EU member state representatives have finalized their negotiating position on updated foreign direct investment screening rules and are aiming to soon reach an agreement with the European Commission and Parliament on the final text, the Council of the European Union said.

The European Commission on June 11 imposed countervailing duties ranging from 3.7% to 8.1% on fiber-optic cables from India. The commission said the duties were imposed following an anti-subsidy investigation that found that Indian exports are harming the EU industry. The duties come in addition to antidumping duties on the same products and AD/CVD on Chinese fiber-optic cables.

European countries still have "very different" levels of research security practices in place to protect against threats from China and other adversarial nations, University of Manchester researchers said in a new report. While some countries have "mature research security policies and practices," others are at an earlier stage, while "no country can be said to have institutionalised research security practices across its whole research system."

EU member states, along with the bloc's Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, met in Lithuania last week to discuss ways to strengthen export enforcement of dual-use goods sent to Russia, Lithuania's customs office said. The countries said they want to better "identify organized criminal groups and prevent illegal profit-making," and they also discussed ways to more "promptly" share information about how bad actors are evading sanctions, the notice said, according to an unofficial translation. They specifically examined sanctions evasion methods in the Baltic Sea region. The meeting featured customs and law enforcement representatives from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

The European Commission on June 4 set up a new surveillance tool to shield the EU against "sudden and potentially disruptive surges in imports." The tool provides the commission with "fact-based information building on customs data," enabling it to take action against import surges that occur when a "significant amount of goods that cannot enter other markets due to high tariffs and other restrictions are redirected into the EU."

The Council of the European Union on June 5 extended the suspension of EU safeguard measures on Ukrainian iron and steel to further support Ukraine's economy during its war with Russia. The extension takes effect June 6 and runs for three years.

The EU is aiming to build on its export controls, investment screening measures and other economic security tools over advanced technologies, Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said this week.

The U.S., the U.K. and other allies need to form a tighter technology partnership as opposed to putting in place new restrictions on those technologies, said Peter Mandelson, U.K. ambassador to the U.S.

The EU is preparing another package of Russia sanctions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on LinkedIn, including a measure that could lower the price cap on Russian oil from its current level of $60. The sanctions would specifically target "Russia's energy revenues, including Nord Stream infrastructure, Russia's banking sector" and would involve "lowering the crude oil price cap," the commission said.

The EU and the United Arab Emirates formally launched negotiations on a free trade agreement, the European Commission announced this week. Their first meeting, set to begin as early as next month, will center on "reducing tariffs on goods and facilitating services, digital trade and investment flows," the commission said. The negotiations also will look into ways to boost trade in strategic sectors. The UAE is the EU's 19th-largest trading partner in goods.