Trump's rollercoaster for Ukrainians: US to send Patriot missiles to Kyiv
14/07/2025
EU still seeks trade deal, delaying countermeasures after new Trump tariff threat
Europe
14/07/2025
Donald Trump says will send US patriot missiles to Ukraine
Europe
12/07/2025
Russian drone attack: The goal is to 'terrorise the Ukrainian population'
Europe
12/07/2025
Europe needs infrastructure overhaul to tackle summer heatwaves, expert says
Europe
11/07/2025
France is Russia's 'main enemy' says head of French army this Friday
Europe
11/07/2025
EU orders AI companies to clean up their act, stop using pirated data
Europe
11/07/2025
In Lithuania, baby seals have been released into the Baltic Sea
Europe
11/07/2025
Zelensky appeals to allies for investment & defense aid in Rome
Europe
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Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
EU trade ministers discuss €72 billion retaliatory tariffs on US goods
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič presented EU trade ministers gathered in Brussels for an extraordinary meeting on Monday a list of €72 billion worth of US products to be included in a retaliatory tariff drive, as Washington's pressure ramped up over the weekend with the threat of 30% tariffs on EU imports starting on 1 August. 'We must be prepared for all outcomes, including if necessary, well-considered proportionate measures to restore balance in our transatlantic relationship,' Šefčovič said, adding: 'Today the Commission is sharing with the member states the proposal for the second list of goods, accounting of some €72 billion worth of US Imports. They will now have a chance to discuss it.' The list proposed by the Commission, which has been reduced to €72 billion from €95 billion following consultations with EU industries and member states, still needs to be formally adopted by the member states. It targets a wide range of products, including US-made aeroplanes and bourbon. Last Saturday, after weeks of negotiations, US President Donald Trump published on Truth Social a letter sent to the European Commission threatening to impose 30% tariffs on EU imports if no deal is reached by 1 August. Last week, negotiations appeared to have entered the final stretch, with the EU having reluctantly agreed to a baseline tariff of 10% on its imports. Sector-specific exemptions were still being negotiated, with the EU having secured 0% on aircraft and spirits, and some US tariffs just above 10% on agricultural products. 'We were very very close to an agreement in principle,' Danish foreign affairs minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen regretted. The US currently imposes tariffs of 50% on EU steel and aluminium, 25% on cars, and 10% on all EU imports. According to an EU diplomat, EU retaliation could also include export controls on aluminium scrap, which the US needs. But while the EU is flexing its muscles, it continues to prioritise negotiation. 'We remain convinced that our transatlantic relationship deserves a negotiated solution, one that leads to renewed stability and cooperation,' Maroš Šefčovič said before announcing he had a call planned with his US counterparts on Monday late afternoon. On Saturday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a delay in the implementation of an initial retaliatory measure targeting €21 billion worth of US products, which had been suspended until Tuesday. According to the same EU diplomat, a meeting of EU ambassadors had originally decided to postpone it until the end of the year, but Trump's new announcements have made these countermeasures more urgent. They have therefore been postponed until 1 August. Anti-coercion instrument Behind the show of unity displayed on Monday by member states, diplomats are however well aware that complications will arise once a deal with the US is on the table. 'Let's be realistic, we will all have different interpretations,' an official from a member state told Euronews, admitting that once a deal is reached some countries will push for strong retaliation while others will want to avoid escalation, depending on which of their strategic sectors is most hit by the US. France continues to advocate a hard line toward the US, eager to put all the tools at the EU's disposal on the table, including the use of the anti-coercion instrument — the 'nuclear option' of EU trade defence, adopted in 2023. 'This pressure, deliberately applied by the US president in recent days and weeks, is straining our negotiating capacity and must lead us to show that Europe is a power,' French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said on arrival at the Council. 'Europe is a power when it knows how to demonstrate its ability to respond," Saint-Martin added. 'The US has escalation dominance,' a second EU diplomat told Euronews. On Sunday, von der Leyen ruled out use of the anti-coercion instrument for the time being. 'The anti-coercion is created for extraordinary situations,' she said, adding: 'We are not there yet.' The tool would allow the EU to withdraw licences and intellectual property rights from foreign companies, including US tech giants.
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Yes, Italy is still part of the Paris Climate Agreement
Claims are circulating widely on social media stating that Italy has followed in the footsteps of the United States by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, which was signed in 2015 and aims to limit the rise in global warming to below 2C. A post by an account posing as a legitimate news outlet, in which these assertions were made, has received thousands of views, likes and shares. It features a picture of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, but otherwise provides no extra information or evidence for the claim. Italy was an original signatory to the agreement, and the United Nations' official Treaty Collection website still shows the country as being a member. It says that, like most other countries, Italy formally added its signature to the agreement on 22 April 2016 and ratified it on 11 November that year. Additionally, the country is covered by the European Union, which is also a signatory to the agreement. The bloc declared upon signing that, as it contained 28 member states at the time, including Italy, it was competent to enter international agreements and implement obligations linked to preserving, protecting and improving the environment, alongside other objectives. Contrast Italy's status as a signatory country with that of the US, which the Treaty Collection notes as having withdrawn in 2020 under US President Donald Trump during his first term, and then rejoined in February 2021 under former US President Joe Biden. Since being reelected, Trump has signed an executive order to once again leave the agreement, which is due to take place in January 2026. For the time being, therefore, the US is still listed as a member. There's no evidence of Italy following suit, however: a Google search of keywords in both English and Italian shows no reputable reporting on the matter. There has also been no official announcement by the Italian government to this end. Euroverify reached out to Italy's environment ministry but did not receive a response. Regardless, Prime Minister Meloni asserted her commitment to the Paris Agreement when she first took office in 2022. She told the COP27 summit that her government remained steadfast in its pursuit of decarbonisation. "We intend to pursue a just transition to support the affected communities and leave no one behind," she said at the time. However, she has criticised other international climate initiatives, such as the EU's Green Deal, for being supposedly "ideological" in its approach. Meloni has said that green policies that are too rigid could harm European industry and has called for the continent to be more cautious, to protect its economy and people. "I have often said that in a desert there is nothing green," she said in May. "Before anything else, we must fight the desertification of European industry." She claimed that the EU's regulatory approach had harmed the automotive industry, and that its focus on electric vehicles, a market dominated by non-European countries, would expose the bloc. "I continue to believe it is counterproductive to focus solely on the electric transition, where the supply chains are not controlled by Europe, but by other actors," she said. Proponents of the green deal, however, claim that it will transform the EU into a resource-efficient, competitive economy while making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The EU also hopes that it will boost the economy through green technology, reducing pollution along the way and making sure "no person or place" is left behind.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
'Dialogue' must be at heart of China, Australia ties, PM tells Xi
Albanese is on his second visit to China as prime minister, seeking to bolster recently stabilised trade ties even as geopolitical tensions remain high. Relations between Beijing and Canberra have charted a bumpy course over the past decade, a period marked by repeated disagreements over national security and competing interests across the vast Pacific region. Ties improved in December when China called off a ban on imported Australian rock lobster, removing the final obstacle to ending a damaging trade war waged between the countries from 2017. Albanese met Xi in the Great Hall of the People and said he welcomed "the opportunity to set out Australia's views and interests". "Australia values our relationship with China and will continue to approach it in a calm and consistent manner, guided by our national interest," Albanese, the leader of Australia's centre-left Labor government, said. "It's important we have these direct discussions on issues that matter to us and to the stability and prosperity of our region. As you and I have agreed previously, dialogue needs to be at the centre of our relationship," he said. Xi, in turn, hailed the "benefits" of improved ties between China and Australia, saying the relationship had "risen from the setbacks and turned around". "No matter how the international landscape may evolve we should uphold this overall direction unswervingly," he said. Key trading partner China is one of Australia's most important economic partners, accounting for nearly one-third of its total trade. Albanese is accompanied on his visit by a delegation of key business leaders who will attend a CEO roundtable in Beijing. His trip will last until Friday and will also take him to the southwestern city of Chengdu. He is also accompanied by a travelling media pack, members of which said they were briefly surrounded by security guards and told to hand footage to police. A small group of reporters were filming outside Beijing's Bell and Drum Towers when they were stopped by security guards. National broadcaster ABC's reporter Stephen Dziedzic said he was "quickly surrounded by a number of security guards, who said they were going to call the police and we didn't have permission to leave". "We had the necessary permissions, we had the right visas, but nonetheless perhaps that hadn't been passed all the way down the chain," he told ABC. Australian broadcaster SBS, which also has a correspondent on the trip, reported that journalists were briefly surrounded and told to hand footage to police. The group was allowed to leave after Australian diplomats intervened, the ABC and SBS reported. Albanese's trip also comes as China's sweeping territorial claims ruffle feathers in the region, particularly pertaining to the South China Sea. Another key point of contention is the fate of northern Australia's Darwin Port, whose Chinese-owned controller could be forced to sell it to a local buyer by Albanese's government.
