Europe bulletin: Elon Musk’s X battles EU, UK deepens US trade talks, Ukraine peace efforts falter

Europe is dealing with a full spectrum of political and economic flashpoints today.

Musk’s X is in open confrontation with the EU after a major transparency fine, London is pushing deeper into high-stakes trade talks in Washington, and Ukraine is resisting US pressure over a contentious peace framework.

Meanwhile, farmers across Greece are bringing the country to a standstill amid subsidy chaos and livestock losses.

Here’s what’s driving the continent’s biggest stories right now.

X escalates against Europe

Elon Musk’s X just picked a major fight with Brussels.

After getting hit with a €120 million (about $140 million) fine under the EU’s Digital Services Act, the platform has now blocked the European Commission from posting official statements.

So what set this off? Regulators say X wasn’t playing straight with its transparency rules.

They pointed to those paid blue checkmarks, which they say misled users into thinking accounts were actually verified.

According to the EU, that confusion helped fuel scams, and that alone accounted for €45 million of the fine.

Then there’s the ad transparency issue. The EU says X’s advertising database didn’t clearly show who was behind certain ads, costing another €35 million.

And on top of that, researchers weren’t getting the data access they’re legally entitled to, which added another €40 million to the bill.

UK–US trade talks deepen

UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle is heading to the US this week for another round of tariff talks, right on the heels of a new deal that scraps duties on UK-made pharmaceuticals and medical products.

That’s a big win for Britain, covering about £5 billion worth of goods every year.

But there’s a trade-off. In return, the UK has agreed to boost NHS spending on American-made drugs, which includes lowering NICE’s cost-effectiveness threshold from 25% to 15%.

This move builds on the Economic Prosperity Deal signed in May, the first under President Trump, which eased tariffs on cars but didn’t quite settle the long-running steel dispute.

Kyle’s schedule is packed: he will meet US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and USTR Jamieson Greer in Washington on Tuesday.

Then it’s off to San Francisco on Wednesday to sit down with tech players like Google and Wayve, hoping to lock in fresh investment and push the EPD forward.

Ukraine stalls US peace plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says there’s no deal on the table when it comes to eastern Ukraine in the US-brokered peace talks, especially regarding the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

According to Zelenskyy, negotiators are still far apart on some of the most “sensitive issues,” like security guarantees and who controls which territories.

The US, Russia, and Ukraine all have very different ideas of what a final agreement should look like.

Frustrated with the process, Zelenskyy is now pushing for separate security agreements directly with Western countries, even as US President Trump has reportedly expressed disappointment in how Kyiv is handling the talks.

Greek farmers revolt

Greek farmers have ramped up their protests in a big way, blocking the airports in Heraklion and Chania, shutting down border crossings with Bulgaria and Turkey, and clogging more than 20 major roads across the country with thousands of tractors and trucks.

Tensions boiled over as some protesters pushed through police barricades, throwing stones and damaging vehicles. Police responded with tear gas and stun grenades to regain control.

At the heart of the anger is a massive €600 million ($700 million) shortfall in EU farm subsidies.

Payments were halted after audits uncovered a corruption scandal involving falsified land and livestock claims, with some farmers allegedly helped by local officials.

For legitimate farmers already struggling, the delays are crushing.

On top of everything, sheep pox has wiped out around 400,000 animals, pushing many deeper into debt as climate pressures add even more strain.

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