Latest news with #Baltic
Irish Post
22 minutes ago
- Business
- Irish Post
Ireland is now officially one of the most expensive countries in the EU
IRELAND is the second most costly country in the EU for everyday goods and services, according to new figures from Eurostat. Prices are nearly 40% above the EU average, up from 28% in 2015, with only Denmark beating out Ireland to the top spot. Ireland is the most expensive in the EU for tobacco and alcohol – with prices more than double the average - driven by high taxes and minimum unit pricing. Alcohol overall is the second most expensive in the bloc, only behind Finland. Food and drinks cost nearly 15% more than the EU average, making Ireland the third most expensive, after Denmark and Luxembourg. However, this marks an improvement from 2020, when prices were 20% above the average. Hotel and restaurant prices are also high, ranking second in the EU at nearly 30% above the average. Communication costs are almost 40% higher, while electricity and gas are nearly 20% above the norm, placing Ireland third in energy costs. Although in contrast, clothing prices are 1% below the EU average and cheaper than many Baltic countries. The data also included non-EU nations like Iceland and Norway, which typically report even higher costs. Daragh Cassidy from the website Bonkers said the data confirms what many already know: Ireland is expensive. Businesses face high insurance and energy costs, which get passed on to consumers. Cassidy added that while Ireland is unlikely to ever be a cheap country, high costs often come with a high standard of living - as seen in places like Scandinavia. He suggested lowering the 23% VAT rate to help ease the burden, which remains one of the highest in the world. See More: Bonkers, Cost Of Living, Daragh Cassidy, EU, Eurostat
See - Sada Elbalad
an hour ago
- Politics
- See - Sada Elbalad
Finland Approves Withdrawal from Anti-Personnel Landmine Treaty
Israa Farhan Finland's parliament has voted in favor of withdrawing from the international treaty banning the use of anti-personnel landmines, aligning the country with several of its NATO neighbors amid growing security concerns in the region. The decision, passed on Thursday with 157 votes in favour and only 8 against, will officially take effect six months after Finland formally notifies the United Nations. The move signals a significant shift in defense policy as Finland reconsiders its military strategies in response to heightened regional tensions. Several of Finland's NATO allies, including the Baltic states—Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia—as well as Poland, have already withdrawn from the treaty. The Finnish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee had approved the proposal earlier in April, paving the way for the vote. The Finnish military has argued that maintaining the option to use anti-personnel mines is essential for national defense. This perspective has gained traction in recent years as the security environment in Northern and Eastern Europe has evolved rapidly. The treaty, formally known as the Ottawa Convention, came into force in March 1999. It prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. Finland joined the treaty in 2012 but had maintained reservations about its limitations in military defiance scenarios. Major global powers, including the United States, Russia, China, India, and Pakistan, have never signed the treaty, citing security and strategic concerns. Finland's decision to withdraw places it in closer alignment with NATO's evolving defense posture, particularly along its eastern flank, as the alliance continues to adapt to rising geopolitical challenges. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan Technology 50-Year Soviet Spacecraft 'Kosmos 482' Crashes into Indian Ocean News 3 Killed in Shooting Attack in Thailand
Bloomberg
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Russian Threat Looms Over Denmark's Democracy Festival
The warm scent of smoked fish and tangy rye bread drifted through the crowd as Denmark's crisis minister, Torsten Schack Pedersen, tied on a long apron and stepped behind a pop-up kitchen counter in Allinge on the Danish island of Bornholm. With his sleeves rolled up, he reached for tins of peppered kippers — his personal favorite, he eagerly admitted — and began crafting his take on a smørrebrød, Denmark's beloved open-faced sandwich. But the point wasn't just to showcase his culinary skills. Pedersen was demonstrating how to make a tasty meal using the shelf-stable ingredients every Dane is now advised to stockpile in case of a national emergency such as a power blackout or military engagement. The moment captured the mood — festive but shadowed by security concerns — underpinning this year's Folkemødet, Denmark's annual democracy festival on Bornholm, also known as 'sunshine island.' Each year, the Baltic outpost attracts tens of thousands of people to mingle with politicians, diplomats and business leaders, often seen here in sneakers and shades, beer in hand, chatting with regular folks. The atmosphere is like a street fair complete with DJ battles, policy quizzes and grilled sausages.
Local Germany
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Local Germany
European countries announce joint action against Russia's 'shadow fleet'
According to a statement from Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom had met to discuss the issue on Thursday. "We have agreed to further strengthen our cooperation and ensure a joint and coordinated approach by our national authorities to address Russia's shadow fleet," the statement said. The countries had committed to "compile a common set of guidelines in line with international law to promote responsible behaviour at sea, strengthen compliance with international law, and ensure transparency across maritime operations." Security analysts say Russia is operating a large "shadow fleet" of hundreds of vessels, seeking to dodge the sanctions Western nations imposed on its oil exports over the war in Ukraine. Several undersea Baltic cables were damaged last year, with many experts calling it part of a "hybrid war" carried out by Russia against Western countries. "If vessels fail to fly a valid flag in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, we will take appropriate action within international law," the statement said. Advertisement It added that "stateless vessels, including those falsely claiming to fly a flag," lack a responsible flag state and do not have the same rights entitled to them under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In January, NATO announced the deployment of ships, aircraft and drones in a Baltic Sea operation in response to damage to several submarine cables, but the operation requires considerable human and material resources. In the face of these threats, the transatlantic organisation wants to strengthen its fleet of unmanned surveillance ships in the Baltic Sea as part of its operation "Task Force X".
Spectator
6 hours ago
- Business
- Spectator
Is Iran about to choke the West's energy supply?
Nato has learned nothing from Russia's energy blackmail – and Iran is about to prove it. With precision warheads and hypersonic payloads tearing Israeli and Iranian skies, you might think we're witnessing the next frontier in modern warfare. But it's an old game, played with old rules. And once again, Tehran reaches for its well-worn lever of power: energy blackmail. Already, markets are twitching. Crude has jumped over 10 per cent Senior Iranian officials, including Revolutionary Guard commander Esmail Kowsari, have warned that, if Israeli attacks continue, Tehran will not only exit the non-proliferation treaty (thus tearing up its last fig-leaf of nuclear restraint), but will also close the Strait of Hormuz. That's no idle bluster. A third of the world's oil and a fifth of its liquefied natural gas flows through this 21-mile corridor. Already, markets are twitching. Crude has jumped over 10 per cent. Should the blockade materialise, some project $150-a-barrel oil: a level unseen even during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Faced with this looming storm, Nato has chosen…silence. There's been the usual call for de-escalation, but Secretary-General Mark Rutte leans on Washington to act. As for the upcoming Nato summit next week, the agenda appears to be more focused on Russia and defence budgets. Iran barely makes a footnote. This is staggering. Europe's last encounter with Moscow's weaponisation of energy should have been a wake-up call. Cyberattacks and sabotage targeted LNG terminals, undersea pipelines, and critical infrastructure. It devastated industrial output and cost Europe hundreds of billions of pounds. Yet Nato's energy strategy remains anaemic, overly reactive and built around tabletop scenarios rather than hardened defences. Space and cyberspace are treated as frontline domains. Energy, bizarrely, isn't. That strategic blind spot has consequences. All Iran needs to do is plant doubt. The markets will recoil. Oil prices will spike. Russia, as Tehran's close ally, will pocket the windfall, doubling down in Ukraine with fresh funds. And while Hamas and Hezbollah may now be spent forces from Tehran's perspective, Iran still has foxes in the field, particularly in Africa, where the Polisario Front remains a useful partner. This is why Nato cannot afford to palm off responsibility to the Americans and sleepwalk into another energy crisis. The economic and political costs are simply too high. What's needed is a harder-nosed energy doctrine. The long-term answer lies in renewables. The West must sprint, not stumble, toward clean energy independence. But in the short term, we must secure reliable energy flows from more reliable partners in North Africa and North America. It also means investing heavily in dual-use energy-defence infrastructure. LNG ports like those in Świnoujście and Klaipėda on the Baltic, sit at the fault lines of the next potential hybrid assault. These sites must be shielded with cybersecurity and military bulwarks, especially as energy routes become prime targets in future conflicts. If one ally's energy infrastructure is sabotaged, it must trigger a collective Nato response Nato must also draw a new red line. A legislative revolution, no less: an Energy Article 5. If one ally's energy infrastructure is sabotaged, it must trigger a collective Nato response. This would signal clearly that energy blackmail won't be tolerated. Of course, this demands more than lofty declarations. Political will is one thing; paying for it is another. Nato's push for 5 per cent of GDP on defence sounds bold until you remember it took decades just to drag most members to the 2 per cent baseline. But for all the alarm it causes with Hormuz sabre-rattling, the Gulf region may hold the solution to the problem, becoming one of the West's most important energy investors. After all, Gulf states like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are awash with capital. They know the clock is ticking on oil. That's why they're pouring billions into renewables, infrastructure, and energy technology across the West. Look at Masdar, the UAE's clean energy powerhouse, which recently raised $1 billion (£740 million) to fund 100 GW of renewables, including major projects in Germany and the Baltic Sea. Or Qatar's 20-year LNG deal with Germany, signed at the height of the energy panic. Then there's ADNOC, Abu Dhabi's national oil company. It recently finalised a $16 billion (£12 billion) deal to acquire Covestro, a German chemicals firm battered by the gas crisis. It's also planning to invest a staggering $440 billion (£320 billion) over the next decade in U.S. energy, spanning LNG terminals, renewables, and petrochemicals. Its current $19 billion (£14 billion) bid for Australian gas producer Santos further expands this global footprint. These are vital acts of strategic underwriting. They help insulate Western economies from hostile actors, and they show that energy security needn't rest solely on the state's shoulders. Private capital, deployed wisely, can be a force multiplier. The U.S. has already secured over $2 trillion (£1.5 trilion) in Gulf investment, so why the sluggishness elsewhere? Nato should be chasing these deals with equal urgency. There's a clear path here: a hybrid strategy of asymmetric leverage, using capital to reinforce energy defences. If Nato can't spend its way to resilience, it must attract the money that will. We cannot delay until the next crisis comes knocking. Because once Iran shows the West how energy can humble empires, every rogue regime will come hunting for the spigot.
