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☆ European Parliament to ban TikTok from staff phones, EU official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The European Parliament has decided to ban Chinese short video-sharing app TikTok from staff phones for security reasons, an EU official said on Tuesday, the latest EU institution to do so. The ban will also apply to private devices with Parliament email and other network access installed on them, the official said, adding that the decision is expected to be announced soon. The European Commission and the EU Council last week banned TikTok from staff phones, underlining growing concerns about the company owned by Chinese firm ByteDance and whether China's government could use its app to harvest users' data or advance its interests. TikTok is banned on U.S. Senate employees' government-owned devices, with Canada adopting a similar decision on Monday. India has banned the app too.

☆ TikTok accuses EU of keeping it in the dark over staff phone ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - TikTok accused the European Commission on Friday of failing to consult it over a decision to ban the Chinese short video sharing app from staff phones on cybersecurity grounds, a move subsequently followed by another top EU body. The EU executive and the EU Council, which brings together representatives of the member states to set policy priorities, said on Thursday staff will also be required to remove TikTok from personal mobile devices that have access to corporate services. The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on TikTok's statement. Greer said TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who met EU industry chief Thierry Breton and other commissioners in Brussels in January, was "concerned and a little puzzled". Other EU institutions should do their own research before making decisions on the app, Greer said.

London CNN —The European Union is setting up a working group to examine whether frozen Russian assets can be used to rebuild Ukraine. The statement added that part of this work would involve obtaining a “clearer picture” of where Russian state-owned assets are located and their value. “In principle, it is clear-cut: Russia must pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. A senior EU official estimated earlier this month that the European Union and Western allies had frozen more than $300 billion in Russian central bank assets that could potentially be used to rebuild Ukraine. The European Union is also working on a tenth package of sanctions against Russia.

"As showcased by ChatGPT, AI solutions can offer great opportunities for businesses and citizens, but can also pose risks. Under the EU draft rules, ChatGPT is considered a general purpose AI system which can be used for multiple purposes including high-risk ones such as the selection of candidates for jobs and credit scoring. Breton wants OpenAI to cooperate closely with downstream developers of high-risk AI systems to enable their compliance with the proposed AI Act. Breton said the European Commission is working closely with the EU Council and European Parliament to further clarify the rules in the AI Act for general purpose AI systems. Breton said forthcoming discussions with lawmakers about AI rules would cover these aspects.

☆ EU debt fears hinder U.S. green subsidies riposte
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That ties von der Leyen’s hands. Since September, von der Leyen has been pushing a “solidarity fund” to offset the imbalances that could arise out of freer-flowing EU subsidies. To move ahead, von der Leyen will just have to scatter some seeds and see what grows. Follow @rebeccawire on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave a Jan. 17 speech at Davos on her forthcoming green technology strategy. Von der Leyen has since September been advocating for a “solidarity fund” to help smaller countries keep up with their bigger, richer peers.

Prices for LNG — a chilled, liquid form of gas that can be transported via sea tankers — are tightly linked to prices for Europe’s natural gas delivered by pipelines. Gas prices spiked to a record high of around €345 ($367) per megawatt hour in August, after Moscow reduced gas deliveries to the continent. TTF gas futures fell back 5% on Monday to hit €107 ($114) per megawatt hour. Other EU measures have included gas storage requirements and a price cap of $60 a barrel on seaborne Russian oil. Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy and one of its largest importers of natural gas, had been the most notable holdout before Monday’s announcement.

☆ Rouble weakens to 63 vs dollar as rate decision edges closer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Markets also are awaiting a flurry of other interest rate decisions this week, including from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The rouble has showed a largely muted reaction to oil price swings in the last week. Volatility has been high as a price cap on Russian oil kicked in. Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.7% at $75.6 a barrel, pushing Russian stock indexes lower. For Russian equities guide seeFor Russian treasury bonds seeReporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kim Coghill, KIrsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Huge trade partner and ‘systemic rival.’ Europe has a China problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and tit-for-tat sanctions between China and EU lawmakers have strained relations since. The total value of the goods trade between China and Europe hit €696 billion ($732 billion) last year, up by nearly a quarter from 2019. China was the third largest destination for EU goods exports, accounting for 10% of the total, according to Eurostat data. Even so, the United States may exert more pressure on Europe to pull away from China, Borges de Castro noted. EU investment into China has also become more concentrated.

☆ Banks in EU face tougher rules on using cloud computing giants
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Regulators worry about the speed and scale at which banks, insurers and investment firms are moving critical functions and market operations onto a handful of cloud platforms. A glitch at one cloud company could potentially bring down services across many financial firms, regulators have said. "Thanks to the harmonised legal requirements which we adopted today, our financial sector will be better able to continue to function at all times," Stanjura said. The requirements will apply to financial firms and "critical" third parties supplying cloud based services. "If a large-scale attack on the European financial sector is launched, we will be prepared for it," Stanjura said.

☆ The EU agreed to slap sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia drones that it used to bombard Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The EU has agreed to sanction Iran over the drones it has supplied to Russia. Three people and an entity connected to the drones will be sanctioned, the Czech EU presidency said. "After three days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit Ukraine," the Czech Presidency of the EU Council wrote in a tweet. Another four Iranian entities could also receive EU sanctions, it also said. Iran is already under a wide swathe of UN and EU sanctions imposed over the last decades, relating to human rights and the development of nuclear military capabilities.

☆ Confident EU council will introduce gas cap in October, Paolo Gentiloni says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailConfident EU council will introduce gas cap in October, Paolo Gentiloni saysPaolo Gentiloni, the EU's commissioner for the economy, speaks to CNBC's Annette Weisbach at the 2022 Atlantic Council.

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