cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21168931

• The EU has agreed binding rules to reduce plastic pellet pollution, aiming to tackle up to 184,000 metric tons of annual leakage into the environment.
• Provisional measures will require companies to prevent spills, implement risk management, and report losses — but reliance on self-reporting may limit accountability, environmental groups argue.
• Campaigners have welcomed the deal but criticized loopholes, delays for maritime transport, and lighter rules for small businesses, warning these could undermine the regulation’s impact.

archived

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28561868

BRUSSELS, April 21 (Reuters) - The European Union is determined to enforce its full digital rule book no matter who is in charge of companies such as X, Meta, Apple and Tiktok or where they are based, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Politico.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2523894

Archived link

In the era of Trump 2.0, the first question British defence companies are facing when trying to export their weapons abroad is whether they are independent of the US arms industry. Or simply, are they “Itar-free”?

Itar, which stands for the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, refers to a set of longstanding US rules that govern the items on the United States Munitions List, which is aimed at safeguarding national security.

The list contains US-produced software, components and other technology that can be used for either military purposes or serve a dual use. If a weapon is subject to Itar, it cannot be built, sold or supplied to someone else without US consent and support.

One defence industry source said: “Even if you have US engineers, you become Itar-tainted.”

To employ ex-US military employees, UK companies would become subject to Itar restrictions if they have not been granted an exemption.

Although the restrictions are nothing new, a combination of Trump’s tariffs, vague threats to Canada and Denmark and pause on providing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine has left defence companies and governments thinking twice before investing in American components or equipment.

...

Helsing, a European defence tech company, and Auterion, a supplier of drone operating systems with a European headquarters in Munich, also pride themselves on having Itar-free equipment.

Helsing has pursued the policy because it “was founded on the principle of providing sovereign capabilities for a strong Europe”, according to Amelia Gould, the company’s global maritime director.

“Europe has this technology, we don’t need to import everything from the US,” she added.

Brinley Salzmann, the director of overseas and exports for ADS, a defence trade association, said that what was once a preference for Itar-free weapons was quickly becoming a requirement.

He said: “As international collaboration increases and governments seek greater control over their supply chains, the ability to operate without US extraterritorial export restrictions is becoming a strategic consideration.”

...

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/42733798

Project 2025 authors are providing a closed-door workshop of discussion for right-wing groups in Europe to shape their united stand against the EU. We don't know the invitation-list, but as Yorkshirebylines reports on this:

"It is known to have featured contributions from two prominent right-wing organisations: Hungary’s largest private educational institution with a Brussels-based thinktank, Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), and the Polish Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture.

All three groups present are highly connected to the political leadership of their respective countries, and they all have something in common: a firm belief in reducing the role of government, controlling the judiciary and installing a conservative religious approach in terms of access to reproductive healthcare for women, divorce and same-sex marriage."

Obtained invitation that goes over the proposals talked about:

VSquare mainly focus on preventing a rise in populism in Europe and report a lot on Turkey and Hungary, about Russian influence, and as we can see here, about American right's attempt at influence. According to themselves, they are Polish, and operate as a collaborative non-profit investigative journalist center.

"the two Central European organizations reported connections to Russian influence add another layer of scrutiny. While Ordo Iuris leaders have denied pro-Russian affiliations, the organization has long engaged with networks that promote Kremlin-aligned narratives, including Agenda Europe and the World Congress of Families – a group linked to Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev. (VSquare has published multiple investigations into the international network-building of Ordo Iuris," VSquare adds with links on the page leading to their investigations)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/42627109

cross-posted from: https://futurology.today/post/4453232

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/19685434

Frustration with established parties across Europe has created openings the right has been quick to fill. Can a divided left rally in response?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28408447

She had been welcomed to the White House with open arms as few other foreign visitors had been since Donald Trump’s return, and Giorgia Meloni wanted to assure her host that – at least when it came to their political worldview – they spoke a common language.

Italy’s prime minister, whose Brothers of Italy party has roots in neo-fascism, was keen to stress that she shared many things with the man who had just hailed her as a “friend” who “everybody loves … and respects”. Tariffs were a bit of problem. But between friends? Hey, we can work it out.

Even if Italy boasted one of Europe’s biggest trade surpluses with the US, such disagreements could be bridged with recourse to the previously uncoined creed of “western nationalism”, argued Meloni, speaking in confident, lightly accented English, although she admitted she did not know if it was “the right word”.

The Supreme Court has ruled that women are defined by biology in a landmark judgment which deals a blow to transgender campaigners.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61260036

• Some opinion polls show Orban's Fidesz trailing opposition challenger
• Hungary's economy hit by inflation, two years of near-stagnation
• S&P has cut Hungary's rating outlook to negative amid fiscal risks
• Opposition leader plans referendum on Ukraine's EU membership

Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar vowed on Sunday to unlock billions of euros of suspended European Union funding to revive the economy if elected next year, and to hold a referendum on whether Ukraine should join the 27-member bloc.

https://archive.ph/we5av

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/42321169

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/42263710

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28204201

PARIS/BERLIN, April 14 (Reuters) - More than three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Europe's energy security is fragile. U.S. liquefied natural gas helped to plug the Russian supply gap in Europe during the 2022-2023 energy crisis.

But now that President Donald Trump has rocked relationships with Europe established after World War Two, and turned to energy as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, businesses are wary that reliance on the United States has become another vulnerability.

Against this backdrop, executives at major EU firms have begun to say what would have been unthinkable a year ago: that importing some Russian gas, including from Russian state giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) could be a good idea.

That would require another major policy shift given that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 made the European Union pledge to end Russian energy imports by 2027.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61066402

In December work officially began on a multi-billion-dollar railway through Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan that will link China more closely with Europe, bypassing Russia.

https://archive.ph/Ah0zg

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/32514869

The idea of Canada joining the European Union is ambitious, but it follows a certain logic.

The European Union is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S. In 2023, the combined trade in goods and services between Canada and the EU reached a value of CA$157.3 billion. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), in force since 2017, has eliminated 98 per cent of customs duties between the two partners, which has promoted sustained growth in trade.

[...]

Further integration would offer full access to the European single market, harmonization of standards and synergies in key sectors: green technologies, artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals and cybersecurity. It would also give Canada access to major European programs such as Horizon Europe, a research fund of 95.5 billion euros (nearly $148 billion in Canadian dollars).

Furthermore, Canada possesses natural resources that are crucial to the European energy transition: lithium, cobalt and nickel. Enhanced collaboration would ensure a secure and sustainable supply to Europe while promoting strategic industries on both sides of the Atlantic.

[...]

Canada meets the Copenhagen criteria (rule of law, democracy, market economy) and shares the fundamental values of the EU. The main obstacles would be of a technical or political nature: geographical distance, the need for Canada to align its laws and regulations with all European standards (the Community Acquis) and to adapt its agricultural supply management system to European internal market rules.

But Canada doesn’t necessarily need to aim for immediate formal membership. A more flexible path could be a close strategic partnership, inspired by the Norwegian or Swiss models but adapted to Canadian realities.

Such a partnership could include enhanced access to European markets, participation in joint research, defence or energy transition projects and increased co-ordination within multilateral institutions.

The objective would not be strictly economic, but political and symbolic: to affirm a common commitment to democracy, international co-operation and respect for the global legal order. A strategic turning point for Canada

[...]

A rapprochement with Europe could also help revitalize the democratic debate in Canada and strengthen both national cohesion around a common project and its ability to face future crises, whether economic, security or climate related.

The time has come to start this discussion, which should not be considered a dream, but an exercise in strategic foresight. Canada’s future may well be shaped, in part, on the other side of the Atlantic.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28094977

Paywall? https://archive.is/n8aMg

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/42151863

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28094240

Paywall? https://archive.is/Tq3KD

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28020932

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/60943118

In what bird lovers are calling a landmark ruling, the Montpellier court held EDF Renouvelables and nine of its subsidiaries responsible for the deaths of 160 bats and birds, especially lesser kestrels, which regularly collide with the blades despite deterrents put in place by operators.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27953268

cross-posted from: https://jlai.lu/post/17684914

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2384290

Japan expressed interest Tuesday in participating in the NATO command for its Ukrainian mission based in Germany in what would be a major boost in ties with the largely European alliance.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced his country’s interest during talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Tokyo. After providing the war-torn country with defense equipment and support, Japan now wants to join NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, or NSATU, headquartered at a U.S. base in the German town of Wiesbaden.

Details of the mission, including the possibility of sending any Japan Self Defense Force members to Wiesbaden, were still to be discussed. But any Japanese cooperation was not expected to involve combat, in line with what has been Tokyo’s post-World War II tradition of limiting its military’s role.

Nakatani said Japan wants to further deepen security cooperation with NATO and that participation in the NSATU mission would help Tokyo learn lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

...

Japan has said that Russia’s war on Ukraine underscores that security risks in Europe and Asia are inseparable, and Tokyo has sought closer ties with NATO while also joining the United States in expanding defense ties with other friendly nations in the Indo-Pacific.

...

Japan considers China a threat in the region and has in recent years accelerated its military buildup, including preparing to acquire strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles.

...

NATO has stepped up its ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, known as the IP4, in recent years, with their officials attending NATO ministerial and summit meetings.

...

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/60674248