EU sues several countries for not properly implementing Digital Services Act
The European Commission said in a statement it had decided to take the Czech Republic, Spain,Cyprus, Poland and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to implement the Digital Services Act (DSA) effectively.
It said these countries had failed to designate or empower a national Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) and to lay down th erules on penalties applicable to infringements under the DSA.
The DSA is a landmark law that requires online companies to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their platforms.
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RTÉ News
2 days ago
- RTÉ News
Merz tells Trump he wants 'more pressure' on Russia
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged US President Donald Trump to put more pressure on Russia to bring an end to its three-year-old war against Ukraine. "You know that we gave support to Ukraine and that we are looking for more pressure on Russia," Mr Merz told President Trump at the start of their White House meeting. Mr Trump described Mr Merz as a good representative of Germany and also "difficult," which he suggested was a compliment. He said US troops would remain in Germany and said it was positive that the German government was spending more money on defence. Mr Merz said he was pleased to be there and preparing for a deeper relationship with the United States. The two leaders met in the Oval Office, which has been the site of showdowns between President Trump and visiting dignitaries including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, President Trump and Mr Merz, both conservatives, appeared to have a warm rapport from the start. Mr Merz started with praise, thanking President Trump for putting him up in the Blair House, a presidential guest dwelling across from the White House, and he thanked him for doing so. However, tensions over trade simmered under the surface of their encounter. The United States and the European Union are in talks to reach a trade deal, which would be critical for Germany's export-heavy economy, but Mr Trump said he would be fine with an agreement or with tariffs. "We'll end up hopefully with a trade deal," he said. "I'm ok with the tariffs or we make a deal with the trade," Mr Trump Mr Merz, who took office last month, told reporters ahead of the meeting that they would discuss Russia's war in Ukraine, US tariffs and NATO in the meeting but said he was not expecting major breakthroughs. Germany is the second-largest military and financial backer of Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion, after the United States. Mr Trump has urged NATO countries to spend more on defence, though he suggested there might be some limits on how far Berlin should go given its World War II past. The meeting comes amid a broader fraying of ties between the US and many European countries. Mr Trump's administration has intervened in domestic European politics in a break with past practice, aligning with right-wing political movements and challenging European policies on immigration and free speech. Mr Merz, 69, and his entourage have sought coaching from other leaders on how to deal with President Trump to avoid conflict, according to a source briefed on the matter. The meeting is taking place just weeks before a critical summit of the NATO Western military alliance, which has been strained by Mr Trump's threats that the US will not come to the aid of allies that do not increase their defence spending. Such threats are of particular concern to Germany, which has relied on US nuclear deterrence for its security since the end of World War II. Mr Merz has already made some bold policy moves that he can highlight to appease Mr Trump, analysts said. He has backed President Trump's demand for NATO members to commit to a target of more than doubling defence spending to 5% of economic output in the future, earning praise last weekend from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Mr Merz, who has promised a more assertive foreign policy, also coordinated a visit by European leaders to Kyiv just days after taking office, two European diplomat sources said. "This shows that Germany is willing to accept a greater responsibility for Ukraine and the European security order – these are all things that have been wished for in the United States over years and will be welcomed," said Sudha David-Wilp of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Mr Merz and Mr Trump could find some common ground given they share business backgrounds, membership in right-of-centre political parties, a focus on fighting illegal immigration and a fondness for golf, said Steven Sokol, President and CEO of the American Council on Germany. However, analysts noted frictions in the US-German relationship. Mr Merz was publicly critical of President Trump shortly before the 2024 presidential election.
The Journal
2 days ago
- The Journal
Hungary's infamous ban on LGBTQ+ content deemed to be violation of EU law
A HUNGARIAN LAW that harshly restricts access to LGBTQ-related content is a violation of European Union law, according to the Advocate General of the EU's Court of Justice. By banning content about LGBTQ+ sexualities and gender identities from being available to under-18s, Hungary is infringing on the treaty that sets out the EU's fundamental principles, the Advocate General's formal legal opinion stated. The Treaty of the European Union outlines that the EU is 'founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities'. By calling into question the equality of LGBTQ+ people, Hungary has 'negated' several of the EU's fundamental values, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta said. It has also 'significantly deviated from the model of a constitutional democracy'. In 2021, Hungary's parliament passed a bill that effectively banned communicating with children and teenagers about sexual orientations and gender identities . The impacts affected education programmes, meaning students could not be educated about LGBTQ+ identities, and media like books and movies, including movies that depict LGBTQ+ being classified as 18+. The European Commission brought an infringement action before the Court of Justice against Hungary over the law and Ćapeta has now set out her legal opinion that the Court rule the action is well-founded. She said the legislation infringed on the freedom enshrined in EU law to provide and receive services. Advertisement It also interferes with fundamental rights protected by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, namely the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex and sexual orientation; respect for private and family life; freedom of expression and information; and the right to human dignity. Capéta said these interferences cannot be justified by the reasons put forward by Hungary, which tried to argue for the law on the basis of protection of the 'healthy development of minors' and the 'right of parents to raise their children according to their personal convictions'. The Advocate General said the Hungarian legislation is not limited to shielding minors from pornographic content, which was already prohibited by the law in Hungary prior to the 2021 legislation, and goes as far as prohibiting the portrayal of ordinary lives of LGBTQ+ people. She said that Hungary has not offered any proof of a potential risk of harm of content that portrays ordinary lives of LGBTQ+ people to the healthy development of minors and that consequently, its legislation is 'based on a value judgment that homosexual and non-cisgender life is not of equal value or status as heterosexual and cisgender life'. The EU legal system recognises that there can be different visions among member states about how common values should be implemented in practice, and that disagreements about fundamental rights should not result in a finding of an infringement of the Treaty of the European Union. However, Hungary's actions in this case are not a matter of a 'disagreement', Capéta said. She said that LGBTQ+ people being deserving of equal respect in member states is 'not open to contestation through dialogue'. She said: Disrespect and marginalisation of a group in a society are the 'red lines' imposed by the values of equality, human dignity and respect for human rights. As such, 'by calling into question the equality of LGBTI persons, Hungary is not demonstrating a disagreement or a divergence about the content of the values of the European Union'. 'Instead, that Member State has negated several of those fundamental values and, thus, has significantly deviated from the model of a constitutional democracy, reflected in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union.' An Advocate General's opinion is not binding on the Court of Justice but gives the Court a proposed legal solution to cases it is responsible for. Related Reads 'Weeping for this country': Struggle continues in Hungary as Ireland joins Europe in stance against anti-LGBT+ bill The judges of the court are now beginning deliberations on the case. If the Court of Justice finds a member state has failed to fulfil obligations of EU law, the the country must comply with the Court's judgment 'without delay' or face further action like financial penalties. 'No place in the EU' Dávid Vig, director of Amnesty International Hungary, said the Advocate General's opinion 'made it clear the [anti-LGBTQ+] law has no place in Hungary and the European Union'. 'The discriminatory law violates several human rights and promotes the idea that the life of LGBTI people is not of equal value,' Vig said. In March of this year, the Hungarian parliament passed legislation that restricts freedom of assembly and consequently prohibited LGBTQ+ Pride marches . LGBTQ+ rights organisation ILGA-Europe said the today's opinion from the Advocate General should mean the anti-Pride legislation is also considered to be violating EU law. 'The AG's opinion is very clear in that Hungary breaches EU law and the Treaties by enacting the anti-LGBTI legislation from 2021,' said ILGA-Europe's advocacy director Katrin Hugendubel. 'The new package of amendments adopted this year to criminalise Pride marches and their organisers builds directly on that unlawful legislation and must therefore also be considered a violation of EU law.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Brazil's Lula and France's Macron spar over EU-Mercosur trade deal
The differences between the two men underline the challenges of getting the long-delayed trade deal between South America's Mercosur bloc and the European Union over the line. A deal was finalised in December but still needs approval from member states like France, which argues the pact as it stands is harmful to its powerful agricultural sector. Lula, on a state visit to France, said he will soon take up the rotating presidency of South America's Mercosur bloc, and committed to using that six-month stint to ink a lasting accord. "I will not leave the Mercosur presidency without having concluded the trade deal," Lula told a press conference alongside Macron, urging the French president to "open your heart" to the deal. He also said he would like to get French and Brazilian farmers together so they could settle their differences and hash out an accord, while also urging Macron to reassure European peers about Brazil's commitment to fight deforestation. Macron said he was in favor of free and equitable trade, but that the deal currently harms French and European farmers who would have to compete against South American peers not subject to the same norms and regulations. He said the text could be improved with the insertion of mirror clauses. France has previously argued for the insertion of an emergency break clause to restrict imports if a sudden surge in imports destabilizes certain EU markets. In a meeting with French lawmakers this week, French farmers' groups urged Macron to rally partners to form a blocking minority against the Mercosur deal, which they say would be devastating for the beef, poultry and sugar industries and compromise the EU's ambitions in terms of food sovereignty. On the war between Russia and Ukraine, Macron said Brazil, along with China and India, could do more to pressure Moscow to end the fighting. Lula said he was committed to brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine, while Macron said everyone wanted peace, but that Moscow was the aggressor and that fact needed to be taken into account when adjudicating an end to the fighting.
