Europe

Europe is the world leader in heat pump manufacturing. The only problem is that Europeans don’t use them

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Not to get grandiose, but Europe has never had so many renewables underwayhad never made so much clean technology and never had talked so much about energy independence. And yet, winter has arrived again and the ritual is always the same: turning on the heating still means burning imported gas. Although if we reach this point it is not for lack of alternatives, because they are there. The problem is much more mundane: in much of the continent, heating with electricity it’s still more expensive than doing it with gas. The energy shock that changed everything. A recent EMBER report has detailed how Europe abruptly lost access to cheap Russian gas and had to replace it with much more expensive liquefied natural gas in a highly volatile global market. The result was an unprecedented price shock: an accumulated extra cost of 930 billion euros during the energy crisis. More on fossils. Far from being a problem caused by the green transition, the document indicates that the impact was concentrated precisely in the sectors most dependent on imported fossil fuels. Energy-intensive industries reduced production and, in many cases, never returned to pre-Ukraine war levels. This reading coincides with that presented by researcher Jan Rosenowwho rejects the idea that dismantling climate policies would make energy cheaper. The problem, he maintains, was not going too fast, but rather having delayed electrification for decades and having kept gas as the pillar of the system. Here the central contradiction emerges. According to EMBERheat pumps are a mature, efficient and strategic technology: they produce between two and three times more heat than a gas boiler for each unit of energy consumed. Even if that electricity came entirely from a gas plant, the net fuel savings would still exist. However, in practice, the technological advantage is diluted in the bill. In most EU countries, electricity costs 2 to 4 times more than gas for the end consumer. The average electricity-gas ratio in the EU is 2.85, and in some member states it exceeds 4. The problem: the pricing structure. As pointed out in the consultancynon-energy costs —taxes, tolls and public policy surcharges— can represent up to three quarters of the final price of electricity, while gas maintains a much lower tax burden. The result is an obvious distortion: the most efficient technology appears expensive and the most polluting technology appears affordable. You save but not. For an average home, this anomaly has a direct effect, since changing systems reduces energy consumption, but it does not always reduce the bill. And when that happens, adoption slows down. Furthermore, the data confirm that this is not a cultural or climatic issue, but rather an economic one. In countries like the Netherlands, where electricity is only slightly more expensive than gas, heat pump sales are soaring. On the other hand, in Germany, Poland or Hungary —where electricity can cost more than three times as much as gas—, adoption is much lower. The lever that remains to be activated. Solutions exist and many are immediately applicable: transferring the costs of electricity policies to public budgets, reducing electricity VAT, taxing fossil gas more coherently or implementing specific rates for heat pumps. From there, technological deployment is no longer a promise, but a reality. In fact, Europe leads the global heat pump industrywith manufacturers such as Bosch, Vaillant, NIBE or Danfoss, and with industrial projects that already operate on a large scale. These are not prototypes or pilots, but rather functioning infrastructure. Real limits and tensions. None of this eliminates obstacles. Europe still need gas to stabilize its electrical grid. The infrastructures are stressed, the flexibility of the system is insufficient and any cold winter can send prices skyrocketing again. Added to this are the physical frictions of the transition. The massive expansion of offshore wind in the North Sea is generating unprecedented conflicts between countries due to the so-called “wake effect”, which reduces the production of neighboring parks. Electrification is not only a matter of political will, but also of technical coordination and supranational planning. The anomaly that Europe has not yet corrected. Europe already has the technology, the industry and the climate goals. What it has not yet corrected is a basic anomaly: fiscally penalizing electricity while de facto subsidizing fossil gas. As long as that distortion persists, heat pumps will continue to advance more slowly than data, engineering, and economic common sense would allow. As the EMBER report concludeselectrifying heating is not a green whim, but a strategy for energy security, industrial competitiveness and price stability. The transition is not about inventing new machines, but about deciding which energy is made cheaper and which is left behind. And today, in Europe, that decision continues to be reflected—very clearly—in the invoice. Image | freepik Xataka | While the US and China dominate different sectors, Europe leads an unexpected leadership: heat pumps

We have found the oldest genetic evidence of incest in Europe. And it’s a case of father and daughter

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When we talk about endogamy in the historical worldthe truth is that it is easy to think about the royal dynasties or in island populations that were on the verge of extinction. But the truth is that this type of practice dates back 4,000 years, since it was only now that a team of researchers has found the first irrefutable biological proof of a sexual union. between a father and his own daughter in European prehistory. The study. Although it may seem crazy, the fact that a father and his own daughter were united beyond the family bond, the reality is very different. The research published in Communications Biology has reached this conclusion after analyzing some remains from a Bronze Age community in Calabria. The discovered. The finding focuses on the Grotta della Monacaan archaeological site in southern Italy used for both mining and burials during the Bronze Age (between 1780 and 1380 BC). There, archaeologists recovered remains of several individuals, but two of them powerfully called the attention of geneticists when analyzing your DNA. Specifically, an adult male with the code GMO022 and a pre-adolescent child with the code GMO007. The genetic material. It undoubtedly keeps a large number of secrets, and the fact that it is maintained over time to know all its details. By sequencing the genomes of these two subjects, the researchers They saw the kinship they had with great clarityand the subject with the number 22 was not only the father of the child. The analysis revealed that the child’s mother was also the daughter of subject 22. That is, child GMO007 was the result of a first-degree union between father and daughter. According to the researchers, led by paleogeneticists from the University of Bologna and the Max Planck Institute, this is the oldest evidence of this type of incest ever sequenced in Europe. Behind the discovery. How can researchers be so sure of this? The key is in a genetic measure called ROH or “homozygosity sections“To understand it, you have to know that when two parents are closely related, their offspring will inherit identical genetic blocks from both sides, and not different ones, as is normal in relationships with two genetically different people. The closer the relationship, the longer these blocks are. In the case of boy GMO007, researchers found unusually long stretches of identical DNA, occupying a massive portion of his genome. This through the computer modeling managed to rule out that it was a union between brothersand confirmed that the markers fit a father-daughter relationship. Habit? Without a doubt, it is the idea that can come to mind when seeing something that today can be a real aberration. In this way, looking for the reasons, it was seen that this community did not have a state of isolation that justified them having to procreate among their own relatives, since the population was about 5,000 individuals. In this way, there were many options available to not have to choose to have a father-daughter relationship. This leads the study authors to an important conclusion: this was not an accepted cultural practice. Unlike later Egyptian dynasties or the Incas, where royal incest was sacred, in this Bronze Age community the case of GMO007 appears to be a unique event. It wasn’t normal. In this way, it seems that this was a chance event or a violation of a taboo, which for some reason occurred in this family. The reasons are not known, but at that time it was not something accepted by social norms, despite talking about a community that was 3,700 years old. Its importance. Until now, evidence of first-degree incest (parent-child or full siblings) was almost non-existent in the European genetic registry outside of very specific cases. We had data on unions between siblings in Neanderthals or distant cases in the Irish Neolithic (Newgrange), but nothing so explicit between direct generations in this period. In this way, this study reminds us that the DNA of the oldest people even helps us see their most intimate details. Images | Sangharsh Lohakare In Xataka | They found a cube-shaped skull in Tamaulipas and thought it was a migrant. Science has turned history upside down

Europe has finally approved how to help Ukraine. The great paradox is that the most unexpected vote has been imposed: that of Russia

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Europe has finally closed an agreement to guarantee financing for Ukraine for the next two years through a loan of 90,000 million of euros backed by the common budget of the Union, a decision taken after more than 16 hours of negotiations in Brussels and under explicit pressure to avoid a financial collapse of kyiv at the beginning of 2026. In the background, a crystal clear idea: Russia has imposed its “vote”. The lifeguard and a pulse. The pact comes at a particularly delicate moment, with the United States and Russia advancing conversations parallels about a possible end to the war and with Trump publicly urging Ukraine to accept a quick agreement. For European leaders, the loan is not just an economic instrument, but a way to reaffirm that the EU wants and needs to have its own voice in any outcome of the most serious conflict experienced on the continent in the last eight decades. The political message is clear: Europe cannot stand by while others decide the future of Ukraine and, by extension, its own security. The failure of the ideal plan. For months, Brussels’ preferred option was to use the fences of 210,000 million euros in Russian sovereign assets frozen in Europe as collateral for a large “reparations” loan for Ukraine, a formula that made it possible to finance the war effort and the functioning of the Ukrainian state without directly resorting to European taxpayers’ money. The idea was powerful, both economically as symbolically: that Russia would pay, at least indirectly, for the destruction caused by its invasion. However, the plan fell apart at the last moment, a victim of the legal, financial and political risks involved in touching that capital, above all and as we told yesterdayfor a handful of countries. Russia, in fact, has already initiated legal action denouncing an illegal confiscation, and fear of economic or judicial reprisals grew as the decisive summit approached. Bucha and the passing of the war A pragmatic agreement. Faced with the impossibility of closing ranks around the use of frozen assets, France and Italy led a more pragmatic alternative: use the common EU budget to issue debt on the markets and channel the funds to Ukraine. The result is a two year loan which guarantees immediate liquidity to kyiv, although it is more expensive and less scalable than the original option. To achieve consensus, a complex political architecture was also accepted: Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will not assume obligations direct financial measures, a key condition to avoid an internal blockage. Still, the agreement was presented as a minimal but necessary victory. Ukraine gets the money it needs to survive and Europe avoids a picture of total paralysis at a critical moment. The resilience narrative. From kyiv, Zelenskiy celebrated the agreement as a real reinforcement of Ukrainian resilience, underscoring both the arrival of funds and the fact that Russian assets remain tied up. For the Ukrainian president, the combination it is essential: short-term financial security and sustained strategic pressure on Moscow. Zelenskiy had defended the use of frozen assets until the last moment, appealing to moral, legal and historical justice criteria, but he accepted the compromise. like a lesser evil facing the existential risk of running out of resources. The EU, for its part, insists that Ukraine will only have to repay the loan when Russia pays reparationsa formula that keeps the narrative of Russian responsibility alive without yet crossing the line of direct confiscation. Belgium and type C accounts. It we explained yesterday. In the background of the agreement there was a key actor: Belgium. Most of the Russian money frozen in Europe is there, guarded through critical financial infrastructure like Euroclear and linked to mechanisms such as called type C accountsdesigned precisely to immobilize assets without transferring ownership. Brussels demanded “unlimited” guarantees against possible Russian demands and retaliation, a level of protection that the rest of the partners were not willing to assume. The final result, although presented as a European commitment, essentially coincides with what was best for Moscow: that its sovereign capital not be confiscated or used as direct collateral. Russia loses access to the money, but retains the fundamental principle that these funds remain formally its own, avoiding a far-reaching legal precedent. If you also want, indirectly, Europe has chosen the safest path for itself and, at the same time, the least disruptive for the Kremlin. Europe and its limitations. So things are, the agreement leaves an ambivalent feeling. On the one hand, it shows that the EU is capable of mobilizing massive resources to support Ukraine and prevent its financial collapse in the middle of the war. On the other hand, it exposes again structural limitations of the European project when it comes to quick and risky decisions in foreign policy and security. The plan based on Russian assets promised to be more forceful and transformative, and the loan backed by the common budget is more conservativeslower and more politically comfortable. In a context in which Washington presses for an agreement and Russia hopes to buy time, Europe has chosen legal stability and internal cohesion over a direct financial confrontation with Moscow. Ukraine thus receives the oxygen it needs. The strategic pulse, however, is far from resolved. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | Ukraine’s biggest problem is not Russia. There are three European countries trapped in a perverse mechanism: type C accounts In Xataka | A Soviet missile is destroying Ukraine’s helicopters. The paradox is that it is not from Russia: it comes from the West

While cars are becoming more expensive in Europe, they are only going down in China. The Government has had to take measures

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Despite how they are sweeping brands outside of Chinain its domestic market there is voracious competition among all car manufacturers, which has led to an uncontrolled discount trend. For this reason, China’s market regulator has published a draft of guidelines to regulate prices in the automobile industry, seeking to stop the destructive price war that has shaken the sector in recent years. The country’s major manufacturers, including BYD, Xpeng, Great Wall Motors, Chery and BAIC, have publicly expressed their support for these new rules. The origin of the problem. According to data Cited by Wang Xia, chairman of the Automobile Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, more than 200 vehicle models recorded price reductions in the domestic market during 2024. In May, the situation worsened even more when leading manufacturers applied massive discounts that exceeded 50,000 yuan (about 6,300 euros), while some vehicles were sold for as little as 30,000 yuan. This spiral of cuts has forced some small manufacturers to leave the market and has deteriorated the profitability of the sector. What the guidelines propose. The document from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), published on December 12 and open to public consultation until the 22nd of this month, establish clear requirements for both manufacturers and dealers. Manufacturers must set prices based on production costs and market conditions, respecting the price autonomy of distributors. On the other hand, according to the document, selling below the production cost with the aim of eliminating competitors or achieving a monopoly position is prohibited, as well as price-fixing agreements between manufacturers. Dealers, for their part, must show complete and transparent prices, without false price references or misleading discounts. The reaction of the industry. BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, issued an official statement committing to follow the guidelines and optimize their internal price management systems. Xpeng, Nio and other manufacturers released similar statements supporting both the pricing guidelines and other complementary regulations on financing that facilitates the change of vehicle by reducing penalties for early loan repayment. Between the lines. The word “involution” has appeared more than once and twice in China’s hectic domestic vehicle market. Therefore, the Government wants to confront this idea with this new series of price regulations. The authorities They had already tried to stop the price war in June, when they summoned the CEOs of the major electric vehicle manufacturers to warn them about the abusive cuts. However, prices continued to fall: according to account Bloomberg with data collected by China Auto Market, BYD’s average transaction price fell from 116,200 yuan in June to 108,100 yuan in October. The transition aims to be complicated, since according to Bloomberg, there is a persistent weakness in demand, especially in luxury combustion vehicles. The middle account In addition, there are already manufacturers adapting these measures, offering more equipment for the same price or selling large SUVs at the price of smaller models. And now what. Following the public consultation period, which ends on December 22, the guidelines are expected to be formalized and play a key role. November already showed signs of stabilization, with 19 models with price cuts compared to 26 the previous year, according to ChinaEVHome. It remains to be seen if these regulations end up alleviating two of the most serious problems of this industry in China: excess productive capacity and weak demand. Cover image | BYD In Xataka | When the United States handed over its entire electrical grid to Chinese devices it seemed like a good idea. Now you have a problem

Europe has left a crack open to using combustion engines in 2035. It is a goal pass to China

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The European Commission has spoken. Now it is up to the rest of the European organizations to buy the proposal. Everything indicates that this will be the case and that we will have a relaxation in emissions standards in 2035. One that points to very expensive combustion engines and highly electrified options. Options in which China leads. The approved. First, we must start with what has been approved. It is the proposal of the European Commission regarding the emissions targets that manufacturers must meet in 2035. This points to a slight reduction. With the 100% reduction in carbon emissions that was approved, the combustion engine was almost doomed. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? And it is that only those moved by efuel they could work if they were carbon neutral. With the changes, the average emissions of the manufacturers’ fleet must move in 11 gr/km of CO2. These are figures almost impossible to achieve for any car that is not purely electric. Therefore, most options involve selling the vast majority of electric vehicles and a touch of combustion. Expensive and exceptional. Combustion cars “will become the Swiss luxury watches of the automotive industry.” The words are by Matthias Schmidta market analyst who points out that the rule is nothing more than a “Porsche amendment.” This explains the exceptional nature of the combustion cars that will be sold on the street. And the use of “green steel” and synthetic fuel, produced in Europe, will be key to receiving emissions bonuses that increase the average CO2 allowed to each manufacturer. Requirements that, presumably, will make the cost of the car even more expensivewhich will have to be passed on to the end customer. That leads to two paths. One, as we say, is to offer a few very expensive combustion cars as a status symbol. The second aims to sell exclusively electric cars. Or, if necessary, a type of plug-in hybrid called extended range electric. A type in which, again, China has the lead. The extended range. The extended range electric car is a type of car designed by and to be used as an electric car. The objective is for it to be supported by a combustion engine but only to be used as an emergency measure. Mazda sold us the MX-30 R-EV using this name but the cars of 2035 will have to go one step further. And it is that the SUV electric Mazda plug-in hybrid It already approves 21 gr/km of CO2, a figure that will skyrocket when the new approval criteria come in. The alternative for those looking for a car with a combustion engine for peace of mind or because their needs demand it will have to go for a type of extended range electric vehicle forgotten in Europe. This extended range is what was already proposed with the BMW i3 REX. The BMW electric car, ahead of its time, did have a combustion engine but it barely had 38 HP and was supported by a 9-liter tank. Because the fundamental idea is that the engine would act as an electrical generator in emergency conditions, when the battery had run out and there was no outlet nearby. China, always China. This type of car is one of the few with combustion engines that aspire to be relatively affordable. Right now, in the Spanish market, the best example is the Leapmotor C10 REEV. This car, as in the case of Mazda, has a 50-liter tank for an 88 HP engine, but its usage pattern has allowed it to approve 0.4 l/100 km of consumption and 10 g/km of CO2, a real rarity in the market. Given this expected increase in the approved emissions figures, this type of car will have no choice but to expand the battery (in the Leapmotor it is only 28.4 kWh) and reduce the gasoline tank. While maintaining its operation as a pure electric vehicle and, if necessary, as a series hybrid. This technology is used by many cars in China. In this list you have the most purchasedamong which are cars of all price ranges. We find cars like himLi Auto L6 EREV with 212 kilometers of electric autonomy but that extends over a thousand thanks to its combustion engines or the Aito M9powered by Huawei. BYD with its YangWang U8 It shows that there is a market for all types of options. The series hybrid. If the Leapmotor manages to reduce its consumption and emissions to such low figures with a 50-liter tank, it is largely because of how it uses its technology. China has specialized in serial hybrids, a small rarity in Europe. Toyota, for example, combines the technology with the parallel hybrid, where the combustion engine can drive the wheels at the same time as the electric motor but separately. In a series hybridthe gasoline engine works as an electrical generator that provides electricity to the battery. The electric motors draw power from this. And the hybrids that are coming to us from China, both plug-in and the Omoda 9 SHSas non-pluggable, as the Omoda 5 SHS-Happly this system to try to improve their efficiency. What they achieve is that the combustion engine operates at a speed range that is considered optimal, where they deliver the greatest power with the lowest possible consumption. When more power is needed, the car can deliver it and increase the engine revolutions but they try by all means to prevent this from happening. The driver, for his part, has the feel of an electric car, with less noise and vibrations, which is a plus in comfort. One more time. As we say, these cars will have to increase their electric range and reduce their gasoline tanks to operate very punctually with this system and reduce emissions, but again China is one step ahead of Europe in this technology. Leaving the door open for this configuration to be an interesting alternative to have a minimum safety net with … Read more

Europe is looking for a place to light its “artificial sun” and Spain only has to defeat Italy and Germany to achieve it

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For decades, nuclear fusion has been the distant horizon of energy: an almost mythical promise, always thirty years ahead. A future without a map. In full electrification of the economy and with demand pushed by the digital industry and data centers, Europe has begun to set coordinates for that promise: where to build the first commercial centers. For the first time, the “artificial sun” is no longer just a scientific experiment and it becomes a problem of territory, infrastructure and industrial planning. And in this new European energy map, Spain appears among the best positioned countries. A new path. Gauss Fusion, the European company created to power the first generation of commercial fusion plants on the continent, has completed the first comprehensive European study of potential sites for this technology, in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The study culminates in a map that did not exist until now. A map that indicates 150 industrial clusters and up to 900 potential sites spread across nine European countries. Behind each point there is an analysis of geology, seismicity, meteorology, refrigeration, access to the electrical grid and existing infrastructure, aligned with standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Spain on the horizon. It appears as the third country with the most identified clusters: 17, only behind Germany (53) and Italy (22), and ahead of France, Austria, the Netherlands or Switzerland. This is not a political decision or a formal candidacy, but rather a strictly technical diagnosis: where it would be possible to build a first-generation fusion power plant if it had to be done tomorrow. “That Spain appears as the third country with the most potential clusters is due solely to technical criteria,” emphasizes Milena Roveda, CEO of Gauss Fusion, in an interview with Xataka. “The study follows an objective methodology consistent with international standards. There are no strategic weightings or quotas per country,” he emphasizes. And that nuance is key. The map does not look for winners or distribute investments: it identifies where the minimum physical and industrial conditions already exist to host a fusion power plant. But why Spain? On the one hand, its fusion ecosystem. Spain is one of the European countries with greater historical involvement in ITERhouses the headquarters of Fusion for Energy in Barcelona and has achieved key industrial contracts for national companies. Added to this is the role of CIEMATuniversities with leading groups in plasma physics and materials, and the beginning of the construction of IFMIF-DONES in Granadaa critical infrastructure to validate materials for future reactors. On the other hand, their regulatory experience. “Spain has a nuclear regulatory body with extensive prestige and experience,” highlights Roveda. From an industrial point of view, Roveda insists that Spain should not limit itself to being a host: “It has the potential to be a key piece in the merger value chain. Companies like IDOM already have demonstrated that can design and deliver extremely complex systems. Where could these clusters be? The map does not draw isolated points, but rather broad areas. The study identifies regional clusters capable of containing multiple viable locations. In Spain, they appear spread over a good part of the territory – from Andalusia and Extremadura to Castilla y León, Aragon, Catalonia, Galicia, the Basque Country and the Valencian Community – and are concentrated in industrial areas with high electrical demandgood network connectivity and, in some cases, close to old energy enclaves that could reuse part of their infrastructure. Frédérick Bordry, CTO of Gauss Fusion, explains to Xataka that the objective of the map is not to select a specific place, but “to have a broad database that allows collaboration with authorities, companies and other interested parties.” The final decision, remember, will not come until the end of 2027. What would a commercial fusion center be like? Talking about commercial fusion is no longer talking about experiments like ITER. Gauss Fusion works with the concept of a GIGA plantcapable of producing 1 gigawatt of electricity. This implies very specific industrial requirements. “Assuming an efficiency of 30%, a plant of this type must safely evacuate about 2 GW of heat,” explains Bordry. In practice, this requires access to rivers, reservoirs or the sea, as well as robust electrical infrastructure. Unlike fission, fusion does not produce chain reactions, is self-limiting, does not emit CO₂ and does not generate long-lived radioactive waste. “Due to its safety features, it could and should be integrated near urban and industrial centers,” says Bordry, even supplying waste heat for industrial uses or district heating. This aspect connects with a trend that is already seen in Europe: heat recovery in district heating networks, as happens in Finland with data centerseither the use of large industrial heat pumps. The process now enters a delicate phase. According to Gauss Fusion, the goal is to reduce the European map to between two and five final locations by the end of 2026, and make the final decision in 2027. But the technical criteria will not be the only ones. “Political will, the regulatory framework and social acceptance will be essential,” emphasizes Roveda. In his opinion, Europe needs policies that promote fusion as a new industrial engine, and regulations “adapted to the real risk of these facilities.” Social acceptance will also be key. “Transparency and citizen participation are essential,” he says. “We have to explain well what fusion is and what it is not.” A project that covers a lot. For Bordry, no European country can tackle a project of this magnitude alone. The merger will require a continental industrial alliance, something that Roveda defines as a “fusion Eurofighter”, in which Spain should play a central role, not only as a location, but as a technological and industrial supplier. In a context in which European electricity demand could grow up to 75% by 2050fusion is beginning to be seen not as a distant promise, but as one more piece of the energy puzzle, complementary to renewables, storage and electrification. An open closure, but with a … Read more

If there is finally peace in Ukraine, Russia has a surprise for the rest of Europe

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The talks in Berlin have revived the idea of ​​an agreement to end the war in Ukraine like never before, to the point that Donald Trump has assured that peace is “closer than ever” after prolonged contacts with both European leaders and Vladimir Putin. If this horizon occurs, Finland has just sounded the alarm. The peace that appears. The United States has put on the table a plan that, according to its own negotiators, would solve around 90% of friction points and that includes a ceasefire supervised by Washington, security guarantees powerful and a central role for Europe in the stabilization of the country. kyiv admits real progressalthough he emphasizes that the territorial issue remains the most painful core of the negotiation, with Russia demanding concessions in the Donbas that Ukraine is reluctant to accept. Still, the general tone is contained optimismwith the feeling that, for the first time since 2022, there is a minimally viable political architecture to stop the fighting. Security guarantees. The key element of the plan is a package of security guarantees described by US officials as the most robust ever offered to Ukraine, with explicit parallels to NATO’s Article 5. Europe is ready to lead a multinational force on the ground, a “coalition of the willing” that would help regenerate the Ukrainian armed forces, protect its airspace and guarantee maritime security, always with political and operational support from the United States, although no US troops deployed in Ukraine. Furthermore, Washington would assume supervision of a ceasefire and an early warning system for possible violations, while European countries would legally commit to act in the event of new aggression. For kyiv, these guarantees are the essential condition to accept any freezing of the conflict, even leaving aspirations such as membership in NATO on hold, something that Zelenskiy has come to openly raise. The hidden price of peace. However, beneath this apparent diplomatic advance lies growing unrest on Europe’s eastern flank. Finland has issued a warning as clear as it is uncomfortable: peace in Ukraine will not mean the end of the Russian threat, but very likely its geographical displacement. According to Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, Moscow would take advantage of the end of hostilities to redeploy forces towards NATO’s borders, especially in the Baltic and northern Europe, strengthening its posture vis-à-vis the Alliance in a period of just three to five years. From Helsinki, it is insisted that Russia would continue to be a revisionist power and that interpreting peace as a general de-escalation would be a strategic error of the first order. The eastern flank prepares. The most exposed countries already act accordingly. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are on track to spend more than 5% of its GDP in defense, well above the traditional objectives of NATO, while coordinate common capabilities in air defense, drones and ground forces, and are working to accelerate the movement of troops and weapons across the continent. Finland, with its historical culture of preparation against Russia, maintains bunkers, strategic reserves and training programs civil, despite going through a serious economic crisis. These countries fear that a peace agreement will lead some European partners, further away from the front, to relax their attention and their military spending just when, in their opinion, the threat would be reconfiguring and not disappearing. Europe and a decision. The debate comes in a critical week for the European Union, forced to decide whether to support financially to Ukraine in the long term, unlocks the use of frozen Russian assets and assumes that your future security It depends less on Washington and more on its own deterrence capabilities. Orpo has been explicit by warning that Europe cannot afford to just talk about peace, but must act quickly and resourcefully, because there is no credible alternative plan if support for kyiv fails. Thus, the paradox is strongly imposed: the advance towards peace in Ukrainefar from closing the chapter on European security, could open another equally delicatein which Russia, freed from the Ukrainian front, once again strains the continental chessboard and forces Europe to finally face the strategic consequences of a conflict that never was only from Ukraine. Image | Ministry of Defense of Ukraine In Xataka | Something unprecedented has happened in North Korea: a video has revealed that they are sending their soldiers in Ukraine to the “slaughterhouse” In Xataka | The drone war in Ukraine is complete nonsense: the manuals that were useful two weeks ago are a death trap today

Six dissident countries want to keep the combustion car alive in Europe. And they have the opposition of Spain ahead of them

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The European Commission will speak and everything indicates that it will back down on its decision to ban the sale of cars with combustion engines from 2035. To what extent remains to be known and has yet to be revealed. What is certain is that Europe is divided between those who want to go back and those who prefer to move forward. These are the six dissident countries. The six of combustion. “We can and must pursue our climate goal effectively, without killing our competitiveness.” These are some of the words of the letter that six countries have sent to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, according to Bloomberg. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? The letter, which is reported by the media but has also been ratified by Automotive News either Reutersis led by Italy and signed by six countries in total that disagree with the decision that is still in force right now and that points to the impossibility of selling combustion engines that generate carbon emissions from 2035. These countries are: Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Poland. They are not doing the work. In the statements they have been making these days (reported in media such as Diariomotor) its leaders there is a common axis around which everything revolves: competitiveness. These countries believe that the ban on combustion engines makes it difficult for traditional European manufacturers to exist. These leaders consider that Europeans have a lot to lose if they jump to electric cars as the only solution and that Chinese manufacturers benefit the most. This position, held for months by countries such as Italy or Poland including your express support for tariffs to the Chinese electric car, has even made some Chinese manufacturers stop your investments in these dissident countries. It is believed that by orders of the Chinese State itself. And Germany? Its absence is almost surprising considering that it is the company that has championed the fight against the 2035 ban. Not signing this letter shows that the German country is advancing on its own and that it seems to have other objectives, although with subtle differences, in mind. Friedrich Merz, German chancellor, has long been lobbying for combustion engines to remain in force. In fact, he confronted Italy until he achieved the door was opened to synthetic fuels. The big question is how far they want to stretch their position. Small nuances. Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party and German politician, leaked a few days ago that the intention of the European Commission was to allow the sale of cars with combustion engines as long as the average CO2 emissions were reduced by 90%, taking the 2021 objectives as a reference. The change is important because achieving that goal is only possible if the bulk of the cars sold by a brand are electric cars. Even with current approvals for plug-in hybrids it would be impossible to achieve consumption that falls within the regulations. That is, Germany is looking for a huge fleet of electric cars on the streets with certain wide sleeve for luxury manufacturers of putting cars with combustion engines on the street at very high prices. Spain and the pro-electric front. Faced with the six dissident countries and Germany, Spain seems to have confronted France so that the current ban is maintained under the terms that had already been agreed. That is, it is prohibited to sell combustion engines that produce carbon emissions. Both countries are interested in the future of the vehicle fleet going through the electric car. French manufacturers have made enormous efforts to jump to the electric car, with renault and Peugeot as champions of these investments. Multi-energy platforms Stellantis STLA and STLA Small They are good examples. And precisely part of the future of the Spanish industry starts from the latter. Our country assembles the Stellantis small electric cars and that is why now it has on the horizon a battery factory next to CATL. Martorell, from Seat, is being renovated to give way to the small electric cars from the Volkswagen Group and the investment in Sagunto for the battery factory is part of the plan. These are just some of the projects already active as Spain continues to position itself to host more of the electric car industry in the coming years, including investments already approved for the conversion of factories. Photo | Rafael Garcin and mercedes In Xataka | In 2035 only 10% of combustion cars will comply with Euro 7. So the industry is pushing to skip it

Columbus introduced the pineapple to Europe in 1496. 200 years later the English went crazy

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When the gun is drawn it is to shoot, the one who takes it out to show it is a parguela. That always made me more amused than necessary. phrase of one of Callejeros’ ‘caughts’ on public roads, and I always associated it with what we buy for status. If we are what we have, we show what we have to demonstrate our position. And in 17th century England, what the richest people took out for a walk to show off their power was… a pineapple. The Blackberry phones back in the dayto the just like watchesjewelry, cars or yachts, are status symbols. They are elements that we use to show the social level in which we find ourselves. Up to a Labubu would go into this example, and if these symbols have something in common, it is that they are expensive. In the case of the pineapple, the fruit was introduced to Europe in 1496 with a single specimen of a pineapple. And this exotic fruit did not hit hard in Spain, but in an England that experienced a real “piñamania”. From the pineapple fever… It was on his second transatlantic voyage when the explorer in the service of the Spanish crown returned with the pineapple. In the Guadeloupe island He found the fruit and took back to Spain a large quantity of this “pina de Indes”, or fruit of the “pine of the Indians”. He offered it to the Catholic Monarchs and it seems that… they liked it. So much so that, according to the historian Peter Martyr d’Anghierathe king “preferred it over everything else.” It was what was needed for the subjects will embrace the fruit with open arms. It is a mystery how and when pineapple was introduced to England, but it is believed that, in the mid-17th century, Charles II of England held a feast at which pineapple was the exotic dish. And more important than its flavor, was that the pineapple, being unknown in the Old Continent, was not associated with any cultural reference. If the apple was the forbidden fruit, the pineapple was a blank canvas. In an article by BBC We can read how Lauren O’Hagan, from the School of English, Communication and Philosophy at Cardiff University, explains that this allowed the pineapple to be given a mythical quality: it was the symbolic manifestation of the divine right of the king. There it is nothing, but it is still easy to identify thanks to the “crown” of the pineapple and the golden color of the exterior and, above all, the interior. This earned him the nickname “King Pine,” and the royals wasted no time in doing what they did best: turning something unattainable to the people into something more than separated them from the plebs. King Charles II commissioned a portrait of himself being entertained with a pineapple, the ornamentation of palaces and mansions began to adopt the pineapple as a structural ornament. Drawings, tapestries, more paintings, tableware, furniture ornamentation, medals and… this: Dunmore Pineapple It was exotic, but there was also an interest in starting to cultivate it in Europe, and that was possible in the mid-17th century. Heated greenhouses They allowed us to replicate the tropical climate (more or less) to start growing pineapples. And you would think that the more pineapples on the market, the lower their value will be, right? Well, the opposite happened. Since these greenhouses were very expensive, and growing the first pineapples was not an easy task, the fruit was seen as a investment. It took years to flower in a very expensive facility and, furthermore, it was possible that a large part of the harvest was lost for different reasons. There were more, yes, but since the upper classes were the only ones who could afford a pineapple and were aware of its value… they were not going to eat it. And thus began the climax of this story: pineapple rental. The wealthiest, who could spend 80 pounds on one (tight to inflation, between 12,000 and 16,000 pounds), they were not going to eat a piece of fruit worth 20,000 euros, so they used it as ornamentation. Since they last several days without going overboard, they organized events in which they had the pine cones as if they were vases (or LEGO figures), clearly visible to the guests. When it started to get soft, they ate it. And what did those who had money, but couldn’t afford a pineapple, do? Rent it. This is how a parallel business emerged. to satisfy that demand. Shark mentality of those businessmen who thought about the business of renting pineapples to the wealthy classes, but not much. It was considered shameful to be caught leaving a pineapple rental store (it would be admitting social defeat), and the absurdity reached limits like seeing people walking around holding a pineapple. The equivalent of going out into the street with a ‘Luisvi‘ bragging about ‘Luisvi’. But soon the gentrifiers’ worst nightmare would occur: globalization. …to the democratization of the pineapple The progress In transportation, with steamships that began to make more frequent trips between Great Britain and the colonies where pineapples grew wild, pineapples began to be stored in warehouses, along with other goods. Soon, the pineapple invaded the market, and if before only the upper classes could afford a pineapple, now the working class could also delight in its flavor. O’Hagan recounts that “at the time, the pineapple-eating working class was used as a visual metaphor for the problem of progress in satirical prints.” If everyone could eat pineapple, It wasn’t special anymore.. Suddenly, the image of pineapple as a prohibitive fruit fell away, like “I liked Nirvana before it became mainstream.” They were sold in carts on the streets, even cheaper than potatoes, and when a way was devised to fit a pineapple in a can, the fruit definitively lost its appeal for the wealthiest. There was only one thing left to remember that glorious past: art, tableware … Read more

a “Made in Europe” label to park wherever you want

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Paris is the most striking case because it has taken it to the extreme. The city has a very simple system to reduce the volume of cars on its most central streets: that you pay 18 euros to leave the car on the street. It doesn’t matter if it is electric or combustion, the intention is to punish parking to reduce car trips. The fee is paid by weight of the vehicle, so SUVs are the most punished. The Parisian idea has been replicated in Spain in one way or another. In Madrid, for example, parking a car in its most central streets has a price if it is labeled B or C: 200 euros fine. And the capital does allow access to the streets that previously formed Madrid Central but it is mandatory that, with these labels, the car passes through a parking lot. If you park on the street, the fine is guaranteed because access is controlled by cameras that exchange data with the parking lots. And it is not the only city that chooses this way of acting. Most of the information that suggests that cars with a B label cannot circulate in the center of a good handful of Spanish cities hides in its headline that yes they can do it as long as they park in a parking lot. The streets of the cities have ended up becoming on the battlefield of mobility. Forced by the States or by their own decision, large cities are trying to reduce the passage of vehicles and deliberately eliminate parking spacesthey roll out the red carpet for shared vehicles or widen sidewalks to absorb the flow of their citizens but also the massive arrival of tourists. Given this situation, the European Union has found an argument for citizens to switch to electric cars. Yeah one of the great attractions of the motorcycle is to reach our destination door to door, European politicians want to propose something equally attractive for cars. Cars, microcars or the luck of kei cars to the European one that wants to move forward to fight with smaller Chinese electric cars, cheaper than European ones. Free way to park According to Financial Timesone of the incentives that the European Commission is preparing for the creation of this new category of vehicles is, precisely, that its owner does not face any restrictions of any kind when parking. The measure would be just one more incentive for the purchase of a car that would also come with regulatory facilities under its arm, both for the customer and the manufacturer. As we have explained previously, the European Commission wants to put on the table a vehicle that straddles the heavy quadricycle and tourism. An alternative with contained dimensions, electric and that would receive a sticker made in Europe as long as most of its production was local. Europe is trying to improve the competitiveness of its vehicles and position a type of car that would require manufacturing on European soil. Manufacturers would benefit because they would have to meet lower standards. For example, security facilities have been targeted. Although everything remains to be confirmed, it seems that the initial idea is that they are cars that are below 4.1 meters long and a contained price, according to Coach. With current knowledge of batteries, this leaves us with cars with very small electrical energy accumulators because the battery is still the main cost of vehicles. Especially the smaller the car. Thus, we can expect vehicles designed by and for the urban environment where excursions outside the ring roads of a city are very unattractive. That’s why has signed up so that these cars did not have to comply with obligations such as the lane departure warning system, now mandatory in all new cars. Raising your hand with those obligations (in whole or in part) would help the manufacturer position the car at a more competitive and attractive price. This last part is essential for the customer since the cost of acquisition and maintenance can be a huge barrier when buying a car of little use on the open road. To make the latter more attractive, the intention is indicated from Financial Timesis to offer tax facilities to the client, rewarding those who opt for this type of car. Those tax facilities that are already present for some electric cars (such as exemptions on registration or circulation tax) would be added to being able to park anywhere in the city for free. The new regulation, therefore, would buy a good part of what Japan already offers with its kei car. These cars cannot exceed 3.48 meters in length and 1.48 meters in height. Furthermore, the engine cannot exceed 660 cc either. This category is a success because in Japan there are cities where it is mandatory to have a parking space to buy a car, given the lack of space. However, the kei car do not adhere to this standard. But, above all, they succeed in Japan because there rational purchasing is well regarded. With those dimensions and that engine, the vehicle is perfectly functional on a daily basis and even allows short getaways as long as the customer accepts some discomfort. The success is such that it even has its own proposal for kei cars sports. Whether Europe will be able to replicate the Japanese model with this new category, so particular due to its own restrictions and philosophy of life, is something that only time will tell. Photo | Dacia and Kadir Celep In Xataka | Europe is eager for cheap electric cars. Europe’s solution: copy Japan

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