EU Sanctions & Trade Friction: The EU’s 21st Russia sanctions proposal would include entities based in India, potentially complicating ratification of the EU-India trade deal that leaders have billed as a major breakthrough. Defence Industrial Push: KNDS is pitching a French-German “intermediate” tank concept, Capint, to bridge the gap before France’s Leclerc retirement and the later MGCS programme. AI for Manufacturing: Unilever and Accenture are scaling AI-enabled digital twins across Unilever’s global factories, aiming to add 40+ new twins in 18 months. Shopfloor Visibility: Mitsubishi Electric Europe launched a browser-based production analytics app for MELSEC iQ-R users, targeting downtime and energy monitoring without heavy programming. Data Centre Power Race: Schneider Electric and Foxconn plan standardized infrastructure blueprints for next-gen AI data centres, with production starting later this year. Thermal Management Deal: Vertiv completed its acquisition of ThermoKey to expand heat-rejection capabilities and manufacturing reach across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Energy & Jobs for Aviation: The UK created a £93m fund (rising to £219m by 2030) to back domestic sustainable aviation fuel production. EV Policy Signal: Reports say the UK may dilute its EV sales mandate, easing pressure on automakers and supply chains. Solar Cooperation: ISA’s Europe committee meeting in Brussels focused on scaling solar deployment, electrification and resilient clean-tech supply chains. Industrial Security: EU sanctions also targeted Russian drone manufacturing networks and related export-control measures.