Full coverage: EU

Friday’s €120m fine against Elon Musk’s social media site, which has its EU office in Ireland, is on the lower end of the spectrum. Now is the European Commission ready for a battle with the billionaire on reforms to the platform?

The EU is planning an expansive effort to loosen state aid rules for local authorities on housing. The Department of Housing has seconded officials to help.

The $20bn AI firm had used an Irish company as a point of contact for EU tech laws on compliance measures such as GDPR, but in recent weeks shifted that function to an Austrian outfit.

Commissioner Michael McGrath is spearheading new measures to preserve democracy against AI threats. The US administration and big tech won’t take a new slate of rules lying down.

Ireland’s critique of the EU-Mercosur trade deal is causing increasing frustration in Brussels but MEPs are taking their time to pore over the fine print on new safeguards for farmers.

The EU justice commissioner Michael McGrath wants tougher powers to investigate Chinese e-commerce giants and will propose reforms to give the EU executive greater powers to probe companies like Shein and Temu.

A year on from the Draghi report, Julius Baer’s Yves Bonzon spoke to The Currency about the Swiss bank’s Dublin office and the state of Europe’s competitiveness.

The Government has unveiled its strategy on competitiveness, talking up Ireland as an “IP hub”, but a vote on the UPC isn’t in sight. All the while, measures on SME funding were light on detail.

The Government missed the deadline on a new EU directive that harmonises criminal offences around sanctions violations. The rules are aimed at better enforcing measures against Russia.

As Europe’s energy crisis deepens, Germany’s rising reliance on imports reflects a broader EU retreat from energy independence. A new EU-US energy deal, framed as a solution, risks locking in long-term fossil fuel dependence, undermining climate goals and strategic autonomy.