European shares were softer on Monday as markets awaited developments in trade talks, as well as a European Central Bank policy meeting later this week, while U.S. futures were brighter ahead of some major tech earnings.

This week's key events presented by Euronews' editor in chief, EU news, Jeremy Fkeming-Jones. View on euronews

The EU says the U.S. is resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures if no agreement is reached with U.S. by Aug. 1.

(Reuters) -European shares were subdued early in the session on Monday as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings while awaiting a potential trade deal between the United States and the European Union.

Meta has refused to sign the European Commission’s new AI Code of Practice, escalating tensions with Brussels just weeks before landmark regulation kicks in. The voluntary guidelines – designed to help tech giants prepare for the EU’s sweeping AI Act – were rejected outright by Meta’s global affairs chief Joel Kaplan,

"If Europe is for free trade, we should be the ones showing the way and going down to very low tariffs first," CEO Hakan Samuelsson said on Thursday.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that he believed the negotiations between the European Union and the US on a solution to their trade dispute were in the final phase. Speaking to reporters at the traditional summer press conference in Berlin,

Australia has delivered its first shipment of US-made tanks to the Ukrainian army. The majority of the promised 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks have made their way to Ukraine, with the rest expected to be delivered in the coming months,