Europe

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/33482669

Archived

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Working with the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate, the Guardian found more than 150 posts from 29 accounts on three days in August 2024 that sought to draw the attention of anti-immigrant groups and the far right to [exiled dissident Finn] Lau and other Hong Kong exiles. Cybersecurity experts who have reviewed the posts say they exhibited some similarities to a major online influence operation that a Chinese security agency is suspected of orchestrating.

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Lau and his fellow activists have been called traitors, with bounties on their heads that are three times what the authorities offer for murderers. Relatives back home have been arrested and intimidated. As he read the posts, Lau suspected a chilling new tactic: an attempt to harness far-right violence.

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Posts on X inciting attacks on Lau and others were directed at far-right figures, including Tommy Robinson. “They’re even supporting the Muslim minorities too!” read one post denouncing Hongkongers, sent to the Reform UK MP Richard Tice. It gave the date and location of a planned gathering of Hongkongers a few days later. Posts on Telegram appeared in the channels of the leaders of the white nationalist group Patriotic Alternative.

Online incitement appears to represent a novel weapon in the arsenal that projects Beijing’s power. Lau is one of the opponents of the regime – Hongkongers as well as Tibetans, Uyghurs, Taiwanese and campaigners for democracy – subjected to what the US-based advocacy group Freedom House calls “the most sophisticated, global and comprehensive campaign of transnational repression in the world”. [...]

https://archive.is/7fdeH

The European Commission imposed definitive countervailing duties on imports of mobile access equipment (MAE) from China.

The measures aim to shield the EU MAE industry, which employs over 3,000 people across several Member States, from unfair trading practices.

The Commission’s anti-subsidy investigation revealed that unfair Chinese subsidies, including land use rights below fair value, preferential financing and tax reductions, made it difficult for the EU industry to compete with imports from China and resulted in significant market share losses, despite a strong increase in demand for MAE.

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MAE is used to lift workers to carry out works at height, mainly in the construction sector, but also to install antennas and other telecom equipment. The EU MAE market is worth more than €1 billion per year.

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Archived

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Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party. “We will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia.”

Unlike a territorial concession, a formal surrender would permanently relinquish Crimea and abandon the hope that Ukraine could regain it in the future.

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cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62609277

Overall, sales of Chinese car brands in Europe increased again in the first quarter. However, manufacturers achieved this growth by bringing more combustion-engine and hybrid vehicles into Europe – both not affected by the EU’s special tariffs on China-made EVs.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28815530

Summary

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, during his first visit to Denmark since taking office in March, rejected Donald Trump’s push to annex Greenland, stating the island "will never be a piece of property that can be bought."

Standing alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, he added, “We are in a foreign policy situation which means we have to move closer together.”

Frederiksen said Denmark was ready to invest more in Greenland as part of a “modernisation” of the two countries relationship.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62603339

Germany’s chancellor in waiting hands key ministries to CDU veterans and business figures, setting the tone for a more conservative, security-focused government.

LA GRAND COMBE, France (AP) — A man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper in a mosque in the south of France was still on the run Sunday, authorities said, in an attack described by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou as Islamophobic.

Both men were alone in the mosque in the former mining town of La Grand Combe on Friday when the victim was fatally stabbed. The assailant recorded the attack on his phone, and security camera footage showed him shouting insults at “Allah,” which means God in Arabic, local media said.

https://archive.is/A4rQ7

The Socialist Party mayor of Paris, a guest on franceinfo on Monday, defended her urban policy aimed at reducing car traffic, despite, she said, lobby pressure.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a guest on franceinfo on Monday, August 28, defended her choices in urban policy, and in particular her desire to reduce car traffic, a source of "pollution that kills . "

"Threats" from lobbies

The role of cars is shrinking in Paris. The mayor of the capital believes that the city was "behind" and that today, projects must be "accelerated," particularly "the bicycle plan . " "It makes us improve the public transport network," she added before defending the fight against pollution. "Pollution kills." Anne Hidalgo clarifies that she has not changed her mind, even though she has been "threatened ," she says, by diesel and automobile lobbies.

"I repeat, I prefer to be on the right side of history ," declared Anne Hidalgo.

Harshly criticized for her choices regarding mobility in a book entitled Notre-Drame de Paris , written by Airy Routier and Nadia Lebrun, to be published on August 30 by Albin Michel, Anne Hidalgo said she was not seeking unanimity. "The book is a damning document, a caricature," she added.

The prescription method is not the right one

Asked about the government's record, Anne Hidlago criticized the method used for the reform of the Labor Code . "Orders are not a mode of governance adapted to the modernity that we should be able to bring: relying on social partners, working while taking the time for these reforms ," ​​declared the Socialist Party representative.

The mayor of Paris did not comment on the substance of the project under negotiation, preferring to "wait and see what the outcome is . " "Let's not make assumptions," she added.

Her position is identical on an overall assessment of Emmanuel Macron's presidency since his election. "It is difficult after four months to make an exhaustive and definitive assessment ," declared Anne Hidalgo, specifying that as mayor of Paris, she is "a partner of the State . " "I have many subjects on which I am working with the President of the Republic (...) I feel very free to give my point of view on each of the elements ," specified the mayor of Paris. "On the Olympic Games, we are together (...) On refugees and migrants, there is a word that the head of state gave me, I have no reason to question it. But I have a certain number of concerns."

Jean-Luc Mélenchon "stirs up" Asked to comment on the state of the Socialist Party, Anne Hidalgo asked for "time" after the "blow to the head" in the presidential and then legislative elections, calling for "not to make French political life hysterical at the start of a five-year term ." The mayor of Paris declared that she was wary of "the violence of words," which can "produce violence in actions . "

Is she targeting Jean-Luc Mélenchon? "I am targeting those who use political discourse in such an aggressive way that there is no longer any room for dialogue ," replied Anne Hidalgo, adding that "Jean-Luc Mélenchon is one of those who stir up trouble." However, for the mayor of Paris, the last elections showed "a rejection by the French of something that stirs up trouble, that antagonizes."

The plans, hatched by Sweden’s rightwing government with support of its far-right backers, made waves around the world. Politicians said they were working to strip citizenship from dual nationals who had been convicted of some crimes.

The concept also made a cameo in Germany’s February election after Friedrich Merz – whose centre-right CDU/CSU bloc emerged victorious in the ballot – told the newspaper Welt it should be possible to revoke German citizenship in the case of dual nationals who commit criminal offences.

The proposal was swiftly criticised, with one political commentator pointing out that it would result in some being “Germans on probation” for their entire lives. “They can never truly be German. One mistake, one crime – and their Germanness is gone,” the journalist and political commentator Gilda Sahebi wrote on social media. “It doesn’t matter if they were born here or if their family has lived in Germany for generations.”

Merz’s idea, she added, had laid bare the normalisation of “racist discrimination” in that, “in other words,” he was calling for remigration – the concept long-peddled by far-right, anti-immigrant parties and which, in Germany, calls for the mass deportation of migrants, including those with German citizenship.

Paywall? https://archive.is/NicVP

Paywall? https://archive.is/ZSHXV

Archived version

Chairs of the foreign affairs committees of eight European parliaments on April 25 urged U.S. President Donald Trump to end "the policy of appeasement" towards Russia, and called for a "resolute stance" against Moscow, according to a document seen by the Kyiv Independent.

"We strongly warn against yielding to its blackmail and deception," the statement reads.

The statement is signed by chairs of the foreign affairs committees of the U.K., France, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine.

"We urge an end to the policy of appeasement and call instead for a united, resolute stance against Russia’s terrorist regime."

"Negotiating with the war criminal Putin is evidently futile; his main objective is to undermine and humiliate our ally, the United States. We call upon all states to ensure that Vladimir Putin and all those complicit in his crimes are brought to justice."

"We must not repeat the mistakes of Munich in 1938."

"There can be no compromise and no external pressure on Ukraine regarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity."

[The latter point is noteworthy as the U.S. is reportedly proposing its de jure recognition of Russian control over Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014, as part of a potential peace deal.]

The signatories also urged Europe to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets and redirect them to support Ukraine.

[Edit typo.]

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62370804

Russia became increasingly aggressive and provocative toward European countries in 2024, employing espionage, cyberattacks, and covert disinformation campaigns to influence public debate, according to the annual report released by the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD). The agency described Russia’s actions as approaching the level of state terrorism aimed at spreading fear across Europe. The report also highlighted a rise in extremist threats within the Netherlands.

“The regime uses sabotage that borders on state terrorism to sow fear in Europe,” the AIVD stated in its report.

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On Tuesday [April 22], the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) disclosed that Russian hackers attacked a Dutch public facility in 2024. The specific facility was not identified. The incident was part of the agency’s annual report and signals a significant shift in how national security is viewed, with threats now considered the norm rather than the exception. “From uncertainty as the exception to uncertainty as the rule,” AIVD Director-General Erik Akerboom said in the report.

According to the AIVD, the Netherlands faced a “multitude of threats” in 2024. The agency issued 73 official intelligence reports to the Public Prosecution Service—17 more than in 2023. These classified communications typically alert authorities about individuals who may be involved in criminal activity and allow prosecutors to initiate investigations.

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Many of the AIVD’s investigations were linked to shifting global power dynamics and ongoing international conflicts. “The balance of power is changing, and the question is what the future world order will look like,” the report noted. “Anyone who assesses the threats to the Netherlands in 2024 will not only wonder what kind of world we live in, but also what we must do in response to this threat landscape.”

Alongside Russian threats, China also posed significant dangers. The Chinese government targeted a Dutch military research network with malicious software in a bid to spy on Dutch governmental and political targets. The AIVD report stated that China aimed to reduce Western influence worldwide through collaboration with Russia.

In addition to joint geopolitical efforts, China supplied military goods to Russia, including attack drones. These drones are frequently deployed in Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

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Archived

Norway will provide NOK 53 million [EUR 4.6 million] in funding for assistance in the health sector in the period from December 2024 to December 2027. The funding is intended to support the health care system development strategy and priorities set out by the Ukrainian Government, and represents a new phase of the institutional health collaboration first initiated between Norway and Ukraine in 2019.

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The institutional collaboration brings together the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Akershus University Hospital, the Resource Centre for Violence, Traumatic Stress and Suicide Prevention (eastern region) and Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital to share their expertise with partners in Ukraine.

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Akershus University Hospital has worked together with Ukraine in the areas of grief support and suicide prevention since 2015.

The hospital has developed and implemented a training programme on suicide prevention. In addition to strengthening the practical skills needed to identify suicide risk situations and support people in need, the programme raises awareness about suicide prevention. To date, 3 765 Ukrainians have participated in the programme, which has been carried out in major cities and small communities across most of Ukraine’s regions.

In cooperation with an NGO in Ukraine, Akershus University Hospital has also provided both direct grief support and training. The hospital has developed guides that have been translated into Ukrainian. Since the project began, some 21 000 Ukrainians have taken part in the training.

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