This article was originally published by Truthout on Aug. 03, 2026. It is shared here under a  Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has permeated our workplaces, where many employers have sought to boost productivity, cut labor costs, and eliminate jobs via the technology. A 2025 Pew Research Center poll found that 1 in 5 workers now use AI in their jobs.

Organized labor’s response to the AI has been fraught. Where some see an inevitable shift that simply needs to be regulated and could potentially even create jobs, others see a dangerous trend that will result in further job losses along with a variety of other problems.

The tension is succinctly summarized by a recent Politico headline: “Voters fear AI. Unions want the jobs.”

The ongoing debate over data centers encapsulates this tension. Across the country, community members have spearheaded efforts to block their construction over concerns about water depletion, higher utility bills, noise, and air pollution.

In March, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Moratorium Act, which would institute a pause on data center construction until federal safeguards can be established. “We need serious public debate and democratic oversight over this enormously consequential issue,” said Sanders in a statement on the bill. “The time for action is now.”

The legislative effort is backed by multiple unions including National Nurses United (NNU), the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and the Association of Flight Attendants. “The unchecked explosion of AI data centers is a public health crisis, an environmental crisis, and a workers’ rights crisis,” declared NNU co-president Jamie Brown at a press conference announcing the bill.

However, there are also many unions that oppose any moratorium on data centers, particularly building trade unions that believe such construction can stimulate economic growth for struggling communities and provide members with work.

“We need the guardrails on AI, we just don’t think that a moratorium is the way to get there,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told Punchbowl News in June.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is even calling on members to contact their congressional representatives and make social media posts connected to the issue. “I’m a proud IBEW member and I oppose any bans on data center construction since these bans would eliminate good-paying union jobs,” reads suggested text for a social media post.

In June, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appeared at the groundbreaking ceremony for Oracle and OpenAI’s planned 1.4-gigawatt data center in the state’s Saline Township. Alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Whitmer told the assembled crowd that the state was setting an example for “the rest of the world” by ensuring the “responsible adoption” of AI.

The project was opposed by many residents and local lawmakers. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) called it “disgusting” and said she was “disappointed” with Whitmer, while Democratic State Rep. Dylan Wegela of Garden City said it was a “complete betrayal of the working class” and that the governor had sold out “Michigan to big tech billionaires.”

However, the data center was backed by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), and its president, Sean McGarvey, was present at the groundbreaking. “America’s ability to lead in the next era of innovation depends, in part, on America’s ability to build, and our members are proud to be helping make that future possible,” he told the crowd.

Speaking to Politico in June, Senator Sanders’s chief political adviser, Faiz Shakir, said that the data center jobs heralded by certain unions won’t necessarily establish lasting occupations.

“It’s fine to say that [data centers will] be built with good-paying union jobs now — and I hope that that’s the case — but what we’re also looking for on behalf of the working class of America is long-term sustainability of jobs,” he said. “It doesn’t help a lot in our view if you have a short-term infusion of good, union paying jobs at the cost of the decimation of many, many long-term jobs.”

Support for AI within organized labor is receiving a boost from AI companies themselves. Last year, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) announced that it would create an AI training hub in New York City via $23 million from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

“The industry funding is part of a drive by U.S. tech companies to reshape education with generative A.I. chatbots,” noted The New York Times. “These tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot, can produce humanlike essays, research summaries and class quizzes.”

AFT President Randi Weingarten said the academy was inspired by the work of other unions, like the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, and that the idea for the National Academy for AI Instruction sprang from a partnership established between Microsoft and the AFL-CIO in 2023.

“AI holds tremendous promise but huge challenges — and it’s our job as educators to make sure AI serves our students and society, not the other way around,” declared Weingarten. “The direct connection between a teacher and their kids can never be replaced by new technologies, but if we learn how to harness it, set commonsense guardrails and put teachers in the driver’s seat, teaching and learning can be enhanced.”

The way Weingarten is selling the hub is seemingly at odds with that of Roy Bahat, who first proposed the idea. In a LinkedIn post made shortly after the announcement, Bahat, who heads the venture capital firm Bloomberg Beta, essentially admits that the center can serve as a test case for applying AI more broadly — or, as Nolan Higdon put it in Truthdig: “Teachers are guinea pigs in Big Tech’s broader project to reengineer labor, one profession at a time.”

“If we can figure out how teachers should teach with and about AI, we can affect the lives of millions of educators, and millions and millions of young people,” explains Bahat in the post. “And if we can figure out how to train teachers on using AI, maybe we can figure it out for other occupations.”

The training hub, and union leadership’s wider connections to AI, have sparked criticism from labor activists and rank-and-file members.

“Using AI compliments, intensifies, and accelerates privatization of the public sector, and that’s in addition to any harm that it’s doing to work,” author and teacher union activist Lois Weiner told Truthout. “The labor movement should be contesting the idea that the imposition of AI is inevitable. That’s the labor movement’s responsibility.”

“What makes this so disturbing is that it raises fully the problem of union democracy,” she added. “These decisions were made without informed debate with union members. They have a moral responsibility to community and the kids we serve to have a voice.”

Trevor Griffey, a labor historian, lecturer at UCLA and UC Irvine, and vice president of legislation for AFT Local 1474, told Truthout that, since the collaboration was established, the AFT national has focused too much on trying to help teachers adapt to AI, and too little on organizing worker power in school districts. He believes unions should go on the offensive and push for deeper reforms, as AI is already having a dramatic impact. He points out that groups like the California Federation of Labor Unions are trying to bring together statewide unions in California to lobby on a range of bills targeting the dangers of Big Tech.

“The question is less where unions stand on AI or other forms of technology, and more how they organize to resist the unsafe and unethical use of automation at work,” he told Truthout. “Unions need to invest in strategic research and organizing to support workers most likely to be negatively impacted by employers’ adoption of AI-powered technology — both at work, and in building political power sufficient to prevent the unethical and unsafe use of new technology. Beyond just regulating AI, unions should push for full employment and/or universal income policies to mitigate the disruptions to people’s lives that AI-related layoffs are already having.”

These sentiments were echoed by Vishal Reddy, a union negotiator for nursing home workers and the executive director of WorkFour.

“Unions at the local, international, and federation levels need to put real money and organizing capacity into figuring out which affirmative AI-related demands — four-day workweek, UBI [universal basic income], AI dividends, and so on — actually resonate with a wide swath of workers,” he told Truthout. “Just like in bargaining, we want to know which affirmative policy would be most deeply and widely felt, so we can prioritize it in the fights ahead, including May Day 2028.”

“That means cross-union convenings, issue campaigns, commissioned polling and research, and real resourcing behind the bargaining fights where these policies are already surfacing,” Reddy added. “For example, if a fight over a 32-hour workweek is on the table somewhere, that’s exactly where the labor movement should be throwing its weight.”

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At Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, on ground the Army’s own contracting documents describe as previously used for grazing, a company owned by two of the largest investment firms in the world is preparing to build a data center.

That site sits about an hour’s drive from the nearest community, on the installation where the U.S. military conducts its primary chemical and biological weapons testing. Three parcels there total roughly 3,466 acres. One of them, about 1,201 acres, is already spoken for.

It is one of at least a dozen military installations the Army and the Department of the Air Force have opened to commercial data center developers over the past year and a half. Two of those deals are real; the rest are still proposals.

Land-for-Computing

In late March, the Army conditionally selected two companies to enter exclusive negotiations to build and operate commercial hyperscale data centers on Army land.

Carlyle, the global investment firm, was picked for roughly 1,384 acres at Fort Bliss, Texas. CyrusOne, a data center operator jointly held by funds managed by KKR and BlackRock, was picked for the parcel at Dugway. Each project is estimated to cost about $2 billion, according to the Financial Times.

The companies will be responsible for financing, building, operating, maintaining and eventually decommissioning the facilities, the Army said, on what it called “underutilized but non-excess Army land at no upfront cost to taxpayers.” In exchange for the land, the service gets access to computing power.

It all runs through the Army’s Enhanced Use Lease program, driven by a Trump executive order directing agencies to open non-excess federal land to data center development. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is handling lease negotiations and environmental review.

“AI is a strategic asset for the Army,” Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said in the March announcement. “It is a force multiplier, supports future transformation and requirements, keeps the Army ahead of our adversaries, and generates resiliency across the force.” Driscoll told the Wall Street Journal that the Fort Bliss facility would be “the first hyper-scale data center that the Pentagon has ever done.”

Which Bases and How Close to Housing?

Only Fort Bliss and Dugway have been awarded so far, and even those remain conditional, pending negotiation. Beyond them, federal contracting documents show the Army considering data centers at Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Bragg, N.C.

The Department of the Air Force put out its own call in 2025 for private AI data center projects on unused land at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

More recently, it sought bidders for facilities at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station in Alaska. Acreage varies enormously; for example, Fort Hood has 207 acres on offer. Fort Bliss has nearly seven times that.

Dugway is remote by design, although not every site is. Contracting documents show the Army weighing a parcel at Fort Hood within a half-mile of residential and commercial property, and several potential locations at Fort Bragg within one mile of civilian areas and a half-mile of civilian housing.

Proximity to the population is what has made data centers a heated topic in the civilian world. Nearly $156 billion in projects nationwide have been delayed or canceled after local opposition, according to Data Center Watch.

In Virginia, which holds the world’s highest concentration of the facilities, a state-funded study found residents’ monthly energy bills could rise by $14 to $37 by 2040.

Army Officials Say They’re Ready

“So I think the difference between us, the Army, doing a data center, and say Meta or Google, is we’re part of the communities that are there, and we are going to engage with them on a routine and regular basis to look for solutions that work for everyone, right?” Col. John Oliver, executive officer for Deputy Army Under Secretary Dave Fitzgerald, told Defense One. “Because, yes, we understand that there’s been consternation with data centers.”

Two requirements attached to these projects do not apply to commercial builds off base. Proposals must include net-zero water usage and a power plan that does not draw on the local electrical grid. Bidders were also required to describe plans for “local outreach and engagement” and to assess “any risks or opposition” to the project.

The Defense Department’s own procurement documents, obtained by the trade publication Data Center Dynamics, rate the water risk for the El Paso area as “Extremely High.” Data centers consume water to cool their servers. Fort Bliss is where the Army wants its flagship.

Army officials want the project to be a net contributor rather than a net drain. In the spring, Fitzgerald traveled to Fort Bliss for a listening session with the commander of the 1st Armored Division, community members, El Paso Water, El Paso Electric and Carlyle. One idea on the table is having the developer drill a new well to feed the city’s desalination plant, offsetting what the data center uses.

“We are encouraging Carlyle to do that, so actually make it net-positive,” Oliver told Defense One. “We don’t know if that’s an engineering solution that we can actually get to yet, but we’re actively working toward that as a part of the process.”

Darrell M. West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies data center development, said the approach is sound, and that communities which have accepted the facilities tend to be the ones told the full details in advance.

“People want to know up-front, you know, where the energy is coming from, how much water is being used, how much the overall cost is going to be, and what the noise levels are,” West said.

Congress Not Settled

Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican, secured a provision in the House version of the fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill. This bill bars the Defense Department from leasing land for data centers unless developers agree not to install equipment containing components made in China, Russia, Iran or North Korea. The restriction covers certain printed circuit boards, advanced semiconductors and chipsets the department considers a security risk.

“Honored to pass this amendment to protect our military installations from Chinese components being used in data centers on our installations,” Mills wrote on X.

The Army objected. The measure would create a “federal land penalty,” a service official told Federal News Network, imposing rules on companies building on installations that would not apply to identical projects built anywhere else. “We want Congress to incentivize companies to build on secure federal land, rather than creating barriers that drive them away,” the official said.

Rep. John Garamendi, a California Democrat, proposed requiring the Pentagon to evaluate a data center’s energy and water consumption, noise and light pollution, and effects on security and supply chains before finalizing any deal. House Armed Services Republicans rejected it.

“We’re not opposed to data centers,” Garamendi said. “We just want to make sure that if we’re going to put a data center on a federal facility, that federal facility is not going to be degraded by the data center.”

His questions were installation questions. “Is there encroachment on training and operations and the physical and supply chain of security?” he asked.

Senate Armed Services Republicans defeated a separate Democratic amendment that would have blocked leasing until the Pentagon finalizes a data center strategy. House appropriators, meanwhile, adopted language acknowledging that data centers “place significant strain on energy and water resources and communities have resisted such projects.”

Available Information

For anyone stationed at or living near one of these installations, several things are known for sure. Only two projects have been awarded, and both remain conditional. Fort Hood, Fort Bragg and the Air Force sites are solicitations, not commitments.

Read full story here…

Il governo prepara per settembre una variazione di bilancio di dimensioni paragonabili a una legge di bilancio. La quota maggiore va alla spesa militare, coperta con nuovo debito: SAFE o titoli di Stato. Il resto è una partita di giro sulle accise che non produce un euro di risorse nuove. Nel frattempo il risiko bancario consegna a un gruppo con azionariato dominato dai grandi fondi il secondo polo bancario europeo, e la politica estera fabbrica un avversario simbolico a costo zero: la Spagna. Tre movimenti, una sola logica. Ne discutiamo a Levante, martedì 4 agosto, con Alessandro Volpi e Francesco Dall’Aglio. Conduce Margherita Furlan. IN QUESTA PUNTATA Le due guerre aperte e la crisi di Ceuta: oltre cinquantamila ingressi nell’esclave, la sospensione di Schengen decisa dall’Italia verso un altro Paese fondatore, il Consiglio Affari Interni straordinario. Chi guadagna dallo scontro fra Roma e Madrid, e qual è la posta reale sullo Stretto di Gibilterra. Lo scostamento di settembre: 0,9 per cento del prodotto alla difesa, finanziato interamente a debito; 0,6 per cento di partita di giro sulle accise mobili. Che cosa significa coprire spesa militare con emissioni nuove, e perché il riarmo è oggi l’unica spesa pubblica che l’Europa considera legittimo finanziare a debito. Il credito passa di mano: dopo il ritiro di Banco Bpm resta sul tavolo l’Opas di Intesa Sanpaolo su Mps da 30,6 miliardi. Il premio vero non è la rete del Monte: è Mediobanca e la sua quota in Generali. La stessa geometria azionaria già vista in Unicredit e nell’Opas Poste-Tim. La favola della spesa pubblica: chi invoca la motosega alla Milei dimentica che l’istruzione è scesa dal 4,5 al 3,9 per cento del prodotto e la sanità dal 7 al 6,3. E che il servizio sanitario nazionale è finanziato in larga parte da imposte indirette, cioè senza alcuna progressività. Il perimetro del dicibile: la politica statunitense dei visti, le revoche a chi scrive articoli di opinione, i dinieghi motivati con la sicurezza nazionale. Quando la critica a uno Stato terzo diventa criterio di ammissione a un Paese. I LIBRI DEGLI OSPITI ALESSANDRO VOLPI La guerra della finanza. Trump e la fine del capitalismo globale, Laterza, 2025 I padroni del mondo. Come i fondi finanziari stanno distruggendo il mercato e la democrazia, Laterza, 2024 Nelle mani dei fondi, Altreconomia, 2024 L’America secondo Trump. Prospettive economiche e scenari globali, Edizioni La Vela, 2024 FRANCESCO DALL’AGLIO Oppenheimer, Putin e altre storie sulla bomba, ad est dell’equatore, 2023 (curato con Carlo Ziviello) SOSTIENI CASA DEL SOLE TV Casa del Sole TV è un progetto di giornalismo indipendente autofinanziato, senza editori, senza partiti, senza padrini politici. Per donazioni: IBAN: IT63P0326822300052392596590 Intestato a: La Casa del Sole Edizioni Causale: Donazione Casa del Sole TV Membership YouTube:    / @casadelsoletvchannel   — Analista Multipolare €5/mese — Inviato della Verità €15/mese — Architetto del Futuro €25/mese I LIBRI DI MARGHERITA FURLAN BRICS Scacco Matto (disponibile in italiano, inglese, russo), La Casa del Sole Edizioni SEGUI CASA DEL SOLE TV YouTube: @CasadelSoleTVChannel #guerra #finanza #ceuta #news #geopolitics

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Um aparatoso despiste de um miniautocarro dos Transportes Urbanos de Tomar (TUT) provocou este início de tarde um morto e três feridos, no parque de estacionamento do Hospital de Tomar.

Segundo a Tomar na rede, o alerta para o acidente, ocorrido junto à entrada para as consultas externas da unidade hospitalar, foi dado às 14h38 desta terça-feira, dia 4.

O veículo de passageiros despistou-se, embateu contra uma carrinha e só imobilizou a sua marcha após colidir com a fachada do próprio hospital. Os passageiros do autocarro ficaram encarcerados no interior da viatura, enquanto o motorista conseguiu sair pelo seu próprio pé.

Do acidente resultaram quatro vítimas: uma mulher de 64 anos acabou por falecer no local, registando-se ainda dois feridos graves e um ligeiro, segundo informação do comando operacional.

Para o local do acidente foram mobilizados 16 operacionais de socorro, apoiados por sete viaturas.

Por: Dino Frazão
Data: 4 de Agosto de 2026

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O conteúdo Despiste de Autocarro no Hospital de Tomar faz um morto e três feridos aparece primeiro em OS MONHACAS.

For a so-called short session, a lot happened at the NC General Assembly in 2026, but a few issues also remain unresolved.

Five takeaways from the 2026 legislative session is a story from Carolina Public Press, an award-winning independent newsroom. Our breakthrough journalism shines a light on the critical overlooked and under-reported issues facing North Carolina’s more than 11 million residents. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Migration policy is high on the European Union’s agenda. But one month after the bloc’s new rules – known as the Pact on Migration and Asylum – came into force, is the EU beginning to see the desired results?

For Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, the answer was yes. In an interview with the European Newsroom (enr) published on Thursday, he said that member states have begun implementing the rules and that illegal border crossings into the EU already dropped by 37% in the first half of 2026 compared to the previous year.

In light of these figures and the new rules, the Austrian politician said it is now time to “gradually” abolish internal border controls between EU member states, such as ongoing controls in Germany and Austria. He argued that the EU’s external borders were now better protected and reiterated that the number of irregular border crossings had fallen dramatically.

Journalists also quizzed Brunner about the Entry/Exit System, a new digital entry and exit procedure for people who are not from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. While admitting concerns from member states and critics that the system is still causing trouble in some member states, he said that it is generally performing as expected.

A major issue, however, remains for professional truck drivers from countries in the Western Balkans, who need to enter the EU to deliver goods. Currently, they can only stay in the EU for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period. As a solution, Brunner proposed to EU member states and Western Balkan countries to negotiate long-term visas bilaterally.

The interview was conducted by journalists from European Newsroom partner agencies dpa, APA, and CTK, on behalf of the entire network.

Read some of their coverage here:

• dpa (Germany) – EU Commissioner: It is time to lift German border controls
• APA (Austria) – Brunner: “It is time now to get rid of the internal border controls”
• CTK (Czech Republic) – Commissioner Brunner: The European Commission has a good working relationship with the Czech Republic regarding the Migration Pact
• PAP (Poland) – Commissioner: Migration Pact is working – the number of illegal border crossings has fallen by 37 per cent
• Tanjug (Serbia) – Brunner: EU and Western Balkan drivers to agree on visas, ETIAS has no start date

More impressions from the interview. Photos: Michael Brandt/dpa/European Newsroom

The European Newsroom (enr) welcomed a group of journalists from the United States to its offices in Brussels as part of their two-week exchange programme with the RIAS Berlin Kommission.

The visitors came from New York, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona and represented various media outlets such as Semafor, WCVB, NPR, CNN, KTVI/KPLR, WSOC Charlotte, Spectrum News, ABC, The Dispatch, and CBS.

What followed was a lively exchange about the state of journalism, news coverage and press freedom in the United States and Europe, how to get information from crucial sources, as well as the similarities and differences between the daily press briefings in the White House and the European Commission.

Tim Kohnen presented the European Newsroom’s work as a Brussels-based network of European news agencies. He was accompanied by Katharina Redanz and Niklas Treppner from the German press agency dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH, who gave more insight on how to report on EU affairs as a correspondent in Brussels.

The RIAS Berlin Commission organises exchange programmes several times per year, primarily for radio and television journalists from the US and Germany. It is dedicated to improving German-American understanding in broadcast journalism, for example through immersive study trips and newsroom visits.

This time around, the journey took the journalists to Munich, Dresden, Berlin, Cologne, and Brussels. They were accompanied by Christoph Jumpelt, RIAS Executive Director.

Ireland will take over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1, 2026.

In a background briefing for the European Newsroom (enr) at the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels, journalists got an early glimpse of what the presidency will be working on in the months ahead.

Correspondents from several European Newsroom member agencies spoke with Eoin Flavin (Spokesperson Coreper II ) and Peadar Ó hÚbáin (Spokesperson Coreper I). 

They engaged in a lively Q&A on a range of topics – from competitiveness, security, and defence to EU enlargement, support for Ukraine and online safety. 

The talk brought together journalists from enr partner agencies dpa (Germany), CTK (Czech Republic), APA (Austria), and UKRINFORM (Ukraine).

More impressions from the briefing. Photos: Tim Kohnen/European Newsroom

In an interview with the European Newsroom (enr), the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Nadia Calviño, told journalists that the bank is on track to meet and possibly exceed this year’s target of allocating 5 percent of its EU financing to security and defence. According to the EIB, this amounts to around €4.5 billion.

According to EIB figures, the world’s largest multilateral development bank already quadrupled its financing for security and defence projects last year to €4 billion, reflecting Europe’s response to an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment.

The enr spoke with Calviño on the sidelines of the EIB’s annual Board of Governors meeting, as well as a meeting of EU ministers responsible for economic affairs, finance and the EU budget , in Luxembourg on Friday.

The interview was conducted by journalists from European Newsroom partner agencies dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH and ANSA on behalf of the entire network.

Read some of their coverage here:

dpa (Germany): EU development bank continues to expand defence investment

ANSA (Italy): Calvino (EIB), ‘on track to exceed 5% target for defense financing’

In an interview with the European Newsroom (enr), the leading German foreign policy politician in the European Parliament, David McAllister, urged Ukraine to accept a recent proposal by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for an “associate membership” in the EU.

McAllister, who sits with the European People’s Party (EPP) and chairs the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), told the enr he is in favour of enhanced, step-by-step integration of Ukraine into the EU in order to make the benefits of the EU visible to the Ukrainian people. One example was for Ukraine to enter the European Parliament as an observer.

Kyiv had previously rejected the idea of an “associate membership”. In a letter to EU leaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote that it would be unfair for Ukraine to have a presence in the EU but remain without a voice. Instead, he urged the EU to move faster and not keep Ukraine in a waiting room.

Ukraine is not the only country in line for EU membership. Eight other European nations are currently also recognised candidates to join the bloc: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye.

McAllister told the enr that enlargement policy is at the top of the EU agenda and that the Western Balkan countries are at the heart of Europe. As such, a stable region is an investment in peace and security, he said. 

At the same time, the German politician advocated for an individual approach to each country in the region based on merit, rather than grouping them together as one. He explained that the countries of the Western Balkans are individually at very different stages of progress. As an example, he pointed out that Montenegro is a clear frontrunner, while North Macedonia’s EU path remains blocked due to a political deadlock with Bulgaria.

The interview was conducted by journalists from European Newsroom partner agencies dpa (Germany), CTK (Czech Republic), and Tanjug (Serbia) on the behalf of the entire network.

Read some of the coverage from our network here:

• dpa (Germany): McAllister urges Ukraine to back Merz’s initiative
• UKRINFORM (Ukraine): The European Parliament supports Merz’s proposal on Ukraine’s European integration
• BTA (Bulgaria): The offer of associate membership to Ukraine is an opportunity that Kyiv must seize, MEP David McAllister told the European Newsroom
• Tanjug (Serbia): McAllister: The European Union’s enlargement to the Western Balkan countries is significant for the stability of the whole of Europe

What is disinformation? What principles drive the spread of fake content online? And what role does artificial intelligence play in this context?

On May 27, the European Newsroom continued its series of webinars with one of the most highly relevant topics for journalists and media professionals: the surge in disinformation and fake news on social media and other online platforms. The webinar aimed to strengthen participants’ ability to identify misleading content quickly and apply verification techniques in their daily reporting.

The systematic, interest-driven dissemination of disinformation poses significant challenges for mass-media audiences and users of digital information ecosystems. This includes false and divisive narratives that influence public opinion, AI-generated images that cause irritation and outrage as well as manipulated content in high-reach social media channels. Against this backdrop, the fundamental principles of journalistic due diligence have gained considerable importance.

Julian Bohne, Verification Specialist at dpa-Custom Content in Hamburg, equipped participants with tools, tips and techniques to identify and debunk such material in the digital space. Starting with the basics, he demonstrated how manipulated content is created and explained the principles behind its dissemination. The key message: verification, source criticism and contextualisation are more crucial than ever for distinguishing authentic content from manipulated material.

To put theory into practice, he used examples from the daily editorial work of Germany’s largest news agency, dpa, to demonstrate fundamental verification methods and tools. Throughout the webinar, participants tried their hands in analysing and verifying images and videos, determining whether and why they were fabricated or AI-generated.

Participants came from several European Newsroom agencies, including ANSA (Italy), AMNA (Greece), BTA (Bulgaria), PAP (Poland), EFE (Spain), and FENA (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Why is my website not appearing as a top search result on Google? How do I adapt my content to make it more visible online? And how is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) changing the way digital content finds its way to the intended audience?

On April 10 and 21, the European Newsroom (enr) organised a series of two webinars on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) – exploring how newsrooms can make their content more visible on search engines like Google, as well as in the context of the emerging online world driven by AI.

Participants came from European Newsroom member agencies PAP (Poland) CTK (Czech Republic) EFE, Europa Press (both from Spain), BTA (Bulgaria) STA (Slovenia), and MIA (North Macedonia).

Part I: SEO and AI

During the first session of the workshop, participants were introduced to the fundamentals of SEO and how the focus is shifting due to the use of artificial intelligence. 

Ubiquitous AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini are increasingly changing user behavior and often replacing traditional search engines. To remain visible with your own content, classic SEO principles alone are no longer sufficient. 

The main takeaway? SEO is not dead – to the contrary, it remains the most important foundation for GEO and search engines will continue to be highly relevant.

Part II: EEAT factors

The second and final session focused on so-called E-E-A-T factors, demonstrating the steps needed to be recognised as a reliable source by both search engines and AI systems.

The acronym E-E-A-T stands for a Google quality concept covering Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is used to assess the quality and credibility of website content. E-E-A-T factors are a standard in search engine optimization. 

The EU has a defence clause. But does it have a plan? That was among the questions raised during an interview with Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, for the European Newsroom (enr) in Brussels.

Kubilius urged the European Union to strengthen its domestic defence capabilities and reduce reliance on external suppliers – particularly the United States – for critical military equipment and technologies.

He also cautioned that the EU prepare for a potential reduction of US military presence in Europe, underscoring the urgency of building greater strategic autonomy. At the same time, the former Lithuanian prime minister warned that Washington may struggle to sustain its level of military support for Kyiv, as global attention is shifting from Russia’s war against Ukraine to the war in Iran.

The EU defence chief also called for a stronger role of the EU’s mutual defence clause – known as Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union – which stipulates that when activated by an attacked EU country, all other member states must respond to provide assistance. According to Kubilius, the bloc needs a “playbook” to make the clause more workable and effective in practice.

The Commissioner also acknowledged the importance of EU enlargement as a strategic investment in Europe’s security and defence. Recalling the example of his home country Lithuania, which became an EU member state in 2004, he said that joining the EU enables economic and social development, prosperity, and stability, which he considered essential for the future of European defence.

The interview was conducted by journalists from European Newsroom partner agencies dpa (Germany), ANSA (Italy), EFE, Europa Press (both Spain), Lusa (Portugal), and STA (Slovenia.) Audiovisual support was provided by TotalEU Production.

More impressions from the interview. Photos: ANSA/European Newsroom (left) / Iván Zambrano/Europa Press (right)

Across every corner of the internet, EU kids deserve a safe digital playground. That was the message of Henna Virkkunen, European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy during an interview with the European Newsroom (enr) in Brussels focusing on the protection of minors online.

The European Commission has taken aim at some of the world’s biggest adult websites, announcing preliminary findings that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos breach the EU’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA). After opening proceedings in May last year, Brussels now says the platforms are failing to shield minors from explicit content, pointing in particular to weak or ineffective age verification systems that leave underage users exposed.

The Commission also turned its attention to Snapchat, opening an investigation to determine whether the social media platform is complying with the DSA. The probe comes amid concerns that minors could be exposed to serious risks on the app, including grooming and the illegal sale of drugs, vapes, and alcohol.

Journalists from European Newsroom partner agencies ANSA (Italy), CTK (Czech Republic), dpa (Germany), EFE (Spain), TT (Sweden), and other media were given an exclusive first look, getting the chance to quiz Virkkunen directly about her latest announcements on child safety and online platform regulation under the DSA. 

In addition, journalists also asked questions about the EU’s age verification app – which is currently in a testing phase – as well as broader issues including addictive platform design, the responsibility of social media companies to protect minors, and the proposed “chat control” measures, which have raised significant privacy concerns across Europe.

“The European Union is a champion of international rules-based order,” European Council President António Costa told the enr in an interview with European news agencies on Monday.

Journalists from Lusa (Portugal), CTK (Czech Republic), EFE, Europa Press (both Spain), STA (Slovenia), dpa (Germany), and TT (Sweden) had the opportunity to ask Costa questions on behalf of the entire network, which currently includes more than 20 news agencies.

Europe is feeling the impact of the US-Israeli war with Iran in the Middle East as disruptions to the flow of oil are causing energy prices to spiral across the globe. At the same time, the EU is poised to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion Euro loan to finance its defence against Russia’s war of aggression.

On the Middle East, Costa noted “that the United States and Israel decided to launch this initiative without any information to their allies,” referring to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, 2026. “We express our deep concern about the consequences of this war on the international rules-based order, on the humanitarian consequences and also on the impact of energy costs in the global economy,” he said, while also condemning the Iranian attacks on its neighbours.

The former Portuguese Prime Minister also told the enr that the EU should prepare for possible talks with Russia. “It will come one day. But not now,” he said, adding that the EU should not interfere with the ongoing efforts of US President Donald Trump for peace in Ukraine.

Ahead of the meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, the European Council chief called on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to lift his government’s blockade on the 90 billion  Euro loan for Ukraine. Slamming Budapest’s position as “completely unacceptable,” Costa recalled that all EU member states, including Hungary, approved the loan last December.

At the same time he criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for openly threatening Orbán in earlier statements. “We cannot accept when, even in an emotional moment, that someone addresses in a non-proper way a leader of a European Union member state.”

Finally, Costa said that “enlargement is a main priority” for the EU, but that countries hoping to join the bloc must first implement reforms. When asked whether he supports an option for new members to join without veto rights, Costa said: “We need to manage this enlargement process with a lot of creativity and not giving up in our criteria, in our merit basis, but with a huge sense of urgency”.

Photos: Markus Lenhardt/dpa-ENR Pool/dpa

On Wednesday, the European Newsroom (enr) sat down with Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions, and Irene Tinagli, MEP and Chair of the Special Committee on the Housing Crisis of the European Parliament to talk about the EU’s plans for more affordable housing.

Europe faces a crisis driven by rising house prices and increasing housing costs, affecting virtually all EU citizens and especially younger generations looking to move out of their parents’ home and live an independent life.

In an interview with the European Newsroom and Agence Europe, Tüttő and Tinagli laid out the challenges and sketched possible solutions, drawing on both their personal perspectives and institutional realities in their roles.

Journalists asked a range of questions from who does what — locally, nationally and on the EU level — in fixing the housing crunch, to the Commission’s Affordable Housing Plan and the high-pressure negotiations over the EU’s next long-term budget (2028–2034).

Housing policy is primarily a national and local responsibility, but the EU influences the sector through funding, regulation and coordination. EU rules on state aid, energy efficiency, public procurement and financial markets, as well as cohesion policy and recovery funds, all shape how and where affordable housing can be built.

In response to growing public pressure, the European Commission has put affordable housing higher on its political agenda, including through an Affordable Housing Plan. The initiative aims to boost housing supply, mobilise public and private investment and support member states and regions in expanding social and affordable housing.

More impressions from the interview. Photos: Ivan Ilic/Tanjug/European Newsroom

Hanoi (dpa) – Vietnam and the European Union on Thursday upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam’s highest diplomatic tier, amid a tumultuous period for global trade.

In a joint statement, Vietnam and EU stressed “the importance of a partnership based on common interests and shared values of peace, security, and prosperity in a rules-based international order, based on international law.”

Though US tariffs were not explicitly mentioned, at a press briefing held after meeting Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, European Council President António Costa said: “At a moment when the international rules-based order is under threat from multiple sides, we need to stand side-by-side as reliable and predictable partners.”

“Vietnam considers the EU one of its most important partners in the world and wishes to continue promoting and deepening its relationship with the EU,” Cuong said.

Cuong labelled the move a “historic milestone,” coming 35 years after Vietnam and the EU established diplomatic relations. The EU-Vietnam free trade agreement, signed in 2020, has helped drive a 40 percent increase in bilateral trade.

Vietnam is one of the EU’s largest trading partners in South-East Asia, while the EU is Vietnam’s fourth-largest trading partner. In the first 10 months of 2025, two-way trade reached nearly 61 billion Dollar (51 billion Euro), up 8.4 percent year on year.

Vietnam and the EU on Thursday also underscored the need to strengthen cooperation on peace, defence and security, and voiced support for multilateralism and respect for international law, including the UN Charter. (29 January)

The European Union’s vision to create a seamless, sustainable and high-quality multimodal transport network across Europe by 2050 was recently thwarted – by an EU watchdog who warned that delays of major projects are putting key 2030 and 2040 milestones at risk.

From the Lyon-Turin rail link to the Canal Seine-Nord waterway, an EU goal to complete a group of cross-border links by 2030 “will not be met”, according to a January report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

“Three decades after most of them were designed, we are still a long way from cutting the ribbon on these projects, and a long way from achieving the intended improvements in passenger and freight flows across Europe,” said the ECA member Annemie Turtelboom.

The ECA audited eight projects forming the backbone of EU plans to boost road, rail, water, and air transport across the 27-nation bloc in a bid to spur trade and economic growth.

TEN-T going downhill

The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is the backbone of Europe’s transport network and includes numerous large-scale transnational projects that are essential to improving connectivity across Europe.

In 2013, EU member states agreed to complete the TEN-T core network by 2030, but the Court of Auditors, updating its view from five years ago, considered that “the outlook in 2025 is worse than it was in 2020, and is very far from what was initially envisaged”.

In 2020, EU auditors reported that the eight megaprojects examined had experienced an overall 47 percent increase in actual costs (adjusted for inflation) compared with the original estimates.

Touching 13 countries including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, France and Italy – the projects have received 15.3 billion Euro in EU funding and accumulated on average a 17-year delay, the auditors found. 

According to the ECA report, the delays were down to a series of challenges, such as unexpected technical issues as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

Mounting costs add pressure

According to the new report, costs have ballooned further than expected.

Not considering inflation, the overall price tag for the projects analysed was up 82 percent on the original estimates, the report said. 

The most recent calculations for the projects are now almost twice the original levels, with the sharp rise attributed to two rail links – the Rail Baltica linking Tallinn and Warsaw via Riga and Kaunas, where costs have risen by 291 percent, and the link between Lyon in southern France and Turin in northern Italy, where the rise has been of 127 percent.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – which broke free from the Soviet Union when it crumbled in 1990-1991 and went on to join both the EU and NATO in 2004 – all have Soviet-era wide gauge railways.

With a total population of just six million people, the Baltic trio inked a deal in 2017 to build a high-speed rail link, aimed at creating fresh opportunities for the region in terms of trade and logistics.

In addition to rising costs, the construction of the Lyon-Turn railway has, over the years, also faced opposition from environmental groups critical of the Lyon-Turin tunnel project. Supporters said it will greatly ease freight road traffic but opponents – who staged, for example, a protest close to the village of Saint Remy-de-Maurienne in southeastern France in 2017 – said the ecological damage risks being devastating and that springs had already started to dry up due to the works.

The Brenner Base Tunnel connecting Innsbruck (Austria) and northern Italy – which aims primarily to shift freight from road to rail – will now cost 40 percent more than originally estimated and is currently estimated to open in 2032 at the earliest. The original opening date was 2016, and the ECA had already moved its estimation to 2028 in its report five years ago.

Costs for the Fehmarn Belt road/rail link between Denmark and Germany will be 52 percent higher, with opening planned for 2029, 11 years later than originally planned, with the possibility of further delay until 2031.

The Seine-Nord Europe Canal, a high-capacity waterway intended to facilitate the transport of goods between the Benelux countries and the Paris region also suffered from massive overruns, up 225 percent.

“The Basque Y railway line, which was supposed to be operational by 2010 according to its initial timeline and by 2023 according to the revised plan from 2020, is now expected to be ready by 2030 at the very earliest,” the report said, although the auditors consider 2035 to be more realistic.

According to data from the European Commission, Spain was one of the countries investing the most in high-speed rail, with an average of around 1.5 billion Euro per year between 2018 and 2022. However, the aftermath of three fatal train crashes earlier this month exposed the inadequate maintenance of existing railway networks.

Despite the critical issues that have emerged across the eight megaprojects, according to the  report, the European Commission has never used the legal instruments at its disposal to obtain clarification on the delays from the capitals.

Moving forward, the auditors expressed the hope that national transport plans will in future be coordinated with priorities at European level. Member states are now obliged to do so, but this will show up only in new megaprojects.

Two projects beat the odds

On a more positive note, in the case of two projects, the A1 motorway in Romania and the E59 railway line in Poland, the latest cost estimates are actually lower than the original ones.

According to the ECA report, costs for the E59 line were down 18 percent and auditors did not provide an estimated year of opening.

Poland’s TEN-T network already covers the seaports of Gdańsk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Świnoujście, as well as airports including Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk and Katowice, which serve as key multimodal nodes. The E59 railway is part of the Baltic Sea – Adriatic Sea corridor.

According to the ECA report, costs for the A1 motorway in Romania are 11 percent lower than initially estimated.

The A1 motorway in Romania is a key component of the Rhine-Danube Corridor and, within Romania, provides a direct connection between the capital city Bucharest and the Hungarian border at the Nădlac crossing point.

Prospects for the completion of the A1 motorway have thus improved, and the project could be commissioned ahead of the 2030 deadline.

Editorial note: The location of the Brenner Base Tunnel has been updated for clarification.

This article is an ENR Key Story. The content is based on information published by ENR participating agencies.

Brussels (dpa) – The European Commission has opened a probe into the US tech company X over its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok after it created sexualised images of women and children.

“Non-consensual sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation,” EU Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said on Monday.

The investigation is to probe whether X has complied with its obligations under European Union law, including the duty to “diligently assess and mitigate systemic risks,” the Commission, which acts as the EU’s digital watchdog, wrote in a statement.

“This includes risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material,” it said. “These risks seem to have materialised, exposing citizens in the EU to serious harm.”

Elon Musk‘s social media platform has come under heavy criticism in recent weeks after Grok allowed users to digitally replace women’s clothing with bikinis and, in some cases, create sexualized depictions of minors.

After prolonged international outrage, X introduced some restrictions in mid-January.

These include preventing Grok “from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis” and restricting the image creation feature of the AI chatbot to paid subscribers, X said in a statement.

The Commission stressed that the opening of a probe does not prejudge its outcome. (26 January)