Notices by Alberto Cottica (alberto_cottica@mastodon.green)

Many of us, myself included, feel powerless in the face of geopolitical tides. As small as it is, this ECI, I feel, gives us a chance to weigh in and improve the very poor state of the public debate on these issues.

So, my recommendation to you is: sign it, if you are a EU citizen and you agree with it. Fight it if you disagree. Both will be better than just passively trusting the diplomats.

Also gives us something to do as we wait for the next doomsday deadline anyway. Hang in there!

7/end

So, for once clicktivism is not a travesty. It's easy, and it could have a big impact. At a minimum you are giving pro-human rights MEPs ammo to demand a public debate on why we are in business with Israel, and, more in general, what price "being in business" comes with, and for whom.

6/

Let's acknowledge these countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden. Well done!

The second condition is on track to be met and exceeded, too. As I write this, the petition stands at 712,525 – almost 3/4 of the way, with still 9 months to go. This could easily be the most successful ECI ever.

5/

There are two success conditions. First, petitions need to gather at least one million signatures within a year of starting collection. Second, in at least seven different member states certain minimum thresholds must be reached in the number of signatures collected nationally.

Most ECIs fail, but this particular petition is doing VERY well. It started collection in January; the second condition is already exceeded, with ten member states achieving over 100% of their thresholds.

4/

An ECI is a "very official" form of petition, run by the European Union itself. If it is successful, the @EUCommission has a legal obligation to respond with an official act. Additionally, the European Parliament organizes a hearing centered on the petition, and might (but it is far from certain) also discuss it in plenary.

https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/how-it-works_en

3/

This treaty is the legal cornerstone of cooperation between the two parties. Its suspension would be a big deal for Israel: the EU is by far its main trading partner, and its universities rely on the Horizon Europe programme for research funding.

Early this year, a group of people launched a European Citizen Initiative (ECI) to demand its suspension:

https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2025/000005_en

2/

If you are a European Union citizen, there is a concrete way you can support a peaceful resolution in Iran and Gaza: you can demand the full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in view of Israel’s violations of human rights.

#peace
#palestine
#iran

THREAD 1/

"China has also helped Cuba develop 49 new “solar parks” with more on the way by 2028, according to the International Action Centre, a US-based advocacy group. It said solar power production had grown from 5.8 per cent of total energy generation early last year to more than 20 per cent this month."

The geopolitics of energy are changing really fast – and yet, not fast enough for my taste.

h/t @AnnaAnthro

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3346978/china-help-cuba-solar-energy-amid-us-oil-blockade-and-total-power-outage

#energySecurity
#economics

1/3

The mighty @pluralistic put together a remarkable list of survey results, stating that "good ideas are popular". By this, he means that large majorities in many countries support progressive economic policies, up to and including socialism. Large majorities mistrust and loathe capitalism for putting profit over people and planet.

https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/07/the-people-no-2/

R.I.P my UNDP colleague Ramzi Khader, who was killed alongside his wife, six children, and more than 36 members of his extended family in an airstrike by the IDF in Jabalia, Northern Gaza, on the first day of Eid Al-Adha on 6 June 2025.

Over 300 United Nations personnel were killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war, side by side with over 50,000 of the Palestinians they served. What a tragedy. What a waste.

#Palestine

The @EUCommission uses Microsoft applications for the everyday work of most its officials. This is puzzling:

* in conflict with the Union's strategic autonomy objective.
* a wasted opportunity to use procurement strategically, bringing business to European IT companies (even better if open-source based).
* disturbing securiy implications as US authorities have eyes and killswitches on all our executive's IT systems.

1/n

#Europe
#infosec

I am curious as to how the choice of Microsoft as a provider was nevertheless made. So I made a FOIA request, which came back today:

https://www.asktheeu.org/request/security_risks_associated_to_the

The result is inconclusive: DIGIT does not have the information. "the European Commission limits its cloud services to be operated within the EU by general principle" (but then Microsoft is considered Irish 🤦♂️ ), "adheres to binding public procurement rules when contracting cloud providers", etc.

2/n

My hobby: sitting in conversations about the economic and societal impact of #AI and mentally replacing "AI" with "elves". Most people treat "AI" as a black box, and do not think they should try to understand how it works _before_ they start discussing its impacts.

"Elves may deliver an additional economic output of around $13US trillion by 2030."

"Elves are set to be the key source of transformation, disruption and competitive advantage in today’s fast changing economy."

#economics

@rysiek shame, would love to catch up. And with my newfound reluctance to flying, it is unlikely I'll show up in Rejkiavik any time soon...

"The enemy of your enemy ? Still your enemy, @pluralistic dixit. Oh, America, you break m'y heart. https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/113884896027559905

@mario I live in Brussels if that counts.

@tommi apologies for a slow response, Tommi. Why don't you and @mario and I share a coffee at some point? A point of attention: I won't be at FOSDEM, so it would be some coffee shop in town. We could also involve @hpk – similar situation to all of you, but we already know each other a bit. And of course it would be a joy to see @rysiek again, but I am not sure he'll show up in Brussels this year.

This conversation between @pluralistic and @VaroufakisDE starts off talking about a certain tech billionaire, but it soon veers into more interesting territory. It ends up as a masterclass in regulation #economics. Special treats await, towards the end, those of you who care about the #europeanunion and its attempt to be a civilizational model based on human rights and the rule of law (very imperfectly, I know).

https://www.youtube.com/live/I0kvjNh7czM

"Your Iphone isn’t an ad-supported gimme. You paid a thousand fucking dollars for that distraction rectangle in your pocket, and you’re still the product. What’s more, Apple has rigged Ios so that you can’t mod the OS to block its spying.

If you’re not paying for the product, you’re the product, and if you are paying for the product, you’re still the product."

Good stuff happens when @pluralistic joins #SOTW2025

https://people.well.com/conf/inkwell.vue/topics/551/Bruce-Sterling-and-Jon-Lebkowsky-page05.html#post106

#surveillanceCapitalism

1/3 (English)

Attention Brussels! Our #cohousing group re-opens for new members. We will be accepting 5 or 6 families who dream of living in a greener, kinder way. Public presentation on 29th Jan. Registrations:

https://thereef.brussels