Europe

Originally adopted by the Council of Europe thirty years earlier, the twelve golden stars on a blue background became the 'logo' for the EU and its predecessor in 1985. #EuropeNews

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Archive: https://archive.is/2025.06.29-131640/https://www.ft.com/content/88fc1124-bd5a-4b6a-8b01-55ca389c42a1

Germany is aiming to establish a joint German-Israeli cyber research centre and deepen collaboration between the two countries' intelligence and security agencies, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has said.

According to Bild, Dobrindt outlined a five-point plan aimed at establishing what he called a "Cyber Dome", as part of Germany's cyber defence strategy.

Earlier on Sunday, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder called for the acquisition of 2,000 interceptor missiles to equip Germany with an "Iron Dome" system similar to Israel's short-range missile defence technology.

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.06.29-072405/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-pilot-killed-f-16-fighter-jet-lost-ukrainian-military-says-2025-06-29/

cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/37287092

Tens of thousands of student-led demonstrators gathered in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Saturday, calling for early parliamentary elections after nearly eight months of protests.

The students have been a key force in driving anti-corruption protests across the nation following the deadly collapse of a newly renovated train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people.

Many Serbians blamed the collapse on alleged government corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects, leading to recurring mass protests.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3323782

Archived version

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The European Union is exploring a plan to work closely with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries to strengthen global trade governance

[The CPTPP is a free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and, since late last year, Britain].

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However, despite some calls for a more radical shift, including from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who said the new grouping could eventually replace the WTO [World Trade Organization], EU officials clarified that the proposal does not aim to set up a rival organisation.

Instead, the European Commission said that cooperation with the CPTPP was intended to promote a modern and rules-based trading system at a time when the WTO urgently requires reform.

"We are working closely with like-minded partners, including CPTPP countries, to advance meaningful, rules-based reform that upholds fair and open global trade," the Commission said in a statement.

One focus could be developing a dispute settlement system to address the paralysis of the WTO’s Appellate Body, after the United States blocked new appointments, leaving the body unable to function.

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"We are working with other CPTPP members to help set up discussions with other major trading blocs, including the EU, on ways to further promote free and fair global trade," the spokesperson added.

While formal plans are still in early stages, EU officials emphasise that structured cooperation with the Pacific Rim partners could revitalise global trade governance without undermining the WTO’s central role in setting and enforcing global trade rules.

OVHcloud and Crayon have announced a strategic partnership that will provide organizations with access to cost-effective cloud services across more than 45 regions. The deal is designed to help businesses accelerate their digital transformation with sustainable and sovereign cloud solutions.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/42568990

Slovenia has announced that it will take joint action with like-minded countries if the European Union does not take concrete steps within the next two weeks to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has been under a deadly Israeli assault for the past 21 months.

Speaking to journalists on the side-lines of an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob criticised some EU member states for prioritising their own interests over the protection of Palestinian human rights.

Golob stressed the importance of the EU taking meaningful action against Israel. He stated: “Unless the EU takes concrete action today or within two weeks, each member state, including Slovenia and some countries that share our views, will be forced to take the next steps on their own.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/42582212

“If the WTO continues to be incapable of working,” German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, the EU has “to come up with something else.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/42576324

In 2017, we did exactly what Palestine Action did last week: we broke into an airbase. Our actions were extremely similar to theirs, and so were our aims.

Most of the Royal Saudi Air Force is manufactured right here in the UK by Britain’s merchants of death, BAE Systems. Carrying flags bearing the words of Yemenis whose lives have been destroyed by UK-made weapons, we cut through fences at BAE Warton. We were caught by security just meters from Saudi-bound fighter jets.

In our case, these jets were being sent to Saudi Arabia to be used to create what the UN called “the world’s biggest humanitarian catastrophe” in Yemen. In Palestine Action’s case, British planes are being sent to Cyprus and then mysteriously disappearing over the Mediterranean sea – linked, many suspect, to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

There are a few key differences between our actions and theirs. Unlike Palestine Action, we were not attacked by the Israel lobby. We were not the victims of an obsessive Islamophobic police crackdown. We are both white. Woody is a Methodist reverend: shortly after security caught us, Woody loosened the scarf from his Cambridge theological college to reveal his dog collar. The security guards that had caught us literally went, “Oh shit!”

As a result of our social position and less politicised target, we have been treated completely differently to the members of Palestine Action. We were arrested carrying a list of the serial codes of fighter jets worth over £1bn and a prepared statement explaining our intent to disarm them. Our lawyers were worried it might be the highest-value case of intent to cause criminal damage in British legal history. Their fears were short-lived: the police couldn’t wait to rush Woody out of the station, and charged us with only low-level criminal damage. A court found us not guilty.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/42569633

Swiss company Meyer Burger has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief in the United States, the solar panel manufacturer said in a court filing on Wednesday.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/42569816

Japan's agriculture minister said Friday the country would oppose any call by the European Union to add eels to an endangered species list that would limit trade in them.