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Dear subscribers I am shutting down the Report Group project, as it doesn't work out. The Ukraine Report is already closed and will be deleted. As well as Israel Report and Free Russia Report. Thank you for your time and best wishes.

Trump's Intimidation of U.S. Allies Is Creating a Dangerous, Unstable World. Allies of the United States, from Canada to South Korea, now have to assume that Trump is actively malevolent to everyone beyond America's borders. This could lead to the unprecedented counter-coalition of former friends, writes Haaretz. Here's a multiple choice question for Canadians, Mexicans, Colombians, Taiwanese, Japanese, South Koreans, Filipinos, Ukrainians, Danes, European Union countries, Egyptians and Jordanians: When you look at U.S. President Donald Trump's frenzied, retribution-motivated wrecking-ball purges of America's federal government and democracy's guardrails, when you're listening to his imperialistic tantrums on Greenland, the Panama Canal, the Gazan Riviera and others, do you: A) Conclude that the United States is no longer a dependable ally. B) Realize that the United States is no longer a model democracy and no longer has any pretense of being "the leader of the free world." C) Gather that the United States no longer cares about alliances and its allies. D) Think that it would be wise to hedge you national strategy and be willing to get closer to China. E) Consider that perhaps your country should develop a military nuclear capability, just as an insurance policy. F) All of the above. If you haven't already chosen answer "F," don't worry – you will in a few months. Another question: Trump threatens Mexico and Canada, the EU and Denmark, Columbia and Panama, and unilaterally informed Egypt and Jordan that "they will have to take in the 2 million Palestinians" he wants to kick out from Gaza, which the U.S. "will own." What do all these abovementioned countries have in common? They have been and still are allies of the United States. In other words, Trump likes Putin's Russia and dislikes NATO. He loves Kim Jong Un of North Korea but despises Justin Trudeau of Canada. This has consequences. Countries now have to assume that the United States is "actively malevolent," – and that could lead to extreme uncertainty. In the worst-case scenario, this could result in an unfathomable development: U.S. allies could be the ones forming a balancing counter-coalition. Canada, Mexico, Panama, the EU and some Mideast states may now consider hedging their national strategies and alliances with the United States. Furthermore, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan would have to fundamentally revisit basic assumptions regarding the world order. In Asia, if Trump persists in his transactional and hostile attitude to alliances, the differences between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be blurred. These countries do not just follow America's foreign policy spasms, but are closely observing what Trump is doing domestically. Their inevitable conclusion may be that the era of looking up to American democracy as a model and something to emulate is over. Since 1945, the US has become the most potent and predominant economic, military and political power. Despite the division of the world into American and Soviet spheres of influence, the U.S. was unequivocally the dominant superpower. Historically, when a hegemonic power emerges, small- and medium-size countries form short- or long-term coalitions to balance that superpower. Yet countries did not perceive the United States as a threat, but rather a benevolent guarantor of their security and democracy, and of a "rules-based" world. As Trump is crudely departing from these principles and policies, U.S. allies will be compelled to reexamine their options and adjust their grand strategic posture accordingly. Read more 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇺🇸

Europeans no longer see the US as an 'ally', study finds. A majority of Europeans considers the US is a “necessary partner” rather than “an ally”, according to a poll published on Wednesday by the pan-European think tank European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), against the backdrop of friction between the EU and US over tariffs. This view was shared by half of the respondents to the survey, and a majority of those questioned in countries traditionally close to the US, such as Denmark, Germany and Poland. “This represents a big change for some countries that used to be strongly transatlantic,” Pawel Zerka, ECFR’s senior policy fellow, said, adding: “But this is understandable because if Donald Trump does no longer present the transatlantic alliance as a true alliance, but as something which needs to be transactional, then we simply accept it.” According to the analyst, the situation should be regarded as an “opportunity” for Europeans to try to set up a “pragmatic approach to the US rather than an idealistic one”. The poll was conducted in 11 EU countries - including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary – as well as Ukraine, Switzerland, and the UK. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇺🇸

Addition to previous report The Z-regime miffed about Baltic energy independence Zakharova stated that disconnecting the Baltic states from russia’s energy system is a step towards “destroying their independence and prosperity.” According to her, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have already “freed themselves from science, education and development.” She wasn't able to come up with a better response to the statement by Ursula von der Leyen, who called the Baltics’ transition to the European energy system “freedom from threats and blackmail.” 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇷🇺

Tesla sales crash in Germany as CEO Musk continues political activism in favor of the far-right. Sales plummeted in Germany after the billionaire expressed his support for the far-right in the country. Sales of Tesla electric vehicles also fell in France and the UK last month. Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla saw car sales drop by 59% year-on-year in Germany last month, according to the country’s Federal Motor Transport Authority. Tesla, the world’s largest EV maker which has its only European factory in Germany, registered 1,277 new cars in the country in January. That’s the lowest monthly figure seen since July 2021. It’s also despite the fact that Germany’s wider EV market was up 54% in January, reducing Tesla’s market share from 14 to 4%. The carmaker also saw sales drop in France and the United Kingdom last month by 63% and 12% respectively. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇩🇪

Why Trump's tariffs could push Europe to target US tech services. Trump's new tariffs could push the EU to retaliate by targeting US tech services instead of goods, a Goldman Sachs report suggests. With Europe's large trade deficit in services, Brussels may use digital restrictions to counterbalance Washington's trade measures. Trump's plan to slap fresh tariffs on the European Union could provoke retaliation in an unexpected way - not by taxing American goods, but by taking aim at the dominance of US tech firms in Europe's digital economy. The idea suggests that rather than responding with tit-for-tat duties on US exports, Brussels could exploit its growing trade deficit in services. By restricting American digital services, the EU could hit a sector that generates billions in revenue from European markets. If tariffs are imposed, Goldman Sachs predicts the EU's response will resemble the strategy it used in 2018, when Trump first targeted European steel and aluminium. At the time, Brussels retaliated with duties on key US products - including bourbon whiskey and motorcycles - covering about 40% of the affected EU exports. Unlike in 2018, however, the EU now has an additional tool at its disposal: the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), a mechanism designed to counter economic pressure from third countries. The ACI, which grants Brussels the authority to impose tariffs and restrict access to European markets in response to coercive trade measures, could provide a framework for action against Washington. One area that could come under scrutiny is the digital economy. While the EU enjoys a significant trade surplus in goods with the US, it runs an annual trade deficit of nearly €150bn in services - half the size of its goods surplus. A major factor in this imbalance is the dominance of American tech companies. These firms generate substantial revenues from European customers and repatriate earnings as royalties through low-tax jurisdictions like Ireland. Read more 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇺🇸

Addition to previous report Statement of Transparency International Georgia: Repressive Rules Aim to Abolish Freedoms of Assembly and Expression On February 3, the Georgian Dream’s parliament initiated discussions on dictatorial regulations aimed at abolishing freedom of assembly and expression, posing a serious threat to fundamental human rights. These amendments are not the first of their kind since large-scale and continuous protests began in Georgia. Against the backdrop of violent dispersals of demonstrations, illegal detentions, torture, and unlawful trials, Georgian Dream has repeatedly tightened legislation to intensify repression against protesters. The main purpose of these changes is to suppress ongoing protests and intimidate people. These repressive measures are a direct attack on rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Constitution of Georgia. They mirror the strategies of autocratic and dictatorial regimes, whose goal is to silence dissent, consolidate power, and punish individuals deemed undesirable by the regime. Main provisions: 1. 60 Days of Imprisonment for Criticizing Government Officials on Social Media 2. For Criticism that Is Received as an Insult You May Be Jailed – Punishment for Freedom of Expression 3. Up to 3 Years in Prison for Public Calls for Violence - To punish protest leaders, intimidate activists by classifying any call to participate in a public protest as incitement to violence 4. Demonstrations Are Banned Almost Everywhere - Restrictions on Protest Locations and Harsher Penalties 5. Police Can Conduct Personal Searches Without a Witness - Significantly limiting citizens' ability to protect themselves from police abuse. 6. No Tents or Stages Allowed at Protests 7. Not Only the Initiator but Anyone Involved in Organizing a Protest Will Be Considered an Organizer 8. Spontaneous Gatherings without Prior Notification Will Be Considered Illegal 9. Threats against Government Officials Will Lead to Up to 6 Years in Prison Read details 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

From "I'll end the war with one call" to "US hasn't anything to do with it, only brings the parties to the table", and "Ukraine has to pay US." Trump wants to end the war, but security guarantees are on Europe Next week, senior U.S. officials will visit Europe to discuss how to end Russia's war against Ukraine. The United States is interested in ending the war, but the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine "will be entrusted to Europe", US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz said. "The President of the United States is ready to act to bring all parties into the negotiations," Waltz stressed. Waltz did not give details, but noted that Donald Trump is ready to discuss American assistance to this country with Ukraine: "We need to reimburse these costs, and this will be a partnership with the Ukrainians about their rare earth metals, their natural resources, their oil and gas, as well as the purchase of our resources," Waltz said. He also added that "the fundamental principle here is that Europeans must take responsibility for this conflict. President Trump is going to end the war, and then, as far as security guarantees are concerned, they will be entirely on the Europeans." What exactly is meant, he did not explain. In short Trump will "invite to negotiations", rules out giving Ukraine any security guarantees "because that's on Europeans" but want to exploit Ukraine's resources "to reimburse their costs". Poor performance, if you ask me, but not surprising. @freerussia_report

Mzia Amaglobeli’s condition remains the same Zurab Chkhaidze, the clinical director of Vivamedi clinic, announced that the health of the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, Mzia Amaglobeli, remains the same, and repeated laboratory tests are being conducted. Mzia Amaglobeli was initially transferred from the penitentiary institution to the Vivamedi clinic for the purpose of conducting medical tests. She has now been on a hunger strike for 30 days “for all political prisoners.” “Mzia Amaglobeli also told me that the cynical statements she hears from representatives of the Georgian Dream give her more motivation to continue her hunger strike,” the lawyer said. Amaglobeli is facing 4 to 7 years in prison for slapping a police officer during her arrest on January 12, an incident that led to her detention. On January 14, Batumi City Court ordered her imprisonment as a preventive measure under Article 353 of the Criminal Code. Human rights organizations and political figures, both in Georgia and abroad, consider her a political prisoner. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Ruling party wins parliamentary elections in Kosovo. The ruling Self-Determination Party won the parliamentary elections in the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo, but it will have to form a coalition. After counting almost all the protocols, the party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti gains 41% of the vote. The opposition center-right Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo receive 22.4% and 17.6%, respectively. Fourth place is occupied by the right-wing Alliance for the Future of Kosovo. The "Serbian List" also participated in the elections, for which residents of the northern regions, where ethnic Serbs compactly live, voted. The party is gaining about 4%, but it has ten seats guaranteed by law. In total, there are 120 seats in the Kosovo parliament, one hundred of them are distributed according to the results of the elections. According to current data, "Self-determination" will have 46 seats - to form a government, the party will have to negotiate with one of the main rivals, something Kurti ruled out during the election campaign. However, announcing the victory of "Self-Determination", he said that the party will continue the work it has begun. "We are the winning party that will create the next government," Kurti told reporters. He did not hint at a potential partner. The Kurti government pursued a hard line towards the Serbian minority, trying to expand the control of the central authorities over their compact residence. This, as well as the harsh reaction of a number of Serbs, who are still oriented towards Belgrade, led to an increase in tension. The United States and the European Union criticized a number of decisions by the authorities in Pristina, claiming that they were not coordinated with Kosovo's international partners. The opposition in the elections opposed Kurti's hard-line political line, insisting on the need to strengthen ties with the US and the EU and resume negotiations with Serbia on the normalization of relations. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇽🇰

Transnistria refused a European gas grant of €60 million due to Russian pressure. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean issued a statement that Transnistria refused to help the EU, which offered to supply gas for € 60 million. "The government, together with the European Union, solved a serious problem created by Russia — it provided heat and electricity in the homes of the inhabitants of the Transnistrian region. People saw what Russia means and what it means to have the European Union nearby. Funds from the European grant, provided free of charge from February 1, have been fully used. In the medium term, the EU's €60 million proposal was a solution that would save the Transnistrian region from blackmail and energy instability. However, Tiraspol refused this decision. Russia does not allow them to accept European assistance, fearing the loss of control over the region. The main condition that Tiraspol rejected is a gradual increase in tariffs for consumers. As a result, they cannot get money from the 60 million European aid package." At the same time, Recean notes that Moldova will not block gas supplies from its side so that people on the left bank do not freeze. Deliveries will come from Hungary through intermediaries. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇲🇩 @freerussia_report

Addition to previous report Baltic States successfully connect to Europe's single energy network. The technical switching was carried out by the Baltic electrical system operators - Latvian JSC Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST), Lithuanian Litgrid and Estonian Elering. As LETA informed AST, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania synchronised their electricity systems with continental Europe on February 9 at 14.05. "This is an important historic step for the Baltic States and for Europe as a whole, strengthening the region's energy resilience and independence. Synchronisation allows the Baltic States, in close cooperation with other continental European countries, to manage their electricity networks, ensuring stable and reliable frequency control, thus significantly improving regional energy security," the company's statement emphasized. On Saturday, the Baltic States disconnected from the Russian network, and around the clock the Baltic States worked in an isolated electricity system and conducted tests of the isolated operation of the electricity transmission system. Today, through the Lithuania-Poland connection, the Baltic States connected to the unified electricity grid of continental Europe. The State Police reported that during the switching process she worked in an enhanced mode, looking after the energy infrastructure objects of Latvia. State police have not observed any targeted harmful actions this weekend. In the process of switching, no power supply problems were observed. Previously, the Baltic states relied on frequency management of Russian systems, but now they have joined the European network, which unites more than 400 million consumers. All interconnection lines with Russia and Belarus are permanently disconnected, AST highlights. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇱🇻🇱🇹🇪🇪

Thousands protest across Germany against far-right extremism ahead of snap elections. More than 200.000 protesters have rallied in the southern German city of Munich against far-right extremism ahead of the country's general election. The far-right, anti-immigrant AfD party is currently in second place in recent polls and that has prompted widespread protests across the country before voters head to the ballot box on 23 February. The protest at Munich's Theresienwiese, where Oktoberfest takes place each year, attracted a significantly larger crowd than expected, according to the German dpa news agency. The event's organisers estimated the crowd could be up to 320,000 people, many of whom carried signs against the AfD with slogans like, "Racism and hatred is not an alternative." "We are demonstrating against the right. Never again is now. I find it horrible that right-wing ideas are acceptable again, that this is being said openly again," said pensioner, Veronika Frank. The peaceful protest was supported by activist groups as well as the Munich Film Festival, churches and Munich football clubs FC Bayern and TSV 1860. Similar protests attracted large crowds in Hanover, Rostock and elsewhere in Germany, mirroring other demonstrations that have occurred across the country in recent weeks. Last month, at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate a huge crowd blew whistles, sang anti-fascist songs and carried banners denouncing the AfD. Demonstrators have recently also opposed Friedrich Merz, the centre-right leader and frontrunner in the upcoming election, and his Christian Democrats for sending proposals to parliament last month for tough new migration rules that received the AfD's backing. Protesters say Merz and his party broke Germany's unwritten post-Nazi promise by all democratic parties to never pass any rule or resolution in parliament with the support of far-right, nationalist parties like the AfD. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇩🇪

German court orders X to hand over election data in legal blow to Musk’s platform. Researchers won a legal battle against the platform formerly known as Twitter, securing crucial access to social media data to probe potential election interference. The Berlin court handed Elon Musk’s X a legal defeat, ruling that the platform must immediately provide researchers with access to data on politically related content ahead of the country’s Feb. 23 election. The court decision issued Thursday marks one of the first major judicial tests of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), raising fresh questions about X’s compliance with European regulations ahead of Germany’s federal election. The lawsuit, brought earlier this week by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and the Society for Civil Rights (GFF), accused X of blocking efforts to track potential election interference by not granting them access to key engagement data — including likes, shares and visibility metrics — that other platforms made available to researchers. Social media platforms, including X, are already getting European Commission scrutiny over alleged failures to mitigate risks around election interference. Russia was accused of interfering in Romania's annulled presidential election late last year, via a TikTok campaign that boosted a pro-Kremlin candidate. The case adds to mounting tensions between European regulators and Musk’s social media platform over its rolling back of content moderation and refusal to accede to data access demands. The DSA, which came into force in 2022, requires large platforms to grant researchers access to data to study systemic risks. The Commission already accused X in July last year of breaching the DSA for not meeting requirements around researcher data access. It also quizzed Meta last year over its decision to shut down research tool CrowdTangle. The Berlin Regional Court sided with the plaintiffs, issuing an urgent injunction that forces X to provide real-time access to the requested data via its online interface until Feb. 25. The ruling also orders X to pay legal costs and imposes a €6,000 procedural fine, setting a precedent for how European courts may enforce transparency obligations under the DSA. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇩🇪

Abramovich's Bugatti and Lamborghini arrested in Germany. The prosecutor's office of Frankfurt am Main suspects 58-year-old Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich of circumventing sanctions. The department initiated an investigation and arrested four luxury cars that may belong to the businessman: a Mercedes, a Lamborghini and two Bugatti with a total value of several million euros. They are currently stored in a specialized company for the sale of vintage and sports cars in Obersulm (Baden-Württemberg). Once arrested, they can no longer be sold, leased or mortgaged. In addition, investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Central Office for the Execution of Sanctions searched several times the Leitenschlössl country villa in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Bavaria), of which Abramovich is also believed to be the ultimate owner. Several works of art were confiscated as evidence. The villa, built at the end of the 19th century for a wealthy Munich chemist, previously belonged to the daughter of the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Tatyana Dyachenko. In 2005, the mayor of Garmisch-Partenkirchen said that Abramovich bought this property "through one of his companies." Local residents have seen the businessman there more than once. In the German land registry, the company 'Parados Limited', registered in Liechtenstein, is now listed as the owner of the property. The billionaire is suspected of violating the law on foreign trade and obligations to declare assets to the German Bundesbank and the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control. If convicted, Abramovich faces up to a year in prison or a fine. The businessman's lawyer said that his client has nothing to do with either the villa or luxury cars. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇩🇪

Addition to previous report Judge blocks Trump from placing thousands of USAID workers on leave A federal judge on Friday dealt Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk their first big setback in their dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, ordering a temporary halt to plans to pull thousands of agency staffers off the job. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, also agreed to block an order that would have given the thousands of overseas USAID workers the administration wanted to place on abrupt administrative leave just 30 days to move families and households back to the U.S. on government expense. Both moves would have exposed the U.S. workers and their spouses and children to unwarranted risk and expense, the judge said. Nichols pointed to accounts from workers abroad that the Trump administration, in its rush to shut down the agency and its programs abroad, had cut some workers off from government emails and other communication systems they needed to reach the U.S. government in case of a health or safety emergency. USAID contractors in the Middle East and elsewhere had found even “panic button” apps wiped off their mobile phones or disabled when the administration abruptly furloughed them. In agreeing to stop the 30-day deadline given USAID staffers to return home at government expense, Nichols cited statements from agency employees who had no home to go to in the U.S. after decades abroad, who faced pulling children with special needs out of school midyear, and had other difficulties. The judge also ordered USAID staffers already placed on leave by the Trump administration reinstated. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously accused the Agency staff of "obstruction", and insisted that the moves (to cut them off) were "the only way to get cooperation" because staffers were working “to sneak through payments and push through payments despite the stop order” on foreign assistance. Earlier Friday, a group of a half-dozen USAID officials speaking to reporters exposed the lies spread by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the most essential life-saving programs abroad were getting waivers to continue funding. None were, the officials said. Among the programs they said had not received waivers: $450 million in food grown by U.S. farmers sufficient to feed 36 million people, which was not being paid for or delivered; and water supplies for 1.6 million people displaced by war in Sudan’s Darfur region, which were being cut off without money for fuel to run water pumps in the desert. 🇪🇺@EU_Report

US judge stops Musk's shady group DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury data. A federal judge early on Saturday blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued Trump. The case, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges the Trump administration allowed Musk’s team access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system in violation of federal law. The payment system handles tax refunds, Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits and much more, sending out trillions of dollars every year while containing an expansive network of Americans’ personal and financial data. Engelmayer also said anyone prohibited from having access to the sensitive information since Jan. 20 must immediately destroy all copies of material downloaded from Treasury Department systems. He set a hearing for Feb. 14. New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed the lawsuit, said DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s data raises security problems and the possibility for an illegal freeze in federal funds. “This unelected group, led by the world’s richest man, is not authorised to have this information, and they explicitly sought this unauthorized access to illegally block payments that millions of Americans rely on, payments for health care, child care and other essential programs.” James stressed the president does not have the power to give away American’s private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress. Also on the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said it’s not clear what DOGE is doing with the information in the Treasury systems. “This is the largest data breach in American history,” Tong said in a statement on Friday. “DOGE is an unlawfully constituted band of renegade tech bros combing through confidential records, sensitive data and critical payment systems. What could go wrong?” 🇪🇺@EU_Report

Schools on 4 Greek islands will stay shut next week as earthquakes continue. More than 800 tremors of magnitude 3 and over have been recorded on the tourist islands of Santorini, Amorgos, Anafi and Ios since Feb. 1, triggering an exodus of most of Santorini’s 16,000 residents as well as visitors. Even though the earthquake activity has somewhat abated, 11 tremors of at least magnitude 4 hit on Saturday, according to the Athens Institute of Geodynamics. The strongest was 4.9 at 11 a.m. There were no reports of major damage or casualties since the quakes started. Experts say they cannot exclude stronger quakes, but that the latest tremors have nothing to do with Santorini’s volcano. The earthquakes appear to stem from unusual tectonic processes, which are unpredictable. The seismic storm is unique in its frequency and intensity. Since the end of the previous year, seismic activity gradually increased, with nearly a thousand earthquakes occurring daily in recent days. The earthquakes are not concentrated in a single location, as the disturbance moves within and outside Santorini. Without following the classic progression of a seismic event, the earthquakes are similar in magnitude and sometimes increase in intensity. Authorities in Athens have declared a state of emergency and said that schools in the four islands will remain closed until Feb. 14. 🇪🇺EU_Report 🇬🇷