Belgium

(AP) --- The European Union’s top court ruled Thursday that an agreement that allows thousands of companies — from tech giants to small financial firms — to transfer data to the United States is invalid because the American government can snoop on people’s data.

The ruling to invalidate Privacy Shield will likely complicate business for around 5,000 companies, and it could require regulators to vet any new data transfers to make sure Europeans’ personal information remains protected according to the EU’s stringent standards.

WARSAW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU countries nudged towards an agreement on a mass stimulus scheme to kickstart economies hammered by the coronavirus but disagreements persisted over the scale and access to funds before Friday’s summit.

The 27 national EU heads will meet face-to-face for the first time since COVID-19 pushed Europe into a sweeping lockdown. They will haggle over their next budget proposed at 1.074 trillion euros ($1.22 trillion) for 2021-27 and an attached recovery fund of 750 billion euros in grants and loans.

BRUSSELS, July 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Five European states and five African countries agreed at a meeting on Monday, to work closer together to curtail human trafficking in Europe and at source, and to establish legal pathways for migrants to reach Europe, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said.

Johansson told the press that the meeting was part of the European Commission’s preparation of a new European Union (EU) pact on migration and asylum.

BRUSSELS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Friday adopted a new regulation that will allow European vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 to be developed more quickly, said the European Parliament (EP).

The regulation that allows temporary derogation from certain rules for clinical trials was approved by 505 votes in favor, 67 against and 109 abstentions, following an urgent debate last week, said an EP press release.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google may be able to stave off a full-scale EU antitrust investigation into its planned $2.1 billion bid for Fitbit (FIT.N) by pledging not to use Fitbit’s health data to help it target ads, people familiar with the matter said.

The deal announced in November last year allows Google, a unit of Alphabet (GOOGL.O), to take on Apple (AAPL.O) and Samsung (005930.KS) in the fitness tracking and smart watch market, alongside others including Huawei and Xiaomi (1810.HK).

(Reuters) - European Council President Charles Michel on Friday sought to offer concessions to countries across the EU in plans for the EU’s long-term budget and economic recovery, hoping to bridge differences between national leaders when they meet next week.

Michel, who will chair the first face-to-face meeting of European Union leaders since coronavirus lockdowns were lifted, proposed a smaller 2021-27 budget in a bid to make a mass economic stimulus more palatable to thrifty northern countries.

BRUSSELS/TOKYO (Reuters) - The European Parliament urged Japan to comply with international rules on child protection and to allow for joint parental custody after a number of EU citizens were denied access to their children by Japanese mothers.

Unlike most countries, Japan does not recognise joint custody after divorce and children often lose contact with the non-custodial parent.

BRUSSELS, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The General Court of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday dismissed a case filed by two Brazilian meat producers who cried foul over the 2018 decision by the European Commission not to allow their products to be imported into the EU for public health reasons.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has struck deals with drugmakers Roche (ROG.S) and Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE) to secure supplies of experimental treatments for COVID-19, a Commission source told Reuters on Wednesday.

The deals cover Roche’s arthritis medicine RoActemra and Merck’s multiple sclerosis drug Rebif - both seen as potential treatments for COVID-19 - and will secure supplies to any of the 27 EU member states willing to buy them, the source said.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The festering dispute between France and Turkey over a naval standoff in the Mediterranean Sea has shone a glaring searchlight on NATO’s struggle to keep order among its ranks and exposed weaknesses in a military alliance that can only take action by consensus.