Europe

The European Parliament has given the green light to the first list of “safe countries of origin” whose citizens will no longer be able to seek asylum in the EU.

The list includes Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, India, Morocco and Tunisia as well as EU candidate countries such as the Western Balkans nations, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

Heineken currently has a global workforce of 87,000 and said last October that it would reorganise its Amsterdam headquarters with the loss of 400 jobs.

Spain has fallen for the fifth consecutive year in the corruption perception index compiled by international experts, down one point from 2024 (from a score of 56 to 55 in the world ranking) and once again placing it below countries such as Rwanda (58) and Saudi Arabia (57), which are authoritarian regimes.

According to Transparency International, which presented its annual report for 2025 in Madrid on Tuesday, Spain has been one of the European countries where the perception of corruption has grown the most, along with Bulgaria, in a turbulent year for the PSOE and the government due to the Koldo case, which has led to the imprisonment of, among others, former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his former adviser Koldo García, as well as the former secretary of organisation of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, who has been released pending trial.

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Another finding highlighted by the analysis is that among the countries that have improved the most in terms of the perception of corruption since 2012 are Greece (up 14 points to 50) and the Czech Republic (up 10 points to 59). In contrast, Spain is among the countries that have fallen the most since 2012, down a total of ten points to its current score of 55, along with Malta, which has fallen eight points to 49.

One case that experts highlight is that of the United Kingdom (70), which has fallen 12 places since 2017. Also noteworthy are the efforts made over the last decade by Estonia (76), Latvia (60) and Lithuania (65) and their commitment to opening up government and undertaking anti-corruption reforms, although they warn that gaps remain, particularly with regard to the transparency of lobbies, the protection of whistleblowers and clarity in party financing.

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The European Commission today (Feb 9) adopted new measures under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) to prevent the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear.

37% for two women under criminal investigation for fraud

12% for a woman invited to Trump's inauguration

5% for a guy who said he admires Vladimir Putin and spends his holidays in Russia

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This is how "divide and conquer" works in Europe right now, in practice. If the Greeks stick with Europe, they risk their security by leaving Erdogan as the only interlocutor of Trump in the East Mediterannean.

Oil and gas exports have sustained Russia’s finances throughout its war against Ukraine. But as the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion approaches, those cash flows have suddenly dwindled to lows not seen in years.

Dallas has obtained unique drawings showing the scale of the modernization of Plant No. 9 in Yekaterinburg.

This plant is a key manufacturer of artillery barrels for the Koalitsiya and Msta self-propelled howitzers, tank guns for the T-90 and T-14 Armata, as well as for the modernized T-62 and T-72 tanks.

Over the past ten years, Russia has been actively purchasing German, Italian, and Taiwanese machine tools. Even now, despite sanctions, the plant plans to install 22 units of foreign equipment. How did they get there?

The results of the joint investigation with @Tatarigami_UA are available on this link.

One of Spain's most respected memory associations on Monday accused the leftist government of flouting its own much-vaunted policy to remove public symbols inherited from Francisco Franco's brutal dictatorship.

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Spain’s diplomatic corps and foreign affairs journalists have raised alarm over what they describe as a sharp institutional decline at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the arrival of José Manuel Albares, citing growing restrictions on press access and increasingly centralised decision-making.

On Monday, Madrid’s Press Association condemned what it described as “pressure” from senior foreign ministry officials – including journalist “vetoes” and the informal labelling of media outlets as “friendly” or “hostile”.

The controversy flared last week when a journalist noted at a press conference that Albares had not held a standalone presser for eight months. Days later, El Confidencial Digital reported that the minister had sought to bar her from the ministry – a move later conveyed to her employer by his spokesperson.

The episode sparked outrage among Spain’s foreign affairs press corps, which accuses Albares of undermining press freedom since taking office in 2021.

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Concerns extend beyond the media. Alberto Virella, president of the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) and a former ambassador to Senegal, told Euractiv that the opacity mirrors deeper problems within the ministry itself.

“The ministry’s communication policy is anomalous,” Virella said, noting that ambassadors – and diplomats more broadly – are discouraged from speaking to the press for fear of reprimand.

He added that appointment procedures have also become less transparent, with postings no longer clearly based on seniority but on criteria “known only to the minister”.

“These conditions favour arbitrariness and cronyism,” Virella said, warning that they weaken Spain’s diplomatic effectiveness.

An investigation by Euractiv found that even as it continues to receive millions of euros in EU support, Euronews has rebalanced its business model to become increasingly reliant on politically connected investors, lobbyists and commercial partnerships with entities linked to illiberal states. Financial records and interviews with 14 current and former employees depict a financially strained organisation deepening ties with strongman-led governments from Serbia to Azerbaijan.

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/58845954