An international sports camp bringing together nearly 100 young Ukrainian athletes from ten different sports has concluded in France.

The camp was held at the initiative and with the support of Philippe Lamblin, President of the Hauts-de-France Athletics League, in partnership with the Ukrainian side. The Kyiv City State Administration, “The Future for Children” Charitable Foundation with its Olympic Dreams project, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine with the nationwide multisport project “Path of Champions” also contributed to the organization of the camp.

This year, the camp brought together athletes representing ten sports: rhythmic gymnastics, volleyball, judo, sport climbing, boxing, basketball, athletics, rowing, taekwondo, and floorball.

The young Ukrainian athletes had the opportunity to train in safe conditions, take part in sports and team activities, relax, and discover France. The camp programme included a mountain hike, a trip to the seaside, a visit to an oceanarium, and attendance at a football match.

“For us, it is very important to see more and more people in different countries coming together to support Ukrainian sport, with France becoming a systemic partner. Camps like this give Ukrainian children an opportunity, at least for a while, to return to a normal childhood: to train in safe conditions, make new friends, and see a world without borders,” said Anatoliy Boyko, initiator and patron of the Olympic Dreams project.
 

: Anatoliy Boyko, Philippe Lamblin, Olena Hovorova, Vadym Omelchenko, Yasmina Merzi

An important highlight of the programme was the official reception for the camp participants at Paris City Hall on 21 August.

The meeting was attended by Vadym Omelchenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the French Republic; Yasmina Merzi, Deputy Mayor of Paris responsible for child welfare and protection; Olena Hovorova, Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration, Adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine and Olympic bronze medallist; Philippe Lamblin, President of the Hauts-de-France Athletics League; and Anatoliy Boyko, initiator and patron of the Olympic Dreams project.

The meeting at Paris City Hall provided an opportunity to thank the French partners for their support of Ukrainian athletes and to discuss the importance of international sports cooperation amid the full-scale war.

The organizers and Ukrainian partners also express their gratitude to the Hauts-de-France Athletics League, the regional prefecture, the City of Lille, the management of Parc d’Olhain, as well as all French partners and patrons who contributed to the organization of the camp.

For Olympic Dreams, a project launched in 2022, participation in such international initiatives is part of its ongoing efforts to provide Ukrainian athletes with opportunities for safe training, athletic development, and international preparation during the full-scale war.

Photos by Roman Horbun

This year has proved that the era of the strongman is undoubtedly upon us. Littered throughout the highest offices across government and international organisations, they have proved time and again that due process is for suckers and that you, too, can bribe your way to the desired outcome.

Take Gianni Infantino who is seeking to sell off 20% of the world’s most cherished football tournament. He, like Trump, has dug in his heels, choosing to strategically dole out favours, and then use their power to pit people against each other, rather than following the rules. Having leveraged their positions to fulfil their agenda, no matter the cost, they deny anything they don’t wish to confront, deflect questions they don’t like, and gaslight anyone who dares to call them out.

Whilst Infantino and Trump have dominated headlines of late, the actions of the world’s health agency head have - despite years of alarm bells - received comparatively little scrutiny; a concern when you consider how instrumental effective healthcare is to our everyday lives.

Like Infantino, Dr Tedros wedges countries and leaders apart in order to defy institutional processes and push through his agenda. In 2025, Dr Tedros pared down his leadership team by nearly 30%. Most recently, the WHO’s top scientist, Dr Jeremy Farrar, was replaced with a highly “controversial” and apparent confidant of Dr Tedros. The pattern of replacing officials with faithful advisers is a classic move of the strongman and underlines how institutional structures can be leveraged to advance personal aims.

One of those aims appears to be purging WHO of those who challenge the opaque bureaucratic functions that Dr Tedros oversees. Dr Farrar’s surprise resignation was said to have been due to increasing frustrations with the WHO’s internal politics. Curiously, in an all-staff email, Dr Tedros reframed Dr Farrar’s departure as a retirement and, in communications with the press, the organisation refused to comment on

r’s relationship with (read: criticisms of) the WHO. 

Now, Dr Tedros is allegedly bulldozing through the replacement of the WHO’s Regional Director for its South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), Saima Wazed. Ms Wazed has been on administrative leave for over a year following unfounded allegations made against her by Bangladesh’s Interim Government. As the nation roiled under an intense period of political unrest, Ms Wazed was falsely accused of absconding from the country when, in reality, she was stationed in New Delhi, acting in her capacity as the SEARO Regional Director. The WHO knew this but put her on administrative leave without pay anyways. In that time other, unfounded allegations bubbled up, including claims Ms Wazed requested reimbursement from WHO for personal travel to China, which, it would appear, was an entirely fabricated allegation.

The WHO’s handling of Ms Wazed’s leave has been deeply flawed and discussed at length by top-level jurists and a UN Special Rapporteur. Since the allegations were made, a new Bangladeshi government has been elected and two of WHO’s Officers-in-Charge have been appointed to “temporarily” oversee the SEARO. Still, no information about the veracity of the allegations against Ms Wazed have been made public despite the fact that WHO’s own guidelines explicitly say that administrative leave is not a punishment. If allegations are not verified in a reasonable timeframe, WHO has a duty to end the leave.

For her part, Ms Wazed has called for an investigation into Dr Tedros, alleging that he or his office leaked confidential documents, provided false or misleading information to Member States, and breached confidentiality requirements and the WHO’s Code of Conduct by directly engaging with the former government of Bangladesh.

While the WHO has the responsibility to investigate allegations against its staff, claims from a national authority should not automatically be treated as proven fact for a supposedly apolitical organisation. It has now been over a year since Ms Wazed was put on leave. This, combined with the absence of any apparent independent investigation into the allegations points to a fast and loose approach to proper administrative processes, one in which the attempt to hold Ms Wazed in administrative purgatory exists as a vehicle to quietly remove her from the organisation.

Just as Infantino is leveraging greater funding for African nations to gather support for his upcoming presidential bid, Dr Tedros is using what amounts to an uncosted holiday jaunt to the South Pacific to bring a forced-end to this saga. Reports suggest that the Director General is directing SEARO nations to do away with due processes and install Ms Wazed’s successor. For their trouble, fielty, and feigned ignorance to standard administrative practices, Dr Tedros is organising a regional meeting, spending at least €163k to fly in the SEARO directors and staff for a face-to-face meeting in Timor Leste. Despite years of cutting the WHO to the bone and a record budget shortfall, for Dr Tedros no expense is too great to push through his agenda.

Ultimately, this is a clear attempt by Dr Tedros to circumvent proper levels of scrutiny about this crucial decision, and to hide his undermining of the WHO’s standard procedures by sweetening the deal for other regional staff. Pulling directly from the Infantino playbook, Dr Tedros has escaped public outcry which would hold him responsible. But his treatment of Saima Wazed, what many would call an organised witch-hunt, should concern us all, as yet another international organisation sees the erosion of due processes.

Minorities say they fear a rise in anti-Roma rhetoric following predictions of Germany’s AfD surge in Sunday’s Saxony-Anhalt election.

As Germany heads into a closely watched state election in Saxony-Anhalt this Sunday, 6 September, with the AfD polling above 40% and potentially within reach of an outright majority, right groups say they are “growing concerns over what its increasing electoral strength means for minorities and Germany’s and the EU’s democratic norms and values.”

Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka, Executive Director of the Berlin-based European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture, looks ahead to the election.

She told this site: “For Roma and Sinti communities in particular, the election comes against a backdrop of increasingly visible anti-Roma racism.”

The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma described the situation “as a cynical example of a far-right party once again targeting Sinti and Roma.”

The incident, says the institute, comes amid "growing evidence of antigypsyism in Germany."

The Institute says that MIA, the country’s reporting and information centre documenting anti-Roma racism, reportedly recorded 1,193 cases of stereotyping and disparaging remarks targeting Roma and Sinti in 2025, as well as 55 physical attacks, up from the previous year, and eight cases of extreme violence.

The institute says Roma experts warn of a changing political landscape in Germany and the growing strength of the far right.

They note that “the normalisation of nationalist, racist and anti-minority rhetoric is reshaping political discourse, including the increasing use of anti-Roma stereotypes.”

Mirga-Kruszelnicka said: “Over 80 years since more than 4,300 Roma and Sinti were murdered during the liquidation of the “Zigeunerlager” at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, a far-right party that openly stigmatises and singles out Roma citizens is yet again on the rise in Germany. In April 2026, AfD politician Enxhi Seli-Zacharias led party colleagues through a German city, handing brooms to residents she took to be Sinti and Roma and filming them as they swept the pavement, telling one woman: “Germans have had enough—look what this looks like.”

As the EU prepares its next €2 trillion budget, the institute says experts are also questioning whether Roma communities are "being adequately accounted" for in how European funding is tracked and measured with”, says the insititute, “antigypsyism not mentioned once in the Performance Framework Regulation".

“Fascism is never simply a chapter in history books. It begins with words, stereotypes, indifference and the gradual erosion of democratic values. Honouring those who were murdered is not enough. We must also recognise how quickly democratic societies can unravel when prejudice, dehumanisation and political extremism become accepted as ordinary," concluded Mirga-Kruszelnicka.

As crypto casinos look for their next wave of growth, industry sources suggest Lucky Rollers may be exploring expansion into new international markets, with Korea and Thailand mentioned as regions the platform is reportedly evaluating as part of a broader push into Asia, alongside signs of growing interest in Europe.

A region with growing crypto adoption

Southeast and East Asia have seen some of the fastest growing cryptocurrency adoption rates globally, driven by younger, digitally native populations and a strong existing interest in online gaming culture. Europe presents a different but complementary opportunity, with a more mature regulatory landscape in many jurisdictions and a well established base of crypto users who are already comfortable with digital asset platforms. For crypto native platforms like Lucky Rollers, that combination of a fast growing Asian user base and a stable, regulation aware European market represents a potentially significant opportunity, assuming any expansion is structured in a way that accounts for local regulatory realities in each region.

What expansion could look like

If Lucky Rollers does move forward in these markets, it would likely follow a pattern common among crypto casinos operating in similarly restricted or tightly regulated regions: localized marketing and language support aimed at players who are legally able to access the platform from outside those countries, rather than a direct consumer launch targeting residents. In Europe specifically, that could mean tailored offerings for jurisdictions with clearer frameworks around crypto gaming, alongside multilingual support suited to the continent's diverse player base. The platform's existing crypto first infrastructure, supporting 13 cryptocurrencies and fast cross border transactions, would suit that kind of approach well, regardless of which markets it ultimately prioritizes. Notably, the platform has already rolled out a special welcome offer of a 100% bonus on first deposits aimed at Asia Pacific customers, with particular emphasis on players from China, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, a detail that may hint at where its regional priorities currently lie, even as European interest continues to build in parallel.

Continued growth at home

In the meantime, Lucky Rollers continues to build out its core platform, offering a 100% welcome bonus up to 15,000 USDT, ongoing tournaments with prize pools up to 30,000 USDT, a weekly 15,000 USDT lottery, and a game library spanning live dealer tables, original games, jackpots, slots, and sports betting. For Asia Pacific customers specifically, including players from China, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, Lucky Rollers is offering a special welcome bonus of 100% on their first deposit, a foundation that could just as easily support the platform's next steps into Europe.

It’s one of the most anticipated arts events in the UK and the starting pistol is set to sound on Herefordshire Art Week.

h.Art 2026, as it is affectionately called, runs from 5 to 13 September and is hailed as a “celebration of local creativity”.

The event takes place right across Herefordshire and its neighbouring borders where hundreds of artists will open their doors to share their work. 

h.Art is widely seen as being special for art lovers,offering personal encounters with some of the UK’s finest artists and makers in the intimacy of their own homes and studios. 

It is a chance to discover new work and buy or commission artwork, all direct with the artists.

h.Art was founded in 2002 as part of Herefordshire Council’s ‘Creative Industry’ programme, with the vision to offer “personal life enhancing experiences through art, whilst stimulating a vibrant local economy.”

It celebrates its 25th anniversary next year and has recently been taken over by a new organiser.

A spokesman said, “It’s a chance to gain a rare insight into the creative lives of our artists and craft-makers. You’ll uncover amazing art in atmospheric and unexpected locations as well as learn new skills through hands-on workshops and demos.”

Among those taking part for this year’s edition are Canwood Gallery and Eastnor Pottery.

Eastnor Pottery and “the Flying Potter”, located near Ledbury, is recognised as one of the country’s leading studios for potter’s wheel courses, classes and educational experiences.

Jon Williams shares Eastnor Pottery with his wife and fellow potter, Sarah Monk.

In an interview with the event organisers, Jon, who makes ceramic sculpture and decorative items, explained, “Although our ceramic work is very different to each other (chalk and cheese!) we collaborate on our courses, classes and experiences, taking it in turns to lead and support the sessions.”

Asked to describe his work, he added, “Through skilful facilitation and a love of clay and people in equal measure, I travel all over the West Midlands and beyond exploring and developing creativity in others.

“I regularly work in early year’s settings, schools, libraries, art galleries and museums, encouraging people to play and express themselves in clay.

“My approach has its roots in Reggio Emilia philosophy. Reggio is a pedagogy based upon self-directed, experiential learning.

“Children, young people and adults are offered a range of tools, materials and environments and encouraged to develop their own, totally unique way of working. When I get opportunity to produce my own ceramics, I approach my making in a similar fashion to my social engagement work. The concept of play is at the centre of everything. Nearly all my work starts its life on the potter’s wheel.”

He says it means “everything” to be an artist, adding, “It is being independent, resourceful, resilient and creative whilst having a shed load of fun. I enjoy partnership working with individuals and organisations and am always up for a collaboration.”

Eastnor also gives the public a chance to take part in various pottery workshops and experiences, including beginner’s classes, day courses, and weekend courses. It is a chance to learn to use a potter’s wheel under expert guidance, with all materials included. They also offer clay modelling sessions and a ‘Flying Potter’ service that can take the workshop to an individual’s own location.

Jon adds, “It’s always really hard to describe what I do, as my creative practice is so varied and wide-ranging. I am The Flying Potter, I am a maker, a studio potter, a ceramic artist, educationalist and facilitator.”

Artist Andrew Findlay, also taking part in the week-long event, is based at The Forge Eastnor, just 100m from the pottery.

Another participating in Art Week is Canwood Gallery which is nestled in the serene Herefordshire countryside.

It is a contemporary art gallery and sculpture park dedicated to providing an “art oasis.”

Set across ten acres of landscape, the site includes two indoor gallery spaces and an expansive sculpture park, alongside an on site café.

It showcases a diverse range of work by internationally recognised alongside emerging and local artists, offering a great opportunity to experience and purchase art in a tranquil rural setting.  The gallery is free to enter, with free on site parking.

Also participating are Old Chapel Gallery, Wobage and Sorrel & Sage (full details available via the  links below).

The Art Week is expected to attract people from both the UK and abroad and one excellent way of finding out more about the event and much else in the county is via the Eat Sleep Live Herefordshire, the leading independent destination marketing company for the county.

Its supports not only Herefordshire’s food and drink businesses, accommodation providers, activities, leisure venues and pursuits and events but promotes the county’s crafts, creatives and artisans.

You can discover more about Herefordshire via www.eatsleepliveherefordshire.co.uk

Further info:

Home

Old Chapel Gallery – Home
https://eastnorpottery.co.uk
https://www.wobage.co.uk
https://sorrelandsage.square.site
https://www.h-art.org.uk
www.eatsleepliveherefordshire.co.uk

Photo credit: Herefordshire Art Week

31 August marks an important milestone for the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU, as member states reach the final implementation deadline for the reforms and investments set out in their national recovery and resilience plans. This is a defining moment for the EU's unprecedented common response to two major crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As NextGenerationEU enters its final phase, the focus now turns to completing the remaining steps for a successful conclusion of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. In this context, the Commission greenlighted today Sweden's final payment request, who successfully completed 100% of its investments and reforms linked to its recovery and resilience plan, shortly after Denmark.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “NextGenerationEU helped protect our citizens and economies at a time of profound uncertainty. It accelerated the clean and digital transitions, cutting Europe's reliance on imported energy exactly when that reduction was needed most. The reforms we enabled and the resilience we have built together will continue to benefit Europe for generations to come.”

Member States have until 30 September 2026 to submit their final payment requests under the RRF, together with all supporting evidence, while the Commission will complete all payments by 31 December 2026.

NextGenerationEU supported economic activity at a critical time, helped keep unemployment at record-low levels, and accelerated strategic investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean technologies. It has also demonstrated an important lesson for Europe's future: public investment has a particularly strong impact when paired with structural reforms. Above all, NextGenerationEU has shown the strength of European unity. It proved that when Europe acts quickly, ambitiously and together, it can rise to exceptional challenges

As of today, €440 billion has been disbursed, with up to a further €133 billion to be paid by the end of 2026. The months ahead offer an opportunity to build on this momentum and deliver the full potential of NextGenerationEU.

A press release is available online.

On 30 August, the world marked the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, a date intended to rescue the missing from oblivion and remind states that no human being should simply vanish into the machinery of power. In Balochistan, however, remembrance carries the cruelty of the present tense. On July 24, 2026, Jiand Baloch, a student leader and chairman of the Baloch Students Organization, disappeared after being taken away under circumstances that, according to Amnesty International, amounted to an enforced disappearance. For eleven days, his family did not know where he was. He returned home on 3 August. It was not the first time. Amnesty says Jiand had previously been forcibly disappeared for nine months in 2018 and again for about a month in 2024, linking the repeated targeting to his peaceful activism. As the international community prepares to commemorate the disappeared, one man in Balochistan has already had to return from disappearance three times. Therein lies the cruel paradox of 30 August: elsewhere, it is a day for remembering an atrocity; in Balochistan, families continue to experience it in the present tense, writes Dimitra Staikou.

Jiand Baloch is one name in a much larger ledger of absence. According to the Human Rights Council of Balochistan, 105 cases of enforced disappearance were documented in July 2026 alone, alongside 59 killings; 47 of those reported missing later returned, while the fate of others remained unresolved. The figures come from a Baloch human-rights organisation and must be attributed as such, but the phenomenon itself has long drawn scrutiny from United Nations experts and international rights groups. Behind every number lies the peculiar violence of enforced disappearance: no grave at which to mourn, no prison to visit, often no official account to challenge — only a photograph carried from protest to protest and a question repeated until it becomes part of a family’s daily life: Where are they? The United Nations has described enforced disappearance not merely as a violation against the person who vanishes, but as a practice capable of spreading terror throughout society. That definition exposes the bitter contradiction at the heart of Balochistan: while the language of counterterrorism grants the state extraordinary powers in the name of protecting society from fear, families of the disappeared describe living inside another kind of terror — the terror of not knowing whether the person they love is imprisoned, tortured, alive or dead.

The tragedy of Balochistan is not that the world does not know. It is that it has known for years. Pakistan itself established a Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in 2010, while UN mechanisms have repeatedly raised concerns over disappearances, impunity and the treatment of those who demand answers. In April 2026, the UN Committee against Torture went further, expressing concern over reports that human rights defenders, journalists, political opponents, civil society activists and protesters — as well as members of their families — had faced reprisals ranging from intimidation and arbitrary detention to enforced disappearance and extrajudicial execution. UN experts have also examined allegations arising from counterterrorism operations in Balochistan, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, as well as alleged reprisals against peaceful protesters seeking information about the missing. The contradiction is difficult to escape: a state cannot treat disappearance as serious enough to warrant its own commission of inquiry while allowing families to spend years asking the most elementary question a state should be able to answer — where are they?

For those families, enforced disappearance creates a form of punishment with no defined sentence and no identifiable end. A prisoner has a place of detention; a person confirmed dead can be mourned. The disappeared inhabit the space between the two, leaving their relatives trapped there with them. The United Nations recognises this explicitly: the victims of enforced disappearance are not only those who vanish, but also those who suffer as a direct consequence, while families can face economic hardship, intimidation and reprisals simply for searching for the truth. A mother does not know whether to wait or mourn. A wife may not know whether she is a wife or a widow. A child can grow up without knowing whether a father is imprisoned, hidden somewhere beyond the reach of the law, or dead. Enforced disappearance does not take one person hostage; it holds an entire family hostage to uncertainty. And when information itself is withheld, absence becomes more than the consequence of repression — it becomes an instrument of power.

But enforced disappearance requires something else to endure: silence. And in Balochistan, some of the most persistent challenges to that silence have come from those who refuse to let the missing become merely numbers. Mahrang Baloch, one of the most prominent voices of the Baloch protest movement, knows that absence intimately: her father, Abdul Ghaffar Langove, was forcibly disappeared and later found dead. On 22 March 2025, she was herself arrested following protests in Quetta, alongside other activists demanding accountability over disappearances and alleged extrajudicial killings; UN experts later called for the release of Baloch human-rights defenders and warned against the criminalisation of peaceful protest. But the pressure does not end with the families and activists who demand answers. It reaches those whose profession is to record their testimony. On August 18, 2026, journalist Danish Irshad learned through social media that he had been placed on the Fourth Schedule, an anti-terrorism watchlist in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir, under an order issued on July 29. No criminal conviction preceded the listing, and the publicly available order did not identify a specific terrorist act attributed to him. Irshad had spent nearly a decade reporting on Kashmir and had recently interviewed families who said their children had been killed by Pakistani forces. Three days later, he asked the question that connects the fate of the witness to that of those whose stories he records: “How did a journalist’s speaking and writing become an act of terrorism?” Enforced disappearance removes a person from public view; intimidating those who search for them, speak for them or document state violence threatens to remove the story as well.

Pakistan has every right to fight terrorism — and, after years of bombings, militant attacks and thousands of lives lost, a duty to protect its citizens from it. As recently as August 2, 2026, a suspected suicide bombing in Swat killed civilians and police officers alike, another reminder that the threat confronting the country is neither rhetorical nor imagined. But precisely because terrorism is real, the word cannot be allowed to mean everything. An armed militant is not a peaceful activist; an activist is not a journalist; and a reporter who interviews the families of victims does not become a terrorist by recording what they have to say. This is where the language of counterterrorism collides with the reality of enforced disappearance. The United Nations warns that enforced disappearance has itself frequently been used as a strategy to “spread terror within society,” while identifying as a particular concern the use of counterterrorism activities by states as an excuse for breaching their human-rights obligations. The contradiction is difficult to escape. When a journalist such as Danish Irshad can be placed on an anti-terrorism watchlist without a publicly identified terrorist act attributed to him, while families elsewhere in Pakistan describe years spent searching for relatives who vanished without answers, the language of security begins to turn against itself. Counterterrorism is supposed to protect society from fear. But when its boundaries become elastic enough to encompass the journalist asking questions, the activist demanding answers and the family searching for the missing, we must ask a far more uncomfortable question: what happens when the instruments invoked to protect a society from terror begin themselves to produce fear?

Bronisław Kawęcki (pictured), a Polish anti-communist activist who devoted much of his life to preserving the memory of the workers’ uprising in Radom in 1976, died on 29 August 2026, aged 72.

For many, his name was inseparable from Radom and from one of the defining chapters in Poland’s long struggle against communist rule. But Kawęcki’s legacy extends beyond one Polish city. His life was a reminder of the role that ordinary citizens played in the political transformation that eventually brought democracy to Poland and helped reshape Europe.

Born in Sandomierz on April 29, 1954, Kawęcki moved to Radom as a young man. He initially worked as a carer at a state children’s home before joining the medical supply company Cezal. It was there that he became increasingly involved in the civic and political ferment that would define his life.

The turning point came with the events of June 1976.

Workers in Radom took to the streets following sharp government-announced increases in food prices. The demonstrations were brutally suppressed by the communist authorities. Hundreds of workers were dismissed, prosecuted or subjected to beatings by security forces. The protests in Radom and nearby Ursus would later be recognized as an important precursor to the emergence of the Solidarity movement.

Kawęcki understood early that the struggle was not only about what had happened, but about whether Poland would remember it.

He began collecting the testimonies of workers who had been beaten, dismissed or persecuted. What started as an effort to document the events of 1976 became a mission that would occupy him for decades.

When Solidarity emerged in 1980, Kawęcki joined the movement and helped establish its organization at Cezal. He subsequently became involved in the regional leadership of Solidarity and, in 1981, was selected as a delegate representing the Radom region at the union’s first national congress in Gdańsk.

He was also at the center of an effort to build a monument to the victims of the 1976 protests. A foundation stone was laid in 1981, but the monument itself was never completed.

Then came martial law.

On December 13, 1981, the communist authorities banned Solidarity and launched a nationwide crackdown on its activists. Kawęcki was arrested and interned. He was moved between detention facilities and a prison hospital before being released in July 1982. He lost his job almost immediately afterward.

Yet imprisonment and repression did not end his activism.

During the 1980s, Kawęcki participated in the distribution of underground publications, including the clandestine newspaper Wolny Robotnik, which he later helped edit. He remained under surveillance by the communist security services while continuing to work within the opposition movement.

The foundation stone of the unrealized Radom monument acquired a significance of its own. It became a place of remembrance, where laying flowers could itself be treated by the authorities as a political act.

For Kawęcki, memory was never simply historical.

It was political, civic and ultimately European.

When communism began to collapse in 1989, he helped establish the Citizens’ Committee of the Radom region and participated in the first free electoral campaigns. But unlike many activists who subsequently moved into formal political life, Kawęcki continued to concentrate on documenting and preserving the history of those who had challenged the communist system.

He worked as a consultant and assistant director on documentaries about the 1976 protests and the life and death of Father Roman Kotlarz, whose death was widely associated with his alleged beating by the security services. He also became one of the central figures in the documentary Kamień (The Stone), which explored the history of the unfinished monument and Kawęcki’s own role in preserving the memory of Radom’s workers.

His contribution was eventually formally recognized by the Polish state. In 2018, he received the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity for his opposition activities and contribution to Poland’s independence. He was also awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

But perhaps the most fitting description of his achievement was one that required no official decoration: he became a custodian of memory.

The importance of that role is particularly clear from a European perspective.

The democratic Europe that exists today was not created solely through treaties, institutions and political leaders. It was also built by workers, dissidents, journalists, religious figures and civil society activists who challenged authoritarian systems long before the political structures of a free Europe could take shape.

Poland’s experience was central to that transformation. The protests of 1976, the emergence of Solidarity in 1980, the repression of martial law and the democratic breakthrough of 1989 formed part of the chain of events that ultimately helped bring an end to communist rule across Central and Eastern Europe.

Kawęcki was a participant in that history, but also one of its chroniclers.

He spent decades ensuring that the experiences of those who had suffered would not disappear from public memory. His work reflected a simple conviction: that political freedom has little meaning if societies forget the sacrifices through which it was achieved.

Late in his life, when asked whether the years of internment, professional reprisals and unpaid work devoted to preserving the memory of Radom’s June 1976 uprising had been worth it, his answer was characteristically direct.

“Yes. It was worth it.”

Bronisław Kawęcki’s death marks the passing of one of the generation that experienced Poland’s struggle for freedom firsthand. His legacy, however, belongs to a much larger European story.

It is the story of how democracy is defended before it becomes inevitable, and how the preservation of memory can itself become an act of resistance.

Kawęcki spent his life making sure that Poland remembered.

Europe should remember him as well.

While the country queues for petrol, import licences are being given to the network behind Mongolia’s largest corporate fraud. Mongolia spent August rationing petrol, as the country faces an ‘unprecedented’ fuel crisis. In response, the Government has made importing fuel more profitable, and has sped up the process for issuing new licences.[1]

By opening the gates, the government has allowed existing networks to exploit the crisis, including the one connected to Jononbayar Erdenesuren, the disgraced Mongolian businessman reportedly as being allegedly responsible for the $1.1 bn fraud scheme operated through Lex Oil, the fuel importer that was run by his aunt.[2]

Mongolia is heavily reliant on foreign oil, primarily from Russia. To import it, businesses need an ‘all-types fuel import licence’, issued by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, which decides through paperwork checks.[3] Foreign businesses cannot import directly — they must sell through a Mongolian-licensed entity.[4]

Some 164 companies hold an import licence. Of these, 34 have been granted since 2025.[5] The number of companies licensed to import fuel has more than doubled in under five years.[6]

They have also become considerably more valuable. Duty and excise on fuel have been zeroed, importers offered preferential loans and subsidised storage for reserves, and the customs service has been told to expedite clearance of petrol consignments.[7]

A number of companies granted all-types fuel import licences in 2025 and 2026 are connected to Jononbayar Erdenesuren and the Lex Oil network behind his $1.1bn scheme. That scheme was executed through the very exploitation of import licences.

None of these importers are required to disclose the amount of oil they import. Only 11 of the 164 licence holders imported fuel in the first days of August. When asked which 11, and how much each imported, the Customs General Administration refused to answer, citing customs law.

Lex Oil’s network is growing

Since 2025, two former Lex Oil CEOs have taken positions in dormant companies that then received fuel licences. In one case, the licence was obtained the same day the shareholding was registered.

Following five years of inactivity,[8] Standard Oil Gas appointed a new Director, Erdenebat Indra, in December 2025. Indra ran Lex Oil from January 2019 until February 2024 – nearly the whole period in which the losses accrued.[9] Six weeks later, Standard Oil was granted an import licence. Indra became a shareholder that same day.[10]

The pattern was replicated by Indra’s successor at Lex Oil, Banzragch Batdavaa.[11] Batdavaa bought into Best Dragon, a company with no prior fuel operations, in July 2025. It was granted import permits just two months later.[12] Batdavaa remains in business with both Mongolian and offshore entities linked to the scheme,[13] amongst them two Dubai entities – Peak Solutions (co-managed with Jononbayar’s mother)[14], and his own APEXPP commodities.[15]

Two other companies, granted licences in the spring of 2025, were already owned by individuals in the network. Tod Oil received its first licence in April 2025, although the company was incorporated six years earlier by entities closely tied to Jononbayar.[16] Its founder, Tod Petroleum, was co-founded by Lex Oil and former VS Oil CEO Bataa Anarchuluu.[17] Bataa continues to operate within the network, serving as the Executive Director of the helicopter business linked to both the scheme and the son of former Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene.[18]

Another, Apex Petroleum, was incorporated in October 2024 – the month the $1.1bn provision was made public.[19] Three of the five founding shareholders had previously founded businesses with Jononbayar himself.[20] These three include Mönkhjargal Javkhlan (son of a licensed importer linked to the Government)[21] and Jononbayar’s rumoured mistress, Yalaltbayar Khongorzul.[22]

Three further entities — ABR Eco Trans, Petro Spark and Standard Energy and Oil — have links to Jononbayar’s network. ABR was incorporated in October 2024 and licensed to import fuel in April 2025.[23] It has since taken on the founder of BID Energy, Bold Luvsandagva, as its shareholder and executive director.[24] In February 2026, ABR moved into the same unit BID Energy had occupied until that December.[25] BID Energy is Indra's other licensed importer. It was granted import licences in 2024, 11 weeks after Indra left Lex Oil.[26] Indra bought into the company and is now its ultimate beneficial owner.[27]

Another, Petro Spark, was licensed on the same day as Apex Petroleum.[28] Its owner, Yadamsüren Dorjchanga, holds a network of businesses with Yondon Uuganbayar.[29] Uuganbayar bought shares in Jononbayar’s family’s meat business, Erdenet Makh Market, two weeks after the Lex Oil scheme was disclosed in October 2024.[30]

The seventh company, Standard Energy and Oil, was licensed in 2025.[31] In May 2026, it was taken over by N. Monsor.[32] Monsor is a reported close contact of Jononbayar.[33] He was director of a Mongolian company, Sky Professional Logistics,[34] when it received over $7.5 million from an offshore entity called Class Trading Limited,[35] and distributed it the same day among nine recipients. These included Jocondy, a company owned by Jononbayar’s aunt, the founder of Lex Oil.[36] Jocondy was reportedly directed by Jononbayar at the time.[37] It is reported that Jononbayar had previously made transfers into Class Trading.[38]

These are not the network's first import licences. Nine companies linked to Jononbayar, the first being Lex Oil itself in 2019, were granted import licences before 2025,[39] meaning at least 16 of the 164 importers are connected to his network.

New Licences, Existing Networks

Even outside that seven, what distinguishes a successful candidate is often the individual owner, as opposed to the company profile. One grantee, TES Petroleum Trade,[40] is owned by the reported son of Baagaa Battömör,[41] a sitting MP who had previously run both Mongolia’s tax and customs administrations.[42] Two licences went to companies owned separately by partners in an existing fuel business.[43] Four more went to Chinese-controlled businesses, two of them on the same day. None was set up as a fuel business, and three were still unregistered for fuel activity when they were licensed.[44]

Of the 34 companies granted import licences by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in 2025 and 2026, 14 had been incorporated less than two years before the award.[45] Eight more of the organisations granted licences changed hands shortly before they were licensed.[46]

The Government’s Response

On 17 August, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources warned that importers who failed to keep filling stations supplied could lose their licences. The Minister admitted that some importers were holding stock and not selling it.

Revoking a licence removes a registration but has no bearing on the individuals behind the businesses. With fewer regulatory checks, and more demand than ever, the doors are being left open to actors who previously exploited Mongolia’s fuel import regulations.

Mongolia scored 31 out of 100 on Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 124th of 182 countries, its worst score on record. In September 2025 the US State Department reported that businesses in Mongolia face "substantial and unpredictable regulatory burdens at every level", with officials across ministries and agencies routinely contravening existing law and regulation. Unless the country creates laws transparently and implements them predictably, it warned, "investors may find Mongolia too risky and opt for more competitive countries."[47]

The victim of Jononbayar’s fraud scheme, Trafigura, used to be one of the most important importers of oil into Mongolia.[48] The fraud orchestrated by the playboy,[49] which personally enriched both himself and his family,[50] put that to an end. Now, the individuals involved are being allowed back in to exploit the crisis at the expense of ordinary Mongolians.

The crisis was a chance to show that direction had changed. Instead, the Government zeroed duty, offered importers preferential loans and subsidised storage, and issued 34 new licences — leaving at least 16 of the 164 with one network.  Now agents known to have exploited the same system previously, are being allowed in again.

Photo by Zbynek Burival on Unsplash

---

[1] Government’s announcement that fuel import licence applications should be processed quickly and the licences granted, reported: https://ikon.mn/n/3pep and https://sonin.mn/newsDetail/18284

[2] Lex-Oil LLC granted fuel import licence in 2019: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5623979. Owned through his aunt, Dorjgochoo Erdenetul.

[3] In order to gain these, an applicant must produce its registration documents, prove membership of the relevant professional association, and file its contract with the fuel supplier in original: https://legalinfo.mn/mn/detail?lawId=208190

[4] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-02/trafigura-mongolia-oil-fraud-how-trader-faces-1-billion-loss

[5] Data as of 20 August, taken from https://license.mn/  (official electronic licence system)

[6] 80 companies Eighty companies held a licence to import fuel into Mongolia on 1 January 2022, recorded in the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry's register of petroleum products special licences, 22 March 2022: https://mmhi.gov.mn/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ГТБ-тусгай-зөвшөөрлийн-жагсаалт-2022.03.22.pdf. 164 currently hold licences, per license.mn, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources official register, as of September 2026: https://license.mn/.

[7] Tax and lending measures: https://mmhi.gov.mn/2026/08/06/. Expedited customs clearance: E. Oyun-Erdene, GoGo.mn, 17 August 2026, https://cmsm.mongolcontent.mn/r/6k9g8

[8] Standard Oil Gas LLC’s fuel import licence expired in 2020, and it recorded no other activity in the intervening period: https://opendatalab.mn/search/6120954  

[9] CEO of Lex Oil 2019-224: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5623979

[10] 6 February 2026: https://opendatalab.mn/search/6120954

[11] Batdavaa sat as Executive Director of Lex Oil from Feb-April 2014: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5623979

[12] Best Dragon, incorporated 2020, dormant until 2025 when ownership was transferred to Batdavaa. Fuel import licence granted 26 September 2025: https://opendatalab.mn/search/6574246

[13] B.Batdavaa is currently a shareholder of Diamond Oil and Energy alongside Oyunbileg Sainbileg https://opendatalab.mn/search/6552544. Sainbeleg is known to a key actor alongside Jononbayer, and remains director of one of the family’s  companies, Zuunnaim Oil: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5272378  

[14] Cedar Rose UAE corporate data accessed via Sayari, 21 August 2026: PEAK SOLUTION DMCC, commercial register DMCC194234, licence DMCC-855346, incorporated 5 August 2022;

[15] Offshore link reported in https://www.eureporter.co/world/mongolia/2026/08/13/the-helicopter-that-helped-topple-mongolias-prime-minister-linked-to-lex-oil-scheme/, Batdaava’s Linkedin states him as CEO of APEXPP Commodities: www.linkedin.com/in/batdavaa-banzragch-46120115a

[16] Tod Oil, incorporated 2019 by Tod Petroleum, granted licence 23 April 2025: https://opendatalab.mn/search/6415636

[17] Tod Petroleum, founded Lex Oil and Bataa Anarchuluu https://opendatalab.mn/search/6104894. Bataa served as VS Oil CEO https://www.opendatalab.mn/search/6225578.

[18] Listed as UBO of Alpha Aurora Aviation: https://www.opendatalab.mn/search/8376344

[19] Apex Petroleum was incorporated 17 October 2024 (https://opendatalab.mn/search/7078633). Trafigura’s statement on losses 30 October 2024: https://www.trafigura.com/news-and-insights/press-releases/2024/statement-re-trafiguras-petroleum-products-business-in-mongolia/

[20] Three founders:  Bayardalai Erdenezaya (founded Kem Tek with Jononbayar in 2016, and Commodity Trans with his mother in 2019); Mönkhjargal Javkhlan (registered at the same two businesses, alongside Diamond Oil and Energy), Yalaltbayar Khongorzul (co-founded Khongorfinance with Jononbayar in 2015),

[21] Reported to be the brother in-law and former campaign manager for the Minister of Economic Development: https://ergelt.mn/news/22/singile/40012

[22] Archived article: https://web.archive.org/web/20241113103634/https://www.reelnews.mn/a/1225 and X: https://x.com/miigaasbntv/status/1852208500715459004

[23] ABR Eco Trans LLC, incorporated 15 October 2024; wholesale permit 0016 from 20 March 2025 and all-types fuel import licence 0015 from 25 April 2025; https://opendatalab.mn/search/7077609

[24] Luvsandagva registered as ABR shareholder and joint beneficial owner on 24 November 2025 and as executive director on 29 January 2026; he founded BID Energy on 13 December 2023 with Baterdene Lkhagvadulam and was its first executive director: https://opendatalab.mn/search/7077609 and https://opendatalab.mn/search/8454485

[25] BID Energy moved from Bayanzürkh, 3rd khoroo, 12th microdistrict, Tsendgüni 30b, unit 53 on 1 December 2025; ABR moved into that unit on 2 February 2026, from Tokio 24a, unit 134 in the same microdistrict: https://opendatalab.mn/search/8454485 and https://opendatalab.mn/search/7077609

[26] BID Energy LLC, import licence 0015 granted 24 April 2024; https://opendatalab.mn/search/8454485. Indra was executive director of Lex Oil from January 2019 to February 2024: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5623979.

[27] Indra registered as BID Energy shareholder and executive director on 16 August 2024 and as sole ultimate beneficial owner on 1 December 2025: https://opendatalab.mn/search/8454485

[28] Petro Spark LLC, incorporated 8 May 2024, sole shareholder and beneficial owner Yadamsüren Dorjchanga; import licence 19 May 2025, the same date as Apex Petroleum: https://opendatalab.mn/search/7025169

[29] Joint holdings with Yondon Uuganbayar: Mongolian Truck Union Group LLC, https://opendatalab.mn/search/6840175; Novel Development Union LLC: https://opendatalab.mn/search/6894402; and the Gobi Genetics, https://opendatalab.mn/search/3646203  

[30] Uuganbayar owns Mon Beef Cattle: https://opendatalab.mn/search/8324328 . Mon Beef Cattle acquired Erdenet Makh Market LLC, from Dorjgochoo Erdenetuyaa 24 October 2024, days before the scheme was disclosed.

[31] Standard Energy and Oil, received wholesale permit in June, the import licence that September:  https://opendatalab.mn/search/6754244

[32] Monsor became the director of Standard Energy and Oil on 5 May 2026. It was acquired the same day by an investment fund, then owned by Dorj Enkhtuya (renamed KK Real Estate private fund two days later): https://opendatalab.mn/search/6607829. Mansor was the previous manager of that fund, and founded it himself through another vehicle he still owns and manages, Ulaanbaatar Asset Management: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5493498 . He became the CEO of Standard Energy and Oil on the day it was taken over by KK Real Estate.

[33] Reported in https://www.livetv.mn/p/11193/ and in https://www.polit.mn/a/69636

[34] Monsor is reported to have run Sky Professional Logistics: https://www.livetv.mn/p/11193. Court records state the executive director of Sky Professional Logistics concluded a wagon-transport agreement with the head of Ulaanbaatar Railway on 28 July 2017, naming him as Н.Монсов: https://shuukh.mn/single_case/19024

[35] Reporting states that US$7,545,900 was transferred from Class Trading Limited to Sky Professional Logistics on 8 August 2017 https://gogo.mn/r/5292y. Class Trading Limited was incorporated in the Turks and Caicos Islands and registered a Hong Kong place of business on 13 May 2015: Hong Kong Companies Registry, Company Particulars, BRN 64752427.

[36] Jocondy was founded by Dorjgochoo Erdenetuul, https://opendatalab.mn/search/5247632. She is Jononbayar's maternal aunt and the owner of Lex Oil LLC: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5623979 and https://zuv.mn/n/16a3.

[37] Reporting records US$612,400 paid to Jocondy and describes Jononbayar as its director at the time: https://gogo.mn/r/5292y and https://dardas.mn/news/view/2970

[38] Reported that Jononbayar sent $500,000 to Class Trading in 2014: https://dardas.mn/news/view/2970

[39] 2019: Lex Oil, 2019 https://opendatalab.mn/search/5623979,Tod Petroleum, https://opendatalab.mn/search/6104894. 2020: ICIC, https://opendatalab.mn/search/5288193 VS Oil, https://opendatalab.mn/search/6225578, Zuunnaim Oil https://opendatalab.mn/search/5272378. 2022: Argal Oil https://opendatalab.mn/search/6309011. 2023: Alpha Aviation Fuel https://opendatalab.mn/search/8403473. 2024:  BID Energy https://opendatalab.mn/search/8454485 · Interasia Energy Mongolia, 2024 https://opendatalab.mn/search/6902987. Register of all 164 holders: https://opendatalab.mn/licences/15

[40] Tes Petroleum Trade, licenced 21 February 2025: https://opendatalab.mn/search/6373135

[41] Paternity reported in: https://ergelt.mn/news/22/single/40012

[42] Battömör has sat in the State great Khural since 2016, he was deputy head, then head of the State Customs General Administration from 2008-11 and Head of the Tax General Administration from 2011-13: https://www.24tsag.mn/a/227052  

[43] Greenjob, owned by Batsukh Baigalmaa, granted licence in October 2025: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5645867; and Gobi Petroleum GPT, owned by Onurbat Ragchaa, granted a licence September 2025: https://opendatalab.mn/search/7121913. Together they are exclusive owners and directors of Green Oil Trade since incorporation in 2020: https://opendatalab.mn/search/6528716 

[44] Tana Khiimori Oil - received import licence 11 August 2025, First registered for fuel-related activities 15 August 2025

: https://opendatalab.mn/search/7080033; Talnutgiin Ayalal - received import licence 11 August 2025, First registered for fuel-related activities 15 August 2025: https://opendatalab.mn/search/5887488; 

Achit Güür MS - received import licence 14 Jan 2026, Remains unregistered for any kind of fuel-related activity (registration codes are for freight, agriculture, tourism and motor vehicle sales): https://opendatalab.mn/search/6891802; Söüd Mont Forest - received import licence 11 December 2025, Registered for fuel wholesaling 6 December 2025,  (previous registration codes are for motor vehicles, freight, automotive sales and machinery),  https://opendatalab.mn/search/7058649.

[45] Data as of 20 August, taken from https://licence.mn/  (official electronic licence system)

[46] Data as of https://licence.mn/ checked against https://opendatalab.mn/search/[registration number]. “Changed hands” to mean change of shareholder, director or beneficial owner within twelve months on either side of grant.

[47] https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/638719_2025-Mongolia-Investment-Climate-Statement.pdf

[48] Trafigura supplied around a third of the region’s oil products, particularly diesel: https://eulerpool.com/news/markets/trafigura-in-crisis-mongolian-oil-credit-causes-million-loss; deals undertaken through the scheme said to account for around 80% of Mongolia's imported oil products: https://eguur.mn/556936/

[49] Jononbayar known for “parties he threw for friends and contacts” per Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-02/trafigura-mongolia-oil-fraud-how-trader-faces-1-billion-loss; reported to have thrown some of the “most expensive parties in Mongolia” https://eguur.mn/556936/

[50] https://zuv.mn/n/16a3; https://itoim.mn/a/2024/07/22/news-break/ugg

Kazakhstan is preparing to take part in the 2027 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, where it will showcase the country’s traditions, music, crafts and other elements of its cultural heritage, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Information.

The preparations were discussed at a meeting between Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information, Aida Balayeva, Smithsonian Institution Festival Curator, Rebecca Fenton, and Southwest Folklife Alliance Co-Founder, Bryan Rafael Falcon.

The sides also discussed the participation of Kazakhstan’s ethno-folk group HasSak in a festival in Tucson, as well as plans for the group to hold a concert in Washington.

Preparations for the 2027 Smithsonian Folklife Festival are part of broader efforts to expand cultural cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Smithsonian Institution. The sides expressed confidence that their cooperation would gain new momentum and move beyond individual cultural initiatives toward long-term projects.

Qazinform News Agency previously reported that Kazakhstan proposed expanding bilateral cultural exchanges and hosting US Culture Days in the country.

They asked for a Circular Economy Act that goes beyond waste management to focus on using resources more efficiently, among other things. European Commissioner Jessica Roswall met on Monday (31 Aug) with 16 young people who helped shape the European Commission's Youth Check on the upcoming Circular Economy Act (CEA).

The meeting with the Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy was part of the participatory process launched earlier this year to ensure that young people's views help guide the Commission's flagship initiative for Europe's circular economy. 

It followed her first exchange with young participants at the annual conference of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) in April. Since then, a team of youth representatives has worked to develop a Youth Position Paper setting out their recommendations. 

At the meeting, the group presented their main messages and discussed with Commissioner Roswall the opportunities and challenges of Europe's circular transition. They called for a Circular Economy Act that goes beyond waste management to focus on using resources more efficiently, making products easier to repair and reuse, ensuring safe, high-quality secondary materials, keeping the transition affordable and fair, investing in circular skills, and maintaining meaningful youth involvement throughout implementation.

The discussion also allowed the Commissioner to respond to the youth recommendations, reflect on the contribution of the Youth Check to the policy-making process and reaffirm the Commission's commitment to effective youth involvement. 

“Young people are not only stakeholders in Europe’s circular transition; they are essential partners in shaping it. We need young people to voice their ideas and be part of the change that will make Europe’s circular economy a reality. I am happy to receive their ambitious recommendations today, which will help inform our work as we prepare the Circular Economy Act.”

Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Commissioner Jessika Roswall

"In the last few months we have seen what effective and tangible youth input can look like in policy-making. We appreciate the opportunity to openly share our recommendations with Commissioner Roswall and DG Environment to shape the Circular Economy Act. This is a significant step forward for meaningful youth participation in environmental policy. The Act will set the framework for a future that we, as young people, will feel the effect of, and we are ready to continue contributing to it with our ideas."

Representatives of Generation Climate Europe and Academics for a Circular Economy

Background

The CEA, due to be adopted before the end of 2026, aims to accelerate the transition to a more circular economy, increasing the EU’s economic security, resilience, competitiveness and decarbonisation.

It is intended to improve the business case for circularity by facilitating the cross-border movement of recycled products, materials, and waste across Europe. It will also increase the supply of high-quality recycled materials and stimulate demand for these materials in the EU. 

The Youth Position Paper on the CEA was coordinated by the youth organisations Academics for Circular Economy (ACE) and Generation Climate Europe (GCE).  

The CEA Youth Check combined a targeted online consultation of young people aged 15 to 29, a dedicated youth session during the ECESP Annual Conference, and additional exchanges with youth stakeholders. It will also inform the Impact Assessment prepared for the Circular Economy Act in line with the Commission's Better Regulation Guidelines.  

More information 

Youth Perspectives on the EU Circular Economy Act: A Youth Assessment of Ambitious, Gaps and Implementation Conditions | European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform

Summary of the online Youth Consultation | European Commission

Summary of the ECESP Conference | European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform

Youth Check | European Youth Portal

Circular Economy Act | European Commission

On 10–11 June 2026, the European Commission hosted a thematic workshop of the EU Network against Corruption in Brussels to support the preparation of the first EU Anti-Corruption Strategy, as announced in the Commission Work Programme 2026.

The workshop brought together representatives of member states, EU institutions and bodies, civil society organisations, and academia to discuss how to develop a more coherent and comprehensive EU approach to combating corruption.

The future Strategy builds on the 2023 Joint Communication on the fight against corruption and aims to bring together prevention, enforcement, institutional integrity, and international cooperation within a single strategic framework.

Day 1, dedicated to Member States and EU bodies, was opened by Marie-Hélène Boulanger, Acting Director for Rule of Law, Fundamental Rights and Democracy. Discussions focused on the key elements of an overarching EU anti-corruption approach, including the implementation of Directive (EU) 2026/1021. Participants highlighted the importance of preventive measures, particularly risk assessment, as a cornerstone of effective anti-corruption policies. The workshop also examined the enforcement dimension of the EU anti-corruption framework, with discussions covering the effective criminalisation, detection, investigation and prosecution of corruption offences, as well as the role of cross-border cooperation and information exchange.

Day 2, which expanded participation to include civil society organisations and academia, was opened by Irena Moozová, Deputy Director-General of DG Justice. Discussions centred on the development of a whole-of-society approach to combating corruption, recognising the important role of education, research, civil society, the media and other stakeholders in fostering a culture of integrity across society. It also looked at better use of data to detect corruption risks and analyse gaps. 

The workshop formed part of the Commission’s broader consultation process for the preparation of the Strategy. This process also includes a Call for Evidence, an Open Public Consultation, and targeted stakeholder consultations.

The European Commission has appointed Mihail Dumitru (pictured) as new chair of the Mission Board EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”. M. Dumitru is a former Minister of agriculture and rural development of Romania and former Deputy Director-General in the Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. He will bring his extensive experience on agricultural and soil issues, the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), rural development and research and innovation to provide advice and help achieve the Mission’s objectives. 

M. Dumitru is starting in his new role on 1 September 2026 and will take part in the conference 'Mission forward: Shaping the future through mission-oriented policy' organized by the OECD on 24-25 September in Paris, and in the European Mission Soil Week to be held on 17-18 November in Dublin.

The Mission Soil Board is composed of the following members:

• Mihail Dumitru - Chair
• Adrian Ferrero Fernandez, Economistas de la Innovación Slne, Biome Makers Inc, Spain
• Anna Krzywoszynska, University of Twente, Netherlands 
• Diego Marazza, Università di Bologna, Italy
• Endre Dobos, University of Miskolc, Hungary
• Gabriele Broll, University of Osnabrueck, Germany     
• Harry Vereecken, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Germany        
• Iustina Boajă, National Institute for Research and Development in Environmental Protection, Geological Institute of Romania
• Mateusz Ciasnocha, Ciasnocha Family Farms, European Carbon Farmers, Poland
• Muriel Mambrini Doudet, Institut de recherche pour le développement, France
• Paloma Melgarejo, Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Spain
• Pandi Zdruli, CIHEAM Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy
• Teresa Pinto-Correia, University of Evora, Portugal

Background

The role of the Mission Soil Board is to provide strategic advice for the Mission Soil implementation and to promote its activities.

More information

EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe

Advocate General Juliane Kokott has published her opinion calling on the EU’s top court to invalidate provisions in the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive requiring pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies to fund at least 80% of the cost of removing micropollutants from urban wastewater.

“Today’s opinion strengthens the case for stopping the clock on this Directive to avoid consequences for the availability of medicines for patients,” said Director General of Medicines for Europe, Adrian van den Hoven. “The Commission should use this opportunity to properly review the EPR scheme before companies are forced to make decisions that could affect medicine supply or health security.”

The opinion, issued in response to a Polish challenge to the Directive, is not binding on the Court of Justice of the European Union, but it appears to support criticisms that industry has long made about the evidence and proportionality underpinning the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme.

Generic and biosimilar companies say those concerns are already affecting investment decisions. Manufacturers must plan production years ahead.

MEPs are pushing for an EU solidarity mechanism to help patients pay for treatment abroad, arguing that financial barriers are preventing Europeans from exercising rights they have had on paper for more than a decade.

The calls came as Parliament discussed a report commissioned to inform its own-initiative report on modernising patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare. The study found that cross-border care accounts for just 0.004% of EU public health expenditure, despite patients continuing to face upfront costs, complex reimbursement procedures and prior-authorisation requirements.

Tomislav Sokol (EPP, Croatia) called the proposed solidarity mechanism a potential “game changer” for vulnerable patients, but challenged Parliament to spell out how it would work.

“How would it work in practice? How would it be financed? Would this be part of the EU budget?” Sokol asked. “We need to know it now, so that we can also use this in negotiations on the future EU budget, in the next MFF.”

• Kazakhstan has revised its oil production plan for 2026 from 98 million to 96 million tons due to the impact of attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), Qazinform News Agency quotes Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov as saying.

According to him, Kazakhstan initially planned to maintain last year's production level of 99.5 million tons and approach the 100 million-ton mark.

"With the attacks in January and the continued attacks in June and July, we lost approximately 3.5 million tons. TCO shareholders decided not to conduct a major overhaul and postponed it until next year," Akkenzhenov said at a government briefing.

The ministry also decided to postpone planned maintenance at NCOC fields until next year.

"We planned to produce 98 million tons, but the adjusted plan is now 96 million tons. Production losses resulting from the attacks on the CPC will amount to 3.5 million tons," the minister clarified.

In July, the CPC was targeted in a series of drone attacks. On July 17, drones struck the oil tanker Nordic Zenith.

On July 19, two tankers carrying Kazakh oil were targeted in separate attacks.

Following the attacks, oil loading operations at the CPC terminal were suspended. The Ministry of Energy said that such attacks on civilian critical energy infrastructure facilities were unacceptable.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned drone attacks on vessels transporting oil via the CPC.

On July 23, the Ministry of Energy announced a temporary suspension of oil loading at the CPC marine terminal and a reduction in oil production in Kazakhstan.

On July 27, the CPC resumed oil intake from shippers and loading operations at its marine terminal in the port of Novorossiysk.

On July 30, the CPC reported new attacks targeting two tankers, following which oil loading operations were suspended again.

Understanding the EU sustainable blue economy's structure, performance and challenges in comparison with international competitors is the objection behind a new study, which needs participants for a survey.

The study is on competitiveness of EU sustainable blue economy sector: focus on ocean observation technologies, and is conducted by Cogea srl on behalf of the European Commission. under Framework Contract CINEA/2021/OP/0011 (Lot 2). .

Input will help ensure that future EU policies, funding programmes and support measures reflect industry realities and priorities of the European ocean observation sector.

Participants of this survey (which takes 10-20 minutes) will receive a summary of aggregated findings of the study and will be considered for featured case studies highlighting relevant companies in the European ocean observation sector, if you consent.

Companies and organizations developing, supplying or working with ocean observation technologies are invited to participate by 15 September.

Survey

On 1 September in Brussels, Fisheries and Oceans Commissioner Costas Kadis and Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Commissioner Glenn Micallef jointly hosted the Youth Policy Dialogue ‘How to make Arctic youth participation more inclusive’.

The ten young participants were selected via the EU-funded project Youth Together for Arctic Futures, a workstream under the EU Arctic Youth Dialogue initiative. During the discussion, they will share their experiences and ideas on how the EU can better support the inclusive participation of Arctic youth in decision-shaping processes on issues that matter to young people. During the dialogue, the Commissioners will also ask for the participants’ opinions on the forthcoming Blue Generational Renewal Strategy, a flagship initiative under the European Ocean Pact aimed at making careers in the maritime sectors more attractive.

The Dialogue took place in the framework of the EU Arctic Forum and the Arctic Youth and Indigenous Peoples’ Dialogues, which took place on 1-2 September opened by International Partnerships Commissioner Jozef Síkela and Kadis. The Forum came at an important moment as the EU is updating its Arctic policy in the context of evolving geopolitical, economic and environmental developments.

The EU Arctic Forum, Arctic Youth and Indigenous Peoples’ Dialogues, which bring together a range of Arctic stakeholders to discuss developments in the region and the future of the EU’s engagement in the Arctic, are integral parts of the EU Arctic policy. Youth Policy Dialogues are part of the European Commission's commitment to mainstream the voice of young people in EU policymaking, as set out in President von der Leyen's Political Guidelines for 2024-2029.

Good afternoon,

I want to start with a simple message – thank you, this is a message for all of you, at my side or in the background. Dear Commissioner, dear Director-General, to the staff from the ERCC and ECHO, thank you for being here when Europe needs you most. As you have said – and I learned a lot in this hour here - day and night, 24/7, weekends and on holidays, whenever a crisis strikes, the team is there. The work you do protects people and most importantly saves lives. When a country asks for help, within hours, that call becomes action. Aircrafts take off, firefighters cross borders, and Copernicus maps reach responders on the ground. What we have seen today and what the ERCC lives everyday is European solidarity in action.

This summer has shown once again how much Europe relies on you. The wildfire season started exceptionally early in late April and put national services under enormous pressure. Since April, the EU civil protection mechanism has been activated 10 times for wildfires in 8 different countries, sometimes with several happening at the same time. When national capacities are stretched, Europe steps in, you can count on Europe. Firefighting aircrafts, helicopters, ground teams with all their expertise, vehicles, satellites, all of this is needed and all of this is mobilised across the continent. And because every single moment counts in an emergency, we are acting before the worst fires begin. Another impressive figure is the nearly 800 firefighters that were pre-positioned in high-risk areas. They stood ready to reinforce local teams from the first critical hours. And over the summer, teams were deployed from 25 countries – Member States and partner countries. And for the very first time, this also included firefighters from Ukraine, helping here in the European Union. Rescue teams have worked heroically. Some tragically lost their lives while bravely protecting others. We honour their courage, we honour their service. Their memory will stay with us, and it will inspire our action moving forward.

The work of this centre goes far beyond the fires, and far beyond Europe. I was impressed to hear that when there was a Hantavirus outbreak on a ship, you prepared repatriation flights and mobilised medical evacuation services. As the earthquakes hit Venezuela, you coordinated the deployment of 750 responders and experts from 18 countries. When Colombia was struck by an earthquake, Europe provided tents, water filters and essential supplies, as well as expertise on the ground. And after the devastating floods in Nepal just last week, we saw the images from Copernicus, you immediately supported the response with Copernicus mapping.

Fires, earthquakes, floods, health emergencies, hybrid attacks, you name it. Each crisis is different and requires a specific response. But most important is that the principle is the same: when help is needed, you can count on Europe. And these crises also paint a bigger picture. The risks around us are changing. They are becoming more frequent, more complex and more severe. Changing global climate patterns are adding to this volatility. Around the world, we see higher temperatures and disrupted rainfall. For emergency services, this is not an abstract warning about the future, it is already changing the emergencies they are facing today. Extreme events happen more often, in more places, and at the same time. This centre has shown time and again that Europe can respond when crisis strikes. But we must also learn from every single crisis and we must turn those lessons into action. So that we adapt faster, strengthen prevention and act before an emergency becomes a disaster. Our civil protection mechanism is pooling and sharing this expertise and the emergency capabilities. When one country comes under pressure, we step in, because as Europe, we are greater than the sum of our parts. That is what this centre demonstrates every day,

I thank you very much for presenting to me the essence of this centre. Of course the time was way too short to speak and see enough. But for me it is also very important preparation for the State of the Union. I thank you for giving me the time, sharing with me your expertise and knowledge. From the bottom of my heart, Europe is grateful for what you're doing.

Thank you.

The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union, has carried out an EU-Bonds auction on 31 August. The results of this auction are as follows:

	EU-Bonds 13/10/2031 2.875%	EU-Bonds 12/12/2036 3.250%	EU-Bonds 12/12/2040 3.625%
ISIN	EU000A4EXVK3	EU000A4ERVC2	EU000A4EJF17
Competitive auction	31/08/2026	31/08/2026	31/08/2026
Settlement competitive auction	02/09/2026	02/09/2026	02/09/2026
Non-competitive auction	01/09/2026	01/09/2026	01/09/2026
Settlement non-competitive auction	03/09/2026	03/09/2026	03/09/2026
Maturity	13/10/2031	12/12/2036	12/12/2040
Volume bids *	2 655	3 473	2 066
Volume allotment *	2 183	2 302	1 788
Non-competitive allocation *	-	-	-
Old outstanding amount *	6 000	14 985	12 964
New outstanding amount *	8 183	17 287	14 752
Weighted average price	98.280%	96.294%	95.819%
Lowest accepted price	98.270%	96.270%	95.790%
% awarded at lowest accepted price	100.00%	27.72%	100.00%
Weighted average yield	3.246%	3.689%	4.013%
Cover ratio	1.22	1.51	1.16

* in millions of euros