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Facebook is facing the prospect of not being able to move data about its European users to the United States, after European regulators raised concerns that such transfers do not adequately protect the information from American government surveillance.

The social network said on Wednesday that the Irish Data Protection Commission had begun an inquiry into its movement of data on European users to the United States. The Irish regulator oversees Facebooks data practices in Europe and can fine it up to 4 percent of its global revenue for breaking European data protection laws.

The Silicon Valley company may now have to overhaul its operations to keep data on Europeans stored within the European Union, an immensely complicated task given the way that Facebook moves data among data centers around the world.

The inquiry, earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal, is the first major fallout of a European Union high court decision in July that invalidated a key trans-Atlantic agreement called Privacy Shield. That agreement between the United States and European Union had allowed businesses to send data between the two regions, but the court struck it down, saying Europeans did not have sufficient protections from American spy agencies.

The ruling affects thousands of businesses, but Facebooks data-sharing practices have been under particular scrutiny by European authorities. Facebook had argued that the court allowed certain kinds of legal contracts to continue transferring data, but Irish regulators disagreed and said those arrangements were invalid.

Facebook has until later this month to respond to Irelands complaint, then the Irish regulator will make a final decision toward the end of the year. Facebook could challenge that judgment in court.

A lack of safe, secure and legal international data transfers would damage the economy and hamper the growth of data-driven businesses in the E.U., just as we seek a recovery from Covid-19, Nick Clegg, Facebooks vice president of global affairs, said of the moves. The impact would be felt by businesses large and small, across multiple sectors.

Irelands Data Protection Commission declined to comment.

Facebooks experience will be closely watched by other major tech companies, like Google, that also depend on transferring data between the United States and Europe.

American and European officials have expressed a desire to work out a new data-sharing agreement. But legal experts have said complying with the European court ruling will require substantive changes to American surveillance laws to give Europeans added privacy protections.

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Facebook May Be Ordered to Change Data Practices in Europe - The New York Times

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker delivers a speech during a session of the European Parliament on Brexit on January 30, 2019 in Brussels, Belgium.

Thierry Monasse | Getty Images

U.K. and EU negotiators are unlikely to reach a trade agreement in the coming months, Jean-Claude Juncker, the former president of the European Commission, said at an event Tuesday.

The two negotiating teams started their eighth round of discussions over new trade arrangements on Tuesday a necessary step after the U.K. left the European Union in January and agreed to work toward a trade deal with the bloc, to be implemented in January 2021.

However, the trade talks have not made any significant progress so far and there are growing doubts that this will change in the coming weeks.

"The situation is not developing in the best direction possible," Jean-Claude Juncker, who led the executive arm of the EU between 2014 and 2019, said at an event hosted by financial services company Principal.

"No deal is the most possible and probable, the only outcome of the negotiations," Juncker, who often played a key role in prior Brexit negotiations, said.

Tensions between both sides of the English Channel have risen in recent days, with reports that the U.K. government is preparing to override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement the deal that allowed for its orderly departure and for a transition period throughout 2020.

Flouting parts of that agreement would diminish trust in trade talks; the EU has said that the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement is a precondition to any trade deal.

"I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law and prerequisite for any future partnership," Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Monday.

In addition, U.K. and EU negotiators have been unable to agree on state aid and new rules on fisheries since trade talks began earlier this year.

Speaking Sunday evening, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that if they could not overcome these differences by October 15, "then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us.

This would mean that as of January 1, EU-U.K. trade would follow the World Trade Organization rules. In practical terms, this could increase costs for companies on both sides.

According to Juncker, the U.K. government doesn't "understand that there is no way to be part of the internal market without agreeing to common rules."

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No-deal Brexit is the most likely outcome of trade talks, former EU chief says - CNBC

PARIS (AP) Leaders of seven southern European countries on Thursday urged Turkey to end unilateral and illegal activities in the eastern Mediterranean and resume dialogue to ease tensions in the region.

Heads of states and government of France, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy, Spain and Portugal gathered in Corsica amid fears of open conflict as Turkey seeks to expand its energy resources and influence in the region.

In their final statement, leaders reaffirmed their full support and solidarity with Cyprus and Greece who they say are facing Turkeys confrontational actions.

We regret that Turkey has not responded to the repeated calls by the European Union to end its unilateral and illegal activities, they said.

Leaders warned that in absence of progress in engaging Turkey into a dialogue and unless it ends its unilateral activities, the EU is ready to develop a list of further restrictive measures at a summit later this month.

They also called on resuming German mediation in the dispute. Russia also offered this week to mediate.

Greece and Turkey have deployed naval and air force units to assert competing claims over energy exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish survey vessels and drill ships continue to prospect for gas in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights.

France is carrying out military patrols in the region in a show of support for Greece and Cyprus, and the EU is mulling new sanctions against Turkey.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said if Turkey really wants a frank dialogue with Greece and Cyprus with the European Union, it must demonstrate this in practice: to immediately stop unilateral actions, to make convincing indications that it respect international law.

Turkey needs to restrain its aggressive rhetoric and return to the table for exploratory talks with Greece, he added.

Turkish leaders have lashed out at France and the EU for siding with Greece and Cyprus in the dispute.

Earlier Thursday, Macron denounced what he called unacceptable provocations from Turkey.

Turkey is no longer a partner in this region, Macron told reporters ahead of the summit. We Europeans need to be clear and firm with the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about its inadmissible behavior, he said.

Turkeys Foreign Ministry characterized Macrons statement as arrogant and in line with old colonial reflexes. It accused the French president of stoking tensions and putting the greater interests of Europe at risk.

It is not for Macron to determine the maritime jurisdiction of any country in the Mediterranean or anywhere else, the Turkish ministry said in a statement.

Speaking Thursday to EU lawmakers, Greek European Affairs Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis appealed for support from European partners, saying the tensions over energy rights constitute by themselves a grave threat to our common security architecture.

He said that Turkey is looking beyond Greece and is a major destabilizing factor in the wider area, citing Turkish government actions in Libya, Syria and beyond.

He said that Greece would not provoke conflict but wouldnt just sit back waiting for European help to arrive: At the end of the day, we will defend ourselves, even alone.

Separately from the diplomatic discussions, Turkish and Greek military officials met Thursday at NATO headquarters, as part of ongoing meetings aimed at reducing the risk of armed conflict. Greece and Turkey both are NATO members.

The leaders also planned to discuss EU and NATO operations in the Mediterranean and their relation to Turkey during a dinner on Thursday evening.

The seven countries are aiming at coming up with a united southern European front before a full EU summit later this month focused on the blocs strategy toward Turkey.

In a testy exchange with EU lawmakers, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged the Europeans to play the role of an honest broker in the maritime border and energy dispute rather than take sides with member countries Greece and Cyprus.

By acting as an international court, defending one sides claims over the issue, the EU has become a part of the problem unfortunately, Cavusoglu said by video link.

We are ready for dialogue without any preconditions. If Greece insists on preconditions, we will also insist on our preconditions, Cavusoglu said, but added that we are not for tension. We are not for escalation.

European Council President Charles Michel will travel to Greece, Cyprus and Malta next week for talks with leaders.

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Angela Charlton in Paris, Lorne Cook and Raf Casert in Brussels, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Elena Becatoros and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this story.

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Southern EU leaders urge Turkey to end "unilateral" actions - The Associated Press

On July 30, the European Union (EU) imposed its first-ever sanctions against cyber attacks. North Korea, along with China and Russia, was one of the countries targeted. The EUs autonomous sanctions related to North Koreas nuclear and WMD programs were extended for an extra year on the same day. North Korea is also due to be slapped with sanctions for its human rights violations as soon as the EU approves its own version of a Magnitsky Act. With the EU-DPRK dialogue frozen since 2015 and EU aid to North Korea almost grinding to a halt, it seems clear that Brussels now sees sanctions as its tool of choice to deal with Pyongyang. The EU is under no illusions that sanctions alone will change North Korean behavior. But Brussels hopes they can help bring Pyongyang to the negotiation table and steer it away from its nuclear program and other unwanted actions.

Cyber Sanctions: A New Front in Brussels Pressure Campaign

The EUs cyber sanctions on North Korea are part of its so-called cyber diplomatic toolbox, agreed to in June 2017. Essentially, the toolbox calls for diplomacy and negotiations to address cyberspace disputes but, crucially, acknowledges that sanctions may be necessary when cyber attacks take place. The cyber sanctions framework itself was adopted in May 2019.

In the case of North Korea, the EU sanctioned Chosun Expo for:

[providing] financial, technical or material support for and [facilitating]a series of cyber-attacks with a significant effect originating from outside the Union and constituting an external threat to the Union or its Member States and of cyber-attacks with a significant effect against third States.

There are two crucial points here, which suggest how the EU might deploy cyber sanctions against North Korea in the future. First, the EU can target entities or individuals suspected of supporting a cyber attack even if they are not directly accused of conducting it, broadening the scope of potential targets. Second, Brussels can deploy cyber sanctions even if the cyber attack does not directly target an EU entity. In the case of Chosun Expo, it is suspected of having facilitated a cyber attack on the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, as well as the WannaCry cyber attack that also affected Europe.

But the EU also justifies sanctioning this entity due to its cyber attacks on American, Bangladeshi and Vietnamese entities. Indeed, the EUs cyber sanctions framework explicitly states that attacks against third parties that impact its foreign policy goals can also lead to cyber sanctions. This is a very loose definition. In a globalized world and with the EU as the second-largest economy in the world, it is difficult for a cyber attack not to affect Europes foreign policy interests.

Certainly, the EUs cyber sanctions regime remains underdeveloped compared to the US framework. But a closer look at the EUs sanctions suggests that it has taken a cue from Americas own North Korea cyber sanctions. The entities targeted and the types of sanctions (i.e., travel bans and asset freezes) are similar, as well as the justification for imposing the sanctions. Indeed, the US Department of the Treasury had already imposed sanctions on Chosun Expo for its involvement in the WannaCry ransomware attack. In Brussels, the expectation is that cyber sanctions cooperation with the US government will only increase.

Potential Human Rights Sanctions: Values Become Weaponized

Developing a sanctions regime targeting entities and individuals accused of human rights violations is a priority for the EU. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down progress in adopting a so-called EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, but the expectation is that the Working Party on Human Rights will now accelerate work to come up with the regime.

Once the EU can legally impose human rights sanctions, North Korea will be one of its first targets. The EU has a long track record of co-sponsoring the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly resolutions condemning North Korea for its human rights record. The European Parliamenta key driving force behind the EUs human rights regime under negotiationhas repeatedly accused North Korea of gross human rights violations. And improving the human rights of the North Korean population remains one of the EUs three official goals in its policy towards the North.

As in the case of cyber sanctions, the US has a comprehensive range of North Korea human rights sanctions that the EU will no doubt follow. Unlike Washington, however, Brussels is likely to be more consistent in its approach to human rights violations once its sanctions regime is approved. This is because it takes a long time for EU member states to agree on foreign policy action, but once they do those actions tend to remain official policy for many years. There is little possibility of a new president of the European Commission or Council overhauling foreign policy, as President Donald Trump has done in the USincluding essentially ignoring human rights in its North Korea policy.

For the EU, human rights sanctions are a way of making its values more central to its foreign policy. Certainly, the EU has a long history of condemning human rights abuses across the world. But with a human rights regime in place, it will be able to impose travel bans and asset freezes on those it accuses of human rights violations. This will have a material impact that condemnations lack.

The EUs North Korea Sanctions Campaign

Together, the EUs existing nuclear, WMD and cyber sanctions on North Korea, and the likely addition of human rights sanctions, make for a comprehensive sanctions campaign. This is the result of a decisive EU shift away from engagement and towards pressure, which can be traced back to North Koreas 2016 nuclear tests and barrage of missile tests. Even though there are EU member states which advocate engagement alongside sanctions, so far there is only agreement that sanctions should continue to be in place.

Since last year, the EU has made moves towards becoming more geopolitical. This means that Brussels will use all the tools at its disposal to advance its own interests. In the past, critics have accused the EU of focusing too heavily on diplomacy and multilateralismat the expense of coercive measures. Its renewed focus on sanctions suggests that this is not the case.

In the case of EU-DPRK relations, Brussels will continue to prioritize the use of sanctions. Only a sustainable diplomatic process and North Korean steps towards denuclearization, which the EU would consider meaningful, will change this. But even if these steps occur, the use of cyber and, potentially, human rights sanctions shows that Brussels is now taking a more holistic view of North Korean affairs, and that pressure is a central component of this approach.

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From Engagement to Pressure: The EU Gets Tougher on North Korean Sanctions - 38 North

BRUSSELS / BELGRADE EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivr Vrhelyi responded to a letter sent by Serbian opposition representatives to the European Commission in July, stating that the European Union has developed mechanisms to monitor the rule of law in Serbia and added that political opposition is a key component of any democratic state, and called on both the government and the opposition to continue participating in the dialogue with the mediation of the European Parliament.

We remind you that the members of the opposition in Serbia that boycotted the elections sent a letter to the European Commission in July, in which they expressed deep concern over the erosion of democracy in Serbia and called on the European Union to form expert groups to help resolve the countrys political crisis, following the example of resolving the crisis in North Macedonia a few years ago.

The opposition then asked the EU to form an expert group to compile a report on the state of democracy and the rule of law, as well as a report on the state of the media, modeled on the so-called Priebe report, which formed the basis for political agreement of parties in North Macedonia.

In response to this letter, which the European Western Balkans had access to, Commissioner Vrhelyi pointed out that reforms in the field of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights are crucial for Serbia, as well as for all other candidate countries. He stated that the European Union already has a developed mechanism for monitoring these areas, which, as he emphasized, has been further improved with the new methodology, which is why he currently does not see the need for additional reporting.

Immediately afterwards in the letter, Vrhelyi also referred to the role of the opposition in Serbia and the continuation of the dialogue between the parties.

Let me take this opportunity to emphasize that political opposition is a key component of a functioning democracy. Serbia needs a broad dialogue between the parties in order to achieve the key reforms in the areas of democracy, rule of law and responsibility, which are necessary to make progress in EU accession. We therefore encourage the new Serbian government and parliament to continue, and you to take an active part, in the dialogue led by the European Parliament, as a step towards progress in EU-related reforms. It is the responsibility of all parties to play a constructive role, Vrhelyi wrote.

In the letter, he described the ways in which the European Commission monitors and analyzes the situation in Serbia.

As a candidate country, Serbia is subject to a detailed process and methodology for monitoring and reporting on the rule of law, especially under Chapters 23 and 24. The European Commission regularly monitors the situation in Serbia and initiates talks with the authorities on these issues, Vrhelyi wrote.

He stressed that the EU already has a wide range of means to analyze and monitor Serbias progress under Chapters 23 and 24, including data provided by the government, reporting by the EU Delegation to Serbia, analyzes and data from civil society, experts and international organizations.

He reminded that the new enlargement methodology, adopted by the EU in March, additionally focuses on fundamental areas such as the rule of law and democracy and envisages new mechanisms for their monitoring, and the results of that monitoring will be presented in the European Commissions annual reports.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vui informed the President of France Emmanuel Macron in July that Serbia accepts the new enlargement methodology, but this decision should be made by the government, which is still in a technical mandate.

The adoption of the new methodology was supported by the Party of Freedom and Justice, stating that it would completely expose the nature of the autocratic regime of Aleksandar Vui and confirm that Serbia is a captured state.

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Vrhelyi responded to the Serbian opposition: The dialogue should continue, the EU is monitoring the situation in Serbia - European Western Balkans