Feed aggregator

The Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS) has entered its fourth phase (2024-2028), marking a new push in the European Union’s energy and climate objectives to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

On 11 December, the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European Commission signed the grant agreement in a ceremony at the European Commission Directorate-General for Energy, underscoring the project’s importance in supporting the defence energy transition and the preparedness goals. The CF SEDSS is an EU-funded initiative managed by EDA, comprising Europe’s largest defence energy community. It is now entering its fourth phase, called Phase IV, funded by the LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme.

The global defence sector consumes a significant amount of energy and is estimated to be responsible for up to 5.5% of the world’s total CO2 emissions. The Consultation Forum’s efforts spanning almost a decade have been instrumental in supporting EU Ministries of Defence in developing sustainable, efficient, and resilient energy models in line with the EU’s climate ambitions. Phase IV of the project was officially launched on 1 October 2024.

In the next four years, Phase IV will continue supporting European defence ministries to achieve energy sustainability and meet ambitious climate goals. Building on the EU legal framework and previous project phases, Phase IV will focus on knowledge sharing, collaborative project ideas, studies and policy roadmaps to tackle emerging challenges in energy efficiency, renewables, and energy security within the defence and security sector.

Phase IV will also coordinate the organisation of high-level conferences, thematic workshops and a table-top exercise, with a view to exploring new trends such as digitalisation, electrification, high-density/high power storage, low carbon energy and propulsion systems, smart buildings, artificial intelligence, integrated energy management systems and threats to the critical energy infrastructure.

Nathalie Guichard, EDA’s Director of Research, Technology, and Innovation (RTI), Hans Rhein, Head of Unit LIFE Energy and LIFE Climate, CINEA, and Alejandro Ulzurrun, Acting Director, DG ENER, were present at the signing of the project’s grant agreement.

“The continuation of the forum shows that energy remains a priority for the EU and defence ministries,” Nathalie Guichard said. She highlighted the collaboration between the EDA and the European Commission over nearly a decade. “This is the largest defence energy community, and a unique platform for dialogue which continues addressing the common energy considerations of the defence ministries.” Concluding her address, Guichard said: “Together, we are forging a path towards more energy efficient, sustainable and resilient armed forces.”

Alejandro Ulzurrun, European Commission, DG Energy acting Director for Just Transition, Consumers, Energy Efficiency and Innovation said: “The Consultation Forum is well placed to contribute to the new Commission’s agenda on energy and defence. We count on this Forum to deepen the collaboration between the energy and defence communities to support the energy transition in the defence sector, and, in particular, to identify dual-use solutions to common challenges, from energy efficiency to enhancing the use of renewable energy”.

Hans Rhein, Head of Unit LIFE Energy and LIFE Climate, European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), said: “We are very pleased to continue our collaboration with the European Defence Agency and build on the results achieved. The Commission has granted close to €10 million to EDA over the past seven years to assist the European defence sector in addressing sustainable energy. The contribution by the defence and security sector is crucial to achieving the decarbonisation of the economy by 2050”.

Background information

• EDEN Phase IV
• Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector IV (CF SEDSS IV)
• EDEN Deliverables Phase III
• EU Defence Industry - European Commission
• Communication on climate and defence
• Safer together: A path towards a fully prepared Union - European Commission
• LIFE Programme

 

 

On Monday, 16 December, the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Development and the Subcommittee on Human Rights will hold a joint exchange of views with the 2024 Sakharov Prize laureates María Corina Machado, leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia, representing all Venezuelans inside and outside the country fighting to restore freedom and democracy.
In 2023, Ms Machado was selected as the opposition's candidate for the 2024 presidential election but was later disqualified by Maduro's regime. Mr González Urrutia, a diplomat and politician who succeeded her as the opposition's candidate, contested Mr Maduro's fraudulent victory. Mr González Urrutia left the country in September after a warrant was issued to arrest him. Facing persecution, Ms Machado went into hiding.
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

On Monday, 16 December, the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Development and the Subcommittee on Human Rights will hold a joint exchange of views with the 2024 Sakharov Prize laureates María Corina Machado, leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia, representing all Venezuelans inside and outside the country fighting to restore freedom and democracy.
In 2023, Ms Machado was selected as the opposition's candidate for the 2024 presidential election but was later disqualified by Maduro's regime. Mr González Urrutia, a diplomat and politician who succeeded her as the opposition's candidate, contested Mr Maduro's fraudulent victory. Mr González Urrutia left the country in September after a warrant was issued to arrest him. Facing persecution, Ms Machado went into hiding.
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Des associations et six rescapés accusent l’opération « Turquoise » d’avoir sciemment laissé se perpétrer, du 27 au 30 juin 1994, le massacre de centaines de civils tutsi par les génocidaires hutu.

En être privé, une malédiction ; en avoir, trop souvent un supplice quand le travail donne le sentiment de se noyer dans un océan de tâches abrutissantes, surnuméraires, pénibles, dépourvues de sens. Depuis les années 1980, les gouvernants français contribuent à faire du salariat une expérience de (...) / Inégalités, Travail, Protection sociale, Politique, Entreprise - 2024/12

• EU cohesion policy is horizontal in nature and works in a complementary and supportive way to other public policies.
• Therefore, actions included in the National and Regional Programmes funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) in Greece must support (national) sectoral and regional policies.
• The aim of this policy paper is to trace the relationship between the Partnership Agreement for the Development Framework (PADF) 2014-2020 and Greece’s climate change adaptation strategy – a top policy priority at national and regional level.
• To this end, it examines the policy initiatives that took shape during the period 2013-2020 and looks for synergies between these processes and the programming of cohesion policy actions for the period 2014-2020 – and, subsequently, the period 2021-2027.
• The conclusion of this exercise is disappointing. On the one hand, years of delays in the formulation of the required plans have resulted in their complete disconnection from the investment programming of the PADF 2014-2020 and 2021-2027. On the other hand, the resulting plans do not produce meaningful policy commitments and lack implementation mechanisms.

Read here in pdf the Policy Paper by George Andreou, Research Fellow, ELIAMEP; Assistant Professor at the School of Political Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (in Greek).

 

ENTWURF EINES BERICHTS über den Vorschlag für eine Verordnung des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates zur Einrichtung der Reform- und Wachstumsfazilität für Moldau
Ausschuss für auswärtige Angelegenheiten
Haushaltsausschuss
Sven Mikser, Siegfried Mureşan

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2024 - EP

En mars 2017, la Suédo-Chilienne Zaida Catalan et l’Américain Michael Sharp avaient disparu alors qu’ils étaient au Kasaï, dans le centre du pays, pour enquêter sur des fosses communes liées à un conflit armé.

Depuis deux mois, au moins 90 personnes ont été tuées lors des manifestations à l’appel de l’opposant Venancio Mondlane, qui conteste la victoire du Frelimo aux élections.

Les attaques dans le nord du pays ont augmenté ces dernières années et sont attribuées par les autorités à des combattants djihadistes du groupe Etat islamique (EI) et d’Al-Qaida venus des pays voisins.

En Macédoine du Nord, pour obtenir un permis de port d'armes, il faut avoir de bonnes relations. Un scandale a éclaté : les dossiers « recommandés » étaient traités en priorité et recevaient toujours une réponse positive. 620 000 armes à feux circuleraient dans le pays, plus des deux tiers sans autorisation.

- Articles / Macédoine du Nord, Défense, police et justice, Société, Radio Slobodna Evropa, armes

If you think hybrid technology is just for saving fuel on your morning commute, think again. Europe’s armed forces are making significant strikes in this field, and it’s not just about fuel efficiency.  

Imagine infantry vehicles gliding across the terrain, whisper-quiet, with meanwhile reduced fuel consumption. That is the promise of hybrid military tech. 

Over the past 15 months, the second phase of the Hybrid Drive Train Demonstrator (HybriDT II) project has been seeking to turn this vision into reality. On 26 November, the project successfully concluded with a final meeting at the Dutch Army base in Oirschot. The research focused on both wheeled vehicles, specifically 8×8 and 6×6 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), and tracked vehicles. 

Launched under the CapTech Ground Systems framework of the EDA’s Research and Innovation Directorate, HybriDT II, aims to enhance maneuverability, improve energy efficiency, cut fuel consumption, and lower emissions.  
EDA as Hub for EU Defence Cooperation  HybriDT II brought together several Member States, with Germany leading the initiative. Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovenia also participated. The project was carried out by a consortium of 13 industrial and research entities, including AVL List as the project leader and General Dynamics European Land Systems – Steyr from Austria. Other contributors included Germany’s AVL Schrick, AVL Software and Functions, and the Institute for Chemical Technology Fraunhofer; the Dutch firms DNV, TNO, and VDL; Poland’s Military University of Technology and Huta Stalowa Wola Ironworks; and Slovenia’s AVL Slovenia, Elaphe Propulsion Technology, and the University of Ljubljana. 
What’s next?  HybriDT II’s journey is far from over. The next phase, HybriDT III, will tackle the remaining challenges and further advance hybrid technology for military applications. 
A glimpse into the future  At the final meeting, attendees had a chance to witness the future firsthand. Dutch defence companies showed important advancements in hydrogen-based propulsion systems for heavy-duty vehicles and mobility technologies. 

At odds with the West, Russia is looking for new allies. Military assistance, industrial and academic cooperation, currency and technology transfers plus other goodwill gestures: North Korea is emerging as a new partner of choice for Moscow, whose diplomats have been intensively courting their counterparts in Pyongyang since the spring of 2022. [...]

The Ministry of State Security (MSS or Guoanbu) thought it had all the cards in hand. After more than a year of debate, it had succeeded in getting plans to set up an international network of Chinese private security companies [...]

The deal was clinched during the visit of a Russian government delegation to Pyongyang from 17 to 20 November (IO, [...]

A Paris court is due to deliver its verdict on 7 March after the two-week trial of Bernard Squarcini, 68, and [...]