Europe

NATO is planning to build a pipeline system from Germany to Poland and the Czech Republic to ensure a rapid supply of jet fuel for fighter aircraft in the event of a war with Russia, weekly German magazine Der Spiegel reported.

The existing Cold War-era pipeline system of the military alliance currently ends in western Germany.

Der Spiegel cited an internal memo from the Bundeswehr - Germany's armed forces - as stating that there are "significant problems in the sustainable fuel supply for forces that would need to be deployed to the eastern border in case of emergency".

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German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, on Friday said Europe needed to ramp up pressure on Washington to stand by NATO allies and not impose an unfair peace on Ukraine.

Her comments came after US President Donald Trump spoke to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin last week to discuss ending the war and before Trump declared he doesn't consider it essential for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be present at talks aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

"I don't think he's very important to be in meetings," Trump said in an audio interview with Fox News, adding that Zelenskyy has been negotiating "with no cards, and you get sick of it."

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Baerbock's statements were similar to those of other European leaders discussing how to approach likely changes to transatlantic relations during Trump's second term.

"We are increasing the pressure on the Americans so that they have as much to lose as possible if they no longer stand by the side of the liberal democracies of Europe," Baerbock told a campaign event in Potsdam.

The foreign minister referred to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's declaration of a "turning point" when it came to increasing Berlin's military strength in light of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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Swedish authorities said on Friday they are investigating reports of a breach of another undersea cable in the Baltic Sea.

The Swedish Coast Guard dispatched a vessel to the location of the reported breach, east of the island of Gotland.

"It is in the Swedish economic zone and we are assisting with the crime scene investigation," a spokesperson told the AFP news agency.

Police are also investigating.

Finnish telecommunications company Cinia said on Friday that it had detected minor damage on its C-Lion1 fiber-optic cable that connects Finland and Germany. However, there was no impact on the cable's functionality.

Just go the vote, and make sure your family and friends go to give their votes.

I'm not local, I cannot vote over here, but had seen multiple times in modern times voter suppression has been a big deal, it's easier to make you not to bother to vote than change your mind who to vote.

I had worked brexit UK, where people voted it due they weren't happy about the PM. As it was good time to vote against him. Without thinking what brexit actually was. So use your voice by voting. What do you wish the future of country will be in this new era.

I know German has issues, as every Europe union contries. If the problems are easy to solve they would have been solved already, don't belive one tag line promises.

I'm just wanna say, as a fellow user. Just go to vote.

Mirror: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/4fDG9

cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/30911055

(Overview of recent events. Not the best English, but most Europeans do not speak, English natively . Not my video.)

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Weidel admitted meeting Wu but said she met him once in months. As for their discussions, Weidel said that she sought an understanding of China’s position on Germany.

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The damning findings come days ahead of German parliamentary elections in which AfD has rattled mainstream politicians. As per latest opinion polls, the party stands second in popularity and way ahead of incumbent SPD. While AfD’s links to the neo-Nazi movement have led to widespread concerns and contributed to its ostracisation by German parties, the links to China have led to fresh concerns whether a top contender for German chancellorship has been groomed by China.

The findings are all the more damning as European far-right has long been supported by Russia and China is Russia’s principal ally. The AfD is so extremist that even French far-right party, National Rally (RN), broke ties with it in the European Union (EU) elections last year. Moreover, AfD has previously been charged with spying for China and such allegations contributed to the RN-AfD split.

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AfD leader Alice Weidel’s long relationship to China

In light of revealation of Weidel’s secret meetings with the top Chinese diplomat in Germany, fresh attention has come on her long relationship with China that goes back to decades. It is bound to be explored whether she has been groomed by China to do the Communist Party’s bidding in Germany and Europe.

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As an economist, Weidel worked for the state-owned Bank of China and lived in China for six years. It has been reported that she was on scholarship during those years. Her doctoral thesis was also written on Chinese pension system.

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In China, Weidel worked at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

While Weidel today leads a party linked to neo-Nazis, her grandparents were members of the Nazi Party. Her grandfather, Hans Weidel, was a prominent Nazi judge who persecuted political opponents of the Nazi regime. He was appointed by Adolf Hitler himself.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/56254362

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18628816

“The global north must take responsibility for reducing its own consumption and building domestic renewable capacity, instead of externalising socio-environmental costs to the global south. We must continue to fight to decolonise and transform the global financial architecture.”

Mirror: https://archive.is/2025.02.20-054144/https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-02-19/trump-s-insistence-ukraine-has-rare-earth-elements-is-wrong

China came out in support of U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to strike a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, at a G20 meeting in South Africa on Thursday, while U.S. allies rallied around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has upended U.S. policy on the war, scrapping a campaign to isolate Moscow with a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin and talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials that have sidelined Ukraine.

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Fourteen people have been arrested in Spain and Portugal in a series of raids targeting a €1tn (£828bn) criminal, money-laundering network working with gangs across Europe.

Most of the suspects, detained last month, are Russian nationals, according to EU law enforcement agency Europol.

The ring mainly laundered money originating from illegal drug trafficking and charged 2-3% commission per transfer as part of "a genuine multinational money laundering company", according to Spain's National Police.

Nine properties were raided in cities across Spain, as well as the Portuguese capital Lisbon, and more than €1m in cash and cryptocurrencies were seized.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25864762

The Canada-EU Leaders’ meeting took place on February 12, 2025. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa met to discuss ways for EU and Canada to work more closely to promote global economic security and stability amidst rising geoeconomic tensions.

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With President Donald Trump confirming a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports—alongside a separate, still-pending tariff specifically targeting Canada and Mexico, which would be stacked to a whopping 50%—Trudeau arrived in Europe seeking to reinforce economic alliances and push back against US protectionism.

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Trudeau emphasized that partnerships like NATO and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) thrive on trust. “You can always trust Canada,” he told reporters, highlighting how CETA has increased Canada-EU trade by 66% since 2017.

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Yet, as US protectionism escalates, Canada and Europe must look beyond existing agreements. Expanding cooperation in critical sectors like minerals, clean energy, and technology could help both sides reduce dependence on the US market and build a more resilient economic framework. ...

Though the EU and Canada have the CETA trade agreement—which they have touted as important for trade and investment—and a critical minerals partnership, in a hyper-competitive global economy they need to further deepen and strengthen economic ties.

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Canada utilized the meeting to further discussions on enhancing their security and defense cooperation. Since 2021, Canada’s participation in the EU’s Military Mobility project, alongside the United States and Norway, has boosted EU-NATO cooperation and has become yet more relevant since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The citizens want EU defense and concrete actions, Ukraine and Europe needs it. Now the local and European Politicians need to speed things up and come with actions

Starting 24 February: more news on EU defense stance &plans. Foreign Affairs Council, 24 February 2025 and Geneal council of 25 February:

Preparation for the European Council of 20-21 March 2025 by discussing an annotated draft agenda and the Commission will present its work programme for 2025.

The Council will hold an exchange of views on this programme and, more generally, on annual and multiannual programming.

Some other background info:

• recent speech Antonia Costas 19 feb
• current EU defense security situation
• citizens eurobarometer
• mutual EU defense clause article

(ed)

British Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Thursday he saw no appetite from Russia for peace with Ukraine after listening to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov talk at a closed-door meeting of the top G20 diplomats in South Africa.

Lammy was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers from the world's biggest economies, which has been overshadowed by dispute between members over the Ukraine war, among other disagreements.

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Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine’s largest city, is resolutely entering its fourth year of war, with residents stoically coping with emergency laws, night curfews and incessant air alerts. Underground schools have been built, and the city still offers a few leisure activities to ward off fear and help overcome personal tragedies.

[...]