Latest news with #EuropeanCommission-funded
Budapest Times
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Fidesz MEP: Although Magyar may deny it, Brussels wants to fast-track Ukraine's EU accession
Csaba Dömötör said the screening process was taking place "with unprecedented speed" and the Commission was helping Ukraine full steam ahead. Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör said that although opposition Tisza Party leader Peter Magyar may deny it, various resolutions and statements 'prove that Brussels wants to fast-track Ukraine's EU accession'. Dömötör told Hungarian journalists in Brussels on Tuesday that certain Hungarian politicians, including Magyar, were attempting to brand the accession moves as 'a lie' and 'not even possible', yet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently said in Kyiv that Ukraine could become an EU member before 2030. Dömötör said: 'What's this if not fast-tracking?' Also, EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos has started to campaign to gain support for Ukrainian membership, he added, citing her as saying that Ukraine would become deeply integrated into the European economy 'no matter what'. Dömötör cited her as saying that this was 'already happening' and 'we will speed it up'. Domotor insisted that the EU wanted to accelerate Ukraine's integration into parts of the single market. The commissioner also talked of how the EU was 'aware of the consequences' for Ukraine's neighbours, including Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. The Fidesz MEP said the screening process was taking place 'with unprecedented speed' and the Commission was helping Ukraine full steam ahead. 'The enlargement plans are a priority for the Commission,' he said, adding that they were not even holding a debate on the matter and failing to address basic questions such as the consequences of admitting 'a country at war and full of weapons' to the bloc. Dömötör said no questions were asked about the burden to the EU budget or the budgets of member states, or indeed what impact all this would have on European agriculture and Hungarian farmers. He cited the 'European Commission-funded' Jacques Delors Institute as estimating that funding for Hungary is shrinking by 15-22 percent. 'But they say not a word about this in the European Parliament,' he added. 'What we're seeing is a highly elite policy implemented by excluding voters…' he said.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
The plans to put data centres into orbit and on the moon
It sounds like something from a science fiction movie, but Stephen Eisele is confident that one day his company will open a data centre on the Moon."The way we see it is that by putting the data centre in space, you're really offering unparalleled security," says the president of Lonestar Data month, the Florida-based firm claimed to have successfully tested a tiny data centre the size of a hardback book that hitched a ride to the Moon on the Athena Lunar Lander from US space exploration firm Intuitive Machines. This, in turn, had been launched by a rocket from Elon Musk's centres are the vast warehouses that house stacks of computers that store and process data used by websites, companies and says that putting them on the Moon will offer customers secure, reliable data processing, while taking advantage of unlimited solar energy to power them. And while space-based data centres may sound far-fetched, it's an idea that's really starting to take of the reason is rocketing demand and the difficulty of finding suitable sites on ever-expanding use of artificial intelligence (AI) computing has seen a massive increase in the amount of data that needs to be stored and processed around the a result, the need for data centres has shot up too, with annual demand set to rise between 19% and 22% by 2030, according to global management consultants facilities are springing up all the time - but it's getting hard to find places to put them. Data centres are large and sprawling, and use enormous amounts of power and water for increasingly local people don't want them built nearby. Putting data centres in space – either in orbit around Earth, or on the Moon - the theory goes, means they can't do quite so much harm. There's more-or-less unlimited energy available from the sun, for example, and no neighbours to complain about the environmental only that, space-based data centres could specialise in services for spacecraft and other space facilities, with space-to-space data transfers quicker than from the summer, a European Commission-funded feasibility study into orbiting data centres published its Ascend report by carried out by Thales Alenia Space - a joint venture between French and Italian aerospace groups Thales and Leonardo - published its determined that deploying data centres in space "could transform the European digital landscape", and be "more eco-friendly".Thales Alenia Space envisages building a constellation of 13 satellites measuring a combined 200m-by-80m, and with a total data processing power of around 10 megawatts (MW). That's equivalent to a current medium-sized, ground-based data centre, with some 5,000 on technologies that already exist or are under development, the satellites would be assembled in orbit. Damien Dumestier, Ascend project architect at Thales Alenia Space, says that for space-based data centres to be more environmentally friendly than existing ground-based ones it will be necessary to make the rocket launchers 10 times less emissive over their lifecycles. He says this looks possible."But in order to cover the new technology's developments and the production capacity ramp-up to benefit from scale, we have to consider larger system capacity, around 200MW, meaning 200 of our envisaged large space infrastructures and 200 launches," he says."The main question is when an adapted launcher will be ready. Depending on the investment and decisions to be taken, this could be done for 2030 or 2035, meaning commercial viability before 2037." However, despite this optimism from firms aiming to develop the technology, Dr Domenico Vicinanza, associate professor of intelligent systems and data science at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, says there are numerous big hurdles before space-based data centres can be a viable proposition."Even with the contribution and advancements of companies like SpaceX, launching hardware into orbit remains extremely expensive," he says. "Each kilogram sent into space costs thousands of dollars."Space-based data centres would require not only the data equipment but also the infrastructure to protect, power, and cool them. All of which add up in weight and complexity."Cooling the equipment will be a particular problem, because even though space is cold, conventional cooling systems don't work will without space weather can damage electronics, while the ever-increasing quantity of space debris puts the physical hardware at Vicinanza adds: "And fixing problems in orbit is far from straightforward. Even with robotics and automation, there are limits to what can be repaired remotely."A big hardware failure might necessitate a costly human mission, potentially making downtime stretch for weeks or months." Yet firms like Lonestar are supremely confident, and say that they are responding to demand. "We wouldn't be doing this if the customers weren't asking us to," says Mr next target is to put a small data centre in orbit around the moon in 2027. Meanwhile, other companies are hoping to get there a bit faster, such as Washington state-based Starcloud, which is due to launch a satellite-based data centre next month, and start commercial operations in Mr Eidele says that space-based facilities offer more security for governments and businesses because their data does not need to be routed through terrestrial networks. Instead the information can be beamed directly from space to a dedicated ground station."It's like having the vaults at the back of the bank," he says. "You don't have to open it every day, but it's there to provide an extra measure of security, and the distance from the Earth to the moon offers that - it's that much harder to hack, that much harder to access."The distance to the Moon means that data takes about a second and a half to reach the ground - this doesn't matter for some applications, like longer-term data storage and meanwhile, says Lonestar founder and chief executive Chris Stott, space-based data centres can help organisations meet regulations about data sovereignty - the need to hold peoples' data in the country of origin."Under space law, that box of electronics is literally under the law of the licensing or launching state - it is an actual embassy in space," he already has customers lined up, including the state of Florida and the Isle of Man government.
Broadcast Pro
29-03-2025
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
Thales Alenia Space to lead ESAs SaveCrops4EU project
SaveCrops4EU digital twin component will be structured around three major scientific pillars. Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to spearhead the SaveCrops4EU project, a key initiative under ESAs Digital Twin Earth programme. This pre-operational digital twin-component is designed to strengthen agricultures resilience to climate change and optimise resource management. The SaveCrops4EU digital twin-component is built around three core scientific pillars. It utilises advanced satellite data and agronomic indicators for real-time crop monitoring, integrates Earth observation data with crop growth models to improve yield forecasting, and employs scenario testing to assess the impact of abiotic stresses such as drought and heat, along with management strategies like irrigation and fertilisation. As the lead organisation, Thales Alenia Space will oversee the integration and architectural design of the digital twin, ensuring seamless incorporation of scientific models with Earth observation data. The modular framework of the system allows for broad applicability, supporting diverse agricultural use cases across different regions. SaveCrops4EU aligns with Europes broader efforts to develop digital twins of Earth, including ESAs Digital Twin Earth (DTE) and the European Commission-funded Destination Earth (DestinE). These initiatives aim to create a comprehensive digital model of the planet to monitor environmental changes, anticipate extreme weather events and guide sustainable climate policies. The synergy between DTE and DestinE ensures that pre-operational digital twins, such as SaveCrops4EU, can transition into fully operational systems, maximising their impact. To validate its effectiveness, SaveCrops4EU will be tested in four key locationsBelgium, Germany, Hungary and Spain. These real-world trials will evaluate the accuracy of the models, their ability to predict climate-related stress on agriculture, and their usefulness for decision-making in the agricultural sector. The project is also designed for interoperability with other digital twin components and will support future scalability by enabling the integration of additional models and crop types. By the end of 2026, it aims to deliver a pre-operational solution that fosters economically and environmentally sustainable farming in Europe. For several years, Thales Alenia Space has been at the forefront of innovation, developing enhanced digital solutions for Earth observation to enhance decision-making and support responsible climate policies. We are proud that ESA renewed its trust in our company with SaveCrops4EU, leveraging the legacy and experience we gained in developing the flood prediction digital twin in 2023, said Étienne Barritault, Managing Director of Thales Alenia Space in Luxembourg. To lead the SaveCrops4EU project, Thales Alenia Space has formed a European consortium, with each partner contributing specialized expertise in complementary fields. The consortium brings together the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, the scientific lead, and the University of Valencia as remote sensing experts. It also includes Forschungszentrum Jülich, specialists in bioscience and geoscience simulation, the Walloon Agricultural Research Center, and CropOM, experts in agriculture.
Euronews
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Fact check: Where in Europe has the longest school summer holidays?
French President Emmanuel Macron caused a stir last week by saying he wanted to reopen the debate on the length of school holidays. The president suggested that by rethinking holidays, particularly summer holidays, the pressure could be taken off schools to help students learn better. "France has longer holidays than many countries", Macron said in response to a question by a child during a trip to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Colmar in France's Haut-Rhin department. "The question we can ask ourselves for our children is: don't we need to have another look at holidays a little so that we can relax the weeks and learn better?" "There are many countries that only go on holiday only after 14 July," he added. "We have very, very long holidays in the summer. Children who don't have much support from their families often lose out in terms of their schooling. It's something we're going to open up, but it needs to be discussed a bit." But does France really have longer summer holidays than many other countries? How does it measure up with the rest of Europe? As of the 2024-25 school year, French students have eight weeks off for the summer, beginning on 7 July, according to Eurydice, the European Commission-funded education information network. But the data shows that at least 32 other European countries, or sometimes regions within countries, have longer summer school holidays than France this year. Some countries' numbers can differ depending on the region, grade or individual school, so EuroVerify has focused on the maximum number of weeks that a particular group of pupils get in a given country for this comparison. Belgium's Flemish and German-speaking communities, for example, get 8.9 weeks off, compared to seven for the French-speaking community. To give another example, in Ireland, primary school pupils have nine weeks in summer, while those in secondary education get 13. In Europe, those with the most time off are Bulgarian primary school students, who get between 13 and 15 weeks off; Italian students, who get between 11 and 14 weeks; and upper secondary Icelandic students, who get more than 13 weeks, according to Eurydice's data for this school year. At the bottom end of the table are Germany with just over six weeks, the Netherlands and Liechtenstein with six, and Denmark with just over five. When looking at school holidays in general, and not just the summer break, France does rank highly compared to its European peers, sitting behind Malta and the Baltic countries. What's the state of education in Europe? Macron suggested that reducing the amount of summer holidays that pupils get could improve the state of education in France. The OECD's most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which evaluates educational systems by measuring 15-year-old school pupils' performance in mathematics, science and reading, puts France's education system squarely in the middle among European countries. The length of summer holidays in France also falls around the European average. The best-performing education systems in Europe meanwhile are Estonia, Switzerland and the Netherlands, according to the PISA, which is carried out every three years. While Estonia is at the top end when it comes to the length of school summer holidays, the Netherlands is towards the bottom. The Swiss summer break can range between five and more than 10 weeks, depending on the region. Those with only five weeks have among the shortest summer holidays in Europe, while those with 10.9 rank among some of the longest. The lowest-ranking European education systems, according to the OECD, are Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro. They have some of the longest school summer holidays in Europe: Albania and Montenegro sit at 11 weeks and North Macedonia has 11.7. Denmark, which has one of the shortest summer holidays, comes within the top 10 European education systems, according to the PISA, while Germany comes in just slightly higher than France, despite its shorter summer break. Teachers in France have accused Macron of reopening the debate on summer holidays to distract from the real issues facing schools, according to national reports, such as a lack of teachers, stagnant pay and poor working conditions. Some have even claimed that, when talking about reevaluating school holidays, successive governments have tended to side with the tourism lobby rather than the interests of teachers and pupils.
