World
After coal, the EU faces an uphill battle to ban Russian oil and gas
The European Union has dared to interrupt a taboo that just a few months in the past would have been unthinkable: banning Russian fossil fuels, the valuable provides on which the bloc so closely relies upon.
The novel measure got here solely after leaders have been confronted with brutal photographs of indiscriminate killings in Bucha, a suburb close to Kyiv. The bloodbath triggered a global outcry and raised probably the most critical accusations but of battle crimes levelled towards Moscow, who vigorously denied any involvement.
Upon seeing the horrors of Bucha, member states determined to self-impose a 120-day deadline to utterly section out imports of Russian coal. The bottom-breaking transfer was meant to enhance earlier rounds of sanctions and assist cripple the Kremlin’s battle machine: the sale of fossil gas represents Russia’s major income, contributing to over 40% of the federal finances.
However whereas the announcement from Brussels obtained preliminary reward, it was shortly eclipsed by the inaction taken towards Moscow’s two most worthwhile exports: oil and fuel.
Final yr, EU purchases of Russian coal amounted to €5.16 billion, a determine that pales compared to the €71 billion spent on petroleum oils and the €16.3 spent on fuel.
The ability crunch that besets the continent since late summer time has additional inflated the hefty vitality invoice. In keeping with Bruegel, a Brussels-based economics suppose tank, the EU is at present paying Russia €450 million for its oil and €400 million for its fuel – every day.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s overseas coverage chief, denounced the staggering expenditure earlier than the European Parliament, telling MEPs the bloc has spent €35 billion on Russian fossil fuels for the reason that Ukraine battle started and simply €1 billion on overseas help destined to the Kyiv authorities.
That very same week, the parliament handed with overwhelming help a non-biding decision calling for an “rapid full embargo on Russian imports of oil, coal, nuclear gas and fuel.”
The attraction mirrored that of Poland and the Baltics, who’ve for weeks been main the general public marketing campaign to abruptly slash Russian vitality, arguing the stoppage is the one solution to inflict actual ache on President Vladimir Putin and pressure him to barter a ceasefire.
Though the Jap camp has gained new followers in current days, together with Finland’s Sanna Marin and France’s Emmanuel Macron, the heated dialog is way from settled.
“We’re supporting and really financing Russia’s battle,” Marin stated final month.
On the opposite aspect of the desk, Germany and Austria, who’re closely reliant on Russian fuels, have come ahead with their considerations concerning a complete embargo. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned a sudden cut-off would plunge “all of Europe right into a recession” and his Austrian counterpart, Karl Nehammer, stated sanctions are efficient once they “don’t weaken these imposing sanctions towards the one who’s conducting battle.”
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán upped the ante and vowed to veto any try and impose an vitality embargo as a result of, in his view, it could “kill” his nation. (Hungary did approve the coal ban.)
However as Moscow exhibits no indicators of giving up the invasion and experiences exposing the battle’s brutality proceed to emerge and outrage, the EU realises the pivotal debate can not be postponed. The extraordinary political unity achieved among the many 27 member states to face as much as Putin’s aggression faces now its best check.
Oil ban and the market’s geopolitics
Russia is the world’s third largest oil producer behind the US and Saudi Arabia, placing out about 10.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil.
Europe is by far its major consumer: the continent buys 2.4 million crude barrels each day, along with 1.4 million bpd in different refined merchandise. Germany and the Netherlands alone devour 1.1 million bpd.
This makes Russia the EU’s high oil provider, making up over 25% of complete imports and leading to greater than €70 billion spent in 2021.
The Druzhba pipeline, an enormous conduit operated by Russia’s state-controlled large Transneft, brings over 1,000,000 each day barrels on to refineries in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, which then flip the black gold into diesel, naphtha, gasoline and lubricants.
The pipeline has been in place for the reason that Nineteen Sixties and has fostered a excessive diploma of interdependency between the 2 sides, who depend on continued and common provides to maintain enterprise working.
However Druzhba, which sarcastically means “friendship,” just isn’t the one door the EU has to welcome suppliers. The bloc receives the vast majority of oil imports by its ports, reminiscent of Rotterdam and La Havre, the place tankers unload 1000’s of crude oil barrels and tonnes of refined merchandise.
Ought to the EU resolve to chop off Russian oil, these ports could be key to bypass the bodily pipelines and assure provides maintain flowing after the embargo is launched.
“There are just a few refineries sitting on this [Druzhba] pipeline who must be probably the most uncovered to a stopping in Russia flows,” Ben McWilliams, a analysis analyst at Bruegel, instructed Euronews.
“Whereas among the different refineries that are on ports could have a neater time changing Russian oil imports as a result of, somewhat than a ship carrying crude oil from Russia, you get a ship carrying crude oil from the Center East. And with some constraints, you are in a position to exchange crude oil on this means.”
The bloc would wish to leverage its energy as a rich single market to safe the required provides from different oil-producing nations, together with Norway, Algeria, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to compensate for the massive lack of Russian oil.
Sealing these offers might show tough, because the Group of the Petroleum Exporting International locations (OPEC), along with Moscow, has been limiting manufacturing for the reason that onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming world demand continues to be unstable and beneath stress from the virus.
“Thus far, OPEC nations usually are not growing provide at the next charge than they have been previous to the battle, which is, from an financial perspective, fairly unusual given the costs are over $100 a barrel,” McWilliams stated.
“That is seemingly largely on account of different geopolitical causes and never nice relations, significantly with America and the Saudis and the UAE, associated to what goes on within the Yemen battle, which implies they’re much less seemingly to assist out the US and its allies.”
OPEC has already warned an embargo on Russian oil would create an enormous market shock akin to the Nineteen Seventies vitality disaster, which prompted a protracted, painful interval of stagflation within the West.
“We might probably see the lack of greater than seven million barrels per day of Russian oil and different liquids exports,” OPEC Secretary Common Mohammad Barkindo instructed EU officers in a current assembly in Vienna, in accordance with a duplicate of his speech seen by Reuters.
“Contemplating the present demand outlook, it could be almost inconceivable to interchange a loss in volumes of this magnitude.”
The difficult circumstances have given rise to middleman concepts that fall wanting a complete embargo however that will however squeeze the Kremlin’s battle chest.
Among the many newest proposals mentioned by member states is the opportunity of slapping an onerous tariff on Russian oil imports, a burden that would scale back demand throughout the bloc and pressure Russian corporations to promote barrels at discounted costs. One other thought floated is the institution of an escrow account into which the bloc would funnel a few of its vitality funds.
Whereas the political debate stays caught in an deadlock, the personal sector is taking issues into its personal fingers. A few of Europe’s main oil corporations, reminiscent of Shell, BP, TotalEnergies and Neste, have began the method to wean themselves off Russian oil, fearing reputational harm and tit-for-tat retaliation for Western sanctions.
Fuel ban and the bounds of diversification
The daunting process of banning Russian oil and all its fearsome penalties are quickly dwarfed by the better dilemma of banning Russian fuel.
Final yr, the EU imported 155 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Russian fuel, fulfilling about 40% of the bloc’s consumption. In contrast to oil, the place cargos simply transport provide from port to port, the overwhelming majority of Russian fuel travels to the EU by a community of above-ground and underwater pipelines.
Many member states have grown accustomed to this massive infrascture. In nations like Germany, Austria, Finland, Hungary and Bulgaria, Russia enjoys a dominant place because the prime or sole fuel provider. Germany has direct entry to Nord Stream, a pipeline that brings over 55 bcm a yr.
This entrenched dependency has pushed the EU in the direction of a costlier various, liquified pure fuel (LNG), which requires subtle terminals that remodel the cooled-down liquid again to fuel.
As tensions ratcheted up alongside the Ukraine border within the weeks previous the invasion, the bloc started to spice up its LNG purchases, breaking all-time data when it comes to quantity. A current political partnership between the EU and the US will present the bloc with an additional 15 bcm of America-made LNG. The deal builds upon a separate roadmap unveiled by the European Fee that goals to purchase 50 bcm by the top of 2022.
However these formidable plans are designed to step by step lower the EU’s reliance on Russian fuel, to not abolish it in a single day. The bloc’s LNG terminals are inconsistently distributed: the bulk is concentred in coastal nations like Spain and Italy, leaving inland nations indifferent from the system.
“For the reason that begin of the battle, the European fuel market has been very tight,” Zongqiang Luo, an analyst at consultancy Rystad Power, instructed Euronews.
“All of the regasification terminals in Europe are nearly working on the full capability. Particularly for the final months, the speed was to the tune of 100% utilisation or near 95% for using fuel terminals.”
On high of a restricted processing capability, the EU has to cope with a fierce worldwide demand for LNG. Whereas the bloc’s consumption of pipeline fuel accounts for over 75% of the worldwide market, the share falls to 16% with regards to LNG, in accordance with the Commission.
Luo believes the EU might overcome this drawback if it provides a “very excessive premium worth” that might persuade Asian patrons to resell their provides to their European opponents. Nonetheless, the skilled notes, it is going to nonetheless be “actually onerous” for the EU to meets its fuel storage wants with out Russian pipeline fuel.
“You may see the European Union is searching for different pipeline alternate options, just like the African fuel from Algeria and in addition the fuel provides from Azerbaijan and, in fact, Norway,” Luo stated.
Norwegian vitality operator Equinor and its companions have dedicated to bump provides to EU nations, whereas Italy and Argelia have struck a deal to usher in an additional 9 bcm between 2023 and 2024.
However the sudden diversification push could be sufficient to make up for under half of the 155 bcm of fuel the bloc will get from Russia, McWilliams warned. Governments could be subsequently compelled to “ask households to cooperate” to deliver client demand considerably down.
“It’s attainable to avoid wasting fuel by turning on the heating barely and by being smart with using vitality. It is also going to contain talking to business and a few business must shut down durations of time to handle this,” he stated, hinting some nations must rethink their nuclear phase-out.
The halt in manufacturing, which has already occurred in some sectors on account of hovering electrical energy payments, will precipitate a dramatic financial slowdown and presumably a recession, the EU’s third within the final two years.
Goldman Sachs estimates a complete embargo on Russian fuel might see the eurozone’s GDP plunge by 2.2 share factors this yr, successfully wiping out the whole 2.5% progress of its up to date forecast.
World
Justin Baldoni Sued by Former Publicist Amid Blake Lively Scandal
Justin Baldoni‘s former publicist sued him, his company and his current publicity team on Tuesday, amid a spiraling scandal over an alleged smear campaign against Baldoni’s “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively.
Steph Jones, who owns Jonesworks, accused Baldoni of breaching their contract, which required him to pay her $25,000 per month. Baldoni dropped the firm in August, a few months into a year-long deal, after his Jonesworks publicist, Jennifer Abel, left the company to start her own publicity firm.
Jones also sued Abel and publicist Melissa Nathan, accusing them of implementing the smear campaign against Lively behind her back and without her knowledge. She alleges that they are now trying to blame her for the ensuing meltdown.
“To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light, and to defame and attack Jones in the industry,” the lawsuit states.
Lively filed a complaint on Saturday with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni and his publicists of orchestrating negative coverage about her in retaliation for her complaints of sexual harassment on set.
In the complaint, Lively accused Baldoni of a catalog of sexually inappropriate comments and behavior that allegedly took place on set in 2023. According to the complaint, she raised these issues through her attorneys before filming, which had been suspended during the Hollywood strikes, resumed earlier this year.
The rift between Baldoni and Lively became apparent during the publicity tour for the film last summer. Baldoni feared that Lively or her team would public accuse him of sexual misconduct, and sought ways to combat that. The complaint quoted extensively from text messages among Baldoni’s publicity team, in which they plotted to “bury” Lively.
In an unusual move, Lively’s attorneys obtained the messages by sending a pre-litigation subpoena to Jones.
Abel, Nathan, and Baldoni are represented by attorney Bryan Freedman. On Monday, Freedman threatened to sue Jones for releasing the contents of Abel’s phone to Lively’s legal team. Freedman, Abel and Nathan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jones’ suit.
In her lawsuit, Jones relates that she “forensically preserved” Abel’s company phone after Abel was fired.
“Abel and Nathan’s covert take down and smear campaigns were revealed in black and white on Abel’s company-issued phone following her termination, which Jonesworks forensically preserved and examined in detail after receiving a subpoena for the phone’s contents,” Jones’ suit states. “Jones discovered the breadth and intensity of Abel and Nathan’s duplicity from these records, including that Abel was actively encouraging other Jonesworks clients and employees to leave Jonesworks while Abel was still employed there.”
Jones’ suit alleges that Abel conspired for months to leave her company and to “steal” her clients and trash her reputation in the industry. She accuses Nathan of encouraging Abel to leave, because Nathan would then have greater access to those clients.
“This scheme ultimately inflicted serious damage on Jones and Jonesworks,” states the lawsuit, which was filed in state court in New York.
Among other things, the suit alleges that Abel and Nathan planted negative stories about Jones in the press, including an article in Business Insider that was published last summer.
The suit alleges breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty and defamation.
World
Police officer dressed as the 'Grinch' steals Christmas spirit during drug bust
A Peruvian police officer dressed as the Grinch, the cantankerous and green-furred villain, busted suspected drug traffickers in the South American country’s capital days before Christmas.
The operation in San Bartolo in Lima resulted in the arrest of three suspects, according to a video posted online by the Peruvian National Police.
“In an ingenious operation, agents of the Green Squad arrested the aliases La Reina del Sur, La Coneja and Pote, alleged members of the La Mafia de San Bartolo gang, dedicated to drug dealing,” a police post on X states. “Various narcotics were seized.”
FLORIDA MAN WHO WAS HALF-NAKED, ‘HIGH ON METH’ BREAKS INTO HOME, GRABS CARPET CLEANER
Using what appeared to be a sledgehammer, the officer walked down the street dressed as the infamous Christmas villain with a small heart before breaking down the front door of a home and entering, according to the video footage.
The suspects were arrested, and the “Grinch” is seen rummaging through various items in the home before finding what authorities said were illegal drugs and other items related to drug trafficking.
MORE THAN $31M OF METH CONCEALED IN SHIPMENT OF PEPPERS SEIZED AT TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER
Peru is the second-largest producer of cocaine and cultivator of coca in the world, according to the State Department.
“The majority of cocaine produced in Peru is transported to South American countries for domestic consumption, or for onward shipment to Europe, the United States, East Asia, and Mexico,” the State Department website said.
Peru’s national police force has carried out similar operations in the past.
On Halloween 2023, officers disguised as horror favorites Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Tiffany Valentine, the murderous doll in the “Child’s Play” series, also broke into the home of alleged drug dealers.
World
Are your Christmas gifts ready? Here are where EU toys come from
While the EU saw a drop in toy exports, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion.
In 2023, the EU imported €6.5 billion worth of toys from countries outside the bloc, a €2 billion decrease compared to 2022.
According to the latest Eurostat figures, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion.
Vietnam followed with 6% and the United Kingdom with 2%.
Around a fifth of the EU’s toy imports ended up in Germany, while France and the Netherlands received 16% and 14%, respectively.
At the same time, the EU exported €2.3 billion worth of toys in 2023.
This figure represents a slight decrease of €0.2 billion from the previous year.
More than half of the toys exported from the EU came from the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium.
The UK was the top destination for EU toy exports, receiving 30% of the total, followed by Switzerland at 13% and the United States at 10%.
Concerns over toy safety
A recent Toy Industries of Europe study revealed that 80% of toys purchased from third-party sellers on online marketplaces failed to meet EU safety standards.
The research tested over 100 toys from various platforms, uncovering serious health risks such as choking hazards and toxic chemicals.
At the beginning of September, the European Parliament backed a proposal to improve the safety of toys available on the EU market.
The proposal focused particularly on decreasing the number of unsafe toys in the EU market and better protecting children from toy-related risks, including banning harmful chemicals in toys.
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