Europe Watch

Belgium moves to the right as new prime minister De Wever sworn in – Borneo Bulletin

pgnewser February 4, 2025 0

Belgium moves to the right as new prime minister De Wever sworn in – Borneo Bulletin
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Excerpt:

Conservative Bart De Wever was sworn in yesterday as Belgium’s new prime minister, after striking a hard-fought coalition deal that moves the country to the right.

Struck late Friday after seven months of tortuous negotiations, the agreement makes De Wever the first nationalist from Dutch-speaking Flanders to be named Belgian premier.

The 54-year-old – who in recent years has backed off on calls for Flanders to become an independent country – took the oath of office before King Philippe, in a ceremony at the royal palace in Brussels.

From there, he headed straight to a gathering of European Union (EU) leaders a few blocks away, for talks on defence and transatlantic relations.

Split between French- and Dutch-speaking communities and with a highly complex political system, Belgium has an unenviable record of painfully protracted coalition discussions – reaching 541 days back in 2010-2011.

Google reportedly rejects European Union fact-checking law – Fox Business

pgnewser January 27, 2025 0

Google reportedly rejects European Union fact-checking law – Fox Business
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Excerpt:

Google has told the European Union (EU) it will not comply with its new fact-checking law, according to a new report saying the massive search engine will not incorporate the measures into its search function nor YouTube video results.

Axios pointed out that this is not a practice that Google has ever engaged in and reported that the company had previously signaled to the international body that it would unlikely be integrating its new fact-checking practices.

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach Google to confirm what steps it takes to ensure the most legitimate posts are found through its search engine, given previous concerns over the effects of disinformation campaigns.

Ukraine Shuts Down Russian Gas Pipeline to EU

pgnewser January 8, 2025 0

The EU will be without cheap Russian gas following a decision by Ukraine to no longer allow Russia’s gas transferal to occur on Ukraine soil. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the decision “one of Moscow’s biggest defeats.” The “Brotherhood pipeline” shutdown will allegedly cause Russian gas giant Gazprom more than $6 billion yearly.

EU on brink of gas war after Ukraine cuts off Russia’s £5bn supply | World | News– www.express.co.uk
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Excerpt:

Ukraine will no longer allow Russian gas to pass through en route to European neighbours in a move that will hurt both the Kremlin and EU states dependent on Putin’s energy supply.

On January 1, the 2019 deal, which saw gas transit through Ukraine to states like Slovakia and Austria, expired.

President Zelensky heralded the move as “one of Moscow’s biggest defeats”, while his energy minister branded it “historic”.

The closure of the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod, which is also known as the Brotherhood pipeline, will cost Russian gas company Gazprom around £5bn a year – a bitter blow for Putin’s creaking war economy.

However, it’s not just Russia that is reeling following the expiration of the gas deal. Several European states are heavily dependent on Russian gas transported through Ukraine.

Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, as well as Moldova, are reliant on the steady flow of energy through Ukraine. Now that that is no longer possible, the only route remaining into Europe from Russia is via the TurkStream pipeline and the BlueSteam pipeline, under the Black Sea.