Europe

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot took the accusations to the UN Security Council, demanding that Russia, whose envoy was in the chamber, immediately halt the attacks.

Barrot said Russia used a branch of the GRU military intelligence known as the "APT28 attack group". Also known as Fancy Bear, the branch has been linked to global attacks including in the 2016 US election, when emails of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were leaked.

France's foreign ministry said that since 2021, APT28 had targeted a dozen French entities in the "defence, financial and economic sectors".

Barrot linked the renewed APT28 attacks to France's support for Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022.

"They targeted a dozen French entities -- public services, enterprises, sporting organisations linked to the Olympic Games and Paralympics," he told a Security Council debate on Ukraine. France and Russia are two of the council's five permanent members.

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Media is another key target of the hackers, the foreign ministry added.

In 2015, ATP28 -- posing as Islamic State militants -- hacked the French TV5 Monde channel "to manipulate public opinion" and "create a panic in France", it said.

France has been a frequent target of Islamist attacks over the last decade, notably in 2015 when at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris.

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Several international intelligence services, including German authorities, warned in September 2024 of Fancy Bear cyberattacks against NATO countries.

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Poland, a staunch ally of Kyiv, has warned that Moscow might seek to interfere with a presidential vote set for May 18 through cyberattacks and disinformation.

France and Poland will sign a "friendship treaty" on May 9, when Russian President Vladimir Putin is to preside over a huge parade in Moscow to mark victory in World War II.

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Portugal’s caretaker government plans to expel some 18,000 foreigners living in the country without authorization, a minister said Saturday in the buildup to a national election.

Portugal has been caught up in the rising European tide of populism, with its far-right Chega party surging into third place in last year’s election.

The chief of Germany's Air Force has travelled to Israel to procure the first part of the Arrow 3 air-defence system

As the International Court of Justice takes its next steps on investigating and prosecuting war crimes in Israel’s war on Gaza, the top expert on Palestine at the United Nations is pushing for even more international accountability.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with The Intercept, U.N. special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese, called for top European Union officials — including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — to face charges of complicity in war crimes over their support for Israel during its 18-month assault on Gaza.

“The fact that the two highest figures of the EU continue business as usual engagements with Israel is beyond deplorable,” Albanese said. “I’m not someone who says, ‘History will judge them’ — they will have to be judged before then. And they will have to understand that immunity cannot equate with impunity.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/43362171

US Vice-President JD Vance accused "bureaucrats" of rebuilding the Berlin Wall, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed the designation as "tyranny in disguise".

In an unusual move, the foreign office directly replied to Rubio on X, writing: "We have learnt from our history that right-wing extremism needs to be stopped."

edit: added archive https://archive.ph/r5GYW

Archived

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At the core of party-state influencing is the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department (UFWD). This is a key institution involved in building relationships with individuals and organisations outside the party, including among Chinese communities overseas. UFWD work seeks to foster connections, encourage support for Beijing’s positions and promote unity among ethnic Chinese people globally. This is often done through cultural outreach, forums and community events. Experts describe the UFWD as playing a strategic role in shaping how overseas Chinese communities relate to both China and their host societies.

Organs of the Chinese party state affiliated with United Front work have been active in Ireland, engaging with various levels of government and civil society.

Part of its work involves interacting with policymakers, industry and opinion leaders abroad through various intermediaries – from official party-state affiliated organisations to more covertly connected media organisations, associations and other entities that often present themselves as independent. The goal is to counter criticism of the CCP, secure support for it and advance the country’s national interests. Rather than coercion, this approach mainly relies on incentives – offering events, training and media engagement. These efforts often operate beneath the radar of national governments and can result in foreign individuals or institutions unknowingly advancing CCP interests.

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The concept of the United Front has its roots in the Soviet Union. In China, it became a foundational component of CCP ideology when Mao Zedong described the United Front as one of the CCP’s three “magic weapons”. Since then, it has been a steady pillar of the CCP’s governance model. The importance of United Front work has been incorporated into Xi Jinping‘s ruling ideology. The department’s efforts are primarily steered by a top-level small group headed by Wang Huning, one of China’s most senior leaders and the party’s chief ideologue. The UFWD has grown significantly under Xi, who views it as a tool for China’s “great rejuvenation”. Established in 1949, it has branches in all levels of government. One of its key bureaux focuses specifically on overseas Chinese and people of Chinese descent, with the goal of cultivating loyalty to the PRC.

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Another organisation that has been active in Ireland and is affiliated with United Front work is the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). It presents itself as a NGO but operates under the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs and forms part of the United Front system. It focuses on people-to-people diplomacy, often working through city-to-city exchanges, local governments and academic institutions. Its goal is to promote CCP objectives – like the One China Principle and Belt and Road Initiative – through grassroots relationships.

The CPAFFC uses a bottom-up strategy to cultivate sympathetic foreign individuals and institutions. Its former president Li Xiaolin described its aim as being to “create a favourable and friendly atmosphere” towards China through “targeted co-operation”.

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The work of the ILD and CPAFFC blurs the lines not only between party and state diplomacy but also between state and non-state diplomacy. Their activities in Ireland reflect the CCP’s broader strategy: influencing without confrontation through soft power and informal ties. Despite their strategic role, they often operate without national-level protocol or oversight.

Ultimately, [Ireland] should pull back the cloak of neutrality that party-state affiliated organisations often wear, to see who entities active in Ireland are connected to in China and engage with a clear understanding of what objectives they serve – so that co-operation is informed, transparent and in the public interest.

The Financial Times reports that the UK Political Elite feels completely stunned

Maurice Duverger’s Law, one of the most important law of political science, may be on the verge of failure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%E2%80%99s_law

I think Farage is a clown, but it's good to see this silly political system finally under pressure.

Most democratic nations don't have only 2 ruling political parties for a century.

Archived version

In January 2023, the Dutch city of The Hague introduced a first-of-its-kind municipal ordinance banning advertisements for fossil fuels, fossil-powered transport, and the aviation sector in all public spaces, including bus stops, billboards, and other outdoor media platforms managed by the city.

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Shortly after its introduction, the ordinance was challenged by travel companies which argued that the ban was too broad and restricted their commercial interests.

However, in April 2024, a Dutch court ruled that the city of The Hague acted lawfully in introducing the ban. The court recognized the city’s right — and responsibility — to protect public health and the environment, especially in the context of the climate crisis. This ruling not only safeguards the fossil ad ban but also sets a legal precedent for other cities worldwide to follow.

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Germany’s domestic intelligence agency formally classified the Alternative for Germany as a right-wing extremist movement, meaning authorities will have enhanced powers to monitor the party as a potential threat to democracy.

The judgment by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution “is based on an extremely careful expert review spanning approximately three years” that examined remarks made by high-ranking AfD officials, according to a statement published Friday by Sinan Selen and Silke Willems, the office’s co-vice presidents.

https://archive.ph/gbEqD

Archived

A man who worked for a prominent German far-right lawmaker in the European Parliament has been charged with spying for China for more than four years, authorities said Tuesday.

The office of the federal prosecutor accused Jian Guo of working for a Chinese intelligence service and of repeatedly passing on information on negotiations and decisions in the EU Parliament between September 2019 and April 2024, when he was arrested.

He also allegedly snooped on Chinese dissidents in Germany.

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The federal prosecutor alleges that Guo obtained more than 500 documents, including some that the EU Parliament had classified as particularly sensitive, for the Chinese intelligence service, his employer since 2002.

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Archived

European Union privacy watchdogs fined TikTok 530 million euros ($600 million) on Friday after a four-year investigation found that the video sharing app’s data transfers to China breached strict data privacy rules in the EU.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission also sanctioned TikTok for not being transparent with users about where their personal data was being sent and it ordered the company to comply with the rules within six months.

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TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China, has been under scrutiny in Europe over how it handles personal information of its users amid concerns from Western officials that it poses a security risk over user data sent to China. In 2023, the Irish watchdog also fined the company hundreds of millions of euros in a separate child privacy investigation.

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The Irish watchdog said its investigation found that TikTok failed to address “potential access by Chinese authorities” to European users’ personal data under Chinese laws on anti-terrorism, counter-espionage, cybersecurity and national intelligence that were identified as “materially diverging” from EU standards.

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TikTok faces further scrutiny from the Irish regulator, which said that the company had provided inaccurate information to throughout the inquiry by saying that it didn’t store European user data on Chinese servers. It wasn’t until April that it informed the regulator that it discovered in February that some data had in fact been stored on Chinese servers.

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Archived

Here is the original study: Restrict Remote Access of PV Inverters from High-Risk Vendors

The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) has issued a stark warning, highlighting a critical threat to Europe’s energy autonomy stemming from the unregulated remote access capabilities of PV inverters produced by non-European, high-risk manufacturers—particularly those from China. A recent study by DNV substantiates these concerns.

As solar power becomes increasingly integral to Europe’s clean energy goals and energy security, a major vulnerability looms: software-enabled remote access to PV inverters—the essential control units of solar power systems.

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The threat is real, not hypothetical. Internet connectivity is essential for modern inverters to perform grid support functions and participate in power markets. However, this connectivity also enables remote software updates, allowing manufacturers to potentially modify device performance from afar. This poses serious cybersecurity risks, including the danger of intentional disruption or large-scale shutdowns. A recent DNV report, commissioned by SolarPower Europe, highlights the credible risk of cascading blackouts due to coordinated or malicious manipulation of inverters.

Archived

The Chair of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, MEP Mounir Satouri, and the Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China, MEP Engin Eroglu, have jointly addressed a letter to the Chinese Ambassador to the European Union concerning the suspicious death of prominent Tibetan Buddhist leader, Tulku Hungkar Dorje. In parallel, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights has sent a separate letter to the Vietnamese Ambassador to the EU, reflecting similar concerns.

Both letters express grave concern and alarm over the unexplained circumstances of Tulku Hungkar Dorje’s death and the subsequent cremation of his body in Vietnam without the consent of his family.

The Chairs call on both Chinese and Vietnamese authorities to ensure a transparent, independent, and impartial investigation to determine the circumstances of Tulku Hungkar Dorje’s disappearance and the cause of his passing.

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Archived version

The European Union has not signaled any reciprocation as China announces lifting of sanction from several members of the EU Parliament, imposed in 2021 as a response to EU’s sanctions on some Chinese officials, citing human rights violations in Xinjiang.

The lifting of sanctions means that the MEPs will now be able to travel to China. The move is being perceived as a potential kick starter for better relations between China and the European countries.

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The diplomatic battle between China and the European Union peaked in 2021 when EU took the first step, sanctioning Chinese officials. China responded in kind and sanctioned some MEPs. This rift dimmed the chances of signing of a trade and investment deal between China and EU which was finalized at the end of 2020.

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Over the years, China and the EU have maintained difficult ties, in which the EU has consistently criticized China for not fulfilling human rights obligations.

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While Beijing is courting Europe portraying itself as a friend as Trump's tariffs policy threatens its economy, the Chinese propaganda at home shows Chinese troops rehearsing in Moscow for the parade with Russia that invaded Ukraine.

Here is an Invidious link of a footage reportedly captured a Chinese student in Russia (original YT link is here).

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21559272

Anticircumvention laws are the reason no one can sell you a “jailbreaking” tool so your printer is able to recognise and use cheaper, generic ink cartridges. It’s why farmers couldn’t repair their own John Deere tractors until recently and why people who use powered wheelchairs can’t fix their vehicles, even down to minor adjustments like customising the steering handling.

These laws were made in the US but they are among America’s most successful exports. The US trade representative has lobbied — overtly in treaty negotiations; covertly as foreign legislatures debated their IP laws — for America’s trading partners to enact their own versions.

The quid pro quo: countries that passed such laws got tariff-free access to American markets.

With the tariffs being imposed at Trump's whim, it's worthwhile for the rest of the world to revisit their laws which limit peoples' ability to control the software on devices they own.

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