By Caroline Nelly PERROT Agence France-Presse BILLY-BERCLAU, France, May 30, 2023 (AFP) — France will launch its first battery factory for electric cars on Tuesday, taking a big step in its race to build up a sector dominated by China. Building up the battery industry is at the heart of President Emmanuel Macron’s “reindustrialization” plan for France, with a clutch of factories set to emerge in the north of the country over the next three […]
Tag: EU
EU warns Korean Air’s Asiana bid could limit competition
BRUSSELS, May 17, 2023 (AFP) – The EU said on Wednesday it feared the takeover by South Korean flag-carrier Korean Air of smaller troubled rival airline Asiana could restrict competition on routes between Europe and South Korea. Korean Air in late 2020 said it would buy out Asiana for $1.6 billion at the time as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the worldwide aviation industry, grounding planes. The European Commission, the bloc’s powerful anti-trust authority, […]
EU will support peace negotiations in Colombia: Envoy
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AFP) — The European Union will support upcoming peace talks between the Colombian government and dissident factions of the disarmed FARC guerrillas, the bloc’s diplomacy chief said Wednesday. “I am impressed by what President (Gustavo) Petro wants to do with his ‘total peace’ project,” said Josep Borrell, who arrived in Colombia Tuesday. “The European Union will accompany this process in every way we can, politically and economically.” Petro has been pursuing negotiations in […]
EU’s Borrell asks European navies to patrol Taiwan Strait
Paris, France | AFP | Saturday 4/23/2023 EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on European navies to patrol the disputed Taiwan Strait, in a opinion piece in a French weekly published Sunday. Borrell’s comments in the Journal Du Dimanche, echo comments he made last week when he stressed how crucial Taiwan is to Europe. Taiwan “concerns us economically, commercially and technologically”, Borrell said. “That’s why I call on European navies to patrol the Taiwan […]
EU parliament approves world’s most sweeping cryptocurrency rules
The European Parliament approved the world’s first comprehensive rules to regulate the “Wild West” world of cryptocurrencies on Thursday, hoping to protect investors against abuse and manipulation. EU member states have already backed the legislation covering cryptoassets, which include cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum and other tradable tokens whose value is secured using blockchain technology, such as NFTs. The rules, now approved by a large majority of European lawmakers, hope to whip into shape […]
Lula says US should stop ‘encouraging’ war in Ukraine
Beijing, China | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Saturday that the United States should stop “encouraging war” in Ukraine “and start talking about peace”. “The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace, the European Union needs to start talking about peace,” Lula told reporters in Beijing at the end of a visit where he met with President Xi Jinping. In that way, the […]
The flying hospital bringing Ukraine’s wounded west
by Pierre-Henry DESHAYES and Viken KANTARCI Agence France-Presse ON BOARD A BOEING 737 MEDEVAC PLANE, Poland (AFP) — You can see the pain held just in check in the faces of Ukraine’s war wounded as they are evacuated in a flying hospital. “It’s the first time I’ve taken a plane,” says 22-year-old Mykola Fedirko, who was hit by a shell holding off Russian troops in a trench in the Donetsk region. “I would have loved […]
EU to unveil green tech plans to take on US, China
by Raziye Akkoc Agence France Presse Brussels, Belgium (AFP) The EU will reveal hotly debated proposals on Thursday to boost spending on clean tech, possibly overcoming internal divisions to include nuclear energy in the mix, to confront growing industrial competition from the United States and China. Brussels wants to protect European businesses by prioritising green technologies, including solar and wind, for more financing and greater regulatory freedom. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will […]
EU chief wants ‘level playing field’ with China
STRASBOURG, France (AFP) — The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said Monday she wants to avoid economic dependence on Beijing, but not fully “decouple” the EU’s economy from China. Explaining the stance she took last week when she visited US President Joe Biden, Brussels’ top official said the European Union was merely seeking a level playing field. The pair’s joint statement was a small step in resolving differences over trans-Atlantic trade, […]
EU will never accept Russia threat to its security: von der Leyen
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addressing Canada’s parliament on Tuesday during a visit to bolster support for Ukraine, said Europe would never accept Russian threats to its security. “We will never accept that a military power with fantasies of empire rolls its tanks across an international border,” she said in a speech more than one year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc, she added, “will never […]
EU parliament bans TikTok on work devices
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The European Parliament has told staff to purge TikTok from devices used for work because of data protection concerns, after similar moves by the EU’s main governing bodies last week. The parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, and the secretary-general, Alessandro Chiocchetti, decided TikTok must not be used or installed on staff devices such as mobile phones, tablets or laptops from March 20, according to a note issued Tuesday. “As of this […]
One billion users, but bans mount up for TikTok
by Jules BONNARD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — TikTok’s breakneck rise from niche video-sharing app to global social media behemoth has brought plenty of scrutiny, particularly over its links to China. The European Commission is the latest organization to ban the app from its equipment, following similar moves in the United States. So is TikTok a spying tool for Beijing, a fun app, or both? – Under pressure – Global action against TikTok, owned […]





