O Fórum das Entidades Nacionais dos Servidores Públicos Federais (Fonasefe) denunciou, nesta terça-feira (13), a retirada de publicações de seu perfil oficial no Instagram, por determinação da Justiça Eleitoral. Em nota, o fórum disse que a ação se configura censura, além de um "grave cerceamento" do debate público.

Segundo o fórum, a determinação da Justiça Eleitoral teve por objetivo impedir a população de conhecer o histórico de ataques a serviços públicos e direitos dos servidores federais. A Meta já removeu 13 conteúdos do perfil do Instagram do Fonasefe.

A medida foi tomada após representação apresentada pelo candidato à Presidência da República pelo PL, Flávio Bolsonaro. 

"Entre as publicações está o material Lembrar para Não Esquecer – 5 Ataques de Bolsonaro aos Serviços e Servidores Públicos”, além de conteúdos com críticas aos posicionamentos do candidato, como a proposta anunciada de tesouraço que afeta diretamente os serviços públicos do país", diz a nota.

Decisão

A decisão, assinada pelo ministro Marco Aurélio Bellizze, do Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE), determinou a remoção, no prazo de 24 horas, de conteúdos específicos publicados pelo Fonasefe, além de proibir a republicação das mesmas peças.

Segundo o ministro, trata-se de propaganda eleitoral irregular na internet:

"Na linha do entendimento firmado por esta Corte Superior é vedada a propaganda eleitoral em sítios eletrônicos vinculados a pessoas jurídicas ou a agentes econômicos que atuem de fato como tais."

"A participação de pessoas jurídicas em atos de propaganda eleitoral, em período de pré-campanha ou de campanha eleitoral, é incompatível com o posicionamento do Supremo Tribunal Federal que lhes vedou a realização de doações para campanhas eleitorais e com a racionalidade adotada por esta Corte", escreveu ainda o ministro. 

Declarações públicas

O Fonasefe argumenta que as publicações têm como base notícias veiculadas pela imprensa, que tratam de fatos relacionados às políticas adotadas durante o governo Jair Bolsonaro e declarações públicas do próprio Flávio Bolsonaro e de integrantes de sua assessoria de campanha.

"O Fórum considera que o histórico de medidas governamentais e as posições assumidas por candidatos em relação ao serviço público são assuntos de interesse coletivo e devem poder ser discutidos pela sociedade e, certamente, pelas entidades representativas dos servidores", continua a nota.

“Ainda de acordo com o Fonasefe, nenhuma das peças fazia pedido de voto ou trazia informações inverídicas. Além disso, a articulação "não é uma personalidade jurídica formal, não está portanto vedado pela legislação eleitoral de publicar esse tipo de manifestação".

"O direito à informação não pode ser confundido com propaganda irregular", argumenta.

Na avaliação da entidade, restringir a circulação dessas informações pode limitar o acesso dos servidores a elementos importantes para a formação de sua opinião política. 

O fórum disse ainda que seguirá defendendo o serviço público, os direitos dos trabalhadores e a liberdade de manifestação das entidades representativas.

"A democracia exige eleições livres para que a sociedade tenha acesso à informação e possa questionar, criticar e cobrar aqueles que disputam o poder", finaliza a nota.

 

At Bybi in Copenhagen, a dedicated group of staff and volunteers have built a community for all centred on the production of honey – much of which is given away for nothing. Could it be replicated elsewhere?

The bees at Bybi, a collective of beekeepers in Copenhagen, live on the roof. Their home is a complex of Victorian buildings, right in the centre of the city, that looks like an idealised vision of the modern social enterprise, ennobled by the architecture of the past. It’s a place of cottage industry in concert with nature, where the marginalised are brought in from the fringes and corporations stand waiting to help, where jobs happen but a lot of the work is done by volunteers, and where – this bit is important – a lot of time is spent discussing ideas.

Oliver Maxwell, Bybi’s 48-year-old founder, encourages me to examine the buildings more closely. They were once a prison, a workhouse and a hospital; their functions today – a homeless shelter, a young offender institution and, until recently, a job centre – are not so different. Denmark’s Victorian transformation, from “agricultural backwater to industrialised agriculture”, was reflected in how they treated people, Maxwell says.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Valdemar Ren/The Guardian

© Photograph: Valdemar Ren/The Guardian

© Photograph: Valdemar Ren/The Guardian

The European Commission has approved Italy’s revised defence investment plan worth slightly more than €8 billion under the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, bringing Rome closer to receiving European-backed loans intended to accelerate military procurement and strengthen the continent’s defence industry.

The decision was confirmed in Brussels on Tuesday, 13th October, by Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier, who said the updated Italian proposal had received the executive’s approval. The plan must now obtain the Council’s endorsement before the loan agreement can be signed and the first payment released.

Under the procedure outlined by the Commission, Italy would become eligible for an initial disbursement amounting to 15 per cent of its approved loan following completion of the remaining formalities. For a package worth approximately €8 billion, that would represent around €1.2 billion in initial financing.

The approval comes as European governments seek to translate commitments to increased military expenditure into procurement contracts, industrial production and operational capabilities.

Italy’s position in European defence industry

Italy is among the EU’s principal defence manufacturing countries, with substantial industrial capabilities in aerospace, naval construction, electronics, military vehicles and weapons systems.

Companies including Leonardo and Fincantieri occupy important positions in multinational defence programmes, while smaller manufacturers contribute specialised equipment, components and technologies.

The Commission has emphasised Italy’s industrial importance in explaining its support for the revised plan.

Nevertheless, approval of the financing proposal does not establish precisely how the money will be distributed among manufacturers or procurement programmes. Individual contractual arrangements will depend on the projects included in the approved national plan and the relevant purchasing decisions.

Italy had previously been associated with a substantially larger indicative SAFE allocation, but its updated application concerns approximately €8 billion.

The revised amount illustrates the distinction between the borrowing capacity initially made available to member states and the financing they ultimately seek through their national investment proposals.

How SAFE financing operates

SAFE was established in May 2025 as part of the EU’s wider effort to improve defence readiness following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The programme provides up to €150 billion in long-term loans financed through borrowing by the European Union on international capital markets.

Unlike grants from the EU budget, these loans must be repaid by the borrowing member states. Their attraction lies principally in the financing conditions available through the Union’s borrowing arrangements.

SAFE is intended to support the procurement of equipment including ammunition, missiles, artillery systems, drones, air and missile defence systems, maritime capabilities and military mobility infrastructure.

An important feature is its emphasis on cooperation between European purchasers rather than exclusively national acquisition programmes.

Under the applicable regulation, joint procurement is generally intended to involve at least two eligible participating countries, although temporary provisions allow certain purchases by individual member states.

The rules also impose requirements concerning the geographic origin of components, reflecting the programme’s objective of increasing industrial capacity within Europe and eligible partner countries.

At least 65 per cent of component costs must originate within the permitted European and Ukrainian industrial base.

European production remains the central challenge

European governments have substantially increased defence expenditure, but higher budgets do not automatically resolve shortages in manufacturing capacity.

Production lines for ammunition, missiles and complex weapons systems require specialised machinery, skilled workers, component suppliers and sufficiently predictable orders to justify expansion.

Many defence companies have traditionally operated against fragmented national requirements. Different governments have purchased equipment in relatively small quantities, often imposing separate technical specifications and procurement conditions.

This fragmentation can increase costs and complicate maintenance, training and interoperability.

Brussels hopes that the combination of common financing and joint procurement will encourage member states to coordinate orders, giving manufacturers more predictable demand.

The challenge is particularly acute in air defence and precision-guided weapons, where European forces face both urgent requirements and lengthy production cycles.

SAFE can provide financing for eligible purchases, but the speed at which industry delivers equipment depends on existing capacity and the ability to expand production.

The next steps for Rome

Italy’s plan now moves to the Council, where the required approval must be secured before the Commission and Italian authorities can conclude the financing agreement.

The Commission’s statement on Tuesday made clear that the initial payment is conditional upon completion of these procedures.

Once the agreement is signed, the first tranche will provide financing for investment under the programme, with subsequent payments governed by the relevant arrangements.

The scale of Italy’s participation gives the decision significance beyond its immediate financial value.

As one of the EU’s largest manufacturing economies, Italy will be an important test of whether European defence financing can generate procurement cooperation across national borders while strengthening existing industrial capacity.

The effectiveness of the programme will ultimately be measured through signed contracts, production increases and the delivery of equipment to European armed forces, rather than the headline amount of approved borrowing.

Italy’s Deficit to Rise Again as Rome Uses EU Fiscal Flexibility