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Tag: European Union

  • Timeline of EU Member States Reopening Their Borders

    The Coronavirus outbreak in Europe, back in March this year, forced the European Commission to recommend the Member States to shut down all EU ports of entry for non-EU/Schengen nationals.

     

    One by one, all Member States, and the Schengen Associated countries moved on to close their borders despite that some of them tried to resist from undertaking such a measure at the beginning.

     

    First came the re-establishment of border controls where there typically aren’t due to the Schengen Agreement, and then border closures for all non-residents, exempting only those in need of entering the country for essential purposes.

     

    As the number of infection rates among the bloc saw a decrease in April and then in May, the EU started working towards the reopening of the borders and the removal of border controls.

     

    While the EU Commission will decide on June 15 whether the closure of the external Schengen Area borders should end or be extended, for third-country nationals, it is up to the Member States to open their borders.

     

    Most of these countries reopened/announced they would be opening their borders for travellers from the Schengen Area, and the non-Schengen EU states, often only to those with lower rates of infections. While some have imposed quarantine or negative COVID-19 test results, there are others that have permitted entry into their territory without any restrictions.

     

    Following, find the complete list of opened countries for travellers, and dates of warned opening, in reverse chronological order.

     

    July

     

    1, 2020

    Some Portuguese regional tourist boards including Madeira and Porto Santo, have announced they plan to reopen to international tourists from July 1. The boards have noted that travellers will need to present negative test results from within 72 hours prior to departure or be tested on arrival, paid for by the local government.

     

    July

     

    1, 2020

    Spain will grant EU travellers with permission to enter without having to quarantine. Some Spanish regions may reopen sooner than the others.

     

     

     

    July

     

    1, 2020

    Residents of Italy two regions, Sicily and Sardinia, as well as the nationals of the following 17 countries, will be able to enter the territory of Malta next month: Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Switzerland, Iceland, Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Israel, Latvia, Estonia, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    France is planning to open its borders on June 15, given that the situation does not worsen in the meantime.

     

    The quarantine will not be obligatory for travellers from EU; however, such a measure can be imposed in a reciprocity move to the nationals of countries that require French citizens to go through quarantine or present negative COVID-19 test results.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    Iceland will open its borders to EU and Schengen Area travellers, while at the same time offering everyone Coronavirus tests as a way to avoid quarantine.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    Nationals of the following countries will be eligible to enter the Dutch territory: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    Travellers from the following 29 countries will be eligible to travel to Greece for non-essential purposes: Albania, Australia, Austria, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Czech Republic, and Finland.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    Germany will lift a travel warning for non-essential trips to 31 European countries, including the UK, replacing it with individual travel warnings for each country.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to allow its citizens to travel to Germany, Iceland and Norway, by changing the travel advice for these three countries from risk level ‘orange’ to the risk level ‘yellow’.

     

     

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    Switzerland will open its borders for all European Union Member states including Britons, as well as citizens of the Schengen Associated Countries – Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland. Italians will also be permitted to enter the country despite a prior proposal to keep an entry ban for Italy in place.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    Norway and Denmark will allow each other’s citizens to enter their territories, advising travellers to respect the rules and protection measures related to the Coronavirus pandemic, in order to avoid another outbreak in any of the two countries.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    Travellers from the Schengen Area and the European Union, including the United Kingdom, will be eligible to enter Belgium, upon a decision of the National Security Council, as a part of Phase 3 of the transition plan.

     

    June

     

    15, 2020

    France and Germany plan to remove border traffic restrictions, while from May to now, both countries have gradually eased several restrictions.

     

    June

     

    5, 2020

    Slovakia opened its borders with Austria and Hungary due to a favourable epidemiological situation in the territories of both countries.

     

    All persons who own a Slovak permanent or temporary residence or persons residing in Hungary or Austria may come to Slovakia without a time limit, without the obligation to quarantine or submit a negative test for COVID-19 when entering the Slovak Republic through border crossings from these two countries.

     

    June

     

    4, 2020

    Austrian authorities have opened their borders for the nationals of the neighbouring countries – Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary or Slovenia – after keeping them closed for over two months. Travellers from Italy remain ineligible to enter the country.

     

    June

     

    4, 2020

    In the early morning of June 4, Thursday, Slovakia resumed the unrestricted regime of travel with the Czech Republic, making it possible to move between the two countries just as before the outbreak of the pandemic.

     

    All persons who own a Slovak permanent or temporary residence or persons residing in the Czech Republic, Hungary, or Austria may come to Slovakia without a time limit, without the obligation to quarantine or submit a negative test for COVID-19 when entering the Slovak Republic.

     

    June

     

    3, 2020

    Italy opened its borders for tourists for the EU and the Schengen Area, without any restrictions. Only EU nationals coming from a third country will have to undergo two weeks of quarantine.

     

     

     

    June

     

    1, 2020

    Estonia opened its borders for the residents of the European Union / Schengen Area Member States and of the United Kingdom, while only some of them are subject to the 14 days quarantine.

     

    According to the rules, people coming to Estonia from an EU/Schengen country that has a higher rate of infected people than 15 per 100,000, will have to remain in quarantine for two weeks upon arrival in Estonia.

     

    June

     

    1, 2020

    Lithuania abolished border controls with Latvia as the number of infections in both countries decreased in the previous weeks.

     

    June

     

    1, 2020

    Lithuania lifted an entry ban for citizens and legal residents of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

     

    The move was taken after Lithuania asserted that the incidence of COVID-19 in these countries is less than 15 cases of infected persons per 100,000 citizens in the last 14 days, while also lifting the two-week self-quarantine requirement for these travellers.

     

    May

     

    28, 2020

    Croatia reopened its borders for the citizens of 10 European countries: Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany.

     

    The restriction was lifted due to the satisfactory epidemiological situation in these countries. Travellers are obliged to comply with general and special recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

     

     

     

    May

     

    26, 2020

    The Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic lifted most of the border controls at the border crossings with Germany and Austria, putting comprehensive and systematic border controls to an end, and opening all road and rail crossings for both countries.

     

    May

     

    26, 2020

    Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia reopened their borders for each other’s nationals. Persons who enter any of the three countries for stays of no longer than 48 hours are exempt from the mandatory quarantine.

     

     

     

    May

     

    25, 2020

    Hungary is the first member of the European Union to remove the Schengen entry ban introduced earlier in March on EU Commission’s recommendation, for the nationals of a non-EEA country – Serbia.

     

    Hungarian border authorities have permitted Serbian citizens to cross the borders and come to the country without any restrictions or requirements as quarantine and PCR negative test results.

     

    May

     

    22, 2020

    Bulgarian authorities lifted the entry ban for European Union and Schengen area countries including San Marino, the Principality of Andorra, Vatican City State and Monaco. Only categories of persons who travelled to Bulgaria for essential purposes were exempt from quarantine.

     

     

     

    May

     

    16, 2020

    Austria, Germany and Switzerland opened their borders for the citizens of each other who want to visit their partner, relatives, or to take part in important family events, as well as to owners of agricultural, hunting or forest areas. People needing to take care of animals were also permitted to cross the border.

     

    May

     

    16, 2020

    Germany abolished border controls at the border with Luxembourg, on a prior decision of the German Minister of Interior Horst Seehofer.

     

    May

     

    15, 2020

    Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – abolished entry bans for each other’s citizens for non-essential purposes as they asserted that the situation regarding the Coronavirus pandemic and the level of infections is similar in all three, while at the same time abolishing a requirement of two weeks quarantine for these travellers.

     

    May

     

    14, 2020

    Finland reopened its borders for foreign workers from the Schengen zone, including Estonian citizens who work in Finland, also enabling business trips and other necessary trips within the Schengen countries, but under strict instructions.

     

    April

     

    27, 2020

    The Tourism Ministers of the 27 European Union Member States met through a video conference, in which meeting they discussed the option of creating a certificate of security in the sphere of tourism under the provisional name “COVID-19 passport”.

     

    The document would refer to the health status of its owner, and enable him/her to travel to the EU and the Schengen States.

     

    This passport would be linked to capitals being subject to “common rules and protocols” for social distancing, as well as tracking systems if there is an outbreak of infections.

     

    Source: Sechengenvisainfo.com

  • Brexit: Britain finally exits European Union today

    Brexit: Britain finally exits European Union today

    The United Kingdom will finally have its Brexit at 11 pm on Friday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson expected to deliver an emotional divorce address in a broadcast.

    According to snippets of the broadcast published by Mail Online, Johnson will insist that Brexit marks ‘not an end but a beginning”, as it begins a transition period that will last another year.

    During this time the UK will remain subject to EU laws and free movement of people will continue.

    As part of the rites of divorce from EU, Johnson will convene a symbolic Cabinet meeting Friday afternoon in Sunderland, the first city to declare for Brexit when the 2016 referendum results came out.

    Mr Johnson has ordered only low key events to mark Britain’s departure, the newspaper said.

    Union flags will fly in the Mall and Parliament Square and a light show will be displayed on the front of No10. A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister would ‘celebrate Brexit’ with a small party for staff.

    Leading Eurosceptic Steve Baker called for Brexiteers to avoid triumphalism, saying: ‘I will celebrate in a way which is respectful of the genuine sorrow that others are feeling at the same time.’

    Fellow Brexiteer Peter Bone called for the introduction of a bank holiday named United Kingdom Day so ‘people will have the day off and say thank goodness for that Brexit vote’.

  • UK should ‘cool down’, ‘rethink Brexit’ – EU commission

    Britain should use the next few months to “cool down and rethink” its decision to leave the European Union, the socialist candidate to head the next European Commission, Frans Timmermans, said on Wednesday.

    Last week EU leaders gave Britain an extension of its departure date until Oct. 31, with the possibility of leaving sooner if parliament ratifies a divorce deal Prime Minister Theresa May has negotiated with the EU. Lawmakers have already rejected the deal three times.

    “I absolutely hope that the UK might stay in the EU,” Timmermans, now the Commission’s first vice president, said in a television debate on France 24 with his main rival, Manfred Weber of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP).

    “I hope this period of extension will be used for Britain to calm down and rethink things a bit, perhaps for politicians to be more responsible with the promises they make, and then look at the issue again later this year,” the Dutchman said.

    “Who knows what might change in the meantime?” he said.

    Timmermans was expressing a sentiment shared by some in the EU, notably the chairman of EU leaders, Donald Tusk, that Britain could still change its mind and stay in the EU.

    Polls show that enough Britons may have had a change of heart about Brexit since the 2016 referendum, in which they voted to leave the bloc by 52 to 48 percent. But May and her government remain strongly opposed to holding another vote.

    Timmermans hopes to replace the EPP’s Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the European Commission, the most powerful of EU institutions. He is running on a ticket from the EU’s second biggest political family, the socialists.

    Britain is likely to still be a member of the EU at the time of the European Parliament elections on May 23-26, which means it would take part in the vote. Britain’s opposition Labour Party, which backs a second referendum, could help Timmermans’ socialists win more seats in the 751-seat European assembly.

    Weber does not stand to benefit in the same way from British participation in the EU elections because no UK parties belong to the EPP, currently the largest grouping in the parliament.

    “I have a problem that they (Britain) are now participating in the EU elections, are deciding about the future of our union,” Weber said during the TV debate with Timmermans.

  • BREXIT: UK ‘removes’ European Union on new passports [Photo]

    BREXIT: UK ‘removes’ European Union on new passports [Photo]

    British passports without the words “European Union” on the front cover have been issued despite the Brexit delay.

    The burgundy passports were introduced from March 30th, the day after Britain was expected to leave the EU.

    Some passports including the words “European Union” will continue to be issued while the remaining stock is used up.

    But those applying for a new travel document will not be able to choose between the two.

    A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Burgundy passports that no longer include the words European Union on the front cover were introduced from 30 March 2019.

    “In order to use leftover stock and achieve best value to the taxpayer, passports that include the words European Union will continue to be issued for a short period after this date.

    “There will be no difference for British citizens whether they are using a passport that includes the words European Union, or a passport that does not. Both designs will be equally valid for travel.”

    The decision to remove the words was made in anticipation of Britain leaving the EU at the end of last month.

    Dark blue passports are scheduled to be issued from the end of this year.

  • 2019: We have no preferred candidate, political party in Nigeria’s presidential election – EU

    2019: We have no preferred candidate, political party in Nigeria’s presidential election – EU

    …We won’t interfere in INEC’s duties – Amaechi

    The European Union (EU) on Thursday said it has no preferred candidate in next year’s election.

    EU Delegation Head Amb. Ketil Karlsen gave the assurance at an audience with Buhari Campaign Organisation Director-General Rotimi Amaechi.

    Amaechi told the EU that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would adhere strictly to the electoral laws in the general elections.

    He also said President Muhammadu Buhari will accept the outcome of the elections.

    Amaechi said: “One assurance I will give you today is that we’ll stand by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and we will stand by whatever decision they make. We believe that we promised Nigerians change and I also believe that you can observe the change.

    “By this time in 2014/2015, when I was still in office as governor, I was on fire. Everybody was on my neck. The then President had withdrawn my security. My ADC and CSO were on the run; there was no police security and nobody cared. They didn’t bother that I could be killed or attacked.

    “I was attacked several times. I was attacked in Port Harcourt. But now, we believe the President that they were accusing that would be undemocratic because he is a retired soldier is more democratic than a civilian that was elected in the past.

    “During the Anambra State election, when the governor cried out that his ADC had been withdrawn, President Buhari ordered that the governor’s ADC be reinstated immediately. So you see, that is the change we are talking about.

    “So the assurance I will give you from President Buhari Campaign Organisation is that there will be no interference by the President.

    “ We’ll play by the rules and whatever the campaign team needs to do to ensure that the election is transparent, we will do.

    “ We’ll also ensure that the election is such that Nigerians will be proud of, and we hope that the rest who are contesting in other parties will also take the same position.”

    Amb. Karlsen, Head of the European Union delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said the EU would partner with Nigerians to organise credible polls in 2019.

    He said the EU, was only concerned about the best electoral practices for Nigeria.

    Karlsen said : “We look forward to a good collaboration on this occasion of the 2019 general elections. We have had election observers in Nigeria for all general elections since 1999.

    “For the EU, we really do not have any preferred candidate; we don’t have any preferred political party; we don’t promote any particular ideology in Nigeria.

    “We are very concerned about having the best possible process in the country. We want to see free, fair, credible and peaceful election. So this is why we have invested not only our time but also a lot of European tax payers’ money on engaging with all the Nigerian stakeholders since 1999.

    “We have spent more than E100m(Euro) in giving support for electoral process. So, currently, we support INEC, we support the National Assembly, we support intra-party democracy and we support all stakeholders.

    “We had also engaged actively in the party primaries and this gives us reason about the optimism of INEC to conduct elections.”

     

  • NASS Siege: European Union condemns DSS, warns against truncating Nigeria’s democracy

    The European Union (EU) on Thursday reacted to the siege on the National Assembly by masked operatives of the Department of Security Service (DSS).

    The union, however, warned law enforcement agencies against partisan use of state resources.

    This was revealed in a statement released by the press officer of the union, Modestus Chukwulaka, in Abuja on Thursday.

    “The EU Heads of Missions have noted with concern recent examples of interference in the democratic process by law enforcement services – the most recent case being the barring of access to the National Assembly on August 7,” the statement reads in part.

    “The EU is fully committed to supporting democracy in Nigeria, and it commends the Federal Government’s swift action to protect the independence of the National Assembly as a critical pillar of democracy,” it stated further.

    Recall that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo fired Lawal Daura as the director-general of the SSS on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the siege drew nationwide uproar.

    Osinbajo said the action was unauthorised and restated the administration’s commitment to the rule of law and respect for independent authorities.

    The acting president has been commended for his prompt intervention, including by opposition politicians and even lawmakers who initially criticised him for being complacent with Mr Daura’s apparent recklessness.

    The British High Commission had also on Tuesday condemned the siege in a statement saying it would not tolerate any disregard for democratic norms.

    While weighing in on Thursday, the EU emphasised that security agencies must be fair and professional in their conduct, especially against the backdrop of upcoming elections.

    “The EU reiterates the importance of all law enforcement services staying neutral and ensuring that independent institutions can operate in line with their constitutional mandates, free from interference and intimidation.

    “The upcoming general elections in 2019 are vital in ensuring national stability, peace and prosperity for all Nigerians. It is for the Nigerian people to decide the outcome of the elections, and the EU calls upon all stakeholders in Nigeria to play their part so that voters can make their decision through a free, fair, credible and peaceful election process,” the EU said.

  • Uber is a transport line like GIGM, and should be treated as such – EU court ruling

    A European Union (EU) top court on Wednesday ruled that Uber is like God is Good Motors (GIGM) and any other transportation company, instead of an app, and should be regulated as such.

    A Spanish taxi association sued Uber after the ride-hailing firm drew the fury of local taxi drivers and officials for flouting local regulations.

    “The service provided by Uber connecting individuals with non-professional drivers is covered by services in the field of transport.

    “Member states can, therefore, regulate the conditions for providing that service,” said the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice.

    Uber, the biggest name in the growing gig economy, claims in the lawsuit that it is a mere service provider, connecting consumers with drivers in more than 600 cities.

    Uber has run into huge opposition from taxi companies and other competitors who say this allows it to dodge costly regulations such as training and licensing requirements for drivers and vehicles.

    The case was brought by a taxi drivers’ association in the Spanish city of Barcelona, where belief runs high that Uber is a taxi company that should be subject to rules governing such vehicles.

    In a dense legal judgement, the European Court of Justice said Uber was a service that connects “by means of a smartphone application and for remuneration non-professional drivers using their own vehicle with persons who wish to make urban journeys”.

    That means it is “inherently linked to a transport service and, accordingly, must be classified as a ‘service in the field of transport’ within the meaning of EU law”.

    Reacting to the ruling, spokesman for the Elite Taxi association, Ivan Esma, told newsmen, “This will truly represent a social victory, and the whole of society will benefit from this” while adding that “the road will be long” for the ruling to be enforced.

    Meanwhile, Uber has said the ruling would make little difference in practice.

    “This ruling will not change things in most EU countries where we already operate under transportation law,” an Uber spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

    Uber, unlike other transport companies like GIGM, does not employ drivers or own vehicles, but instead relies on private contractors with their own cars, allowing them to run their own businesses.

    Nigerian drivers on the Uber platform, however, have a way of boycotting the service, citing several reasons.

     

  • European Union goes mean, says no more financial support for Nigeria

    …Says Nigeria has enough to cater for her citizens and development

    The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria and Economic Community of West Africa, (ECOWAS), Mr Michel Arrion says EU is putting a stop to further financial support for Nigeria.

    The ambassador noted that rather than offer financial assistance, the union will provide a platform for political and policy dialogue, technical assistance, capacity building, training, transfer of technology that will better transform the country.

    Arrion made this known in Abuja while delivering a Distinguished Lecture organised by the IBB Golf Club, with the theme “40 years of European union in Nigeria: Lessons learned and the way forward”.

    The envoy also stressed that the Union would scale up its efforts towards the country’s institutional, political and economic development for a more prosperous future.

    He said that Nigeria could not be said to be poor, as it is has enough resources to meet its developmental needs.

    While expressing concern that on the economic level of the country Arrion called for a more equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth to ensure growth and stability and unleash its enormous economic potentials.

    Arrion explained that the combine aides to the country were about ten per cent of the country’s annual budget.

    According to him, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) flow in Nigeria is about 2.5 billion dollars yearly, which correspond roughly to about 10 per cent of the federal budget (N7,3trillion or 24 billion dollars).

    This, he said has raised the question of should EU continue to give aide to Nigeria.?

    Arrion, however said the regional block would scale up its efforts towards the country’s institutional, political and economic development for a more prosperous future.

    “We are not offering more financial support, we are proposing more political and policy dialogue, technical assistance, capacity building, training, transfer of technology.

    We also proposing more advocacies for more private investments and other innovative sources of funding,” the EU envoy said.

    The envoy therefore called for improving in tax collection to finance the development of the country.

    According to him Nigeria must find alternative funding to ODA including improved tax collection which must be improved at least five times more and also spend better.

    Quoting Price Water Cooper (PwC 2016), he said: “Nigeria collects about N5.5 trillion or 18 billion dollars per year.

    “About 10 million people (10 per cent of adult population) are registered for personal income tax (half of them in Lagos).

    “The rate of VAT compliance by registered entities is about 12 per cent. The rate is lower for corporate income tax nine per cent.”

    He also said Nigeria must attract more foreign investment five times more, to reach the level of Angola or Vietnam for instance and put in place more and better Public Private Partnerships.

    Arrion said the evolution of vibrant relationship of equal partners between Nigeria and the EU was founded on shares values and aspirations and mutual trust.

    According to him EU in its 40 years of engagement with Nigeria has identified development priorities, funded projects to stimulate the Nigeria’s economy, reduce hunger and disease.

    He said that the union had also helped to enhance institutional capacities, strengthen governance and fight insecurity in Nigeria.

     

     

    NAN

  • Facebook launches anti-extremism UK training program

    Facebook is launching a program in the UK to train and fund local organizations to combat extremist material online, as internet companies attempt to clamp down on hate speech and violent content on their services.

    Facebook, which outlined new efforts to remove extremist and terrorism content from its social media platform last week, will launch the Online Civil Courage Initiative in the UK on Friday, the company said in a statement.

    The new initiative will train non-governmental organizations to help them monitor and respond to extremist content and create a dedicated support desk so they can communicate directly with Facebook, the company said.

    “There is no place for hate or violence on Facebook,” said Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer. “We use technology like AI to find and remove terrorist propaganda, and we have teams of counterterrorism experts and reviewers around the world working to keep extremist content off our platform.”

    The British government has stepped up attacks on Silicon Valley internet companies for not acting quickly enough to take down extremist online propaganda and fostering “safe places” where extremists can breed following a string of attacks in recent months in London and Manchester.

    Facebook, Alphabet’s Google, and Twitter have responded by saying they have made heavy investments and employed thousands of people to take down hate speech and violent content over the past two years. Security analysts say the efforts have dramatically reduced the use of these platforms for jihadist recruitment efforts, although more work needs to be done.

    Prime Minister Theresa May has sought to enlist British public opinion to force the U.S. internet players to work more closely with the government rather than proposing new legislation or policies to assert greater control over the web.

    Earlier this week, May urged fellow European Union leaders at a meeting in Brussels to join her in putting pressure on tech companies to ‘rid terrorist material from the internet in all our languages’.

    She called for the internet companies to shift from reactively removing content when they are notified of it, toward greater use of automatic detection and removal tools – and ultimately preventing it from appearing on their platforms in the first place.

     

     

  • Google faces record EU antitrust fine

    The European Union’s antitrust watchdog in the coming weeks is set to hit Google with a record fine for manipulating its search results to favour its own comparison-shopping service, according to people familiar with the matter.

    Wall Street Journal reports the penalty against Google is expected to top the EU’s previous record fine of €1.06 billion (about $1.18 billion) levied on a company allegedly abusing its dominance in 2009.

    The fine could reach as high as 10% of the company’s yearly revenue, which stood at $90.27 billion last year, WSJ reported.

    But more painful to Google than a sizable fine could be other consequences that come with the European Commission’s decision, including changes not only to the tech giant’s business practices but with other services as well.

    The EU’s decision could also embolden private litigants to seek compensation for damages at national courts.

    Google’s general counsel Kent Walker had previously argued that forcing the company to place competitors’ product ads in its search results “would just subsidize sites that have become less useful for consumers”.

    The regulator’s move would come as welcome relief to a range of web companies, large and small and both European and American, and even Nigerian who have been urging the EU for years to take antitrust action against Google.

     

    Source