Europe News Digest (1-15 November, 2024)

Germany’s ‘traffic-light’ Coalition Government has Collapsed

Germany’s three-way coalition, the “traffic light” alliance of centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and free-market liberal Free Democratic party (FDP), has collapsed after three years, following a lengthy dispute over how to stop a multibillion-euro hole in next year’s budget, plunging Europe’s largest economy into a period of considerable uncertainty. The chancellor, Olaf Scholz of the SPD, sacked his finance minister, Christian Lindner, the FDP leader, on 6 November, night after months of disagreement over how to deal with the gaping hole in Germany’s budget. Chancellor Scholz has called for a Vote of Confidence on January 15, 2025, following which the federal elections scheduled for next autumn are likely to be shifted forward by about six months, to March or April in 2025. Click here to read... [2]

India’s Refined Fuel Exports to Europe Hit an All-Time High in November

India has been steadily ramping up exports of refined fuel to Europe ever since the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. With the Eurozone ending purchases of Russian oil as part of the sanctions imposed on it, India has emerged as one of the top exporters of refined products to the bloc in recent months. India’s fuel exports to Europe ex-Russia witnessed a sharp increase of around 75 percent in 2024 till October compared with 2022 levels. As reported on 8 November, refined fuel exports hit an all-time high of approximately 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November. Since September, European refiners have reduced processing rates (run cuts) due to seasonal maintenance and weak refinery margins, limiting local supply. Additionally, as Europe heads into the winter season, the need for winter-spec diesel has grown. India's Reliance Jamnagar refinery, known for its capability to produce such fuels, has played a key role, with a significant portion of European imports from India coming from this facility. Click here to read... [3]

Unrest in Amsterdam after Violence around Israeli Football Match

Violence in Amsterdam has been reported around a Europa League football match between the local team Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv which has sparked horror around the world, against a backdrop of soaring antisemitic and Islamophobic abuse and attacks across Europe fuelled by the Middle East conflict. The first incidents were reported on the evening of 6 November, a day before the match, where Maccabi fans tore a Palestinian flag down from the facade of a building and burned it, shouted anti-Palestine slogans and vandalised a taxi. There were further clashes the next day on the central Dam Square, where a large crowd of Maccabi supporters had gathered. Police said pro-Palestine demonstrators tried to reach the square and two arrests were made. Five people were hospitalised and 20 to 30 slightly injured. The city council is likely to hold an emergency debate over violence around last week’s UEFA match. Click here to read... [4]

EU Leaders Gather in Budapest and Commit to Boost Europe's Competitiveness

On 8 November, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participated in an informal meeting of the European Council in Budapest. At the summit, EU Leaders adopted the Budapest Declaration, which lays out a new European Competitiveness Deal to address the current geopolitical, economic, and demographic challenges and ensure Europe's continued prosperity. The basis for the discussion was the recent report prepared by professor Mario Draghi, who also took part in the summit and presented his findings to the Leaders. In her statement to the press after the summit, President von der Leyen particularly highlighted the need for innovation, investment, and strategic security. Furthermore, she signalled to move forward the work on a European Savings and Investments Union, to mobilise private capital investments in European innovation. Click here to read... [5]

Ecosia and Qwant Partner to Build New Search Index as a European Alternative to Google

Two European search engine companies, Ecosia and Qwant, announced on 11 November that they are building infrastructure in Europe to give Internet users a European search alternative. The companies say the effort is even more important now given the recent election of Donald Trump in the United States. The infrastructure, called European Search Perspectives (EUSP), is based in Paris and is the creation of the German company Ecosia and French firm Qwant. It will be operational in 2025 and available in both German and French. “If the United States decided to pull US technology from Europe… then we would have to go back to phone books,” said Ecosia’s CEO. The aim is to build European digital sovereignty and use the platform to provide a foundation for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Click here to read... [6]

NATO Secretary General Participated in a Meeting with European Leaders in Hungary

Secretary General Mark Rutte participated in a meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary, on 7 November. The meeting was an opportunity for European leaders to discuss a broad range of security challenges and the importance of working together to address them. This included exchanges not only on traditional threats and challenges but also on issues like economic security and critical dependencies. Mr. Rutte highlighted the importance of working together - not only across the European community but through NATO and its global partners as well. He noted the growing alignment between Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, which are working together to support Russia’s war against Ukraine - a reality that has broader impacts. n the margins of the meeting in Budapest, the Secretary General met with a number of other leaders including the host, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Albanian President Edi Rama, and others. Click here to read... [7]

UK Approves New Cables to Europe to Boost Wind Power Exports

UK Energy Regulator Ofgem has approved five new subsea power links from Great Britain to the continent and Ireland as the country seeks to profit from a boom in wind capacity and become a net electricity exporter by the end of the decade. The plans include as much as 4.6 gigawatts of new connections to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany under the North Sea and about 1.5 gigawatts of connections to Ireland and Northern Ireland, the watchdog said in a statement. The nation is currently importing power from France on most days to help meet demand. Along with a significant increase in offshore wind capacity, interconnectors are a key piece of Britain’s plans to reach a clean power grid by 2030. To meet that goal, UK’s grid operator has forecast that capacity on such cables would need to increase by 50% by the end of the decade. Click here to read... [8]

Netherlands Joins Germany in Implementing Extra Border Checks

According to the EU, member states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce controls at the bloc's internal borders in case of a serious threat, such as one to internal security. The Dutch government announced on 10 November, their plans to introduce additional land border checks to tackle irregular migration, following a similar move by Germany in September. The measure is the latest effort by the country's hard-right government to tighten immigration controls amid rising anti-foreigner sentiment across Europe. “It is time to tackle irregular migration and migrant smuggling in a concrete way. That is why we will start reintroducing border controls in the Netherlands from the beginning of December,” Dutch Migration Minister Marjolein Faber said. The measure, set to take effect on December 9, complies with EU law requiring member states to notify Brussels four weeks before restricting freedom of movement. Click here to read... [9]

Europe Marked Armistice Day with Two-Minutes Silence

With armed conflict again on their continent, many European leaders marked the end of World War I, 106 years ago, on 11 November, with warnings that liberty, so often taken as self-evident, should be cherished and defended. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, leaders both of nations with nuclear arsenals, were in Paris under the Arc de Triomphe, where they honoured the sacrifices of unknown French soldiers who perished in the first global conflict, the war that killed almost 10 million soldiers. France and the UK will support Ukraine for as long as necessary "to thwart Russia's war of aggression", French President Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer have said. Click here to read... [10]

British Oil Giant Shell Wins Landmark Climate Case Against Green Groups in Dutch Appeal

Oil giant Shell has won a landmark case in the Dutch courts, overturning an earlier ruling requiring it to cut its carbon emissions by 45%. Three years ago, a court in The Hague backed a case by Friends of the Earth and 17,000 Dutch citizens requiring Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions significantly, in line with the Paris climate accords. The Hague court of appeal said it could not establish that Shell had a "social standard of care" to reduce its emissions by 45% or any other amount, even though it agreed the company had an obligation to citizens to limit emissions. The ruling came on 12 November, as climate talks in the COP29, involving 200 countries got under way in Azerbaijan. Click here to read... [11]

Ireland orders X, TikTok, and Instagram to Curb Terrorist Content Online

Elon Musk’s X, TikTok and Meta’s Instagram have been ordered by Irish media regulators to take “necessary measures” to prevent terrorist content being platformed in order to comply with sweeping new online safety legislation. This safety ruling has been issued after finding weak processes that leave networks exposed to terrorist content. Such rulings come when a network is subjected to at least two removal orders from EU competent authorities, usually the police, but sometimes a regulator, in the preceding 12 months. Orders under the EU terrorist content online regulation usually require the removal of content within an hour of the order. If the Irish commission deems the measures are not sufficient it can impose fines of up to 4% of global revenue. The European Commission has opened a range of investigations into online platforms since the new Digital Services Act relating to online harms came into force but Ireland’s media regulator plays a particularly important role given the tech companies’ EU headquarters are all sited in Dublin. Click here to read... [12]

EU Approves First-Ever Funding for Joint Weapons, Ammo Procurement

The executive arm of the European Union approved €300 million (US$317 million) in funding for five joint defence-procurement projects by member states, the first time the bloc uses its budget to finance common defence buying. The European Commission will provide €60 million for each of the items on its shopping list, which include the Mistral short-range air defence system, IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defence system, armoured vehicles and ammunition, it said in a statement on 14 November. The joint-procurement mechanism is a new step in the 27-nation bloc’s attempts to become a more credible player in defence, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amid concerns about Europe’s reliance on the U.S. for security. The EU in March presented its first-ever defence industrial strategy, and this year created the role of defence commissioner for the bloc. Click here to read... [13]

The European Union and Moldova Hold Their 8th Security and Defence Dialogue in Chisinau

On 14 November, the European Union and Moldova held their 8th Security and Defence Dialogue, in Chisinau – the first to take place since the signature of the Security and Defence partnership in May 2024. The parties discussed regional security issues, reviewed on-going relations in security and defence, and identified future opportunities and avenues to deepen cooperation. The EU and Moldova welcomed their deepening partnership in security and defence over the last years and looked forward to its further strengthening. The Dialogue also provided an opportunity to exchange information on the implementation of the Moldovan National Security Strategy and the EU Strategic Compass for security and defence. The EU and Moldova also discussed assistance measures under the European Peace Facility to support the capacity building of the Moldovan Armed Forces and Moldova’s further engagement with the EU on security and defence. Click here to read... [14]