China reaffirmed on Wednesday that it is normalising ties with the European Parliament, as Beijing seeks to forge closer economic and political ties with Brussels amid flaring global trade frictions.

The European Union has warned that its trade with the United States could be effectively wiped out if Washington makes good on its threat to slap a 30% tariff on goods imported from the bloc.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Council said in a statement on Tuesday that it had imposed sanctions on seven individuals and three entities "responsible for actions aimed at destabilising" Moldova, whose leaders are bidding to join the EU by 2030.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a trade deal with Indonesia, the latest pact in a bid to cement better terms with trading partners and reduce a massive trade deficit, even as the European Union readied retaliatory measures should talks between Washington and its top trading partner fail.

Italy's foreign minister warned that, while he hopes for successful negotiations, the EU will respond resolutely to Trump's latest tariff threat.

The EU says the U.S. is resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures if no agreement is reached with U.S. by Aug. 1.

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Universal Music Group unit Virgin Music Group's $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music faces a full-scale EU antitrust investigation on concerns about its impact on competition,

EU trade ministers have agreed that U.S. President Donald Trump’s 30% tariffs announced on the European Union are “absolutely unacceptable,” and they are studying a new set of countermeasures to respond to the move.

The European Union will delay the implementation of its trade countermeasures against the United States from Monday until early August to allow more time to negotiate a deal.

The EU's General Court upheld on Wednesday a European Parliament (EP) decision requiring the estate of late French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen to repay 303,200 euros ($352,380) for wrongly claimed expenses during his time as a member of the parliament.