Finance & Trade

Orban Declares Hungary is Ready to Pay for Russian Gas in Roubles

April 08, 2022

Breaking ranks with the European Union, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has declared that Hungary is prepared to pay roubles for Russian gas following President Putin’s warning that he will cut gas supplies to Europe unless payments are made in the Russian currency.
European Commission and U.S. Agree on New Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework

March 29, 2022

The European Commission and the United States have announced that they have agreed in principle on a new Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework addressing the concerns raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Schrems II decision of July 2020 and will strengthen the privacy and civil liberties protections applicable to U.S. signals intelligence activities.
European Ministers Agree to Promote EU-Wide Social-Economy

February 22, 2022

In and effort to boost the social economy sector in Europe, 21 EU social economy ministers met in Paris and agreed to develop a common definition of social economy practices and legal frameworks that will be included in the Social Economy Action Plan (SEAP).
EU Aims to Increase Restrictions on Data Transfers to Non-EU Governments

February 07, 2022

According to the European Commission's Data Act to be published this month, the EU is aiming to reign in U.S. tech giants by demanding cloud services providers such as Amazon and Microsoft set up safeguards against illegal data transfers to non-EU governments.
Win for Intel as Court Scraps $1.2 bln EU Antitrust Fine

February 02, 2022

EU antitrust regulators were dealt a heavy setback when Intel won its fight against a 1.06-billion-euro ($1.2 billion) EU antitrust fine that the U.S. chipmaker was handed over a decade ago for stifling a rival.
Google Launches Second Appeal to Overturn $2.8 bln Fine from Top EU Court

January 25, 2022

A spokesperson for the Alphabet unit has announced that Google is filing a second appeal at the European Union's top court against an earlier decision to uphold a $2.8 billion antitrust fine, seeking legal clarification from the European Court of Justice.
EU Plans to Tax its Way out of €800 Billion Recovery Debt

December 21, 2021

As the European Union faces paying for the debt accrued by the €800 billion pandemic recovery fund, instead of cutting back on existing EU programs, politicians are looking to increased taxation with a package called “own resources,” to be adopted on December 22, that will include revenues from a levy on the world’s 100 biggest companies, the EU’s planned carbon border tax, and from a proposed extension of the bloc’s cap-and-trade carbon market.
Politico: The New EU Rulebooks on Big Tech

December 01, 2021

Politico breaks down the two new EU rulebooks that gained approval this week to rein in Big Tech and tackle illegal content online, addressing years of what ministers describe as excess and harmful practices on online platforms.
Politico: Brexit Battle Continues over Fishing Industry

November 10, 2021

The Brexit battle continues as Britain and France debate the division of the fishing industry in the English Channel, potentially triggering a trade war.
Gazprom's Nord Stream May Challenge EU Rules

October 13, 2021

An advisor to the EU’s top court has determined that Gazprom's Swiss unit can challenge an EU gas rule that requires gas producers to be separate companies from those that control the pipeline, which
may help the Russian company in its long-running fight with the bloc.