The Trump administration is pressing the European Union to accept blanket tariffs in the range of 15% or more, well above the level the bloc had initially negotiated with the U.S., people familiar with the matter said.

Microsoft will likely sign the European Union's code of practice to help companies comply with the bloc's landmark artificial intelligence rules, its president told Reuters on Friday, while Meta Platforms rebuffed the guidelines.

Crafting a budget for 27 countries stretching from Lapland to Lisbon is a fiddly process. In fiscal terms the “multi-annual financial framework”, as it is known in Brussels patois, is of peripheral concern.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has unveiled a proposal for a long-term EU budget that she says will total $2.3 trillion.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that he believed the negotiations between the European Union and the US on a solution to their trade dispute were in the final phase. Speaking to reporters at the traditional summer press conference in Berlin,

A law letting the government block freedom of movement could be a deal-breaker for the EU. Yet a fudge might still be found. Switzerland’s government seems, after decades of hesitation, to have come round on the need for tighter integration with Europe, even if some Swiss would prefer to stop the clock. ■

European Union member states approved the launch of negotiations with six Gulf countries as the bloc seeks to broaden its international partnerships amid tariff threats from President Donald Trump.

Iceland will launch talks on a security and defence partnership with the European Union, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir said on Thursday at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Keflavik.