Atomic lobby seizes on Spanish blackout
The EU's atomic allies are claiming that having more nuclear energy coursing through the grid can help ensure a stable power supply to back up renewable sources like wind and solar.
'If you want a lot of power and you want it to be fossil-free, then nuclear is your pick,' Swedish Industry and Energy Minister Ebba Busch said in an interview.
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Specialists and other officials, including those in Spain, aren't convinced. While they concede that having more overall power can aid in certain circumstances, they aren't convinced nuclear energy would have prevented Monday's outage, which was caused by a sudden loss of power in the Iberian grid. Europe's grids, like those in Spain, need upgrades, better linkages and more storage tech like batteries to keep power stable, they stress.
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Washington Post
7 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Europe pushes hard to sway Trump before Alaska summit with Putin on Ukraine
BRUSSELS — European leaders are seeking to impress upon President Donald Trump one key point before he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday: The West cannot — must not — negotiate away Ukrainian territory, especially for nothing in return. As Trump floats 'land swaps,' Kyiv's European backers have rejected a Russian proposal to trade Ukrainian land for an undefined truce. And they have issued declarations that 'international borders must not be changed by force.' European leaders are set to press their priorities in a call with Trump on Wednesday, organized by Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which will include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The call is intended to shape Trump's thinking before he sits down with Putin one-on-one in Alaska. The Europeans are insisting that Moscow agree to a ceasefire before negotiations over territory, and that Kyiv needs security guarantees. And, if such negotiations occur, a European counteroffer has pushed the idea that any retreat of Ukrainian forces from Ukrainian-controlled territory should be matched on an inch-for-inch basis by Russia's withdrawal from occupied Ukrainian territory, according to three people briefed on the discussions. European and NATO allies have often failed to sway Trump's thinking, or even to be heard by the U.S. president ahead of big policy decisions, such as to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. And they are frequently dismayed by Trump's policy moves, for example, his unilateral imposition of tariffs. The Europeans recognize that they can only do so much to influence a president who often veers off-script and likes nothing more than to declare a deal. But on Ukraine recently they have met with some success, for example, by persuading Trump to allow them to transfer U.S. weapons to Ukraine and purchase replacements for themselves. And in recent days, especially after a meeting with Vice President JD Vance in Britain over the weekend, they have found the U.S. administration receptive to some of their red lines. After that meeting, Vance, in a television interview, endorsed at least one European position — that the current line of contact and positioning of Ukrainian and Russian troops should be the starting point of any talks — rejecting a Russian demand that Ukraine first surrender its entire eastern Donbas area. Ahead of Wednesday's call some Europeans expressed guarded optimism, especially with Trump seeming to lower expectations of securing a deal in Alaska. There appears to be 'more of an understanding from the Americans that you can't just go for land swaps which would somehow give a prize to Russia,' said one European Union official, who like others in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. Still, the official added, 'it's clear that there are sort of discrepancies, and as we've seen it in the U.S. system by now, you have one man who will decide.' But even with Trump making a more concerted effort to consult allies and keep them updated, there has been confusion over whether Putin is even willing to swap territory, officials said. The administration understood that a partial Russian retreat might be possible after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff returned from meeting with Putin in Moscow last week. However, the Russian offer apparently calls for a Ukrainian surrender of territory that Russian forces don't even control as a precondition for a ceasefire, the people briefed on the talks said. As that mix-up has come untangled, the administration has lowered expectations for the high-stakes Trump-Putin summit, officials said. Wednesday's call with Trump caps a flurry of meetings and statements organized by the Europeans since the Alaska summit was announced, all of which have provided a strong endorsement of Kyiv's position. Wednesday's virtual summit hosted by Germany will include the leaders of France, Britain, Italy, Poland, Finland, the E.U. and NATO. The Europeans will meet first with Zelensky before Trump and Vance are expected to join the call. Trump has also promised to call Zelensky and European leaders right after talking with Putin, to relay whether 'a fair deal' is on the table. 'It's not up to me to make a deal,' he told reporters Monday — seemingly echoing a European refrain that a truce cannot be sealed without them or Ukraine. 'I have many fears and a lot of hope,' Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said this week. Tusk said recent comments indicate Trump is increasingly understanding of Ukrainian and European views on the war, but that he was not so sure that would hold. 'I guess everyone's afraid Putin will play Trump's ego again like he has in the past,' said a second European official. 'Who knows, maybe he comes there with another noble-sounding offer or maybe they give [Trump] some state award.' Trump has repeatedly balked after threatening to pressure Russia into a ceasefire. As recently as last week, the president's mounting frustrations with Russia stalling on a ceasefire, and his threats of fresh U.S. sanctions, gave way to his invitation to Putin to meet on U.S. soil. While there has been speculation that Trump may yet try to involve Zelensky in the Alaska talks, European leaders are definitely not invited — giving them little sway over the diplomatic spectacle, even as they have become Ukraine's chief military and financial backer. Most proposals for a truce also envision a role for European nations in enforcing any deal that could reshape the continent's future security. In the scramble to sway Trump, European officials have also stressed that any deal must give Ukraine a bulwark against future attacks, especially because Putin is insisting that Ukraine be barred from joining NATO. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has suggested a deal could involve acknowledging de facto Russian control of some of Ukraine's regions, without Kyiv officially ceding them. If Trump's meeting with Putin advances to 'full-scale negotiations,' Rutte said Sunday, territory would 'have to be on the table,' as would security guarantees for Ukraine. Rutte said talks should recognize 'that Ukraine decides on its own future,' with 'no limitations' on its military or on NATO's posture in Eastern Europe. Freezing the current front lines would leave about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory in Russian hands. Ukraine, meanwhile, has little leverage for a land swap, holding a small toehold in Russia's western Kursk region since a faltering offensive last year. 'Europeans can say what they want, but in the end, Ukraine and Russia will have to agree,' said a third European official. 'It's unlikely there's a peace deal now where Putin says, okay, I'm going to withdraw from all of Ukraine.' The chief diplomat for the 27-nation European Union, Kaja Kallas, told the bloc's foreign ministers in recent days that the initial contours of a deal between Washington and Moscow seemed to 'focus on territory only' and that 'the Ukrainians are very worried,' according to a copy of a written note seen by The Washington Post. Kallas warned against a 'fragile ceasefire' that would solidify Russia's gains in more than three years of war. On Monday, Kallas held a four-hour virtual meeting of E.U. foreign ministers to deliberate on Ukraine ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting and on Israel's war in Gaza. The E.U. official said they didn't see 'willingness' from Kyiv or many of its staunch European allies for trading territory within Ukraine, citing distrust with Russia, which is pressing its advances in the east and attacks on Ukrainian cities. 'We have to understand the Ukrainian position, they have a million men who've been fighting for years now, so it's also something that President Zelensky wouldn't be able to have domestically accepted,' the official said. Though polls show war-weary Ukrainians increasingly favor a settlement to end the fighting, it would be tough to sell ceding territory — home to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and where forces built up defensive lines over years — for a ceasefire that can't be guaranteed. But even as Europe insists that Ukraine must receive security guarantees, its own ideas of what those guarantees would look like remain fuzzy. Ukraine's chief backers say guarantees should start with pledges of more weapons and training for its army, and that they will reject any Russian demand to limit Ukraine's military. Kyiv's top aspiration — NATO membership — seems far-fetched without U.S. buy-in, and a plan for European troops in Ukraine remains on a back burner. Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, said European governments can shape the talks as Ukraine's chief suppliers of arms and cash. 'That blocks the possibility for Trump to make any concessions to Putin on what I think is among the most important of his demands,' to halt the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine, Bildt said. European leaders also still control billions in Russian frozen assets that will factor into negotiations, as well as the battery of sanctions that Russia wants lifted. Camille Grand, a former NATO and French defense official, said there was a disconnect between Europe's financial and political investment in the Ukraine war and its role in the upcoming talks. 'The Europeans today provide the bulk of humanitarian, economic and military aid, and have now accepted to pay for American weapons,' Grand told French public radio, 'while in the negotiations, they can at best hope to influence the American position or to support Ukraine.' Catherine Belton in London contributed to this report.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Germany's solar industry warns against subsidy cuts for rooftop installations
Germany's solar industry has raised concerns over a proposal by Economy Minister Katherina Reiche to end feed-in subsidies for new small-scale rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. The sector has cautioned that such a move could risk national climate targets, as reported by Reuters. The feed-in subsidies were introduced in 2000 to support the growth of the solar power sector by ensuring a fixed price for renewable energy producers who sell their electricity to the grid. These subsidies have contributed to Germany's goal of sourcing 80% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2030. However, the country currently faces challenges, having experienced two consecutive years of economic contraction. As the government seeks to increase defence spending, revitalise industry and upgrade ageing infrastructure, its finances are under considerable strain. Katherina Reiche stated that public funding is no longer necessary for new small rooftop PV installations, which primarily benefit private households, declaring: "New, small PV systems are already profitable in the market today and don't require any subsidies.' She also mentioned that system operators could help cover some of the expenses associated with the grid expansion needed to increase support for solar power generation. Carsten Koernig, the head of the German solar industry federation, stated that the subsidy offers essential security for financing banks. He further noted that without this support, only four out of ten customers would be inclined to invest in a solar power system for their homes. Koernig said: "The subsidy is already clearly paying off for society as a whole." Enpal, a Berlin-based renewable energy company, highlighted that the government should enhance the appeal of rooftop solar capacity for small producers to achieve its renewable power generation targets. A company spokesperson stated: 'What is beyond question is that this requires a reliable regulatory framework.' Reiche's proposition comes as demand within the sector is slowing due to rising interest rates, a changing political landscape and economic uncertainty. It also appears contradictory to earlier agreements made between her conservative CDU party and its coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD). SPD energy policy spokesperson Nina Scheer stated: "We agreed in the coalition agreement that we want to make private households the actors in their own energy supply. "We now need progress in the expansion of storage and not uncertainty." Germany saw a significant increase in energy consumption during the first half of 2025. Energy usage reached 187.3 million tonnes of coal equivalent - a 2.3% increase from 183.1 million tonnes in the same period of 2024. "Germany's solar industry warns against subsidy cuts for rooftop installations" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
an hour ago
China targets 2 Lithuanian banks in response to new EU sanctions
BEIJING -- China imposed sanctions on two Lithuanian banks in what it said was retaliation for the European Union including two Chinese financial institutions in its latest round of sanctions against Russia. Lithuania's UAB Urbo Bankas and Mano Bankas AB are prohibited from having any cooperation with individuals or institutions in China, according to a statement Wednesday from the Ministry of Commerce. The European Union adopted a new round of sanctions against individuals and companies supporting Russia in its war with Ukraine in July, which went into effect August 9. Among them were multiple Chinese companies, although China's Ministry of Commerce did not name which financial institutions were affected. 'The EU, disregarding China's solemn position, insisted on adding two Chinese financial institutions to its sanctions list for alleged involvement in Russia, and formally implemented the sanctions on August 9," said the statement. It added the move "severely damages the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, and has a serious negative impact on China-EU economic and trade relations and financial cooperation." NATO has in the past called China a 'decisive enabler' of Russia's war effort as its companies sold tools, equipment and microelectronics.
