1. VDL’S STATE OF THE UNION: ALL TALK, NO ACTION

Von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg this week, outlining a broad agenda that included a continued commitment to the EU’s unrealistic climate targets. “But there is no doubt: Europe can, must and will stay the course on its climate targets,” she told the chamber, a signal that the green agenda remains central to her second-term priorities, despite Europeans’ “greenlash.”

Not everyone in Brussels is convinced the Commission can execute on “a Europe we can be so proud of.” Charles Michel, former head of the EU Council who served alongside VDL throughout her first term, offered a pointed critique of her record. He noted that the Commission has launched roughly 400 initiatives while delivering on very few of them, asking simply: “Where are the deliveries? Where is the improvement?”

Michel also raised concerns about the regulatory burden facing European businesses, arguing that over-regulation is undermining competitiveness and pushing investment out of the bloc. For entrepreneurs already navigating a dense landscape of EU mandates, his assessment adds weight to a growing debate about whether Brussels is producing policy or just producing paperwork.

2. FRANCE PUSHES ANOTHER TAX ON US TECH DESPITE WARNINGS FROM MEMBER STATES

In the latest blow to American companies operating in Europe, France is now leading the charge for a new EU tax on US tech giants’ online ad revenue as part of a push to raise €66 billion a year for the European Union’s next budget.

In contrast to France, EU countries like Ireland, Romania, and Luxembourg have been far more reluctant to pile additional taxes onto American companies. Ireland’s Department of Enterprise split with France on the tax, pointing out that “An EU digital tax would be ‘deeply harmful’ to Ireland, given that firms like Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft provide thousands of high-value jobs and significant tax revenue while anchoring Ireland’s status as a global tech hub.” Ireland further cited fears that such a move would risk stoking tensions with the US, something Romania is also keen to avoid.

As these comments from EU member states illustrate, President Trump’s forceful, yet calculated approach to European overreach with tariff threats, sustained diplomatic pressure, and direct demands for fair treatment of US businesses has already led several EU countries to question whether saddling US companies with more taxes is worth the risk of retaliation from Washington.

If France wants to raise €66 billion a year for the EU’s next budget, it should explore other solutions that don’t require shaking down American businesses to close a budget gap of their own making.

EU’S CLIMATE RAMPAGE CONTINUES, AND BUSINESSES ARE FOOTING THE BILL

The EU is set to arrive at COP31 in Antalya this November, pushing for concrete action over climate pledges, according to draft Council conclusions seen by Euronews. The document calls for delivery on fossil fuel phase-outs, tripling renewable capacity, and slashing methane emissions by 2030. Every bullet point adds another layer of mandates on top of the Green Deal agenda already crushing businesses.

What’s not on Brussels’ agenda is any reckoning with the cost of its own policies. Europeans spent another brutal summer dying in the heat, in no small part because regulatory overreach has made reliable, affordable energy and air conditioning increasingly out of reach.

The message to Europeans and businesses is clear: this is just the beginning.

1. AfD SCORES MORE HISTORIC WINS

Germany’s conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party delivered another seismic performance in Sunday’s Saxony-Anhalt state elections, pulling in 43.8% of the vote and securing 39 of 83 parliamentary seats.

The surge came largely at the expense of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU, which cratered from 40 seats down to just 15, a collapse AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt co-chair Ulrich Siegmund was happy to credit to Merz himself, joking that the Chancellor was “a very good campaigner for us.”

President Trump weighed in, posting on Truth Social Tuesday night: “Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night. They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible Immigration rules and regulations which have hurt Germany so badly. THEY ARE ON THE RISE, and not going to take it anymore! MGGA!!!”

2. NEW HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN EUROPEAN CONSERVATIVE

Thanks to Hungary’s anti-free speech move, the European Conservative is no more. Founder and Editor-in-Chief Alvino-Mario Fantini revealed this week that after a series of political upheavals in Budapest, Hungary’s Ministry of Finance now owns the publication outright.

The magazine, which Fantini built from a four-page volunteer newsletter into a 132-page quarterly reaching readers worldwide, was swallowed up when the new Hungarian government moved to dissolve the foundation governing the Matthias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), taking The European Conservative with it.

Fantini wrote in a statement: “As I write this, I do not know what the next chapter will be. The reasons The European Conservative was created, and the reasons it has had such loyal readers, have not been repealed by April’s election in Hungary. Europe still faces serious and urgent questions—about borders, demography, family, faith, identity, immigration, religion, and free speech—that much of the legacy media prefers to ignore. So, in my humble opinion, there is still a need for a project like ours.”

SENIOR EU OFFICIAL REVEALS THE TRUE AIM OF DMA

American companies have for years argued that Europe’s DMA was built against them and that it would undermine basic privacy and security safeguards for EU users. These suspicions were confirmed this week by Andreas Schwab, Chair of the European Parliament’s DMA Implementation Working Group, speaking at CCIA Europe’s 2026 European Digital Competition Day.

Schwab began his remarks by acknowledging that “the DMA has not been done for the gatekeepers but against them,” a stark contrast to the DMA’s stated goal of protecting consumers and fostering innovation across the European digital sector. The admission comes as no surprise to US firms that, since 2024, have absorbed a combined $9 billion in fines, taxes and compliance costs under the EU’s digital regulatory framework, which has functioned more as a siphon to extract American capital to aid Europe’s floundering tech sector than as a legitimate push to ensure open and fair digital markets.

Schwab also noted that “If we want to have competition, we have to make life a bit inconvenient for people,” referencing the very real security and privacy trade-offs Brussels has thrust upon EU users. These include a substantial decline in online map and search engine functions. Europeans, however, don’t view the trade-off as worthwhile, with one recent survey finding that a majority of Europeans would like services to be restored to their pre-DMA state.

As President Trump has already stated, America “is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” In light of Schwab’s recent comments, Brussels should not expect the Trump Administration to yield on this issue. Between additional tariffs and a 301 investigation, Washington has every tool at its disposal to put Brussels in its place and ensure other regions don’t pursue similar policies. It just has to use them.

Managing public money is no longer enough for the eurocrats; they now view your personal bank accounts as a strategic resource to fund their own priorities. They’re coming for your savings, Europe.

1. ICELAND VOTES NO ON EU MEMBERSHIP TALKS

Icelandic voters dealt a decisive blow to EU expansionists Saturday, rejecting a proposal to restart membership negotiations, 52.8% to 47.2%. The result was a rebuke of Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, who had campaigned to reopen talks with Brussels, and a victory for those who argued that surrendering sovereignty to the EU wasn’t worth the trade.

Opposition leader Gudrun Hafsteinsdottir, who led the winning “no” campaign, stated, “These are not problems that Brussels will solve for us. These are problems that Icelandic politicians must solve.”

Iceland already enjoys access to the EU’s single market and Schengen travel zone without being a full member, and “no” voters saw little reason to give up the independence that arrangement allows.

“By staying independent as we are, we look brightly to the future,” said one Reykjavik voter after casting her “no” ballot.

Canadian Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman put it perfectly in a post on X explaining that if Canada is truly under attack, Carney’s place is in Ottawa, not Strasbourg. The question isn’t whether Canada needs allies; it’s why Carney seems more comfortable addressing Europe’s parliament than his own.

2. EU DMA LEAVES USERS DANGEROUSLY EXPOSED AHEAD OF OCTOBER TRADE TALKS

A new whitepaper released this week details just how costly Brussels’ Digital Markets Act has been for Europeans.

According to its findings, the DMA has caused slower search results for two-thirds of frequent users in the EU. The DMA’s new web-layout has also buried the sites of smaller EU retailers and grocers, while larger, more established chains have been largely unaffected.

The report follows last week’s news that USTR’s Jamieson Greer was invited to join an EU trade ministers’ meeting in October.

USTR Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick previously crossed the pond for a similar meeting in November to discuss the EU dialing back its digital regulations, and with the Commission’s digital rulebook still serving as the primary source of tension in the transatlantic relationship, the October meeting is likely to dictate how forceful President Trump’s response to the DMA will be going forward.

While not all EU fines merit a fierce response from the US, like the $250M fine handed down to Meta last week for deciding not to remove over 86% of identified fraudulent ads on the platform, the DMA has made future clashes over fraud and privacy all but unavoidable by opening its users up to unnecessary cyber risks. This includes ordering American companies to share search data with Chinese rivals like DeepSeek, under “anonymization” that can easily be reverse-engineered to identify individuals, and by allowing installation of apps on devices even if they don’t meet established privacy and security standards.

As European confidence in its own regulations begins to erode, USTR Greer should keep every option on the table to ensure the US is best positioned to capitalize on the EU’s waning support at home.

BRUSSELS EYES CITIZENS’ PRIVATE SAVINGS

The European Union is running low on public funds, and now it wants to tap into the money Europeans have saved in their bank accounts. With member states drowning in public debt and unable to foot the massive bill for their green agenda, Brussels is looking to everyday citizens for a bailout.

Speaking to French business leaders last week, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the €10 trillion sitting in European household bank deposits “lazy,” arguing that Europe must put that money “at the service of its companies.”

Her proposal would use tax incentives and new financial products to encourage people to move their savings into EU-directed investments in areas like defense, clean energy, and industry.

After years of reckless spending and failed economic programs, Brussels has realized it can no longer finance its agenda through simple taxation.

Managing public money is no longer enough for the eurocrats; they now view your personal bank accounts as a strategic resource to fund their own priorities. They’re coming for your savings, Europe.

1. CARNEY DITCHES HIS COUNTRY FOR EU

As Canada’s trade war with the United States intensifies, Prime Minister Mark Carney is skipping town. Rather than addressing the crisis at home, Carney is soon flying to Strasbourg to deliver a speech to the European Parliament.

“In these challenging times, strengthening our relationships across the world is vital,” the European Commission said in a statement.

But the visit comes as USMCA negotiations heat up, talks that were already unraveling over Canada’s failure to meet its own obligations, including the flow of illicit cigarettes and other items across the northern border. And now Carney is turning to the EU?

Canadian Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman put it perfectly in a post on X explaining that if Canada is truly under attack, Carney’s place is in Ottawa, not Strasbourg. The question isn’t whether Canada needs allies; it’s why Carney seems more comfortable addressing Europe’s parliament than his own.

2. NORWAY REJECTS EU DRILLING BAN

Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland made clear that Oslo will press ahead with oil and gas development in the Arctic Barents Sea, regardless of EU pressure for a moratorium on new Arctic hydrocarbon extraction.

Reuters reports:

Aasland believes Norway’s arguments are being heard in Brussels, but added that it was the country’s sovereign right to develop the Barents Sea resources even if the EU continued to support a moratorium. “We would develop these areas, and then it will be up to the EU whether they should have a moratorium on buying that gas or oil,” Aasland said.

Norwegian officials once championed the idea of their country serving as Europe’s “green battery,” a clean-energy anchor justifying new power interconnectors with Britain and Germany. Aasland himself called that vision “a flawed idea,” arguing Norway alone cannot balance the European power market. Green ideology met energy reality, and reality won.

Norway currently supplies around 30% of gas consumed across the EU and UK. Official forecasts show a sharp production drop after 2030 without new Barents Sea developments. Equinor CEO Anders Opedal made the stakes plain: if Europe won’t buy Arctic gas, global markets will. “The only thing that will suffer from this is actually European security,” he told Reuters. Brussels should be listening.

EVEN EUROPEANS ARE FED UP WITH THE DMA

Since President Trump took office, he has fought to protect American companies from the EU’s controversial digital regulations. Now, with the negative effects of Brussels’ regulations beginning to trickle down to its own populace, an unlikely ally for the US has emerged: Europeans themselves.

In a recent op-ed published in the National Interest, Portuguese public policy expert Cláudia Nunes argues that the EU’s Digital Markets Act was never about consumer protection. Rather, the regulation’s goal was to tilt the playing field against American tech companies that Brussels lacks the ability to replicate.

Given the higher prices and degraded digital experience Europeans have endured under the DMA, it should come as no surprise that the Europeans themselves have begun to turn against the regulations targeting American tech companies.

For one, the DMA has caused Europeans to pay more for the same services as US firms have been forced to offload compliance costs onto EU customers to offset additional expenses from the regulation.

The DMA has also had a devastating impact on app performance, with a recent survey of 5,000 Europeans finding the DMA has led to a substantial decline in online map and search engine functions. The same survey also revealed that a majority of Europeans would like services to be restored to their pre-DMA state, suggesting just how widely the negative impacts have been felt across the continent.

Even when disregarding the negative toll the regulations have had on EU users, Europeans are nonetheless principally opposed to the trade-offs which the DMA puts in place. 81% of Europeans oppose any regulation that would force search engines to elevate scammer’s content, and 78% of Europeans want platforms to continue filtering spam even if it affects traffic to certain sites. Yet, under the DMA, US companies are forced to do the opposite.

With President Trump eager to go to bat yet again for US firms, frustration among Europeans is not the only thing Brussels will have to manage moving forward. President Trump and his Administration have already launched a Section 301 investigation and threatened substantial tariffs, ensuring that the next two years will be turbulent for Brussels unless they change course.

1. TRUMP ADMIN TURNS UP THE HEAT ON EU GREEN OVERREACH

The Trump administration is hitting back against Brussels to roll back its sweeping corporate sustainability mandates. Rules that unfairly burden American businesses competing in European markets.

At the center of the standoff are two EU directives, the CSDDD and the CSRD, two pieces of extraterritorial regulations in Europe’s Green Deal agenda.

Despite committing under last year’s Turnberry trade deal to protect U.S. companies from “undue restrictions,” the EU has failed to deliver. Now Washington is making clear it will take “any actions necessary“ to defend American commerce.

U.S. Ambassador Andrew Puzder took to X, stating in part: “Now it’s time for the EU to deliver.”

Brussels is running out of room to stonewall, and the Trump administration is putting the EU on notice: roll back your burdensome green mandates or face consequences.

2. LESS COAL, HIGHER BILLS: AN EU AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

Europe’s green energy evangelists promised that ditching coal would deliver cleaner AND cheaper electricity. But to no surprise, they were catastrophically wrong.

According to new Eurostat figures, coal’s share of EU electricity production has collapsed to just 9.2%. Its lowest level since at least 1990, down from more than a third of all EU electricity in 1990 and 30.4% in 2000. Yet despite the dramatic retreat of coal, the average EU household electricity bill rose, reaching €28.96 per 100 kWh in the second half of 2025, up from €28.79 in the first half, and still well above pre-2022 levels.

This comes after the EU’s CO2 emissions mandates have already triggered factory closures and layoffs across the continent, leaving the car manufacturing sector significantly damaged.

Taxes and levies now make up 28.9% of the average bill, up from 27.9% just six months prior. Pre-tax prices edged down slightly, but higher taxation more than wiped out those modest savings.

The pain isn’t evenly distributed… It’s concentrated where the green agenda is most aggressive. Irish households pay the most at €40.42 per 100 kWh, Germany comes in at €38.69, and Belgium at €34.99. In Germany, the offshore wind connection levy climbed to 0.816 euro cents per kWh, and the network levy more than doubled, all while Germany generates less electricity than it did in 2000.

Less coal. Higher costs. That’s the Green Deal in practice.

EU LEADS IN FINES ON US TECH

This past Monday, ITIF published a damning report documenting how Foreign Governments have extracted $21.7 Billion (and counting) from U.S. tech firms, with the vast majority coming from the EU by way of its digital regulatory framework. The figure represents the highest annual total yet-recorded, and a $1B increase compared to last year’s sum.

To put the figure into perspective, the same amount of money could have otherwise been used to pay for 290,000 teacher salaries, or fund five separate Artemis IV missions, but instead helped subsidize Europe’s fledgling tech sector.

Perhaps most troubling is that the EU has shown no signs of pulling back from their heavy-handed regulatory approach. This stubbornness has been echoed by European media, who have suggested the Commission’s best response to President Trump’s expected retaliation for the EU’s latest record-breaking fines targeting U.S. tech would be “more taxes” and a “dial[ing] up of investigations of US Big Tech.”

Brussels has spent years insisting its regulatory framework is neutral, and non-discriminatory, yet the EU’s recent penalties suggest otherwise. With a Section 301 investigation now on the horizon, Brussels faces a choice: recalibrate, or brace for a prolonged trade war with the world’s largest economy.

Doubling down on the same regulatory playbook that led to this situation is not a strategy they should expect to work, nor one President Trump is likely to tolerate.

1. AMSTERDAM’S WAR ON BACKYARD BBQ

European green extremism has officially come for the BBQ.

Amsterdam has expanded restrictions on public barbecuing as part of its official Beleidskader Houtstook Amsterdam, a wood-burning policy framework adopted by the city council on September 17, 2025. According to the Brussels Signal, the city is now studying the installation of electric cooking points in parks so residents can grill without charcoal. Disposable barbecues are already fully prohibited. Violations carry a €95 fine. In the Vondelpark and every other park in the city’s southern borough, charcoal grilling has been banned outright since 2017.

The city even issued a leaflet instructing residents to consult neighbors before lighting a grill and directed them to a website with tips for having that conversation. Amsterdam is also the world’s first capital to ban public advertisements for meat products.

The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) party and other critics have warned the framework could be a first step toward a total ban, even on private gardens. If European governments are telling citizens they need permission to grill in their own backyard, the regulatory overreach isn’t coming… it’s already here.

2. NEW EU RULES ADD TO AUTO SECTOR’S STRUGGLES

Brussels’ overregulation agenda is coming for the EU’s already crippling car industry.

A new EU regulation mandates that new vehicle types must contain at least 15% recycled plastic by weight starting in 2032, climbing to 25% by 2036. And it doesn’t stop there. Carmakers must also issue digital “circularity vehicle passports,” provide parts-removal instructions, and assume full financial liability for end-of-life vehicle collection beginning in September 2029.

This comes after the EU’s CO2 emissions mandates have already triggered factory closures and layoffs across the continent, leaving the car manufacturing sector significantly damaged.

The regulation adds sweeping new obligations, seemingly without any demonstrated environmental payoff. Spain’s recycling federation, FER, has warned the rules would impose “disproportionate technical and economic demands without matching environmental gains.”

Existing EU rules already recover around 85% of material from scrapped vehicles, raising the question of who, exactly, this mountain of new red tape is for…

GOOGLE JOINS COMPANIES & EXPERTS IN SOUNDING ALARM OVER DMA’S SECURITY RISKS

Last week, Google joined the ranks of American companies who have gone public to voice concerns about the Digital Markets Act and the security risks it has opened EU users up to.

Writing on their website blog, Google warned the DMA is “placing European consumers’ privacy, security, and safety at risk,” explaining that it would force the company to grant any user-downloaded AI app unvetted system-level access to users’ microphones, cameras, and screens with no ability for Google to screen them first.

The company joins other US companies like Amazon and Apple who, along with industry experts, have long-criticized the DMA’s undercutting of user security and privacy protections. These include an increased risk of unauthorized access to user data and core system functions, an erosion of built-in protections, and the weakening of malware blocking just as incidents have tripled globally.

Few are better acquainted with these concerns than the EU themselves who, despite not addressing the issues, sought technical guidance in 2023 to assess the security implications of the DMA, suggesting its privacy and security implications hadn’t been sufficiently considered when the regulation was developed.

Google’s public stance also comes at a critical time for the transatlantic relationship, with the deadline for American cloud providers to appeal their recently imposed gatekeeper designations fast approaching.

The Commission would be wise to use this fork in the road to reevaluate its predatory regulatory framework. If Brussels takes the wrong turn and upholds these gatekeeper designations, they should expect a far less forgiving approach from President Trump in combating what he has characterized as “overseas extortion” once the Section 301 investigation is finalized.

1. BELGIUM CAN’T KEEP ITS OWN CAPITAL SAFE

The U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory for Belgium to Level 2 on July 23rd, urging American citizens to “exercise increased caution” due to crime, civil unrest, and even terrorism. The advisory warns that “petty crime is common, particularly in tourist areas,” including purse snatching and pickpocketing, and instructs travelers to avoid demonstrations, monitor local media, and stay on guard at banks and ATMs.

Brussels is home of the European Commission, the EU Parliament, and the entire bureaucratic apparatus that lectures the world on governance and security, and now American tourists are officially advised to watch their backs in the very city where EU officials set policy for 450 million people.

This past June, protests against education reforms devolved into riots, with e-scooters set ablaze and police deploying tear gas in the streets.

If EU technocrats can’t maintain order in their own capital, what exactly are they managing the rest of Europe for?

2. GERMANY BET THE HOUSE ON CHINA AND LOST

For decades, China was the golden goose for German automakers. Now it’s an albatross. China’s own carmakers have surpassed Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz in electric vehicle technology while offering lower prices in the world’s largest car market, which itself contracted by a fifth this year, forcing German brands into a brutal fight for survival they are already losing.

The fallout is staggering. BMW announced it is cutting 8,000 jobs in Germany by the end of 2027. Volkswagen is in negotiations to slash 100,000 jobs and shutter factories. Mercedes-Benz is demanding workers log a full 40-hour week for the same 35-hour pay. Meanwhile, Chinese car sales in the EU surged 63% in the first half of 2026, meaning China now sells more cars in Europe than Germany sells in China.

But the crisis didn’t happen overnight, and while Germany was wrong to get in bed with China in the first place… the EU shares blame. For years, Brussels pushed aggressive climate regulations that forced automakers to pivot to electric vehicles on a tight government-mandated timeline, regardless of whether the market was ready. Now the EU is even trying to push that overregulation agenda onto American companies with the CSDDD and CSRD.

The costly, rushed transition drained resources and left German brands flat-footed against Chinese EV makers who had a years-long head start and government subsidies of their own.

Bureaucratic caution in Brussels effectively handed Chinese automakers a longstanding German industry.

BRUSSELS’ $1 BILLION GOOGLE FINE DRAWS BACKLASH IN THE US

The European Commission’s $1 billion fine on Google last week, the largest ever levied under the Digital Markets Act, has produced an emphatic response across the American policy and media landscape, which has both condemned the European Union’s action and backed President Trump’s retaliatory stance.

Several American experts have spoken out on the matter. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation characterized the move as “further confirmation that the DMA functions less as a competition tool than as an extractive mechanism,” while an economic policy expert pointed out that “every DMA noncompliance penalty so far,” such as the penalty handed down to Google, has fallen on an American company.

Along with criticism from former Trump officials, this reflects a consensus within the United States that crosses traditional partisan and institutional divides, and that Brussels cannot easily dismiss.

President Trump’s decision to launch a Section 301 investigation, along with other further retaliatory steps, also drew widespread support. Paul McCarthy at the Heritage Foundation, lauded President Trump’s launching of a 301 investigation as “the right call,” while also recognizing the Administration for exposing the DMA for what it is: “a direct challenge to American economic sovereignty.” Another analyst further backed the Trump administration for being “firm in standing up for U.S. trade interests” while also noting the Administration “would be justified in responding forcefully to European policies that disadvantage trusted American companies.”

This spectrum of critical voices clearly validates the Trump Administration’s strategy, and underscores the fact that, with America as united as ever in its opposition to the EU’s regulation, now is the right time to keep the EU under sustained pressure.

1. SPAIN’S SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT IN FREE FALL

A new survey delivered a devastating verdict on leftist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his government this week, finding that six in ten Spaniards now hold a negative view of the current legislative term, with nearly a third describing it as “disastrous,” “nefarious,” and “ruinous.”

The numbers come straight from a Sigma Dos poll for El Mundo published Monday, one of Spain’s major national newspapers. Only 12 percent of Spaniards view the term positively. A full 31 percent say they cannot identify a single achievement by the Sánchez government.

With elections due no later than August 2027, 41 percent of Spaniards expect them to be called early. Projections show the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) losing roughly 17 seats, potentially handing the right-wing People’s Party (PP) and Vox coalition a governing majority.

2. CONGRESS TAKES AIM AT EU’S $1T OVERREACH ON US BUSINESS

Last week, Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX) introduced the Stop EU Overreach Act, legislation directing the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate a suite of European Union “green” regulations, including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, and others that extend far beyond Europe’s borders and land squarely on American companies.

A Hudson Institute study estimates these rules could hit U.S. businesses with more than $1 trillion in initial compliance costs and up to $43 billion in recurring annual expenses.

The regulations force American companies to map their entire supply chains, submit to third-party audits, and meet EU sustainability standards, even when their operations are fully compliant with U.S. law.

Rep. Goldman’s bill would give the USTR tools to fight back, including tariffs and suspension of trade benefits, until the EU stops applying its rules to American businesses. The legislation already has eight House co-sponsors and support from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

TRUMP RESPONDS TO BRUSSELS’ RECORD DMA FINE

This past Thursday, the DMA handed its largest penalty to date, fining Google over a billion dollars for alleged violations of how it displays its products in search queries.

Brussels’ record-setting fine follows a worrying trend for American companies who have felt the financial toll of EU enforcement rise dramatically over the past few years, with penalties growing from $589.8 million in 2023 and $2.3 billion in 2024 to $2.5 billion in 2025.

The fine drew the ire of President Trump, who ripped the move on Truth Social, characterizing it as an “illegal and highly discriminatory practice,” and declaring “The United States of America is not a “PIGGYBANK” for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” President Trump also announced that his administration would immediately initiate a Section 301 investigation, a step that equips the US with tools critical to future negotiations such as tariffs and other retaliatory measures.

President Trump is right. In practice, the DMA functioned more as a “regulatory weapon aimed almost exclusively at American technology companies,” as the EU-US Forum’s Matt Mowers characterized it in a recent Newsweek op-ed, than a policy meant to level the playing field or benefit European consumers as it originally intended. For one, a survey of 5,000 Europeans earlier this year found the DMA’s regulations caused a widely felt decline in the quality of map services.

Worse yet, European consumers have increasingly had to absorb price hikes stemming from the DMA, a development the Commission notably left off their recent review of the DMA, perhaps because acknowledging them would call the entire regulatory framework into question, along with the vast financial and bureaucratic resources Brussels has poured into building it.

The European Commission has had ample time to change course and stop targeting American companies with crippling financial penalties. With President Trump’s 301 investigation announcement and the additional spectre of tariffs, now is the time to hold Brussels’ feet to the fire and demonstrate that they will be the last government that tries to fund its own tech ambitions on the backs of American companies.

1. NEW ERA FOR EUROPEAN PATRIOTISM?

Over the weekend, the world watched Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, their second world title in history. As World Cup hero Ferran Torres rode through Madrid streets in a “Make Spain Great Again” hat, the image captured something bigger: the rise of a confident, unapologetic patriotism across Europe, inspired in part by Trump’s political playbook.

Could this signal conservative movements finding their footing again in the EU? When one of the world’s most celebrated players in Europe dons a MAGA-style hat after winning the world’s biggest sporting event, it’s not just a fashion choice. It’s an indicator.

This year’s World Cup was a celebration of American leadership. Before a single ball was kicked, the tournament itself was a diplomatic and logistical triumph for Trump, with his administration processing over 5 million visa applications, holding off burdensome travel fees, and ensuring millions of fans from around the globe could flood American cities without chaos.

Then came the final, where President Trump sat with FIFA President Gianni Infantino before presenting the World Cup trophy to Spain’s captain.

And he’s not done. Following the success of their working together, reports have emerged that President Trump is interested in nominating FIFA President Gianni Infantino for UN Secretary-General, the man who helped make this the greatest sporting event in American history.

2. FRANCE’S GREEN AGENDA IS TEARING MACRON’S CABINET APART

France’s political infighting has not relented.

Over the past year, the country has burned through four prime ministers, including one who resigned after less than 24 hours in office, only to be reappointed days later. Now this plague of uncertainty is washing through others in cabinet positions.

On Wednesday, France’s Minister for Ecological Transition Monique Barbut announced her resignation over claims that “the ‘forces opposing’ her green transition agenda had become ‘too powerful.” She took to LinkedIn to announce she was quitting, before Macron refused her resignation, and she agreed to stay.

For an administration already struggling to hold its coalition together, this kind of ideologically-driven instability is becoming a pattern, and it shortens the runway for the National Rally party to consolidate power.

GOP TO EU: YOUR DIGITAL RULES ARE A TRADE WAR IN DISGUISE

Twenty-five Republican members of Congress sent a letter to President Trump this week encouraging him to build on his strong stance against the EU’s systematic targeting of American tech companies with more forceful measures.

At the center of their complaint is the Digital Markets Act, or DMA, which has saddled Amazon, Apple, and Google, among others, with “gatekeeper” obligations while Chinese platforms like Temu and AliExpress escape regulation altogether. In the letter, lawmakers accused the EU of using the DMA as “a tool of economic extraction and regulatory coercion against American firms.”

Among the items lawmakers suggested was utilizing Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to launch trade investigations, a step that would formally put tariffs and other retaliatory measures on the table.

Responding to the letter, EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said: “The EU has the sovereign right to regulate economic activities on its territory…. we will keep enforcing our rules in a fair and non-discriminatory manner – as we have always done.”

Unfortunately for American companies designated as gatekeepers, this “fair and non-discriminatory treatment” from the EU takes the form of fining American tech companies more than they collect in taxes from their own tech sector. Using regulation as a backdoor trade barrier has a cost… and when the United States decides to collect, European companies will be the ones paying it.

1. EU SUES MEMBER STATES OVER GREEN AGENDA

The European Commission has launched infringement procedures against all 27 EU member states for failing to implement sweeping new green building mandates by the May 29, 2026 deadline. The rules, part of the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), would require businesses to overhaul their commercial properties to meet strict new energy efficiency standards.

The EPBD, adopted in 2024, mandates that all new buildings produce zero on-site fossil fuel emissions by 2030, that new publicly-owned buildings meet that standard by 2028, and that fossil fuel boilers be fully phased out by 2040, leaving businesses staring down potentially massive compliance costs with little relief currently available.

All this, while Europe is sweltering through record heat waves, with only 20% of households having air conditioning. Instead of easing up on their deadly energy rules, they’re doubling down.

The EU’s own data shows its current annual building renovation rate sits at just 1%.

2. FRANCE’S LEFT TURNS TO LAWFARE TO STOP LE PEN

Emmanuel Macron’s party, Renaissance, has filed a legal complaint against Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), accusing the opposition of “trademark infringement and unfair competition” over Le Pen’s new campaign slogan, “Pour la France, la renaissance.” The case is scheduled to be heard July 27.

On July 7, Le Pen unveiled her slogan, and Renaissance claims the phrase unlawfully appropriates its political identity and registered trademarks, arguing it sows “confusion in the minds of voters.”

This is not a coincidence of timing. Courts have already cleared Le Pen to run for president, and her support is growing. Rather than compete on ideas, the governing party is going to court to silence the opposition’s campaign before it gains steam. RN responded bluntly: “When Mr. Attal talks about unity while throwing his support behind Edouard Philippe, we promise we won’t take him to court.”

USTR DRAWS HARD LINE AGAINST EU ASSAULT ON AMERICAN TECH

The EU’s campaign against American tech companies has a new and vocal critic in U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Speaking at a recent event, Greer indicated that the Trump administration will not allow Brussels to write the rules for American tech companies who have been disproportionately targeted by the EU’s digital regulations like the DMA.

“We’re not going to let Europe control the global regulation of our companies,” he noted. “We’re just not going to let Europe be the arbiter.” Greer also took aim at the structure of Brussels’ regulatory framework, calling out rules which “only tends to capture our guys.”

While not every regulation from the EU affecting US companies has merited a fierce response, like their recent investigation into Meta’s addictive design features on Facebook & Instagram, the vast majority have. Over just the last two years, the Commission has handed down penalties of more than $7B to American companies under its digital regulatory framework. Taking into account the $1B in annual compliance fees spent between U.S. companies, the total costs since 2024 exceed $9B.

Worse yet, the EU has shown no signs of slowing their approach. On July 8, for example, the EU rejected Apple’s challenge to its gatekeeper status, condemning the company to what will likely be billions in additional fines and expenses in the years to come.

Moreover, the basis for these penalties have been rooted in a constantly evolving set of criteria. Commissioner for competition at the EC Teresa Ribera, for instance, recently signaled a willingness to designate based on qualitative criteria when the quantitative criteria is not met, bucking once-clearly defined benchmarks and leaving the door open for widespread abuse by the EU.

US companies grappling with Brussels’ regulatory assault can take solace in knowing the EU’s actions haven’t gone unnoticed by President Trump. His administration has remained steadfast in defending US businesses against these predatory regulations, using tariff leverage, diplomatic engagement, and direct demands for fair treatment. The President will not back down so long as Brussels treats US companies as a means to subsidize their own tech sector.