World
China's green tech dominance creates dilemma for Western climate goals
University of Manchester report warns that tariffs and local-content rules risk slowing decarbonisation while China supplies 70 to 80 percent of key technologies
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Trade
European Union trade policy: tariffs, trade defence instruments, and the agreements that govern the Union's commerce with the rest of the world.
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Technology
Chinese autonomous driving firms gain ground in Europe with German approval and Uber deal
Deutsche Bank initiates coverage of Momenta with HK$400 target while Pony.ai plans 2,000 robotaxis across five European cities through expanded Uber partnership
Politics
US threatens retaliation over EU sustainability rules despite Brussels concessions
Washington says the Turnberry trade deal commitments remain unfulfilled and signals possible action against American companies facing due diligence and reporting requirements.
Business
EU packaging rules force small retailers to halt cross-border sales
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation took effect on 12 August, requiring an authorised representative in every EU destination country. Independent booksellers say the compliance burden makes shipping to other member states impossible.
Business
EU packaging regulation takes effect, closing regulatory gaps for Chinese exporters
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applied across the bloc from 12 August, replacing a patchwork of national rules with a single framework that Chinese traders say removes the option of routing goods through lenient member states.
World
Chinese scholar challenges Western narrative linking subsidies to industrial overcapacity
University of International Business and Economics professor Cui Fan argues in People's Daily that China ranks eleventh in industrial policy use among major economies, citing University of British Columbia research covering 2009 to 2020.
Politics
UK seeks deeper EU ties under Burnham while holding Brexit red lines
Hamish Falconer, appointed last month as the prime minister's chief EU negotiator, says Britain wants a more ambitious partnership but rules out single market or customs union membership.
Europe
Ceuta border crisis exposes EU unity gaps before China trade showdown
A surge of 72,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave in late July killed at least 75 people and revealed how quickly member states fracture when one faces external pressure.
World
China strikes back hard after EU sanctions on Russian war suppliers
Beijing's retaliatory measures target European firms with extraterritorial reach, escalating trade tensions before October negotiations on electric vehicle tariffs.
Technology
EU fines Google €890 million for steering users to its own services under Digital Markets Act
The European Commission says the search giant abused its gatekeeper position on Google Play and Search, marking the largest DMA penalty against a single company to date.
Technology
EU fines Google €890 million for preferencing search and app store services
The European Commission says Google gave its own shopping, travel and sports services better placement on Search and blocked app developers from directing users to cheaper offers outside the Play Store.
Business
European gas prices hit four-month high as Middle East conflict threatens winter supply
Dutch TTF benchmark surges past €60 per megawatt hour after US-Iran escalation disrupts Qatari LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving European storage 10 percentage points behind last year's pace.
World
EU ministers weigh trade curbs on Israeli settlements as violence surges
Foreign ministers meet in Brussels to test support for three Commission options, but Germany and Italy remain undecided while Belgium dismisses the proposals as a delaying tactic.
Business
Europe's heatwave drives Chinese air conditioner surge as Brussels tightens trade policy
Record temperatures force consumers toward affordable Chinese cooling units even as the European Commission prepares new trade restrictions on Beijing, exposing a gap between climate reality and industrial strategy.
Technology
EU pushes back on Trump tariff threats as tech talks open in Washington
Brussels asserts sovereign right to regulate digital markets while Roberto Viola leads delegation for preliminary dialogue with US counterparts amid escalating transatlantic friction.
Business
EU launches China trade platform as Volkswagen cuts 100,000 jobs
Brussels opens new consultation channel with Beijing while German carmaker slashes workforce, exposing the gap between European unity rhetoric and industrial reality.
Politics
Keir Starmer resigns as UK prime minister after Mandelson scandal and electoral collapse
The Labour leader steps down less than two years after a 411-seat landslide, undone by a flawed ambassadorial appointment, policy reversals and a May local election drubbing that brought Andy Burnham to the brink of Number 10.
Politics
EU leaders order new trade tools to counter China's industrial overcapacity
European Council instructs Commission to engage with Beijing while preparing stronger trade defence instruments and supply chain diversification measures after rare late-night summit debate on systemic economic imbalances.
Europe
EU leaders debate new trade tools to counter China export surge
Brussels summit will test whether France and Germany can agree on sector-specific tariffs and a European version of the US Section 301 tool as the goods deficit with China reaches €360 billion.
Politics
EU leaders prepare China policy showdown as trade war fears mount
Beijing's vice-minister arrives in Brussels for talks while diplomats brace for a leaders' summit that could harden the bloc's stance on Chinese industrial overcapacity and market access.
Europe
Five EU capitals demand tougher trade tools against Chinese overcapacity
Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Lithuania have signed a joint paper urging the Commission to adopt faster safeguards, broader anti-circumvention powers and a new resilience instrument before Friday's China policy debate.
Politics
Starmer's EU reset collides with Labour's fractured coalition
The prime minister promises a new direction at July's summit, but local election losses reveal a party split between pro-EU graduates and Brexit-backing working-class voters.
Technology
EU Big Tech fines exceed $7 billion as Trump administration threatens tariffs
Fines against Google, Apple and Meta since January 2024 have become the sharpest point of friction in US-EU economic relations, with Washington signalling retaliatory measures.
World
EU trust rises in Southeast Asia but strategic gaps persist
The latest ISEAS survey shows the EU is the region's preferred hedge against US-China rivalry, yet Brussels still struggles to convert goodwill into diplomatic weight.
Technology
EU lawmakers reject US pressure to weaken digital rules ahead of trade vote
Senior MEPs tell Washington the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act are settled law, not bargaining chips, as Parliament prepares to vote on transatlantic trade deal Thursday.
Business
European Commission proposes Industrial Accelerator Act to shield clean tech from Chinese competition
Draft regulation would require 70% EU content in publicly procured electric vehicles and mandate low-carbon materials, marking a decisive break from open-market orthodoxy.
World
Iran conflict doubles European gas prices as Hormuz shipping halts
Strait of Hormuz closure removes a fifth of global oil trade, pushing European gas to €56 per megawatt-hour while storage sits at a four-year low of 30 percent capacity.
Politics
Iceland weighs summer referendum on restarting EU membership talks
Reykjavik considers moving a planned 2027 vote to August as Trump tariffs and Greenland ambitions reshape security calculations for the North Atlantic island.
Europe
European Parliament delays US trade deal vote after Trump tariff surprise
Emergency meeting of trade committee puts legislative work on hold as 15% universal levy throws Turnberry agreement into doubt
Business
Von der Leyen demands capital market overhaul to end EU fragmentation
European Commission president tells MEPs the bloc's 27 financial systems and 300-plus trading venues are strangling growth, urging savings and investment union legislation this year even if some member states refuse to join.
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