Euobserver.com

The director of Amnesty International Greece on the political spying scandal that now threatens to bring down prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Activists and NGO staff work with the constant fear that they are being spied on.

A no-confidence vote on the Greek government is set for Friday, following revelations of state-led surveillance on senior military officials and a minister.

Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky writes that it is self-evident that Vladimir Putin and his cronies must be held accountable for planning and ordering a war of aggression — whatever the legal hurdles.

The United Arab Emirates presented a high-tech vision to lead the world into a green future at this year's climate summit, COP28. But it wants to do so while massively expanding oil production.

The European Parliament does not rule out mandatory anti-harassment training for MEPs — but has left questions of greater support for victims of bullying and abuse open-ended.

Over the last few decades, the fossil-fuel industry has shown that you do not need to all-out oppose EU legislation in order to resist it. Muddying the waters can be enough to ensure that action is paused, watered-down, or shelved.

"We must do everything we can to be ready with this new system for the next European elections," MEP Sandro Gozi said after the committee vote.

IAEA chief spent last week in Ukraine and is heading to Russia to seek an agreement on a protection zone. "I don't know for how long we are going to be lucky in avoiding a nuclear accident", he told MEPs.

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold", W.B. Yeats wrote. Yet now, a century later in Europe — from Italy, to Hungary, to Belgium and the Netherlands, even in the European Parliament — the centre is shrinking.

"At the current levels, benefits are not enough to lift people out of (relatively) poverty", the EU's advisory Social Protection Committee warned in 2022.

Europe's response to Elon Musk's Starlink broadband internet system — currently used by Ukraine in its war against Russia — is to deliver its first services sometime next year.

MEPs should pay for their own foreign trips to avoid suspicion of undue influence, a German deputy has said after rebelling over a recent visit to Azerbaijan.

Some 5,000 refugees and asylum seekers were registered in Ukraine in 2021. Small in the context of the millions now displaced, but one of the most at-risk groups in this crisis.

Poland is urging other EU states with Leopard-class tanks to send them to Ukraine after Germany softened its position on re-export.

The auditors are set to focus on actions taken by the commission for 6 member states., Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Italy and Greece.

Companies are increasingly using software to spy on employees working remotely, said Polish computer forensics analyst Maciej Broniarz. "The market for highly intrusive spyware is snowballing," Broniarz told MEPs.

The United Arab Emirates announced its ambition to become one of the world's premier trading hubs for green hydrogen. Interesting, to say the least, for a country that relies on the sale of fossil fuels for its prosperity.

The 40 civilians buried in a Dnipro apartment block by a Russian missile won't be the last war victims, since diplomats have yet to find a concrete plan to hold president Vladimir Putin accountable for the crime of aggression.

Accusations of Russia appeasement have redoubled following Germany's decision to continue withholding tanks from Ukraine.

On Monday, Brussels will see EU foreign affairs ministers focusing on a 10th sanctions package against Russia, a special tribunal, and preparing the EU-Ukraine summit on 3 February in Kyiv.