All posts tagged "Eu"

Secretary of State Marco Rubio extended what could be viewed as a hollow "congratulations" to Switzerland Friday as it celebrated its nation's founding just a day after President Donald Trump imposed the highest tariff on any European nation.

"I extend my congratulations to the people of Switzerland on your National Day, August 1," Rubio wrote in a press statement. "The United States values its strong and steady relationship with Switzerland. Our cooperation spans trade, finance, and security areas where Swiss leadership and reliability continue to make a global impact."

Politico reporter Douglas Busvine wrote, "Normally on Aug. 1, the country of 9 million commemorates the founding of the Swiss Confederation in the year 1291. As on July 4 in the U.S., people celebrate with fireworks and parades." ...

Critics of President Donald Trump denounced Friday's announcement that he was "recommending" huge tariffs on the European Union as well as Apple, which — once again — caused the stock markets to take a dive.

Trump posted on social media that he was punishing the EU for being "very difficult to deal with" on trade by "recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025."

Trump also threatened Apple with a 25% tariff for not manufacturing iPhones in the United States....

Strongman Viktor Orbán's Hungary stood fast in it support of President Donald Trump Wednesday, becoming the only European nation voting against imposing reciprocal trade tariffs, according to new reporting in Politico.

The other 26 countries in the European Union voted to retaliate with 25% tariffs on some $23 billion of U.S. products. Politico reported that 14 EU countries would have needed to vote against the retaliation, "which had been seen as unlikely considering the shows of unity in recent weeks."

After the vote, the European Commission said in a statement, "The E.U. considers U.S. tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy. The E.U. has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the U.S., which would be balanced and mutually beneficial."...

The European Commission announced an investigation into Meta's handling of political advertising on its Facebook and Instagram platforms on Tuesday ahead of the June 6-9 EU elections. EU officials are concerned that the US technology company's handling of political content risks undermining the democratic process of the European Parliament elections. Fears are rife that deliberately misleading content from outside actors could interfere with the fairness of the European elections. European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová said at an event in Brussels that to protect the electoral process......

The European Parliament passed stricter migration and asylum rules in the European Union on Wednesday, after years of internal dispute and against the backdrop of rising EU asylum applications. "It has been more than 10 years in the making," the EU legislature's President Roberta Metsola said on X, formerly Twitter. "But we kept our word." At a press conference later, Metsola spoke of a package that is "fair with those eligible for protection, that is firm with those who are not, and that is strong against the traffickers and the networks preying on the most vulnerable of people." A packed and......

EU leaders issued their first joint demand for a humanitarian ceasefire and the release of all hostages in Gaza in joint summit statement on Thursday. The statement called for "an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire" and repeated condemnations of the attacks by Palestinian militant movement Hamas against Israel on October 7. In the aftermath of the Hamas attacks, EU leaders managed in October to only call together for "humanitarian corridors and pauses" in Gaza to allow aid to reach Palestinian civilians. European Council President Charles Michel called the statemen......