Europe

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31373910

What emerges is that despite their different focal points, support for European values serves as a common denominator for most of these movements. What unites them is their opposition to corruption, democratic backsliding, and the concentration of power in the hands of elites.

[...]

These movements share important characteristics despite their different national contexts. All emerged in response to specific events: a train station collapse in Serbia, a pedophilia scandal in Hungary, a secret meeting with Putin in Slovakia, the rise of far-right euroscepticism in Romania, and the halting of EU negotiations in Georgia. Despite these different triggers, they all reflect deeper grievances about governance, with corruption and abuse of power emerging as common themes.

[...]

The European Union, in its own interest, should provide much clearer support to these movements rather than maintaining diplomatic distance or prioritizing short-term stability. By standing firmly with citizens who embody its core values on the streets, the EU would not only strengthen its moral authority but also invest in the democratic future of the entire continent. These courageous demonstrators are not just fighting for their own countries—they represent the living heart of the European project itself.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27093875

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/9460842

German newspaper article: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000262056/die-schallwaffe-von-serbiens-machthaber-wurde-identifiziert

Translation (DeepL + minor corrections):

The sonic weapon of Serbia's ruler has been identified

Recordings on social media show sound cannons on the riot police's off-road vehicles. The interior minister becomes entangled in contradictions.

The disturbing images of panic among the peaceful participants at a protest rally in Belgrade went around the world. In numerous videos show thousands of people suddenly trying to escape and trying to flee and stumbling over each other. Some of them fall.

An extremely shrill sound can be heard in the videos. There are many indications the use of a sound weapon by the large contingent of Serbian riot police. Serbian riot police represented in the large contingent. The regime of President Aleksandar Vučić denied any use of such a weapon, DER STANDARD reported.

However, images emerged on Wednesday that contradict the official account from Belgrade. On the images, which were shared by opposition politician Marinika Tepić on X can be seen in police off-road vehicles on which so-called are clearly fitted with so-called Long-Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD). As research by several Serbian daily newspapers has revealed, this is likely to be that this is a product of the US company Genasys.

Weapon for psychological warfare

Specifically, the Serbian police are said to have used an LRAD 450XL. This is, despite its name, a device in the medium size category. Officially the device is marketed as completely harmless: according to a video from the manufacturer, it is a powerful speaker with an MP3 player.

The speaker is designed to make announcements which, according to the manufacturer Genasys are still understandable at 1700 meters distance. The fact that that it can also be used to quell protests is indicated by the sound the sound pressure levels: Sounds at 145 decibels are said to be continuously continuously for over eight hours thanks to the built-in rechargeable battery. Sounds can be reproduced at a relatively sharp angle of 15 or 30 degrees.

Loud noises above 85 decibels are already harmful to human hearing. Acute acoustic trauma can occur from 140 decibels. A fraction of a second is enough to damage the hearing. The weapons are marketed as “non-lethal” and manufacturers do not mention permanent hearing damage.

What the manufacturer only briefly mentions in the official product video is the button for the alarm sound. Only when you click further through the website, it becomes clear that the device is mainly sold to armies or police units. According to the manufacturer 100 countries and over 500 police authorities in the USA are already using such sonic weapons.

The LRAD 450XL is also advertised as a device for psychological warfare: It can be used to acoustically simulate the sounds of gunfire or even even entire battles acoustically. Something that conventional loudspeakers fail, according to the website. The “loudspeaker” also makes it possible to immediately create an acoustic “safety corridor” and disperse crowds of people.

On the hood

The device has a magnetic stand. This allows the weapon to be mounted on the hood of a car. In the case of the material that has now emerged, this is on the Defender jeeps of the Serbian police.

Remote control is also possible. The manufacturer offers a kit for wireless control from a distance of around 200 meters. This is consistent with the statements of the anonymous police officer in the Danas report: he stated that several such weapons were used during the mass protests on Saturday.

Interior Minister Ivica Dačić confirmed on Tuesday that the police have sonic weapons. These were purchased in 2021 and are the property of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior. However, they are not used according to the Minister of the Interior: “These systems (...) have not been neither put into operation nor installed in any of our vehicles or systems installed,” Dačić told Danas.

Sonic cannon? Yes, no, maybe

The police sources quoted by the publication contradict this account. All major police stations in Serbia would have sonic weapons, they say. Research by the newspaper Vreme also comes to the same conclusion.

Dačić had previously stated that the Ministry of the Interior had neither a sonic cannon nor similar sonic weapons. It was later said that this claim was “clumsy”. “What was meant was that the Ministry of the Interior has not included this instrument in its arsenal of means of coercion,” Dačić explained. And: “These systems are in boxes in our warehouses.” On Wednesday afternoon, things sounded different again: yes, sonic weapons were available, but they had only been used as loudspeakers, Dačić explained at a press conference.

President Aleksandar Vučić had categorically ruled out the possibility that the Serbian army had sonic cannons. A diversionary tactic, because it is obviously not the army, but the police police that uses such systems.

At the same time, Vučić announced legal action against all those who accuse the police of using such weapons. Furthermore it was said that a drone gun had triggered the panic, which is highly doubtful from a technical point of view. In principle, drone guns are nothing more than jammers, and these are completely harmless to humans.

“At a moment when everyone was quiet, when thousands and thousands and thousands of people were completely peaceful and not threatening anyone, you come up with the idea of demonstrating violence. That is an attack on on your own people,” says military analyst Aleksandar Radić, sharply criticizing the use of a sonic weapon. (Peter Zellinger, 19.3.2025)

TelegrafRS without much content: https://www.telegraf.rs/english/4075115-this-is-the-device-filmed-close-to-the-assembly-this-is-how-the-communication-tool-works

LRAD-450XL manual: https://genasys.com/content/uploads/2021/08/LRAD-450XL_D00101-Rev.-B_3-4.pdf

Miran Pogačars Video: https://x.com/MiranPogacar/status/1902310681988255912

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26985200

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/24070601

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.18-150511/https://www.ft.com/content/aedd1e6b-fb4f-41fd-af10-af9dce6f88dc

The European Commission is seeking to set up collective arms purchasing for the entire bloc, in what would represent a significant transfer of power to Brussels.

Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU’s executive, said on Tuesday that the bloc would set up a “European Military Sales Mechanism” — a strategic reserve of European weaponry that capitals could purchase from to refill their own inventories. 

The initiative is part of the continent’s rearmament drive and aims to provide additional orders for arms manufacturers which have struggled to scale up production despite Russia’s war in Ukraine.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/9411140

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/24069568

Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday, March 18, passed a law banning Pride events and allowing authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attendees, continuing a crackdown by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's right-wing populist party on the country's LGBTQ+ community.

The measure passed in a 136-27 vote. The law, supported by Orbán's Fidesz party and their minority coalition partner the Christian Democrats, was pushed through parliament in an accelerated procedure after being submitted only a day earlier.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31224643

Archived link

Kallas and the foreign ministers of the 27 EU Member States discussed the potential financial gap for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty at their monthly meeting in Brussels.

The Estonian politician, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, described as “sad” the news that the US government is withdrawing its financial support for the radio station, which she called a “beacon of democracy.”

[...]

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was founded in the early years of the Cold War to promote democratic values to listeners in Eastern Bloc countries and the Soviet Union.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26999259

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/24045220

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.18-050128/https://www.ft.com/content/7fed8f2b-98c7-43c6-88b3-d66be449bfac

Macron has repeatedly stressed that a French president would always have ultimate power to decide whether to use the bomb — the same applies to Britain and the US within Nato.

Together, British and French nuclear capabilities would at least make Moscow think twice about attacking, said a senior western official. 

However, “what really influences Russian decision-making is the scale of US deterrence”, he said. Europe would need at least a decade of spending at around 6-7 per cent of GDP if it wanted to emulate that and acquire another 1,000 warheads, he added.

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/27088970

• [PDF] Letter.

Nearly 100 orgs plead for homegrown lifeline amid geopolitical tensions

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/post/549132

An intro to Russian propaganda with some words of wisdom at the end.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/post/547173

Belgrade authorities have used sound weapons on the crowd of protesters. The video description has some educational links.

There are lots of videos around.

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/37234783

Democracy in Southeastern Europe is struggling as Romania becomes the EU's only "hybrid regime" amid rising ultranationalism, controversial political figures and ongoing protests across the region, all fuelled by Moscow and Washington.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31170488

US authorities have turned to Europe for help with the country's severe egg shortage. The shortfall is due to bird flu, which has plagued the United States for several years.

The Finnish Poultry Association says it has been contacted about exporting eggs to the US. The organisation's executive director, Veera Lehtilä, told Yle on Saturday that exporting eggs does not seem to be possible at the moment because no market access negotiations have been held with US authorities. This can be a drawn-out process involving extensive inspections and studies.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26937940

The group that drafted a key blueprint for Donald Trump’s second term convened a meeting in Washington D.C. this week to consider proposals for bulldozing the European Union (EU).

The Polish investigative outlet VSquare revealed that the Heritage Foundation gathered hardline conservative groups on 11 March to hear how they would overhaul the current structures of the EU.

The “closed-door workshop” featured a debate on a new paper produced by the lobby groups MCC and Ordo Iuris entitled: “The Great Reset: Restoring Member State Sovereignty in the 21st Century”.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/23960819

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.16-042727/https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/ukraine-peace-deal-is-on-trump-time-putin-may-miss-his-moment-n58zc7glm

The Russian president is buying time before a ceasefire deal is struck. Will his big opportunity slip away?

Faced with the proposal of a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is doing what he does best: creative dithering. By saying that he is broadly in favour but “there are nuances” which need “painstaking research on both sides”, he is in effect delaying having to accept or reject the proposal. He may be hoping to buy time to get the best deal, but the fear in Moscow is that he will lose the opportunity altogether.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/23962155

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.16-112421/https://www.ft.com/content/38de65f3-6ea1-4056-856c-601f71bb1cb3

Just two months ago, Switzerland’s new defence minister was seen as an outsider with little chance of securing a federal government post.

But Martin Pfister, an army colonel and cantonal minister who advocates for more defence co-operation with Natoand EU neighbours, is set to take office next month after defeating a more conservative rival earlier this week.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31129928

Archived

[...]

At a briefing in Brussels, a European diplomat emphasized that the EU is working to ensure Ukraine holds a stronger position in peace negotiations.

[...]

[An EU] diplomat [...] expressed the view that during a potential ceasefire, Ukraine should be armed rather than disarmed.

"Fighting is still ongoing, but even if there is a pause, Ukraine must be turned into a 'steel porcupine,'" [another] EU diplomat emphasized.

He added that it is crucial to put Ukraine in a strong position for negotiations. Moreover, it is necessary to prevent Russia from using a "second chance" to regroup and launch another attack.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/58519775

Organisers said the pro-Europe rally, which filled Rome’s central Piazza del Popolo with at least 30,000 people, reunited Italians on different sides and voting for opposite parties “in the name of democracy”.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27232360

https://archive.ph/mhPRN