In a first, the EU General Court ruled on Wednesday that the European Commission must pay damages to a German citizen for failing to comply with its own data protection regulations.

The EU court said the bloc's executive authority violated a citizen's rights by transferring some of his personal data to the U.S. without proper safeguards.

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,

Barrot emphasized that the European Commission must enforce its existing laws more firmly. “Either the European Commission applies the laws that exist to protect our unique space with the utmost rigor,