logo
ENFRع
THE HACK: McGrath plans ‘broad' Digital Fairness Act

THE HACK: McGrath plans ‘broad' Digital Fairness Act

Euractiv24-07-2025
Want to keep reading?
Get a subscription on Euractiv Pro and elevate your political insight! Discover Euractiv Pro
For corporations Already have an account?
Log in

Hashtags

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

FIREPOWER: Trump sparks NATO surveillance aircraft rethink
FIREPOWER: Trump sparks NATO surveillance aircraft rethink

Euractiv

time2 days ago

  • Euractiv

FIREPOWER: Trump sparks NATO surveillance aircraft rethink

Take a free trial of Euractiv Pro to get FIREPOWER in your inbox. Good afternoon and welcome back to Firepower, This week, we look at a very concrete example of how US defence policy impacts European security. A Pentagon rethink of its planned purchase of surveillance aircraft is forcing NATO to reconsider its own options. We also dig into how much SAFE money EU countries are seeking - spoiler alert: more than is available. There's also a debrief on what we know (and don't know) about the EU-US trade deal's implications for the defence sector, and Germany's record €108 billion annual defence budget proposal. Plus, updates on the first EU country to ban arms trade with Israel. Exclusive: NATO taking another look at surveillance aircraft pick NATO is rethinking its choice to buy a fleet of Boeing E-7 surveillance aircraft by 2035 to be the alliance's eyes in the sky in Europe and replace the ageing AWACS, Firepower has learned. That comes after the Pentagon announced plans to cancel US orders for the E-7, citing high production costs and concerns about the jet's future survivability. As a result, a spokesperson for NATO's procurement agency, the NSPA, told Firepower that the plan as 'as a whole is being assessed'. The Pentagon's rejection of the E-7 for the US military raises questions about whether the Trump administration will still agree to contribute financially toward purchasing 14 of the aircraft for NATO – or if the bill will be left to the seven participating European allies . Lower total E-7 orders thanks to American cancellations would also likely drive up the price per aircraft for the remaining customers, including NATO. The NSPA plans to give an update 'towards the end of September' that will 'include the division of cost across the participating nations'. The spokesperson said that NATO and participating countries are 'evaluat[ing] the available options'. Buy local instead? The current scramble to figure out the E-7's future shows just how much Europe's security policy still hinges on political decisions in Washington. It remains unclear at this stage if the remaining NATO countries might be interested in picking a European aircraft instead of the E-7. Saab, which previously pitched its GlobalEye to the military alliance, told Firepower they remained confident their aircraft remains an 'excellent' option. Douglas Barrie, an aerospace analyst at the IISS think tank, told Firepower that other options include sticking with the existing AWACS for now and following the US in their future choice sometime in the mid-2030s, going for a new 'clean-sheet design' or taking a 'wait-and-see' approach, since the potential E-7 cancellation hasn't passed the US Congress yet. On your radar: EU countries want almost €200 billion from SAFE; UK still sidelined This week, 18 EU countries have put in initial requests for SAFE funds by Tuesday's initial soft deadline . Firepower dug into what capitals are asking for, and some initial ideas of how to spend it. According to our sources and estimates, the club of 18 actually asked for a good bit more than the €150 billion total available for loans, when considering the top end of the requests they sent in. Gone are the days where the Commission was not sure they'll spend the whole pot. The Commission put the total requested at € 127 billion on Wednesday. But submissions included a minimum and maximum range, and Euractiv understands that the Commission's figure was based on the low end of their requests. The EU executive is not stopping there, though. It is sending out a letter to nudge the club of countries which have not given in their request to do so fast. The SAFE programme is also making waves across the pond, with EU Defence Commissioner Kubilius telling Firepower that he saw 'strong interest among American industry' during his recent US visit. Canada has reportedly shown interest in participating . However, the process is not that easy, as the UK's efforts to negotiate access demonstrate. The Commission could send a proposal next week to the EU countries as a basis to start negotiations with the UK, but don't expect those to start in peak holiday season, we're told. Israel-EU tensions rise Slovenia became the first EU country to impose a full ban on weapons trade on Israel on Thursday. The ban also prohibits the transit of any weapons through Slovenia on their way between Israel and elsewhere. Meanwhile on the European level, Israel's potential exclusion from key parts of the EU Horizon Europe research fund now hinges in large part on Germany and Italy. Neither have taken a position on the Commission's proposal, which would cut funding to Israel for dual-use technologies that have potential military applications. Israeli state-owned arms maker Rafael notably attracted attention by posting a video on X where a drone killed a person in Gaza. As the EU Observer highlighted , that could cause Israel to get kicked out of the EU programme. Germany, Europe's largest arms exporter to Israel and the buyer of Israeli-made air defence systems, wants more time to consider its position. A decision to back the Commission would move the needle towards a qualified majority – but that's unlikely to come before Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul returns from a visit to Israel later today. A decision on whether to partially exclude Israel from Horizon Europe could be taken later this summer, one diplomat said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store