#Europe - #windenergy and #solarenergy as % of #electricity demand on 01.10.2023

Top 5 countries:
100% 🇫🇮 #Finland
48% 🇬🇷 #Greece
46% 🇸🇪 #Sweden
46% 🇱🇹 #Lithuania
40% 🇪🇸 #Spain

Source: ENTSO-E

Slovakia is on the verge of rapprochement with Russia.

Pursuing a united European policy on the war in Ukraine was already made extremely complicated by opposition from Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. And now, this is likely to become almost impossible after the results of the Slovak parliamentary elections held on Saturday.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/10/02/slovakia-is-on-the-verge-of-rapprochement-with-russia_6142947_4.html

#Europe #EU #Slovakia #Russia #WarInUkraine

Slovakia is on the verge of rapprochement with Russia

Former Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico won Saturday's parliamentary elections following a campaign marked by promises to halt military aid to Ukraine and social media messages aligned with Kremlin positions.

^{Jean-Baptiste Chastand (Le Monde)}

Norway wants Facebook behavioural advertising banned across Europe.

Norway has told the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) it believes a countrywide ban on Meta harvesting user data to serve up advertising on Facebook and Instagram should be made permanent and extended across Europe.

https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/29/norway_facebook_behavioral_ads/

#Europe #Norway #EU #EuropeanDataProtectionBoard #EDPB #Facebook #Meta #Advertising #Privacy

Norway wants Facebook behavioral advertising banned across Europe

But Meta was just about to start asking people for their permission!

^{Jude Karabus (The Register)}

The same day that Elon Musk fired the entire Twitter team concerned with fighting election disinformation, he also endorses a post where people are being encouraged to vote for the far-right German AFD party. The AFD thanked him for his endorsement and for disbanding the team that was fighting election disinformation.

#News #EuropeanNews #Europe #Germany #FarRight #AFD #ElonMusk #Musk #Twitter #X

"Russian attacks on export routes through both the #BlackSea and #DanubeRiver remain a constant threat for shipping out crops that help feed the world. That’s making it harder and more expensive to squeeze cargoes out through #Europe, causing supplies to pile up in #Ukraine.

On top of that, many farmers are having to export crops themselves after major trading companies pulled back from the country. "

Ukraine Reaps a Big Harvest, But War Risks Trapping It at Home
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-reaps-big-harvest-war-071939106.html

As one #EU diplomat put it: “It is one of life’s ironies that the countries holding the cards in energy are sometimes ones who are at best unreliable partners and at worst future enemies.” #Russia #Ukraine

#Europe has dodged #Putin’s gas bullet. But it’s still thirsty for cheap energy https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/07/europe/european-energy-security-russia-ukraine-china-cmd-intl/index.html

"But elsewhere one thing is clear: since Vladimir #Putin launched his full-scale invasion of #Ukraine last February, #Moscow has had to resort to riskier and less conventional methods of spying, mainly because so many of the spies it had placed under diplomatic cover in #Europe have been expelled." #EU #espionage #UkraineWar

#Russia turning to #SleeperCells and unofficial agents
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/15/russia-turning-to-sleeper-cells-and-unofficial-agents

Russia turning to sleeper cells and unofficial agents

Moscow has turned to riskier methods of espionage after expulsion of spies it had placed under diplomatic cover in Europe

^{Shaun Walker (The Guardian)}

Gymnastics #Ireland issues unreserved apology to black girl not given #medal at event ceremony

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/gymnastics/66913866

In the statement issued on Monday, the governing body said it was "deeply #sorry", that it knew it needed to do more to ensure "nothing like this will happen again" and it condemned "any form of #racism".

Shocking that it took them a year and the protest on social media to #apologize.

#sports #europe #fail #problem #criticism #humanRights #ethics #society #children

Perfectly Normal behavior : NATO the "defensive alliance" casually threatening #China and saying they're next for dinner:

#Stoltenberg: "If the United States is concerned about China and wants to pivot towards #Asia, then you have to ensure that @Putin doesn’t win in #Ukraine"

#NATO will have “the second biggest army in #Europe (Ukraine) on our side.”

"We'll then have a weakened Russian army and also a Europe really stepping up for defense spending. That will make it easier for you to focus also on China"

#Russia #Warmongers #Idiocracy #US

There is no digital without chips.

Today, the European Chips Act enters into force.

It will support investment and research facilities so #Europe can become an innovation powerhouse with a strong stake in the global market:

- Supporting technological capacity building and innovation
- Ensuring security of supply and resilience by attracting investments
- Establishing coordination with and across countries

This is a step forward in determining our own destiny.

➡ https://europa.eu/!rQBNMJ

#EU

They held hands and stood in silence before the tragedy of history.

They reconciled their countries and brought #Europe closer.

On #PeaceDay, we remember how Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand courageously dreamt of a better future of unity and peace almost 40 years ago. For France. For Germany. For Europe.

Now, it is our moment to answer the call of #history and stand up to defend Europe's values and future.

Ein Europa der Einheit und des Mutes.

Une Europe de la liberté et de la paix.

La liberté de la presse recule sur le vieux continent. L'European Media Freedom Act pourrait représenter une avancée, à condition que des États comme la France n'en profitent pas pour autoriser l'utilisation de logiciels espions contre les journalistes. 🔎

#europe #media #pressfreedom #journalisme #bruxelles

https://www.investigate-europe.eu/fr/posts/media-freedom-act-europe-journalists-regulation

European governments have “systematically” shrunk their railways and starved them of funding while pouring money into expanding their road network, a report has found.

The length of motorways in Europe grew 60% between 1995 and 2020 while railways shrank 6.5%, according to research from German thinktanks Wuppertal Institute and T3 Transportation. For every €1 governments spent building railways, they spent €1.6 building roads.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/19/european-governments-railways-road-building-report-motorways-funding-rail

#Europe #Railways #Roads #Train #Transport

The 870 km Rail Baltica project, which is due for completion in 2030, will connect the capitals of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia with Warsaw and the rest of Europe, allowing trains to run uninterrupted.

However, the project is symbolic as well as physical.

For the EU, it’s a statement about the Baltic states’ return to Europe and their decoupling from their Soviet past.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/09/16/the-high-speed-railway-thats-uncoupling-the-baltic-states-from-russia-and-their-soviet-pas

#Europe #Lithuania #Latvia #Estonia #Poland #Baltics #Rail #HighSpeedRail #RailBaltica

BREAKING:

(1/2)

#VisaScandal hits ruling #Polish "Law and Order Party"

Via @apnews

"Media reports allege 👉Poland’s #consular sections issued about 250,000 visas to #migrants from Asia and Africa since 2021 in return for bribes👈 of several thousand dollars each. Poland is a member of the EU’s visa-free zone known as #Schengen, and once those migrants arrived in Poland they could cross #Europe’s borders freely...

A former 👉deputy foreign minister👈 who was ...

https://apnews.com/article/migration-poland-visas-bribe-election-b6cdeadfc6a3935d0fbdb779947dad78

Poland is shaken by reports that consular officials took bribes to help migrants enter Europe and US

Poland’s conservative governing party was hoping to make migration a key campaign theme ahead of the country’s Oct. 15 parliamentary elections. But not like this.

^{VANESSA GERA (AP News)}

From wind to steel, the future of clean tech industry has to be Made in #Europe.

We want to support the #EU industry in building its model for decarbonisation. Starting this month, we will discuss with the industry the best way to do this.

Our #wind industry is already a European success story, but it faces a unique mix of challenges.

That is why we will present a European Wind Power package to boost fast-track permitting and focus on access to finance, among others.

#SOTEU

It also involved #CentralBankers, financiers in #UK and #USA including the #BankOfEngland, and #industrialists that wanted to exploit #Europe's resources, including #oilMerchants like the #BushCrimeFamily.

Today many make a mistake of calling these industrialists '#capitalists'. They are not 'capitalist'. When corporatists merge with govt, that's '#fascism'.

See Rich Man's Trick (2014) by ex-BBC employee Francis Richard Conolly [Running time 3:27:55]

#moneyPrinterGoDrr #bitcoin

TikTok is spending $1.3 billion to dodge bans in Europe.

European politicians are nervous about where TikTok’s data goes. The company is spending big on local data centers, but analysts say it’s not enough.

“TikTok poses several unacceptable risks for European users, including data access by Chinese authorities, censorship, and the tracking of journalists".

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/tiktok-is-spending-13-billion-project-clover-europe

#Europe #EU #UK #TikTok #BigTech #China #NationalSecurity #Espionage #Censorship #Privacy

TikTok Is Spending $1.3 Billion to Dodge Bans in Europe

^{Chris Stokel-Walker (WIRED UK)}

World War III scenario becomes more realistic...

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/russian-general-admits-ukraine-just-stepping-stone-invade-europe-1825776

#Russia #Ukraine #war #military #nato #europe #news #Interview #problem #future

Russian General Admits Ukraine Just a 'Stepping Stone' to Invade Europe

Ukraine "is only the beginning," Colonel-General Andrey Mordvichev warned in a recent interview.

^{Jason Lemon (Newsweek)}

In depth survey of #energy in #Europe. The war in Ukraine has really catalysed a transition.

"In the first six months of 2023, the amount of electricity generated by #FossilFuels across the European Union (#EU) fell to its lowest level since records began.

Greece and Romania both passed 50% #renewables for the first time, while Denmark and Portugal both surpassed 75% renewables."

#EnergyTransition
https://www.carbonbrief.org/eus-use-of-fossil-fuels-for-electricity-falls-17-to-record-low-in-first-half-of-2023/

Unity, solidarity and determination.

These values guided us throughout a decisive year:

- Standing side by side with Europeans amid challenges
- Providing unwavering support to #Ukraine
- Making #Europe stronger and greener

On 13 September at 09:00 am CEST, President von der Leyen will take stock of what we have achieved so far and present her vision and actions for the coming year.

The State of the Union will be about the decisive moments we have had and those lying ahead of us.

#SOTEU #EU

Today we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the passing of #EU pioneer Robert Schuman.

Schuman was a member of the French resistance in World War II. After the war, he drew up the famous ‘Schuman Declaration’ to unite #Europe and prevent further wars.

Today we pay tribute to his legacy that continues to transcend generations.

Join us for the upcoming #SOTEU address on 13 September to witness our commitment to protecting his legacy.

→ https://state-of-the-union.ec.europa.eu