The EU is looking to relax its gas storage requirements to stave off inflationary effects, Reuters reports, citing a negotiating document it has seen. A tentative plan circulating among member states proposed setting a range within which targets could be met somewhere between 1 October and 1 December, instead of fixing the deadline on 1 November. EU officials are set to hash out the draft proposal this week.

Some context: Earlier this month, the European Commission motioned to maintain the current gas storage framework for two more years — which stipulates that the bloc must fill 90% of the target by 1 November. The rules were implemented in 2022 to secure wintertime energy reserves following Russia’s reduction of gas supplies. Several member states have highlighted that keeping the deadline fixed for buying up and storing immense amounts of gas has rendered the market vulnerable to price manipulation.

US threatens to impose tariffs on European alcohol: US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wine, cognac, and other alcohol imports from Europe, Reuters reported on Thursday. This came after the EU announced a plan to impose tariffs on American whiskey and other products in April as a reaction to Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which took effect last Wednesday.

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