🇪🇺 EU Propaganda 🇪🇺

Czech Republic approves €1.4bn purchase of Leopard tanks from Germany The move comes just months after the NATO member announced that its military spending would increase to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade.

Czech Republic approves €1.4bn purchase of 44 Leopard tanks from Germany

🚨 BREAKING: The EU Commission's Teresa Ribera has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide, the strongest condemnation yet to come out of Brussels.

Read the story: ow.ly/4SJs50WRcuP

The announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement to release hostages is the breakthrough the world has waited and that so many have needed. 

It is critical that it is upheld. This can be a turning point for a sustainable peace, a surge of aid, and a catalyst that changes despair to hope.

😡 Hungary’s ruling elite, including PM Orbán’s family and allies, grow rich on public contracts and EU funds—siphoned from underfunded hospitals and schools, for example. This is how kleptocracy impacts our lives… This is why investigative journalism must follow the money.🔎💰

@direkt36.bsky.social

Elon Musk Faces Fresh Heap of Legal Trouble Over Twitter Musk is facing a new lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In its lawsuit, the SEC said that Musk underpaid for the stock and cheated investors by at least $150 million.

Bluesky is getting its own photo-sharing app, Flashes More good news for those looking to exit Meta’s social app ecosystem in favor of a more open alternative: An independent developer is building a photo-sharing app for Bluesky called Flashes. The soon-to-launch app is powered by the same technology that…

Bluesky is getting its own photo-sharing app, Flashes

Behind the scenes, the company was also quietly dismantling a system to prevent the spread of misinformation. When the company announced on Jan. 7 that it would end its fact-checking partnerships, the company also instructed teams responsible for ranking content in the company’s apps to stop penalizing misinformation, according to sources and an internal document obtained by Platformer. The result is that the sort of viral hoaxes that ran roughshod over the platform during the 2016 US presidential election — “Pope Francis endorses Trump,” Pizzagate, and all the rest — are now just as eligible for free amplification on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads as true stories.

NEW: Meta has quietly dismantled the system that prevented misinformation from spreading in the United States. Machine-learning classifiers that once identified viral hoaxes and limited their reach have now been switched off, Platformer has learned www.platformer.news/meta-ends-mi...

Slovak opposition announces no-confidence vote against PM Slovakia's pro-Western opposition parties announced plans to initiate a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Robert Fico's government, citing concerns over his governance and foreign policy directi...

⚡️Slovakia's pro-Western opposition parties announced plans to initiate a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Robert Fico's government, citing concerns over his governance and foreign policy direction, TASR news agency reported on Jan. 14.

😁 Fico has declined Zelenskyy’s invitation and will not visit Kyiv on Friday, according to the vice-speaker of the Slovak parliament

BREAKING: EU finds discrimination in China's medical devices sector, concluding first probe under international procurement instrument

Brussels wants talks with Beijing, but could ban Chinese bidders from EU government contracts

‼️🇭🇺🇬🇪 Details are still emerging about how Viktor Orbán's government meddled in Georgia's election. His campaign strategists aided the ruling party, while underlings, like MEP András László from Orbán's party (on this video), served as fake election observers to whitewash the rigged vote. 1/5

The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola.

As someone who grew up on an island in the Mediterranean, I’m no stranger to blue skies.

But this Blue Sky is different 😃. Here, I’m new.

So as I do my first post, I look forward to connect, interact & continue to advance democracy. This is what we do at the European Parliament.

Watch this space.

TOP NEWS TODAY 🔝

🔥 Massive UAVs and missile attack on Russia: ~200 UAVs and 5 ATACMS missiles, 11 regions were under attack.

💥 AFU strike: Aleksinsky Chemical Plant in Tula region, Ammunition warehouses in Engels, Saratov Oil Refinery, Bryansk Chemical Plant.

I think Bluesky is a great platform and I’m here to stay. However, a bookmark function would make the experience SO much better and much more functional for research/ information gathering, especially for reporters. Pretty please @support.bsky.team @bsky.app ?

What the last two weeks has made super clear:

It's not just Facebook v. the Digital Services Act (always was); and its not Marjorie Taylor Greene v. the DSA (she doesn't care!)

It's the USA v. the EU

This is geopolitics all the way down.

Zuckerberg urges Trump to stop the EU from fining US tech companies Comparing the bloc’s antitrust penalties to tariffs, the Meta boss argued that Brussels is “screwing with” American industry.

🚨 BREAKING: The U.S. government under incoming President Donald Trump should intervene to stop the EU from fining American tech companies for breaching antitrust rules and other violations, Meta chief exec Mark Zuckerberg said late Friday.
Full story: trib.al/IWW9g57

There are many attributes which can be used to describe the AfD, but aside its treacherous behavior it is its cynic and nihilist character of its leaders which describes it best. In reference to Russia and the Kremlin they are the most servile individuals of all right-wing movements in Europe.

We’ve Never Been Here Before: The Zero-Accountability Presidency The only institutions that will try to hold Trump accountable are powerless, while the only ones with the power to punish him will never do it.

There is a powerful disinformation and propaganda apparatus (1) for which Trump can do no wrong and (2) which, in all cases of conflict, will instantly advance a narrative, whether true or false or somewhere in between, that it’s the fault of Democrats, liberals, or the woke left.

Speaking of Nordstream, the company has time until 9th of May to repay its debts. If they do not comply then Nordstream will be declared bankrupt and Chapter 11 will be opened, liquidating all assets, including the pipelines.

Source: Reuters

Tūkstančiai Ukrainai skirtų lietuviškų dronų įstrigo sandėliuose: kalta biurokratija? Nors žadėta, kad Lietuvos gamintojų dronai iki praėjusių metų pabaigos pasieks Ukrainą, jie iki šiol yra kariuomenės san...

🇱🇹 Thousands of drones intended for Ukraine are stuck in Lithuanian warehouses due to bureaucratic delays, reports LRT. Former Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas highlighted the need to navigate six stages of approval to ship the equipment.

www.lrt.lt/naujienos/li...

Please watch this 20-second video: A woman is calmly talking to the policemen, saying, “You can’t defend us, because you’re Russian slaves” when Irakli Dgebuadze, the head of the Batumi police dep’t, begins using force to arrest her, saying “I’m gonna show you who’s Russian slave”.

You. You are.

EU to start drafting new sanctions against Russia next week, media reports The European Commission plans to begin drafting new sanctions against Russia next week, with the goal of approving the package on Feb. 24 — the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukr...

The European Commission plans to begin drafting new sanctions against Russia next week, with the goal of approving the package on Feb. 24 — the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Polish RMF FM reports.

The energy systems of the Baltic States will disconnect from Russia's energy system on February 8 and join the energy system of continental Europe.

Source: ast.lv/en/events/balt…

The Belgian Council of Ministers approved a royal decree restricting the transshipment of Russian LNG via the country’s ports.

It specifically prohibits reloading of LNG originating in Russia or exported from Russia in Belgian ports, and any assistance, brokerage, or financing of such reloading.

🇺🇸🇪🇺 The EU is ready to take the lead in supporting Ukraine if the U.S. steps back, said European diplomat Kaja Kallas, Politico reports. However, she added that speculation about U.S. support is premature, as "it’s not in America’s interest for Russia to become the strongest in the world."

Armenia floats EU referendum amid split with Russia The South Caucasus country is considering talks with Brussels on joining the bloc.

Armenia could soon be on the path to joining the European Union, the country’s prime minister claimed Thursday against a backdrop of growing tensions with the Kremlin, which was once one of its top allies.

Also Musk on X now with Alice Weidel: If people are only fed propaganda and don't know what's going on they can't make an informed vote and it's the end of democracy

No shit Sherlock. So stop spreading disinformation then

For the EU it is essential to protect and strengthen our fundamental democratic values, make our economy more competitive and sustainable, expand our global network of partnerships, and invest more in our security.

We look forward to a positive engagement with the incoming US Administration, based on our common values and shared interests. In a rough world, Europe and the US are stronger together.