Europe

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10495637

In this industrial province of Tuscany, home to Europe's largest textile hub, fraudulent practices by some Chinese companies have fueled a shadow economy built on tax evasion, undeclared labor and the exploitation of migrant workers.

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Ayaz, 30, originally from Pakistan, had been living in Prato for four years. Until Acca SRL closed, he worked as a warehouseman. "I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week, no sick leave, nothing," he said, in fluent Italian. Ayaz pointed to the building where he used to load fabrics: "Those are the air-conditioned offices where the Chinese worked, while downstairs it was unbearably hot," he emphasized.

A subsidiary of the Chinese multinational Xinsitong, which specializes in logistics, Acca SRL managed the shipment of fast fashion made in Prato's textile hub to the rest of Europe. Locally known as "pronto moda" ("ready-to-wear"), this sector consists of thousands of workshops that transform textiles, mostly imported from China, and send them around the world.

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Like many other exploited workers, Abid fell victim to the apri-chiudi ("open-close") system, which has become a hallmark of Prato's fast-fashion businesses. These fraudulent companies pay no taxes and would shut down overnight, only to reopen in another warehouse a few dozen meters away under a new business name. The workforce was simply a variable to be adjusted.

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With more than 6,000 companies generating annual revenue of €2 billion, Prato's textile hub, the largest in Europe, is a microcosm that the Chinese mafia skillfully manipulates. This system is well known to Luca Tescaroli, Prato's public prosecutor. "The number of foreign nationals exploited by Chinese companies is rising in Prato's 'Chinatown,'" explained the magistrate from his office at the courthouse. "These businesses have graduArchvieally stopped recruiting their fellow nationals and now hire people from other countries, like Bangladesh, Pakistan or North African countries, thus diversifying the workforce they use. It's a kind of cannon fodder for entrepreneurial enrichment."

"Chinese organized crime is marked by highly efficient operations and a strong ability to infiltrate," continued Tescaroli, who previously worked in the anti-mafia offices of Rome and Florence. "It is rather closed in on itself, but it has learned from traditional Italian criminal groups how to infiltrate public administration, which makes these groups even more dangerous."

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10493337

Successfully stopping Gianni Infantino’s FIFA plan to sell World Cup profits to private investors was the first half of a high-stakes game in global soccer politics.

The second half kicked off Saturday with what seemed a clear aim of ending Infantino’s decade-long presidency.

“No option should be off the table,” said European soccer body UEFA, whose president Aleksander Čeferin has led the fight against Infantino in a seismic week for FIFA.

“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”

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Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday’s announcement.

Infantino was forced to scrap the plan early Saturday after his senior adviser who sat on a White House panel resigned and Asia’s soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.

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UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, issued its blistering statement hours after FIFA announced it was withdrawing its private equity plan.

“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game,” UEFA said. “We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.

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Infantino had proposed spinning off FIFA’s commercial businesses — including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women — into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors.

The “anchor investor,” described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm launched by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

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In 2018, Infantino pushed a secretive offer of $25 billion from Japan’s SoftBank to create new competitions, that posed a long-term risk to continental events for clubs and national teams.

In 2021, Infantino proposed playing World Cups every two years instead of four — an idea that also angered the International Olympic Committee where he is an elected member.

Both plans created big rifts in the sport and were eventually dropped by FIFA.

Despite the turmoil, Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.

The third time shapes to be different.

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10488955

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Pierre-Henri Chuet, who flew Super Étendard and Rafale M fighters from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, was formally placed under investigation after he was presented to an investigating magistrate last week, following his questioning by France’s domestic intelligence service, the DGSI.

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He is under investigation for four charges of espionage: disclosure of national defense secrets by a person entrusted with them, intelligence with a foreign power, collection of information relating to the fundamental interests of the nation, and delivery of information to a foreign power.

Chuet joins a long list of Western pilots who have been warned or investigated for training China’s PLA Air Force (PLAAF) aviators on tactics, procedures, and related skills. Training sometimes took place in China or in third countries.

Notably, former U.S. Air Force major Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., who also flew the F-35, was arrested in February this year in the US shortly after he returned from China. He was charged with providing and conspiring to provide unauthorized defense services to PLAAF pilots in 2023.

Similarly, Daniel Edmund Duggan, a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot, was charged in a 2017 U.S. indictment with conspiracy for allegedly providing training to Chinese military pilots, including aircraft carrier takeoff/landing tactics, techniques, and procedures. In April, he lost his appeal to resist extradition to the US.

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China has allegedly been facing a shortage of skilled naval aviators. A Chinese military magazine, Ordnance Industry Science Technology, reported in 2022 that the People’s Liberation Army Navy lacks sufficient qualified shipborne fighter-jet pilots.

Pierre-Henri reportedly traveled to China in September 2018 and August 2019 while still serving, without notifying his chain of command, as required by French military regulations.

Both trips were financed by a South African aviation company, already under the scanner for hiring Western fighter pilots to train Chinese pilots, Aerotime reported.

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10488945

Europe is preparing to assume primary responsibility for its own conventional defense by developing the concept of a “third NATO.” By 2030, the combined defense budgets of EU member states will reach a staggering €1 trillion. Meanwhile, the EU's first-ever Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, has requested a fivefold increase in funding for defense and space programs.

In an interview with The Insider, he discussed the outcome of NATO's historic summit, the development of a European equivalent of NATO's Article 5 on collective defense, how Russia's fuel crisis affects the threat it poses to the EU, as well as Europe's efforts to build its own satellite shield and expand military cooperation with Ukraine.

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Archived

The frontman of British punk rap band Bob Vylan was denied entry to Germany, detained at the Berlin airport, and ultimately deported to the United Kingdom last month due to his pro-Palestine statements.

German federal police justified deporting the band’s vocalist on June 15, referencing a performance at the Glastonbury Festival in England in 2025 where Bob Vylan led a chant of “Death, death to the IDF,” or the Israel Defense Forces.

A police file on Robinson-Foster obtained by The Intercept alleges that he disseminated antisemitic narratives and Hamas propaganda that could “radicalise certain segments of the [German] population” and serve as “ideological justification” for terrorist groups or individuals. It also says that Robinson-Foster poses a threat to Germany’s public security and public order. Allowing him into the country would cause “considerable reputational damage” by creating the impression that Germany was making “no effort to prevent the spread of the propagated antisemitism and the associated calls to violence.”

Link to video https://xcancel.com/Megatron_ron/status/2082524833875644639

Spanish government deploys military and police after thousands cross from Morocco by sea and land

Spain’s ‌interior ministry said on ​Friday that according ​to ⁠its estimates ‌some ‌49,000 ​migrants had ⁠crossed into ​the ​enclave ‌of Ceuta ​in North ⁠Africa ⁠over ​past 24 hours, as they ‌rushed by ⁠sea and land ‌from ​Morocco.

The number ‌of people who died on Thursday trying ‌to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta ​in North Africa rose to 18,

Spanish state television ‌TVE ‌said ​between 2,000 and 3,000 people crossed into Ceuta ⁠on Thursday. ​

These Irish families get up at all hours of the night to watch AFLW and host viewing parties with 30-plus people for big games.

UEFA boycotts the World Cup: Europe’s soccer governing body has voted to boycott future men’s and women’s World Cups in reaction to FIFA’s plan to inject private money into its competitions. “The World Cup is not for sale,” UEFA said. Six of the current top 10 squads in the FIFA rankings are European teams.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has proposed the creation of a $20 billion company running major tournaments with private investors. UEFA called an emergency meeting and issued blistering statements in an escalating dispute over the scheme, saying there was “zero transparency as to who gains financially.”

Kushner family backing: FIFA is working with JP Morgan on the commercial subsidiary, which would be called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). Intended investors include Thrive Eternal, founded by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10430184

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After winning independence in 1991, Ukraine removed large numbers of Soviet-era statues and renamed streets as part of “decommunisation”. The process sped up in 2014 when Russia seized Crimea and fighting began in the Donbas, and moved even faster after Vladimir Putin’s 2022 full-scale invasion that aimed to scrub Ukraine from Europe’s map.

Nataliia Kryvda, a professor of the history of culture at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv, said Ukraine was going through an unfinished period of decolonisation. “The USSR absorbed national cultures. It tried to make a single nation of Soviet citizens. Russia today looks at Ukraine and says we are one people. It isn’t true. We have our own mindset, historical destiny, beliefs and dreams. Our identity is a dynamic process,” she said.

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Archived

https://archive.ph/o61rE

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10430193

Russian commentator Xenia Fedorova has been ordered to leave France, the country's Interior Ministry said Wednesday. She has been accused of disseminating Kremlin propaganda on French television and radio.

According to French newspaper Liberation, the expulsion order accuses Fedorova of acting "as a conduit for disinformation campaigns orchestrated by the Russian authorities" with the aim of "destabilising public order" in France.

According to the AFP news agency, Fedorova has been placed under house arrest since the order was issued.

Fedorova is the former chief of the Russia Today (RT) in France, which was ultimately banned in the country after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

She stayed in the country and became a commentator for broadcasting outlets owned by French billionaire Vincent Bollore's media conglomerate.

According to French daily Le Monde, Fedorova has been known to be a "protege" of Bollore.

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Experts on disinformation had previously raised the alarm about the influence of figures like Fedorova in France, ahead of a presidential election next year.

Although there is no evidence of any links between Fedorova and the Kremlin, media advocates have said she should still be regarded as an agent of influence.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10429721

• Sweden holds some of Europe's largest untapped rare earth deposits. Now the government designated critical mineral mining as a national security priority, a move that will speed up permitting for new rare earth mines. Officials cite reducing dependence on Chinese mineral supplies as the goal.

• Instead of extracting one target metal, researchers are cataloging everything contained in Swedish mineral deposits. They will then develop magnets using those naturally available combinations, potentially reducing pollution, waste, and reliance on China.

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Swedish researchers are exploring how the country's mineral resources could support cleaner production of rare earth elements (REE) and the powerful magnets made from them. As part of the Sustainable materials and material flows research area, Martin Sahlberg is studying whether Sweden's deposits could become the foundation for a more sustainable magnet industry.

Many of the materials needed for cleaner energy systems and advanced technologies are still produced through processes that carry significant environmental costs. Rare earth magnets, for example, are largely manufactured in China, where environmental rules and industrial standards differ from those in Sweden.

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"In Sweden our possibilities for extracting REE, even when compared internationally, are relatively good," he says.

Sweden has known rare earth mineral deposits in Kiruna, Bergslagen and Norra Kärr outside Gränna. Sahlberg's work aims to create the scientific foundation needed to extract these resources domestically while also developing new functional magnets.

Rather than forcing Swedish minerals to fit existing manufacturing formulas, the researchers want to design magnets whose chemical composition closely matches the materials naturally present in local deposits. This approach could reduce the amount of processing required and lower the environmental impact of both purification and manufacturing.

"Today, China basically has a world monopoly, but we not only have deposits but also good access to water and relatively cheap energy. There is also an interest in leading the green transition here in Sweden," he continues.

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Last week, Sweden declared the mining of critical metals and rare earth minerals to be a national security interest.

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This should ease and accelerate the permit process for new extraction projects and help attract investments, according to Energy Minister Ebba Busch, who is also deputy prime minister.

"We believe that this can contribute significantly to both Sweden's the EU's and NATO's defense capabilities," Busch said, calling European industry's dependence on China a "systemic risk."

Busch also said the move would make it easier for the state to assign land for mining projects, an area of tension with the Sami reindeer-herding indigenous people, who say the expansion of mining could spell the end for their traditional way of life.

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Four of the EU's 47 strategic projects aimed at reducing mineral dependence on China are located in Sweden.

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10437687

As Europe reels from extreme heatwaves, a German app is helping people stay cool by mapping shaded walking routes. The app uses sun and shadow data to guide commuters away from heat-exposed streets.

Here is more information about the app (archived) including links to the source code, API, and such.

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Europe is witnessing a summer of unprecedented climate realities ... facing an urgent question: How do we live, move, and survive in cities that are actively overheating?

The answer may lie in a German digital tool developed by the non-profit organisation Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT). Designed to transform daily commutes, the app calculates the coolest, most shaded path through a city, allowing citizens to avoid direct sun exposure.

What started as a region-specific research project is now evolving into a large-scale blueprint for climate-adapted mobility. The app currently offers its routing service in more than 80 major German cities and continues to expand.

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The Algorithm That Steers People Away From Heat

When the sun shines intensely, open spaces can quickly turn into heat traps. Pedestrians often cross to the shaded side of the street or take a longer route through a park to avoid direct sunlight. The app mimics this behaviour by using high-resolution shadow data to guide people through shaded passages and away from sun-exposed roads.

Julian Psotta, Product Owner for Technical Innovation at HeiGIT, says, "What started as a research question in Heidelberg has now grown into an operational heat-avoiding routing application. We are looking forward to fine-tuning it to the individual needs of different cities and building climate-adapted mobility based on their data."

Through heat-avoiding routing, the app helps municipalities understand their heat risks and respond to them in a targeted manner. But what has created the need for such a tool?

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How The App Finds The Coolest Route

The app launched its first version in Heidelberg in the summer of 2024. Today, the routing engine runs on openrouteservice (HeiGIT's open-source routing platform) and uses OpenStreetMap data as its underlying road network. A custom Solar Index helps the algorithm avoid hot, sun-baked roads and instead choose shady, tree-lined routes.

Because the sun's position changes constantly, the app is dynamic as well. It offers pedestrians different routes depending on the time of day. For example, a commuter walking from Worms' main train station to the Rhine promenade will receive different route suggestions depending on when they open the app:

• In the morning: The app suggests taking Wilhelm-Leuschner Street, then walking along Martinsgasse and Judengasse to maximise morning shade.
• In the afternoon: As the sun shifts, the coolest route changes entirely, directing pedestrians through Goethe Street.
• The regular route: The slightly shorter, traditional route via Siegfried Street and Berliner Ring is actively bypassed by the algorithm because of its high sun exposure.

The creators say the aim is to make the consequences of urban heat on daily life visible and measurable.

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From Germany To The World

Now that the application covers all 16 federal states in Germany, the team hopes to expand globally. However, taking a climate tool worldwide requires building trust with local partners first.

Lisa Shkredova, Public Relations Manager at HeiGIT, explains, "Whenever we expand into a new area, it is very important to have local partners who can validate the data. That's why we started small and only later expanded to multiple cities across Germany."

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10431590

Bank accounts frozen, consular services blocked... On 24 July, the Russian parliament unanimously adopted a new law targeting Russians in exile who have been designated as “foreign agents” or who cooperate with organisations labelled “undesirable” — and the vast majority are journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this latest addition to Russia’s repressive legal arsenal against the independent press.

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According to the independent Russian NGO OVD-Info, media professionals are the largest professional group targeted by the “foreign agent” and “undesirable organisation” labels in Russia, accounting for more than one third of all names on both lists. The number of media organisations and workers on these lists has increased sixfold since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10432654

Zijin Mining and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, the two Chinese parent companies behind a Serbian copper forced-labour case Evidencity flagged in June, also control mineral projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe, and Indonesia.

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New human rights data published on 22 July 2026 name both companies, alongside Tsingshan Group, among 10 Chinese firms that account for nearly two-thirds of all documented abuse allegations against Chinese-backed mineral projects worldwide since 2021.

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The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRC) published new tracking data on 22 July 2026 covering Chinese-backed mining, smelting, and refining projects worldwide between 2021 and 2025. Recorded allegations of harm rose every year over that period, reaching 148 in 2025 alone, for a five-year total of 434. BHRC found that 10 Chinese companies, including Zijin Mining, Tsingshan Group, and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, accounted for nearly two-thirds of all allegations recorded.

All three named companies are behind the DRC, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia projects above, and Zijin is also the company named in the Serbian forced-labour case. Allegations tracked by BHRC span negative impacts on local livelihoods, health, and land rights, workplace deaths, and water pollution. Between 2023 and 2025, 18 people were attacked for raising concerns about Chinese transition mineral projects. Zijin Mining and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt responded to BHRC's allegations by saying they take environmental and social risks seriously and adhere to international standards. Tsingshan Group did not respond to BHRC's requests for comment.

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A compliance workflow organised around country risk scores treats a Zimbabwean lithium supplier, an Indonesian nickel supplier, a Congolese cobalt supplier, and a Serbian copper supplier as four unconnected relationships. Ownership-chain mapping shows two parent companies recurring across all four supply chains, consolidating what a country-score model logs as four separate, low-risk jurisdictions into a single, documented five-year abuse record.

This is the same gap Evidencity identified in the Serbian case. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List named Zijin Mining in January 2025 over its Xinjiang operations. The WRO against its Serbian subsidiary followed 17 months later, treated by CBP as a separate action against a separate corporate entity.

Germany's Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and the European Union's (EU) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive have required demonstrable investigation of ownership structures since 2023. Both are now being narrowed: Germany is replacing its Supply Chain Act with a lighter regime and suspended enforcement review in October 2025, while the EU has pushed back full implementation of its directive to 2029 for companies above 5,000 employees. The obligation existed on paper when Serbian copper shipments were crossing into Europe in 2024; enforcement of it is now shrinking just as the same ownership pattern turns up in three more supply chains.

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10409862

The BYD plant in Szeged is one of Europe’s largest Chinese automotive investments, but the build has in recent months been shadowed not only by its rapid pace, but by fatal and serious accidents, police investigations, and apparent disregard for workplace safety and environmental rules. While construction presses ahead at full tilt, more and more questions are being raised about whether the project is being carried out under proper safety conditions, and how Chinese guest workers and Hungarian subcontractors are being treated on site.

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Police investigation into 29 cases around the BYD plant

According to Magyar Hang, the Criminal Department of the Csongrád-Csanád County Police Headquarters is investigating a total of 29 cases connected to the BYD plant in Szeged. The proceedings were launched on suspicion of a range of offences, and in several instances relate to working conditions and events during the construction work.

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Two fatal accidents in a few months

The greatest concern has centred on the fatal workplace accidents. Two workers died at the construction site within a matter of months. The first fatal incident occurred during loading and crane operations. Later, another Chinese worker was killed after being hit by a lorry on the construction site.

Professional bodies have also spoken out about the two tragedies. In their view, while construction is inherently a hazardous industry, two fatal workplace accidents in such a short period are highly unusual even on a project of this scale.

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Safety concerns

Beyond the fatalities, there have been further accidents on the site. In one incident, several people were injured in a vehicle crash; on another occasion, a worker suffered serious injuries.

In light of the safety risks, professional organisations are calling for stricter occupational safety inspections. They say it is particularly important to establish whether all health and safety regulations are being observed during construction, and whether supervision of the work areas is adequate.

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Concerns deepen

The Orbán government had previously promised BYD management that it would bring in 10,000 guest workers for the project. According to Magyar Hang, however, BYD’s leadership is treating Chinese guest workers very badly. The New York-based China Labor Watch says it found conditions in Szeged that suggest forced labour.

Some guest workers were said to have worked all seven days of the week without a day off, on shifts lasting 9-12 hours a day. In the process, they reportedly exceeded the annual overtime limit, but nobody seemed to care. Part of their wages was also withheld. Many did not even have permission to work in Hungary. It is hardly surprising, then, that inspectors were seen on the site again last week.

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The authorities have also launched an investigation into breaches of environmental regulations. They found, for example, that humus-rich topsoil may have been removed from the site without the mandatory measurements and notification, and then spread over 20 hectares. On 10 per cent of that area, soil contaminated with alkylbenzenes was then laid, meaning the affected farmer must destroy the wheat grown there. Even so, BYD was fined only 10 million forints.

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Szijjártó is now working for BYD

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/numerous-investigations-byd-plant-szeged/ | DailyNewsHungary **Copying articles to share with others violates DailyNewsHungary's copyright policy. To request permission, please send an email to info@dailynewshungary.com.

Last week, Péter Szijjártó, the former minister of foreign affairs and trade, announced that he would continue his career as BYD’s new global head of external relations. Szijjártó played a major role in helping the investment choose Hungary in the first place, and it also received significant government support. Since BYD moved its European corporate and development headquarters to Budapest a few months ago, Szijjártó will not have far to travel for work.

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Magyar Hang notes, however, that in Western Europe this kind of post-government move is strictly restricted. “If a former state leader leaves politics and immediately goes to work for a company that places a premium on state connections — indeed, the Szeged BYD plant received billions in state support precisely during Szijjártó’s ministership — that represents a serious corruption risk and, at the same time, a conflict-of-interest problem”, it added.

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10409995

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As of July 1, 2026, the outdated duty exemption for shipments under 150 euros was eliminated [by new EU regulations]. Goods originating from third countries are now subject to a fixed customs fee of 3 euros per category within a package.

This measure aims to relieve the system, level the playing field for European entrepreneurs, and curb the negative trade balance. The fees are collected directly from the e-commerce platforms, not from consumers upon delivery, shifting the responsibility onto the major players rather than customs authorities.

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This decision is also driven by safety concerns. Studies from 2025 proved that over 60 percent of low-value goods from third countries do not meet EU safety standards, often containing toxic ingredients. The new regulations introduce an obligation to declare Product Identifiers (PID), which will make it easier to catch risky goods. Initially voluntary, this will become mandatory from November 2026.

As Patrycja Sass-Staniszewska, president of the Chamber of Digital Economy, points out, Polish and European companies have spent enormous sums (in Poland, around 171.5 billion PLN) to comply with EU requirements, such as GDPR, DAC7, or the Omnibus Directive, while Asian competition has so far remained outside this strict regime.

The 3-euro fee is merely a temporary measure. Ultimately, in July 2028, the EU Customs Data Hub will be launched, introducing fully automated standard customs rates, definitively closing the era of operational loopholes.

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The Chinese counterattack, or logistics evolution

EU regulations have hit hard, but it would be naive to think that Asian corporations will simply give up on the lucrative European market. Arkadiusz Filipowski from Fulfilio notes that feverish work is underway to adjust supply chains. Big tech from China is already implementing four fundamental strategies to successfully adapt to Brussels’ new policy.

The key move is shifting to a model of full warehouse support within the EU territory. Instead of sending millions of separate, duty-burdened packages directly from Shenzhen, goods are flowing into Europe in containers as bulk cargo.

Taxes and duties are paid collectively at EU borders, and giants like Shein or Temu are renting hundreds of thousands of square meters of warehouse space, particularly in western Poland and Hungary. As a result, a package for which the customer does not have to pay the new 3-euro fee reaches them from a Polish warehouse in 24-48 hours.

Another tactic is looking for logistics loopholes and geographical “border hopping.” This method exploits loopholes in the form of Western Balkan states and 14+1 format participants that remain outside the European Union. Goods land via cargo planes in Serbia, Albania, or Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they are subject to more lenient regulations. After being repackaged and given local labels, they enter the EU by land through less stringent border crossings.

The final element is an aggressive price war consisting of cost subsidization by major market players (such as PDD Holdings, the owner of Temu). Platforms take the burden of the new customs fees upon themselves or hide them in the product’s price, simultaneously offering virtual discount coupons. In clearance systems like IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop), there is still manipulation of customs values and goods categorization, allowing for additional minimization of fees. All of this is done so that the costs on the consumer’s side in the mobile app appear untouched.

Brussels, after years of dormancy, has decided to close the gates on the wave of Asian shipments. The introduced changes have caused immediate shock, but the Chinese trade ecosystem has already begun its counteroffensive. The coming months will show whether the EU consumer will unlearn buying the cheapest products, or if the transport routes will simply change.

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Archived

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10376285

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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