France urged the European Union to use its laws more robustly to defend itself against outside interference and Spain's prime minister lambasted Elon Musk on Wednesday, as the U.S. tech billionaire steps up his comments about European politics.

The European Commission must use its existing legislation in a much tougher manner, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, referring to Elon Musk. "Either the European Commission applies with the greatest firmness the laws that exist to protect our unique space or it does not and in that case it should think about giving the capacity to do so back to the member states of the European Union,

France on Wednesday urged the European Commission to protect its member states with "the greatest firmness" against interference in political debate particularly from the billionaire owner of social media platform X,

"We are actively discussing ways to provide sanctions relief to the Syrian people in certain sectors," one of the sources said. This requires an unanimous EU decision. Germany's foreign ministry declined to comment.

According to the Financial Times, which cited its sources on Tuesday, Germany is proposing that the EU ease some sanctions on the Syrian banking and energy sectors in exchange for social reforms and non-proliferation guarantees.