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☆ Subsidies from Big Tech should be last option for EU telcos - Meta Platforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 15 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) said on Thursday subsidies from Big Tech should be the last option for European Union telecoms operators trying to get U.S. companies to foot some of their network cost. The European Commission launched a consultation early this year on whether tech giants should bear some of the costs of Europe's telecoms network. A majority of European Union countries have also rejected the push to levy a network fee on Big Tech, sources told Reuters earlier this month. The European Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. It added any subsidies be awarded by a tender to ensure availability to all network operators, not just the large players.

Persons: Meta, Akash Sriram, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Big Tech, European Union, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, European Commission, Meta, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Orange, Bengaluru

☆ Exclusive: Broadcom set to win EU nod for $61 bln VMware deal, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The EU antitrust watchdog, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by July 17, and Broadcom declined to comment. One of the remedies focuses on Fibre Channel Host-Bus Adapters (FC HBAs) and is targeted at rival Marvell Technology, one of the people said. Marvell Technology did not respond to a request for comment. FC HBAs are storage adapters that connect servers to storage located outside the server on a storage-area network using the fiber channel protocol, typically through a switch. Broadcom is a leading supplier of FC HBAs.

Persons: Foo Yun Chee, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: chipmaker Broadcom, VMware, Broadcom, HBAs, Marvell Technology, FC HBAs, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, EU

☆ EU antitrust regulators approve Vivendi, Lagardere deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 9 (Reuters) - Vivendi (VIV.PA), the French media conglomerate controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, on Friday won conditional EU antitrust approval for its acquisition of France's largest publisher Lagardere (LAGA.PA). Vivendi last year announced the deal which would give it control of Lagardere's flagship weekly publications Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match. Vivendi said in a statement that it was confident it would finalise those two transactions by the end of October. "The remedies proposed by Vivendi will allow for the preservation of existing competition in those markets, to the benefit of consumers." Reuters reported in April that the remedies were sufficient to help Vivendi gain EU antitrust clearance for the acquisition.

Persons: Vincent Bollore, Margrethe Vestager, Daniel Kretinsky, Yannick Bollore, Foo Yun Chee, Bart Meijer, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Louise Organizations: Vivendi, Paris Match, European Commission, Reuters, Le Monde, TF1, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, EU, Czech, Le

☆ US calls Roger Waters performance in Berlin 'deeply offensive to Jewish people'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters performs during his This Is Not a Drill tour at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 27, 2022. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File PhotoWASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Tuesday weighed in on a controversy over a performance by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, denouncing the show in Berlin as "deeply offensive to Jewish people" and accusing Waters of having a record of using antisemitic tropes. Berlin police said they were investigating Waters on suspicion of "incitement of the people." loadingIn comments sent by email and not attributed to a named official, the State Department stood by Lipstadt's comment, and said Waters' Berlin concert "contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust." "The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people," the department added.

Persons: Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, Mario Anzuoni, Waters, Deborah Lipstadt, Lipstadt's, Pink Floyd's, Simon Lewis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Pink, Crypto.com Arena, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, U.S . State Department, State Department, Twitter, UN Security Council, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, Berlin, European, Israel

"There's still discussion in Portugal how that privatisation will take place and it's not supposed to be 100 percent privatisation," Spohr told journalists at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Istanbul. At least three major global carriers, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) and British Airways-owner IAG (ICAG.L), have shown an interest. Lufthansa said last month that it was taking a 41% stake in Italian carrier ITA Airways in the latest major consolidation in the aviation sector in Europe. "Boeing are saying it's delivery in late 24 or early 25 - which means it's early '25," Spohr said. Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Tim Hepher; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Carsten Spohr, Joao Nuno Mendes, it's, Spohr, IAG, Joanna Plucinska, Tim Hepher, Susan Fenton Organizations: TAP, International Air Transport Association, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, British Airways, ITA Airways, Boeing, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Portugal, Istanbul, Europe

☆ Majority of EU countries against network fee levy on Big Tech, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 3 (Reuters) - A majority of EU countries have rejected a push by Europe's big telecoms operators to force Big Tech to help fund the rollout of 5G and broadband in the region, people familiar with the matter said. Telecoms ministers from 18 countries either rejected or criticised the proposed network fee levy on tech firms at a meeting with EU industry chief Thierry Breton in Luxembourg on Thursday, the sources said. That echoed comments made last month by EU telecoms regulators' group BEREC. Breton is expected to issue a report by the end of June with a summary of feedback provided by Big Tech, telecoms providers and others which will indicate his next steps. Any legislative proposal needs to be negotiated with EU countries and EU lawmakers before it can become law.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Breton, Foo Yun Chee, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: EU, Big Tech, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, France Telecom, French, Google, Apple Inc, Inc, Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Luxembourg, Orange, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania

☆ Europe takes aim at ChatGPT with what might soon be the West’s first A.I. law. Here's what it means
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The law, known as the European AI Act, is the first law for AI systems in the West. The AI Act categorizes applications of AI into four levels of risk: unacceptable risk, high risk, limited risk and minimal or no risk. But AI technology has been around for years and is integrated into more applications and systems than you might think. "The European Commission's original proposal for the AI Act takes a risk-based approach, regulating specific AI systems that pose a clear risk," de Champris added. "MEPs have now introduced all kinds of amendments that change the very nature of the AI Act, which now assumes that very broad categories of AI are inherently dangerous."

☆ Alphabet CEO to meet EU industry chief Breton, EU deputy chief May 24
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, May 12 (Reuters) - Alphabet (GOOGL.O) Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai will meet European Commission deputy chief Vera Jourova and EU industry chief Thierry Breton in Brussels on May 24, according to the European Commission's agenda on Friday. Breton is in charge of digital rules that will require Alphabet's Google and other tech giants to allow business users to access data generated on its platform, among other obligations. A list of don'ts include a ban on treating their services and products more favourably than rivals. Another set of new EU tech rules requires Google and other tech giants to do more to tackle illegal online content on their platforms. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU decision clearing $69 billion Microsoft, Activision deal expected May 15, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Activision games "Call of Duty" are pictured in a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo AllegriBRUSSELS, May 10 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are set to approve Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) $69 billion acquisition of Activision (ATVI.O) next week, with May 15 as the likeliest date, people familiar with the matter said. The European Commission's imminent clearance comes nearly three weeks after the UK competition authority blocked the deal, the biggest-ever deal in gaming, over concerns it would hinder competition in cloud gaming. U.S. distributor Valve Corp, owner of the world's largest video game distribution platform, Steam, declined a contract saying it trusts Microsoft. (This story has been corrected to say that Valve does not have a licensing deal with Microsoft in paragraph 4)Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU decision clearing $69 bln Microsoft, Activision deal expected May 15, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, May 10 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are set to approve Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) $69 billion acquisition of Activision (ATVI.O) next week, with May 15 as the likeliest date, people familiar with the matter said. The European Commission's imminent clearance comes nearly three weeks after the UK competition authority blocked the deal, the biggest-ever deal in gaming, over concerns it would hinder competition in cloud gaming. The Commission, which has set a May 22 deadline for its decision, declined to comment. Japan approved the takeover in March while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also seeking to block it. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU takes aim at Chinese firms in proposed new Russia sanctions - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A spokesman for the European Commission on Monday confirmed the proposal was sent out to member states and aimed at closing loopholes in Russia trade restrictions but declined to give detail. In what would be the EU's 11th package of sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February, 2022, the bloc would introduce a new mechanism to cut its exports to third countries seen as involved in bypassing Russia sanctions. "It will be an empty vessels for now that can then be filled up as needed," said one EU diplomat. "The analysis... shows a sharp drop in direct exports from the EU to Russia following the introduction of sanctions in March 2022. "Both patterns are particularly pronounced for product groups partially or fully subject to the EU sanctions as well as goods that are similar to the sanctioned ones," the EBRD said.

☆ Twitter says removed more content in first half of 2022 than in previous six months
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 25 (Reuters) - Twitter on Tuesday said it required users to take down over 6.5 million pieces of content in the first half of 2022, before the social media platform was taken over by billionaire Elon Musk, a 29% increase from the second half of 2021. Publishing transparency reports is one of the requirements under the EU's new internet rules. The company said it received 53,000 legal requests from governments during the first half of 2022 to remove certain content, with Japan, South Korea, Turkey and India submitting the most requests. Twitter did not disclose the number of requests it complied with. Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But at the same time, EU countries have increased their overall purchases of Russian LNG, undermining the bloc's pledge to end its use of Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Russian LNG exports by region Russian LNG exports by regionEU analysis found Russian LNG imports increased to 22 billion cubic metres (bcm) last year, up from 16 bcm in 2021. Belgium and Spain nearly doubled their imports of Russian LNG in the 12 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, analysis by Kpler showed. The Netherlands has eliminated its Russian pipeline gas imports since the war and reduced, but not eliminated, Russian LNG imports. TO BAN OR NOT TO BANHalting Russian LNG imports would be double-edged, analysts say.

☆ Ukraine farmers say protests in EU over Ukrainian grain are political
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Inquam Photos/George Calin via REUTERSKYIV, April 12 (Reuters) - Protests by European farmers are political and shipments of Ukrainian grain are not reducing the profitability of their business, Ukrainian food producers' union UAC said on Wednesday. Poland last week said it would temporarily halt Ukrainian grain imports after farmers' protests led Poland's agriculture minister to resign, but transit would still be allowed. "The political nature of the European farmers' strikes is obvious. "However, certain forces need to demonstrate that this is due to an oversupply of Ukrainian grain," he said, noting that the country faced elections later this year. Ukrainian officials this month said, however, the country may export a further 15.6 million tonnes of grain in the April-to-June quarter, which would lift this season's exports to nearly 53 million tonnes.

☆ Vivendi to sell celebrity magazine Gala to win EU approval for Lagardere bid -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - French media giant Vivendi (VIV.PA) is set to commit to selling celebrity magazine Gala in a bid to win the European Commission's approval for the acquisition of Lagardere (LAGA.PA), a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The commitment to the European Commission's antitrust services will be made on Wednesday, the source added. The pledged sale of Gala would be the latest remedy offered by Vivendi, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, as it seeks to secure the takeover of Lagardere's flagship weekly publications Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match. Last month Vivendi said it was in talks to sell its publishing division Editis to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to allay EU antitrust worries, as Lagardere is home to Hachette, the world's third-biggest publishing group. Reporting by Kate Entringer; writing by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amid risk of stalling in EV race, Spain's rebooted aid scheme gets warm reception
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Joan Faus | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Madrid will launch a new, more flexible version of the PERTE scheme around July, worth 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) after last year's initial funding round flopped, with only 27% of an earmarked 2.9 billion euros allocated. Stellantis already manufactures EVs in Spain and received 67 million euros from the first PERTE, but could request more funds to boost production. Griffiths said using the EU funds is "essential" for Spain's future as some investments would otherwise be non-viable. Unlike Germany, Europe's leading car producer, Spain lacks a domestic manufacturer to champion the EV cause. In last year's PERTE round, VW-SEAT received the highest payout, of 357 million euros, but had hoped for more.

☆ Polish agriculture minister resigns amid anger over Ukrainian grain imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, April 5 (Reuters) - Polish Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk resigned from his post on Wednesday amid rising anger among farmers over the impact of Ukrainian grain imports on prices. Kowalczyk said he decided to quit the position due to the European Commission's decision to extend duty free imports for Ukrainain grain until June 2024. Polish farmers had called for the introduction of tariffs. "As it is clear that this demand will not be met by the European Commission at this point, I decided to resign from the post of agriculture minister," Kowalczk said. The prime ministers of five states including Poland wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday to demand action on Ukrainian agricultural imports.

☆ Philippine leader cheers EC move as job losses for 50,000 seafarers averted
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, April 2 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Sunday welcomed the European Commission's (EC) decision to continue recognising certificates issued by his country for Filipino seafarers, saying it averted job losses for roughly 50,000 sailors. The EC had warned in 2021 it would withdraw its recognition of Filipino seafarers' certificates unless serious measures were taken, including compliance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers. Marcos had met with EC President Ursula von der Leyen in December, when he attended the ASEAN-EU summit in Brussels, to discuss the 15-year-old issue involving Filipino seafarers. The EC said it intends to provide the Philippines with technical assistance to further improve its education, training and certification system for seafarers. Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brussels to curb imports of Chinese green tech -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 15 (Reuters) - The European Union is planning to introduce restrictions on the import of green technologies from China, reducing the chances of Chinese companies winning public contracts and creating additional barriers for buyers seeking subsidies, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Public procurement bids using products from a country with more than 65% EU market share would be downgraded, the report said, citing a draft of the Net Zero Industry Act seen by the newspaper. The European Commission's trade directorate is, however, concerned that the proposed revisions to the public procurement rule book may violate international law, people familiar with the matter told FT.On Tuesday, Financial Times had reported that the European Union was seeking fresh ways to monitor how European companies invest in production facilities overseas, in an attempt to limit China's ability to acquire new technologies from the West. Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU converges on principles of new debt rules, no deal yet on details
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Draft conclusions of a meeting of the EU's 27 finance ministers on Tuesday showed EU countries support much of the European Commission's proposal presented last November, but its practical implementation is still a challenge. Governments with higher debt would negotiate with the Commission individual debt reduction paths linked to reforms and investments, departing from a one-size-fits-all rule of annual debt cuts of 1/20th of the excess above 60% of GDP. Since many EU countries have debt well above the EU limit, they would get between four and seven years to put it on a downward path that would be negotiated with the Commission on the basis of a Commission debt sustainability analysis. This would be an improvement on the unobservable and revision-prone structural deficit which is the focus now, and which finance ministers strongly dislike. TRICKY DETAILSWhile there is convergence among EU finance ministers on these points, there are equally many on which they disagree.

☆ EU restarts work on EU-UK regulatory forum after Northern Ireland deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 8 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive body said on Wednesday it will finalise a long-delayed discussion forum for EU and UK financial regulators, once the deal on Northern Ireland has been implemented by Britain. The forum, similar to what the EU already has with the United States, was due to have been created by March 2021, but was put on ice because of disagreements over trading relations with Northern Ireland. Those disagreements have been ironed out in last month's agreement, or Windsor Framework, which has yet to be formally implemented by Britain. "We are ready to start work on the finalisation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on financial services regulatory cooperation," a spokesman for the European Commission's financial services unit said on Wednesday. The forum has no mandate to decide on EU financial market access, but financial industry officials say it could improve strained cross-Channel relations in the sector, and help ease tension in areas, such as derivatives clearing.

But EU countries still need to rubber stamp the decision before it can take effect. EU countries' ambassadors on Friday cancelled the vote that had been planned for March 7, the spokesperson for Sweden said. Italy, which has previously said it will vote against the EU cars law, on Friday welcomed the postponement of the vote. Such an outcome, along with some resistance from Italy and some eastern European countries, could throw the whole EU ban into question. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend a German cabinet meeting at the Schloss Meseberg palace on Sunday, where the topic is likely to be discussed.

☆ Exclusive: Microsoft set to win EU nod on Activision with licensing offer, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is expected to secure EU antitrust approval for its $69 billion acquisition of Activision (ATVI.O) with its offer of licensing deals to rivals, three people familiar with the matter said, helping it to clear a major hurdle. In addition to the licensing deals for rivals, Microsoft may also have to offer other behavioural remedies to allay concerns of other parties than Sony, one of the people said. Activision shares, which jumped 1.8% in pre-market trading after the Reuters' story was published, were up 2.6% in late trade. Microsoft President Brad Smith last month said the U.S. software group was ready to offer rivals licensing deals to address antitrust concerns but it would not sell Activision's lucrative "Call of Duty" franchise. Microsoft said it was "committed to offering effective and easily enforceable solutions that address the European Commission's concerns."

☆ Exclusive: Microsoft's licensing offer likely to satisfy EU on Activision, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) - Microsoft's (MSFT.O) offer of licensing deals to rivals is likely to address EU antitrust concerns over its $69 billion acquisition of Activision (ATVI.O), three people familiar with the matter said, helping it to clear a major hurdle. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by April 25, is not expected to demand that Microsoft sell assets to win its approval, the people said. Microsoft President Brad Smith last month said the U.S. software group was ready to offer rivals licensing deals to address antitrust concerns but it would not sell Activision's lucrative "Call of Duty" franchise. Microsoft said it was "committed to offering effective and easily enforceable solutions that address the European Commission's concerns." Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Elaine Hardcastle and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: EU unlikely to demand asset sales in Microsoft, Activision deal, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) - Microsoft's (MSFT.O) readiness to offer licensing deals to rivals is likely to address EU antitrust concerns over its $69 billion acquisition of Activision (ATVI.O) without the need for asset sales, three people familiar with the matter said. The European Commission is not expected to demand that Microsoft sell assets to win its approval, the people said. Microsoft President Brad Smith last month said the U.S. software giant was ready to offer rivals licensing deals to address antitrust concerns but it would not sell Activision's lucrative "Call of Duty" franchise. Microsoft said it was "committed to offering effective and easily enforceable solutions that address the European Commission's concerns". Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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