Undesirable media
I have neglected to write the editor's digest for a few week. My apologies.
There have been some exciting developments at EUobserver (plus a bout of covid) that have taken up all of my time. Also I have two small children.
But enough excuses, let's get to it.
After an exciting, yet ultimately very peculiar weekend mutiny in Russia, the rest of the week shaped up to be eventful as well.
The June EU Council meeting just concluded, with EU leaders first of all pledging continued support to Ukraine's efforts to defend itself from Russia.
As expected, Hungary and Poland held up talks on migration on Thursday to voice their discontent.
China was also on the agenda, with EU leaders agreeing to pursue a more assertive and more strategic approach to China. They underlined the need to cooperate with China in certain areas, such as climate change and trade, while also recognising the systemic challenges that China poses to the EU's interests.
The council also adopted a set of priorities for the next six months, focusing on issues like energy security, the cost of living, and the rule of law.
Read more of our EU summit coverage here and here, with more to come on China and the upcoming Spanish presidency.
Then, we welcomed a new resident journalist at EUobserver, Mikhail Komin , who will be working with us for the next month.
Mikhail is an editor at Novaya Gazeta Europe, which was placed on the list of undesirable organisations by the Russian General Prosecutor's office this week.
This addition puts him and his Russian colleagues at the independent media organisation at risk of being incarcerated for years.
It also underlines the importance of supporting critical independent Russian-language media to operate outside of the borders of the country.
Mikhail hit the ground running, publishing a feature article on the fringe Europeans who attended 'Putin's Davos', the St. Petersburg economic forum, and an investigation with our journalist Andrew Rettman on how a gift of pistols to the mercenary Wagner group gives away cues on their internal hierarchy.
Finally, and sadly, this week we're saying goodbye to our valued colleague Eszter Zalan , who has been with EUobserver since forever. Her reporting on the rule of law, the intricacies of EU politics and her incredible knowledge of the EU institutions will be sorely missed. And of course her wonderful personality, her critical views and wry sense of humor.
I don't think as a newbie in EU affairs I could have wished for a better guide to the complexities of Brussels. Thank you, Eszter.
I wish you the best of everything.
In other news, writer, journalist and proto-blogger Cory Doctorow wrote us a fantastic analysis on why the prevailing view on how big tech is crushing news might be wrong. In the piece, he argues that because of their dominance on all sides of the advertising market in media, the big tech companies are stealing money, and not content from news media.
Now,?onwards?to the news you should not have missed this week.
Investigations
A gift of 11 pistols shows who was who in Wagner's command structure in Sudan, as the mercenary group's mutiny poses questions for Russia's empire in Africa.
Hungary's foreign minister was the most senior European VIP at the St Petersburg economic forum this year — highlighting how far Russia's bid to rival Davos has declined.
In part two of this investigation, local entities such as trade unions and municipalities express concern over inadequate consultation under the JTF, thereby threatening workers' futures.
EU Political
With environmental legislation perceived as excessively burdensome by various member state capitals, farmer groups, business lobbies, and some groups in the EU parliament, what does that mean for the Green Deal ahead of the 2024 European Parliament elections?
There has been no agreement among EU countries on the European Parliament's proposals on how to revamp the European elections before voters go to the ballot boxes a year from now.?
领英推荐
Tuesday's committee vote showed there was no majority to reject the nature restoration law — but the final vote on the report also fell short of the majority required to receive the committee approval.
Work
In recent decades, the EU has focused so much on job creation that it has forgotten about the quality of those jobs — with major differences between regions and between men and women, a new study reveals.
New EU rules on asbestos are seen as a victory by members of the European Parliament who have demanded a general overhaul of EU's asbestos policies.
Green Economy
The European Commission is expected to present a proposal for the EU's withdrawal from the highly-controversial Energy Charter Treaty — which locks-in fossil-fuel investment — following demands from member states earlier this month.
Central bankers met at the European Central Bank's annual symposium in Sintra, Portugal, to discuss 'persistent' inflation.
Auditors warn of insufficient financing data in member states' climate plans to meet the EU's 2030 climate and energy targets.
Migration
In the wake of mass drownings off the Greek coast, EU leaders in Brussels plan to clamp down on smuggling, even though former efforts made matters worse.
A persecuted religious minority are facing abuse in an EU-funded Turkish detention centre, according to witness testimony. They have been detained since late May after attempting to enter Bulgaria at an official border crossing point with Turkey.
On 24 June 2022, a massacre took place at the border between the Spanish enclave of Melilla. At least 40 people died, 80 disappeared, several dozens were injured and almost 500 were displaced and deported. But what has happened since?
As always, thank you to all new subscribers to this newsletter, and my various inboxes are open for feedback, suggestions, tips, leaks, ideas and gossip. And don't forget to?become a member?(or?subscribe to our daily newsletter) to support our work.
See you next week,
Realtor Associate @ Next Trend Realty LLC | HAR REALTOR, IRS Tax Preparer
1 年Thanks for the updates on, The Editors Weekly Digest.