The sudden arrival of Donald Trump at the White House has caused a political earthquake in Brussels, as the new college of commissioners was finding its feet. There was a moment of uncertainty, fuelled by flashy statements from the new US president and his government on European regulations. Tech giants in particular are hoping that Trump will be able to bend the EU to their wishes.
Teresa Ribera, the competition commissioner, was keen to set the record straight. Certainly, Europe must be "flexible", but "we cannot compromise on human rights or on European unity, and we are not going to compromise on democracy and our values", she recalls in an interview with Reuters.
The Trump administration is after the financial sanctions imposed on large American companies that do not respect the rules on competition, but also on the fight against disinformation. The American vice-president even spoke of the so-called "censorship" that the regulation on digital services would impose on online platforms.
"If there is a problem or a concern, it must be explained. It is not as if we can come to the negotiating table by playing the bully. That makes no sense", retorts the commissioner. She also indicates that the EU provides companies with an ecosystem and a stable and predictable legal framework. At the opposite end of the spectrum from the chaos currently orchestrated by the White House, which is threatening the entire world with tariffs at all costs.
Jim Farley, Ford CEO, has deplored Trump's trade measures, which add "a lot of costs and a lot of chaos" to businesses. In contrast, the EU is seeking to provide a framework that is certainly restrictive, but stable.
Two of them, Meta and Apple, must also expect important decisions concerning investigations launched a year ago and linked to compliance with the Digital Markets Regulation (DMA). Rumor had it that Teresa Ribera was going to postpone her decision in these two cases: this will not be the case, it will fall in March: "decisions will be taken in line with discussions with companies, elaborate and based on evidence". We can still expect cries of outrage from the other side of the Atlantic.
Brussels has also launched an investigation into X (formerly Twitter) concerning the fight against illegal content. The fact that Elon Musk has become Donald Trump's right-hand man does not change anything: "It is not a question of who owns the company that is affected by one of these processes," explains the commissioner.
Source: Reuters
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