NASA has scrapped the Lunar Gateway station and the Mars Sample Return mission as it redirects resources toward a Moon Base near the lunar south pole, intensifying competition with China. Administrator Jared Isaacman says international partners, including the European Space Agency, must now offer "meaningful contributions" that fill gaps NASA or US companies aren't already addressing, and he has rejected an ESA proposal for a European cargo lander.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-07
Counterpoint Research reports that Apple became the top-selling smartphone brand through European carriers in Q2 2026, with its share rising from 33% to 37% year-over-year while Samsung's fell from 39% to 34%. Overall European smartphone sales fell 8%, with carrier sales down 4% versus an 11% drop in the open market; vivo and Motorola also grew carrier sales by 90% and 27% respectively.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-10-07
OpenAI announced it will embed an invisible digital watermark into text and code produced within the European Union, complying with recent EU AI transparency regulations. The watermarking system, called textGrain, adds statistical signals to the output, which can be detected by specialized software, though with varying success rates. Initially, the feature will be available as an opt-in for select models and limited to approved researchers and organizations in the EU.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-05
The European Commission rolled out a European-built video conferencing tool meant to serve as a sovereign alternative to Microsoft Teams, reducing reliance on US software. According to a report, internal staff reactions have been harshly negative, with one employee reportedly calling the tool 'absolute sh*t'.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-03
The European Commission has deployed Element Pro, a self-hosted messaging tool from UK firm Element, as a sovereign alternative to Microsoft Teams. Politico reported that internal staff messages described the software harshly, with officials calling it confusing and of little value, and one saying the U.S. would win instantly if it cut off its tech given how Teams compares. Element CEO Matthew Hodgson acknowledged early 'teething issues' and said switching tools always causes friction.
slashdot.org
· 2026-10-02
Five national payment systems—Bancomat, Bizum, EPI Company/Wero, SIBS-MB WAY and Vipps MobilePay—announced a joint venture called the European Network for Payments, headquartered in Madrid. The network will link their existing systems via a shared technical layer built on European standards and instant account-to-account transfers, serving a combined 130 million users across 13 countries. Rollout will start with cross-border person-to-person payments before expanding to e-commerce and point-of-sale.
rte.ie
· 2026-10-02
A Financial Times analysis found Apple held 257 meetings with EU policymakers since June 2024, ranking second among tech firms behind Google's 302. Apple spends roughly €8-9 million annually on Brussels lobbying, more than Total, Volkswagen and Airbus combined, while Amazon ranked 14th with 239 meetings and Meta spent over €10 million yearly.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-10-01
A year-long investigation by Lighthouse Report, Trouw and other European media found that most data centers in Europe do not disclose their electricity and water consumption, despite an EU directive requiring larger facilities to report such data. In the Netherlands, fewer than a quarter of the 186 commercial data centers with capacity of 500 kW or more have published usage figures, and the national agency tasked with collecting this data has records for only 104 of them.
nltimes.nl
· 2026-09-30
Google has filed appeals with the EU's General Court challenging binding instructions issued under the bloc's rules, which required it to open up Android to rivals and share search data with competing search engines. The company confirmed the appeals target obligations tied to interoperability and data-access requirements imposed by EU regulators.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-29
The US Department of Justice filed to intervene in X's and Elon Musk's appeal against a €120 million fine the European Commission imposed last December for violating the Digital Services Act. Assistant attorney general Brett Shumate said the Commission had overstepped its authority in targeting an American company, and the case will be heard at the EU's General Court in Luxembourg.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-25
The US Department of Justice, working with the State Department, has filed to intervene in X's legal challenge against a €120 million EU fine at the General Court in Luxembourg. The penalty was issued in December after a two-year EU investigation concluded X misled users by labeling paid blue-checkmark accounts as 'verified.' The court will decide whether the US government may join the case.
wired.com
· 2026-09-25
The US Department of Justice has applied to the EU's General Court to intervene in Elon Musk's and X's legal challenge against a €120m EU fine issued in December 2025 over the platform's blue tick verification badges. The DOJ argues the European Commission overstepped its jurisdiction in applying the fine to an American company. The European Commission responded that it has a strong case based on X's alleged breach of the Digital Services Act.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-09-25
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