"The European Union deplores the charges brought against him and journalists from Apple Daily and is monitoring the trial closely," a spokesman for the EU's top foreign policy official Josep Borrell said.
Millionaire Lai founded Apple Daily, a publication now closed that criticised Beijing and supported the huge pro-democracy movement that roiled Hong Kong in 2019.
A trial against him on charges of "collusion" with foreign forces began in Hong Kong on Monday.
"The trial brought against him undermines confidence in the rule of law in Hong Kong and is detrimental to the city's attractiveness and its position as an international business hub," said Borrell's spokesman, Peter Stano.
The closure of Lai's Apple Daily showed how "freedom of the press and the free expression of opinions are being stifled in Hong Kong" under a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the territory three years ago, he said.
Borrell's spokesman emphasised that "these freedoms are enshrined in the Basic Law" and in international commitments that Beijing made in the pact that transferred control of the former British colony back to China.
Lai, 76, is also a British citizen, and his trial is being closely watched internationally.
Representatives from foreign consulates of the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada were present to observe his trial.
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