Brexit Delays | The UK and EU are discussing whether to postpone implementing new regulations on parcel deliveries from Great Britain to Northern Ireland that were agreed upon as part of a deal last year to ease trade across the Irish Sea. The openness suggests that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer may be making good on his pledge to improve EU relations. Negotiations | French Prime Minister Michel Barnier met with President Emmanuel Macron last night to propose a new government after two weeks of tense consultations with rival political groups. Barnier’s office said the talks with the president were “constructive” and that the final makeup of his team would be announced by Sunday. Last Words | Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing NATO chief who will pass the baton to Mark Rutte on Oct. 1, took a moment yesterday to reflect on his decade helming the alliance. He said allies need to "spend significantly more" on defense and warned the EU — which just named its first defense commissioner — against building NATO alternatives. Hotel Charges | Booking.com’s terms risk hurting competition by preventing hotels from charging less on their own websites, according to a preliminary report from the EU’s top court. The finding is likely to have wider ramifications, and could make it harder for online platforms to impose restrictions on suppliers. Fine Alert | The EU warned Apple to open up its highly guarded iPhone and iPad operating systems to rival technologies, or eventually risk significant fines under the bloc’s flagship digital antitrust rules. The company has six months to comply. |