Yes! Amazing news! The EU Parliament just voted through the EU Nature Restoration Law, which aims to restore our badly degraded ecosystems. The law will set legally binding targets for nature restoration in member states.
Next stop, writing it into law at a country level.
Suck it European People's Party, suck it European Conservatives. Some of us actually want #biodiversity.
No Bing, no Edge, no upselling: De-crufted Windows 11 coming to Europe soon
Residents of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, will soon experience less intrusive Microsoft services on their Windows 11 systems. This is in response to the European Commission's Digital Markets Act.
Last year, we set the target to fill up our gas storage by 90% by 1 November. We exceeded it by filling up the storage to almost full capacity.
Storage provides an additional reserve in case of strong demand or supply disruptions.
We are strengthening our energy independence with #REPowerEU by saving energy, diversifying our energy supplies, and speeding up the clean energy transition.
The #EU has reached an agreement on #eIDAS, rolling back the state of Internet security by 12 years, and by forcing browser vendors / root store operators to include government Root CA, disallowing #CertificateTransparency and making it illegal to fix (unless you can influence #ETSI, which is conveniently government friendly when it comes to surveillance).
1/ Finnish government to make announcement on gas pipeline leak in Gulf of Finland.
According to Gasgrid Finland, the only possible reason for the unusual pressure drop in the Balticconnector pipeline is a hole in the pipe, which has only been in use for a few years.
Personal note: I'm assuming that the fact that there's a need for an announcement, is an indication of sabotage being suspected.
The pledge to “ban the most harmful chemicals in consumer products, allowing their use only where essential” was a flagship component of the European green deal when it was launched in 2020....
"It is important to continue an effective sanctions policy not only in the economic sphere, but also in culture, in particular in cinema," Ukraine's Culture Ministry said in a statement.
A top European auto safety body is releasing new rules that will require physical buttons and knobs for key vehicle features to receive a full five-star safety rating. I’d like to see the same in North America.
I’m not sure who’s to blame in the #EU for giving up to the lobbying efforts of #Apple and #Microsoft (I can’t think of anything short of public official corruption behind the last minute reversal of the #DMA definition of “gatekeeper” for the two most valuable companies in the world), but these are some consequences of this decision:
If Apple isn’t labelled as a gatekeeper when it comes to #iMessage (an app used by 1.3B people), then they won’t have to comply and open up their walled garden to 3rd-party clients, while, for example, Messenger and WhatsApp will have to.
If Microsoft isn’t labelled as a gatekeeper when it comes to #Edge (a piece of software installed as the default browser on an OS used by at least 1.5B people), then they’ll be free to keep rewriting https:// URLs as microsoft-edge:https:// just for the sake of intercepting everything and breaking compatibility, they’ll no longer have to provide browser selection pop-ups on fresh Windows installations, and they can keep opening all the web views and PWA on Windows devices in their own browser without providing alternatives - while, for example, Chrome and Safari will have to comply.
Shame on the EU for bending to them. Shame on these companies. Shame on their filthy lobbying efforts. Shame on everybody who uses their products.
The DMA and the “gatekeeper” definition was supposed to be the proof that these companies are now run by responsible adults. Being a “gatekeeper” is the acknowledgment that you are running platforms used by billions, and with great power comes great responsibility - towards society, towards the rules of the open market, towards your own competitors.
My employer might be included on the list soon as well, and I’m more than happy to comply. Large tech companies like ours have enjoyed lavish profits and outrageous market shares and ignored anti-competition laws for too long: now it’s time to prove that we’re all grown ups who want to play by the rules.
Instead, Apple and Microsoft have unleashed their overpaid legal counsels and lobbying crews, who have engaged in a pathetic dance to gaslight Brussels officials, and force them to say that one of the largest messaging platforms and one of the most used browser in the world, run by the two companies with the highest evaluation in the world, for some reason are not expected to play by the rules written for everyone else.
Shame on them, and shame on the childish selfish sociopaths who run them.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics argued that Russian grain imports support the Russian economy and, therefore, its army, and what is labeled as Russian grain may, in fact, be Ukrainian grain stolen from Russian-occupied territories.
The DMA is having an impact and the choice screen is coming! Soon you will be asked to select your browser of choice, when setting up a new phone or updating it. This only applies in the EU and Europe, at this time.
We are dramatically understating the threat Donald #Trump and the #MAGA movement pose to the security of the #US, #Europe and the world.
It is time to move beyond the political spin offered by #GOP propagandists and Internet trolls and acknowledge that Trump and the MAGA movement are today active assets of Vladimir #Putin and the #Kremlin, as essential to #Russia’s future global ambitions as that country’s own armed forces.
"Nobody is forcing Hungary to stay in the EU," EU High Representative Josep #Borrell said in his address to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban.
“To be honest, I don’t see any similarities between the Soviet occupation of Budapest and what is happening in Berlamon [the headquarters of the European Commission]. I didn't see a single tank there. Nobody obliges Hungary to be a member of the EU,” Borrell said.
As we close 2023, we reflect on our support this year:
🇪🇺🇺🇦 Agreeing to open accession negotiations
🛡️ Extending the Temporary Protection Directive to March 2025
🌾 Creating EU-Ukraine Solidarity to help export over 110 million tonnes of grain and goods
⛑️ Delivering 98,000 tonnes of in-kind humanitarian assistance
💶 Providing €40.6 billion in overall support
"It’s not just Big Tech that’s playing for all the marbles - it’s also the systems of democratic control and accountability. If Apple can sabotage the DMA’s insistence on taking away its veto over its customers’ software choices, that will spill over into the US Department of Justice’s case over the same issue, as well as the cases in Japan and South Korea."
EU warns Elon Musk after Twitter found to have highest rate of disinformation (www.theguardian.com)
Musk is told his platform, now known as X, must comply with new laws designed to combat fake news and Russian propaganda
EU to drop ban of hazardous chemicals after industry pressure (www.theguardian.com)
The pledge to “ban the most harmful chemicals in consumer products, allowing their use only where essential” was a flagship component of the European green deal when it was launched in 2020....
Ukraine urges EU to cancel European film festival in Russia (kyivindependent.com)
"It is important to continue an effective sanctions policy not only in the economic sphere, but also in culture, in particular in cinema," Ukraine's Culture Ministry said in a statement.
Latvia to become first EU country to ban imports of grain from Russia, Belarus (kyivindependent.com)
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics argued that Russian grain imports support the Russian economy and, therefore, its army, and what is labeled as Russian grain may, in fact, be Ukrainian grain stolen from Russian-occupied territories.
Donald Tusk set to become Polish prime minister (www.bbc.com)
Mr Tusk's coalition won the elections in October but had not been able to take office until now.