European Union in July 2026: the most important developments in economy
The European Union's economy in July 2026 was dominated by its fight with Google and the United States over technology rules. On July 2 the EU's top court rejected Google's final appeal against a record €4.1 billion antitrust fine over Android. On July 16 the EU ordered Google to give rival search engines and AI companies equal access to Android and its search data by January 2027. On July 23 it fined Google around €890 million for favouring its own services. The US criticised the fine, and on July 24 President Trump threatened "substantial" tariffs and announced an investigation into EU trade practices.
Other enforcement followed. The EU told Meta on July 10 to remove addictive features from Facebook and Instagram or face fines, accepted changes by X on transparency on July 15, and fined AliExpress €550 million on July 20 over illegal products; China criticised that fine. On July 22 it gave conditional approval to Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. A €3 fee on low-value parcels from outside the bloc took effect on July 1.
Sanctions on Russia took much of the month. The EU sanctioned Russia over cyberattacks on July 13, then failed to agree a 21st package as Greece objected. On July 23 it agreed the package, with an oil price cap freeze, bank restrictions and a concession to Greece on LNG; a later brief said it targeted 1,600 companies. On July 24 China placed 14 EU entities on an export control list. The EU also imported record volumes of Russian LNG ahead of a planned 2027 ban.
On money and industry, the European Central Bank was set to pause rate hikes until September. The European Parliament approved the digital euro on July 9, and the ECB picked 36 firms for a pilot on July 14. On July 17 the Commission announced a slower cut in emission allowances for industry. On July 30 it opened bidding for seven AI gigafactories backed by €10 billion. On July 28 German Chancellor Merz rejected the proposed EU budget.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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