Yes, but it's important imo that Europe produces heat pumps and components itself rather than importing it from countries like China. It wouldn't make sense to replace dependence from Russian fossil fuels by dependence on Chinese technology.

The much bigger problem imo are the authoritarian states that pay the influencers for the propaganda.

Nah, the biggest problem are those authoritarian states actors that intentionally seek to undermine democratic societies by sowing division, inciting hatred, spreading false news.

Yes, I read this. Lula isn't so serious about protecting human rights as he claims to be. I hope Europe shows more consistency.

Edit:

What the link doesn't say why Brazil put China's BYD on list of shame for workers' past slavery-like conditions

Chinese workers hired by Jinjiang in Brazil had to hand over their passports to their new employer, let most ​of their wages be sent directly to China, and fork over an almost $900 deposit that they could only get back after ‌six ⁠months' work, according to a labor contract ...

A raid by labor inspectors also found the laborers living crammed in lodgings without mattresses. Thirty-one workers were crammed in a single house with only one bathroom and food piled up on the ground alongside personal belongings, in what inspectors said were "degrading conditions."

It's not difference to BYD Hungary, and it's reportedly even worse at BYD's Chinese factories.

Yes, but Spain appears to be 'special' in that Sanchez has taken over the government exactly on the promise of cleaning up Spanish politics, but now we can see that his Socialists are the same as the far-right. And they are collaborating in very sensitive areas with the largest dictatorship in history.

Yes, it's good that a few stand up for the right thing, but Pedro Sanchez is just standing up for himself. He has been attempting to sell Spain to China, a government not famous exactly for its positive human rights record (thankfully he was not always successful in this, but the Spanish judicial wiretap system now depends on Huawei). And the corruption scandals surrounding family members (like his brother; his wife just got banned from leaving the country) and close political allies have been piling up in recent years and months.

Sanchez talking about human rights and the rule of law feels like satire.

@[email protected]

You'll easily find alternative sources reporting on the issue.

the Chinese can cut off supply of new heat pumps, but all your existing heat pumps will still be there and will still work.

No. As someone already said, a remote control with the data on servers in China is apparently a bad idea. In addition, Europe must produce the pumps and its components on the continent where we have better labour rights and social welfare systems. We don't need cheap products made by slave labour with intransparent supply chains under a dictatorial regime.

@[email protected]

Political power. The incluencers are not so much a problem as the authoritarian states seeking to promote their propaganda.

Milosevic thought the same.

European Commission wants to accelerate establishment of "tribunal for Putin" for crime of aggression

Renta 4 analyst Nuria Alvarez said consumer credit would be a key driver for Spanish banking profitability in 2026, alongside corporate lending, asset management and insurance.

Good for banks?

The whole article looks at consumer loans rather than the economy, and the Spanish data doesn't look too good imo.

This is de facto a death sentence for the 'crime' of telling the truth.

There's no need to 'create' something I'm afraid. These recent allegations are by far not everything. There are corruption scandals related to Sanchez's government, political party, and even his family members.

Maybe we'll see a future of several global trade blocs with Cold War-like trade restrictions for dual-use goods between these blocs, accompanied by a tit-for-tat trade rather than deeper trade agreements?

Maybe the EU will have some free trade agreements (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korean,and maybe some countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America like the Mercosur members), and more tit-for-tat trade with all others?

Not necessarily 'de-coupling' but 'de-risking.' For Europe this would definitely mean EV, solar panels, cloud infrastructure, and other critical products will be made in Europe?

If this is the way, it will be not easy for Europe, but a disaster for China and the US in the long run as they rely heavily on Europe in their product trade and service industries, respectively.

Just my 2 cents.

I read this but what exactly is USA-centric here? The article is only citing Ukrainian sources if I didn't miss something, and it only mentions the U.S. briefly (talking about "EU and US controls" of sanctions). And given the EU is not exactly far away from Ukraine it's highly relevant I would say (even more than for the US imo).

What would you write differently if I may ask?

This @schizoidman is posting exclusively pro-China/pro-Russia and anti-Western content with mostly low-quality content and misleading titles (and sometimes from questionable far left-wing or far right-wing sources, their last post has been deleted here just a few minutes ago if I got that right).

What is this here?

‘Rapists and murderers’ in Russian army rampage while home from front

Russian soldiers at home have been killing, maiming, raping and looting at record rates since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The number of murders also appears to be increasing year-on-year. In 2025, the total sum was one-and-a-half times more than in 2024 and 16 times more than in the first year of the full-scale war.

Sexual violence committed by soldiers also climbed sharply. Between 2022 and 2025, courts reviewed 549 cases of rape and other forms of sexual assault. At least 312 involved minors and almost 250 involved young children under the age of 14. 2025 alone saw 248 cases, making it a record year.

Cases of robbery and looting, too, have seen distinct increases. 659 cases of robbery and armed robbery involving servicemen were filed from 2022 to the end of 2025. The real figure is likely to be many times higher, since looting in conflict zones and border regions rarely result in court cases or prosecutions.

The authors of the report caution that the real figures are likely to be far higher than the available data shows. Court records do not account for cases still being investigated and former soldiers are not included in the data ... There is also almost no data available from the occupied territories of Ukraine, where Russian soldiers are likely to feel an even greater sense of impunity in pillaging and committing violent and sexual crimes.

This appears to be a very good technology for Ukraine as far as I understand as a non-military person, but the title is weird in my opinion. But maybe it's just me.

What a weird comment.

This is very bad but, unfortunately, not new. We have seen this for some time.

The worst thing in this context likely is that Europe might still be better than other large polluters, especially the U.S., Russia, and China, the world's largest polluter.