EU

October 21, 2024 2:59 PM

Moldova’s EU referendum goes to wire after Sandu decries vote meddling

A knife-edge majority of 50.17% voted "yes" in Moldova's pivotal referendum on joining the European Union, nearly final results showed on Monday, after President Maia Sandu said Sunday's twin votes had been marred by "unprecedented" outside interference. The tight finish - with fewer than 1.5% of the ballots still to be counted - is far from a resounding endorsement of the pro-EU path that Sandu has pursued over four years at the helm of the small ex-Soviet republic tugged between Russia and th...

October 15, 2024 12:08 PM

Iran condemns EU, UK sanctions on Tehran, denies providing ballistic missiles to Russia

Iran condemned new EU and British sanctions on Tehran and denied providing ballistic missiles to Russia, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, said in a post on X on Tuesday. The European Union agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on seven people and seven organisations, including airline Iran Air, for their links to Iranian transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia. The listings also include Saha Airlines and Mahan Air and Iran's Deputy Defence Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghala...

September 20, 2024 5:31 PM

EU to provide Ukraine with loan worth up to 35 bln euros, von der Leyen says

The EU will grant a loan of up to 35 billion euros ($39 billion)to Ukraine to help the country stuck in a grinding war with Russia, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday. The loan, which was announced while the bloc's Commission chief was on a visit to Kyiv, is part of a wider plan among G7 nations to raise funds using proceeds from Russian assets frozen to sanction the country for invading its neighbour. "Relentless Russian attacks means Ukraine needs continued EU s...

September 18, 2024 11:00 AM

Meta faces hefty EU antitrust fine over classified ads practices: report

Meta Platforms Inc. is facing a hefty fine in the EU over its alleged efforts to dominate the classified advertising market, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. EU regulators will claim Facebook's parent company links its free Marketplace services with the social network in an effort to undermine its rivals, the newspaper said. The bloc's decision could come as early as next month and would mark one of the final investigations overseen by the EU's...

September 2, 2024 2:32 PM

China urges EU to be ‘objective and fair’ on South China Sea issue

China urged the European Union to be "objective and fair" and careful with words and actions on issues in the South China Sea, after the bloc remarked on an incident that occurred over the weekend. China said it was "strongly dissatisfied" with the European Union's "accusations" against it on the issue, a statement by the Chinese mission to the EU showed. "The European Union is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to point fingers on the issue," it said. It also said the ...

June 25, 2024 8:48 AM

Canada also considering imposing tariffs on Chinese-made EVs after US and EU

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that the country is considering whether to impose import tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and will seek the public's opinion about the idea, Al Jazeerea reported. Freeland said on Monday, that the domestic car sector faced unfair competition because of China's "state-directed policy of overcapacity," adding that Ottawa would open a 30-day public consultation period on July 2 as to how Canada can respond. "Chine...

June 21, 2024 2:35 PM

China says EU escalation of trade friction could trigger ‘trade war’

China's commerce ministry said on Friday the European Union has continued to escalate trade friction, which "may trigger a "trade war". "Responsibility lies entirely with the EU side," a ministry spokesperson said in a statement. China hopes the EU will meet it halfway, handle difference through dialogue and avoid escalating trade friction or allowing it to get out of control, the spokesperson said. Last week, the European Commission proposed tariffs of up to 38.1% on electric vehicle imports...

June 19, 2024 1:51 PM

Very difficult to agree global plastics treaty this year, EU says

The European Union has said it will be "very difficult" for countries to agree on a new global treaty to tackle plastic pollution by the end of this year as planned. It is the clearest sign yet that the talks, which began in 2022 and have been beset by division over whether the treaty should limit plastic production, may fail to reach a resolution by the final meeting in Busan, South Korea in late November. Around 60 countries, including EU members, have demanded production caps in the treaty ...

June 18, 2024 11:14 PM

EU drafts plan to exempt long-haul flights from new emissions rules

The European Commission has drafted plans to exempt long-haul flights from rules on monitoring their non-CO2 emissions, after international carriers lobbied for an opt-out, documents showed. The EU is developing plans to require airlines to track and report their contribution to climate change from January 2025 - not only from carbon dioxide, but also soot, nitrogen oxides and water vapour. Airlines' non-CO2 emissions have at least as important an impact on global warming as their CO2 output, ...

September 16, 2024 5:43 PM

Asia shares rally on promise of rate relief, factory pick up

Asian share markets rallied on Monday as investors looked forward to a rate cut in Europe, and quite possibly Canada, as the next step in global policy easing, though sticky inflation threatens to make the process a drawn out affair. There was also better news from China as the private Caixin survey showed a pick-up in its main factory index to a two-year top of 51.7 in May, from 51.4 in April. Japan's factory activity expanded for the first time in a year in May, while activity in South Korea...