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Polymarket has reportedly held talks with the European Commission, ESMA and the UK's FCA to be regulated under MiFID financial rules rather than gambling law. The prediction-market platform hopes this reclassification would let it reverse bans imposed by Spain and France, which currently require it to hold a gambling license to operate.
The Czech Republic has become the seventh European country to approve Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system, with Tesla saying it will soon roll out availability to Czech drivers. Regulators based their decision on the Dutch RDW's earlier provisional approval from April, after reviewing how the system handles traffic lights, speed limits and driver attention monitoring.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed granting Canada associate membership in the EU, a first-of-its-kind status meant to deepen ties as U.S. pressure pushes Ottawa toward Europe. President Trump called the plan a 'hostile act' and warned he would respond with additional tariffs on the bloc.
Australian trade minister Don Farrell said Canberra is watching Canada's push for a deeper relationship with the EU, after PM Mark Carney described seeking a 'unique alliance' rather than full EU membership. Farrell did not specify what form closer Australia-EU ties might take, but said Australia is 'on the same page' as Canada on the issue.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen indicated Canada could gain an 'associate member' status linked to a proposed European Security Council, framing the move as a response to escalating geopolitical risks. The remarks suggest the EU is considering deeper defense and security ties with non-member allies as threats intensify.
New research by Benjamin Shultz, published by think tank Agora Digitale Transformation, analyzed about 160 websites hosting nonconsensual deepfake sexual content and found 138 women members of parliament from 22 EU countries were referenced or depicted, compared with just nine men. The study covered over 5,800 national lawmakers across the EU, with politicians from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France most frequently appearing.
Since the Strait of Hormuz closure sent Brent crude up 58% year-on-year, the European Commission has only trimmed its 2026 growth forecast from 1.5% to 1.1%, with unemployment steady near 6%. That resilience stems from a structural shift: Russian gas has dropped from 45% to 12% of EU imports while US LNG now supplies two-thirds of Europe's gas, backed by $750 billion in commitments through 2028, and EU output uses 44% less energy per euro than in 1995.
Google confirmed it is rolling out major changes to how Search functions across the European Union, following a $1 billion fine tied to alleged Digital Markets Act violations. The update forces Google to display results from competing vertical search services, such as Expedia or Booking.com, ahead of its own Flights and Hotels products in categories like travel and dining. New carousels will rank listings using Google's algorithm, but with details like real-time pricing removed.
A former UK Competition and Markets Authority official has filed a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) lawsuit against Apple on behalf of app developers, alleging that its App Tracking Transparency system imposes tougher restrictions on outside developers than on Apple's own services. Apple maintains that all developers face identical requirements under the policy.
European regulators have designated ChatGPT as a search engine under EU digital regulations, placing it under stricter oversight requirements. Reddit and Roblox have also received similar classifications, bringing them under the same heightened regulatory scrutiny.
The European Commission classified ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine and Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms after each surpassed 45 million average monthly EU users. This designation subjects all three to the Digital Services Act's toughest compliance requirements, joining 28 other services already under this heightened oversight.
The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which took initial effect August 12, replaces the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and now applies to any business shipping goods into the bloc's 27 member states. Independent tabletop RPG creators like Johan Nohr and Josh Fox say the rules, combined with Extended Producer Responsibility fees that differ by country and sometimes recur annually, are proving costly and confusing to navigate. Fox, of Black Armada, says the compliance burden may force his company to halt sales in the EU.