The European Union signed a free trade agreement with New Zealand on Monday that the two sides expect will increase bilateral trade by up to 30% within a decade, the Associated Press reported. New Zealand will gain up to 1.8 billion New Zealand dollars ($1.1 billion; €1 billion) in exports to the 27-country bloc every year, a government statement said. The European Union signed a free trade agreement with New Zealand on Monday that the two sides expect will increase bilateral trade by up to 30% within a decade.

The European Commission announced a new data transfer pact with the United States on Monday, seeking to end the legal uncertainty plaguing thousands of companies which transfer personal data across the Atlantic, Reuters reported. However, the move was immediately criticised by non-profit group noyb, led by privacy activist Max Schrems, which said it would challenge the agreement.

The European Union on Wednesday proposed making the payments sector more competitive, giving legal backing to a digital euro, and preserving the role of cash as fewer people use coins and notes, Reuters reported. The package of European Commission reforms seeks to further prise open a payments market long dominated by banks and U.S. duo Visa and Mastercard, which are now being challenged by fintechs that offer rival services using data from customers' bank accounts.

The UK and the European Union signed a long-awaited memorandum of understanding on financial services on Tuesday, marking a moment of accord amid years of wrangling over post-Brexit co-operation, Bloomberg News reported. Jeremy Hunt approved the memo with Commissioner Mairead McGuinness during the first visit to Brussels by a UK chancellor in more than three years.

The European Union is due on Wednesday to publish draft rules that give legal underpinnings for a digital euro, if the European Central Bank decided to issue one in coming years, Reuters reported. Central banks across the world, from China and Japan to Brazil, Britain and Canada are looking into digital versions of their currencies to avoid a gap in faster payments being filled by the private sector as the use of cash dwindles.

The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a new trade doctrine aimed at curbing China’s ability to squeeze Europe’s economy, and at preventing European companies from exporting sensitive, military-linked technology that could give China an edge, the New York Times reported. The policy, still in its early stages, highlights how the European Union is seeking to align itself with the United States in limiting China’s access to sensitive markets and industrial secrets. It also reflects growing concerns about Beijing’s deepening alliance with Moscow.

The European Union's powerful lending arm, the European Investment Bank, expects to back its first 'debt-for-nature' swap this year as it bolsters efforts to stem biodiversity loss, Reuters reported. Debt-for-nature swaps, which help countries cut their debt in return for conservation commitments, are attracting growing interest after Ecuador's record $1.6 billion deal last month to protect the Galapagos Islands. "We are working with a number of countries," Maria Shaw-Barragan, a Director of Lending at the 'EIB Global' arm of the bank that lends outside the EU, told Reuters.

The European Union was set to unveil on Tuesday an aid package for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros ($55 bln), two officials said ahead of a formal announcement, Reuters reported. The figure - due to be unveiled by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - comes after a review of the bloc's 2021-27 budget and ahead of an international conference in London on Wednesday and Thursday on raising funds to rebuild Ukraine from a war Russia unleashed on it a year and a half ago.

The European Commission asked EU governments on Tuesday to come up with an extra 10 billion euros for 2024-27 to leverage a total of 160 billion euros worth of investment in key technologies, including renewable energy, Reuters reported. The call comes as the European Union executive is reviewing the bloc's long-term budget that totals around 1% of the EU's GDP and pays for various joint European policies.

The European Union took an important step on Wednesday toward passing what would be one of the first major laws to regulate artificial intelligence, a potential model for policymakers around the world as they grapple with how to put guardrails on the rapidly developing technology, the New York Times reported. The European Parliament, a main legislative branch of the European Union, passed a draft law known as the A.I. Act, which would put new restrictions on what are seen as the technology’s riskiest uses.