The Indian government is expected to file a complaint about the European Union's imposition of tariffs of between 20% and 35% on high-carbon goods, including iron ore, cement and steel from the South Asian country. The move follows the European bloc's approval of the first levy on high-carbon imports, targeting steel, gas and hydrogen from 2026. Policymakers in India are examining proposals to implement safeguards against imports as they seek parity with industries required to reduce emissions. Ajay Sahai, director-general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, argued that limiting emissions will help the sector remain competitive in global markets.
Italy is seeking to use funds from the European Union to help its companies withstand the impact of subsidies offered by the US in its Inflation Reduction Act. European nations are concerned that these subsidies, which amount to $430bn and aim to encourage US investment in clean technology, will put firms in Europe at a disadvantage. Italy, which has the highest public debt in the eurozone after Greece, lacks the budget to support its own firms and is turning to EU post-COVID funds to help them. The country is due to receive €200bn ($220bn) in EU loans and grants, though it faces difficulties in using the cash.
A new draft proposal of EU sanctions against Russia regarding its war in Ukraine suggest that "alternative measures" should be examined before placing restrictions on trade with third-party countries who have bypassed key sanctions, according to a document. This is the 11th round of sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. There is concern over potential threats to trade agreements with China. The proposal is to be further discussed by 27 EU member states' envoys in Brussels on Tuesday. The list itself includes dozens of both Russian and Chinese companies and individuals.
Georgian Airways to resume direct flights to Russia from May 20
Reuters
23-05-16 13:33
Georgian Airways is to resume direct flights to Russia from 20 May, according to the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency, with flights seven days a week. The resumption has been criticised by the European Union. Georgia has attempted to balance rapprochement with Russia with its aspirations to join the EU, a position hurt by protests in March against a Russian-style bill which remain incompatible with EU membership and was later withdrawn.
The Council of Europe (CoE) summit, being held in Reykjavik, Iceland, has considered holding Russia legally responsible for the death and destruction caused by its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The summit, only the fourth in the CoE’s 70-year history, has seen the suspension of Russia’s membership as a direct result of the invasion. Attendees have discussed possible measures against Russia, including the creation of a dedicated tribunal to try leaders and commanders in The Hague, and the establishment of a register to record the damage caused by Russia.
China has called on the European Union and its members to avoid "bloc confrontations" while the Hungary's foreign affairs minister professed his support for China's peace plan in Ukraine, during an official visit to China this week. Beijing is willing to "jointly safeguard genuine multilateralism" and "push forward the process of democratisation of international relations" with Europe, said China's top diplomat Wang Yi. Hungary has shown the strongest pro-China stance of any EU member while Brussels is divided over relations with China.
The EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, has urged the European Union to take action to close a loophole that enables India to be a centre for Russian oil that is resold as refined fuels to Europe, violating sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. India has emerged as a top purchaser of Russian oil in the past year, which has been rejected by western states such as the US and its allies. Access to cheap oil has enabled Indian refineries to boost profits by exporting refined fuel to Europe.
The European Union (EU) countries are likely to ban imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, according to Spanish Energy Minister Teresa Ribera. With EU countries already blocking imports of Russian crude and oil products, attention has turned to halting Russian LNG imports, as the bloc seeks to affect Russia's energy export earnings. In March, the EU nations agreed to explore a legal means to end Russian LNG imports, and Ribera is pushing the European Commission to introduce a certification system, which she says will track Russian imports. The Spanish government's heightened restrictions on import papers and allegations of Russian diesel exports entering Europe via third countries are part of a wider clampdown on the import of Russian energy products, said Ribera.
Italy posts bumper 7.5 bln euros trade surplus in March - Eurostat
Reuters
23-05-16 17:37
Italy recorded a trade surplus of €7.542bn ($8.30bn) with the rest of the world in March – the largest such surplus since July 2021 – according to European statistics office Eurostat. That's compared to a deficit of €757m in the same month last year, with exports climbing 4.7% YoY and imports falling 9.8%.
Russia claims to have destroyed a $1.1bn US air defence system during its rocket attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The Kremlin said that a hypersonic Kinzhal missile destroyed the Patriot missile battery. Ukraine, however, stated that it had downed all six Kinzhal missiles. This comes as a top Russian official is in a coma in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine following an attack in a barber shop when a grenade was thrown at him. In response, France has decided to send longer-range missiles to Ukraine just days after the UK sent its Storm Shadow munitions.
The United Nations has predicted economic growth of 2.3% in 2023, a 0.4 percentage point increase from its January forecast. However, compared to the average growth rate in the two decades prior to the pandemic, the figure remains low. The UN report also noted that for many developing countries, growth prospects were weakening "amid tightening credit conditions and rising costs of external financing". The US, European Union and China have seen some improvements, although the growth targets set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were not met.
Sarina Salehi, a 14-year-old Iranian wrestler who won the western Iranian championships in karate for her age group, dreams of winning Olympic glory but cannot do so in Iran because freestyle wrestling is forbidden to girls and women due to the veil requirement. Salehi's family fled to Europe, where she trains and has success in international tournaments, but Salehi is not eligible to compete in German, European or world championships, and it would be difficult for her to make the German refugee team. Salehi hopes to obtain German citizenship and fulfil her dream beyond cultural restrictions.
The European Union (EU) is seeking deeper ties with India amid pressures to reduce economic dependence on China. While Brussels is not looking to cut off ties with Beijing altogether, it intends to diversify its supply chains by reducing its reliance on China. This where India comes into play. During the first meeting of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, the word “de-risk” was mentioned several times by both sides, indicating their shared goal to reduce economic dependence on China. The EU has plans to increase cooperation with India on quantum and high-performance computing while making their digital public services more compatible. "India has a population of 1.4 billion. So, we are an economy of scale, and the EU is an economy of skill — it's natural that these two power centers should come together," according to Swasti Rao, an associate fellow at the Indian government-funded think tank, the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses.
An Italian court has allowed the extradition of Andrea Cozzolino, an Italian MEP under investigation in a European Parliament cash-for-influence scandal, to Belgium. The corruption investigation centres on allegations of bribes paid to politicians, NGOs and parliamentary assistants in order to influence decision-making at the European assembly by Morocco and Qatar. Cozzolino is accused, along with former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and former VP of the EU Parliament Eva Kaili, of accepting illegal payments from Morocco.
Former MEP Ann Widdecombe has said that people should not make cheese sandwiches if they cannot afford the ingredients. The ex-Brexit Party MEP, now with Reform UK, said there was no “given right” to low food prices in the current environment of double-digit inflation. Widdecombe was contributing to a debate about BBC research revealing that the cost of a homemade cheese sandwich has rocketed by a third in the past year to 40p. She told the Politics Live programme quite a few farmers had “constantly” complained to her about rising supermarket pricing. As she represented the rural constituency of Maidstone as a Conservative MP, Widdecombe insisted inflation must be tackled, but warned against inflationary wage rises. In a recently separate panel appearance, Widdecombe said thousands of people claiming unemployment benefits should be made to pick fruit to fill current shortages.
Governments need to take urgent action to prevent the world being harmed by rogue AI, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Altman cited fears that programmers could accidentally create a superintelligence that could destroy humanity, adding: "If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong." Altman suggested powerful AI algorithms should be licensed and audited, with the aim of preventing them from developing capabilities such as self-replication, and that an international body similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency could be created to manage compliance. Such measures should be followed by enhanced privacy rules, Altman said.
Following the release of China's economic data for April, which came in below expectations, and Germany's growth rate which has flatlined, concerns about the global economy are rising. If there is no resolution for the negotiations over the US debt ceiling, this could compound issues for the global economy and even a quota deal may result in the Federal Reserve Board throttling the growth rate in the world's largest economy due to its determination to stamp out US inflation and recent bank collapses that have impacted the availability of credit. All three of these issues could have an impact on China's contribution to global growth as well.
Stellantis, which makes cars under brands including Vauxhall, Fiat, Citroen and Peugeot, has warned that Brexit trade rules threaten the UK's automotive sector. The company said it had invested in the UK because it was meeting the strict criteria of the post-Brexit trade deal. However, it is no longer able to meet new rules on where parts are sourced, causing costs to rocket. To cut costs, the firm plans to move production out of the UK unless rules are revised by December. In 2024, 45% of EV components must come from either the UK or the EU to qualify.
Cryptocurrencies should be regulated as gambling, according to a report by a UK parliamentary committee. Bitcoin, ether and other digital currencies can pose risks to consumers and be used by fraudsters, said the report, which added that existing rules only require them to comply with anti-money laundering safeguards. As cryptocurrencies are not backed by currencies or assets and offer high risk volatility, they present a high risk of investors losing all the money they put into them, it said. About one in 10 UK adults has invested in cryptocurrency, according to official figures.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has called on world leaders at the G7 summit, which begins on Friday, to pledge not to use nuclear weapons and to commit to global disarmament. Speaking ahead of his trip to Hiroshima, he described Japan as a “particular moral authority” on the subject, as the only nation to have been attacked with nuclear weapons. Guterres also expressed concerns about the potential weaponisation of AI, stating that the idea of “arms systems without any human agency is totally unacceptable.”
