As Zelensky publicly rebuked the role of European companies like a Russian-owned alumina refinery on Irish soil, Dublin assumes the EU Council presidency under pressure to stop exports to Russia of a key component for its defence sector.
From Wednesday onwards, the European Union is introducing a new €3 customs duty on low-value parcels entering the bloc from outside the EU – will you end up paying for this?
As Beijing tightens its grip on key raw materials and factories fear shutdowns, the EU’s next move on trade with China will signal whether it can defend its industries without triggering a full-blown economic clash.
EU’s ‘Voldemort’ problem: talking about China without mentioning ChinaAs Beijing exploits Europe’s economic dependence and political splits, this summit’s cautious language risks signalling weakness just as the EU’s leverage over its biggest trading rival is being tested.
The European trade deficit with China amounted to €360bn in 2025, or roughly €1bn a day. The commission and a growing group of member states want to take stronger measures to save European industries.
As Trump piles on new tariff threats and breaks past promises, EU negotiators are quietly swallowing an uneven deal rather than risk another blow to already suffering European exporters.
MEPs on Tuesday passed legislation for a three-year trade deal with the United States. But they have successfully tacked on a series of safeguard mechanisms should the Trump administration backtrack on its tariff promises.
The Trump administration has been pushing a plan for minimum pricing of critical minerals shaped by a Pentagon-drafted formula. But EU leaders fear this could replace one dependency (China) with another (the US).
Clear “guarantees” that the US cannot backtrack on its trade deal with the EU are needed before MEPs can approve it, warned the European Parliament’s top negotiator, Bernd Lange.
THIS WEEK: Final push for US trade deal and migration returns as EU leaders travel to MexicoThis week will see high-stakes negotiations over a trade deal with the US and new deportation rules, before the first EU-Mexico summit in 11 years. Meanwhile, MEPs meet in Strasbourg, where the EU Commission will present a new fertiliser strategy, while Latvia faces political instability following the government’s collapse.
Just two weeks after the EU-Mercosur trade agreement took effect, the EU announced a September ban on Brazilian meat imports over the use of antimicrobials for animal growth. Is this ban permanent, and what does it reveal about the limits of the agreement?
Europe’s answer to the ‘Who speaks for Europe?’ question – allegedly posed by Henry Kissinger – should be that Europe’s diversity of voices and actions are its strategic strength.
In a world of fluid coalitions, transactional alliances and overlapping networks of influence, Europe’s middle powers can often act more decisively than a cumbersome EU bureaucracy.
For Donald Trump, China is a rival, but also an enticing market. It is a security threat, but it has the economic and strategic weight to make US politicians think twice before launching coercive actions against the country.
The EU restores all trade with Syria while investing in the country’s reconstruction, but experts argue that safe returns of Syrian citizens living in the EU cannot happen overnight, as many have already requested citizenship, are still navigating asylum procedures, or simply do not wish to return while conditions in Syria remain uncertain.
The European Parliament’s top trade MEP said that, in practice, the new rule allowing the EU Commission to impose tariffs on countries for refusing to take back migrants will be hard to apply. But it still marks a significant political shift.
A trade row ‘Made in Europe’The latest in a series of sectoral disputes between Beijing and Brussels over the past three years centres on the ‘Made in Europe’ rules tabled by the EU Commission in March.
If one listens to the European Left, Africa is a place to must help and apologise to. If one listens to the Right, Africa is a problem to be managed and a source of migration on our doorstep. We, European liberals, believe that Africa is an opportunity and a future to be built among equal partners, writes Renew Europe MEP Jan-Christoph Oetjen.
A new report finds Brussels has made little headway in opening up Europe’s services markets since the landmark Services Directive came into force in 2006.
The deal grants Australia quota-based access for beef, lamb, and dairy products to the EU, while European exporters gain near-zero tariffs on vehicles, dairy, and other goods.
MEPs are going to press ahead with a vote to approve the EU-US trade pact —despite most observers believing that it clear favours the US.
