Good morning. News to start: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said it is time for European weapons companies to stop complaining and starting, and saying the financial times that Berlin’s military expenditures meant that industry no longer apologized for a slow production.
Today, our reporters will inform you of a busy weekend in the EU-US Trade-stand-off when Brussels achieved Donald Trump’s newest threat, and Laura joins our technical correspondent to report on new guidelines to protect children that are revealed today.
Fire
Taking revenge or not taking revenge – that is the question today occupied EU trading ministers, as they meet in Brussels to discuss Donald Trump’s rate war, to write Andy Bounds And Alice Hancock.
Context: The US President has increased the pressure on the EU on Saturday by announcing “reciprocal” rates from 1. Months of negotiations between the US and the EU.
In response to the last increase, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday that plans to achieve € 21 billion in annual American import with counter-Tariffs tomorrow would be postponed.
She said the EU would continue to talk to next month’s deadline.
Two diplomats said that a second retribution package, which is expected to cover € 72 billion in annual American imports, would be sent to the Member States for deliberations today.
EU ambassadors met yesterday to be informed about the conversations and were largely supported in the current approach of the committee, according to people who are familiar with the discussions.
The Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said that Trump’s announcement was “regrettable”, and added: “The EU will respond in a united way.”
But some governments get impatient with passivity.
“It is quite embarrassing how timid and powerless we are in this process,” said a senior EU diplomat. “We were told that it would be a negotiation between partners, but it is actually that we sit and wait [Trump] To make a decision. “
“Countermeasures will have to come if the negotiations fail,” said another.
An unspoken fear is that Trump would take revenge in other ways, for example cutting the sale of American weapons to Ukraine or pulling troops from Europe. “He has an escalation -dominance,” said a third EU diplomat.
“The context of the war in Ukraine inevitably limits the scope for action and everyone is confronted with the challenge of dealing with a Mad-Neushoorn,” said Ignacio Garcia Bercero, a former commission officer and Fellow at the Bruegel Think tank.
Business leaders and agricultural groups have also lobbyed against tariff measures that Trump can encourage to respond with even higher levies. It was said that they would give the certainty of fixed rates over constant changes (although they expected 10 percent, instead of the last digit).
While the ministers are dripping for today’s meeting, the public statements expects the EU to be ready to respond. But in private, most will endorse the cautious movements of the committee and pray that the bond and stock markets come their help.
Chart du Jour: disconnected
The Netherlands is one of the fastest European countries to electrify critical parts of the economy, but grid bottlenecks contribute to high electricity costs.
Verified
Five European countries will start testing a New Age Verification app to better protect children online, to write Barbara Moens And Laura Dubois.
Context: The technical chef of the EU Henna Virkkunen has made the digital protection of minors an important focus. Various technology companies, such as meta and Taphave already been investigated for their potentially addictive designs.
Today, the Minister of Digital Affairs Caroline Stage of Virkkun and Denmark will announce new guidelines for the online protection of minors, as well as a prototype for an age verification app.
Denmark, France, Italy, Spain and Greece participate in the pilot for the Age Verification app, according to people who are familiar with the launch.
The app, a precursor of the EU digital identity portion in 2026, enables users to verify their age without making personal information known to platforms. The EU idea is to make this the “gold standard” for Age Assurance online, because it does not allow individual users to follow.
In addition, the guidelines that must be published today will give recommendations about tackling addictive design of online platforms, cyberbullying, undesirable contact of strangers and harmful content, according to a design seen by the FT.
Virkkunen has appealed to technology companies to take voluntary measures to better protect children instead of waiting for governments to withdraw. “Platforms have no excuse to be continuous practices that endanger children,” said Virkkunen.
What to view today
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NATO-Secretary General Mark Rutte travels to Washington for one two -day visit.
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EU ministers of trade meet.
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EU ministers of agriculture and fishing meet.
