A massive majority of Spaniards believe corruption in the country has skyrocketed under the government of Pedro Sanchez.

The findings come from a new report published by the European Commission, which notes that this perception has especially worsened in the last five years – affecting not just the average citizen but companies and the judicial system.

The Special Eurobarometer survey found that Spain scores highly on the perceived corruption indexes compared to its European counterparts.

It comes after a turbulent week in which Sanchez’ family has been under fire for various corruption scandals.

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Spain scored just 55 out of 100 in the Corruption Perception Index 2025, placing it seventeenth in the European Union and 49th worldwide.

According to the new survey, 92% of Spanish citizens consider that corruption is widespread, far above the European average of 71%. Moreover, 53% say they feel personally affected by corruption, in comparison to the 30% of the European average.

The document released this Friday comes on the back of a period of chaos.

Last Thursday, a court ruled that Begona Gomez, Pedro Sanchez’s wife, will stand trial for charges of influence peddling and embezzlement.

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The ruling came just two days after a ruling against David Sanchez, the prime minister’s brother, who is now barred from public office for nine years.

He had been working a role that was specifically created for him.

Meanwhile, former transport minister Jose Luis Abalos was convicted last month over illegal pandemic mask contracts.

In response to the recent rulings, several Sanchez allies have attacked the decisions, calling them ‘a judicial conspiracy’ and ‘politically motivated cases’ which amount to ‘lawfare’.

Judges and legal professionals continue to show concern. The Constitutional Court warns that statements against judges contribute to eroding public trust in the justice system.

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The EU Commission has warned Sanchez’ government that: “All powers of the state – executive, legislative and judicial – must act with mutual respect to guarantee proper functioning.”

This is not the first time Sanchez’ government is being put on the spot by the EU Commission. Last year former attorney general Alvaro Garcia Ortiz was found guilty in a controversial case over the leaking of confidential information.

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A Canadian national interning at NATO’s strategic military headquarters in Belgium has been arrested on charges of spying for a foreign power and participating in a criminal organisation, Belgian authorities announced on Saturday.

The suspect, an intern of Chinese origin based at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) near Mons, was formally served with an arrest warrant on 24 July, following a multi-agency security operation.

According to the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect was initially flagged by SHAPE’s internal security team. The case was subsequently escalated to Belgium’s General Intelligence and Security Service (SGRS) and referred to federal prosecutors for a formal criminal investigation.

On 23 July officers from the Charleroi Federal Judicial Police carried out coordinated raids at the suspect’s residence and her office within the NATO facility. Specialised units, including the Computer Crime Unit and forensic teams from Charleroi and Mons, assisted in seizing potential digital and physical evidence.

An investigating judge at the Hainaut Court of First Instance ordered her detention the following day.

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cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/68634813

The term "digital sovereignty" is popular but where are the jobs? The EU and its member states are supposedly unlocking billions in funding to support it, but when I search for "digital sovereignty" jobs, I find next to nothing.

Is digital sovereignty really happening or is just being hyped with nothing behind it?

• Startups playing greater role in securing German defence
• Fund will take direct stakes in startups

Germany's government on Wednesday said it will create an investment fund that allows the state to take direct ‌stakes in defence startups, as part of a broader strategy to support new businesses.

Spurred by Russia's war in Ukraine and doubts about the reliability of U.S. security guarantees under Donald Trump, Germany and other European governments are moving to rebuild defence capacity after decades of underinvestment.

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Startups and scale-ups in the security and ​defence sector are playing an increasingly important role in bolstering Germany's security and defence readiness, according to a government ​paper.

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The defence sector ⁠overall could generate additional economic growth of 0.5% to 1.0% if the extra funding is invested well.

German AI defence firm Helsing ​and autonomous ground-systems startup ARX Robotics have supplied systems for battlefield use in Ukraine, where the war has become a proving ground for ​fast-deployable technology and helped show young European companies can deliver capabilities faster than traditional procurement channels.

To improve access to capital, the government will establish "a new vehicle for direct federal investments in startups and scale-ups" that develop products and services with clear military applications, it said.

The value of the fund has not ​been announced.

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"After years of stagnation, one part of Germany’s economy is showing remarkable momentum: entrepreneurship," Deutsche Bank Research said in a note.

A record 3,053 startups were founded in Germany in the first half of 2026, up 52% from the second half of ​2025. They employed 26% more people ​in 2024 than in 2020.

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The ⁠German bank said the startup strategy could provide fertile ground for the numerous newly founded firms to grow.

Europe and Germany perform well in early-stage financing — specifically pre-seed and seed capital — where Europe accounts for ​nearly 80% of the allocated funds.

However, Europe loses ground in larger funding rounds, with ​companies heading to ⁠the United States to secure major financing.

Germany struggles to turn successful startups into growth companies. According to the paper, venture capital investment reached €7.2 billion ($8.21 billion) in 2025, far below levels in the United States and Britain.

Germany's BVK private equity and venture capital association said the strategy ⁠marked an ​important step in strengthening Germany's standing as a startup location and "focused on the ​right levers, particularly regarding financing."

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The strategy also aims to mobilise more private capital for sectors including technology and biotechnology.

The Future Fund — a German government-backed venture capital programme launched ​in 2021 — will be extended beyond 2030.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10371689

Ukraine’s leading arms company is manufacturing about 100 long-range Flamingo cruise missiles a month, a rate able to support an enduring campaign of deep strike against targets hundreds of miles inside Russia.

Fire Point is also making FP-1 and FP-2 fixed-wing drones at a rate of “hundreds per day”, according to chief executive Iryna Terekh. Manufacturing at scale is restarting after a pause caused by the delay in signing off €90bn of EU lending to Ukraine.

The startup’s development from its postwar foundation in 2022 demonstrates the rapid maturing of Ukraine’s homegrown defence industry, finally giving its military the long-range capabilities denied by the west earlier in the conflict.

“I’m not aware of any deep strike attack that was happening in the past few months that was not involving our products,” Terekh said. Missile and drone attacks using Fire Point munitions were taking place at a daily rate of “on average five to 15”.

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Fire Point now operates from 83 factories inside Ukraine, plus another in Denmark, employing 6,000 people, up from 3,500 late last year, according to Terekh. The Guardian visited one manufacturing site last December, where dozens of men were assembling the plywood, plastic and carbon fibre structures into whole drones.

“What we’re seeing now is the result of several years of effort by the Ukrainian side,” said Ben Hodges, a former general who commanded the US army in Europe. “They can not only reach deep inside Russia with precision and get past Russian air defences, their weapons also carry a payload big enough to achieve effect.”

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Terekh, who studied architecture before joining Fire Point in the summer of 2023, when it employed 18 people, said the company is an example of how the Russian invasion has urgently forced Ukraine – once at the heart of Soviet industry – to modernise and regenerate itself.

“Ukraine, in a postwar economy, will need to be an exporter of things with a high additional added value. We do not want to be like a breadbasket any more for the world,” said Terekh, referring to Ukraine’s historical strength in agriculture. For now, however, the demands of the war mean Fire Point’s weapons are not exported.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10371821

Megamarket, the Sberbank-owned online marketplace, has amended its seller agreement to shield itself from liability for failing to meet its obligations during drone attacks, the Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit said.

The agreement’s previous version, dated April 10, exempted the marketplace from responsibility when its failure to meet obligations stemmed from force majeure — including natural disasters, strikes, military actions, and robberies.

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Other major Russian marketplaces — Ozon, Wildberries, and Yandex Market — had already made similar changes to their seller agreements. Wildberries revised its own agreement in early July, just days before a series of Ukrainian drone strikes hit its warehouses across several Russian regions.

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Archived

Just in the first quarter of this year, the Russian state power giant RusHydro saw its debt grow 40% to over a trillion rubles. Economic analyst Maxim Blant explains why and how the Kremlin, already buckling under the financial strain of the war and other corporate bailouts and stimulus, will have to bail RusHydro out and what that will mean for the economy.

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On top of the challenge of financing military spending that is increasingly stretching the federal budget, the Kremlin is now facing another serious problem: rescuing debt-laden “too-big-to-fail” companies. Now, following in the footsteps of the state rail monopoly, Russian Railways (RZhD), Russia’s top electricity producer and one of the world’s largest hydropower companies, state-controlled RusHydro, has found itself unable to cope with its debt burden.

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RusHydro is neither the first nor the only Titanic of the Russian economy to send out an SOS. Late last year, RZhD turned to the government for emergency assistance. That said, RZhD’s debt relative to earnings (debt/EBITDA) remains substantially lower (that is, better) than RusHydro’s, without exceeding (at least according to the company’s official financial statements) the limit of 3.5 set by the RZhD board.

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Before RZhD, another state-controlled monopoly had to be rescued: Gazprom. After two years of record losses driven by the loss of most of the European market, the gas giant successfully lobbied for a substantial tax break, while domestic gas prices were approved to be raised at a pace well above officially printed inflation.

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Overall, the poor state of affairs at RZhD and RusHydro suggests that the Kremlin’s attempt to balance a war that has become a black hole for resources – human, material and financial – and the implementation of massive investment projects in Eastern Siberia and the Far East represents a strategic mistake.

To a large degree, this mirrors the late-Soviet experience, when the country found itself simultaneously fighting a war in Afghanistan, trying to win the arms race against the US and pouring resources into so-called “Komsomol” mega projects, such as the Baikal-Amur Mainline railway.

The consequences of today’s strategic mistake may prove no less fatal.

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Archived

Russia is likely assisting China in training its military personnel, as well as providing Beijing with intelligence and advanced military technology, which could give China an advantage in the event of a potential conflict over Taiwan, according to a report by the Economist (archived).

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since 2024, Chinese military personnel have been undergoing training in the use of drones and urban warfare at a Russian military training ground near Volgograd. This facility is regularly used by the Russian Federation’s 8th Army, which is one of Moscow’s key forces in the war against Ukraine on the eastern front.

For China, such cooperation helps compensate for its lack of modern combat experience. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has not participated in major armed conflicts since the brief border war with Vietnam in 1979, so Beijing is seeking to gain practical knowledge of modern methods of warfare.

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China has also gained broader access to Russian military technologies that the Kremlin had previously been reluctant to share. U.S. and European officials speculate that this involves, in particular, the development of Chinese air defense and missile defense systems, as well as assistance in building low-noise nuclear submarines.

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China is particularly interested in Russia’s experience in the Black Sea, where Moscow is countering Ukrainian maritime drones.

The West is also closely monitoring the two countries’ cooperation in the field of underwater technology. The head of U.S. Naval Intelligence, Rear Admiral Michael Brooks, stated that by 2035, China could have about 80 submarines, half of which will be nuclear-powered. According to him, new models may feature improvements in reactor design, sensor performance, weapons integration, and noise-reduction technologies.

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Archived

Imports of luxury Russian sable pelts may now resume after EU member states removed a ban introduced only in April.

Hi all! I have an ultimately silly question for the thread, but I think it might be the best place to ask about it. I come from Russia and lived in Europe for around 6-7 years. And last weekend I realized I don't know what do Europeans normally mean when mentioning Europe. Is it EEA? EU?

I've mentioned in a random convo that sometime in 2000s Moscow was one of the most expensive cities in Europe, and I was told off that I should not ever say it like that.

I was taught at school back in Russia that Europe is a continent, and the division lies between tectonic plates or something. That means, that there's a European and Asian parts of Russia, like there are 2 sides of Istanbul sitting on two continents.

I understand, in Europe the most common understanding in Europe is not geographical, but, perhaps, political?

Is Belarus Europe? (I would say yes?) Then what about transcontinental countries? Like, Georgia is Europe and Azerbaijan is not? What about Armenia? (I've heard both interpretations).

Right now, my gut feeling is that all transcontinental countries kinda chose their sides? (Like, Georgia chooses European integration and Azerbaijan doesn't). Could it be most common religion? (Doesn't quite work tho?)

I'm only asking to clear my confusion, not to bait. I'm not suggesting anything. There's a difference in education, and knowing how biased post-soviet education, I think I need to understand the conversation better.

Upd: typo on the subject linem

The European Union has authorized member states to sell seized and confiscated russian oil and petroleum products. However, the proceeds from these sales may not be transferred to citizens or companies from the aggressor country—russia.

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Previously, European countries were prohibited from purchasing, importing, and transporting russian oil. The ban did not prevent individual EU member states from detaining tankers carrying russian oil or seizing their cargo. At the same time, they were able to fully dispose of the seized oil.

The new regulation allows EU member states to dispose of seized or confiscated oil. It may be transported, stored, or transferred to a free customs zone. However, they are prohibited from allowing any transaction to result in funds being transferred to russian citizens or companies.

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As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the European Union imposed sanctions on Georgia’s only oil refinery for transactions involving russian oil.

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[Edit typo.]

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Russia's central bank has slashed its economic growth forecast for 2026, now projecting gross domestic product to expand by only 0.0 to 1.0 percent, down sharply from earlier estimates. Governor Elvira Nabiullina said the bank also expects inflation to accelerate faster than previously anticipated.

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Nabiullina said inflation would accelerate much faster than expected ... complicating the bank's policy balancing act.

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The revised outlook comes as a fuel crisis pushes up prices across the Russian economy, affecting a broad range of goods and services beyond energy alone. Nabiullina pointed to the fuel shortages as a key driver behind the deteriorating price outlook.

The near-stagnant growth forecast underscores the mounting strain on Russia's wartime economy, which has relied heavily on military spending to offset weakness elsewhere. Persistent inflation pressure could complicate the central bank's efforts to balance price stability with continued economic support.

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So it seems we know where Putin has decided he is going to test NATO. Three drones shot down in 3 days...

https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/a-treia-drona-doborata-de-pilotii-romani-de-f-16-nicusor-dan-anunta-un-protest-diplomatic-fata-de-federatia-rusa-3878773

A new drone was shot down on Sunday morning, at 10:13, by an F-16 plane of the Romanian Air Force, over the territorial waters of Romania, in the Sulina–Chilia area, President Nicușor Dan announced. It is the third drone shot down by Romanian pilots in three consecutive days. The unmanned aircraft was neutralized over the Black Sea.  The president's announcement came about half an hour after the drone was shot down. „I congratulate the Romanian pilots and the ground teams for the professionalism, courage and efficiency with which they carry out their missions. Through their action, they contribute to the defense of the national territory and the safety of Romanian citizens”, President Nicușor Dan said on Sunday morning. He stated that the first drone shot down on Friday is Shahed and that Romania will initiate a diplomatic protest against Russia.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday that its drone diplomacy task force and domestic firms met with Ukrainian business representatives in Tokyo to advance drone cooperation.

Foreign Ministry drone task force Chief Chiang Zhen-wei (江振瑋) and Taiwanese participants, including 7A Drones, met with Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce in Japan President Kateryna Yavorska. The ministry said discussions focused on joint systems development, technical validation, and a non-red supply chain.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) established the task force in 2025, along with the Global UAV Academy, to deepen cooperation with like-minded countries. The ministry said the approach aims to pair Taiwan’s strengths with those of its partners.

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Yavorska said Ukraine has become a real-world drone laboratory since Russia’s invasion, accelerating development across defense, long-range strikes, and civilian-military platforms, including AI-enabled training systems. She said Ukraine seeks to reduce dependence on China-linked supply chains and sees Taiwan as a key partner.

Ukraine’s drone sector has expanded rapidly, creating opportunities for Taiwan-Ukraine cooperation in components and non-red supply chains. The Tokyo meeting is expected to improve business matchmaking and open new strategic avenues for Taiwan’s drone diplomacy.

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Archived

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/68566440

Every year on the third Sunday in July, dancers gather at 6 a.m. at the Chinese Tower in Munich's English Garden. What's so appealing about this old tradition?