Von der Leyen, Costa and Kallas Endorsed for the EU’s Top Jobs. Here’s Who They Are and What They Do

Following the elections for EU Parliament, European Union leaders have agreed on the officials who will hold the key positions in the world’s biggest trading bloc in the coming years for issues ranging from antitrust investigations to foreign policy, the Associated Press reported. The three nominees will lead the EU’s powerful executive branch — the European Commission — and the forum where the 27 member countries are represented, the European Council, with the final nominee being the bloc’s top diplomat.

Germany
European Union
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ECB Not in a Hurry to Cut Rates Further, Lagarde Says

The European Central Bank needs more time to conclude that inflation is firmly on a path to 2% and benign economic developments indicate that rate cuts are not urgent, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Monday, Reuters reported. The ECB lowered rates for the first time in June after its most aggressive rate hike spree on record, but held back on committing to any subsequent moves, arguing that the outlook was far too uncertain to telegraph a second cut.

European Union
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EU Refines Tariff Rates Set to Hit Electric Vehicles From China

The European Union marginally revised its proposed tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China after receiving more information from the affected companies, Bloomberg News reported. The new provisional rates — which will come on top of the existing 10% duty — are: Other EV producers in China that cooperated with the investigation but have not been sampled will be subject to a weighted average duty of 20.8%, while firms that didn’t cooperate will face an additional 37.6% levy. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, notified the companies earlier this month about the tariffs.
European Union
China
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EU to Delay Core Element of Basel Bank Capital Reforms by One Year

The European Union will delay a core element of global reforms to bank capital rules by one year to January 2026, the bloc's financial services chief said on Tuesday, to ensure a level playing field between EU banks and their U.S. rivals, Reuters reported. Countries are introducing the last batch of a global bank capital accord known as Basel III, rolled out after taxpayers were forced to bail out lenders in the global financial crisis of 2007-09.
European Union
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EU Probes into Chinese Subsidies and Imports

The European Union will apply additional duties of up to 38% on imported Chinese electric vehicles from July in a latest effort to protect home-grown manufacturers, Reuters reported. It has also launched several probes into whether Chinese clean tech producers are dumping subsidised goods on EU markets and whether Chinese-owned companies unfairly benefit from subsidies while operating inside the European Union. The European Commission, which is carrying out the investigations, says its aim is to prevent unfair competition and market distortion.
European Union
China
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Poland Expects to Face EU Infringement Procedure Over Deficit

Poland’s Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski expects the country will face the European Union’s procedure for its excessive deficit last year, Bloomberg News reported. Domanski told reporters on Monday he hopes the EU’s executive will be lenient in demanding budget cuts because the government needs to increase defense spending. “The procedure will be definitely launched,” he said on the sidelines of a financial congress in Sopot, northern Poland.
Poland
European Union
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EU Car Registrations Jump on Growth in Major Markets, Extra Sales Days

New car registrations in the European Union jumped in April, driven by strong performance in major markets and the benefit of two extra selling days, the Wall Street Journal reported. Registrations, which reflect sales, rose about 14% on year, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said Wednesday. Consumers in Spain, Germany, France and Italy boosted the EU car industry after a slump in March. An early Easter holiday also helped, giving April two extra days of sales compared with a year ago, ACEA said.
European Union
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ECB Says Risks to Financial Stability Have Eased as Threat of Recession Recedes

The eurozone’s financial system faces less acute threats to stability as it appears increasingly unlikely that the currency area’s economy will slide into a deep recession, the European Central Bank said. However, the central bank warned that geopolitical and policy uncertainty remains “elevated” and that the potential for economic or financial shocks remains “high,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “Geopolitical risks continue to cloud the outlook for financial stability,” ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos said Thursday.
European Union
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Crypto Trading Concentration a 'Considerable Concern', EU Watchdog Says

The high concentration in crypto trading on a handful of exchanges, with Binance alone accounting for about half the market, raises concerns about the impact of a failure on the sector, the EU's securities watchdog said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The bloc is rolling out the world's first comprehensive set of rules to regulate trading in cryptoassets such as bitcoin, Ether and Tether, requiring exchanges to be authorised. The European Securities and Markets Authority's detailed analysis of what's being traded and by whom found that so far the euro currency plays only a minor role.
European Union
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EU Leaders to Call for Harmonised EU Bankruptcy, Corporate Tax Laws

European Union leaders will call next week for a harmonisation of the 27-nation bloc's bankruptcy and corporate tax laws to attract more private capital for the EU shift to renewable energy and a more digital economy, a draft document showed, Reuters reported. Draft conclusions of a summit of EU leaders scheduled for April 17-18, seen by Reuters, also showed leaders would call for the development of a European securitisation market and for better supervision of cross-border financial market actors.
European Union
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