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The European Commission intends to take steps to attract $47 billion in private finance for "deep-tech" firms. The measures seek to assist the EU27 catch up with the US, Japan, and South Korea in terms of cutting-edge technology, venture capital financing, and unique patents. According to a European Union strategy document, the European Commission is proposing measures to attract 45 billion euros ($47 billion) in private capital for "deep-tech" firms based on major scientific or engineering discoveries. A new Listings Act scheduled for later this year will also reduce the cost of stock market flotations for enterprises, according to the paper, A New European Innovation Agenda. The measures seek to assist the EU27 catch up to the US, Korea, and Japan, in cutting-edge technology, venture capital financing, and inventive patents.  According to the study, "by 2025, around 45 billion euros of investment for scale-ups might be generated from previousl...

European Union (EU) regulators have accused Apple of violating competition law over contactless payments. The company could face fines of up to 10% of its global revenues, which totalled $365bn in 2021, if the charges are upheld. European Union (EU) competition authorities have accused Apple with violating competition law by denying rivals access to technology critical to enabling contactless payments, so unfairly favoring its own Apple Pay service. The European Commission stated on Monday that Apple "sets the rules" on its closed platform and raised worry that it has limited access to near field communication (NFC), which rivals require for tap-and-go purchases at stores using mobile wallets. Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president in charge of competition policy at the European Commission, said, "On a preliminary basis, we judged that Apple misused its dominant position. Apple limited access to critical inputs required to design and manage mobile paymen...