Brussels, Belgium - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday Washington wanted to see "results" showing more aid was reaching Gazans after Israel announced it would open routes into the territory. Israel announced on Friday that it would allow "temporary" aid deliveries into famine-threatened northern Gaza, hours after the...

Brussels, Belgium - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged the United States to stick together with Europe as the Western military alliance turned 75 on Thursday menaced by an aggressive Russia and the specter of Donald Trump's return to power. The Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 re-invigorated NATO as it...

Brussels, Belgium -- One of Belgium's most-wanted suspected drug smugglers was extradited from Dubai on Friday, the Belgian justice ministry said. Nordin El Hajjioui, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, is believed to be one of the main drug barons in Antwerp and is wanted in at least three cocaine-trafficking cases. Emirati...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – In the fourth quarter of 2023, the EU imported US$120.5 billion (€111.3 billion) worth of energy products amounting to a total of 187.9 million tonnes. Compared with the same period in 2022, imports decreased both in value (-34.2 percent) and in net mass (-11.7 percent), according to...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – The EU will put more pressure on the most popular online platforms, like X and TikTok, to tackle the risk of election disinformation or face fines, an EU official said on Friday. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, is expected to adopt new guidelines, likely on Tuesday,...

Brussels, Belgium - Business activity in the eurozone stabilized in March thanks largely to a "modest recovery" in the service sector, a closely watched survey showed on Thursday. The HCOB Flash eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) published by S&P Global stood at 49.9 in March, up from 49.2 in February. A figure...

Brussels, Belgium - A group of EU countries including Germany on Tuesday pushed for a green light to start membership negotiations with Bosnia, but others such as France seemed reluctant to proceed. The EU's 27 leaders will debate at a summit on Thursday a proposal from the bloc's executive to launch...

Britain and the United States have already imposed sanctions on a small number of Israeli settlers accused of committing human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Brussels, Belgium - The EU on Monday hit Apple with a more than 1.8-billion-euro fine ($1.9 billion) for violating the bloc's laws by preventing European users from accessing information about alternative, cheaper music streaming services. The iPhone maker immediately vowed to appeal the first ever antitrust fine slapped on Apple by...

Brussels, Belgium - Changes Apple is making to its services in the European Union "make a mockery" of new antitrust rules in the bloc, 34 digital organizations complained to the European Commission this week. They include app makers Epic Games and Spotify. "We are very concerned that Apple’s proposed scheme for...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - The EU on Friday used new regulatory powers to query Meta about ad-free subscriptions to Facebook and Instagram as well as claims some voices are suppressed online in a phenomenon known as "shadow banning". The European Commission made a request for information under the mammoth content moderation law known...

Brussels, Belgium - Bank customers will soon be able to transfer money across Europe within seconds after the EU adopted a law on Monday forcing banks to offer bloc-wide instant payments. Under the new rules, people in Europe will be able to transfer money within 10 seconds at any time of...

Brussels, Belgium - Apple's iMessage and Microsoft's Bing search engine got a reprieve from tougher EU rules curbing how tech titans do business, the European Commission said on Tuesday. From next month, the world's biggest digital firms, identified as "gatekeepers" by the EU, must comply with strict do's and don'ts under...

Brussels, Belgium - The European Commission on Tuesday officially extended an exemption from contested rules to leave a share of agricultural lands fallow, which had become a flashpoint for protesting farmers across the bloc. First lifted in 2023 in response to market disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the rules...

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on all parties to avoid further escalation in the Middle East after US strikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria and Iraq. "Everybody should try to avoid that the situation becomes explosive," Borrell said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Brussels, Belgium - The European Union's 27 member states on Friday approved landmark rules on reining in artificial intelligence, passing a key last hurdle after tough negotiations to the very end. Brussels first proposed an AI law in 2021 but spent most of last year racing to greenlight the draft text after...

The Western military alliance has said some 90,000 troops will take part in the months-long Steadfast Defender 24 exercise designed to test its defenses in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine. "The alliance will demonstrate its ability to reinforce the Euro-Atlantic area via trans-Atlantic movement of forces from North...

The European Union unveiled plans to strengthen the bloc's economic security including measures to protect sensitive technology from falling into the hands of geopolitical rivals like China. Brussels has bolstered its armoury of trade restrictions to tackle what it deems to be risks to European economic security, following Russia’s invasion...

The European Commission said it had "preliminary concerns that the transaction may reduce competition in the market for passenger air transport services on several short-haul and long-haul routes in and out of Italy".

The latest deals -- signed with French firm Nexter and Germany's Junghans Microtec -- are estimated by officials to cover around 220,000 shells and deliveries to NATO members will start at the end of 2025.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - Around 9,000 demonstrators marched through Brussels on Sunday calling for an end of Israel's fierce bombardment and fighting in Gaza, in a pro-Palestinian protest that ended in the EU district. The march came a day before EU foreign ministers will meet their Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Saudi and Jordanian...

Vlissingen, Netherlands - Cocaine seizures at the Belgian port of Antwerp, the top gateway into Europe for mainly South American drug cartels, hit a fresh record high last year, authorities said on Wednesday. Some 116 tons of cocaine were seized in Antwerp alone, Belgian Finance Minister Vincent van Peteghem told reporters,...

Google suffered a legal blow at the European Court of Justice when the body's adviser recommended that a US$2.6 billion fine levied on it for anti-competitive practices be upheld. Although such opinions are not binding, they do carry weight and are often followed by EU judges in their rulings.

Brussels, Belgium - The EU, racing to regulate the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence, said on Tuesday it has started a preliminary study of Microsoft's multi-billion-dollar investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI to see if it could be a disguised merger. The early-level examination is "checking whether Microsoft's investment in OpenAI might...

The data supports comments by European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde, who has warned that Europe should remain on guard despite falling inflation.

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The UAE on Friday extradited Gergely Franc, an Albanian national, charged with premeditated murder, to Belgium. The accused was transferred according to the extradition agreement, signed by the United Arab Emirates and Belgium, following the established legal and judicial process, a trial, and as per the...

Spain, which chaired the lengthy negotiations in its role holding the EU presidency, said on X, formerly Twitter: "A political agreement has been reached on the five files of the EU new Pact on Migration and Asylum." European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said: "It's been a long road to...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - Several Moroccan officials have been questioned as part of a high-profile investigation into alleged bribery by the north African state and Qatar at the European Parliament, Belgian prosecutors said on Saturday. The interviews in Morocco -- conducted by local authorities in the presence of Belgian investigators -- were...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - Business activity in the eurozone slumped at a faster rate in December, weighed down by a deeper downturn in France, a key survey said on Friday. The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) published by S&P Global fell to 47 in December from 47.6 in November. A figure below...

Brussels, Belgium - The EU demanded on Thursday that Apple and Google provide more details on how they identified risks concerning their respective software hubs, the App Store and Google Play. The request for information is the first step in a process begun under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), but...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -  An original cover painting from the 1963 comic book Asterix and Cleopatre was to go under the hammer on Sunday despite a legal challenge from the artist's daughter. The famous gouache, showing a reclining ancient Egyptian ruler and the two Gaulish heroes Asterix and Obelix was to be...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - Margrethe Vestager is preparing to return to her day job as the European Union's competition chief after a hard-fought and ultimately unsuccessful bid to lead the bloc's lender. She stepped down temporarily in September after entering the race to become the next head of the European Investment Bank...

Brussels, Belgium - EU finance ministers failed to seal a deal on an overhaul of the bloc's spending rules on Friday, but still hope to reach an agreement before the end of the year. The lack of approval comes despite the ministers meeting for a dinner on Thursday to discuss the...

Brussels, Belgium - The European Parliament and EU member states announced on Tuesday new rules to crack down on fast fashion and reduce waste, including a ban on destroying unsold clothes. The new rules, first proposed by the European Commission last year, impose tougher rules on products to ensure they last...

Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 provided Europe with a wake-up call that it needed to pump more into defense to be able to confront the threat of its bellicose eastern neighbor.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on X, formerly Twitter, that she welcomed the agreement to "protect those who try to reveal inconvenient truths".

Antwerp, Belgium - As European capitals prepare to implement long-awaited sanctions on Russia's diamond exports, Belgian traders are bracing for new scrutiny of their industry. In Antwerp's renowned diamond district -- which handles an estimated 86 percent of the world's rough diamonds -- polishing "labs" are turning to blockchain technology to...

Brussels, Belgium - Tech giants Meta and TikTok are contesting the scope of an EU law that from March will set new rules on competition in the digital marketplace. The European Commission has designated 22 big online companies as "core platform services" to be subject to additional scrutiny and obligations under...

"By doing so the European Union will spend a total of 100 million euros in humanitarian aid for the civilians in Gaza," EU chief von der Leyen told EU diplomats in Brussels. Von der Leyen said flows of aid into Gaza from Egypt "remain too small" and the EU was...

"To comply with evolving European regulations, we are introducing a new subscription option in the EU, EEA (European Economic Area) and Switzerland," it said in a statement.

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The UAE and Belgium have stressed the importance of coordinating regional and international efforts to protect civilians and intensify efforts to restore regional security and stability. The sentiments were expressed in a meeting between Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Hadja...

Thierry Breton, EU commissioner and self-styled "digital enforcer", raised the alarm in letters sent to Elon Musk, owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, and Mark Zuckerberg, whose Meta group includes Facebook and Instagram.

China while also maintaining ties with the world's second-largest economy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has defined the position as "de-risking rather than decoupling" from China. The approach will likely be at the heart of Borrell's discussions with Chinese officials after the EU has taken a series of...

Part of the aim of the revised policy is for European Union countries to act together should they be faced with a sudden large inflow of asylum-seekers, as happened in 2015-2016 when hundreds of thousands of migrants arrived, most of them Syrians fleeing the war in their country.

Brussels, Belgium - EU member countries on Monday adopted a watered-down deal on curbing car emissions, after auto manufacturers complained stricter measures could undermine electric vehicle investments. Led by France and Italy, the 27 nations voted for a less ambitious plan than the one put forward by the European Commission in...

The EU is to start releasing money to Tunisia under a pact aimed at stemming irregular migration from the country, the European Commission said. EU lawmakers, the bloc's ombudsman and migrant assistance charities have questioned whether the deal with Tunisia meets European rights standards. Tunisia is struggling with high debt...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM- Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody a year ago, and billionaire Elon Musk were among a field of nominations put forward on Wednesday for the EU's top rights prize. The European Parliament's three biggest political groups each backed Amini as the recipient for this year's Sakharov...

The European Commission, the EU's powerful antitrust body, named 22 "core platform" services belonging to five US tech behemoths identified as "gatekeepers" -- Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft -- and China's ByteDance. The services included Apple's App Store; Meta's Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp; Google's YouTube video platform and...

It comes as EU rules on tech platforms enter into force.

The landmark Digital Services Act (DSA) compels tech companies to better police content to protect European users against disinformation and hate speech. And it also demands the firms are more transparent about their services, algorithms and how ads are targeted. "These systemic platforms play a very, very important role in...