EU Digital Regulation in the Eye of Trade Storm
But also — Confidence Vote, Free Trade, Pride, Immunity, Simplification
Hello! Today is July 3, and here is your EU news summary for the week. Feel free to share this newsletter with friends and colleagues, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
The Briefing
The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which entered into application in March 2024, is now taking centre stage in debates on EU-US relations.
APP STORE • On June 26, Apple announced that it had modified the rules of the App Store in the EU to comply with the DMA in an attempt to avoid further financial penalties.
In April, the Commission imposed a €500 million fine on the American tech giant, criticising its "anti-steering" rules, which prevent businesses from communicating or promoting their offers free of charge through the core platform services they rely on.
In this specific case, Apple did not (or at least not satisfactorily) allow app developers who distribute their apps via the App Store to direct users towards more advantageous offers which are not on the App Store.
Apple had until June 26 to present alternative proposals to the European Commission and waited until the last day to do so.
The company is now offering third-party developers additional options to process user payments, including the ability to use their own websites or app stores.
Apple also announced its intention to appeal the sanction and has until July 7 to do so. In response, the Commission “takes note of Apple’s announcement and will now assess these new business terms for DMA compliance,” the Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said on Thursday.
EFFECTIVENESS • The Apple decision demonstrates of the effectiveness of the DMA, which establishes specific obligations for “gatekeepers”, which include the following seven: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Booking, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft.
For context, financial penalties can reach up to 10% of a company’s global revenue for violations of the DMA.
Coincidentally, this evidence of the DMA’s relevance comes amid rumors — supported by an article in The Wall Street Journal — suggesting that the EU might consider undermining the regulation as part of trade negotiations with Washington.
These negotiations are expected to conclude before the July 9 deadline, to avoid the reintroduction of the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs applied by Donald Trump in early April and suspended a week later.
The Commission, under pressure from Germany and Italy — which have the most to lose in a trade conflict with the United States — appears to be tempted to listen to American calls for the softening of EU tech regulation.
MEPs TO THE RESCUE • In recent days, European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera, notably responsible for implementing the DMA, has reiterated that a compromise involving a reversal on these texts is out of the question.
“We can feel that Ursula von der Leyen is under pressure from German industry and the EPP, which is also predominantly German, to strike a deal at all costs,” said Elvire Fabry, Senior Research Fellow in Trade Geopolitics at the Jacques Delors Institute. “Teresa Ribera’s strong message — rightly framing this as an issue of European sovereignty — must be understood in that context.”
“The DMA is a cornerstone of our digital regulation (...). Any delay or suspension of its enforcement (particularly for U.S. companies) would undermine the integrity of EU law and set a dangerous precedent,” pro-Macron MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin declared in a LinkedIn post.
Along with 22 other MEPs, the French lawmaker has submitted formal requests for clarification to the Commission on this matter.
This parliamentary pushback could be significant. As European Parliament President Roberta Metsola reminded EU leaders at a summit last week, the Parliament plays a crucial role in the approval of any future trade agreement with Washington.
The Commission does not appear ready to backtrack on the DMA itself, but may look for other ways to reassure the Americans. Last Tuesday, Matthias Jorgensen, head of unit at the European Commission's trade department, mentioned the possibility of “exploring how the U.S. government could more easily comply with European legislation.”
In Case You Missed It
CONFIDENCE • Next Thursday, the European Parliament is set to vote on a motion of censure against Ursula von der Leyen. The initiative was launched by MEP Gheorghe Piperea (ECR) and has secured the 70 MEP signatures required to be put to a vote.
The motion aims to sanction the Commission's lack of transparency following the so-called “Pfizergate” scandal over undisclosed text messages with the CEO of Pfizer during the Covid-19 vaccine negotiations.
The centrist bloc (EPP, S&D, Renew) overwhelmingly refuses to associate itself with a move led by the far right and plans to reject the motion. The vote will force von der Leyen to publicly justify herself, but her removal remains highly unlikely. It would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
FREE TRADE • On June 26, Ursula von der Leyen proposed strengthening trade cooperation between the EU and the twelve member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Ursula von der Leyen and Friedrich Merz see in this cooperation the foundations of a credible alternative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has been paralyzed for years.
This partnership could, for instance, lead to the establishment of a dispute resolution body between the EU and CPTPP countries. The CPTPP includes Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
The initiative also serves as a bargaining chip with the United States, as tariff exemptions are set to expire on July 9. The Commission has also proposed a draft transatlantic trade agreement.
PRIDE • Despite the Hungarian government's ban, more than 100,000 people marched on Saturday, June 29 in Budapest during the Pride, organized by the NGO Rainbow Mission with support from the city council.
The mayor of Budapest bypassed the anti-LGBTQ+ law by reclassifying the march as a municipal event. Backed by over 70 MEPs and several European ministers, the Pride took on a strong political dimension, ten months ahead of the 2026 legislative elections.
Many European figures participated, including more than 70 MEPs and several ministers, while Ursula von der Leyen expressed her support for the event in a video. Orbán immediately denounced “interference in internal affairs.”
IMMUNITY • European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has proposed requiring national judicial authorities to provide detailed information before a request to lift parliamentary immunity is formally announced in a plenary session of the European Parliament.
This follows the recent case of Italian MEP Giusi Princi, targeted by a Belgian request to lift her immunity over corruption allegations related to the Chinese tech company Huawei, which was ultimately withdrawn shortly thereafter.
Under the current rules, any request, regardless of its content, must be announced in plenary session.
SIMPLIFICATION • After lengthy negotiations, the Council of the EU has adopted its negotiation mandate on the reform of the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and CSDDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive).
The main changes suggested by the Council aim to significantly ease the regulatory burden for companies by raising compliance thresholds: 1,000 employees and €450 million in revenue for the CSRD, and 5,000 employees and €1.5 billion for the CSDDD.
The compliance timeline has also been pushed back. The Council favors a risk-based due diligence approach and limits reporting obligations within the value chain. The European Parliament still has to define its position, indicating complex negotiations ahead.
What We’ve Been Reading
For the FT, Alice Hancock, Richard Milne, and Attracta Mooney analyze the challenges faced by the green steel sector within the European Union.
This edition was prepared by Augustin Bourleaud, Mathieu Solal, Thomas Veldkamp, Alexis Rontchevsky, Lidia Bilali, Antoine Ognibene, Hana Rajabally, Lucie Rontchevsky and Maxence de La Rochère. See you next week!