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☆ EU takes on United States, Asia with chip subsidy plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, April 18 (Reuters) - The European Union on Tuesday agreed a 43 billion euro ($47 billion) plan for its semiconductor industry in an attempt to catch up with the United States and Asia and start a green industrial revolution. The EU Chips Act, proposed by the European Commission last year and confirmed by Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, aims to double the bloc's share of global chip output to 20% by 2030 and follows the U.S. CHIPS for America Act. "We need chips to power digital and green transitions or healthcare systems," Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said in a tweet. Since the announcement of its chips subsidies plan last year, the EU has already attracted more than 100 billion euros in public and private investments, an EU official said. While the Commission had originally proposed funding only cutting-edge chip plants, EU governments and lawmakers have widened the scope to cover the whole value chain, including older chips and research and design facilities.

☆ EU urges firm results, green alliance from US trade talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, April 12 (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union need to produce clear results next month from their forum on trade and technology and forge closer ties on green products and technology, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Wednesday. "We should also be aiming to move forward on digital and sustainable trade," Dombrovskis said. The transatlantic partners should, he said, help set common standards for green goods and technologies, ensure fair competition and build resilient supply chains. Dombrovskis said the two should work to align the domestic supports of the IRA and the EU Green Deal, so "turbo-charging" the green transition. In my view, we should be aiming for nothing less than a green transatlantic marketplace," Dombrovskis said.

ChatGPT has an "absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" to "train" the chatbot, Garante said. OpenAI has 20 days to respond with remedies or could risk a fine of up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover. ChatGPT was still answering questions posted by Italian users on the platform on Friday evening. Italy, which provisionally restricted ChatGPT's use of domestic users' personal data, became the first Western country to take action against a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence. The European Commission, which is debating the EU AI Act, may not be inclined to ban AI, European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager tweeted.

☆ EU's Vestager optimistic for U.S.-EU battery minerals deal similar to Japan's
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday that she is optimistic that an electric vehicle battery minerals trade agreement can soon be reached with the United States that is similar in substance to this week's U.S.-Japan deal. Vestager told reporters in Washington that European Union and U.S. negotiators are working on legal frameworks that would be different from the Japan deal. "And that is what has been holding up things, but we are quite optimistic that we can reach an agreement about the same sort of substantial scope as the Japanese." Reporting by David LawderOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: EU patent body to be involved in tech-standard patent royalties -EU draft rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Standard-essential patents cover technology that devices must include to comply with international standards like 4G, Wi-Fi and USB. Some standards entail thousands of essential patents, and their owners are required to offer licenses on fair and reasonable terms. "The FRAND determination procedure should simplify and speed up negotiations concerning FRAND terms and reduce costs. FRAND (fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory) terms are often used in relation to technical standards that are developed through an industry-led standardisation process. "This is necessary because disagreements about the FRAND terms are the main reason to seek recourse in courts," the document said.

☆ Exclusive: EU patent body to oversee tech-standard patent royalties -EU draft rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Some standards entail thousands of essential patents, and their owners are required to offer licenses on fair and reasonable terms. The EUIPO should administer the procedure," said the European Commission document seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The draft regulation requires EUIPO to set up a register of standard essential patents (SEP) and companies to sign up if they want to charge patent fees or take legal action. European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager is scheduled to announce the draft regulation on April 26, according to a Commission agenda. The draft rules need to be agreed with EU countries and the European Parliament before they can become law.

☆ EU competition chief flags fresh probes into multinationals' tax deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 20 (Reuters) - EU regulators are likely to open investigations into tax deals between EU countries and multinationals after reviewing their arrangements in the previous decade, the bloc's competition chief warned on Monday. European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, who has ordered Apple (AAPL.O) to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland and Amazon (AMZN.O) 250 million euros to Luxembourg, among a dozen cases, has said such tax deals amount to illegal tax breaks. Despite her crackdown, Vestager said aggressive tax planning "is still with us". She did, however, get the court's backing for her order to Engie to pay back taxes of 120 million euros to Luxembourg. And Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have all changed their tax practices in response to her tax crusade.

☆ EU Draft Law Sets Out Moves to Secure Critical Energy Transition Materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

According to draft legislation seen by The Wall Street Journal, the Critical Raw Materials Act aims to set standards and promote policy designed to ensure Europe has the metals and minerals it deems necessary for its energy transition and defense and energy security. The Critical Raw Materials Act will also make it easier to mine and process the materials within the bloc; establish a European Critical Minerals Board; identify strategic projects to mine, process and recycle the materials; and work to ensure those projects have quick permitting and sufficient funding. It also said the EU should be able to extract 10% and process 40% of its strategic raw material needs while also expanding recycling capacity so that 15% of consumption can come from secondary sources by 2030. Other countries such as Japan have put in place similar plans to secure raw materials. Raw materials projects could also be labeled as being in the public interest or as strategic, which could further streamline funding.

☆ EU Draft Law Sets Out Moves to Secure Supply of Critical Energy Transition Materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

According to draft legislation seen by The Wall Street Journal, the Critical Raw Materials Act aims to set standards and promote policy designed to ensure Europe has the metals and minerals it deems necessary for its energy transition and defense and energy security. The Critical Raw Materials Act will also make it easier to mine and process the materials within the bloc; establish a European Critical Minerals Board; identify strategic projects to mine, process and recycle the materials; and work to ensure those projects have quick permitting and sufficient funding. The purchasing system would negotiate with global sellers but will be structured to comply with EU competition law. Other countries such as Japan have put in place similar plans to secure raw materials. Raw materials projects could also be labeled as being in the public interest or as strategic, which could further streamline funding.

☆ Europe to Target ‘Big Fish’ Companies in New Foreign-Subsidy Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said the European Commission would attempt to keep red tape to a minimum. BRUSSELS—The European Union will aim to minimize the burden on companies to comply with tough new rules for reporting foreign subsidies, the bloc’s competition chief said, focusing instead on what she referred to as the “big fish” that distort the European market. The new foreign-subsidy rules, set to take effect later this year, could allow the EU to bar companies from making certain acquisitions or winning large public contracts if they previously received government aid that regulators consider to be distortive.

☆ EU's Vestager says scrutiny of competition in metaverse already needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) - The metaverse, shared virtual worlds accessible via the Internet, is the next digital market to attract regulatory scrutiny, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday. "It's already time for us to start asking what healthy competition would look like in the metaverse," Vestager said a conference organised by Keystone Strategy. Vestager asked whether it would change the equation when there are competing digital realities and language AI models like ChatGPT. She said regulatory scrutiny of digital markets has been escalating worldwide in the last three years. "And there's a much wider political debate that digital markets need careful attention.

☆ EU Ire Over Biden’s Green Subsidies Eases as Bloc Weighs Countermeasures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said some industries, such as wind turbines, could be drawn by U.S. subsidies. BRUSSELS—Europe is dialing back its criticism of U.S. clean-energy subsidies, after months of denunciations of the measures contained in a package of climate, tax and healthcare legislation signed by President Biden last year. European Union Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager , one of the bloc’s leading voices on the issue, said in an interview that closer analysis of the subsidies suggests the main threats to European competitiveness will be limited to a handful of sectors.

☆ Europe Tempers Criticism of Biden’s Green Subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said some industries, such as wind turbines, could be drawn by U.S. subsidies. BRUSSELS—Europe is dialing back its criticism of U.S. clean-energy subsidies, after months of denunciations of the measures contained in a package of climate, tax and healthcare legislation signed by President Biden last year. European Union Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager , one of the bloc’s leading voices on the issue, said in an interview that a closer analysis of the subsidies suggests the main threats to European competitiveness will be limited to a handful of sectors.

☆ Privacy Regulators Step Up Oversight of AI Use in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Catherine Stupp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

European privacy regulators are intensifying their scrutiny of companies’ use of artificial intelligence, hiring experts and opening new units to crack down on data violations. “AI is appearing in all sectors,” said Kari Laumann, head of a division for research, analysis and policy at Norway’s data protection authority. The regulator’s office has worked with 64 companies to test AI initiatives under its supervision, in a program started in 2020. Regulators have fined companies for privacy failings in their AI applications in recent years, but European data protection officials and privacy analysts say it is still unclear how to apply some aspects of European privacy law to the technology. Mr. Jairaj said he expects the EU’s coming legislation to force companies to look closely at third-party suppliers of AI products.

☆ In EU car data tussle, insurers and others brace for delays, disappointment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Companies in Europe and beyond are vying for control of the crown jewels of the connected car era, namely car manufacturers' data covering everything from driving habits, to fuel consumption and tyre wear which can be used to target cash-generating services. Although the EU is currently haggling over the Data Act, a draft law governing the use of consumer and corporate data, insurers and others are pushing for auto sector-specific regulation. A proposal is expected soon after the European Commission launched a consultation last year. Ten industry groups also wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in January urging an end to "repeated delays". A spokesperson for the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said the Data Act would guarantee fair access to car data, so "additional legislation on access to in-vehicle data is unlikely to achieve more".

☆ Eleven EU countries urge 'great caution' in loosening state aid rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Eleven European Union countries urged "great caution" in relaxing the bloc's state aid rules in a bid to support Europe's green industry in a global race, saying that risked damaging competition inside the bloc, a document showed. The Commission proposed easing EU restrictions on state aid for investments in renewable energy or decarbonising industry, partly in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. "EU state aid rules should be designed taking into account the value added at the level of EU as a whole. EU state aid rules should protect the level playing field on the EU internal market," it said. The European Commission initially also proposed creating a special fund meant to help poorer EU countries dole out more state aid.

☆ Apple tries to be both desirable and predictable
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In 2018, the company’s enterprise value was equivalent to 3 times estimated revenue for the year ahead, according to Refinitiv. One way to make sense of that is to break Apple’s valuation into parts. Deduct that from Apple’s enterprise value, and investors are pricing the services business at $1 trillion, around 10 times forecast revenue. Whether it’s justified, though, depends on what services Apple is peddling, and how steady and subscription-like they are. If 20% of Apple’s services are cyclical, for example, and investors put the same multiple of sales as those peers, the company's fair share price drops 5%.

☆ Biden's IRA has left Europe blind-sided. And playing catchup could lead to 2 big mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"U.S. legislation doesn't pass overnight," Emre Peker, director at the consultancy group Eurasia, told CNBC, adding that the EU could have acted faster. Luisa Santos, deputy director at BusinessEurope, a group of business federations, told CNBC that "it is still a bit early to say who will invest where." watch nowBelgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo told CNBC that more state aid "is not a good answer." Several other experts have also raised concerns about easing state aid rules. Slow to respondIn addition to challenges with state aid relaxation, timing is also a risk.

☆ Exclusive: European telecoms' advertising venture set for EU approval -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Vodafone's (VOD.L) plan to take on Big Tech with their own advertising joint venture is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval, people familiar with the matter said. The joint venture marks the telecoms sector's first attempt to take on Meta (META.O) and Alphabet'S (GOOGL.O) Google in the lucrative online advertising sector and diversify their revenue streams. Google is the world's leading seller of online advertising, well ahead of Meta, with the business generating about 80% of its revenue. The EU competition enforcer describes the joint venture as a privacy-led, digital identification solution to support the digital marketing and advertising activities of brands and publishers. Earlier this week, pan-European consumer lobbying group BEUC voiced concerns over how data would be collected by the joint venture and how the partners aim to get users' consent.

☆ Sony's gaming chief met EU's Vestager on Microsoft's Activision deal -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Sony's gaming chief Jim Ryan met EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday to discuss Microsoft's (MSFT.O) $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O), a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Microsoft is looking to Activision to help it compete better with leaders Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T). The person declined to provide details of the discussion between Ryan and Vestager. The European Commission, which is scheduled to rule on the deal by April 11, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the deal while UK regulators have also expressed concerns.

☆ Comply with EU rules or face ban, Breton tells TikTok CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We will not hesitate to adopt the full scope of sanctions to protect our citizens if audits do not show full compliance," Breton said. TikTok said in response that it was committed to the DSA, and had also outlined its efforts to comply with other EU legislation, such as GDPR data protections rules and a code of practice on disinformation. "The safety of our users is paramount," Caroline Greer, TikTok's director of public policy and government relations, tweeted. It is not acceptable that behind seemingly fun and harmless features, it takes users seconds to access harmful and sometimes even life-threatening content," Breton said. "The DSA includes dissuasive sanctions including a ban in the EU in case of repeated serious breaches threatening the life or safety of people," he said.

☆ Spotify joins media firms to urge EU action against Apple's 'unfair' practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify Technology (SPOT.N), along with other media firms such as Deezer, urged the European Commission to take action against Apple Inc (AAPL.O) for anticompetitive and unfair practices, in a joint industry letter on Wednesday. The letter, addressed to the European Union antitrust regulator's Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, demanded the Commission to act fast for the welfare of European consumers. Spotify has for years accused Apple of abusing its market position using its App Store rules to stifle competition. "We are writing to you to call for swift and decisive action by the European Commission against anticompetitive and unfair practices by certain global digital gatekeepers, and Apple in particular," read the letter, which was signed by chief executives of media firms Schibsted, Proton and Basecamp. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ E.U. outlines plan for clean tech future boosted by subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“We know that we have a small window to invest in clean tech and innovation to gain leadership before the fossil fuel economy becomes obsolete,” von der Leyen said. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 17, 2023. “We have a compelling need to make this net-zero transition without creating new dependencies,” von der Leyen said. already waved through 672 billion euros ($727.5 billion) in aid to allow member states to deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, any E.U. member states, European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager wrote last week that the U.S. plan “risks luring some of our E.U.

☆ Constantine, the former and last king of Greece, dies at 82
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

ATHENS, Greece — Constantine, the former and last king of Greece, who won an Olympic gold medal before becoming entangled in his country’s volatile politics in the 1960s as king and spent decades in exile, has died. Prince Constantine on his sailboat at the Olympics in 1960. With minimal nostalgia for the monarchy in Greece, Constantine became a relatively uncontroversial figure. Crown Prince Constantine, left, arrives at the Raiding Forces' Headquarters on July 5, 1956. Prince Charles and King Constantine II of Greece attend Sunday service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in King's Lynn, England, on Dec. 9, 2007.

☆ TikTok CEO, EU's Vestager chatted about data harvesting, spying
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 10 (Reuters) - TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew and the EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager discussed on Tuesday "aggressive" data harvesting and surveillance in the United States, the European Commission said. The short-video app, which is owned by Chinese technology conglomerate ByteDance, last month admitted that some of its employees improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists to try to identify the source of information leaks to the media. "At the meeting the parties also discussed GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and matters of privacy and data transfer obligations with a reference to the recent press reporting on aggressive data harvesting and surveillance in the U.S," it said. Chew is scheduled to meet Values and Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourova and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson after Vestager. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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