Europe

text translation: C'est clairement du fascisme

Well said.

Shorter version: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OnXBDts8nbs

cross-posted from: https://piefed.zip/c/technology/p/1086069/google-criticizes-europe-s-plan-to-adopt-free-software

Google has criticized the European Union’s intentions to achieve digital sovereignty through open-source software. The company warned that Brussels’ policies aimed at reducing dependence on American tech companies could harm competitiveness. According to Google, the idea of replacing current tools with open-source programs would not contribute to economic growth.

Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer, warned of a competitive paradox that Europe is facing. According to the Financial Times, he said that creating regulatory barriers would be harmful in a context of rapid technological advancement. His remarks came just days after the European Commission concluded a public consultation assessing the transition to open-source software.

Google’s chief legal officer clarified that he is not opposed to digital sovereignty, but recommended making use of the “best technologies in the world.” Walker suggested that American companies could collaborate with European firms to implement measures ensuring data protection. Local management or servers located in Europe to store information are among the options.

The EU is preparing a technological sovereignty package aimed at eliminating dependence on third-party software, such as Google’s. After reviewing proposals, it concluded that reliance on external suppliers for critical infrastructure entails economic risks and creates vulnerabilities. The strategy focuses not only on regulation but also on adopting open-source software to achieve digital sovereignty.

According to Google, this change would represent a problem for users. Walker argues that the market moves faster than legislation and warns that regulatory friction will only leave European consumers and businesses behind in what he calls “the most competitive technological transition we have ever seen.” As it did with the DMA and other laws, Google is playing on fear. Kent Walker suggested that this initiative would stifle innovation and deny people access to the “best digital tools.”

The promotion of open-source software aims to break dependence on foreign suppliers, especially during a period of instability caused by the Trump administration. The European Union has highlighted the risks of continuing under this system and proposes that public institutions should have full control over their own technology.

According to a study on the impact of open-source software, the European Commission found that it contributes between €65 billion and €95 billion annually to the European Union’s GDP. The executive body estimates that a 10% increase in contributions to open-source software would generate an additional €100 billion in growth for the bloc’s economy.

In the new era, European leaders are not only promising to take more responsibility for the conventional defense of their continent; they’re also beginning to talk about an expanded nuclear deterrent of their own. Practically, this would mean leveraging the capabilities of Britain and France, currently the only two European states with nuclear weapons.

For now, Kristersson said, “the American nuclear umbrella is absolutely dominant.” And he has seen no indication that Washington intends to curtail it, even as the Trump administration presses European countries to assume greater responsibility for their own defense. Still, the prime minister said, “it’s a good thing” that there are European countries with such capabilities

LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk’s social media platform X faces a European Union privacy investigation after its Grok AI chatbot started spitting out nonconsensual deepfake images, Ireland’s data privacy regulator said Tuesday.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday enthusiastically endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ‘s bid to serve a fifth straight term after the April elections, emphasizing during a visit to Budapest the strong personal relationship between the nationalist leader and U.S. President Donald Trump.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/55455814

Italy, Spain and Poland are reshaping the bloc’s food export balance

French farmers block roads in Saone-et-Loire as national agriculture protests roll on Farmers block major roads as part of ongoing nationwide agricultural protests. (Photo by Mathieu Prudhomme/Anadolu via Getty Images) France, long the bloc’s agricultural powerhouse, saw its agri-food trade surplus fall last year, hit by reliance on exports to non-EU markets and difficulties meeting domestic demand, while other EU countries are gaining ground.

Thanks to its wines, cereals, and dairy products, France is the agricultural étoile – or star – of Europe. In 2024, the country’s value of production stood at €88.3 billion, the highest in the EU ahead of Germany (€75.5 billion), Italy (€70.2 billion), and Spain (€68.7 billion).

Yet the trade balance is slipping. In 2025, Paris recorded its weakest agri-food trade performance in a quarter of a century, with the lowest surplus in 25 years.

This is not just a short-term crisis, but the result of both external shocks and deeper structural problems.

Reliance on non-EU markets

For decades, France’s agri-food surplus was driven by high value-added exports like wine and spirits, sold both within the EU and to third countries.

But that balance has shifted. “In recent years, France has become a net importer on the European market, and most of its surplus now comes mainly from third countries,” explains Sébastien Abis, a food geopolitics researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS).

This growing dependence left France particularly vulnerable when trade tensions emerged over the summer.

In July and August, France’s two main export markets for wine and spirits – the US and China – imposed steep tariffs: 15% on EU wine and spirits in the US, and up to 34.9% on spirits in China.

The impact was immediate: wine exports dropped by 8% in value, and spirits plummeted by as much as 25%.

France also faced a sharp decline in cereal exports, hit by poor 2024 harvests and the loss of key wheat buyer Algeria amid geopolitical tensions.

For Abis, the problem was partly strategic overconfidence. “We overestimated our ability to retain certain clients,” he says.

France’s agri-food trade surplus slumps to lowest level in decades

Others did better

Other EU countries have managed challenges better by focusing on high-quality local products or efficient technology, and by relying more heavily on intra-EU trade, explains Yari Vecchio of the University of Bologna.

Spain, for example, has been consolidating its position as the EU’s fourth-largest exporter, thanks to “a clear cost-competitiveness advantage” in key products such as fruits, olive oil, and pork, Vecchio says.

Also in Eastern Europe, competitors have grown rapidly. Poland, in particular, has expanded its production and export capacity by combining “strong cost efficiency with an increasingly integrated agri-food industrial chain,” the researcher notes.

But the clearest example is Italy, which competes on quality and branding rather than price, using geographical indications, according to Vecchio. The country achieved record exports of around €73 billion in agri-food products in 2025, up 5% from the same period in 2024.

Italian success has also been driven by coordinated marketing, says Marine Raffray, an agricultural economist at the French Chambers of Agriculture. “Italians hunt in packs when exporting; they focus on the national brand rather than regional specialisations. This is far less visible in France.”

Missed demand

France also suffered from a certain degree of elitism.

“France missed a European market that is not exclusively high-end,” Abis explains.

Relying on a strong and codified tradition, it failed to adapt to changing consumer demand, as they increasingly crave cheaper, more convenient products and no longer want to spend hours in the kitchen cooking a boeuf bourguignon.

In fruit and vegetables, the country is now running a deficit. Consumption is shifting away from fresh products towards processed ones. “We consume more juice, canned fruit, and compote. To produce these, we need industrial facilities that we do not have in sufficient quantity,” says Raffray.

But building factories takes time and requires long-term planning, something France has struggled with, says Burkhard Schaer, director of the French-German agriculture research agency ECOZEPT. “There is no visibility in France’s conventional agriculture,” he says, referring to shifting agricultural policies in past years, from the Green Deal’s environmental ambitions to the more recent softening of regulations for farmers.

With an ageing workforce, “no measures are in place to ensure generational renewal,” Schaer adds. Productivity gains no longer fully compensate the many farmers who are leaving the sector, particularly in livestock farming.

Equipment is also ageing. Half of France’s agri-food factories have not been modernised since the early 2000s, Abis says.

France’s shortfall has reshaped the single market. The country is now turning into a destination market for neighbouring partners.

Former French President Charles de Gaulle, who famously once asked, “How can you govern a country with 258 varieties of cheese?”, would be dismayed to see that even France’s iconic cheese sector is feeling the strain.

“We are importing more industrial-type cheese from the Netherlands to meet the growing demand for ‘ingredient cheese’ used in processed foods,” Raffray says.

Not all decline

Abis cautions against alarmism. “For half a century, France’s trade balance showed a surplus. Today it is reduced, but we are not yet in deficit,” he notes, pointing to Germany’s negative agricultural trade balance.

The crisis is also being strengthened by cyclical factors. A weaker euro against the dollar has hurt competitiveness, Raffray explains.

Rising commodity prices, particularly cocoa – which surged around 30% after weather-related disruptions – have also weighed heavily on the trade balance. Without these shocks, Abis argues, France’s agri-food trade performance would have been considerably better.

The CAESAR self-propelled howitzer (Camion Équipé d’un Système d’Artillerie) MK1 is a 155 mm calibre indirect fire system that enables units to rapidly redeploy over long distances and engage targets at ranges exceeding 40 kilometres. The use of a standard calibre allows the system to operate with various types of NATO-standard ammunition. The system’s high degree of automation, combined with operational simplicity, enables crews to be trained within a matter of weeks. Its widespread use among different countries ensures long-term logistical support and availability of spare parts.

Lithuania’s Defence Ministry has proposed establishing a defence attaché post at the country’s embassy in Israel, saying the move would support military procurement and help ensure stable supply chains.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in India on Tuesday for a three-day visit focused on artificial intelligence cooperation, defence deals and strengthening strategic ties, with discussions expected on a potential multibillion-dollar Rafale fighter jet agreement.