All European Union articles
-
News briefs
CEC co-signs a European industry manifesto for relaunching competitiveness
CEC has joined forces with 85 other European and national industry associations to publish a manifesto called Relaunching European Competitiveness. “The manifesto calls against the risk of de-industrialization on our continent by relaunching Europe’s competitiveness. The EU enters a new policy cycle at a challenging time, with technology and geopolitics ...
-
ArticleEU to ban the destruction of unsold clothing and footwear
During the night of Dec. 4, the European Parliament and the European Council reached a provisional agreement, at a technical level, on revising the European Union’s ecodesign framework for sustainable products, the parliament said. The parties plan to introduce “ecodesign” rules for products, ban the destruction of unsold clothing and ...
-
News briefs
EU takes steps to block products made by forced labor
The European Parliament is proposing a new legislation framework to investigate the use of forced labor in companies’ supply chains. If it is proven that a company has used forced labor, all import and export of the related goods would be halted at the European Union (EU)’s borders. Companies would ...
-
News briefs
European luxury retailers likely to suffer from lack of Chinese tourists
European retailers of luxury goods are likely to suffer from a lack of Chinese tourists this summer, according to Baader Bank. According to the analysts of the German bank, Chinese travel demand is surging domestically but the recovery in international travel is lagging, due to slow visa processing and the ...
-
News briefs
Indonesia and EU aim to reach a free trade deal in 2023
The European Union and Indonesia aim to conclude a free trade agreement by the end of 2023 despite numerous trade disputes, said Vincent Piket, the EU’s ambassador in Jakarta. Piket told journalists that European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen and the Indonesian President Joko Widodo had decided in the ...
-
ArticleEU institutions reach preliminary deal to combat deforestation
The European Parliament and the European Council have reached a provisional agreement to introduce regulation to establish deforestation-free supply chains in the European Union. The products affected by the proposed legislation include leather, timber and paper. “Once adopted and applied, the new law will ensure that a set of key ...
-
ArticleEU expects to strike a trade deal with Indonesia in 2024
The European Union expects to be able to reach a free trade agreement with Indonesia within two years, despite a trade dispute regarding palm oil and nickel, according the European Commission’s Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis. Dombrovskis believes it is possible to reach a comprehensive economic ...
-
News briefs
EU court hold ups decision to fine Google
The European Union’s General Court has upheld a decision made by the European Commission to fine the U.S. research engine Google and its parent company Alphabet for abuse of dominant position but cut the compensation to €4.125 billion from €4.340 billion. Alphabet is jointly and severally liable in the amount ...
-
News briefs
EU plans to ban products made with forced labour
The European Commission has proposed to prohibit products made with forced labour on the European Union market. The proposal covers all products, including those made in the EU for domestic consumption and exports, and imported goods, without targeting specific companies or industries. “This comprehensive approach is important because an estimated ...
-
News briefs
EU starts membership talks with Albania, North Macedonia
On July 19, 2022, the European Union started membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. “What a historic moment. Today, Albania and North Macedonia are opening the accession negotiations to the European Union,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. “You and your citizens, you and ...
-
ArticleSinking euro signals EU’s slowing economic growth
For the first time in nearly two decades, the euro and U.S. dollar yesterday nearly reached 1-for-1 parity. That suggests a recession is on the horizon for the European Union, contends some economists. Experts contend there are several reasons the euro against the dollar has depreciated 12 percent since the ...
-
ArticleEU to use trade agreements to promote sustainability
The European Commission said that it took ”a major step in making EU trade greener, fairer and more sustainable” thanks to a new plan to enhance the contribution of trade agreements in protecting the climate, environment and labor rights worldwide. In a communication on “The power of trade partnerships: together ...
-
ArticleEU proposes new consumer rights on sustainability and a ban on greenwashing
The European Commission is proposing to amend the European Union Consumer Rights Directive to oblige traders to provide consumers with information on products’ durability and reparability with the aim of empowering consumers for the green transition. The measure is one of many included in a wider package called the European ...
-
News briefs
EU to guarantee convertibility of Ukrainian currency
European Union authorities are studying the possibility of guaranteeing the convertibility of Ukraine’s currency, the hryvnia, into the currencies of EU member states, according to the French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire. France currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU. Le Maire noted that many Ukrainians fleeing the Russian ...
-
News briefs
EU bans exports of luxury goods to Russia
The European Union has toughened trade sanctions against Russia with the adoption of a fourth package of measures, which includes an export ban on luxury goods “to directly hit Russian elites”. The EU is sanctioning the country for ”its brutal aggression against Ukraine and its people.” The sanctions ”will further ...
-
News briefs
Italy to receive €25 bn from EU by early Aug
At the end of July or early August, Italy will receive a first instalment of about €25 billion from the European Commission as part of the Next Generation EU program, according to the Italian economy minister Daniele Franco . The monies are part of a stimulus package financed by ...
-
News briefs
EU postpones introduction of digital tax
The European Commission has postponed until October a European Union proposal to introduce a tax on digital companies to help fund a recovery plan aiming at stimulating the continent’s economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. A spokesperson for the commission said it is focusing attention on resolving ...
-
News briefs
EU updates VAT rules for international online trade
New EU tax rules for orders placed with non-European online retailers will come into force at the beginning of July. The most important change is the elimination of the previous exemption limit of €22 for direct (B2C) imports. This means that import VAT will be due on all packages, ...
-
ArticleSwiss reject new trade deal with EU
The Swiss cabinet has rejected a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU, known as the EU-Swiss Institutional Framework Agreement. On May 26, the government said that there remain “substantial” differences between Switzerland and the EU and that the conditions for signing the agreement were not met. It added that ...
-
ArticleEU to cut greenhouse emission by 55% by 2030
The 27 members of the European Union agreed on Dec. 11, after a night of negotiations, to reduce by at least 55 percent their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, increasing the target from a previous objective of 40 percent. “Europe will reduce emissions by at ...
