Korean leaders in historic meeting
North Korean president Kim Jong-un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in are meeting for an historic summit today. Earlier this morning the pair shook hands across the border in the demilitarised zone. Before sitting down for a closed meeting, Kim expressed his desire for positive outcome of the talks. “I hope we can live up to the exceptions that other have on us,” he said. Moon also acknowledged that the world was watching. “People around the world have high hopes,” he said. “Your visit makes the military demarcation line a symbol of peace, not division.” Analysts say the two sides do seem committed to ending hostilities, though a formal peace declaration is not expected any time soon. Speculation in some quarters about reunification seems way off the mark for now. The Guardian is providing live blog coverage of the meeting and its implications for stock markets and diplomacy.
Steel tariff deadline looms
As the 1 May deadline for an EU exemption on US steel and aluminium import tariffs approaches, the European Commission has rejected demands that the EU voluntarily limit exports of steel and aluminium to the US as unacceptable. In March the United States granted EU producers an exemption to its new import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium. The exemption runs out on 1 May and Reuters reports that U.S. commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom are in contact to negotiate an extension. But the news agency cites the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung saying that Ross had demanded that the EU voluntarily limit exports of steel and aluminium to the US to 90 percent of the average 2016/2017 level. German chancellor Angela Merkel is due to hold trade talks with US president Donald Trump in Washington on Friday.
European quota for VOD providers
New EU rules will commit video-on-demand providers to dedicate at least 30% of their catalogue to European content. In an announcement on Thursday, European Commission VP for the digital single market Andrus Ansip also said providers will be required to put measures in place “to protect minors.” Ansip said the new rules “encourage innovative services and promote European films”. Variety reports that Netflix generally has been targeting around 20% of its original productions to be local. Earlier this month we reported that Netflix announced plans to invest around $1bn on original productions in Europe this year.
Messi wins Massi case
The EU General Court in Luxembourg has ruled that footballer Lionel Messi can register his name as a trademark to sell sports goods. “The football player’s fame counteracts the visual and phonetic similarities between his trade mark and the trade mark of ‘Massi’ belonging to a Spanish cycling company,” the court said. Messi is now the highest earning footballer in the world, making €126 million a year in salary, bonuses and commercial revenue and surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s €94 million.