European Politics

● YT info: clear explainer of Europe's East-West divide for U.S. viewers- borders, Central Europe, the Balkans, Schengen, Russia, Turkey, political, geographical and cultural identity. And why does nobody seem to agree? I guess the question is really How Many Europes Are There? More from me: https:// benjaminantoine.substack.com

● Note: I edited the title a bit to make it more accessible in this setting. The video identifies like 4 different definitions of Europe from a semi-outsiders perspective. It does therefore clarify for me a lot about what Europe is in a Political, Cultural, Geographical and Historical sense. I believe these distinction helps us identify the main themes when discussing The Politics Of Europe as a whole.

Antonio Filosa, Stellantis’s new CEO (which oversees Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Fiat, Chrysler and Jeep), urged the European Commission to take urgent action to protect the European auto industry from rising Chinese competition. He called current EU emissions targets “unrealistic” and said excessive regulation is driving up costs for small cars, collapsing volumes and endangering the sector. Filosa made the remarks in interviews ahead of the IAA Munich show; he became CEO in June and must turn around Stellantis, which faces U.S. tariffs, EU overcapacity, and competition from low-cost Chinese brands. Other industry leaders (including John Elkann, Luca de Meo and BMW’s Oliver Zipse) have made similar warnings about Europe’s emissions rules and the risk of the industry shrinking.

Small-car volumes and overall sales in Europe have fallen in recent years — EU passenger car registrations dropped from about 15.6 million in 2019 to roughly 13 million annually in 2022–2024 as electrification costs and regulation rose. Stellantis and other OEMs have announced plant slowdowns, capacity cuts or restructuring measures affecting tens of thousands of jobs across Europe. Chinese brands have increased European market share noticeably, selling hundreds of thousands of low-cost vehicles in recent model years and pressuring prices. Together these trends have already reduced industry revenues by billions of euros annually and put tens of thousands of manufacturing and supplier jobs at immediate risk, with wider employment impacts reported across dealerships and services.

July 2009, central and eastern European leaders – including former presidents Václav Havel, Valdas Adamkus, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Lech Wałęsa – signed an open letter to President Obama.

Very worthwhile, insightful and relevant historic piece imo. It's as if they could read the future.

Check out the bit about the Transatlantic Relationship as well, via the link.

Excerpt:

"Our hopes that relations with Russia would improve and that Moscow would finally fully accept our complete sovereignty and independence after joining NATO and the EU have not been fulfilled. Instead, Russia is back as a revisionist power pursuing a 19th-century agenda with 21st-century tactics and methods. [...] It challenges our claims to our own historical experiences. It asserts a privileged position in determining our security choices. It uses overt and covert means of economic warfare, ranging from energy blockades and politically motivated investments to bribery and media manipulation in order to advance its interests and to challenge the transatlantic orientation of Central and Eastern Europe."

Looking at the many challenges that keep coming our way, and especially since 2025, I looked for an overview hence the WEF report. Also, I was interested in what we as Europe are actually doing or preparing to counter those challenges.

There are many ciritical points yet that could turn everything around. But basically, if I were to identify a big hurdle, then that would be our need for political will & unity. Our European Political Landscape is very divided. Honestly, I've become maybe so accustomed to that, that I forgot to acknowledge it's importance.

According to WEF report:

● So far, this year has been marked by significant global shifts, including increased geopolitical instability, the accelerating impact of AI and a changing labour market.

● Economic factors like new US tariffs are redrawing trade maps, while the energy transition shows progress and gender gaps persist.

● These seven charts from World Economic Forum reports help illustrate the inflection points this year.

The EU agenda 2024-2029 has 3 priorities:

1. A free and democratic Europe: upholding European values within the EU ; living up to EU values at global level

2. A strong and secure Europe: ensuring coherent and influential external action, strengthening EU security and defence, and protecting EU citizens; preparing for a bigger and stronger Union; pursuing a comprehensive approach to migration and border management

3. A prosperous and competitive Europe bolstering the EU’s competitiveness making a success of the green and digital transitions; promoting an innovation- and business-friendly environment; advancing together

Event: EU's Competitiveness Compass

● closing the innovation gap with the EU's main competitors ● linking decarbonisation and competitiveness ● reducing dependencies and increasing security

Event: upcoming new Digital Euro 2026 ?

In conclusion, I hope that our unity prevails , but many sacrifices are needed. Above all else, we must face them together, or if we fail, we'll lose our future. We should also guard our core values , our way of life concerning equality, democracy and fair competition . Though these issues atm still needs addressing and work, we mustn't back slide.

EU parliament accepted a last minute amendment, mandating age verification for pornographic (whatever that is) content online, punishable with up to one year prison sentence.

This was a last minute addition to a directive concerning CSAM. Because adults accessing porn need to be de-anonymised to avoid child exploitation?

Some press releases: (1), (2), (3)

I've perceived the last couple of months a different media landscape overall, and to me more noticeable in Lemmy.

Some subjects seem to be regularly reoccurring and other relevant issues are simply almost absent. I believe also that overall Lemmy posts used to be more guarded, reasonably balanced , with a leftish tweak. Of late , the posts seem more repetitive, as if there's an agenda to be set. It could be my perception.

Then again, if I take the several disinformation warnings to heart, it could be that too.

Any one got a take on this, or have felt a change in the Media, subjects and or comments of late,especially the last weeks?

Examples: Trump, Fascism, Hate crime, Palestine/ Isreael, corruption. Overall, the atmosphere of links, posts and comments are more negative & polarising I guess..

This should be news all over! Helsinki as a Rolmodel.

Came across this vid by YT reporter Caolan Robertson, in which he interviews Pulitzer Prize winning Anne Abblebaum, on the role of Russia invading Ukraine, and how this connects to what she sees as an increasingly interconnected autocratic world, which aims to eradicate the perceived threat of individual freedoms in democracies to autocratic regimes. I believe that as we as EU and democratic friends, want to move forward, it is important to identify the threats to our very way of life.

for more info on the book Autocracy Inc , see Applebaum link

The European Union’s chief diplomat has called for all sides in the Middle East conflict to “step back” and return to negotiations after the U.S. struck key Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday.

Kaja Kallas posted on the X platform that an Iranian nuclear capability would represent a global security threat and urged all sides not to escalate.

“I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” she wrote, adding that EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to discuss the latest developments.

The U.S. entered a conflict on Saturday that has raged between Israel and Iran since June 13 when Tel Aviv launched airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets.

Since then, the two sides have exchanged air attacks resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries.

Having said on Thursday he would decide within two weeks whether to enter the fray, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized a heavy assault on three Iranian nuclear development facilities on Saturday and warned of further action should Tehran retaliate.

Against the backdrop of escalating hostilities in the Middle East, Poland’s foreign ministry advised on Sunday against all travel to Israel.

Spokesman Paweł Wroński told a press conference the ministry is not a “travel agency” after Polish authorities repatriated around 200 people from Israel last week.

“It is not the case that we will always be able to help people.” he said.

(Yes this is a repost from Reddit)

https://www.politico.eu/article/afd-officially-right-wing-extremist-group-germanys-intel-agency-says/

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27655275

A US think tank that recently opened a Brussels office to lobby for aggressively lower taxes is received with open arms by the Commission. But who is behind the organisation, and who funds it? The Transparency Register fails to reveal dark money flows – in the Tax Foundation’s case from US right-wing libertarian sources – and as such clearly needs a make-over.

Why are there only five people in the European parliament, who support something like a Federal Europe or the United States of Europe, even tho there are still some more people in some European countries who support this Idea? And why are Pan-European partys , like Volt, diem25 and the European Federalist Party this smal?

By refusing to apply pressure on President Vučić, the EU is emboldening the Serbian government. If Brussels is serious about supporting democracy in the Western Balkans, it must empower the Serbian people—not their authoritarian rulers.