Category Archives: European commission

EU overhaul of farming strategy ignores vital green proposals, campaigners warn

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The report promises better pay and protections for farmers, but environmentalists say it will not help restore nature or assure food security

European farmers will face fewer rules and less foreign competition, a new vision for agriculture promises, as environmental campaigners warn that key green proposals have been ignored.

The EU’s new farming strategy will overhaul the sector with targeted financial support, stricter import standards and a shift from “conditions to incentives” in the green strings attached to its vast subsidy scheme, according to the report published on Wednesday.

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Canada, Mexico and EU criticise Trump’s metal tariffs amid fears of trade war

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Ursula von der Leyen says tariffs ‘will not go unanswered’ as Justin Trudeau says Canadians will ‘stand up if we need to’

Canada, Mexico and the EU have sharply criticised Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to the US, amid mounting fears of a global trade war.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday she “deeply regretted” the US president’s move, announced late on Monday, adding: “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered.”

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EU says it will retaliate immediately if Trump imposes new tariffs

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Bloc’s leaders also pledge to protect EU interests after US president announces escalation in aggressive trade policy

Europe will not hesitate to retaliate if Donald Trump imposes any new tariffs, the European Commission and EU national leaders have said, after the US president announced another escalation of his aggressive trade policy at the weekend.

Trump said he would announce on Monday 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports that would affect “everybody”, adding that reciprocal tariffs on all countries that tax imports from the US would follow on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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Fishing rights will not derail EU-UK security pact, says European Council president

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With member states keen to link quotas to any deal, António Costa says defence and fisheries ‘are different things’

The EU will not let the question of fishing rights derail a pact with the UK on security and defence, the president of the European Council has said.

The comments from António Costa, who took over as the European Council president in December, is a boost for Keir Starmer, amid frustration among UK officials over EU insistence on linking a security deal to other demands, notably fishing rights.

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EU to tighten checks on goods sold by sites such as Shein and Temu

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European Commission also urges EU lawmakers to phase out exemption on customs duties for parcels under €150

Parcels sent from China by online retailers such as Shein and Temu will face strict new customs controls as part of a crackdown by the European Commission on “dangerous products” flooding the EU market.

Brussels officials also urged EU lawmakers to phase out the exemption on customs duties that is allowed for parcels under €150 (£125), which enables foreign suppliers to sell cheap goods in the bloc without paying the tax.

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Rightwing MEPs threaten huge funding freeze for environmental NGOs

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Freeze to EU’s LIFE programme funding would deprive 30 NGOs of up to 70% of annual incomes

Several environmental NGOs could be effectively shut down in Europe, if a defunding push by rightwing MEPs is successful, campaigners say.

At the same time that centre and far right MEPs are revving up strategies to defang, deregulate or decapitate the European Green Deal, an EU plan to cut emissions to net zero by 2050, a proposed funding freeze in the European Parliament would weaken green groups.

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EU will stand up for itself in face of Trump tariffs threat, Macron says

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French president and other leaders call for cooperation with Washington but vow a robust response if needed

The EU will stand up for itself if its interests are targeted, Emmanuel Macron has said, as the bloc’s leaders urged talks – but a firm response if needed – in response to Donald Trump’s weekend threat to impose punishing tariffs.

“If our commercial interests are attacked, Europe, as a true power, will have to make itself respected and therefore react,” the French president said as he arrived for an informal defence meeting with other leaders in Brussels on Monday.

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Tesla takes EU to court over tariffs on EVs made in China

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Elon Musk’s company still imports large number of cars into Europe from its Shanghai factory

Tesla has filed a complaint against the European Commission after the imposition of tariffs by the bloc on its Chinese-made electric vehicles.

The EU announced its decision to impose tariffs on all imports of Chinese electric cars in June, alleging that the Chinese government had provided unfair state subsidies to manufacturers in order to win a dominant position in the emerging industry. EU leaders approved the tariffs in October.

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Halt illegal imports of conflict minerals from DRC, campaigners urge EU

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Law to stop armed groups profiting from trade in gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum is being breached, rights groups say

The European Union has been urged to clamp down on illegal imports of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after evidence was found that current regulations had been breached.

The advocacy group Global Witness (GW) said there remained a “high risk” of the EU’s mineral imports being used to fund militias and state repression in several countries.

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European parliament reaches deal on approving von der Leyen’s top team

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European Commission should take office on 1 December after centre-right EPP and Socialists forge compromise

European parliament leaders have reached a deal to approve Ursula von der Leyen’s top team, paving the way for the new European Commission to take office on 1 December.

Leaders of the centre-right European People’s party (EPP), the Socialists and the centrist Renew group – who between them have 56% of the parliament’s 720 seats – forged a compromise on Wednesday intended to ensure that von der Leyen’s nominees would be approved in a vote next week.

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Shrinking GDP forecast adds to German woes after coalition collapse

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European Commission figures predict German economy, usually the engine of the EU, will contract O.1% this year

Germany’s looming general election will be fought against the backdrop of a stagnating economy, the European Commission has forecast, with GDP expected to have contracted in 2024.

The commission’s quarterly forecast suggested Germany, traditionally the engine of the bloc’s economy, will be its weakest performer in 2025, notching up growth of just 0.7% after shrinking by 0.1% this year.

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EU launches action against shopping website Temu over illegal products

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Formal investigation opens amid concerns Chinese shopping website is breaching Digital Services Act

The EU has launched formal proceedings against the Chinese shopping website Temu amid concerns it is failing to halt the sale of illegal products online.

A formal investigation was opened on Thursday with the European Commission citing concerns over the platform, which is a cut-price rival to Amazon.

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Intel wins lengthy EU legal battle over £880m competition fine

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Chipmaker disputed 2009 decision that it abused its market position in case dating back two decades

The US chipmaker Intel has won a long-running battle to quash a fine of more than €1bn imposed by the European Commission for allegedly abusing its market dominance in the sale of computer chips.

In a final ruling on Thursday, theEuropean court of justice upheld an earlier judgment that had quashed the €1.06bn (£880m) fine and partly dismissed the charges of anticompetitive behaviour.

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Why immigration is back on the European Union’s agenda

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The new mood to tighten laws is driven in large part by the success of far-right parties, in power in seven countries

EU leaders met in Brussels today with migration at the top of the agenda. Here we examine why that has happened – and what the European Commission, as well as national capitals, might do about it.

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Von der Leyen to ask EU leaders to explore using ‘return hubs’ for migrants

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European Commission president cites Italy-Albania deal as possible model for reducing irregular arrivals to Europe

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for an exploration of “return hubs” outside the EU in a letter to the bloc’s national leaders on irregular migration, citing a deal between Italy and Albania as a possible model.

EU leaders are to meet on Thursday and Friday for a summit on migration as the commission has said it will propose new measures.

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European audit of democracy standards too positive, says human rights watchdog

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European Commission report ‘completely ineffective as an enforcement tool’, according to civil liberties organisation

The European Commission’s exhaustive annual audit of democratic standards across the bloc is overly positive and ultimately ineffective because it is not tied to any kind of enforcement mechanism, a leading European civil liberties network has said.

The yearly rule of law reports were launched five years ago and are presented by the commission as a key weapon in its armoury against democratic backsliding, including corruption and attacks on independent media and judiciary, across the union.

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EU unable to retrieve €150m paid to Tunisia despite links to rights violations

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Concerns are growing that funds from the migration deal are connected to abuses by the repressive regime in Tunis

The EU will be unable to claw back any of the €150m (£125m) paid to Tunisia despite the money being increasingly linked to human rights violations, including allegations that sums went to security forces who raped migrant women.

The European Commission paid the amount to the Tunis government in a controversial migration and development deal, despite concerns that the north African state was increasingly authoritarian and its police largely operated with impunity.

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Former EU environment chief hits out at plans to delay anti-deforestation law

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Credibility ‘damaged’ by proposed 12-month delay, which followed lobbying from governments and firms around the world

A former top environment official has said the EU’s credibility on its climate commitments has been damaged by plans for a one-year delay to a law to combat deforestation that followed intense lobbying from companies and governments around the world.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, a Lithuanian MEP who was the environment commissioner until mid-July, said postponing the deforestation regulation would be “a step backward in the fight against climate change”.

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Equality ‘downgrade’ in European Commission dismays rights groups

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Ursula von der Leyen criticised for merging equality commissioner role into brief including crisis management

More than 50 rights organisations from across Europe have expressed their “shock and dismay” at Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to do away with the standalone EU position of equality commissioner, describing it as a “downgrading” of the fight against discrimination.

Von der Leyen presented her lineup for the new commission in Brussels earlier this month. Her 27 commissioner designates – senior EU officials who hold positions akin to government ministers – included Hadja Lahbib, currently Belgium’s foreign minister, who was tasked with a portfolio that spans preparedness and crisis management as well as equality.

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Von der Leyen tightens grip on EU but trouble looms | Jennifer Rankin

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Despite cementing control, the EU commission’s president faces a daunting second term amid the rise of the far right

Ursula von der Leyen was leaving nothing to chance. At a private meeting with members of the European parliament in Strasbourg last Tuesday, she chose not to reveal who would get what job in her incoming European Commission, due to take office at the end of the year.

Then immediately afterwards, during a brisk 21-minute press conference, she announced every single name, leaving MEPs fuming. “That’s not how it should be done,” said one.

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