Europe

Archive: https://archive.ph/2025.07.24-093859/https://www.ft.com/content/4d6114d3-6a0a-41f3-9f6c-6637a1536246

Archive: https://archive.ph/2025.07.23-200827/https://www.ft.com/content/710839ef-32dd-4570-9ecf-f1c8416eedff

World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab denied allegations of misconduct that were reportedly substantiated by a formal investigation and accused the board of trustees of violating an agreement regarding media discretion on the matter.

The Swiss newspaper said preliminary findings by Swiss law firm Homburger support allegations that Schwab manipulated economic reports published by the forum and submitted unjustifiably high expense claims.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3686621

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Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi asked the U.S. and Europe to provide Ukraine with a new supply of longer-range missiles and to lift restrictions on using them against targets inside Russia.

Syrskyi said that if Ukraine were supplied with a large number of medium- and longer-range missiles, including U.S.-made ATACMS and German Taurus systems, the Ukrainian military would be able to slow down Russia’s weapons production by striking missile and drone manufacturing facilities on Russian territory.

“They are targeting virtually everything — airfields, populated areas, infrastructure facilities,” Syrskyi said in the interview, which was conducted on July 19. “So, of course, we need supplies of ballistic missiles in order to be able to give the enemy a fitting rebuff.”

He added that simply having missile capabilities acts as a deterrent in itself. “I hope that thanks to President Trump’s position, this process will be much easier and… we won’t have any of the difficulties we had before.”

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3685425

Archived

[The report by Irish Council for Civil Liberties can be downloaded from the linked site.]

TLDR:

• Almost every department of the Irish Government and local authorities have installed Chinese surveillance systems. The state body responsible for public buildings, the Office of Public Works (OPW), has designated China’s Hikvision as one of only three permitted security camera manufacturers that can be installed in public buildings.
• Hikvision’s company documents attest that it is controlled by the Chinese State. Hikvision cameras are connected to the Internet and may be relaying the data that they collect to China. Chinese law allows the State to access data held by Chinese companies.
• Irish public bodies, including courts and military, have installed these systems. Some Hikvision cameras are intended to recognise individual members of the public using facial recognition, and people’s emotional states (so-called “emotion recognition” and “behaviour analysis”).
• Hikvision devices are installed on Luas trams and at major train and bus stations (Heuston Station, Busáras, Cork bus station, etc.). It is hard to travel in Ireland without being tracked by China’s Hikvision surveillance system.

In a related report, experts warn Ireland’s current approach to the potential dangers posed by Hikvision raises urgent questions about data privacy, potential foreign access and the State’s alignment with international partners.

“When it comes to things like security cameras, I think it would be naive to wave that aside and not at least have a very in depth conversation about the potential security risks,” Dr Edward Burke, UCD’s assistant professor of war, told us.

“The EU has consistently warned member states to try and firewall critical security, critical national infrastructure, from companies threatening the European Union with mass espionage.

“And one of those countries that they have identified is, of course, China.”

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3674885

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[The linked article provides a list of Russian propaganda sites with explanations.]

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Unlike in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, and even France and Germany, the list of flagged online outlets is not very long. Romanian fact-checking organizations have conducted brilliant work debunking false claims and biased pro-Kremlin reports.

In Romania, trustworthy fact-checking organizations such as Veridica have flagged many of these websites for spreading Russian-linked disinformation, conspiracy theories, and anti-EU rhetoric—all under the guise of legitimate journalism. These outlets masquerade as neutral or patriotic news sources while regularly publishing narratives that distort the truth, polarize public opinion, and support Russia's geopolitical interests.

False narratives were circulated in Romania on/by various media channels, such as Activenews, Solidnews, Național, Ortodoxinfo, etc., and via TV and radio stations (Realitatea TV, România TV, Gold FM), as identified in this research.

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Two Categories of pro-Russian and anti-Western Outlets in Romania:

1. Domestic pro-Russian media outlets—These are locally run platforms that portray themselves as independent or nationalist but regularly push anti-EU, anti-Ukraine, and pro-Russia messaging. They often recycle Russian propaganda narratives while embedding them in a Romanian political, religious, or cultural context. Examples include ActiveNews, National.ro, Flux24, and others.

2. Russian-funded outlets with Romanian editions—These are direct extensions of Kremlin-sponsored media operations, including Sputnik, Pravda, and TopWar. Despite EU bans on some of them, they persist in reaching Romanian-speaking audiences through mirrors, proxies, or Telegram channels. Their editorial lines are strictly aligned with the Kremlin’s foreign policy, and their articles are often translations or reprints from the Russian-language versions.

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Veridica’s analysis identified the following key narratives disseminated by Kremlin-friendly outlets in Romania:

Romania as a Western Colony. This long-standing narrative asserts that Brussels and Washington control Romania with the intention of morally and physically destroying the country. Russian propaganda and sovereigntist and Moscow-friendly leaders in the EU like Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico now reinforce this narrative, which has its roots in post-communist and anti-capitalist discourse. It aims to erode trust in NATO and the EU, often used in electoral campaigns or to justify Russia’s aggression in Moldova, Georgia, and beyond.

The West Wants to Destroy Orthodoxy. Pro-Kremlin and ultra-religious outlets claim there is a coordinated plan to distance Romanian children from Orthodox Christianity. The EU is portrayed as morally corrupt, pushing “LGBTQ+ propaganda” and gender ideology in schools. This narrative frames Russia as the defender of traditional values, contrasting a "pure" East with a "degenerate" West.

Ukrainians Are Aggressive and Corrupt. Another widespread narrative portrays Ukrainians as willing to sell out to the West, undermining support for the country. It includes disinformation about Ukrainian refugees, alleged rights violations against ethnic Romanians, the “artificial” nature of Ukrainian statehood, and fears that Romania could be dragged into war. Discrediting Ukraine and legitimizing Russian aggression appear to be the goals of these campaigns.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3671495

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• European leaders will meet Japanese and Chinese counterparts, with high expectations for defense and trade cooperation with Tokyo, but limited hopes for discussions in Beijing.
• The European delegation expects to reach no substantial deals from the Chinese meeting, aiming for a "substantive, open, direct, good and constructive conversation", according to one official.
• In Japan, the leaders plan to sign agreements on defense industry cooperation and economic security, and launch a "competitiveness alliance" to enhance economic and trade cooperation, according to European officials.

European leaders will meet their Japanese and Chinese counterparts this week, with high expectations for better defense and trade cooperation with Tokyo contrasting sharply with limited hopes for discussions in Beijing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will travel to Asia this week, first meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday in Tokyo, then Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday in Beijing.

In Japan, the leaders plan to sign agreements on defense industry cooperation and economic security, according to European officials who briefed journalists ahead of the meeting. However, there is no expectation of a joint statement from the summit meeting in Beijing, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The European delegation expects to reach no substantial deals from the Chinese meeting, aiming only for a “substantive, open, direct, good and constructive conversation,” one of the officials said. Europe hopes to make clear what it wants Beijing to do to fix unsustainable economic relations and rebalance ties, the official said.

“The atmosphere of China-Europe relations has become delicate before the summit,” said Cui Hongjian, a former Chinese diplomat who teaches at Beijing Foreign Studies University. “Some favorable conditions, such as Trump’s tariffs, could bring both sides closer, but other unfavorable conditions, like their differences on the Ukraine issue, are preventing better China-Europe relations.”

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An agreement on climate change cooperation might emerge, though even that remains uncertain, one official said.

Ties between the EU and China have deteriorated since the pandemic, with European complaints spanning Beijing’s trade practices and its support for Moscow.

For Brussels, cooperation between Chinese and Russian firms that supports Moscow’s military industrial complex despite European sanctions is a particular point of contention. The EU on Friday sanctioned two Chinese banks and five China-based companies as part of its latest measures against Russia over the Ukraine invasion. The move marked the first European sanctions against Chinese banks and prompted protest from Beijing, which promised a response that would safeguard and protect its own firms.

Despite that, China said Tuesday that it welcomed the visit, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun saying that “China stands ready to work with the EU through a successful summit to send out a positive message of China and the EU being committed to strengthening partnership and upholding multilateralism and open cooperation.”

Highlighting European trade frustrations, China’s goods trade surplus in the first half of this year rose to a record for any six-month period, according to data released last week. Fast-growing Chinese exports and shrinking imports pushed the surplus to almost $143 billion through June, the highest on record, even though the first half of the year is typically slower before shipments pick up ahead of the holidays.

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In contrast, the visit to Japan will announce initiatives to build upon what the European officials described as “our closest strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific region.” They said the steps will cover defense and security, industrial policy, foreign interference and manipulation, business competitiveness, as well as cooperation between the EU and countries in the CPTPP, a free trade agreement among 12 nations in the Asia-Pacific region and the UK.

Japan and the EU plan to launch a “competitiveness alliance” to enhance their economic and trade cooperation, according to the officials. They are also set to cooperate on a large-scale satellite network in order to break away from depending on US firms such as SpaceX, according to the Nikkei newspaper.

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[Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru] Ishiba, whose ruling coalition suffered a historic election loss on Sunday, is under pressure to reach a deal with the US before an Aug. 1 deadline for higher tariffs.

The EU and Japan also held their first “security and defense dialogue” last month. One official noted that the EU and Japan would express their joint opposition to any attempt to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by force or coercion, a remark aimed at China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory.