and other metals it needs for its green transition, but a shortage of new money, crippling…

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EU begin to hash out EU AI Act details starting Tuesday

Days after EU countries and lawmakers agreed on a provisional deal on artificial intelligence rules, experts from both sides are meeting on Tuesday to hammer out details, according to three…

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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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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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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 loophole lets banks dodge ECB’s crypto supervision, needs fixing -Enria

EU rules to protect the financial system from risks stemming from cryptocurrencies contain a loophole that allows banks to circumvent some safeguards and should be fixed urgently, the European Central Bank's chief…

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EU agrees rules to secure critical raw materials amid race with China, US

EU countries and lawmakers at the European Parliament on Monday clinched a deal on rules to secure the bloc's supply of critical raw materials ranging from aluminium to lithium, amid…

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EU pledges ‘substantial’ contribution to COP28 climate damage fund

The European Union will make a "substantial" financial contribution to a new international fund addressing the destruction caused by climate change, the EU's executive Commission said on Monday. The world-first…

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EU’s 20 billion euro plan for Ukraine military aid hits resistance

A European Union plan to spend up to 20 billion euros ($21.4 billion) on military aid for Ukraine is meeting resistance from EU countries and may not survive in its current form, diplomats say.Josep…

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MEPs want all countries to strengthen their climate commitments

The Environment Committee of the European Parliament has adopted its demands for the UN Climate Change Conference COP28, which will take stock of the progress on implementing the Paris Agreement.…

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Germany’s Baerbock says EU needs deep reforms to prepare for future

Major reforms of the European Union are needed to secure the future of the bloc against geopolitical changes, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Thursday at a conference on…

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China, US and EU agree to work together on AI safety at UK summit

China agreed to work with the United States, European Union and other countries to collectively manage the risk from artificial intelligence at a British summit on Wednesday aimed at charting a…

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EU, US rally support for global deal to triple renewable energy

The European Union, United States and the United Arab Emirates' COP28 climate summit hosts are rallying other governments to join a global deal to triple renewable energy this decade at the…

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Australia, EU say trade deal likely years away after rejecting terms

Australia has rejected European Union proposals for a free trade agreement, and a deal is now unlikely to be reached for several years, Australian government ministers said. Australia's agriculture minister, Murray…

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Scholz, von der Leyen urge Western Balkans to overcome conflicts and ‘grab opportunity’

Germany and the European Union urged the Western Balkan countries on Monday (October 16) to “overcome” their conflicts and to “Grab the opportunity” to move closer towards the European Union.At the so…

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Germany wants EU to push Member States to cut debt levels faster

The European Commission's proposed reform to European Union fiscal rules should take into account the new economic conditions in the euro zone, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Monday…

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EU seeks to ease US tariff, green subsidy threats

The European Union will seek this week to ward off the return of Trump-era metals tariffs and to lessen the negative impact on the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and…

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EU leaders back Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law

The European Union's national leaders back Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law, they said in a statement issued on Sunday."The European Union condemns in the strongest…

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Updated – Malta News Briefing – Wednesday 11 October 2023

Updated 1245 Government initiates process to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to become Mayors The government has initiated the legislative process aimed at allowing local councillors aged 16 or 17 to…

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EU will do ‘as much as possible’ to drive out fossil fuels, climate chief says

The European Union will do all it can to halt fossil fuel use as part of its "ambitious" position at the upcoming COP28 climate summit, the EU's new climate chief…

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Italy battles for flexible EU budget rules as bond spreads widen

Italy is lobbying its European Union partners with increasing urgency to approve more flexible budget rules, according to government sources, as bond spreads widen and Rome fears that deviations from its…

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Proposed EU green chief Sefcovic: hopes EU can set 90% target for emissions cuts by 2040

European Commission Executive Vice President Maros Sefcovic, the proposed EU green deal chief, said on Tuesday he hoped the European Union could set a target for to cut emissions by…

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Tunisia rejects EU financial aid, casting doubt on an immigration deal

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday rejected financial support announced by the European Union in September, saying the amount is small and goes against a deal signed three months ago. Saied's move…

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Zelenskiy says cooperation with EU vital for victory, Kyiv needs defence support

A Ukrainian victory in its war with Russia depends on cooperation with the European Union, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told EU foreign ministers gathered in Kyiv on Monday. Zelenskiy also underlined the importance of…

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Resist Russian disinformation as elections loom, EU tells Big Tech

European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova on Tuesday urged Alphabet's Google, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and TikTok to do more to tackle what she called Russia's "multi-million euro weapon of mass…

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Weaker growth levels in EU to continue in 2024

The European Commission has revised its economic growth projections for the eurozone, forecasting a deceleration to 0.8 percent in the current year and an increase to 1.3 percent in 2024.…

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EU ministers agree watered-down position on vehicle emissions

European Union ministers agreed on Monday to water down an initial European Commission proposal on new vehicle commissions after eight states including France and Italy said the changes could divert…

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China could do ‘a lot’ to reduce EU perception of risk – EU trade chief

The European Union has no intention of cutting ties with China even as the bloc takes steps to lower economic dependencies and de-risk, but China "could do a lot" to help reduce the perception…

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ECB’s Villeroy: Inflation is a disease, rates medicine starting to work

The European Central Bank will maintain its interest rates at 4% for a sufficiently long time in its bid to bring down inflation, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on…

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MEPs react to Von der Leyen’s SOTEU speech

Leaders of the main European parties represented in the European Parliament reacted to the SOTEU speech delivered earlier today by the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen (details here). Martin…

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Digital euro package should be focus of next EU Commission – McGuinness

The European Union's financial services chief said on Wednesday that a draft law to underpin a digital euro should not be rushed out ahead of European elections next June and instead be examined…

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EU lawmakers vote for tougher crackdown on energy market abuse

A committee of European lawmakers on Thursday voted in favor of a tougher crackdown on manipulation in gas and electricity markets which would give an EU agency the teeth to investigate and…

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UPDATE: US, Russia praise G20 summit declaration as meeting heads to close

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan praises declaration U.S. President Joe Biden leaves for Vietnam, misses summit's last session White House says not aware of any talks…

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Euro zone August downturn deeper than was thought -PMIs

The decline in euro zone business activity accelerated faster than initially thought last month as the bloc's dominant services industry fell into contraction, according to a survey which suggests the bloc…

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Poland asks EU’s top court to cancel three climate policies

Poland has filed legal challenges attempting to annul three of the European Union's main climate change policies, which the Polish government argues would worsen social inequality, documents published on Monday…

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Head of European Council says EU must be ready for new members by 2030

The European Union must be ready to admit new member states by 2030, European Council President Charles Michel told a forum in the Slovenian lake resort of Bled on Monday."I…

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EU’s Dombrovskis asks Russia to renew Black Sea grain deal

By Manoj Kumar NEW DELHI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A senior European Union official urged Russia on Saturday to renew a deal to allow the safe export of Ukrainian grain…

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A strong anti-SLAPP law is non-negotiable, EPP argues

MEPs David Casa and Ramona Strugariu have sounded alarm bells on the rising trends of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) happening against the backdrop of negotiations on an anti-SLAPP…

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Big Tech braces for roll-out of EU’s Digital Services Act

More than a dozen of the world's biggest tech companies face unprecedented legal scrutiny, as the European Union's sweeping Digital Services Act (DSA) imposes new rules on content moderation, user…

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EU military chief casts doubt on Ukraine regaining territory – WELT

The European Union's military leadership has expressed doubts that Ukraine will regain any territory lost in the war with Russia, according to German newspaper Die Welt. Ukrainian forces have raised the…

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Euro zone services slide deepens economic gloom-PMI

The downturn in euro zone business activity has deepened far more than thought this month in a broad-based fall across the region, particularly in Germany, Europe's largest economy, a survey…

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EU’s Sefcovic named interim climate chief after Timmermans quits

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic will be the European Union's temporary climate chief after Frans Timmermans quit to run as a candidate in Dutch national elections in November, the EU executive said…

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China urgently needs to address economic uncertainty – EU business group chief

The head of an influential European business lobby in China said Beijing needs to send a clear message on how it plans to revive its economy and provide clarity on a…

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EU’s Timmermans to lead Dutch leftist parties in Nov election

European Union commissioner Frans Timmermans will resign as the bloc's climate chief to lead the Labour and Green Left parties of the Netherlands in a joint ticket in the parliamentary…

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EU gas storage reaches 90% target ahead of Winter deadline

Gas storage in the European Union has already reached 90% well ahead of a Nov. 1 deadline to reach the level, the European Commission said on Friday. The gas storage…

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Spain asks EU for inclusion of three toungues to its list of official languages

FT reports that Brussels would need to translate hundreds of thousands of pages of EU law into Basque, Galician and Catalan under a Spanish proposal that will add to the…

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Europe space chief warns over political wavering on climate

Europe's top space official has urged wavering politicians not to abandon European leadership in combating climate change, saying record heatwaves and vegetation fires provide "really alarming" evidence of the pace…

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EU climate chief Timmermans to lead Dutch left in November election

The Netherlands' Labour and Green Left parties have proposed EU climate chief Frans Timmermans to lead their joint ticket in a parliamentary election due in November, the Green Left party…

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Europe cracks down after rise in ‘direct action’ climate protests

Simon Lachner had plans to glue himself to a German city thoroughfare in June to call public attention to climate change. Instead, he ended up in police custody before he'd…

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Coffee, candy makers question EU deforestation law

Chocolate and coffee makers including Italy's Lavazza and Cadbury-maker Mondelez are concerned about the "practicalities" of a new European Union law aimed at stopping deforestation. The pushback comes despite voluntary,…

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EU braces for possible loss of two climate change leaders

The European Union could stand to lose two of its most effective climate change negotiators ahead of this year's COP28 UN summit, with the possible departures of the EU's own…

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