2023-09-25 17:00:14
In addition to photovoltaic, wind and hydroelectric power plants, energy production from biomass plays a crucial role in Austria on the path to a renewable and independent energy future. Since biomass is also imported into Europe and not all member states have as strict forestry laws as Austria, the European Union provided evidence for forest biomass in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (RED II). on sustainable forestry is mandatory. In the future, this will require the certification of all forest biomass that is used as an energy source in larger heating plants. A corresponding transition period in national legislation expires at the end of the year. The problem is that there is currently no system for administrative processing and a sufficient range of certification bodies in Austria.
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#certification #requirements #pose #major #challenges #operators #biomass #heating #plants #forestry #operations
Tag:
EU
Dramatic escalation of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenians in the shadow of the genocide.
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
2023-09-21 00:05:19
Despite all peace efforts in recent years and months, the conflict between the Armenian-inhabited Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan has continued to intensify. After a hunger blockade by Azerbaijan that lasted more than 9 months and affected 120,000 people in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (formerly the “autonomous region”), which is predominantly inhabited by Christian Armenians, military interventions by the Azerbaijani side began on September 19th with rocket attacks Civilian targets are also affected. The only link for humanitarian logistics, the Lachin corridor between the Republic of Armenia and the regional capital Stepanakert, is virtually impassable.
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#Dramatic #escalation #conflict #NagornoKarabakh #Armenians #shadow #genocide
FPÖ – Kassegger: “ÖVP Finance Minister Brunner will not be able to present a stable budget in the fall” | Freedom Parliamentary Club
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
2023-09-20 15:47:46
“The only thing that plays a role in the government’s considerations is how many billions should be sent back to Ukraine.”
Vienna (OTS) – “ÖVP Finance Minister Brunner will not be able to present a stable budget in the autumn. The governing parties are committing a label fraud by talking regarding stable, sustainable and future-oriented budgets. The last budget of this kind was in 2019 – there were even surpluses. The budgets for 2020, 2021 and 2022 were horror budgets – there were deficits in the double-digit billions. And now a 20 billion euro deficit is simply being acknowledged,” criticized FPÖ economics spokesman NAbg today. Axel Kassegger in his contribution to the debate. “The Payment Stabilization Act is regarding increases and authorizations for subsidies in favor of Ukraine, which gives the Finance Minister the authority to grant Ukraine an amount of up to 100 million euros – but we completely reject that,” continued Kassegger.
“In the last four years, debts have exploded extremely – we currently have a debt level of 350 billion euros. This means that this government is completely on the same level as its friends in Brussels, where we can also see a debt explosion. Everything is financed there on credit and with 750 billion euros an extreme dimension has now been reached,” said the FPÖ economic spokesman and continued: “The ÖVP and the Greens are now coming forward and saying that everything is good and Austria is much better because of them crisis came than other countries. Such a statement is a pretty significant loss of reality. I don’t see a single area in which our country got through the crisis better. Incidentally, these crises did not fall from heaven, but were largely produced by the ÖVP and the Greens through excessive reactions during the Corona period – the government closed the country.
“After that, the ÖVP and the Greens did everything completely wrong once more, because in the situation of demand: excess supply, the government did not take price-cutting measures, but rather made transfer payments worth billions. And then you are surprised that inflation is higher in Austria than in other countries. “You have a responsibility to bear,” said the FPÖ economics spokesman in the direction of the government bank.
“The energy crisis and the ‘Green Deal’, which of course means massive ‘greenflation’, a massive increase in energy prices for the whole of Europe, did not fall from heaven either. The same is true of the Russia-Ukraine war. The fact that this war will now last two years is not a matter without alternatives. “The order of the day would be to sit down at the table to create peace,” emphasized Kassegger.
“The only thing that plays a role in the government’s considerations is how many billions should be sent back to Ukraine and who has to pay for it – that would be the EU: the macro-financial aid with seven billion euros, macro-financial aid plus 18 billion, the peace facility 3.6 billion. The reconstruction fund with a further 50 billion euros is now appearing on the EU’s horizon. Austria has already paid over 700 million euros bilaterally. Now please don’t tell us that you know exactly where this money is going – in reality, no one knows for sure. We also know that Ukraine is high on the list of corrupt states,” explained Kassegger.
Questions & Contact:
Freedom Parliamentary Club
01/ 40 110 – 7012
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#FPÖ #Kassegger #ÖVP #Finance #Minister #Brunner #present #stable #budget #fall #Freedom #Parliamentary #Club
Italy’s Cabinet Discusses Migration Crisis in Lampedusa: Measures to Curb Irregular Migration
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
2023-09-18 04:59:42
topthemen
Italy’s cabinet discusses the migration crisis in Lampedusa
As of: 06:59 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Rescued people sit on a bus following getting off a boat in Lampedusa.
Those: Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP/dpa
The arrival of thousands of refugees in a short space of time is pushing the island of Lampedusa to its limits. The EU announces support. Italy’s cabinet wants to take tougher action.
In view of the arrival of several thousand boat migrants on Lampedusa, the Italian cabinet today wants to launch a package of measures to curb irregular migration. In her own words, the ultra-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants to take “extraordinary measures”.
She had already announced decisions to tighten detention pending deportation and the establishment of deportation detention centers by the military. Yesterday, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen assured Italy of European support.
Thousands of migrants arrived on the small Mediterranean island between Sicily and North Africa last week. On Tuesday alone, the authorities counted around 5,000 people who reached the island’s harbor on boats – more than ever before in a single day. Many people have now been taken from Lampedusa to Sicily or to accommodation on the mainland. Nevertheless, the island’s initial reception center is still completely overloaded.
Prime Minister Meloni had already made it clear in a video message on social media on Friday evening that the focus of the resolutions should be increasing the maximum length of detention for deportations to 18 months. According to EU law, this is the maximum allowed. By tightening detention pending deportation, Meloni wants to ensure that those who entered the country irregularly can be held for as long as is necessary for the examination of the respective asylum application. This should make possible deportation easier.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense should be given the task of creating structures to detain migrants who have entered the country irregularly. According to Meloni, the facilities should be built “in remote, sparsely populated areas” that can be easily isolated and monitored.
Meanwhile, EU Commission chief von der Leyen assured Italy of European support during her short-term visit to Lampedusa. According to her, the Mediterranean should be monitored more closely.
“We can do this through Frontex,” she said, referring to the EU border protection agency. She added that she supported exploring options for expanding naval operations in the Mediterranean or working on new operations. «We will decide who comes to the European Union – and under what circumstances. And not the smugglers.”
Meloni called for tougher action once morest migrants. People in North Africa would have to be prevented from crossing to Europe. Redistributing people across member states does not solve the problem. She said it was up to the entire EU to deal with the situation.
Because of the high migration numbers, Meloni is under massive domestic political pressure. According to the Interior Ministry, more than 127,200 people have already reached the country via the Mediterranean this year (as of September 15). In the same period last year there were around 66,200.
Former Federal President Joachim Gauck spoke out in favor of a “new determination” in European refugee policy. In the ZDF program “Berlin Direkt” yesterday evening, Gauck said that politicians must discover “that the measures taken so far have not been enough to remedy the loss of control that has obviously occurred.” A “new determination” must give the people of Europe the impression that governments are willing and able to act. “And this obviously requires a debate on new paths and not just a tweaking of adjustment screws.”
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#Italys #cabinet #discusses #migration #crisis #Lampedusa