The EU has spoken out in support of “all those who have suffered under totalitarian and authoritarian regimes”. This comes on the eve of the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance of the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes on 23 August. Ahead of the Day, senior EU political figures have issued a strongly-worded statement against “hatred, intolerance and the denial of human dignity. The statement was issued by the EC Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, and Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath (pictured).

It reads: “On 23 August, we commemorate the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed in 1939 between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. “That pact, and the war and devastation that followed, brought intolerable suffering to millions of people across Europe and beyond. The years that followed were marked by occupation, repression, deportation and violence on a massive scale.”

It goes on: “Today, we honour the memory of all those who have suffered under totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. “The pain endured by victims, survivors and their families echoes across generations. Every EU country is now home to a generation that has grown up free from tyranny and oppression.

“For many, freedom, democracy and peace may appear self-evident, but they are not. They were secured through extraordinary courage, sacrifice, resistance and resilience, and they must never be taken for granted. Remembering the past is therefore not only a duty to those who came before us. It is also a responsibility to future generations.”

The statement continues: “This day is a solemn reminder of the consequences of hatred, intolerance and the denial of human dignity.

“It calls on us to remain vigilant in defending the values on which the European Union is founded: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and fundamental rights.

"By preserving the memory of the past, we reaffirm our commitment to a Europe built on peace, justice and solidarity.”

Special events will take place this weekend to mark the anniversary of the First Battle of Mons on 23 August, the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in World War I. 

Commemorations, which take place on Monday 24 August, start at 1pm at the Hôtel de Ville in Mons.

Representatives of RBL Brussels branch will also lay a wreath at the town's British Empire Memorial which was first unveiled by King Baudouin on 11 October 1952.

Several representatives of Royal British Legion Brussels will be taking part.

The RBL delegation is comprised of Captain (retd) Dennis Abbott (RBL Brussels Chair) (pictured); Colonel (retd) William Bache (ex-US Special Forces, Vietnam veteran and Co-Chair Brussels Battles and Books Club) and  Lieutenant-Colonel (retd).

Others present will be Matt Hill (ex-US Marine Corps); Andrée Ferrant (RBL Brussels Joint Secretary); Mireille Picron (RBL Brussels Joint Secretary); Freddy Roiseux (RBL Brussels Standard Bearer); Professor Jean-Francois Husson (RBL Brussels committee, Namur representative) and Ela Nora Fidan (Brussels Battles and Books Club).

Wreaths will be laid at the Hôtel de Ville (Dennis Abbott), Nimy railway bridge where Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Private Sidney Godley each won the Victoria Cross (Ela Nora Fidan) and Saint Symphorien military cemetery (Col William Bache at British memorial, Lt Col Hill at German memorial).

Similar wreath-laying commemorations take place at the British Empire memorial at Place de la Bascule (Mireille Picron et Andrée Ferrant) and at the Irish Cross (Jean-François Husson).

There will also be commemorations in Brussels and Antwerp to mark the anniversary of the Liberation (3-4-5 September). Full info/timings are on the RBl Brussels website under “calendar.”

Speaking about the upcoming events, Abbott said: “The Brussels branch of the Royal British Legion has taken part in the commemorations to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Mons since its very formation in 1922.”

He added: "The battle has gone down in the annals of British military history thanks to the heroic stand by troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in their first major engagement of 1914. Outnumbered three to one by the Germans, they held out for hours before withdrawing, preventing the enemy from outflanking French positions.

"Wilhelm, the German Kaiser, is said to have dismissed the BEF as a 'contemptible little Army' before the battle, but the British fought tenaciously, none more so than Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Private Private Sidney Godley who were each awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry, for their defence of the railway bridge over the canal at Nimy." 

Four German battalions attacked the bridge, which was defended by a company of the Royal Fusiliers.

Despite being mortally injured, Dease held the position until he was overcome by his wounds. Godley took over and despite sustaining a head wound covered the withdrawal before disabling the weapon.

Abbot added: "The branch lays a wreath at the position they held, which is marked by a plaque recalling their exploits."

Lance-Corporal Charles Jarvis and Captain Theodore Wright of the Royal Engineers were also each awarded the VC for preventing the enemy from seizing a bridge at nearby Jemappes. Wright was mortally wounded less than a month later. 

The British suffered over 1,600 casualties (killed, wounded or missing) at Mons, around half from two battalions – the 4th Middlesex and 2nd Royal Irish. The German army lost about 5,000 men killed or wounded.

The Germans later established the St Symphorien Military Cemetery which contains the graves of graves of 284 German and 229 British and Commonwealth soldiers.

Among them are the graves of the first and last Commonwealth soldiers killed during the First World War, Private John Parr and Private George Price.

After the war, the veterans who took part in the Battle of Mons proudly called themselves the "Old Contemptibles" in response to the Kaiser's slur. 

At the inauguration of the British Empire Memorial in Mons, the British Defence Minister, Field Marshal Lord Alexander of Tunis, recalled his "baptism of fire" in his first action as a young lieutenant in the battle on 23 August 1914. 

The VIPs present included Belgian Prime Minister Jean Van Houtte, Major General Sir Edward Spears, who served as a liaison officer with the French forces during the battle, and British Ambassador Sir Christopher Warner, a Captain in the Royal Fusiliers in the First World War.

The memorial was originally erected in the Belfry Park, but was moved to the original frontline at La Bascule crossroads and re-dedicated in 1986. It is close to the Celtic Cross Memorial, which honours the Irish soldiers who fought in the First Battle of August 1914 and the Second Battle of Mons in November 1918.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture by AI Infrastructure Development, S.L. (‘ACS AIID'), Telefónica S.A. (‘Telefónica'), Banco Santander, S.A. and Entidad Pública Empresarial Sociedad Española para la Transformación Tecnológica, E.P.E. (‘SETT'), all of Spain.

The transaction relates primarily to third-party data centre colocation services in Spain and contributes to the EU's tech sovereignty strategy of strengthening and expanding sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe, as part of the EU's AI Gigafactories Initiative.

The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies' limited market positions resulting from the proposed transaction. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.12498.

The EU economy’s seasonally adjusted greenhouse gas emissions in the first quarter of 2026 were estimated at 837 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents (CO2-eq), a 0.3% increase compared with the fourth quarter of 2025 (835 million tonnes of CO2-eq). At the same time, there was no change to the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2026, compared with the last quarter of 2025. 

The economic sector with the largest increase in greenhouse gas emissions was electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (+4.8%), while households (-1.3%), manufacturing and transportation and storage (both -0.6%) recorded the biggest decreases.

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Source datasets: env_ac_aigg_q and namq_10_gdp

Compared with the first quarter of 2025, emissions went down by 1.2%, while the EU’s GDP increased by 0.8%.

Greenhouse gas emissions decreased in 7 EU countries 

In the first quarter of 2026, seasonally adjusted greenhouse gas emissions increased in 20 EU countries and decreased in 7 countries, compared with the fourth quarter of 2025.

The largest reductions in greenhouse gases were estimated for Slovenia (-5.0%), Luxembourg (-3.8%) and Romania (-2.7%).

The largest increases in greenhouse gas emissions were estimated for Estonia (+9.7%), Finland (+6.4%) and Bulgaria (+4.6%). The increases in these countries are largely due to growing emissions by economic producers in construction and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply.

In the first quarter of 2026, 20 EU countries recorded increases in greenhouse gas emissions, out of which 18 also increased their GDP. 7 countries reduced their greenhouse gas emissions. Out of these, 4 countries recorded a higher or stable GDP.

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Source datasets: env_ac_aigg_q and namq_10_gdp

This information comes from data on seasonally adjusted quarterly estimates of greenhouse gas emissions by economic activity, published by Eurostat. Quarterly estimates of greenhouse gas emissions complement quarterly socio-economic data, such as GDP or employment.

For more information

• Statistics Explained article on quarterly greenhouse gas emission
• Thematic section on climate change
• Database on climate change
• Environmental accounts dashboard

Methodological notes

• Metadata on quarterly greenhouse gas emissions.
• The data presented here are estimates by Eurostat, except for the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain which provided their own data.
• The greenhouse gas emission figures are seasonally adjusted. These adjusted series enable quarter-on-quarter change analyses. Data provided by countries are seasonally adjusted by Eurostat. The GDP figures are seasonally and calendar adjusted. More information on the seasonal adjustment is provided in a technical note. Eurostat’s methodology attributes international transport emissions to individual countries according to the country of residence of the emitting economic producer, following the international System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) standard. This is in line with the European System of Accounts used for the GDP and differs from the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement rules.
• The EU and the EU countries report annually on their greenhouse gas emissions to the UN. The so-called ‘Kyoto basket’ of greenhouse gases includes carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and fluorinated gases. They are expressed in a common unit: CO2-equivalents. EU countries are required to monitor their emissions of these gases for all source sectors based on internationally agreed obligations and rules. The EU greenhouse gas inventory managed by the European Environment Agency covers emissions from 1990 to 2 years before the current year and is submitted to the UN each spring after quality checks. 
• According to the European Climate Law, the EU’s climate target is to achieve a -55% net reduction by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. The European Commission monitors and reports progress towards their GHG emission reduction targets on an annual basis using the inventory data in the Climate Action Progress Report.

The Commission has presented an action plan for the chemicals industry to strengthen the competitiveness and modernization of this sector.

The action plan addresses key challenges – high energy costs, unfair global competition, and weak demand, while promoting investment in innovation and sustainability. It proposes the following measures

• Resilience and level playing field: establishing a Critical Chemical Alliance to address the risks of capacity closures in the sector and applying trade defence measures to ensure fair competition
• Affordable energy and decarbonisation: swiftly implementing the Affordable Energy Action Plan to help reduce high energy and feedstock costs
• Lead markets and innovation: highlighting fiscal incentives and tax measures to boost demand for clean chemicals
• Taking action on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): minimizing PFAS emissions through a robust, science-based restriction, while ensuring continued use in critical applications under strict conditions where no alternatives are available

The plan is accompanied by a simplification package, the so-called 6th Omnibus, to further streamline and simplify key EU chemicals legislation. This includes simplifying hazardous chemical labelling rules, clarifying EU cosmetics regulations, and easing registration for EU fertilising products. These measures should save at least €363 million annually for the industry. 

The EU chemical industry is the 4th largest manufacturing sector, with 29 000 companies providing 1.2 million direct jobs and supporting 19 million across supply chains. The European chemicals industry action plan builds on the Competitiveness Compass and Clean Industrial Deal, while the simplification package delivers on President von der Leyen's commitment to simplify EU laws and cut administrative burdens, helping businesses innovate and grow.

For more information

Press release: Chemicals package

Q&A: Chemicals package

Factsheet: Chemicals package

Action plan Chemicals

Proposal for an Omnibus for the Chemicals Industry

Competitiveness

In 2023, public spending on education (from pre-primary to the tertiary level) in the EU accounted for 4.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP). Compared with 2022, this figure did not change; however, it represents a slight decrease of 0.3 percentage points (pp) from 2020 (5.0%), the year with the highest level of public expenditure on education since the data collection started in 2012.

Among the EU countries, the highest level of public expenditure on education relative to the GDP was observed in Sweden (6.8%), followed by Finland (6.3%) and Belgium (6.2%). The lowest levels were registered in Romania (3.0%), Greece (3.3%) and Malta (3.4%).

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Source dataset: educ_uoe_fine06

For more information

• Statistics Explained article on educational expenditure statistics
• Thematic section on education and training
• Database on education and training 

In 2025, the EU produced 3.44 billion litres of ice cream, representing a 1.9% increase compared with 2024 (3.38 billion litres).

Germany remained the top producer of ice cream in the EU, with 608 million litres in 2025. Italy (549 million litres) and France (525 million litres) followed at the top. The list of main producers also included Spain (457 million litres) and Belgium (274 million litres). 

Compared with 2024, all of these 5 EU countries registered an increase in production; +10% for Italy, +6% for Belgium, +4% for France, +2% for Spain and +0.2% for Germany.

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Source dataset: DS-059367

France: top exporter of ice cream in the EU 

In 2025, EU countries exported 289.8 million kg of ice cream to non-EU countries and imported 77.8 million kg. Exports increased by 10% compared with 2024 (+26 million kg), while imports rose by 12% (+8.5 million kg).

As in previous years, France was the largest ice cream exporter in the EU, exporting 59.1 million kg of ice cream to non-EU countries in 2025. This represented a fifth of the total extra-EU ice cream exports (20%). France was followed by Italy (55.2 million kg of ice cream; 19% of EU ice cream exports), Belgium (34.5 million kg; 12%), Germany (29.9 million kg; 10%), and the Netherlands (26.5 million kg; 9%).

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Source dataset: DS-045409

For more information

• Thematic section on prodcom – statistics by product
• Database on prodcom – statistics by product
• Thematic section on international trade in goods
• Database on international trade in goods

Methodological notes 

• Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta: exempt from providing data on production due to their economic sizes.
• Production ranking is based on available and non-confidential data. Sold production quantities are confidential for Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden.
• In this news article, production of ice cream is expressed in litres, while imports and exports are expressed in kg.

In the face of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU, together with Ukraine and Moldova launched the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes in May 2022, establishing new transport routes to keep Ukraine’s imports and exports flowing via rail, road and inland waterways. Today, the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes have become a lifeline for Ukraine’s economy.

In July 2026 the Solidarity Lanes allowed:

• Around 90% of Ukrainian imports (in comparison to around 10% through the Black Sea)
• Around 95% of Ukrainian exports of non-agricultural products (in comparison to around 5% through the Black Sea)
• Around 20% of Ukrainian exports of grain, oilseeds and related products (in comparison to around 80% through the Black Sea)

Ukrainian exports

Since May 2022, the Solidarity Lanes have allowed Ukraine to export ca. 230 million tonnes (Mt) of goods, according to data from the Ukrainian customs registers. Within this amount, it can be estimated that the Solidarity Lanes enabled exports of around 103 million tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products (including ca. 95 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain, oilseeds and related products) and around 127 million tonnes of non-agricultural goods including ores, steel and related products.

In total, around 255 Mt of Ukrainian grain, oilseeds and related products were exported through the Solidarity Lanes (40%) and the Ukrainian Black Sea ports (60%) since May 2022 [1].

Imports to Ukraine

The Solidarity Lanes also play a crucial role for Ukrainian imports. Since May 2022, they have allowed Ukraine to import ca. 111 Mt of goods, such as fuel, vehicles, fertilisers as well as military and humanitarian assistance.

Value of trade

The total value of trade via the Solidarity Lanes since May 2022 is estimated at around EUR 304 billion, with around EUR 78 billion for Ukrainian exports. The total value of imports to Ukraine is estimated at ca. EUR 226 billion.

Background

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the blockade of Ukrainian seaports, Ukraine has been unable to export its produce and import what it needs via its usual transport routes.

Against this background, the EU established 'Solidarity Lanes' to ensure Ukraine can export grain, iron ore, steel and other products and to import the goods it needs, from fuel to military and humanitarian assistance, via alternative transport routes: inland waterways, rail and road. The Solidarity Lanes cover trade across all sectors and are an unprecedented cooperation of authorities and businesses in EU Member States, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.

The Solidarity Lanes’ work is carried out in close cooperation between the European Commission, concerned authorities and the transport community. The focus is on addressing bottlenecks to enhance the capacity and smooth functioning of the Solidarity Lanes to sustain Ukrainian exports and imports across sectors. This includes measures to improve traffic management and streamlining of border procedures and checks, as well as investments in infrastructure or logistics equipment.

The Solidarity Lanes are also laying the ground for the longer-term connectivity between Ukraine and the EU and will play a key role for Ukraine’s reconstruction and integration in the EU single market.

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[1] Between May and July 2022, the Solidarity Lanes were the only option for Ukraine to export its agricultural produce. In August 2022, the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) helped relaunch grain shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. In mid-July 2023, Russia terminated its participation in the BSGI, which was consequently discontinued.

In August 2023, Ukraine launched a new Black Sea corridor for trade vessels heading to and from Ukrainian sea ports despite Russia’s withdrawal from the BSGI. Ca. 2.4 Mt of grain, oilseeds and other related products have been exported this way in July 2026.

This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Janka Oertel, director of ECFR’s DARE* initiative, and Andrew Small, head of ECFR’s Asia programme, to examine the growing impact of the “China shock 2.0” on Germany and Europe.  

A new wave of Chinese competition, driven by overcapacity and state-backed industrial strength, is hitting sectors such as car manufacturing, chemicals and machine tools. Germany is at the epicentre, with mounting job losses raising questions about Europe’s long-term economic resilience and competitiveness. The crisis is reshaping German politics, exposing government divisions and putting pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of September’s potentially divisive regional elections.

Together, Mark, Janka and Andrew discuss the policy options being considered in Brussels and in European capitals—from emergency trade measures to new industrial strategies. Can Europe protect its industrial base without triggering a damaging escalation with China? Is Germany able to lead a coherent European response amid its own political turbulence?

This podcast episode was recorded 12th August 2026.

Bookshelf
China Shock 2.0: The Cost of Germany’s Complacency, by Brad Setser and Sander Tordoir
The art of the swarm: Systemic rivalry with China on European terms, by Andrew Small
Dear Britain, by Annette Dittert

Source

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