Europe

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43400129

Archived

Spain’s public prosecutor has closed a pretrial investigation into MaxamCorp International S.L. that was opened after a report by The Insider exposed the company’s Russian factories, which continue to produce explosives despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian antiwar activists living in Spain filed a complaint that prompted the probe in June. Three months later, the prosecutor at Spain’s National Court dropped the investigation, despite the factories not halting their operations.

[...]

In the decision declining to press charges [...] the prosecutor, without citing specific sources, said Maxam did not export explosive substances to Russia in 2024-2025 and that in 2024 the company lost control of its Russian subsidiaries.

The Insider asked an independent sanctions-compliance lawyer to comment on the prosecutor’s ruling.

Alex Prezanti, [an independent sanctions-compliance lawyer and] co-executive director of the nonprofit State Capture Accountability Project (SCAP), said the prosecutor examined the evidence selectively:

“In his decision to close the investigation against Maxam International, the Spanish prosecutor appears to have only examined events in 2024-2025 — once Maxam had lost control of its Russian subsidiaries. However, the complaint and the Insider's reporting also allege that Maxam International provided its Russian subsidiaries with materials and intellectual property for the production of explosives between 2022 and 2023.

The reporting also alleges that in 2023, Maxam appears to have accepted dividends on profits accrued by its subsidiaries in Russia from a direct supplier to the Russian military industrial complex. It is therefore unfortunate, in my opinion, that the Spanish prosecutor omitted the events of 2022-2023 from his examination. Whilst I have not seen enough evidence to conclude whether there was criminal conduct, on the face of it these allegations would justify a full investigation to determine whether Maxam International broke the law during the first two years of Russia's full scale invasion.”

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Maxam has operated in Russia since 1999 through four subsidiaries: the management company Maxam Rusia LLC ((ООО «Максам Русия»), along with three explosives plants — “High-Tech Initiation Systems” JSC (AO “VSI”) in the Samara Region, “Eastern Mining Services” LLC (ООО «ИМС») in the northern Murmansk Region, and YUII-Sibir LLC (ООО «ЮИИ-Сибирь») in Krasnoyarsk Krai in central Siberia. The ultimate owner of those firms was Spain’s MaxamCorp International S.L.

All three production sites continued operating after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43399256

Archived

China is curbing the use of European telecom kit suppliers Nokia and Ericsson in its networks as President Xi Jinping pushes to decouple the country’s critical tech infrastructure from the west.

Two people familiar with the matter said Chinese state-backed buyers of IT equipment — which include mobile network operators, utilities and other industries — have begun more closely analysing and policing foreign bids.

That process has required contracts by Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia to be submitted for “black box” national security reviews by the Cyberspace Administration of China where the companies are not told how their gear is assessed.

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“If China is doing this for national security reasons, the question is why Europe does not reciprocate by applying the same standard,” said one of the people, who asked not to be named.

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Beijing’s efforts to phase out European equipment deepened after a 2022 update to the cyber security law, which required operators of “critical information infrastructure” to submit any purchase with potential security risks for review by CAC.

State buyers of telecom equipment now require bidders to include detailed documentation on every component in their systems and the portion of local content, said the people familiar with the process, noting foreign groups were even including the details of Chinese R&D efforts to try to bolster their applications.

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The EU Chamber of Commerce in China recently said the localisation requirements in IT and telecom posed an “existential threat” to the continent’s tech groups. Nearly three quarters of respondents to the chamber’s recent member survey said the restrictions had lost them business.

European policymakers have also voiced security concerns about Chinese telecom vendors, warning of espionage risks and potential backdoor access. But most capitals have been slow to impose bans, deterred by the low cost of Chinese equipment and the desire to avoid provoking Beijing.

Around five years after the European Commission urged member states to bar high-risk suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE, only 10 of the EU’s 27 countries had introduced restrictions as of June 2025, according to regulatory research firm Cullen International.

[...]

Huawei and ZTE have retained 30 to 35 per cent of the European mobile infrastructure market, down only 5 to 10 percentage points from 2020, data from Dell’Oro Group shows.

Germany has 59 per cent of installed 5G gear sourced from Chinese groups, according to John Strand of Strand Consult, even though the country plans to phase out some equipment from high risk Chinese vendors by 2029.

“All the mobile network equipment in Berlin is Chinese,” said Strand. “Germany has big industries like chemicals and cars that don’t want relations with China to be hurt.”

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43355075

Archived

The European Union plans to hike tariffs on its steel imports to 50%, according to a draft proposal seen by Bloomberg. The move will align the bloc’s rate with the US, which has sought to push back against overcapacity from China.

The EU currently has a temporary mechanism in place to safeguard its steel industry, which imposes a 25% duty on most imports once quotas are exhausted. That mechanism expires next year and the EU has been working to replace it with a more permanent instrument, which it plans to unveil next week.

The European Commission, which handles trade matters for the EU, plans to boost the tariff rate to 50% “to minimize the risk of trade diversion,” according to the draft. The higher rate would apply to imports once a certain quota is reached.

The plans outline quotas for specific product types based on historical averages. The commission is also seeking powers to set out country-specific quotas for the various thresholds.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43354389

Archived

• Australia's A$1.2 billion reserve will provide partner countries priority access to critical minerals.
• The exchange for this access includes joint funding and guaranteed demand from partner countries.
• This is a strategic initiative representing a bold market intervention.
• The goal is to create a more resilient and collaborative international supply chain for critical minerals.

[...]

Australia is taking an unprecedented step to reshape the rare earth supply chain: it plans to sell stakes in a new Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve (opens in a new tab) to allied nations. This initiative, as reported by Reuters – essentially inviting partners like the UK, US, and France to co-invest in Australia’s stockpile of critical minerals – comes as Western governments scramble to end reliance on China for rare earth elements (REEs) and other “minor” but vital metals. Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) has investigated this bold gambit, which could mark a turning point in how the world secures these strategic resources.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43352808

Archived

U.S. President Donald Trump has authorized American intelligence agencies to provide Ukraine with targeting data for strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, pipelines and power plants, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous American officials.

The order, which directs the Pentagon and intelligence services to supply the information, came shortly before Trump said that he believed Ukraine could win the war and reclaim all of its territory from Russia, the report said.

Trump has voiced increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin as his efforts to mediate an end to the war have flatlined, and the intelligence-sharing is the latest signal that he is now deepening his support for Kyiv.

Washington has also asked NATO allies to provide Kyiv with similar support, according to the sources.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43308219

Archived

President Nicusor Dan said that Romanian authorities finally have solid proof of Russian involvement in Romania’s cancelled 2024 presidential elections. He also estimated that far-right candidate Călin Georgescu benefited from EUR 20 million in dark money.

Dan argued that authorities did not have proof that Russia interfered through advertising in the electoral campaign until the Prosecutor’s Office report. The latter showed that accounts and companies from Russia were used in the disinformation process.

“We now have proof of the fact that there were several sites that acted so that their advertising would reach a large number of people. Accounts and companies from Russia were used in this disinformation process, and I will inform our partners,” the president also said, cited by News.ro.

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Aside from online disinformation, the president estimated that Călin Georgescu’s electoral campaign could have benefited from funding worth EUR 20 million, although prosecutors have data regarding EUR 1 million paid by businessman Bogdan Peschir. Officially, Georgescu's campaign had declared zero funding for the 2024 presidential campaign.

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Nicusor Dan said he will inform EU partners of the proof of Russian involvement in Romania’s cancelled 2024 presidential elections during the informal meeting of EU leaders in Copenhagen on Wednesday, October 1.

EU and Western allies are also more aware of these destabilizing attempts coming from Moscow, according to the Romanian official. “Russia is waging a hybrid war in Europe, including in Romania, to install friendly governments or amplify fears,” Dan argued.

[...]

Translation of the article:

Germany and France want to deepen their cooperation in the media sector and combat disinformation. Among other things, there are plans to expand the Arte broadcasting network into a European platform.

A corresponding declaration was signed at the Franco-German Ministerial Council in Toulon, as announced by Minister of State for Culture Weimer (independent). Arte is a “model of success and a beacon of the European idea.” The goal is to develop a European streaming service in 24 languages that will complement national broadcasting and media services and tap into new target groups.
Cooperation between Deutsche Welle and France Médias Monde will also be expanded
Germany and France also agreed to strengthen cooperation between the international broadcasters Deutsche Welle and France Médias Monde. Together, they want to disseminate reliable information far beyond the borders of the EU, Weimer explained. The cooperation is also a response to the US withdrawal from funding independent media. Among other things, President Trump had cut subsidies for the US foreign media outlets Voice of Europe and Radio Free Europe.
This news was broadcast on August 30, 2025, on the Deutschlandfunk program.

Finland has now joined the ranks of Austria, Poland and the Netherlands in rejecting chat control, the proposed EU law that would threaten encrypted messaging and eliminate privacy in private communications.

The Ministerial Committee on EU Affairs elaborated on its previous positions and noted that Finland still considers it very important to establish an EU-level legal framework to improve the detection, reporting and elimination of sexual violence against children in the EU. However, Finland cannot support the most recent compromise proposal because it contains a detection order that has been found problematic from a constitutional standpoint.

We need more resistance against this incredibly dangerous law - we cannot allow totalitarianism to creep in through a phony "save the children" narrative. If they wanted to save the children they would start with what is happening in the open at Instagram and Tiktok, not by attacking secure channels of communication.

https://chatcontrol.eu/ contains some information about how you can pressure your representatives to oppose this law.

Stickers with the slogan "“Russia is not my enemy" have appeared in Romania, France, and Italy.

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“Russia has launched the propaganda campaign ‘Russia is not my enemy,’ which has reached Romania. Stickers with this message are appearing in cities as part of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign aimed at creating the illusion of a ‘peaceful partnership.’ Through such tools of influence, Russia seeks to portray itself as a peacemaker, downplay its own crimes, and sow discord within European societies,” the statement by the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said.

[...]

The Center added that the purpose of the campaign is to undermine citizens’ trust in the rule of law and democratic institutions in their countries, cast doubt on the Euro-Atlantic course, and discredit support for Ukraine.

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Russia has significantly intensified hybrid attacks on the EU’s critical infrastructure since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

I was just browsing new Peertube videos federated to Piefed, and came across a Peertube instance with quite a lot of good content covering the EU.

Here are some of the channels:

• !m.akyel_eurozine.com_channel@displayeurope.video - Standard Time, panel debates and mini documentaries about European issues. So far I watched the episode about trains and it was pretty good. They should probably get their fedi handle fixed.
• !eurozine-1_channel@displayeurope.video - Video magazine with content in different languages with subtitles. Seems pretty solid.
• !theschumanshow@displayeurope.video - Live stage comedy about European affairs - what's not to love
• !datamorganapodcast@video.publicspaces.net - European tech podcast, I have no idea if it's any good
• !displaycitysessions_channel@displayeurope.video - Some podcast, I'm not entirely sure what the focus is

Worth checking out and showing some appreciation - it's cool when content creators decide to make their work available at the fediverse. :)

Country with the most advanced regulations in this regard: Chile

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/35066006

Paywall? https://archive.is/Z7krg

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/28957665

(Don’t take this map too seriously, I found it on another social media, not an academic paper).

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32901604

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/47879277

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/29929406

Two Dutch intelligence agencies said on Friday that Russia is increasing its use of prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine, including the World War I-era poison gas chloropicrin.

The Netherlands' military intelligence and the security service, together with the German intelligence service, found that the use of prohibited chemical weapons by the Russian military had become "standardized and commonplace" in Ukraine.

According to the findings, the Russian military uses chloropicrin and riot control agent CS against sheltering Ukrainian soldiers, who are then forced out into the open and shot.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/29899836

The first American academics fleeing Donald Trump's America for France have arrived.

Aix-Marseille University last week introduced eight U.S.-based researchers who were in the final stage of joining the institution's “Safe Place for Science" program, which aims to woo researchers who have experienced or fear funding cuts under the Trump administration. AMU offers the promise of a brighter future in the sun-drenched Mediterranean port city.

While both France and the European Union have launched multimillion-euro plans to woo researchers across the pond since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency in January, AMU's initiative was the first of its kind in the country — meaning the eight researchers who were welcomed are the first academic refugees planning to trade the United States for France.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/47173299

Avoid Paywall

In the Abacus poll, 46 per cent of respondents said they would support Canada becoming a member state of the EU, and 44 per cent said the Canadian government should definitely or probably look into joining it.

Cross-posted from "Tobacco companies are worried about a European-wide coordinated tax increase." by @Davriellelouna@lemmy.world in !europe@feddit.org

The European Union’s chief diplomat has called for all sides in the Middle East conflict to “step back” and return to negotiations after the U.S. struck key Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday.

Kaja Kallas posted on the X platform that an Iranian nuclear capability would represent a global security threat and urged all sides not to escalate.

“I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” she wrote, adding that EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to discuss the latest developments.

The U.S. entered a conflict on Saturday that has raged between Israel and Iran since June 13 when Tel Aviv launched airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets.

Since then, the two sides have exchanged air attacks resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries.

Having said on Thursday he would decide within two weeks whether to enter the fray, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized a heavy assault on three Iranian nuclear development facilities on Saturday and warned of further action should Tehran retaliate.

Against the backdrop of escalating hostilities in the Middle East, Poland’s foreign ministry advised on Sunday against all travel to Israel.

Spokesman Paweł Wroński told a press conference the ministry is not a “travel agency” after Polish authorities repatriated around 200 people from Israel last week.

“It is not the case that we will always be able to help people.” he said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31800816