European Union

EU leaders brace for multi-year energy squeeze after Qatar gas plant hit

Gas prices on Thursday surged to levels not seen in three years, while the European Central Bank said a prolonged disruption would push euro-zone inflation to 6.3% and trigger a brief recession

UK, EU leaders say ready to 'contribute' for safe passage through Hormuz

The joint statement reflects growing concern that Iran's retaliatory attacks in response to US-Israeli bombardment threaten to stoke inflation and further disrupt global trade

EU summit will focus on West Asia war, loan to Ukraine blocked by Hungary

European Union leaders are holding a summit in Brussels on Thursday for talks on the Iran war, energy prices, migration and an enormous loan for war-ravaged Ukraine being held up by Hungary. Many of those leaders have deflected entreaties by US President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the global flow of oil, gas and fertiliser. Rising energy prices because of the war and fears in Europe of a new refugee crisis have pushed leaders to make the Middle East one of the top priorities at the summit. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, has floated the idea of a "toolbox" of measures to lower energy prices for leaders to discuss because no single policy will work across the myriad markets in the 27-nation bloc to blunt economic shocks from the war, according to a senior European diplomat who wasn't authorised to be publicly named so spoke on condition of anonymity. The summit will also focus on a long-brewing standoff

EU proposes 'EU Inc' plan to boost startups against US and China

While the EU proposal to operate under a single set of EU rules is available to any European businesses, it is mainly aimed at new companies with innovative technologies to help them scale up

EAM Jaishankar meets EU leadership, discusses West Asia, India-EU FTA

EAM S Jaishankar met EU leaders in Brussels to discuss West Asia, energy security and push early signing of the India-EU free trade agreement and deeper strategic ties

EU patrol boat capsizes near Greek island; Estonian ambassador rescued

A European Union border agency patrol boat carrying five people, including the Estonian ambassador to Greece, has sunk off Greece's easternmost island, the Greek coast guard said Monday. Four injured people were airlifted to a hospital on the island of Rhodes. The Frontex patrol boat sank off the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo after capsizing, the coast guard said. It did not give a reason for the sinking. Four Estonians, including the ambassador, and one Greek Frontex liaison officer were on board at the time. The five were rescued by a Greek coast guard boat and a passing sailboat and transported to Kastellorizo, from where four injured people were airlifted to Rhodes. The coast guard did not specify whether the ambassador was among the four. Last July, a Frontex patrol boat operated by the Portuguese Maritime Police sank off the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos during a search and rescue operation involving a boat carrying migrants. There were no injuries reported from that ...

EU considers redirecting Red Sea naval mission to protect Strait of Hormuz

The EU operation in question is Aspides, which was launched in 2024 after the Houthis attacked shipping vessels in the Red Sea

RBI-Esma pact likely to need reboot if India's concerns not resolved

EU regulator's demand to audit Indian central counterparties' books seen as extraterritorial

US opens new unfair-trade probes to rebuild Trump's tariff pressure

USTR Jamieson Greer said that Section 301 ​unfair trade practices probe could lead to new tariffs imposed against China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico by ​this summer

EU urges US to strictly enforce G7 price cap on Russian oil exports

G7 finance ministers said on Monday they were ready to release oil from strategic reserves ​to help lower prices, if necessary

Meta to allow AI bot rivals on WhatsApp in bid to stave off EU action

Facing scrutiny from European Union antitrust authorities, Meta says competing AI chatbots will be permitted on WhatsApp in Europe for a year through the Business API, though access will involve fees

PM Modi moots 'reform partnership charter' with industry, lenders

At a post-Budget webinar, PM Modi calls for a reform partnership charter to formalise collaboration among government, industry, FIs and academia, and urges deeper reforms and investment

India-EU FTA leaves carbon tax intact, talks to address concerns: Official

The European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will not see any exceptions despite the concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but both sides have committed to technical discussions to find the best way forward, a senior German environment ministry official said here. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, emphasised that the CBAM is not targeted against any specific country but serves as a necessary protective measure once carbon pricing is introduced domestically in the EU. "CBAM is not against anyone. Once you introduce carbon pricing, you need to have some kind of protection," Flasbarth told PTI Videos on Wednesday during his ongoing visit to India, where he held discussions with officials from the Ministries of New and Renewable Energy, Power, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change. "With the carbon pricing, we need to do something, and that is

Report flags need for hypersonic response against Russia's missile defences

The A-235 anti-ballistic missile system and S-500 air defence systems around the capital have advanced to the point where they could keep UK and French nuclear warheads from getting through

EU hits pause on US trade deal after Trump announces 15% global tariff

Frustrated European officials pushed Monday for clarification on how US President Donald Trump's declaration of a 15 per cent global tax on imports would affect the trade deal they struck with Trump this summer as EU legislators hit pause on the deal's ratification until they get clarity. The European Parliament's trade committee postponed a committee vote on ratification after Trump said he would impose the new tariff, after the US Supreme Court struck down his use of an emergency powers law to set new import taxes. Trump then turned to another section of trade law to justify his imposition of the 15 per cent global rate, which take effect Tuesday. The EU position is expressed in five words: "A deal is a deal," said commission spokesman Olof Gill. "So now we are simply saying to the US, it is up to you to clearly show to us what path you are taking to honor the agreement." The US-EU deal called for a 15 per cent cap on tariffs on most European goods imports, while tariffs on US ...

Govt will fund major EU compliance costs for SMEs, says Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal says the government will fund key compliance costs for small exporters needing EU approvals under CBAM and REACH, as India expands trade deals and targets $2 trn exports

EU pauses work on US trade deal as Trump's tariffs stir uncertainty

Trump moved rapidly over the weekend to replace those levies. But he has now applied a 15 percent tariff on nations around the world

EU diplomats to meet 'Board of Peace' director over Gaza's future

The European Union's top diplomats are set to meet Monday with the director of the Board of Peace in Brussels after a shaky and controversial embrace of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure and rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Nikolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. diplomat chosen by Trump to manage the Board of Peace, will meet the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and foreign ministers from across the 27-nation bloc. The EU diplomats are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and fresh sanctions on Russia. Just across the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle East, the EU has deep links to Israel and the Palestinians. It now plays a crucial oversight role at the Rafah border crossing, and is the top donor to the Palestinian Authority. The question of whether to work with the Trump-led board has split national capitals from Nicosia to Copenhagen. The EU is supportive of the United Nations' mandate in Gaza. EU members Hungary and Bulgaria are fu

Markets need time to recalibrate to new STT regime: Pankaj Pandey

ICICI Securities' Pankaj Pandey says markets may need time to adjust to the new STT regime but sees strong FY27 earnings and midcap outperformance

EU-India FTA opens doors to trade, AI, says Austria's State Secretary

The landmark EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a transformative win-win pact that offers immense opportunities in trade, artificial intelligence (AI) and resilient supply chains, Austria's State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery Alexander Proll has said. In an interview with PTI Videos, Proll has described the EU-India FTA as the "mother of all deals" that stands to benefit nearly 200 crore people and create one of the world's largest free trade zones. "Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi visited Austria in 2024 because of 75 years of the diplomatic relationship and now, we have the free-trade agreement. It is the mother of all deals. I think it is a win-win situation for the whole European Union and India," Proll said. The FTA, finalised after years of negotiations re-launched in 2022, eliminates or reduces tariffs on 96.6 per cent of EU exports to India by value and 99.5 per cent of Indian exports to the EU by trade value. Proll highlighted AI as a key future area of ...