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The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator rose to 117.8 in September, from 117.6 in August

Euro zone sentiment defies expectations of drop

Euro zone economic sentiment edged higher in September after a fall in August, boosted by optimism among consumers and in the industry and construction sectors.

Business • 29 Sep 21

Google is trying to get Europe to annul a €4.3 billion fine and a European Commission order to make it loosen its search engine grip on Android devices

Google defends Android phone maker deals

Alphabet's Google today said that deals with Android phone makers that landed it a record €4.3 billion competition fine boosted competition as it rejected EU charges they were a carrot-and-stick tactic that stifled rivals.

Business • 28 Sep 21

Google has launched a bid to get Europe's second-highest court to annul a record €4.34 billion fine related to its Android operating system

Google slams regulators for ignoring Apple

Alphabet unit Google has today criticised EU competition regulators for ignoring rival Apple as it launched a bid to get Europe's second-highest court to annul a record €4.34 billion fine related to its Android operating system.

Business • 27 Sep 21

A shortage of semiconductors has posed one of the biggest risks to the EU's rebound from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic

EU plans 'Chips Act' to promote self-sufficiency

The European Commission has today announced plans for a new chipmaking "ecosystem", to keep the EU competitive and self-sufficient after a global semiconductor shortage showed the hazards of relying on Asian and US suppliers.

Business • 15 Sep 21

The letter from the bank supervisors was addressed to Commissioners Mairead McGuinness and John Berrigan

EU supervisors call for implementation of banking rules

A group of bank supervisors from across the European Union have today called for the bloc to implement global banking rules agreed to prevent a repeat of the global financial crisis.

Business • 07 Sep 21

Google topped the lobbying spending at €5.75m, a new report shows today

Google, Facebook, Microsoft top EU lobbying spending

Alphabet's Google unit, Facebook and Microsoft are the three biggest lobbying spenders in Europe in a battle against tough new laws aimed at curbing US tech giants' powers, a study released today showed.

Business • 31 Aug 21

Nvidia, the world's biggest maker of graphics and AI chips, announced the Arm deal last year

Nvidia set to seek EU okay for Arm deal - source

Nvidia is likely to seek EU competition approval for its $54 billion takeover of British chip designer Arm early next month.

Business • 27 Aug 21

Goolgle has long faced scrutiny from competition enforcers and consumer groups around the world over its business practices

Google gets 2 months to improve hotel, flight searches

Alphabet unit Google has two months to improve the way it presents internet search results for flights and hotels and explain how it ranks these or face possible sanctions, the European Commission and EU consumer authorities said today.

Business • 26 Jul 21

The Volkswagen Group and BMW have been fined a total of €875m between them

BMW, Volkswagen Group fined for restricting competition

The European Commission said today that three German carmakers breached EU competition rules by restricting competition in emission cleaning for new passenger diesel cars.

Business • 08 Jul 21

Irish GDP grew by 7.8% in the first quarter of 2021, driven by strong export volumes from multinational companies

European Commission raises Irish GDP growth forecasts

The European Commission has revised upwards the country's GDP growth projections to 7.2% for this year after a stronger than expected economic performance in the first quarter of 2021.

Business • 07 Jul 21

The EU Commission is now predicting that the euro zone will grow by 4.8% this year, much faster than the 4.3% growth it had forecast in May

EU revises estimates for euro zone growth upwards

The European Commission has today revised upward its estimates for euro zone growth this year and next, but warned against risks posed by new variants of the coronavirus that should be contained to avoid new restrictions.

Business • 07 Jul 21

Brussels and Rome have been in lengthy talks over Alitalia's fate and its successor Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA)

EU regulators clear hurdle for Alitalia's successor

The European Commission said today it has reached a deal with Italy on the parameters for separating loss-making carrier Alitalia from its successor, a step key to securing EU approval for the new airline and to write off Alitalia's subsidies.

Business • 01 Jul 21

The European Commission said it had concerns that the proposed transaction would reduce competition for Spanish domestic routes and on international routes to and from Spain

EU opens study of IAG planned purchase of Air Europa

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into International Airlines Group's planned purchase of Spain's Air Europa.

Business • 30 Jun 21

The European Commission's monthly sentiment survey for the euro zone showed optimism rising to 117.9 points in June from 114.5 in May

Euro zone sentiment hits a 21-year-high

Euro zone economic sentiment surged in June to a 21-year-high as an accelerated pace of Covid-19 vaccinations led to further reopening and an improved mood across all sectors of the economy, notably in retail and services.

Business • 29 Jun 21

The probe will examine whether Google favours its own business, putting rivals, advertisers and online publishers at a disadvantage

EU regulators to investigate Google's adtech business

EU competition regulators have today opened an investigation into Alphabet unit Google's digital advertising business to examine whether the company favours its own business, putting rivals, advertisers and online publishers at a disadvantage.

Business • 22 Jun 21

Google made $147 billion in revenue from online ads last year, more than any other company in the world

EU regulators to probe Google's adtech business

Alphabet unit Google could face its biggest regulatory threat, with EU competition regulators set to open a formal investigation into its lucrative digital advertising business before the end of the year, said people familiar with the matter.

Business • 18 Jun 21

The European Commission had opened the in-depth investigation into Insurance Ireland's data sharing system in May 2019

EU claims Insurance Ireland breached competition rules

EU competition regulators have told Insurance Ireland that they have formed the preliminary view that it breached competition rules in the motor market, following a two-year long investigation.

Business • 18 Jun 21

The Commission did not specify which banks were excluded

EU excludes major banks from bond sales

The European Union has excluded some of the biggest investment banks with past involvement in breaches of antitrust rules from syndicated debt sales backing its up to €800 billion Covid-19 recovery fund, the EU executive said.

Business • 15 Jun 21

EU-UK Brexit talks focused on NI Protocol

Northern Ireland Protocol focus of Brexit talks

Senior figures from the European Commission and the British government met in London today to review the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Brexit • 09 Jun 21

Total Produce announced the Dole Food Company deal in February

European Commission clears Total Produce-Dole deal

Fresh produce company Total Produce said the European Commission has now granted its approval for the company's plan to combine with the Dole Food Company.

Business • 09 Jun 21

Meanwhile, Britain's competition regulator is also investigating Facebook

EU opens probe into Facebook's use of advertiser data

Europe and Britain launched formal antitrust investigations into Facebook today to determine if the world's largest social network was using customer data to unfairly compete with advertisers, in a new assault on its business model.

Business • 04 Jun 21

TikTok has seen rapid growth worldwide, particularly among teenagers

EU launches consumer case against TikTok

Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok has been given a month to respond to multiple complaints from EU consumer groups that it allegedly violated the bloc's consumer laws and also allegedly failed to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content.

Business • 28 May 21

The new CAP rules are due to kick in from 2023

Explainer - Europe's fight over farming subsidies

European Union negotiators are attempting to clinch a deal this week to reform the bloc's huge farming subsidy programme, to make it greener and offer more support to small farms.

Business • 27 May 21

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said traders from seven investment banks colluded in online chatrooms to fix prices and share sensitive information

EU fines banks €371m over bond trading cartel

The European Commission has today fined top banks including UBS and Unicredit a total of €371m for running a bond-trading cartel during the worst years of the euro zone debt crisis.

Business • 20 May 21

The new direct grant takes to more than €310m the total of state aid approved by the EU in favour of Alitalia for damages caused by Covid

EU approves €12.8m in new state aid for Alitalia

The European Commission has approved €12.8m of Italian state aid for Alitalia to compensate the airline for losses suffered during the coronavirus pandemic, the EU executive said today.

Business • 13 May 21

European Commission