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Europe
Germany
23.12.2024 Germany announces new arms package for Ukraine. Weapons deal includes 15 Leopard 1 A5 main battle tanks, 2 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, self-propelled howitzer 2000, 2 Iris-T anti-aircraft systems, and 2 Patriot missile launch bases. Furthermore, Germany is now supplying Ukraine with an additional 65,000 rounds of anti-aircraft tank ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks as well as additional ammunition for the Iris-T system. Germany will also supply AIM-9L/I Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, which enable fighter aircraft to attack targets in the air. In addition to the heavy weapons, the German arms package features also trucks, drones, other radar systems and ammunition. Germany has now provided a total of around €28 billion (29.1 billion dollars) in military aid available to support Ukraine. Part of the money was used to finance arms deliveries to industry, while the rest (€5.2 billion) comes from direct deliveries from the German military’s stocks. ;) (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
Greenland
22 December 2024 Greenland has once again said it is not for sale after US President-elect Trump said he wanted to take control of the territory. Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede said: "We are not for sale and we will not be for sale." (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)
Poland
12/23/24 AT 4:57 PM EST Poland has introduced mandatory firearm and basic first aid training for schoolchildren. The lessons, conducted for one hour per week in school gymnasiums, also include topics on state security, survival techniques, and tactical rescue. The Education for Safety program targets students aged 14 to 16. It teaches theoretical and practical gun-handling skills using laser-based weapons for safety. Students learn how to assemble and disassemble firearms, improve shooting accuracy, and respond to warfare-related threats. Cybersecurity awareness is integral component of the curriculum. Poland's education ministry emphasized that the initiative addresses ’the increasing threat to state security from the 2022 war in Ukraine.’ The program, designed in collaboration with the national defense ministry, builds on earlier optional training offered in some schools since 2022. The government plans to implement the program across all 18,000 schools nationwide, signaling a significant shift in education policy. Gun ownership, while regulated, is accepted in Poland, with strict background checks and mandatory training required for firearm licenses. (Source: International Business Times – U.S.)
23 December 2024 ...The United States has emerged as a major partner in the Polish nuclear programme, the implementation of which could make a significant contribution to Poland's energy transition. Following a 2020 agreement of cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy, the Polish government selected Westinghouse Electric Company’s AP1000 technology for the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant, which will have the participation of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe. In September 2023, US companies Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel signed agreements to form a consortium focused on the design and construction of this facility. According to a PWC report commissioned by Westinghouse, the construction of six AP1000 units in Poland would result in a 39% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to current emissions from power generation sources, while providing emission-free energy to more than 13 million households. The US is also being considered as a partner in plans to build a second large nuclear power plant in Poland. Moreover, US companies are seen as important partners in the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Poland. Polish company Orlen has been included in the US Phoenix Initiative, a government programme supporting Europe's transition from fossil fuels to SMR reactors. In total, the US plans to allocate 2 million dollars from the Phoenix programme to projects in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. OSGE, a joint venture between the Polish companies Orlen and Synthos, is currently considering seven future SMR locations in Poland, with Canadian company Laurentis Energy Partners as a potential partner. On 14 November 2024, OSGE signed an agreement to collaborate with Laurentis Energy Partners on the creation of a PSAR, the initial safety report required to begin licensing SMR technology... (Source: European Council on Foreign Relations - Headquarters Berlin, Germany)
By Kardaś
Note: "This paper examines Poland’s key international partnerships in energy generation, covering fossil fuels and renewable energy sectors, such as wind, solar, hydrogen, and nuclear power plants. It also identifies areas with untapped potential for further cooperation".
Romania
Mon, 23 Dec, 2024 - 20:15 Politicians have voted in favour of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, whose PSD party topped the polls in the parliamentary election. Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in Romania’s 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL), the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. In 2021, the PSD and the PNL also formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition together with UDMR, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute. Romania’s 16 ministerial positions will be shared among the parties, which will hold a slim majority in the legislature. It is widely seen as a tactical partnership to shut out far-right nationalists whose voices found fertile ground amid high living costs and a sluggish economy. Mr Ciolacu said that the new government would aim to quickly organise the rerun of the presidential election in which the new coalition has agreed to put forward an agreed common pro-European candidate. Romania was plunged into turmoil after Mr Georgescu’s surprise success in the presidential race. Days before the December 8 run-off, the Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the presidential race. (Source: Irish Examiner - Ireland / AP - U.S.)
Kosovo
23.12.2024 Kosovo on Feb. 9 will hold its first parliamentary elections since declaring its independence from Serbia in 2008. Kosovo’s Central Election Commission today barred the main ethnic Serb party from competing in the parliamentary election. The commission declined to certify the Serbian List, citing nationalist remarks by its leader, Elek. The list had been expected to win all 10 reserved seats for Serb representatives. The commission certified 16 out of 17 political entities on the list and 674 candidates for MP. Kosovo has an ethnic Serb minority, particularly in northern Kosovo, near the border with Serbia. The area has seen ethnic unrest in recent years. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
Russia
December 23, 2024 Trump told at Turning Point’s America Fest convention yesterday that Putin said he "wants to meet with me as soon as possible.” The Kremlin said there are currently no plans for President Putin to meet with U.S. President-elect Trump. Kremlin Spokesman Peskov told TASS today that so far, there have been no real impulses for a meeting with Trump before his inauguration in January. Last week Putin dangled the prospect of Russian concessions before audiences in Washington and the West, saying more than once during his annual question and answer conference that Russia was ready for compromise. But he attached numerous conditions to the idea of compromise, suggesting that Moscow’s goal of subjugating Ukraine and winning major security guarantees from NATO and the West remain in place, as well as saying he does not consider President Zelenskiy a legitimate leader. (Source: RFE/RL – U.S.)
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