EU

March 21, 2025 9:37 AM

EU leaders vow to continue backing Ukraine, but make no concrete pledge

European Union leaders said on Thursday that they will continue to support Ukraine, but they did not immediately endorse a call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to provide at least 5 billion euros for artillery ammunition purchases. "We need funds for artillery shells and would really appreciate Europe's support with at least five billion euros ($5.42 billion) as soon as possible," Zelenskiy told the EU leaders meeting in Brussels via video link. The bloc's foreign policy chief, Kaja...

March 19, 2025 11:01 PM

Google charged with breaching landmark EU rules, Apple told to open up to rivals

Alphabet unit Google was hit with two charges of breaching landmark EU rules on Wednesday while Apple was ordered to help rivals connect with its iPhones and iPads, as antitrust regulators continued a crackdown against Big Tech. The move by the European Commission came amid tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened to levy tariffs against countries which impose fines on U.S. companies. Both Google and Apple have been in the European Commission's crosshairs since March last y...

March 12, 2025 11:36 AM

EU to impose counter tariffs on over $28 billion of US goods

The European Union will impose counter tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28.33 billion) worth of U.S. goods from next month in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium, the European Commission said in a statement on Wednesday. The commission said it will end the current suspension of tariffs on U.S. products on April 1 and will also put forward a new package of countermeasures on U.S. goods by mid-April. "This matches the economic scope of the U.S. tariffs. Our countermeasures will be intro...

March 6, 2025 9:35 PM

EU leaders pledge defence surge, support Zelenskiy after US aid freeze

European leaders on Thursday said they would stand by Ukraine and spend more on defencein a world upended by Donald Trump's reversal of U.S. policies. "Europe must take up this challenge, this arms race. And it must win it," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said as he arrived at the summit in Brussels. "Europe as a whole is truly capable of winning any military, financial, economic confrontation with Russia - we are simply stronger," Tusk said. Many EU leaders hailed the European Commission'...

February 28, 2025 8:53 PM

India, EU push to conclude free trade agreement by year-end after ‘landmark’ visit

India and the European Union (EU) have set an ambitious deadline to finalize negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of this year. The decision followed high-level discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirming the development on Friday. Describing the visit as "unprecedented and landmark," MEA Secretary (West) Tanmay Lal highlighted the extensive scope of the enga...

February 28, 2025 4:38 PM

Sanjay Seth meets EU commissioner for defence & space, strengthens bilateral security ties

In a move to strengthen India-EU defence collaboration, Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth met with European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, in New Delhi on Wednesday. The discussions centered on enhancing bilateral defence ties, with a focus on maritime security and intelligence sharing in the Indo-Pacific region. The meeting underscored the growing defence collaboration between India and the EU, with both sides exploring avenues for increased industrial coop...

February 28, 2025 1:01 PM

India, EU hold bilateral meeting on connectivity, IMEC, and security

India and the European Union (EU) held a bilateral cluster meeting in New Delhi on Friday, focusing on key issues including connectivity, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), green and clean energy, mobility and talent, security, the Mediterranean region, and the EU’s expansion. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, along with Union Ministers Kirti Vardhan Singh and Nityanand Rai, represented India at the meeting. The EU delegation included Jozef Sikela, Commissioner for ...

February 27, 2025 4:30 PM

Trump tariff policy an attack on EU industry and jobs, Italy’s business lobby says

Trump tariff policy an attack on EU industry and jobs, Italy's business lobby says U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to introduce tariffs on European Union imports would undermine the bloc's companies and its workforce and require a strong response from the EU, Italy's business lobby said late on Wednesday. Trump has said his administration will soon announce a 25% "reciprocal" tariff on goods from the EU, including cars. "The threat is not only of an impact on trade dynamics. The truth is...

February 27, 2025 11:12 AM

EU vows swift, firm response after Trump says tariffs coming on EU imports

The European Commission said on Wednesday it will react "firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade" after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration would soon announce a 25% tariff on imports from the EU. "The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies," a commission spokesperson said in response to a request for comment on ...

February 27, 2025 9:18 AM

Trump to impose 25 percent tariffs on EU, claims bloc was ‘formed to screw US’

US President Donald Trump has said that his administration has made a decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on products from the European Union (EU), including cars and claimed that the EU -- a 27-country bloc -- was "formed to screw the US". "We have made a decision. We'll be announcing it very soon, and it'll be 25 per cent generally speaking, and that'll be on cars and all other things," Trump told reporters on Wednesday at a White House Cabinet meeting. The EU is the US's third largest tr...