German cannabis clubs face jungle of bureaucracy

Jens Thurau

DW

July 3, 2024

Stage two of cannabis freedom has begun in Germany: cannabis clubs are now legal. The possession and use of small quantities of the drug has been permitted since early April, but the issue remains controversial.

Since April 1, Germany has eased the rules surrounding cannabis consumption

Image: Annette Riedl/dpa/picture alliance

Since July 1, cannabis enthusiasts in Germany can get together and establish private clubs with up to 500 members to grow cannabis, distribute it among their members and consume it together.

However, as is so often the case in Germany, this new regulation comes with many details — and a lot of bureaucracy. Each member of the club may receive a maximum of 25 grams of cannabis (just under one ounce) on one day and a total of 50 grams per month.

It's as yet unclear which authority is supposed to be monitoring these clubs. In Berlin, for example, observers aren't sure how the city's responsible districts will handle the licensing process.

"The federal states are extremely ill-prepared for this," said Steffen Geyer, the head of the umbrella organization of German Cannabis Social Clubs. "There will certainly be a mid three-digit number of clubs applying for a license. How long this will take and how many of them will be successful is still impossible to predict," he said.

Germany partially legalizes cannabis  01:59

Gradual legalization of cannabis

On April 1, in a first step, Germany legalized the consumption of small amounts of cannabis in public — with many caveats. Since then, people above the age of 18 have been allowed to carry 25 grams of cannabis, and enthusiasts have been allowed to grow three plants and store up to 50 grams of dried cannabis in their homes.

Geyer believes the new regulations have already had an effect. "Far fewer consumption-related criminal offenses have been documented," he said. "In previous years, someone was arrested every three minutes because they had a small amount of cannabis on them."

In general, said Geyer, German society is simply ready for the new freedoms. "The trend in recent years has been toward greater acceptance. What I've noticed in the last three months is that the average age of consumers who identify themselves as such has risen considerably. Consumers have become more middle class and older, more colorful and more peaceful," he said.

Geyer has long advocated the decriminalization of cannabis consumption

Image: Leopold Achilles

"I see people over the age of 50 coming to the Hemp Museum almost every day. They are stocking up on hemp seeds and buying specialist literature for the first time in their lives," added Geyer, who is also one of the organizers of the private museum in Berlin.

"These are all people who wouldn't have thought of setting foot into the museum just one year ago, if only because they thought it was somehow disreputable to be associated with cannabis."

Opposition to legalization

Previously, owning even just 1 gram of hashish was illegal and punishable by law. Since the legalization, however, the German Police Union has said it fears new criminal groups might emerge in the new cannabis clubs.

Alexander Poitz, deputy head of the police union, told the daily Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung: "We fear that criminals from the organized crime sector will use the possibility of growing clubs to expand criminal structures."

The center-right political opposition of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) are staunchly opposed to liberalization and have vowed to roll it back, should they again come to power in the 2025 general election.

The state of Bavaria, which is governed by the CSU party, has announced that it intends to take an extremely restrictive approach to the inspection of cultivation associations.

Since possession of small quantities has been permitted, according to Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, the police have already had to investigate almost 3,000 cases of driving under the influence of cannabis. The public prosecutor's office has initiated criminal proceedings for serious cases in 180 of such traffic offenses.

"In our view, the legalization of cannabis is a major mistake in terms of safety and health policy," said Hermann.

Was banning cannabis a big mistake?  06:57

Geyer maintains that the transparent regulations, including registration with the authorities, are intended to prevent criminal groups from developing in the new clubs. He also pointed to the experiences of many countries that have also gone down the path of cautious liberalization.

"We have followed the examples of Canada, the US, Uruguay, Liechtenstein, Malta, the Netherlands and Spain. We have a lot of regulations that are designed to prevent a mix of black and white market," he said.

Does cannabis cause psychotic disorders?

However, some experts continue to warn about the dangers of consumption. A Canadian study published in the specialist journal Psychological Medicine found that cannabis use is significantly associated with psychotic disorders during adolescence.

Studies suggest not only visual or acoustic hallucinations are possible in adolescents, according to Rainer Thomasius, a childhood addiction expert at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. He said adolescents who use cannabis show a reduced ability to concentrate and learn, and their ability to feel joy or sadness is dulled. In addition, they say they often feel completely overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.

According to a 2021 survey, around 4.5 million people in Germany smoke cannabis at least once a year. Around a third have tried it at least once in their lives.

This article was originally written in German.

WAR IS RAPE!

Rape is being used as a weapon of war in Sudan

Mariel Müller | Martina Schwikowski

July 2, 2024

The conflict in Sudan has turned into the largest displacement crisis worldwide. Widespread sexual violence is reported by many women and children who have sought safety in neighboring Chad. DW spoke with rape survivors.

Many women report that suffer from sexual violence, forcing them flee to neighboring Chad

Image: DW

Halima (name changed) has lived in various camps for displaced people for as long as she can remember. Every time she thought she had found safety, another attack happened, displacing her over and over.

She told DW that the memories of being upended so frequently keep her up at night.

In June 2023, fighters belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the area of El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, where she lived with her family.

Halima heard the militants arrive on their motorbikes. "They found me in my room," she said. "Four of them threatened me with guns. One choked my neck and raped me."

She suffered multiple wounds but eventually managed to escape, crossing the border into Chad. She felt safe there — but could not find the medical help she needed so badly after her ordeal.

Many women and children in camps in Chad have spoken of the issue, as reports of sexual violence within camps have also been on the rise.

People line up to register for a potential food aid delivery at a camp for internally displaced persons in central SudanImage: Guy Peterson/AFP

Gender-based violence along ethnic lines

The majority of people who have fled across the border from war-torn Sudan are now in camps in eastern Chad — in places such as Adre.

Halima is one of them. She believes that the RSF militia mainly raped her because she belongs to the Massalit ethic group; the Massalit were the majority population in the city of El Geneina — until the RSF brutally attacked its citizens last year.

Women who fled the war in Sudan report rape and sexual violenceImage: MOHANED BELAL/AFP

Another young woman at the camp, Hadija (name changed), corroborates Halima's impression.

She remembers how her attacker asked about the tribe she belonged to. "I did not tell him I was Massalit," she told DW. "I said I belong to the Fur tribe."

He threatened to kill her if she was Massalit, adding that the Massalit would never own any land in Sudan in future.

Hawa (name changed) survived a similar attack in June 2023.

She told DW that an RSF fighter entered her home and shot her 20-year-old cousin. Then she heard how her mother and aunt were being beaten.

"He beat me, too, with a whip, a stick, a water container," she said. "He then threw me on the bed and raped me."

It was only days later that she was able to finally find a hospital; she needed stitches after the attack and still feels pain when she walks.

These survivors' stories are backed up by Human Rights Watch, which has documented numerous atrocities of a similar nature, warning of a potential genocide unfolding against the Massalit people in West Darfur.

The RSF did not respond to DW's requests for comment.

A young Sudanese survivor of sexual violence in front of her shelter in Adre in ChadImage: Zohra Bensemra/REUTERS

The world's largest displacement crisis

In a report on gender-based violence published at the end of 2023, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that women and girls in Sudan had to bear the brunt of the consequences of the conflict there, including an "alarming" rise in levels of sexual violence.

Many of those seeking asylum elsewhere say they have experienced or witnessed harassment, abduction, rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence during their journeys to safety.

For over a year, the Sudanese Armed Forces have been fighting the RSF in a brutal battle for control of the country.

The conflict has forced millions of people to flee their homes since April 2023, pushing the number of displaced people to about 12 million by June 2024.

Each day, thousands of Sudanese attempt to leave West Darfur into Chad to escape war and violence in their home country

Image: Zohra Bensemra/REUTERS

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports that more than 2 million people have sought refuge in neighboring countries since the eruption of the conflict. But the vast majority of them — over 10 million people — remain within Sudan, representing the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Aid organizations highlight that there are massive funding shortages to address the unfolding situation in Sudan and throughout the region.
Increased rates of rape

Abdirahman Ali, the country director for Sudan at CARE International, has confirmed this fast increasing rate of gender-based violence reported across Sudan, particularly in the areas that are currently witnessing the most violence, such as Darfur, Khartoum, Al Jazirah State and other areas.

Ali told DW that, especially in refugee camps, the violence against women and girls continues, adding that the situation is only being exacerbated by difficulties in the delivery of emergency food assistance, clean water, health care and nutrition.

The biggest challenge, he said, is moving health and nutrition supplies across the border from Chad into Sudan for people who are internally displaced.

"There are many areas [where] we are unable to access or even provide assistance due to the ongoing conflict and restrictions that will not allow us as aid workers to reach the people in need," he said.

Many babies die of malnutrition at the El Fasher camp in Northern Darfur

Image: Mohamed Zakaria/REUTERS

According to the IRC, 90% of the people crossing borders in the region in search of safety are women and children. One in five young children are experiencing acute malnutrition.

Psychological support for people affected by gender-based violence is also hard to come by, Ali said: "There are multiple displacements. Communities and internationally displaced persons are moving from one location to the other, complicating [efforts] to provide continuous support to this population."

Escape to Chad — and beyond

Before the conflict began, Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis caused by long-term political instability and economic pressures in the country.

The war has only added to these conditions, leaving almost 25 million people — more than half of Sudan's population — in need, according to the IRC.

More than 600,000 people have crossed the border into Chad, which had already been hosting 400,000 Sudanese refugees prior to the outbreak of conflict.

This is why the IRC has also expanded critical services to support Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries beyond Chad, including Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Aid organizations say they have difficulties providing nutrition and other supplies to internally displaced women in Sudan

Image: AFP

Human rights obligations ignored

Ali demands that the parties involved in the conflict uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilian populations and infrastructure.

In order for the human rights situation to improve, he said, the aid workers providing assistance would also need to be granted safeguards.

"There is a need for the parties of conflict to go to the negotiation table and ensure that this crisis is brought to a halt," he said. "It is causing untold human suffering to the people of Sudan."

Despite the trauma, Hawa and Halima both hope to return to their previous lives; Hawa dreams of completing her studies in economics to work "as an accountant or as a business administrator."

Halima also wants to get her old life back. "If the situation improves, I want to go to university," she said. "I'm a midwife — but I want to become a doctor."

In Sudan civil war, fears grow of potential genocide  04:11

Edited by: Sertan Sanderson

Mariel Müller DW East Africa Bureau Chief

Frauenkultur.co.ukfrauenkultur.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Against-Our-Will.pdf

Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape - Frauenkultur

... Against. Our Will. Men, Women and Rape. SUSAN BROWNMILLER. Fawcett Columbine • New York. Page 5. Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If ...

ISLAMIC FASCISM

Turkish goal celebration: Who are the Gray Wolves?

Elmas Topcu

July 3, 2024

Merih Demiral celebrated Turkey's winning goal at Euro 2024 with a so-called wolf salute, a symbol of the Gray Wolves. Who are these Turkish ultranationalists, and why are they under observation by German authorities?

Turkey defender Merih Demiral made this contoversial gesture while celebrating his match-deciding goal

TRADITIONAL SIGN AGAINST THE EVIL EYE,AKA SATANS HORNS,AND OZZY OSBORNE FANS GESTURE

Turkey's Merih Demiral could face a ban for a gesture he made while celebrating a goal

Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo/picture alliance

Turkey's national football team was triumphant on Tuesday, defeating Austria in a Euro 2024 round of 16 match in Leipzig, Germany and qualifying for the quarterfinals. But defender Merih Demiral, who scored both of Turkey's goals in the 2-1 win, drew attention for non-sporting reasons when he celebrated his winning strike with a hand gesture associated with far-right, ultranationalist symbolism.

UEFA, European football's governing body, has opened an investigation into Demiral, who could face a suspension. This is because the so-called wolf salute — pinching thumb, middle and ring finger together to imitate the shape of a wolf's head — is the symbol of the Gray Wolves, an ultranationalist Turkish group also known as the Idealist Hearths or Ulku Ocaklari.

The gesture is legally prohibited in Austria but not in Germany, where a similar ban is being discussed.

Who are the Gray Wolves?

The symbol made headlines in Germany nearly a year ago after Mesut Özil, a former German national team star, caused a stir when a photo with his fitness coach revealed his tattoo of a howling wolf and three crescent moons — typical Gray Wolves symbols. The design was at the center of discussions in Germany, where he was born and raised in a Turkish immigrant family.

The animal is an important symbol for Turkish right-wing extremists. In mythology, a gray wolf saved the ancestors of the Turkish peoples from their enemies and helped them ascend as a great power. For many, the wolf therefore represents power. The wolf hand gesture also traces its meaning back to this myth.

The moon crescents trace their meaning back to the war flag of the Ottomans, which depicted three arranged in a triangle. Today, they form the party logo of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which has been the main ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for years.
Gray Wolf ideology

German authorities characterize the group's ideology as ultranationalist, anti-Semitic and racist. The group holds hostile views toward Kurdish, Armenian, Jewish and Christian people, and believes in the superiority of the Turkish nation. In the past, members of the Gray Wolves have committed numerous acts of violence, including murder, particularly in the 1970s.

According to Germany's domestic intelligence services, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the aim of the Gray Wolves is to establish a homogeneous state of all Turkic peoples under Turkish leadership — from the Balkans to western China.

The logo of ultranationalist party MHP: three white crescents on a red background

Image: AP

There are two main currents within the Gray Wolves: the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Great Unity Party (BBP), the extremism researcher Kemal Bozay at the Cologne Center for Radicalization Research and Prevention finds.

Germany's BfV traces the origins of the far-right Gray Wolves organization back to the ultranationalist MHP.

Gray Wolves in Europe

Gray Wolves are organized throughout Europe. A regional umbrella organization, the Turkish Confederation in Europe, was founded in the German city of Frankfurt in 2007 to bundle the various European offshoots.

Across Europe, there have been repeated clashes involving Gray Wolves, particularly with Kurds. Austria prohibited Gray Wolves symbols in 2019 and France banned their offshoot in 2020. Later that same year, the German parliament resolved to consider a similar ban. So far, it has not come to fruition.

Security authorities in Germany believe there are some 12,500 Gray Wolves members in the country, around 10,500 of them organized in associations.

The association with the largest number of members is the "Türkisch Demokratischen Idealistenvereine in Deutschland" (Turkish Democratic Idealists Associations in Germany), known as ADÜTDF from the Turkish-language acronym. It represents the interests of the ultranationalist MHP, Erdogan's ally. With over 7,000 members in Germany, ADÜTDF is the largest known umbrella organization among the Gray Wolves. It is organized into 200 local organizations in 15 different regions of Germany.

The second-largest association is ATIB, the "Union der Türkisch-Islamischen Kulturvereine in Europa" (the Union of Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations in Europe). According to the BfV, it has 2,500 members and is organized into 24 local chapters throughout Germany. It was founded in 1987 by a well-known Gray Wolves member, who is said to have provided the hitman's weapon and wages for the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.

The Gray Wolves are also known as the Idealist Hearths (Ulku Ocaklari)

 Boris Roessler/dpa/picture-alliance

Germany's third umbrella organization is the Federation of World Order in Europe (ANF). Nationwide, it has some 1,000 members in about 15 local chapters, according to German authorities. ANF represents the interests of the Islamic-ultranationalist Great Unity Party (BBP), which is also a member of Erdogan's electoral alliance. Numerous political murders in Turkey have been attributed to the BBP. Its members are also alleged to have been involved in the murder of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul.

According to estimates from German authorities, there are around 2,000 unorganized members of the Gray Wolves movement. That includes individuals and members of smaller structures.

"They all adhere to the right-wing extremist Ulkucu ideology to varying degrees and express it predominantly on social media, where they openly express their mostly racist and antisemitic enemy stereotypes. Some individuals achieve considerable reach," the current report from the BfV states.

The unorganized Gray Wolves often display weapons and other threatening gestures, which is intended to project strength, superiority and a preparedness to fight. They also have shown a greater propensity for violence in recent years, especially during confrontations with political opponents or government critics at demonstrations and other events. They have also formed greaser-like gangs in recent years, but these didn't last long.

Gray Wolves dispute Israel's right to exist

After the October 7 attacks in Israel, unorganized groups associated with the Gray Wolves sided with Palestinians and Hamas, the militant group that led the attacks.

These groups have denied Israel's right to exist and justified the attacks by Hamas, which is considered a terror organization by the US, Germany, the EU and others. Turkey does not follow this designation.

Amid Israel's ongoing military campaign in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, which has led to looming famine and killed over 38,000 Palestinians, the groups have also called for a boycott of Israeli products, collected donations for Gaza, and participated in anti-Israel rallies.

This article was originally published in German on July 27, 2023 and was updated on July 3, 2024 after Turkey's quarterfinal victory against Austria at Euro 2024 in Germany.

Norway: Man guilty of deadly Oslo LGBTQ shooting

PATRIARCHICAL ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS 

ARE ANTI WOMEN AND ANTI LGBTQ+

Zaniar Matapour will serve 30 years in prison after being convicted and sentenced for an attack before a 2022 Pride celebration in Oslo. He killed two people and seriously injured nine more

Two people died, nine suffered gunshot wounds when Zaniar Matapour opened fire into a crowd outside a bar in Oslo in 2022

Martin Solhaug Standa/NTB/REUTERS

A Norwegian court has found a man guilty of carrying out a deadly gun attack at a gay bar in Oslo in 2022. The shooting took place during the city's annual Pride celebrations.

Zanier Matapour killed two people and seriously injured nine others after opening fire into a crowd outside the London Pub, a popular gay bar in the Norwegian capital.

The Oslo District Court said Matapour, fired 10 rounds with a machine gun and eight shots with a handgun into the crowd.

Conviction 'a great relief' — head of victim support

"This is a great relief," the head of the support group for survivors and victims' relatives, Espen Evjenth, told public broadcaster NRK.

Evjenth was herself struck by a bullet in the forehead at the London Pub.

"This verdict is an important step to establish a common understanding in our society about what happened."

Prosecutor Aud Kinsarvik Gravas called it "the right outcome" and "a historically severe punishment."

The court had been presented with extensive video material of the attack. Bystanders managed to overpower Matapour and he was then arrested.

Matapour had sworn allegiance to "Islamic State" — prosecutors

Matapour, who was born in Iran and immigrated to Norway as a child, had sworn allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (IS), prosecutors said.

During the course of the trial, both the prosecution and the defense agreed Matapour had fired into the crowd and there was no disputing that the attack had been motivated by terrorism.

Matapour's lawyer, Marius Dietrichson, however, sought an acquittal, saying his client had been provoked to carry out the attack by a Danish intelligence agent posing as a high-ranking member of the IS terror group.

The shooting shocked Norway, which has a relatively low crime rate but has experienced so-called lone wolf attacks in recent decades, including one of Europe's worst mass shootings at the hands of a right-wing extremist in 2011.

kb/sms (Reuters, AFP)

Verdict due over deadly Oslo Pride attack

Oslo (AFP) – A Norwegian court is set to deliver its verdict Thursday on a shooter who killed two people hours before Oslo's 2022 Pride festival, shocking the placid country and leading to the cancellation of the parade.


Issued on: 04/07/202]

Zaniar Matapour has never revealed his motives 

© Lise Åserud / NTB/AFP/File


Zaniar Matapour, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, is accused of opening fire on June 25, 2022 outside two bars in central Oslo, including a famous gay club, just hours before the Pride Parade.

Nine other people were wounded.

Norway's public prosecutor has sought the maximum penalty of 30 years behind bars -- with possible extensions -- for the 45-year-old Norwegian of Iranian origin.

Matapour's verdict is expected around 1:00 pm (1100 GMT).

He is accused of an "aggravated act of terror".

Matapour, who was restrained by passersby after the shooting, has never revealed his motives. He has pleaded not guilty.

Psychiatric experts have been divided over his mental health, and thereby his legal responsibility, as the accused has previously been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

But the public prosecutor considered him criminally responsible and said that he deliberately targeted the LGBTQ community.

During the trial, Matapour's lawyer accused an undercover agent with Norway's domestic security service of provoking the attack by encouraging his client to pledge allegiance to IS.

He pleaded for his client to be declared criminally irresponsible, which would lead to his mandatory transfer to a secure psychiatric hospital.

In June 2023, the intelligence agency apologised after a report it commissioned, with the chief of police concluding it could have prevented the attack.

On May 3, Pakistan extradited the suspected mastermind -- Arfan Bhatti, a 46-year-old who lived in Norway.

Bhatti left Norway for Pakistan before Matapour carried out the shooting.

Bhatti, an alleged "accomplice to an aggravated act of terror", has denied any involvement and opposed his extradition.

He will be tried at a later date.

Oslo's Pride festival, scheduled to take place a few hours after the shooting, was eventually cancelled.

© 2024 AFP

Germany: Far-right AfD's donation account shut down

The Alternative for Germany must now look for a new banking provider, as Grannies against the Right stir up trouble for the far-right party.

Grannies against the Far-right collected more than 33,000 signatures for their petition to shut down the AfD account

Michael Bihlmayer/CHROMORANGE/picture alliance

The donation account for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was shut down on Wednesday after activists gathered names on a petition in opposition to the populist group, media reported on Thursday.

The civil initiative Omas gegen Rechts, which translates as Grannies against the Far-right, collected more than 33,000 signatures in an online petition, which they then handed over to the Berliner Volksbank and called for the bank to close the party's donation account.

The German newspaper TAZ first reported on the account closure on Wednesday, with events later being confirmed by other outlets on Thursday.
Bank confirms receipt of petition

The bank confirmed that it had met the activists and received their petition, but would not comment on the status of the account due to secrecy rules.

However, a link on the AfD's website that directed supporters to donate money to the bank account had disappeared by Thursday. Donations via other methods were still possible.

The Berliner Volksbank also refused to deny the closure of the account.

"Since we've handed over the petition, we assume that there are no longer any business relations between the AfD and the Berliner Volksbank," Omas gegen Rechts said on social media.

In their post, they also thanked the Berlin-based bank and the petitioners for their "victory".

Germany's far-right AfD riding high despite setbacks 02:04

Omas gegen Rechts is a civil society platform that was founded on Facebook in November 2017 by Monika Salzer. They operate throughout Germany and their social media accounts on TikTok and Instagram have accumulated tens and thousands of followers.

The German news agency DPA reported that transfers to the bank were still possible amid a transition period during which the account would still be accessible.

AfD's rise met with opposition

Having a far-right party like the AfD as a client was guided by the "principle of political neutrality," the German bank said earlier this year.

According to the bank, It follows the applicable laws with regard to the equal treatment of all bank customers.

This "also applies to political parties that are democratically legitimized in liberal elections and represented in German parliaments," a bank official said.

The AfD has risen to its highest level of support in the polls, especially in Germany's eastern states. In last month's European Parliament elections, it came out as the single largest party in Germany, making considerable gains across almost all age groups.

Amid a fear of a resurgent far right, thousands of people have come out in protest against the party. Groups like Omas gegen Rechts have been in frequent opposition.

Earlier this year, The Munich Administrative Court in South Germany allowed the Bavarian intelligence agency to monitor the regional association of the AfD as a suspected extremist group.

The party did not immediately comment on the account closure.

Far-right AfD reelects leaders amid protests  04:29

sp,ab/rmt (dpa, DW sources)

FASCIST INTERNATIONALE

EU: What's next for right-wing parties in Brussels?

Lucia Schulten

Right-wing parties in Brussels are regrouping after surging at the polls of the 2024 European Parliament elections. Some old alliances remain, some new ones are being forged, and there could be surprises on the horizon.

Despite the smiles, right-wing parties in the EU are not all working as one

Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/picture alliance

Far-right parties made big gains in EU parliamentary elections this June, shifting the political balance at both the EU and the national levels across the bloc.

A victory by the far-right National Rally (RN) in France, for instance, sent shockwaves through the country, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to call new national elections.

While the true strength of the RN within France's national parliament will not be clear until the second round of voting is completed on Sunday, right-wing parties in the European Parliament have begun to forge alliances for the upcoming legislative period — some old, others new.

The right-wing conservative ECR group is growing

To date, far-right, conservative-nationalist, right-wing populist and other parties on the right of the European political spectrum have essentially settled into two camps.

One is the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) parliamentary group, home to, among others, Poland's nationalist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) and Italy's Brothers of Italy (FdI), which grew out of the country's post-fascist movement. Brothers of Italy leader and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni serves as president of the ECR party.

The right-wing conservative ECR has already laid out its priorities for the coming legislative period, namely "to ensure that the EU focuses on its core tasks," as well as "strongly opposing any move towards a supranational superstate."

On immigration, the ECR wants to do more to curb irregular migration as well as creating "regional disembarkation platforms outside the EU" to process asylum applications. At the same time, the group seeks to "tackle the root causes of migration."

In terms of the environment, the group wants to reverse existing agreements to phase out internal combustion vehicles and has openly questioned efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The ECR has clearly expressed support for further aid to Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

Thierry Chopin, a political analyst at the Jacques Delors Institute, a Paris think tank, believes that Meloni's more moderate approach, especially when it comes to Ukraine, is part of a political strategy.

According to the latest statistics, the ECR currently holds 84 seats in the European Parliament, making it the body's third-largest bloc. On Wednesday, the party used its inaugural meeting to distribute posts for the coming legislative period. It is also likely that the ECR will play a key role in reelecting Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission in two weeks.

French far-right victory could impact EU, NATO 02:42

What is the far-right ID group up to?

The second-largest right-wing group in the European Parliament is Identity and Democracy, or ID. Parties in the group include Italian Matteo Salvini's Lega and Marine Le Pen's RN from France. Just prior to the June EU vote, ID expelled the Alternative for Germany (AfD), parts of which German domestic security services have labeled right-wing extremist.

The AfD expulsion, as well as a meeting between Meloni and Le Pen, have fueled rumors of the formation of a far-right "super group," but that does not seem to be in the works at the moment. Political analyst Chopin said Meloni's and Le Pen's political programs were simply too far apart for that to be a possibility, especially when it came to their attitudes toward Russia.

While Meloni has clearly positioned herself on the side of Ukraine, that has not necessarily been the case with Le Pen. Chopin said RN traditionally aligned itself more closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nevertheless, the party has toned down its rhetoric in the wake of Putin's invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Chopin said the issue would take on greater importance if RN populists emerged victorious in the second round of voting in French parliamentary elections on Sunday. That is because France's parliament has control of the country's budget and thus, over Ukraine aid. Although he was unsure what policies an RN-led parliament would pursue, Chopin said it could very well be problematic for Kyiv.

At the moment, however, the final makeup of the ID group in Brussels remains unclear. That is due in part to the formation of another new far-right group in the European Parliament, the so-called Patriots for Europe.

'The best answer is to work hard together' 06:06

Patriots for Europe a new right-wing force?

Last Sunday, one day before his country took over the European Council's rotating presidency, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the formation of a new right-wing alliance in the European Parliament. The bloc will be led by Orban, the head of the nationalist-conservative Fidesz party; his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis, former prime minister of the Czech Republic and head of the liberal-populist ANO (Yes) party; and Herbert Kickl, leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).

In an online manifesto, the three parties emphasized their desire to create a "Europe of nations," noting that they do not want an EU superstate. Their program puts great emphasis on national sovereignty and the need for countries to be able to exercise veto rights. They also want to protect what they call "European identity, tradition and customs, the fruits of its Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian heritage." Furthermore, the three called for a stop to "illegal migration to protect our cultural identity."

Orban regularly makes headlines in the EU for his use of Hungary's veto powers in the European Council, as has often been the case when it came to support for Ukraine. A vote in favor of opening EU accession talks with Kyiv, for example, was only made possible through the use of a procedural trick — with the vote taken after Orban agreed to temporarily leave the room.

According to media reports, Portugal's right-wing populist Chega party has also signaled interest in joining the bloc, and there has been speculation over the possibility of Salvini's Lega and Le Pen's RN joining — though both are currently still members of the ID Group. According to news agency DPA, Alice Weidel, co-chair of the now unaffiliated AfD, has said the German party will not join the group.

In order for the new group to attain the status of an official European Parliamentary bloc it must have members from at least seven EU states, though by now it will have likely already cleared another hurdle, that of having at least 23 members.

The final future makeup of the right-wing spectrum in Brussels still remains open, but should be clear by the time the European Parliament convenes for its constituent session on July 16.

This article was originally written in German.

ARYAN NATIONALISTS

Can Putin rely on India to boost Russia's war economy?

Nik Martin1

After Moscow's tanks rolled into Ukraine, Russian oil exports to India soared. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for talks with President Vladimir Putin, India wants to stay neutral and boost trade with Russia.

Putin sees India as a diplomatic and economic ally, but the Ukraine war has complicated ties

 Alexandr Demyanchuk/SPUTNIK/AFP

India took a lot of flak in the West for increasing imports of Russian fossil fuels in the face of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The world's third-largest oil importer saw deliveries from Russia jump tenfold in 2022 and double again last year, thanks to heavy price discounts. India's coal imports from Russia rose threefold over the same two-year period.

Despite accusations of funding Putin's war machine, New Delhi has justified the increase by citing India's traditional "stable and friendly" ties with Moscow and its heavy reliance on imported oil.

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, Putin will be looking to further boost trade with the South Asian power to shore up Russia's commodity-dependent economy and lessen the impact of Western sanctions over the Ukraine war.

When announcing the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that in addition to working together on global and regional security issues, there was "mutual political will" to boost trade and economic cooperation.

India, on the other hand, must tread a delicate path as it aims to maintain strong links with the West, seek new trade links with Moscow and retain a neutral position over the conflict.

DW looks at the current state of India-Russia trade ties and what the two leaders could agree on next.

China, Russia present challenges to India's Modi  02:40

How strong are India-Russia relations?

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and India built a strategic partnership for defense and trade that continued after the end of communism. In 2000, Putin, then Russia's prime minister, signed a new declaration of cooperation with New Delhi.

India is a major market for the Russian defense industry — until recently its largest. During the past two decades, Moscow supplied 65% of India's weapons purchases, totaling more than $60 billion (€55.8 billion), according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

After Russian forces invaded Ukraine, Moscow sought to deepen its relations with India and China as a counterweight to the West. The Kremlin offered New Delhi huge discounts on oil, coal and fertilizer deliveries to boost the country's finances to fight the war.

As a result, India emerged as a major export market for Russian fossil fuels in search of new destinations in the wake of Western sanctions. In April, for example, Russian crude oil deliveries to India surged to a new record of 2.1 million barrels per day (b/d), according to the financial analytics firm S&P Global.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached a record high of nearly $65.7 billion last year, figures from India's Department of Commerce showed. Trade is, however, massively stacked in Russia's favor, with India importing $61.4 billion worth of goods, including oil, fertilizers, precious stones and metals.

"For long, we have looked at Russia from a political or security perspective," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at an industry conference in May. "As that country turns eastwards, fresh economic opportunities are presenting themselves ... the spike in our trade and new areas of cooperation should not be regarded as a temporary phenomenon."

What are New Delhi's concerns about ties with Moscow?

While the West limited its criticism of India over the cheap oil deal with Russia, New Dehli's historic reliance on Moscow for weapons is a major concern for the US and Europe.

"New Delhi has demonstrated a nuanced approach to navigating the Russia-Ukraine conflict, staying on good terms with Moscow and the West," Aleksei Zakharov, a researcher on Indian foreign policy at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), wrote in a paper last month.

Zakharov wrote of "structural challenges" that he said "appear to still prevent the two sides from reinvigorating the economic ties, adding that the defense cooperation between Russia and India is currently "in a state of limbo," partly as the Ukraine war and Western sanctions have hobbled Russia's arms sector.

India has jointly developed the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile with Russia

Gurinder Osan/AP/picture alliance

India had several negative experiences in earlier deals with Russia's arms industry. A 2004 deal to buy a Soviet-era aircraft carrier, upgraded and retrofitted by Russia, was criticized over long delays and a doubling of costs.

In 2013, the explosion and sinking of a Russian-built submarine, which killed 18 crew members, further pressured India's leaders on their defense cooperation with Moscow.

The Indian military is currently awaiting two of five S-400 air defense systems and Russian-made frigates that Russia agreed to supply as part of 2018 deals, local media reported in April.

While India remained the leading destination of arms transfers from Moscow between 2017 and 2022, Russia's share of defense exports to the South Asian country dropped from 65% to 36% during the same period, SIPRI data showed,

French and German arms suppliers have benefitted from New Delhi's change of strategy, amid reticence among Indian policymakers to break Western sanctions on Moscow by signing new deals with the Kremlin.

Why is India pivoting away from Russian weapons?  02:40

Is more trade between India and Russia in the cards?

Modi's visit to Moscow — his second overseas trip after reelection in June — is a sign of the importance India still places on relations with the Kremlin. As a growing world power, New Delhi is keen to prioritize its own strategic interests while balancing relations with the West, Russia and China.

While New Delhi has called for "dialogue and diplomacy" to end the Ukraine war, at the recent Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, India's representative did not sign a joint communique calling for Ukraine's territorial integrity to be respected in any peace agreement.

"On the surface, it may seem that India's neutrality [in the Ukraine war] has allowed the strengthening of bilateral ties with Moscow," said Zahkarov in his recent paper. "However, a closer look suggests that India has become more cautious in its interactions with Russia ... [so] maintaining dialogue and hedging bets will likely be more important for both sides than striking new deals."

Although new pacts to buy Russian weapons may be limited, Modi's "Made in India" initiative, which aims to promote the country as a manufacturing hub, could see Russia provide more raw materials and parts for domestic Indian arms production.

Russia is also keen to expand the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a road, sea and rail project that connects Russia to India via Iran. Russia shipped the first tranche of coal through the INSTC last month.

The project has been in the works for over two decades and due to the constraints that Russia is facing from Western sanctions, INSTC is now a key trade priority for the Kremlin.

Completion of another project that has taken on new urgency is the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor. First proposed in 2019, the sea route stretching 10,300 kilometers (5,600 nautical miles) from Russia's easternmost region could help secure flows of Russian energy and other raw materials to India.

The proposed corridor is expected to reduce shipping times from 40 to 24 days, compared with the existing route through the Suez Canal.

Edited by: Ashutosh Pandey

German industrial orders decline amid weak foreign demand10 hours ago10 hours ago

The fifth consecutive decline in factory orders and a fall in demand from abroad point to "subdued" industrial activity in the coming months.

There was a 2.9% drop in orders in the automotive industry, data shows

 Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The Federal German statistics office, Destatis, said Thursday that factory orders fell for a fifth consecutive month in May.

The data showed that German industrial orders dropped 1.6% month-on-month, sharper than the revised 0.6% decrease in April.

Although domestic orders rose slightly by 0.5%, the decline is largely attributed to a 2.8% fall in foreign demand, with orders from the non-eurozone falling by 4.6% and orders from the euro area decreasing by 0.1%.

Destatis recorded a 2.9% drop in orders in the automotive industry, and a sharp decline of 19.2% in the "manufacture of other transport equipment."

Germany cuts growth forecasts for 2024  01:09

What does it mean for the German economy?

The German Economy Ministry said the latest figures and a recent deterioration in business expectations point to "rather subdued" industrial activity in the coming months.

"Order intakes are only likely to stabilize once global trade recovers further and demand for industrial products gradually picks up," it added.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy and a traditional driver of European growth, has struggled to bounce back since Russia launched the war in Ukraine, driving prices up globally.

The German economy shrank in 2023, partly due to a decline in the manufacturing sector.

The German government forecasts growth of 0.3% this year, after sharply lowering its projection from 1.3%.

fb/ab (AFP, dpa)

Germany: Tesla given go-ahead for Berlin factory expansion

German authorities have granted Elon Musk's Tesla permission to expand its Gigafactory just outside Berlin. The original plans sparked resistance from locals worried about the environmental impacts.

US electric vehicle giant Tesla has been granted provisional permission by German authorities to expand its "Gigafactory" just outside Berlin, despite resistance from local residents.

The factory near the small town of Grünheide in Brandenburg, about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) beyond the southeastern edge of Berlin, is Tesla's only such site in Europe.

Tesla hopes the expansion will allow it to increase production capacity from around 500,000 vehicles per year to one million.

According to the original plans, more than 100 hectares of woodland were to be cleared. However, after a local referendum, Tesla scaled back the project, including scrapping plans for a new freight depot.

Construction may begin 'at own risk'

The environment ministry of the federal state of Brandenburg, which envelops the city-state of Berlin and where Grünheide is located, said building permission had not yet been officially granted but that Tesla could begin construction "at its own risk" following positive talks.

The approved plans include laying new underground pipes, building new stairwells and installing solar panels on roofs.

A new "asphalted logistics area" for new cars is also planned, as is a new larger production hall.

Tesla, which is owned by Elon Musk, has been operating in Brandenburg since March 2022 and employs around 12,000 people at its Grünheide site – although 400 redundancies were announced in April this year.

In March, unknown saboteurs managed to cause a serious power cut at the plant, prompting public condemnation from senior German politicians concerned that Musk might consider relocating the factory.

In May, climate activists attempted to storm the site, leading to clashes with police.

'Failure to prevent threat or political stunt'? Bolivia govt handling of coup 'amplified mistrust'

Issued on: 04/07/2024 

For years, Bolivia has been ravaged by crushing shortages of petrol, cost of living increases, growing discontent and mass protests. Adding to the turmoil, President Luis Arce claimed to have put down an attempt to unseat him militarily. And then, in a highly unusual twist, coup leader and former top military commander, Juan Jose Zuniga claimed he was just following Arce's orders, and that the president had hoped for the coup to trigger a crackdown that would boost the president's popularity. President Luis Arce has denied any involvement and Zuniga was subsequently arrested. To gain a deeper perspective on this dramatic developing story unfolding in one of Latin America's poorest countries, FRANCE 24's Mark Owen is joined by La Paz Correspondent Madeleyne Alguila and Carl Meacham, CEO/President of Global Americans, a nonpartisan think tank.

09:56 Video by: Mark OWEN