European Union

The Council adopts a framework for targeted sanctions in view of the situation in the Maldives.

The Council decided to open negotiations and adopted a negotiation mandate for a new enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement with Uzbekistan.

At the 20th EU-China summit held in Beijing, leaders discussed the expansion of the EU-China strategic relationship on trade, global challenges, and foreign and security issues. Presidents Tusk and Juncker, and Premier Li Keqiang of China, issued a joint statement.

At the press conference of the summit, held in Beijing, President Tusk presented the main topics the leaders discussed during their meeting.

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The 25th EU-Japan Summit takes place on 17 July 2018, in Tokyo. At the summit, leaders are expected to sign the EU-Japan economic partnership agreement and the EU-Japan strategic partnership agreement. Also, they discuss strategic cooperation and international relations. The EU is represented by Donald TUSK, President of the European Council, and by Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission. Cecilia MALMSTRÖM, European Commissioner for Trade, also participates at the Summit. Japan is represented by Prime Minister Shinzo ABE.

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Owners of Volkswagen diesel cars will be able to have a software update of their car's engine for free until 2020, EU commissioner for consumers rights Vera Jourova announced on Monday. When the Dieselgate scandal broke in 2015, the German carmaker pledged to remove, before 2019, a defeat device designed to cheat on emissions tests from some 8.5m cars.

Airbnb, a website for home rentals, has breached EU consumer rules, the EU Commission said Monday, as it gave the US company until the end of August to propose changes or face sanctions. The commission said Airbnb should make it clear whether an accommodation is offered by an individual or a professional, provide greater details of the price, and tweak its terms of service to make it fairer to consumers.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino has hailed the football championship tournament that ended yesterday in Russia the best World Cup ever. Vladimir Putin announced that the world has finally realised that its image of Russia was skewed. But not all commentators are convinced the tournament was a major propaganda success for the Russian president.

Croatia's footballers have shown that they are good losers after their 2:4 defeat in the Fifa World Cup final. After their initial disappointment the team rallied and celebrated the success: never before has a Croatian national team reached the World Cup final, and the players have been commended for their team spirit and playing technique. The vice champion is therefore also getting its share of the journalists' attention.

At their meeting this Monday in Helsinki Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin plan to discuss the situation in Syria and Ukraine and arms control, among other topics. Observers in Europe worry that the Russian president may persuade his American counterpart to make major concessions. The press speculates about the results of the summit.