China's growing dominance of the battery and rare earth minerals production and supply chain has been an ongoing threat to Europe, as it significantly contributes to China's electric vehicle sector and makes the continent, and indeed other parts of the world, heavily dependent upon China for these metals and minerals.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which prompted a whole raft of EU sanctions on Russian oil and gas, made policymakers realise just how dependent the EU has been on Moscow for energy and sent them scrambling to find more diverse suppliers.

As such, the European Commission is now hoping to avoid a similar situation with lithium and other rare earth minerals, which are vital for the green transition. Reviving the European mining sector, therefore, has now become more important than ever.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski decided to terminate the mission of more than 50 ambassadors and to withdraw a dozen or so candidates who had been entered for approval by the Ministry’s former senior officials, a public statement reads.

The proposed reshuffle was put forward at the Foreign Service Council and, following its approval by the Prime Minister, recall procedures have been launched.

"The government, which, under the Constitution, is responsible for foreign policy, believes that the necessary change of Polish ambassadors will help to address the difficult challenges facing Poland’s foreign policy today in a better, more professional manner," the minister added in the statement.

Instead of just electrifying vehicles, cities should be investing in alternative methods of transportation. This article is by the Scientific Foresight Unit of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), a EU's own think tank.

Air pollution levels have improved in Europe over the past 20 years, research has found.

About 98% of Europeans live in areas the WHO says have unhealthy levels of small particles known as PM2.5, 80% for larger ones known as PM10, and 86% for nitrogen dioxide.

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9945668

One resident complained of pro-Russian collaborators with ballot boxes going from house to house looking for voters accompanied by armed soldiers.

Vladimir Putin will certainly win another term of office, but a high turnout would help the Kremlin's efforts to legitimise his continued rule.

It would also be used to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Leonid Volkov was assaulted with a hammer and tear gas while in his car in Vilnius on Tuesday night, Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said.

The alleged assailant is unknown, as is their motive. Lithuanian police have been informed of the incident and are investigating.

Mr Volkov has lived outside Russia for some years for his own safety and served as Navalny's chief-of-staff until the opposition leader died suddenly in prison in the Russian Arctic last month while serving a 19-year sentence after being convicted of charges that were politically motivated.

Mr Volkov, 43, also faces various politically motivated charges in Russia.

He served as chairman of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation until last year when he resigned following the revelation he had signed letters calling for the European Union to drop some Russian sanctions.

Despite living outside Russia he has also made sure that the activism of Navalny and his team could continue.

"We will all work even more. And with even greater anger," his wife posted on social media.

France’s government and Corsican elected officials have agreed on the wording of a proposed constitutional revision granting the île de Beauté (Island of Beauty) a special status, six months after President Emmanuel Macron broke a longstanding French taboo on the subject of autonomy for the island scarred by decades of conflict with Paris.

The case centres on the European Commission's decision to restore Hungary's access to some 10.2 billion euros in aid last December, while Budapest was blocking 50 billion euros in aid for Kyiv.

Despite the EU criticising Hungary for years for undercutting democratic checks and balances under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Commission said last year that Hungary had fulfilled the necessary rule of law conditions to get the funds.

Many disagreed.

"EU funds can only be granted if the rule of law is functioning," said Green German EU lawmaker, Daniel Freund. "10 billion euros were released for Viktor Orban without the necessary reforms having been fulfilled."

"This kind of horse-trading - EU money in exchange for a veto - must not be allowed in the EU," he said.

"Western allies can work around toxic decision-making in small countries such as Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia. But Germany is too big to ignore", writes Edward Lucas, non-resident Senior Fellow and Senior Adviser at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).

Calling Germany "the weakest link" of its allies, Lucas claims that the country "clearly needs a new security policy".

"Ukrainians and their friends are justifiably furious about all this. The Zeitenwende [seachange] that the German leader announced after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 has proved deeply disappointing."

The latest cyberattack to hit France follows a warning from Attal's defence adviser just last week that the Olympics games in July and European Parliament elections in June could be "significant targets".

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's office said several state bodies were targeted but did not provide details.

"Many ministerial services were targeted" from Sunday "using familiar technical means but of unprecedented intensity," Attal's office said.