U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced that a new pact was reached between the U.S. and the European Union following their meeting last week. The meeting was to resolve trade tensions amid threats of tariffs that recently strained transatlantic relations between the EU and the U.S. However, a lasting solution did not emerge from the meeting but both parties agreed to de-escalate the trade tension. In essence, the meeting reached a consensus to work together to eliminate customs duties and non-tariff barriers on industrial products excluding the automotive sector. Although both leaders hailed the agreement as a success, it is worth noting that currently they only agreed to continue dialogue but no concrete solutions were offered to resolve the serious trade tensions between the U.S. and EU.
EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier and the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Dominic Raab held a joint press conference in Brussels last week. Barnier ruled out the U.K.’s customs proposal for future trade. The parties have subsequently agreed to meet again in mid-August and continue negotiations on a weekly basis to reach an agreement by October.
Four more Galileo satellites were successfully launched from the European spaceport in French Guiana on the European launcher Ariane-5 last week. Now with a constellation of 26 satellites, the EU's global satellite navigation system will provide a more precise signal across a range of valuable services.
The Court of Justice of the European Union decided that crops obtained by mutagenesis plant breeding techniques fall under EU laws restricting the use of genetically modified organisms.
The European Commission has approved a new assistance package worth €400 million for the education of Syrian refugees in Turkey. This is the first action adopted following the agreement by the EU Member States to finance an additional €3 billion for the Facility for Refugees in Turkey.
The European Commission fined, in four separate decisions, consumer electronics manufacturers Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer for imposing fixed or minimum resale prices on their online retailers in breach of EU competition rules. The fines totaling over €111 million were in all four cases reduced due to the companies' cooperation with the Commission.
European Institutions, comprising the European Parliament, the council, the commission, and NATO are on summer recess.