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☆ Illumina to divest Grail within a year if it does not win challenge in EU court
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Grail Inc FollowIllumina Inc FollowOct 13 (Reuters) - Illumina (ILMN.O) said on Friday it would divest cancer test maker Grail (GRAL.O) in 12 months, according to the terms of the European Commission's order, if the life sciences company does not win its challenge in court. EU antitrust regulators on Thursday ordered Illumina to divest Grail, after it completed the deal before securing their approval. The San Diego-based genetic testing company last year challenged the EU watchdog saying it does not have jurisdiction over the acquisition of Grail. But if it is not successful with either its ECJ jurisdictional appeal or in a final decision of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Illumina will divest Grail. Illumina had in June appealed against the order by the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces antitrust law in the U.S., to divest Grail.

Persons: Illumina, it's, Sriparna Roy, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Illumina, European Court of Justice, U.S, Fifth, Appeals, Federal Trade Commission, Thomson Locations: San Diego, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ German transport minister rejects punitive tariffs in EU's China EV probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An NIO ET7 car model is presented at the NIO House, the showroom of the Chinese premium smart electric vehicle manufacture NIO Inc. in Berlin, Germany August 17, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Sept 25 (Reuters) - German Transport Minister Volker Wissing has rejected possible punitive tariffs as a result of the European Commission's investigation into Chinese electric vehicle (EV) subsidies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this month announced a probe into whether to impose punitive tariffs to protect EU automakers against China's EV imports, which the commissions says are benefiting from excessive state subsidies. China blasted the probe as protectionist and warned that it would damage economic relations, a concern shared by Germany's car industry. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, by contrast, has welcomed the step, saying action must be taken if massive breaches of competition rules are found by the EU probe.

Persons: Annegret, Volker Wissing, Wissing, Ursula von der, Robert Habeck, Miranda Murray, Friederike Heine Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Augsburger Allgemeine, Free Democrats, EU, China's EV, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, China

BRUSSELS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Agreements between companies not to hire each other's employees have recently attracted regulatory scrutiny, a senior EU antitrust official said on Friday, amid concerns that such practices may unlawfully restrict workers' job opportunities. The U.S. Justice Department has in recent years stepped up enforcement over no-poach and non-solicitation agreements, with individuals launching litigation. That could soon change, said Olivier Guersent, director general at the European Commission's antitrust unit. Antitrust lawyers say no-poach deals can be seen as agreements to restrict competition in labour markets. They say competition watchdogs in Portugal, France, Spain, Croatia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Romania and Germany have examined or acted against such deals.

Persons: Olivier Guersent, we're, Foo Yun, Bill Berkrot 私 Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, Antitrust, EU, Union Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, New York, Portugal, France, Spain, Croatia, Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Germany

Workers are seen at the production line of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV) at a factory in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China August 28, 2018. "This will skyrocket our demand for lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers, which is expected to multiply between 10 and 30 times in the coming years," the paper, prepared by the Spanish presidency of the EU, said. While the EU has a strong position in the intermediate and assembly phases of making electrolysers, with a more than 50% global market share, it relies heavily on China for fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries crucial for electric vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells were not the only area of EU vulnerability, the Spanish presidency paper said. "The EU has a relatively strong position in the latter, but it shows significant weaknesses in the other areas," it said.

Persons: Stringer, Jan Strupczewski, Conor Humphries Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European, EU, Reuters, European Commission, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Rights MADRID, Russia, Ukraine, Granada, Spain, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Spanish

Hungary imposed a national import ban on 24 Ukrainian agricultural products, including grains, vegetables, several meat products and honey, according to a government decree published on Friday. Slovakia's agriculture minister followed suit announcing its own grain ban. EU PLEAEU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday countries should refrain from unilateral measures against imports of Ukrainian grain. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia previously said they may extend the restrictions unilaterally while Bulgaria on Thursday voted to scrap the curbs. In August, about 4 million tonnes of Ukraine grains passed through the Solidarity Lanes of which close to 2.7 million tonnes were through the Danube.

Persons: Cernat, Mateusz Morawiecki, Waldemar Buda, Valdis Dombrovskis, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Julia Payne, Alan Charlish, Jan Lopatka, Karol Badohal, Boldizsar, Luiza Ilie, Nina Chestney, David Evans, Alistair Bell, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, European Commission, European Union, EU, EU Commission, Ukraine, Farmers, Solidarity, Thomson Locations: Black, Constanta, Romania, Ukraine, BRUSSELS, WARSAW, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Elk, Russia, EU, Russian, Romanian, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest

But the flood of grains and oilseeds into neighbouring countries reduced prices there, impacting the income of local farmers and resulting in governments banning agricultural imports from Ukraine. The European Union in May stepped in to prevent individual countries imposing unilateral bans and imposed its own ban on imports into neighbouring countries. Under the EU ban, Ukraine was allowed to export through those countries on condition the produce was sold elsewhere. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday countries should refrain from unilateral measures against imports of Ukrainian grain, but Poland, Slovakia and Hungary immediately responded by reimposing their own restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports. Farmers in the five countries neighbouring Ukraine have repeatedly complained about a product glut hitting their domestic prices and pushing them towards bankruptcy.

Persons: Cernat, Valdis Dombrovskis, reimposing, Terry Reilly, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Robert Telus, Julia Payne, Alan Charlish, Jan Lopatka, Karol Badohal, Boldizsar, Pavel Polityuk, Luiza Ilie, Tom Polansek, Nina Chestney, Simon Webb, David Evans, Alistair Bell, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, European Commission, European Union, EU, Ukraine, Facebook, EU Commission, Farmers, Solidarity, Thomson Locations: Black, Constanta, Romania, Ukraine, BRUSSELS, WARSAW, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, EU, Bulgaria, Russian, Romanian, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Kyiv, Bucharest, Chicago

Yes to life" take part in a anti-lithium protest in Covas do Barroso, Portugal, August 15, 2023. With 60,000 tonnes of known reserves, Portugal is already Europe's biggest producer of lithium, traditionally mined for ceramics. Referring to the Barroso project and another in France, he said it would be "a disaster if either ... doesn't succeed". But with only 15 of 916 submissions in a public consultation supporting the project, Savannah faces a struggle to win over locals who have said they will fight it and the APA in court. "Politicians listen to those who shout loudest and have most money - and that's the mining industry," she said.

Persons: Catarina Demony, Maria Loureiro, Loureiro, Barroso, Martin Jackson, , Savannah's, Michael Schmidt, doesn't, Schmidt, Nelson Gomes, Greta Thunberg, Karin Kvarfordt Niia, LKAB's, Anders Lindberg, UDCB's Catarina Alves Scarrott, Aida Fernandes, Barroso's, Dale Ferguson, Ferguson, Emanuel Proenca, Teresa Camille, Gunilla Hogberg Bjorck, Miguel Pereira, Covas do Barroso, Pietro Lombardi, Simon Johnson, Aislinn Laing, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Savannah Resources, DO BARROSO, EU, Agriculture Organization, CRU, APA, State, Barroso, Reuters, UDCB, Thomson Locations: Covas do Barroso, Portugal, Barroso, China, London, Savannah, Europe, France, Kiruna, Sweden's, Montalegre, Scarrott, Portuguese, EUROPE, Chile, Covas, Karr, Covas do, Madrid, Stockholm

☆ EU's Gentiloni confident over budget rule deal by year-end deadline
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni holds a news conference on the European Commission's economic forecasts for the EU for 2023 and 2024 on GDP and inflation, in Brussels, Belgium February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCERNOBBIO, Italy, Sept 2 (Reuters) - European Union Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said on Saturday he was confident an agreement over re-implementing EU budget rules would be reached by year-end, ruling out an extension of their suspension into 2024. "I'm confident, I'd say I have to be confident, that a deal (over the new budget rules) can be reached by year-end," Gentiloni told reporters on the sidelines of the European House Ambrosetti economic forum in Cernobbio. Italy is preparing a difficult 2024 budget in which it will seek to meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's tax-cutting promises while at the same time reducing the deficit while faced with an economic slowdown. Gentiloni said failing to reach a deal on reviving the rules would mean a return to previous budget rules that did not help promote economic growth and cut sovereign debt in the bloc.

Persons: Paolo Gentiloni, Johanna Geron, Gentiloni, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Giorgia, Christine Lagarde, Elvira Pollina, Giselda, Tomasz Janowski, Helen Popper Our Organizations: EU, REUTERS, Union, House, Italian Economy, European Commission, European Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Italy, Ukraine

The proposed changes came a month after the European Commission launched an investigation into Microsoft's tying of Office and Teams following a complaint by Salesforce-owned (CRM.N) workspace messaging app Slack in 2020. The EU competition enforcer on Thursday said it took note of the company's announcement and declined further comment. Teams was added to Office 365 in 2017 for free. New enterprise customers can buy Teams standalone and separately for 5 euros per month or 60 euros per year, while existing enterprise customers who already have a suite with Teams can choose to keep it or move to a without-Teams suite. Microsoft will also develop a new method for hosting the Office web applications within competing apps and services similar to what it does with Teams.

Persons: Nanna, Louise Linde, Foo Yun Chee, Sharon Singleton, Peter Graff Organizations: Microsoft, U.S ., European Commission, Salesforce, EU, Business, U.S, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Brussels, U.S, Europe, Switzerland

☆ This Dutchman moved to San Francisco a year ago to help tech giants prepare for new EU rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

De Graaf, a 30-year veteran of the European Commission, was tasked with resurrecting the EU office in the Bay Area. The generative AI boomGenerative AI was a virtually foreign concept when de Graaf arrived in San Francisco last September. In June, the European Parliament cleared a major step in passing the EU AI Act, which would represent the EU's package of AI regulations. Tech companies that have for years criticized the EU for overly aggressive regulations are now asking, "Why is it taking you so long?" The rapidly changing landscape of generative AI makes it tricky for the EU to quickly formulate regulations.

Persons: Yves Herman, Gerard de Graaf, De Graaf, de Graaf, Union hasn't, Mark Zuckerberg, Mandel Ngan, Thierry Breton, Elon Musk, Breton, we've, We've, who's, they've, Aneesh Chopra Organizations: EU, European Commission, Digital Services, Nasdaq, Meta, Google, Apple, DSA, EC, Valley Bank, Irish Consulate, The, Union, U.S, Facebook, Financial, Financial Services, AFP, Getty, Twitter, Digital Markets, Washington , D.C, European, Tech, Stanford, Nvidia, White Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Europe, San Francisco, Bay, U.S, Silicon Valley, Silicon, Rayburn, Washington , DC, Poland, Graaf, Washington ,, United States

☆ SEC investigating Illumina over acquisition of cancer test developer Grail
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Illumina over its controversial $7.1 billion acquisition of cancer test developer Grail, the DNA sequencing company said in a securities filing late Thursday. Last month, the SEC informed Illumina about the probe and requested documents and communications related to the deal. The company's market value has fallen to roughly $28 billion from around $75 billion the month the deal closed. Illumina's Grail deal has also faced heavy scrutiny from antitrust regulators in the U.S. and European Union. The European Commission, the EU's executive body, fined Illumina a record $476 million last month for closing the acquisition without first securing regulatory approval.

Persons: Illumina, That's, Carl Icahn Organizations: The Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Union, The European Commission, Illumina, U.S . Federal Trade Commission Locations: Illumina, San Diego , California, U.S

The U.S. tech giant has racked up 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) in EU antitrust fines in the previous decade for practices in breach of EU competition rules, including tying or bundling two or more products together. Teams, which Microsoft added to Office 365 in 2017 for free to eventually replace Skype for Business, soared in popularity during the pandemic especially after it offered video conferencing. Reuters reported earlier this month that the EU antitrust watchdog was set to open a probe after Microsoft declined to offer bigger price cuts on its Office without Teams. German rival alfaview, which last week filed a complaint similar to Slack's with the EU executive, welcomed the EU investigation. EU fines for antitrust violations can go as high as 10% of a company's global turnover.

Persons: Margrethe Vestager, Niko Fostiropoulos, Foo Yun Chee, Sudip Kar, Gupta, David Evans, Jane Merriman Organizations: Microsoft, European Union, European Commission, Salesforce, Skype, Business, Reuters, EU, Commission, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, U.S, Europe

☆ EU climate chief Timmermans to run in Dutch election
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Tosterling Kate Abnett | Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS, July 20 (Reuters) - EU climate chief Frans Timmermans on Thursday said he wants to become the next Dutch prime minister and will contest a parliamentary election in the Netherlands in November. The four-party coalition government of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte resigned earlier this month after failing to reach an agreement on restricting immigration, triggering a vote on Nov. 22. Timmermans had been tipped as a top candidate to lead the Dutch parties following his campaign for European social democrats in the 2019 European election, which was widely regarded as a success. Timmermans, who speaks English, German, French, Italian and Russian in addition to his native Dutch, is known as a skilled negotiator during international climate negotiations and his departure from EU politics will cause shockwaves. How well he may perform in Dutch politics is an open question, but a poll published on Thursday indicated that 39% of Dutch voters said they trusted him to lead the next government.

Persons: Frans Timmermans, Mark Rutte, Timmermans, Rutte, Toby Sterling, Kate Abnett, Bart Meijer, Andrew Cawthorne, Bernadette Baum, Alex Richardson Organizations: Dutch, Labour, Green Left, Labour and Green Left, de Volkskrant, EU, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, BRUSSELS, Netherlands, EU, Dutch, Timmermans, Rutte's, Limburg, Brussels

☆ EU helping UN, Turkey in bid to extend Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Kremlin spokesman later said that Russia had not taken a final decision on whether to exit the grain deal. The European Commission's priority is to ensure that Ukrainian grain can reach the world market and it calls on all parties to extend the Black Sea deal, a European Union spokesperson in Brussels said on Thursday. Russia has threatened to ditch the Black Sea grain deal because several demands to dispatch its own grain and fertilizer abroad have not been met. The last ship traveling under the Black Sea agreement is currently loading its cargo at the Ukrainian port of Odesa ahead of the Monday deadline. Britain has also "worked very closely with the City of London to enable a very complex payment system" for Russian grain, Britain's U.N. ambassador, Barbara Woodward, has said.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, SWIFT, Guterres, Putin, Ursula von der Leyen, Putin's, U.N, Barbara Woodward, Woodward, Michelle Nichols, Foo Yun Chee, Angus MacSwan, Leslie Adler Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, European Commission, United, Black, European Union, Russian Agricultural Bank, Reuters, United Nations, Kremlin, JPMorgan Chase &, reassurances, U.S ., The United Nations, African Export, Import Bank, City, Thomson Locations: United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, EU, U.N, Moscow, Brussels, Russian, Odesa, Africa, Britain, London

☆ EU to green light Broadcom's VMware deal on Wednesday, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A smartphone with a displayed Broadcom logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. Broadcom is a leading supplier of FC HBAs, which are storage adapters that connect servers to storage located outside the server on a storage-area network using the fiber channel protocol. The VMware deal is Broadcom's largest-ever acquisition as it looks to diversify into enterprise software. The European Commission declined to comment. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the UK competition agency are also examining the deal.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Foo Yun Chee, Mark Porter Organizations: Broadcom, REUTERS, chipmaker Broadcom, VMware, Reuters, HBAs, Marvell Technology, FC HBAs, European, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS

☆ Ukrainian refugees: how will the economy recover with a diminished population?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

In previous refugee crises, for example in Syria, refugees' desire to return home has faded with time, UNHCR studies show. Conscription-aged men are restricted from leaving Ukraine, so working-aged women, and children, make up the majority of refugees. Ukraine's population problem goes beyond millions of refugees. A census in 2001 - the country's only so far - recorded a population of 48.5 million. Demographer Libanova estimated the population at between 28 million and 34 million at the start of 2023 in parts of the country controlled by Kyiv.

Persons: Korzh, Volodymyr Kostiuk, Kostiuk, It's, Dmytro Tsygankov, Ella Libanova, Libanova, Ksenia Karpenko, Karpenko, Corina Rodriguez, Catarina Demony, Mike Collett, White, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: United Nations, UNHCR, Kyiv, for Economic Research, Political, for Economic, MEN, National Academy of Science, European Commission's, Research, The, Economic Strategy, Reuters, Thomson Locations: KYIV, Europe, Kyiv, Portugal, Ukraine, Lagoa, Syria, Ukrainian, Moscow, Russia, Crimea, Belarus, Russian, Tarragona, Spain, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon

Google's latest Supreme Court filing shows its deepening disagreement with how the CCI conducted its Android investigation. Amazon (AMZN.O) also declined to comment, while the CCI did not respond to the Alphabet-owned company's court filing, which is set to be heard in the coming days. Google has been particularly concerned about India's Android decision as the directives were seen even more sweeping than those imposed in the European Commission's landmark 2018 ruling against the company's Android market abuse. Google is arguing in India's Supreme Court against any penalty and saying it did not abuse its market position. Google has made sweeping changes to its Android business model in India following CCI's directive.

Persons: Arpan Chaturvedi, Aditya Kalra, Kim Coghill Organizations: Google, India's, U.S, Amazon, Reuters, South, Indian, U.S ., Thomson Locations: India, DELHI, South Korea, India's, U.S

☆ Hungary opposes EU plan to grant more money to Ukraine -PM Orban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUDAPEST, June 30 (Reuters) - Hungary rejects the European Commission's plans to grant more money to Ukraine and is not willing to contribute additional money to finance the EU's increased debt service costs, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday. The European Union will provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($54.30 billion) in aid for 2024-27, the bloc's president said on June 20. This comes after a review of the EU's 2021-27 shared budget, which has been depleted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and an energy crisis. "One thing is clear, we Hungarians ... will not give more money to Ukraine until they say where the previous around 70 billion euros worth of funds had gone," Orban said. Orban said there was almost no chance that European Union member states would approve these financial plans and a "long fight" would start.

Persons: Viktor Orban, Orban, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Krisztina, Susan Fenton Organizations: European Union, Union, Russia, Thomson Locations: BUDAPEST, Hungary, Ukraine, Brussels, Budapest, Poland

☆ EU-funded hybrid car prototype explodes in Italy, killing two people
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, June 29 (Reuters) - Two people have died after a hybrid car prototype that was being developed and tested with European Union funds blew up last week in the southern Italian city of Naples. The Life-Save project aimed to turn cars with conventional combustion engines into hybrid vehicles, running at least partly on solar energy. One vehicle equipped with the experimental technology caught fire last Friday, seriously injuring the two people who were on board. Maria Vittoria Prati, a researcher at Italy's National Council of Research (CNR), died of complications from third-degree burns on Monday. The other occupant, research apprentice Fulvio Filace, died overnight, a spokesperson for the Cardarelli hospital in Naples told Reuters on Thursday.

Persons: Maria Vittoria Prati, Fulvio Filace, Filace, Pietro Rinaldi, Prati, Alvise Armellini, David Evans Organizations: European Union, National Council of Research, Reuters, CNR, University of Salerno, Thomson Locations: Italian, Naples, Italy

NEW DELHI, June 26 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O) has urged India's Supreme Court to quash antitrust directives against it for abuse of the Android market, two sources said, as its presses its legal battle against the competition watchdog in one of its most important markets. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in October that Google, whose Android mobile operating system powers 97% of 600 million smartphones in India, had exploited its dominant position. Google is now asking the Supreme Court to quash the remainder of the directives, the first source with direct knowledge said. Google's Supreme Court challenge has not been previously reported. The CCI too has approached the Supreme Court, seeking to reverse the tribunal's decision to give Google partial relief, according to a third source.

Persons: India's, quashing, Aditya Kalra, Conor Humphries Organizations: of India, Google, U.S, Alphabet Inc, Supreme, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India

Berlin has agreed subsidies worth nearly 10 billion euros with the U.S. chipmaker, a person familiar with the matter said, more than the 6.8 billion euros it had initially offered Intel to build two leading-edge facilities in the eastern city. "Today's agreement is an important step for Germany as a high-tech production location – and for our resilience," Scholz said after Monday's signing. Globally, semiconductor manufacturing is expected to become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030, expanding from $600 billion in 2021, according to McKinsey. Initially, Intel wanted to invest 17 billion euros in the Magdeburg plant, an amount that has nearly doubled to more than 30 billion. About 7,000 construction jobs will be created in the first expansion, plus around 3,000 high-tech jobs at Intel and tens of thousands of jobs across industry, the U.S. chipmaker said.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Pat Gelsinger, Scholz, Israel, Dado Ruvic, Robert Hermann, Taiwan's TSMC, Tesla, Robert Habeck, chipmaker, Gelsinger, Maria Martinez, Riham, Christoph Steitz, Rachel More, Jason Neely, Sharon Singleton, Catherine Evans Organizations: Intel, Intel Intel, Germany's, U.S, AMD, Nvidia, Samsung, Union, McKinsey, REUTERS, Germany Trade, Invest, Reuters, Germany, Thomson Locations: Germany, Frankfurt BERLIN, STOCKHOLM, Magdeburg, Europe, Berlin, Saxony, Anhalt, EU, chipmaking, Poland, United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Frankfurt, U.S, Ireland, France, Asia

The deal in Germany would be Intel's third big investment in four days, following a $4.6 billion chip plant in Poland and a $25 billion factory in Israel. Intel plans to invest around 30 billion euros in the Magdeburg plant, the person said. Scholz said on Monday that his government was working on investment projects that would make Germany one of the world's leading locations for semiconductor production. Frankfurt-listed Intel shares were 0.7% lower at 1137 GMT. ($1 = 0.9150 euros)Writing by Christoph Steitz; editing by Rachel More, Jason Neely and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pat Gelsinger, Olaf Scholz, Scholz, Taiwan's TSMC, Tesla, Gelsinger, Christoph Steitz, Rachel More, Jason Neely, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Intel, U.S, AMD, Nvidia, Samsung, EU, Reuters, Germany, Thomson Locations: Germany, Frankfurt BERLIN, STOCKHOLM, Magdeburg, chipmaking, Poland, Israel, United States, Europe, Berlin, South Korea, Taiwan, Frankfurt, Ireland, France, Asia

☆ Ukraine meets 2 of 7 conditions to launch EU membership talks -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the EU set seven conditions - including on judicial reform and curbing endemic corruption - to launch accession negotiations. Two senior EU officials who were briefed on the report, which has not been made public, said Ukraine has met two of the criteria by now. The 27 member countries have the final say on whether and when to open membership talks with Kyiv. To qualify, Ukraine would have to align its laws with many extensive EU standards ranging from climate to labour. In practice, Ukraine's road to membership is bound to take years, and few believe the country can join while at war with Russia.

Persons: Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: EU, Ukraine, Kyiv's, Kyiv, Constitutional, Corruption, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv's Soviet, Brussels, Stockholm, Poland, Baltic, France, Germany, Netherlands

The facility in Poland will employ 2,000 workers and create several thousand additional jobs during the construction phase and hiring by suppliers, the company said in a statement. "Poland was just a little bit hungrier to win this site," Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a news conference. Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Thursday that the German government and Intel were close to an agreement for 9.9 billion euros ($10.83 billion) in subsidies, up from a previously agreed 6.8 billion. The level of any subsidy offered to Intel by Poland was not made public during Friday's announcement. Mateusz Morawiecki, prime minister of Poland, called Intel's factory "the largest greenfield investment in the history of Poland".

Persons: chipmaker, Pat Gelsinger, Gelsinger, Olaf Scholz, Mateusz Morawiecki, Karol Badohal, Supantha Mukherjee, Jason Neely, Conor Humphries Organizations: Intel, Labour, AMD, Nvidia, Samsung, Thomson Locations: Poland, WROCLAW, STOCKHOLM, Wrocław, Europe, U.S, Germany, Ireland, France, Berlin, Wroclaw, Stockholm

☆ Bundesbank sees German economy shrinking this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, June 16 (Reuters) - The German economy, Europe's biggest, will shrink this year and inflation will stay above 2% at least through 2025, the Bundesbank said on Friday in a biannual update of its projections. "The German economy is set to recover only arduously from the crises of the past three years," the Bundesbank said. The Bundesbank now sees the German economy contracting by 0.3% this year, a worse outcome than the European Commission's 0.2% expansion projection. The economy will then grow by 1.2% next year and 1.3% in 2025, both below previous forecasts, the central bank said. "With regard to inflation, risks are tilted to the upside," the Bundesbank said.

Persons: Joachim Nagel, Nagel, Balazs Koranyi, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, German

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