Photo : Reuters
24 April 2025, Thursday | NIAS Europe Daily Brief #1119
By Fleur Elizabeth Philip
TURKEY
151 injured after 6.2 magnitude earthquake
On 23 April, A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Istanbul, resulting in the injury of 151 people. According to the Istanbul governor, Davut Gül, people jumped from buildings and have resulted in the number of injured. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the southwest region of Istanbul, at the Marmara Sea. According to Julia Hahn, reporter of DW: “There were many leaving buildings and gathering outside. The shock and panic were set among the people of Istanbul.” Turkey is prone to earthquakes, and it has faced one of the most powerful ones in 1999 and 2023. Tremors were felt in major parts of southeast Turkey. According to the Turkish Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, the earthquake lasted around 13 seconds, followed by a minute of aftershocks. (Jenipher Camino Gonzalez, & Julia Hahn “Turkey: Powerful earthquake shakes Istanbul, injures dozens,” Deutsche Welle, 23 April 2025)
DENMARK
Rail tunnel with Germany in the Baltic Sea under construction
On 23 April, a tunnel connecting Denmark and Germany is under construction in the Baltic Sea, covering a distance of 18 kilometres. It will be the world’s longest pre-fabricated road and rail tunnel. The Fehmarnbelt’s construction is at the tunnel's northern entrance, on the coast of Lolland island, southeast of Denmark. The rail line is placed above the seabed, facilitating more than 500 hectares. Part of the construction will include a harbour and a factory that manufactures the tunnel sections, which are referred to as elements. Henrik Vincentsen, Chief Executive of Femern, is in charge of the construction of the tunnel. According to him: “To make each 217-meter-long and 42-meter-wide element, is reinforced with steel, casted with concrete, like to 50 kilometre Channel Tunnel connecting the UK and France.” EUR 7.4 billion is the cost for the construction, 1.3 billion is sourced from the European Commission. The EU aims to strengthen the travel links between the European regions and reduce the dependency on aviation. The journey between Rødbyhavn, southern Denmark, to Puttagarten, northern Germany, will take approximately 10 minutes on the road and seven minutes by rail. If the new rail route is to bypass western Denmark, the distance between Copenhagen to Hamburg, which generally takes 2.5 hours, can be reduced by half. According to Vincentsen, “the new line connects Scandinavia to central Europe. Apart from the distance, travel coming under 16 kilometres can reduce the carbon emissions caused by transportation.”(Adrienne Murray, “The record-breaking tunnel being built from Denmark to Germany,” BBC, 23 April 2025)
ESTONIA
Parliament approves individuals to file a complaint against violations of UNCED women's rights
On 23 April, the unicameral parliament of Estonia, the Riigikogu, approved the country’s succession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (OP-CEDAW). The OP-CEDAW enables individuals and organisations the opportunity to raise concerns and complaints on the violations against the rights set in the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The committee investigates and takes initiative to advise the state parties to ensure the rights of women are upheld. The OP-CEDAW was started in December 2000, and have with them 189 member states. The optional protocol comes under the UN human rights conventions consisting with the largest number of parties. (“Estonian parlt approves expansion of women's rights protection,” The Baltic Times, 23 April 2025)
GERMANY
Government proposes to return Syrian refugees to visit their homes temporarily
On 23 April, the German government proposed enabling of Syrian refugees to return to Syria for a certain duration, without losing their protection status in Germany. On a legal note, refugees who return to their homes lose their protected status, but since Germany has reopened their embassy in Damascus, they are looking forward to restarting their diplomatic relations after the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in December, which enables the refugees with protected status to go home for four weeks. According to the spokesperson of the Interior Minister, Nancy Faesar, “this proposal aims to allow the Syrians to return to their homes voluntarily. With this, the Syrians can see for themselves whether their houses are still standing and if their relatives are alive.” The spokesperson added, “The visits are permitted under strict conditions and will have to register with the immigration if they are to permanently return to Syria.” The Christian Social Union (CSU) rejects the proposal by saying, “the fact-finding trips are disguised as vacation trips.” The CSU argued that instead of repetitive travels from Germany to Syria, there could be a coordinated solution within Europe. (Chiara Bachels, “Germany wants to allow Syrian refugees to visit home,” Deutsche Welle, 23 April 2025)
NORWAY
Government launches initiative to welcome researchers who faced funding cutoff by Trump
On 23 April, the Norwegian government launched a new initiative to bring in top researchers after US President Donald Trump cut off funding for the academic institutions. Research institutions across Europe are opening themselves to researchers from all over the world, making the recruiting process easier. The Research Council of Norway launched a GBP 7.2 million fund to ease the hiring process. This announcement was released before the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and the Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg visit the White House. The purpose of the visit is to look at security, defence, Ukraine, tariffs, and trade. According to the Research and Education Minister Sigrun Aasland said: “It's of great importance for Norway to be proactive at such demanding times, and with Academic freedom being under pressure in the US, there is a lot of uncertainty for many researchers in the future.” The plan is to be executed from 2026. This proposal was started by France, and now 300 academics have applied to Aix-Marseille University. Belgium’s university Vrije Universiteit Brussel has opened up the post-doctoral positions, and lastly, the Netherlands is planning to launch funds to attract researchers. (Miranda Bryant, “Norway launches scheme to lure top researchers away from US universities,” The Guardian, 23 April 2025)
REGIONAL
EU imposes fine on Apple and Meta for DMA violation
On 23 April, the European Commission imposed fines against Apple and Meta for violating the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Fines are worth EUR 500 million for Apple and EUR 200 million for Meta. According to the EU, Apple breached the anti-steering law under the DMA, and Meta did not provide the choice of a service for the users to limit the exposure of their data, which violates the DMA. The EU closed Apple’s case after it followed the DMA’s law, by making it easier for consumers to select their default browser. The anti-steering law prevents developers from enabling consumers to access apps outside the App Store, whereas in the case of Meta, the users must pay to avoid data collection or agree to share their data with other Meta platforms to access them for free. The commission concluded that Meta did not provide the users of Facebook and Instagram less personalization, but an equivalent version of the platform, which does not enable the users to exercise their rights to freely consent to the use of their personal information. The fines applied to the tech giants are likely to deepen the tensions between the US and the EU. (Timothy Jones, “EU Commission fines Apple, Meta over digital law breaches,” Deutsche Welle, 23 April 2025)