1. GERMANY DOUBLES DOWN ON GREEN FAILURE

The German parliament has approved a sweeping new climate law requiring oil companies to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 65% by 2040, exceeding even the government’s own initial proposal of 59%. The government’s estimates project additional costs of €2.7 billion by 2030, alongside increased bureaucracy and regulatory burden on businesses and households.

Germany already gutted its energy base by phasing out nuclear power and several other sources. A planned 9,000 kilometer hydrogen pipeline network won’t be complete until 2032 at the earliest. Domestic biomass and green hydrogen capacity remains severely underdeveloped. Berlin is mandating a transformation it cannot yet build, and increasing energy import dependency in the process.

2. FRANCE CRACKS DOWN ON NICOTINE POUCHES

France has made it a criminal offense to possess a product that is perfectly legal in the country next door, and now Brussels is being forced to decide what the EU actually stands for.

This month, France banned the sale, possession, and use of oral nicotine pouches, meaning a traveler who legally purchased the product in Sweden or Germany faces criminal penalties the moment they enter France. Members of the European Parliament have formally asked the Commission to investigate whether Paris has violated the EU’s free movement of goods.

The logic doesn’t hold up either. Cigarettes remain legal in France. Vaping products are still available. The ban targets a category widely used across the EU as a smoking alternative.

This is Europe’s regulatory state at its most incoherent, member states inventing their own rules, contradicting the bloc’s founding principles, and leaving consumers and businesses caught in the crossfire.

THE BRUSSELS’ BLAME GAME

While Brussels and national governments argue over who is to blame for Europe’s red tape catastrophe, European businesses are drowning, and no one is throwing a lifeline.

According to Politico EU, the European Commission unveiled a regulatory overhaul promising a “deep cleaning” across 12 priority areas, with a target of cutting administrative costs by €37.7 billion a year by 2029. But rather than lead with action, the Commission opened with a blame game, using the word “gold-plating” 20 times to point fingers at member states for piling extra requirements on top of Brussels mandates.

Here’s the truth: both are guilty. And while they argue, European companies fall even further behind U.S. companies. As German MEP Christian Doleschal put it: “Turning a blind eye is not an option.”

Stop the finger-pointing. Start cutting the red tape! European businesses need relief now, not a bureaucratic blame war.

1. TRUMP STANDS UP TO BRUSSELS’ BIG TECH SHAKEDOWN

Over just the past two years, the European Commission handed down more than $7 billion in fines to American tech companies under its Digital Markets Act. Over two decades, the total hits $25 billion extracted from American innovators.

Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jacob Helberg recently put the EU on blast, saying, “The biggest single source of ​friction in the U.S.-EU relationship from an economic standpoint is the recurrent ​fines, very onerous punitive fines instituted on U.S. companies.”

The Commission, after years of attempting to stonewall American concerns, is now returning to the negotiating table following tariff threats and sustained pressure from the Trump administration.

President Trump has been fighting for American companies since he took office last year. If the EU wants to have a better relationship with the United States, the Trump Administration has made it clear: No more ridiculous regulations.

2. SPAIN SELLS OUT EUROPE TO BEIJING

In another attempt by EU nations to kneecap European business, Spain is hearing out Beijing’s demands to further cripple its own economy.

Bloomberg reports China is directly pressuring Spain to kill the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act, the “Made in Europe” proposal that would require EU nations to prioritize domestic companies in public procurement and rebuild European manufacturing to 20% of GDP by 2035.

During PM Pedro Sánchez’s Beijing trip, Chinese officials “complained that Europe was becoming too protectionist,” per Bloomberg, and lobbied Spain to sink the proposal.

The revitalization of Europe depends on leaders pushing back against foreign influence and investing in their manufacturing at home.

According to the EU Observer, Spain is running a €42.3 billion trade deficit with China, 74% of its total trade deficit, while Chinese investment in Spain surged from €149 million to €643 million in a single year. Sánchez signed 19 deals with Beijing during the trip.

The Industrial Accelerator Act is one of the few serious proposals to stop China from hollowing out European industry. And Spain may be trying to kill it on Beijing’s behalf.

EUROPE VULNERABLE TO SCAMS, THANKS TO DIGITAL LAWS

According to a recent article, the European Commission’s enforcement of their digital laws is actually making Europeans less safe online.

The article highlights one of several fundamental contradictions in how Brussels is applying the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act. Google developed its Site Reputation Abuse Policy to combat “parasite SEO,” a technique where bad actors hijack the credibility of trusted websites to push malware and scam content to the top of search results. Rather than applaud these protections, the Commission is treating them as a potential DMA violation.

This creates a lose-lose situation for U.S. companies and their consumers. If they maintain their security filters and continue protecting EU-users from known scams, platforms risk triggering massive DMA fines. Conversely, If they do away with their scam safeguards, platforms open themselves up to DSA-based penalties for failing to shield EU users from spam, malware, and deceptive content which the DSA is intended to prevent.

Even more problematic is that Brussels’ approach runs directly counter to what European consumers want. 81% of Europeans oppose any regulation that would force search engines to elevate scammer’s content, while 78% want platforms to continue filtering spam even if it affects traffic to certain sites.

The EU is also opening up Europeans to fraud and malicious actors through their mandating of “sideloading,” which allows the installation of apps on devices from third parties even if they don’t meet gatekeepers’ privacy and security standards. While American platforms have long supported third-party apps and marketplaces, the issue centers around DMA obligations, which override safeguards intended to oversee these digital marketplaces. With malware incidents on smartphones recently tripling, Brussels would be better off prioritizing the security of its own users, instead of forcing gatekeepers to dismantle their security safeguards to facilitate openness.

With the DMA review coming in May, the European Commission should seize the opportunity to address these contradictions before scammers inflict meaningful financial damage on its populace, and take a more balanced approach to DMA and DSA enforcement that doesn’t put American companies in an unwinnable position.

1. STARMER PUSHES EU TAKEOVER

Keir Starmer is quietly dismantling Brexit. According to the European Conservative, new legislation expected later this year would lock the UK into automatic regulatory alignment with the EU, making Britain subject to new EU laws without a vote each time. The Labour PM long promised the UK would not rejoin the single market or customs union. Obviously, Starmer found a loophole to his promise; this bill would let him break that pledge in everything but name.

Reform leader Nigel Farage put it bluntly: “The British people didn’t vote to become rule-takers, and we will fight this every step of the way.” Starmer’s government is once again showing disregard for the interests of the British people.

2. FRENCH STATE MEDIA IS ROTTING FROM THE INSIDE

France’s left-wing public broadcasting machine is finally being held to account, and the numbers are damning. A four-month parliamentary inquiry led by conservative MP Charles Alloncle uncovered what everyone suspected: corruption, rampant mismanagement, and brazen political collusion at France’s state broadcasters.

The inquiry ran 67 hearings and heard from 234 witnesses. What emerged was a €80 million deficit quietly accumulated since 2017, all while public broadcasting hoovers up over €3 billion annually, representing more than half of France’s entire culture ministry budget.

TRUMP FORCES BRUSSELS BACK TO THE TABLE AFTER $9 BILLION SHAKEDOWN

The damage that the European Commission’s digital regulations like the Digital Markets Act have wreaked on American companies since entering into force in 2023 have been substantial, but according to recently-released statistics, the costs may be far higher than previously imagined.

Over just the last two years, the European Commission has handed down penalties of more than $7 billion to American companies under its digital regulatory framework. Taking into account the $1 billion in annual compliance fees spent between U.S. companies, the total costs since 2024 exceed $9 Billion.

Thankfully, President Trump isn’t letting his foot off the gas, being sure the EU knows not to mess with American companies. The Commission, despite spending years refusing to engage American concerns, is returning to the negotiating table following tariff threats and sustained diplomatic pressure from the Trump Administration.

After Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth Jacob Helberg’s recent warning that “another round of fines could be imposed on U.S. companies in the near future, never has it been more important for the Trump Administration to maintain their pressure campaign against the EU.

1. VP VANCE IN HUNGARY

Vice President JD Vance traveled to Budapest this week to stand alongside Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of Hungary’s pivotal upcoming election.

Speaking at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, Vance called out the EU’s relentless attacks against Hungary’s economy and infrastructure as a punishment for Orban’s defiance against the Brussels establishment.

The Vice President says EU bureaucrats “have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary. They have tried to make Hungary less energy independent. They have tried to drive up costs for Hungarian consumers.”

President Trump also called into the rally of about 5,000 and praised Orban for being a “fantastic leader” for Hungary, stating:

“I love Hungary and I love that Viktor, I’ll tell you. He’s a fantastic man. We’ve had a tremendous relationship, and he does a job. Remember this? He didn’t allow people to storm your country and invade your country like other people have and ruin their countries.”

The Trump administration has led the charge against Brussels’ overreach, urging them to reverse course before it is too late, consistently noting that Hungary has been a conservative island in the EU.

Hungary’s parliamentary election will be held on Sunday, April 12, 2026.

2. BRUSSELS PUMPS THE BRAKES ON AMERICAN TRUCKS

The EU has found a new target for their overregulation agenda, this time it’s American pickup trucks.

According to The Financial Times, American Automakers have accused Brussels of tightening its Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) scheme specifically to keep their large trucks, including the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram 1500, off European roads.

The regulatory changes, expected to launch in 2027, come despite the EU agreeing to cut tariffs on American vehicles to zero as part of last year’s U.S.-EU trade deal.

U.S. Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder put it plainly: “You can’t have low tariffs and massive non-tariff trade barriers and claim you’ve got a functioning relationship.”

The American Automotive Policy Council has already urged the Trump administration to block the EU’s decision. President Trump and American automakers will not let this stand.

BRUSSELS BACKS DOWN: HOW TRUMP FORCED THE EU’S HAND ON TECH REGS

For years, EU officials have insisted that its regulatory frameworks like the Digital Markets Act were non-negotiable, brushing off repeated efforts from U.S. leaders. Brussels has tried to squeeze American tech companies for every last cent. But that posture is beginning to soften, due in large part to the Trump administration’s sustained pressure.

President Trump’s pressure campaign has included tariff threats and visa sanctions against EU officials, among other tactics, and the Commission has finally signaled a willingness to come back to the table.

This reversal marks a pivotal win for President Trump and his administration and its unrelenting pushback against Brussels’ oppressive regulations, which have been “one of the biggest impediments to and obstacles to having a strong and vibrant economic transatlantic partnership,” as characterized by Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg last week.

The dialogue could give the U.S. a meaningful say in how the EU enforces its tech and competition rules against American companies, marking a seismic shift from the Commission’s previous posture of refusing to engage outright. As American companies targeted under the DMA continue to grapple with billions in annual fines and compliance fees, any easing of these pressures is sure to be met with widespread approval.

The decision to reopen dialogue – just as costs begin to trickle down to European businesses and consumers themselves – indicates the EU likely can no longer afford to dismiss U.S. concerns outright, especially as President Trump continues to push back aggressively on behalf of American industry.

1. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE, FRANCE

France’s April 2027 presidential election is shaping up to be the country’s most consequential in a generation, and with that, a chance for France to oust the leadership of Macron’s left. According to a new poll, National Rally’s Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella dominate the first round, pulling between 31.5% and 38%, a double-digit lead over every competitor.

The only candidate polling to beat them in a hypothetical second round is former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, a Macron loyalist who champions progressive EU policies, who came in with around 20% of the vote.

The National Rally has the opportunity to take France back from the disaster that was the Macron presidency. After five prime ministers and an approval rating that cratered to 28%, Macron’s blind loyalty to Brussels overregulation has finally caught up with him. Now, his allies are calling for a “unity” candidate to defeat NR and continue the same weak leadership as Macron.

France has suffered enough under poor leadership. The 2027 election is their opportunity to finally reject the failures of the left and choose sovereignty, prosperity, and commonsense leadership… they must seize it.

2. TRUMP FIGHTS FOR AMERICA — WARREN SIDES WITH THE EU

President Trump is taking the fight to European regulators who have spent years targeting America’s most successful tech companies. His administration pressured the EU to ease up on its aggressive investigations into U.S. firms, a major win for American workers, American innovation, and American economic leadership on the world stage.

Now, Senator Elizabeth Warren is more interested in scoring political points than standing up for American workers.

Warren sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative asking that President Trump stop defending American companies from foreign regulators. She called the White House’s efforts to protect U.S. businesses an attempt to “secure advantages for the President and his tech billionaire friends.” Translation: standing up for American jobs and American companies is, according to Warren, a scandal.

The EU’s Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act aren’t neutral consumer protection laws. They are targeted regulatory weapons used against America’s most innovative companies, the same companies that employ millions of Americans and fuel economic growth here at home. For years, Washington did nothing while Europe picked off U.S. firms one by one. President Trump changed that.

Warren’s message to European regulators is simple: don’t worry, we’ll stop him. That’s not dissent. That’s working against America.

President Trump is doing exactly what a Commander-in-Chief should do, putting American interests first, fighting for American businesses, and refusing to let foreign governments dictate the rules of our economy. Warren just made clear which side she’s on. It isn’t ours.

EU WANTS AMERICAN TECH TO “FEEL THE PAIN”

The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have made clear they will not stand idly by while European regulators discriminate against American tech companies. Despite sustained pressure from Washington, EU lawmakers are digging in, and their defiance is telling.

EU lawmakers are brushing off an appeal from the U.S. Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder for renewed dialogue on the DMA and DSA.

Speaking about Puzder’s request, German MEP Andreas Schwab insisted the rules “were made for the benefit of consumers and companies, including American companies.”

This is a hard sell, however, considering nearly every company designated as a “gatekeeper” under the DMA is American. The designation has massive financial implications for American industry, and European companies have almost entirely been left off the list. If these rules were designed equally, European firms would be sharing the burden — yet Brussels is fining U.S. tech companies more than it collects in taxes from its own tech sector.

German Green MEP Alexandra Geese went further, arguing that Washington’s “obsession” with EU tech rules “should make us suspicious.” Nothing about an American President looking out for their country’s tech industry by pushing back against unprecedented fines is suspicious, however. If the EU expected the Trump Administration to stand idly by as the U.S. tech industry is fined at will to the tune of nearly €4 billion per year, they severely miscalculated President Trump’s willingness to defend American industry.

The most revealing argument, however, came from Ella Jakubowska of the digital rights group EDRi. She suggested that U.S. companies “feeling the pain” of fines and enforcement actions are actually evidence that the regulations are working, and that the Commission “should be doubling down” on them. This out-of-touch statement is indicative of why Europe’s tech industry has continued to struggle.

While Brussels celebrates squeezing American companies, its own tech sector has fallen further behind, and European businesses and consumers are footing part of the bill too In a sign of what is to come, Meta hiked its fees for European advertisers last month in response to Brussels’ digital taxes, effectively passing the tax down to European businesses and consumers.

Brussels’ predatory regulations are jeopardizing Trump’s Golden Age, and if the EU won’t engage on their own accord, the Trump administration should make sure the cost of staying away is too high to ignore. It’s time to further tighten the screws until Brussels comes to the table prepared to negotiate.

1. RN’S HISTORIC LOCAL SURGE

France’s March 22nd municipal elections delivered a stunning result: The conservative Rassemblement National (RN) claimed what the party itself called its “greatest breakthrough in history.” According to the European Conservative, with a 57% turnout, RN candidates racked up approximately 1,300 municipal officials elected in the first round and garnered a three-to fourfold increase in municipal councillors in the second round.

The RN prevailed in a range of medium-sized cities, including Agde, Carcassonne, Carpentras, and Menton, and broke into new territory, including Montargis. In Nice, France’s fifth-largest city, RN-allied candidate Éric Ciotti defeated the Macronist incumbent outright.

The Left’s strategy of allying with the far-left La France Insoumise backfired spectacularly. In Clermont-Ferrand and La Flèche, two places that have been socialist strongholds for over 4 decades, voters elected conservative leaders.

The message from French voters is clear: the conservative party is no longer just a protest vote; they’re taking the reins.

2. BRUSSELS THREATENS BROADCAST

The European Commission is evaluating another expansion of its Digital Markets Act following an appeal from European broadcasters who want smart TVs and virtual assistants made by predominantly American tech companies to be brought under the DMA’s “gatekeeper” obligations.

The request, made by the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe, whose members include Italy’s Mediaset, France’s Canal+, and Luxembourg’s RTL, also featured several European organizations as signatories, such as the Association of European Radios, the European Broadcasting Union, and the European Association of Television.

But as the Commission looks to expand the scope of the DMA, they have found themselves on increasingly unstable footing. Under their digital regulatory framework, a platform must generate at least €7.5 billion in annual EU revenue or hold a market cap of €75 billion to qualify as a gatekeeper. American smart TV and virtual assistant operators, however, don’t clear that bar. In fact, they don’t come close.

This obstacle hasn’t deterred European broadcasters though. To sidestep the issue, they have requested the Commission to adjust their criteria and ground their decision on qualitative, rather than quantitative, factors.

The precedent at stake, however, is just as dangerous as the proposal is ridiculous. Brussels hasn’t been subtle about targeting American companies to help subsidize their European rivals, but for the request to come from European companies themselves is an incredibly troubling development. If the Commission were to acquiesce to their wishes and designate the US smart TV and virtual assistant operators as gatekeepers, the decision would all but open the floodgates by incentivizing European companies to lobby for their American competitors to be designated as a gatekeeper even if they don’t meet the threshold.

While originally intended to ensure so-called “fair competition,” the DMA is poised to allow the exact opposite to happen by permitting the DMA to be weaponized by European tech companies to kneecap their American peers. If Brussels doesn’t adjust its approach, it risks setting a dangerous precedent with the potential to further inflame a transatlantic relationship which is already on shaky ground.

MEMBER COUNTRIES PUSH BACK AGAINST ETS

Brussels’ regulatory system is strangling European businesses, and member states have had enough. Last week, 10 EU member countries came together to discuss the Emissions Trading System (ETS), a carbon output program that strangles businesses that operate in the EU.

Energy prices across the EU have been pushed to breaking point by years of heavy-handed green regulation. The EU’s Emissions Trading System forces companies to pay for every ton of CO₂ they emit, piling costs on businesses already struggling. Now the EU is a place where employers can’t compete and working families can’t keep up.

These member states, including Italy and Austria, are demanding that Brussels ease the Green Deal-style regulations. Instead, the EU said it would “review” the system by July.

1. SPAIN DEPLOYS AI TO SPY ON YOUR SPEECH

Spain’s government under Pedro Sánchez has launched HODIO, an AI-powered platform designed to monitor social media content and measure what authorities broadly define as “hate speech” and “polarization” online.

According to the European Conservative, the system, developed by a government agency under Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, will conduct large-scale collection of social media posts, analyze them with algorithms, and produce public rankings naming which platforms allow the most “problematic” content to spread.

Legal experts and digital rights specialists are already warning that HODIO amounts to “a large-scale surveillance mechanism allowing political power to constantly monitor the climate of opinion online.”

With this and the EU’s Digital Services Act, American companies are being forced to further comply with the EU’s regulatory overreach.

2. NEW REPORT REVEALS THE STAGGERING COST OF EUROPE’S REGULATORY CRUSADE AGAINST AMERICAN BUSINESS

As Brussels continues to aggressively push its regulatory agenda, a new antitrust enforcement report has revealed just how imbalanced the transatlantic relationship has become, and that the EU has no plans of slowing down.

Nowhere is this asymmetry more evident than in the Commission’s handling of dominance investigations. Just last year, the European Commission recorded the highest number of abuse of dominance fines of any authority worldwide, while U.S. regulators didn’t impose a single fine. Moreover, of the $7.7 billion in global antitrust fines issued last year, a staggering $7 billion were handed down by Europe – most of which were directed at American companies.

Worse yet, the EU is ramping up these fines as time goes on. Over the past three years, for example, EU enforcement has only increased, with fines rising from $589.8 million in 2023 to $2.3 billion in 2024, and $2.5 billion in 2025.

As Brussels recently discovered, however, American companies aren’t the only ones feeling the pain on account of their regulatory approach. Rather, many of these costs have ultimately flowed down to European businesses and consumers in the form of higher prices as more and more U.S. companies have simply passed off the additional fees to their European customers.

With the Trump Administration continued backing American companies through its opposition to the Digital Markets Act and other onerous EU regulations, the EU would be wise to scale back – not escalate – its regulatory agenda, and avoid a deepening of transatlantic tensions which European customers and businesses are increasingly bearing the brunt of.

EU’S SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTIVES THREATEN AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE

A retired US Army Brigadier General and former deputy US military representative to NATO is sounding the alarm in a new op-ed, arguing that the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is a direct threat to American energy dominance.

Writing in Energy Intelligence, John Adams warns that the directive “injects additional compliance and liability considerations into that equation, potentially complicating an otherwise promising trade and strategic relationship.”

The EU has continued to expand its regulatory regime over the past several years, making it more difficult for American companies to operate. Adams makes it clear: “Europe cannot credibly seek expanded energy trade with the US while simultaneously increasing legal exposure for the firms expected to supply that energy.”

1. EUROPEAN CONSUMERS PAY THE PRICE FOR BRUSSELS’ REGULATORY AGENDA

For years, the EU has sought to boost its own tech sector at the expense of American companies which it has deemed too powerful under its digital regulatory framework. But as one recent article makes clear, ordinary European consumers and businesses are also picking up the tab.

The decision reflects an increasingly common approach US companies are forced to deploy to grapple with the increased costs imposed under the EU’s digital regulatory framework. Higher advertising costs mean increased marketing expenses for businesses operating in Europe, and – while these regulations may generate welcome headlines in Brussels – these costs don’t just disappear. They get passed down the chain to the small businesses, brands, and entrepreneurs who depend on these platforms to reach customers instead, ultimately forcing the EU’s own citizens to foot the bill.

For the EU, the move also demonstrates how their regulatory approach can backfire as fines, fees, and compliance expenses continue to pile up under the EU’s DMA and DSA. While Meta may be the one of the first companies to take this step, they surely won’t be the last.

This development should serve as a warning sign for Brussels. As long as the Commission maintains its current regulatory framework, other American “gatekeepers” will inevitably follow suit. And when they do, it won’t just be U.S. tech firms absorbing the impact – it will be the European businesses and consumers.

2. CHINA’S GRIP ON EUROPE’S PORTS

Recent reporting shows China holds stakes in more than 48 European ports, including Hamburg and Rotterdam, and fully controls the Port of Piraeus. Lawmakers have spoken out and highlighted that roughly 74% of all E.U. goods move through seaports, making them strategic assets at the heart of Europe’s economic security.

China is the E.U.’s second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting €732 billion in 2024. Brussels itself calls China “simultaneously a partner, a competitor, and a systemic rival,” a contradiction growing harder to ignore.

The E.U. is currently pursuing the Industrial Accelerator Act, which did not name China directly, but officials have provisions that aim to cut reliance on Chinese batteries, solar panels, and electric vehicles in order to decrease dependence. Beijing’s state media, the China Daily, has already called the effort “protectionist” and insists it would add friction to what is otherwise a “win-win partnership.”

Europe’s reliance on China has grown to levels where they no longer feel in control. Their dependency on other countries has once again put them in a difficult position.

VON DER LEYEN’S “INTELLIGENCE CELL”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is pushing to establish an internal “intelligence cell” intended to collect and centralize intelligence from across Europe, overseen by the Commission President herself, according to the European Conservative.

The initiative, announced in November, was framed as a measure to protect the bloc from Russian digital attacks and sabotage. But the power grab triggered immediate backlash from European capitals and the EU’s own diplomatic service, which already operates its own intelligence-sharing center.

This is Brussels doing what Brussels does best, using a crisis as a pretext to strip member states of sovereignty and consolidate control at the top. Von der Leyen has since been forced to soften the plan following a standoff with EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas.

The EU already struggles to respect the boundaries of its member states. The last thing Europe needs is an unelected Commission president running her own intelligence apparatus.

1. EUROPE’S #1 EXPORT: AUTHORITARIANISM

Following Marco Rubio’s speech in Munich last month, Senior Advisor to the EU-US Forum, Joe Grogan, released an op-ed in the Daily Caller calling out the disastrous effects Europe’s regulatory have on American companies, and the ways American lawmakers are fighting back. Grogan wrote in part:

“American lawmakers are waking up to what Europe has become: not a partner in defending freedom, but an exporter of authoritarianism dressed up as consumer protection.”

Grogan explains that the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) have functioned less like guardrails and more like weapons, selectively deployed against U.S. tech companies while Brussels shields its own tech sector from real competition.

Grogan highlighted Secretary Rubio’s speech in Munich: “We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline.”

The Trump administration is prioritizing the fight to protect American innovators as Brussels attempts to export its regulatory failures into the U.S.

2. BELGIUM JUST PROVED VANCE’S POINT

A fresh debate over media censorship is unfolding in Belgium after the press regulator, Conseil de déontologie journalistique, formally reprimanded a Belgian outlet, 21News, for publishing the full text of a speech by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.

According to reporting by The European Conservative, the Belgian council argued that republishing the speech without added context failed to meet journalistic standards. But critics say the decision crosses a troubling line, penalizing a media outlet simply for printing a speech from the Vice President of the United States.

Critics of the council’s reprimand rightly contend that publishing a speech in full is not an endorsement but transparency, allowing readers to evaluate a public official’s words firsthand.

Europe has now passed the point of “oversight.” Plain and simple, this is censorship, and every citizen should be gravely concerned.

EUROPE’S INDUSTRIAL SOS: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE?

After years of burying its own manufacturers under mountains of extreme green mandates, digital regulations, and bureaucratic red tape, the EU is now scrambling to stop the bleeding, rolling out a “Made in Europe” push via its proposed Industrial Accelerator Act in a last-ditch effort.

Europe has sat idly by and watched its industrial base erode. The Draghi report sounded the alarm months ago: Europe is losing its competitiveness edge, and the gap is widening. Now the Commission wants credit for slapping a “Made in Europe” label on public procurement while kicking harder decisions down the road six more months.

The question isn’t whether Europe wants a manufacturing revival, it’s whether a bloc that spent a decade regulating its way into decline can actually get out of its own way fast enough to matter.

1. TRUMP KEEPS BRUSSELS ON DEFENSE

The Trump administration’s staunch opposition to the EU’s regulatory agenda has proven so effective that Brussels is now proposing structural changes to the Commission’s enforcement apparatus to shield the process from U.S. political pressure and ensure they can keep targeting American tech companies without interference.

According to a recent report, French MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin is advocating for an overhaul of how the Digital Markets Act is enforced, citing risks of “political interference” leading to “suboptimal” enforcement. Yon-Courtin’s proposal would create a more independent competition authority outside the Commission’s competition directorate, insulating it from Washington’s political pressure just as transatlantic tensions grow over the regulatory framework.

Worse yet, the Commission can’t afford to implement its own restructuring proposal despite having raked in €3.8 billion in fines from US companies in 2024. To bridge the gap, Brussels has reverted to a familiar strategy: have the Americans pay for it. Accordingly, the proposal intends to implement a “DMA Fee” on the very American companies subject to the digital framework’s regulations to help finance the new independent authority.

The move suggests the success of the Trump Administration’s campaign to challenge Brussels’ regulatory tactics, which have bled American companies dry through endless fines and compliance fees, helping subsidize Europe’s own failing tech sector.

Rather than throwing the steering wheel out the window, the EU needs to reexamine its approach. Brussels can restructure and rearrange its enforcement structures as much as they’d like, but until it stops treating American innovation as a mere revenue source, the historic transatlantic relationship may remain rocky.

2. ONE YEAR IN, MERZ ISN’T THE ANSWER GERMANY HOPED FOR

A year ago, Friedrich Merz’s CDU party swept into government promising decisive center-right governance, tougher immigration enforcement, economic revival, and an end to years of drift under the left.

Instead, Germans got coalition infighting, policy deadlock, and a chancellor whose own base is openly questioning what they voted for. According to recent polling, only 23% of Germans say they’re satisfied with Merz’s performance, with 70% expressing dissatisfaction. The CDU’s youth wing in Cologne put it bluntly in a letter to Merz: “We believed in your political leadership. We trusted you. And we are now asking: for what?”

Merz has turned on numerous of his policies, delivering false promises to his supporters, including immigration. WATCH:

The conservative AfD, meanwhile, is surging again. The party has climbed to second place in Berlin ahead of September’s state election, up from 9.1% in 2023, and is running neck-and-neck with the CDU nationally. Merz hasn’t delivered, and German voters are speaking out.

GOOGLE TO REWIRE ITS SEARCH ENGINE, ONLY TO SATISFY EU BUREAUCRACY

According to a new Reuters exclusive, Google is preparing to test changes to its search results after the European Commission formally charged the company with violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA) last March and slapped a €2.95 billion fine on them in September 2025.

EU regulators are forcing Google to give rival services greater prominence in search results. The EU has been liberal with their fines to American companies under the DMA. Brussels is forcing Google to comply by hanging threats of fines and continuing scrutiny over its head.

DMA fines can reach up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue. Facing that kind of exposure, Google is now altering a core product feature, not because users or the market called for it, but to satisfy a ridiculous regulatory mandate from Brussels. Fines aren’t the only thing forcing Google to bend the knee. The European Commission opened formal specification proceedings against Google as recently as January 2026, signaling that scrutiny of U.S. tech firms under the DMA is only intensifying.

This is a pattern worth watching.