Europe

What Gaza exposed to the world should have been recognised from the start by Western leaders. But as long as Israel was standing against a defenceless population, the West remained ensconced within its narrative, complicit in Israel’s killing thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. When starvation became a point of contention after the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was banned by Israel, the EU prioritised its humanitarian discourse and found a fragment of consensus upon which it could criticise Israel.

Once Israel decided to attack Iran, the EU swiftly found another niche for Israel’s security narrative, taking cues from Israel, of course.

Since Israel’s security narrative still holds sway, Palestinians remain on the bottom most rung of EU foreign policy. Instead of viewing Israel’s belligerence – sustaining the genocide in Gaza and attacking Iran based upon decades of Zionist incendiary rhetoric – as a reason to apply punitive measures, the EU takes a step back from acting against Israel’s interests, which are also its own

In a letter responding to Rutte’s proposals for next week’s Nato summit in the Hague, first reported by the Spanish newspaper El País, Sánchez declared his opposition for the proposed change arguing “it is not necessary to fulfil our commitments to the alliance.”

He explained that the figure “has nothing to do with the level of commitment to collective defence,” with Spain confidence it can do enough with lower spending.

He added that adopting the target would have adverse effects for the Spanish economy, as it would force the government to raise taxes, cut public services and slow down its plans on green transition. “We choose not to make those sacrifices,” he reportedly said.

The paper said that the new Nato target had been expected to be adopted unanimously, but Spain’s objection could now trigger further discussions on its adoption.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/41772576

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/41770509

Commissioner O’Flaherty raises concerns about restrictions to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly of persons protesting in the context of the conflict in Gaza, as well as about reports of excessive use of force by police against protesters, including children.

Scientists in Poland have called on the public to step up efforts to combat drought, revealing that around 45% of the country’s forests and agricultural land are under threat.

The appeal was made on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, with scientists warning that drought had now become an annual issue.

Currently, surface water resources per capita (the amount of renewable surface water available for each person in a specific location) stand at 1,600 cubic meters per year, approximately three times below the European average.

In an open letter published on their website, Poland’s national water authority, Polish Waters (Wody Polskie), wrote: “Despite Poland’s seemingly moderate climate, summer droughts have been observed since 2011.”

Financial losses stemming from drought were placed at 2.6 billion złotys in 2018 alone.

Now, Polish Waters have issued a rallying cry calling on the forestry commission, regional authorities, farmers and entrepreneurs to join forces to do their bit.

“The key is to retain water where it falls,” wrote Polish Waters. “Through water retention and wise water management, we can protect our fields, forests and cities from the effects of drought. Together we can restore balance to the landscape and take care of the future.”

Continuing, Polish Waters apportioned much of the blame on climate change, citing it as a major driver of drought.

“This process is further modulated by seasonal precipitation patterns, surface runoff, water storage, and interactions with vegetation.”

“Recent weather patterns, characterized by prolonged droughts interspersed with heavy rainfall, are further exacerbating the problem. While droughts leave land dehydrated for years, heavy rainfall washes away topsoil instead of replenishing it,” they added.

Farmers have been particularly impacted by Poland’s spate of droughts, with one report showing that 45% of the county’s forests and agricultural fields are at risk, with central Poland and Wielkopolska in west-central Poland the most vulnerable of all.

Traditionally, agricultural droughts have been viewed as a particular problem, with their effects including lower yields, poorer crop quality, higher susceptibility to diseases and pests, and higher end prices for the consumer.

To fight drought, Polish Waters has already completed 55 investments valued at 150 million złotys, among them the modernization of the Ruda reservoir near the northeastern town of Mława.

The authority has also embarked on an aggressive educational campaign aimed at promoting smaller scale retention measures, switching lawns out in favor of flowery meadows and encouraging the planting of drought-resistant plants.

“Let’s work together for the people, for nature and for future generations,” added Polish Waters.

Poland has been observing GPS disruptions over the Baltic Sea, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding they were “related to the actions of the Russian Federation, including sabotage actions.”

Polish media reported cases of GPS malfunction in the north of the country on Tuesday, including private drones flying away in unknown directions or losing connection.

“This may be Russia’s answer to the Baltops exercises,” Polish Vice Admiral Krzysztof Jaworski told Reuters on Tuesday, referring to NATO’s annual exercise in the Baltic Sea, being held this month.

Jaworski said the disruptions had become more intense since the start of the NATO exercise.

On Monday, a flight from Alicante in Spain to the northern Polish city of Bydgoszcz was redirected to Poznań in the west of Poland due to navigation problems, a Bydgoszcz airport spokesperson said, without identifying the airline.

“We are observing these disruptions. They are also observed over the Baltic Sea area by our allies in NATO countries - both in the Baltic states and the Nordic countries,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told journalists when asked about such incidents at a press conference about new helicopters.

“These actions are related, according to our sources, to the actions of the Russian Federation, also to sabotage actions.”

He did not elaborate on the sources.

**Rising sabotage threats **

Countries located on the Baltic Sea have reported numerous incidents since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, including power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages, and the NATO military alliance has boosted its presence in the region.

On Tuesday, Poland and the Baltic states signed a memorandum to boost the protection of critical energy infrastructure, with a special focus on shielding vulnerable underwater assets in the Baltic Sea, where a string of suspected sabotage attacks have been reported since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Last year, Estonia and Finland blamed Moscow for jamming GPS navigation devices in the region’s airspace.

Russia has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The two parties that make up the Third Way (Trzecia Droga), which is part of Poland’s ruling coalition, have confirmed that they are splitting and will stand separately at the next elections.

The decision was confirmed in statements issued last night and this morning by the leaders of the two parties that make up the alliance: Szymon Hołownia of the centrist Poland 2050 (Polska 2050) and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz of the centre-right Polish People’s Party (PSL).

The Third Way was formed two years ago, when PSL and Poland 2050 were in opposition. They retained their separate identities as parties but stood candidates on joint electoral lists at the October 2023 parliamentary elections, where they together won 14.4% of the vote.

That placed them third, behind the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS, 35.4%) and centrist Civic Coalition (KO, 30.7%) and ahead of The Left (Lewica, 8.6%).

After those elections, KO, the Third Way and The Left formed a new coalition government, led by KO leader Donald Tusk, that removed PiS from power after eight years in office. It has ruled the country ever since.

Kosiniak-Kamysz serves as deputy prime minister and defence minister in the government, while Hołownia is the speaker of Sejm, the more powerful lower house of parliament.

PSL and Poland 2050 formed separate caucuses in parliament, with each currently having 32 MPs in the 460-seat Sejm.

But they continued to stand jointly as the Third Way in subsequent elections. At the April 2024 local elections, the Third Way won 14.3% of the vote. However, at the European elections that took place two months later, its share fell to just 6.9%.

In this year’s presidential election, PSL agreed to support the candidacy of Hołownia, but he won a disappointing 5% of the vote in the first round, finishing fifth. That was significantly worse than his presidential run as an independent in 2020, when he finished third with 13.9%.

Since the most recent presidential elections, rumours have circulated that PSL and Poland 2050 might decide to separate.

The two parties have not always been natural allies, with PSL taking more conservative positions on issues such as abortion and same-sex partnerships and Poland 2050 placing stronger emphasis on climate policies than its partner.

On Tuesday evening, PSL’s leadership met to discuss the best path forward. Afterwards, before any official announcement had been made, Hołownia issued a statement saying that his party “accepts the decision of our coalition partner PSL to effectively end the Third Way project”.

He said that Poland 2050 was “determined to work constructively with our partners” going forward, but was also felt “sincere political joy at the prospect of running independently in the next elections”.

Subsequently, leading PSL figures, including party spokesman Miłosz Motyka, noted that no resolution had been formally adopted on ending the Third Way alliance. That prompted questions over whether what Hołownia had written was accurate.

However, on Wednesday, Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed the split, telling broadcaster Radio Zet that the Third Way “is behind us, it has reached the end”.

The announcement was “supposed to be a bit different”, he added. “We had a discussion yesterday; Poland 2050 will have a discussion on 28 June. Then we were supposed to come out together and say that this stage is closed. [But] when there are 150 people in the room, it is difficult to keep everything absolutely sterile.”

After this month’s presidential election run-off was won by PiS-backed candidate Karol Nawrocki – who defeated KO deputy leader Rafał Trzaskowski – there were questions over whether and how the government would be able to rule with a hostile president and his power of veto.

PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński called for Tusk’s administration to step down and be replaced by an “apolitical technical government”. Figures from his party appealed to PSL, the most conservative element of the ruling coalition, to join them in bringing down the government.

However, at a vote of confidence in the government called by Tusk last week, he emerged triumphant, with all his coalition partners – PSL, Poland 2050 and The Left – joining KO in voting in favour.

The next elections scheduled in Poland are parliamentary ones that are due to take place in autumn 2027. If PSL and Poland 2050 stand as individual parties, they would have to win at least 5% of vote to enter parliament. If they stand as part of a coalition, the threshold is 8%.