Tech News Time's running out on AI standardisation process, Dutch watchdog warns The pace needs to pick up on the process of standardisation, the watchdog warns, as the provisions of the EU’s AI Act will soon start to apply. 30/12/2024
Tech News New EU rules on common USB-C chargers to come into force Starting on Saturday, all small and medium-sized portable electronic devices sold in the EU must be compatible with USB-C ports to address waste. 27/12/2024
Healthcare Abortion rights petition hits 1m signatures, triggering EU action The Citizens' Initiative “My voice, my choice,” calling for safe access to abortion in the European Union, has reached the necessary one million signatures for the EU Commission to issue a response. 24/12/2024
Europe News Threatened with expulsion, two Bulgarian MEPs leave Renew group Following Renew's decision to exclude the Bulgarian Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), its two members within Renew have announced their decision to leave the group, staying loyal to their party. 23/12/2024
Tech News Romanian centre-right party's TikTok campaign used for far-right win A communications agency picked influencers to make TikTok videos about the qualities of a future Romanian president for the centre-right PNL party, endorsing little-known ultranationalist Georgescu instead. 23/12/2024
Europe News EU-Swiss single market trade deal faces challenging referendum The EU and Switzerland reached a bilateral agreement on Friday worth an estimated €550 billion in trade. But ratification of the deal is far from a foregone conclusion, as the Swiss have yet to vote on it. 20/12/2024
Business Trump threatens trade tariffs unless Europe buys more US oil and gas US president-elect keeps the prospect of a transatlantic trade war in the air, exactly a month before he is due to walk back into the White House. 20/12/2024
Health news EU bans harmful chemical from materials in contact with food The European Commission has banned the use of bisphenol A, a chemical harmful to human health, in materials that come into contact with food. 20/12/2024
Tech News Apple must ensure interoperability of iPhone with rivals, says European Commission The EC preliminary findings under the DMA indicate that Apple must take steps to enable the operability of devices from other brands with its iPhones. The EC has launched public consultations with interested companies to gather feedback on compliance. 19/12/2024
Europe News EU Commission reaches for brakes on FI motor deal The European Commission announced on Thursday that it will investigate Formula One owner Liberty Media's €3.5 billion euro deal for the motorcycle racing league MotoGP World Championship, as the deal risks raising prices for the licensing of broadcasting rights for motorsport events of both brands. 19/12/2024
Health news Race against time for EU’s Critical Medicines Act Wanted in the first 100 days of the new legislative mandate, doubts linger over whether the European Commission will unveil the Critical Medicines Act on time. 19/12/2024
Nutrition EU wine help group counsels low- and no-alcohol options A reflection group has encouraged the EU executive to explore new rules for the growing market of no and low-alcohol (NoLo) wine products. 19/12/2024
Europe News New European Parliament health committee to start work in 2025 The European Parliament greenlit a new stand-alone committee focusing solely on health, which will begin working next year. 18/12/2024
Europe News Toxic flame retardants could face sweeping EU ban A new report from the European Chemicals Agency suggests potentially carcinogenic aromatic brominated flame retardants, ABFRs, could be next in line for wide-ranging restrictions after the ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS also raised health concerns. 18/12/2024
Europe News EU's corporate due-diligence rowback raises ‘deep concerns’ from left Landmark corporate supply chain rules scraped through the EU legislature earlier this year despite complaints from business – but suggestions of a U-Turn are now prompting a backlash from the powerful socialist grouping. 17/12/2024
Europe News New European Parliament intergroups: What’s in and What’s Out Although informal, parliamentary intergroups are a mirror of Europe’s ever-changing priorities—part tradition, part reinvention, and occasionally, a little bit of whimsy. 17/12/2024
Europe News UK, Denmark vow to ‘disrupt and deter’ Russia’s shadow fleet Western naval nations have vowed checks on a network of ageing tankers that may be helping Putin circumvent sanctions and fund his war effort. 17/12/2024
Europe News Governments back tight controls on plastic pellet shipment by sea In the wake of the spillage of some 26 tonnes of tiny plastic pellets which washed up on Spanish beaches a year ago, environment ministers have agreed that minimum standards and monitoring should apply to shippers operating in EU waters. 17/12/2024
Business Facebook owner Meta hit with €251m in fines for 2018 data breach European Union privacy watchdogs hit Facebook owner Meta with fines totaling €251 million on Monday after an investigation into a 2018 data breach on the social media platform that exposed millions of accounts. 17/12/2024
Europe News Oil and gas majors demand massive public support for carbon capture The clock is ticking on a legal deadline for the petroleum industry to deploy carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure – a technology it has championed for decades – at an unprecedented scale by the end of the decade. 17/12/2024