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Category: Baltics

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Television interview – Sunday Agenda, Sky News

    Source: Minister for Trade

    Andrew Clennell: The Trade Minister, Don Farrell, joins me now from Adelaide. Don Farrell, thanks for your time. You’re due to talk to the US Trade Ambassador tomorrow.

    Minister for Trade: Pleased to be with you.

    Andrew Clennell: And you spoke at two o’clock Friday morning to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. How did your chat with Mr Lutnick go and what are you hoping to achieve with Mr Greer?

    Minister for Trade: Look, Andrew, I did speak with Commerce Secretary Lutnick. That’s the second contact we’ve had with one another since he just recently was appointed to that position. I obviously expressed my disappointment that we had not been able to reach an agreement over the suspension of tariffs on steel and aluminium. But I did say that there’s obviously a further review, and you’ve talked about some of the issues that potentially arise, that the U.S. Government is undertaking by the early part of April. I indicated to him that we want to continue to talk with them. I find that discussion is the best way to resolve these issues. Not retaliatory tariffs, but discussion. What we need to do, Andrew, is find out what it is that the Americans want in terms of this relationship between Australia and the United States and then make President Trump an offer he can’t refuse.

    Andrew Clennell: And did Howard Lutnick give you any indication of what they might be after? Because obviously you offered them some form of critical minerals deal. Did he give any, any ray of light you had a chance? I mean, I think you’ve said that President Trump allowed Australia or the Prime Minister to believe there was a chance when there wasn’t. Has he given you any suggestion there’s a chance, or was he holding the line and saying, look, this is our America First policy, that’s it.

    Minister for Trade: Look, it wasn’t a pessimistic conversation, I’m pleased to say, Andrew. but look, he gave, you know, no assurances about what might happen in the next round of negotiations. Our job is to sit down and continue to talk. I think the important thing here to understand, Andrew, is that when President Trump, in his first iteration, gave Australia an exemption to Prime Minister Turnbull, it was one of over 30 exemptions that the United States gave to a range of countries around the world. So, more than 30 countries, including most of our competitors in the American market, were able to get an exemption. On this occasion, not one country, not one country got an exemption on either steel or aluminium. Now, that’s obviously, we think that’s bad news. We think it’s bad news, obviously, for the companies that trade in Australia with the United States. It’s also bad news for the Americans because what that has done is simply pushed up the price of steel and aluminium in the US market and that has to have an impact both on, on inflation and on jobs. So, part of my job is to continue to put the arguments to the Americans that in fact, this is the wrong policy to adopt. We should actually be doing the opposite. We should be making more free trade, more fair trade, rather than less trade.

    And of course, one of the things that we’ve done in government is diversify our trading relationship. So, we have new agreements with the United Kingdom, we’ve got new agreements with India. I think we’re just about to get another offer from the Indians to even expand our trading relationship with India. We’ve signed a new agreement with the United Arab Emirates. This is like dealing with the Woolies warehouse of the Middle East. If you can get your products into the United Arab Emirates, then you can get it all around the Middle East. On Tuesday night, I spoke with my Korean counterpart, Mr. Ahn, and we’ve got identical problems with the United States. Of course, they sell a lot more steel into the United States than we do. But we are talking about how we can expand our relationship with Korea so that we can sell more product into Korea.

    So, it’s a two-pronged approach. Andrew, we are continuing the discussions with the United States. We’ll continue to discuss. We’re not going down the track of some countries in applying retaliatory tariffs. I don’t think that will work, it hasn’t worked for any other country, why would it work for us? We want to explain our position and we want to get those exemptions for Australian companies because it’s good for prosperity in the United States, but it’s also good for prosperity in Australia.

    Andrew Clennell: Well, I think you’ve got Buckley’s chance of arguing free and fair trade to the Trump administration, to be frank Minister, but what’s the worst-case scenario here? What’s the worst-case scenario? $30 billion, our exports to the U.S. Could we lose it all?

    Minister for Trade: Look, I don’t believe so, Andrew. And just on that first point you made, Buckley’s chance. When I came to this job three years ago, we had $20 billion worth of trade bans in China. People told me, look, you will never, never, ever get that trade back. At the end of last year, the last of the products that had been subject to those trade impediments, namely crayfish, we got back into China. And since then, in the first month of that new trade, we got $188 million of crayfish sold into China. You can reverse these decisions, Andrew, so, don’t give up on us just yet. You can get countries to realise. You can get countries if you keep talking to them and you keep making your arguments, which is exactly what I intend to do. If you keep making your arguments, you can in fact convince countries that the policies that they are adopting are in fact counterproductive, just as they were with China.

    Andrew Clennell: Okay, but what’s the worst-case scenario? What’s the worst-case scenario here?

    Minister for Trade: Look, I wish I could tell you exactly what the American Government is finally going to do. To be honest with you, I suspect they don’t even know themselves right now. They’re conducting this review. They’re conducting the review in respect of every single trade agreement they have. It’s not just Australia, it’s every country. And my job in the discussions that go on in this coming week and in the weeks ahead is to get the best result for Australian producers, and that’s what I intend to do. And it’ll only be by reaching out, by having discussions, by putting our point of view that we’re going to get an acceptable outcome here.

    Andrew Clennell: In any of these discussions, do you talk about the prospect of a phone call between Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump?

    Minister for Trade: Oh, that’s way above my pay grade, I’m afraid, Andrew.

    Andrew Clennell: Is it though? Kevin Rudd asks.

    Minister for Trade: Well, he’s the ambassador, of course he asks, and that’s the job of the ambassador to do that representation on behalf of the Australian Prime Minister.

    Andrew Clennell: How many times has he asked, do you know?

    Minister for Trade: No, I don’t know the answer to that question, Andrew. But you know, we were amongst the first countries to ring President Trump when he was elected and congratulated him. The Prime Minister did that. And we of course got a second phone call with him to express our concerns about the direction that he was taking in respect of tariffs.

    To the best of my knowledge, we were the only country in the world where he said, I’m going to give some consideration to not applying these tariffs to you. Now, I know we didn’t get the exemption in the end, but we were the only country that at least got him to say, look, we’re going to give some consideration to this. Ultimately, the consideration was that they would not do it.

    As I’ve said on Sky previously, the people around President Trump, particularly Mr. Navarro, I think, were determined that they weren’t going to go down the track that they went down last time. So, I mentioned before over 30 countries got exemptions for steel and aluminium. They were determined, the people around President Trump were determined not to go down that track again. They were going to apply the tariffs, the 25 per cent tariffs, and no country was going to get an exemption. But look, we will continue to talk. As I said, I’ve spoken to Commerce Secretary Lutnick on Friday morning, tomorrow US time, so, Tuesday morning, I think 7:30, I’m going to have my conversation with Jamieson Greer. We’re going to work out firstly what it is that the Americans want out of this arrangement, because it’s still not clear to me what it is that they are seeking. But once we find that out, we’ll work through this issue and we’ll work through it in Australia’s national interest.

    Andrew Clennell: Why haven’t you been to the US, yourself?

    Minister for Trade: Look, can I say this, Andrew, modern communications these days, a telephone call, a video conference, which is what I’ll be doing with Jamieson Greer, Ambassador Greer, on Tuesday, we’re getting our message across. After that first conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese, we embarked on a course of action which was determined in consultation with the officials in the United States about how best to progress our concerns about the introduction or the reintroduction of tariffs. We followed that. We followed that course of action and we followed it until last Wednesday when it became clear that the Americans were not going to give us an exemption. So, we had a plan. We had a plan for how we deal with this issue. We were hopeful, certainly based on early discussions, that we would get a successful result here. In the event that that didn’t happen. But we’re not giving up. We’re continuing the talks. And in fact, in lots of ways, the talks will be beefed up in the weeks and the months ahead as we try and resolve all of these issues, but these are not easy issues, Andrew.

    Andrew Clennell: No, they’re not. But Peter Dutton says you haven’t got the relationships. He’s pointed the finger at Kevin Rudd. The suggestion is Albanese, the Prime Minister, was seen as too close to Joe Biden. Penny Wong found out from the media that this had occurred. What do you say to all that? I mean, his contention as we go into an election campaign is their government would have better luck with the US Administration. What do you say to that?

    Minister for Trade: Look, Peter Dutton couldn’t go two rounds with a revolving door Andrew. What happened? When we came to government, there were $20 billion worth of tariffs and trade impediments with the Chinese. If Peter Dutton’s so good at building relationships and solving problems, they didn’t get a cent, they didn’t get a cent or a single tariff removed in that previous three years in government. We got the best result or the best response of any country in the world. We got a consideration by the President to review these tariffs. Now ok, it didn’t ultimately result in us getting the tariffs removed and we accept that. We accept that situation. I’d ask your listeners, who do you think is going to be better to negotiate with the United States? Somebody with a proven record of getting results or somebody, when they had the opportunity to get some results, did nothing. Did nothing. They did nothing.

    Andrew Clennell: What would a tariff do to the beef industry?

    Minister for Trade: It would certainly have a clearly a negative impact. The United States I think is, if it’s not the largest export market for our beef industry, it would have a significant impact. We are expanding our beef exports, our beef exports right now thanks to the Albanese Labor Government, are the best that they’ve ever been. We’re exporting more beef than we ever have. The significance, of course to the United States about our beef exports is that most of it goes into McDonald’s hamburgers. And if you push up the price of those beef exports by 25 per cent or 10 per cent or whatever the figure is, then you simply push up the price of hamburgers in the United States. It doesn’t make any sense, Andrew. It doesn’t make any sense at all.

    Andrew Clennell: Sure.

    Minister for Trade: You want to be pushing prices down. You don’t want to be pushing them up.

    Andrew Clennell: Indeed. There’s also speculation the trade war could harm the PBS somehow and cause pharmaceutical prices to go up. How would that occur and what do you make of that speculation?

    Minister for Trade: Well, it simply is speculation. That’s all it is, Andrew. I’ve not heard one comment from any person in the United States that refers to the PBS. We’ve got a terrific health system. We’re continuing to improve all the time. Minister Butler is always coming up with new ideas to improve our health system. The PBS is an essential part of our health system and there will be absolutely nothing that the Americans can do to impact on our health system or the PBS system. And we certainly, we certainly would not contemplate doing anything at any stage that makes our health system more expensive. We want to put downward pressure on the cost of health and we’re going to continue to do that, especially if we get re-elected in a few weeks’ time.

    Andrew Clennell: It’s been reported the deal that Australia put on the table was access to our critical minerals like lithium, manganese, what’s the nature of that deal? Presumably America would still have to pay for the minerals. Would they get the minerals at a cheaper rate? Would they have the first right of refusal on the minerals? What are the minerals to be used for? Making mobile phones, electric cars and the like?

    Minister for Trade: Yeah, look, Australia is very fortunate in the sense that we have either the largest or the second largest reserves of all critical minerals and rare earths in the world. Now, critical minerals are different from other minerals. If you go up to the Pilbara, you can see iron ore as far as the eye can see, Andrew. Critical minerals tend to be in much smaller deposits and they’re much deeper down. Two things about that. They are more expensive to extract and they take longer to dig out of the ground and they don’t last as long so you’ve got to keep finding new resources. What this means for what we were proposing to the Americans was continued and improved investment in getting access to those critical minerals. We’ve got some of the most sophisticated miners in Australia, Andrew. We’ve got a very sophisticated mining operation here, much more sophisticated than the Americans. But the thing we often don’t have is access to capital. So, the offer to the Americans was, look, we’ll work with you. You want these critical minerals, you want them for electric batteries in cars, you’ve mentioned some of the other things, mobile phones, all of these sorts of things. But the process of extraction is expensive, we need capital. We want to work with other countries. We want to particularly work, for instance, with the Europeans. We’ve made them some offers in this regard. It’s not about cheaper prices, it’s not about preferred access. It’s about ensuring that they’ve got a reliable supply chain to ensure that when they need these critical minerals, you’ve got a reliable country like Australia who can provide them.

    Andrew Clennell: So, would that be Australian money or American money? When you talk about increased investment –

    Minister for Trade: Both. Both.

    Andrew Clennell: Okay. So, an Australian financial offer was put on the table?

    Minister for Trade: No, it wasn’t a financial offer in that sense. It was a way forward to try and get support both in Australia and in the United States for extracting these critical minerals. So, if we’re going to go down the track of decarbonising our economies, this is the way we need to go. But it’s going to require investment, significant investment. The Australian Government is already making significant investments in this area. But to get to where we want to get to in terms of that net zero project, then we need more investment and – 

    Andrew Clennell: Do you see the hand of Elon Musk? Do you see the hand of Elon Musk in any of this? The keenness of the Americans for these critical minerals.

    Minister for Trade: Well, look, they didn’t accept our offer. So, if Mr Musk was involved in this, then he doesn’t appear to have influenced the result, if that was what he was after. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Musk was not involved in any of these discussions that I –

    Andrew Clennell: All right, no worries. We’re nearly out of time. Overnight, the PM reiterated in a meeting with European leaders he would consider sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if there was peace. That’ll be controversial with a lot of Australians because it’s not our region. We know Peter Dutton doesn’t support this. Is the PM trying to muscle up here after Peter Dutton has continually called him weak? What’s the motivation to get involved in this conflict?

    Minister for Trade: Andrew, for the last 80 years, in other words, since the end of World War II, Australia has been involved in peacekeeping missions all the way around the world. We’ve come out right from day one, Prime Minister Albanese has been very clear and very strong on this, we support Ukraine. Ukraine’s fight for democracy. Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty is Australia’s fight. It’s Australia’s fight. We’ve made significant financial contributions to Ukraine to ensure that they can defend themselves from this illegal and immoral monster, Putin, and we’ll continue to do that. And if Prime Minister Starmer says, look, will you contribute to peacekeeping? I think that’s the right thing to do. Look, it’s not all about popularity and so forth, but it’s the right thing to do. We want to see peace around the world. The best thing that Australia can do in terms of any international relationship is to support peace. And if we can make a contribution to that peacekeeping effort, then I think we should. And I think Mr. Dutton is completely on the wrong track here. Australians support the Ukrainian fight. I was on the steps of Parliament House just a couple of weeks ago with Premier Malinauskas. His background is Lithuanian. He knows exactly what happens if you don’t stand up to bullies like Putin. It’s in our interest to defend democracy in Ukraine. It’s in our interest to be part of a peacekeeping force when there’s peace.

    Andrew Clennell: Finally, and briefly, there was something of a blow to the government late last week with the default market offer out, that Australians face price rises of up to 10 per cent on their power bills. Will the government’s electricity subsidy be extended and increased in the budget?

    Minister for Trade: Well, you know the answer to that question, Andrew. You’ll have to ask the Treasurer, and you’ve only got a few more sleeps to find out what’s going to be in the next budget.

    Andrew Clennell: Well, I might ask him on the show next week. Thanks very much, Don Farrell.

    Minister for Trade: Nice talking with you Andrew. 

    MIL OSI News –

    March 16, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: JELU Coin Introduces Multi-Chain Presale, Staking Rewards, and Referral Incentives

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TALLINN, Estonia, March 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — JELU Coin, a new cryptocurrency inspired by jelly, has entered the presale market with features that go beyond the typical meme coin approach. While it carries a playful theme, the project behind it includes technical components aimed at expanding its use and accessibility.

    JELU Coin is designed to work across multiple blockchain networks. It supports Ethereum (ETH), Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Base, Polygon, Optimism (OP), Avalanche, and Arbitrum. This allows users to participate in the presale using different networks and transaction methods, including USDT, USDC, and credit cards. The flexibility in payment options is intended to make participation easier for a wider audience.

    Unlike many presale projects where users must buy tokens to earn referral bonuses, JELU Coin offers an alternative. Anyone who shares a referral link can receive 5% of the purchases made by others through their link. This feature makes it possible for more people to participate in the project’s promotion without an upfront investment.

    JELU Coin offers a staking system where early participants can earn up to 300% in rewards. Staking is designed to provide additional incentives for those who hold the coin during its initial phase.

    A cashback event is also planned for presale buyers. Instead of storing transaction data on a separate server, JELU Coin records cashback details directly on the blockchain. This method allows users to verify event-related transactions on their own.

    The JELU Coin project includes plans for an exchange that combines features of both centralized and decentralized trading platforms. It will allow cryptocurrency transactions without requiring users to complete a Know Your Customer (KYC) process. According to the project team, the exchange is close to completion and will be launched after the presale ends.

    In addition, JELU Coin is developing a security-focused wallet designed to protect assets and user data. The wallet will be compatible with thousands of services, giving users a way to manage their holdings within the broader digital asset space.

    JELU Coin presents itself as more than just a meme coin by incorporating elements that aim to increase its functionality. The presale structure, multi-chain capabilities, referral incentives, and upcoming exchange are all part of a broader effort to create a cryptocurrency that offers more than a branding concept. With the presale ongoing and future developments in progress, it remains to be seen how JELU Coin will fit into the evolving digital asset market.

    Users can visit the official website https://www.jelu.io/ for more information.

    About Company:
    JELU OÜ is a cryptocurrency company focused on developing blockchain-based financial tools. Its projects include a multi-chain token, staking options, and an upcoming hybrid exchange. The company aims to provide accessible digital asset solutions with a focus on user engagement and security.

    Media Contact
    Company Name: JELU OÜ
    Contact Person: James
    Email: contact@jelu.io
    Website: https://www.jelu.io/

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by JELU OÜ. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector–including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining–complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/82b1192e-efc0-41dd-964e-2b9830d41819

    The MIL Network –

    March 15, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION calling for an investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline – B10-0142/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    B10‑0142/2025

    Motion for a European Parliament resolution calling for an investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline

    The European Parliament,

    – having regard to Rule 149 of its Rules of Procedure,

    A. whereas EU Member States Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have launched the NATO military operation Baltic Sentry to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea;

    B. whereas the proposed actions of Baltic Sentry are based on the unproven assumption that Russia is behind acts of sabotage, including the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline;

    C. whereas the Council of the EU stated on 28 September 2022, ‘We will support any investigation aimed at getting full clarity on what happened and why, and will take further steps to increase our resilience in energy security’;

    1. Stresses that responding to a criminal act without first conducting a thorough, impartial and evidence-based investigation to determine responsibility is inconsistent with the EU’s fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law;

    2. Calls for an investigation into all forms of suspected sabotage of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, beginning with the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline on 26 September 2022.

     

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 15, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: G7 Foreign Ministers’ Declaration on Maritime Security and Prosperity

    Source: Government of Canada News

    March 14, 2025 – Charlevoix, Québec – Global Affairs Canada

    1. We, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, reaffirm the G7’s steadfast commitment to contribute towards a free, open, and secure maritime domain based on the rule of law that strengthens international security, fosters economic prosperity, and ensures the sustainable use of marine resources.

    2. Maritime security and prosperity are fundamental to global stability, economic resilience, and the well-being of all nations, and the conservation and sustainable use of ocean ecosystems is essential to all life on Earth. Over 80% of global trade is transported by sea, and 97% of global data flows through submarine cables. Disruptions to maritime routes pose a direct threat to international food security, critical minerals, energy security, global supply chains, and economic stability. We express deep concern over the growing risks to maritime security, including strategic contestation, threats to freedom of navigation and overflight, and illicit shipping activities. State behaviour in these areas has increased the risk of conflict and environmental damage, and imperils all nations’ prosperity and living standards, especially for the world’s poorest. 

    3. We recognize the role of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the legal framework for governing all activities in the oceans and the seas.

    4. We recall the G7 Statements on Maritime Security adopted in Lübeck (2015) and Hiroshima (2016). We welcome related work presently underway through other G7 ministerial tracks and working groups, on a range of issues including securing undersea cable networks and combating abandoned fishing gear. We welcome, as well, G7 work relating to transnational organized crime and terrorism that touches on the maritime domain, including in relation to piracy and armed robbery at sea, trafficking in persons, and strengthening the maritime law enforcement capabilities of coastal states. We acknowledge the importance of regional maritime security frameworks, to support coastal states to address collectively threats to their maritime security. We welcome existing initiatives, such as the G7++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea (G7++ FoGG, that Canada chairs this year), which has been the primary forum for dialogue among G7 members and partners on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

    Emerging Threat on Safe Seas and Freedom of Navigation and Overflight

    5. Enhancing Stability: We underscore the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the high seas and the exclusive economic zones as well as to the related rights and freedoms in other maritime zones, including the rights of innocent passage, transit passage and archipelagic sea lanes passage, as provided for under international law. We share a growing concern at recent, unjustifiable efforts to restrict such freedom and to expand jurisdiction through use of force and other forms of coercion, including across the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea, the Red Sea, and the Black Sea. We condemn China’s illicit, provocative, coercive and dangerous actions that seek unilaterally to alter the status quo in such a way as to risk undermining the stability of regions, including through land reclamations, and building of outposts, as well as their use for military purpose. In areas pending final delimitation, we underline the importance of coastal states refraining from unilateral actions that cause permanent physical change to the marine environment insofar as such actions jeopardize or hamper the reaching of the final agreement, as well as the importance of making every effort to enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature, in those areas. We condemn, as well, dangerous vessel maneuvers, the indiscriminate attacks against commercial vessels and other maritime actions that undermine maritime order based on the rule of law and international law. We reiterate that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on 12 July 2016 is a significant milestone, which is legally binding upon the parties to those proceedings and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties. We reaffirm that our basic policies on Taiwan remain unchanged and emphasize the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as indispensable to international security and prosperity. We welcome the resumption of exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. Freedom of navigation for commercial shipping in the Black Sea must be upheld.

    6. Attempts to Change the Status Quo by Force: We oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo, in particular by force or coercion including in the East and South China Seas. We undertake to implement means through which to track systematically and report on attempts to change the status quo by force and by the establishment of new geographical facts, including through coercive and dangerous actions on the oceans and seas that might threaten regional and international peace and security.

    7. Protecting Critical Maritime and Undersea Infrastructure: We are seized of the fact that vital energy and telecommunications infrastructure under the oceans and seas connects our economies and is vital to our prosperity. We recall the G7 Joint Statement on Cable Connectivity for Secure and Resilient Digital Communications Networks (2024) and the New York Joint Statement on the Security and Resilience of Undersea Cables in a Globally Digitalized World (2024). We share a growing concern that undersea communications cables, subsea interconnectors and other critical undersea infrastructure have been subject to critical damage through sabotage, poor seamanship or irresponsible behaviour which have resulted in potential internet or energy disruption in affected regions, delays in global data transmission, or compromised sensitive communications. We will enhance our cooperation with industry to mitigate risks, reduce bottlenecks to operational tasks while strengthening repair capacities in order to improve the overall resilience of critical undersea and maritime infrastructure. In this respect, we welcome the EU Action Plan on Cable Security adopted in February 2025 by the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

    8. Maritime Crime: Maritime crime, including piracy, armed robbery at sea, maritime arms trafficking and sanctions evasion, human trafficking, illegal drug trafficking and Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated (IUU) fishing, continues to impede maritime security, freedom of navigation, and our economy and prosperity. We have been working together to tackle these maritime crimes, but maritime illegal activities have extended into new areas, to become an urgent issue to be addressed. We welcome the G7 Action Plan to combat migrant smuggling adopted under Italy’s 2024 G7 Presidency.

    9. Protecting Freedom of Trade: In the past year, indiscriminate Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have endangered maritime security of vessels and their crews, disturbed international trade, and exposed neighboring countries to environmental hazards. Enabled by Iran’s military, financial, and intelligence support, these illegal attacks have also contributed to increased tension in the Middle East and Yemen, with severe repercussions on the intra-Yemeni peace process. The vessel “Galaxy Leader” seized by the Houthis must be released immediately. We appreciate the efforts of all those countries that have engaged to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, protecting crucial shipping lanes and helping to restore regular flows of trade through the Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In this regard, we commend the efforts of EU’s maritime operation “Aspides” and U.S.-led operation “Prosperity Guardian”.

    Safe Shipping and Supply Chain Security

    10. Curtailing Unsafe and Illicit Shipping Practices: The rise of unsafe and illicit shipping practices, including fraudulent registration and registries, poses a significant threat to global trade and environmental sustainability.  We are concerned that unsafe and illicit shipping imposes heavy costs on industry, governments and citizens. Russia’s ability to earn revenue has been sustained through its extensive effort to circumvent the G7+ oil price cap policy through its shadow fleet of often older, underinsured, and poorly maintained ships that routinely disable their automatic identification systems or engage in “spoofing” to avoid detection and circumvent international safety, environmental, and liability rules and standards. North Korea continues to pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and evade sanctions, particularly through its illicit maritime activities, including prohibited ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum and other UN-banned commodities. Through G7 coordination, we have exposed North Korea uses of “dark” vessels – those that engage in illicit activity – to circumvent United Nations Security Council mandated sanctions. Russia and North Korea are strengthening their economic relations including through maritime routes, such as the reported transfer of petroleum products from Russia to North Korea. Unregulated, “dark” vessels undertake IUU fishing, destroying marine habitats and depleting fish stocks, with negative impacts for biodiversity and food security. Unregulated, inadequately insured “dark” vessels also pose a high risk of maritime accidents, including in fragile ecosystems such as the Arctic and Antarctic. We commit to strengthening our coordination, amongst the G7 and with other partners, to prevent the use of unregistered or fraudulently registered, uninsured and substandard vessels engaged in sanctions evasion, arms transfers, illegal fishing and illicit trade. We encourage relevant International Organizations to improve maritime domain awareness by expanding satellite-based vessel tracking and establishing comprehensive data records of the movement of individual ships and of ship-to-ship transfers, as a means of identifying and tracking illicit maritime activities. We are also committed to capacity building of the countries in the region in law enforcement and Maritime Domain Awareness.

    11. Shadow Fleet Task Force: We invite members of the Nordic-Baltic 8 (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden), and possibly others, to join participating G7 members in a Shadow Fleet Task Force to enhance monitoring and detection and to otherwise constrain the use of shadow fleets engaged in illegal, unsafe or environmentally perilous activities, building on the work of others active in this area. The Task Force will constitute a response by the participating States to the call by the International Maritime Organization in its Resolution A.1192(33) of 6 December 2023 for Members States and all relevant stakeholders to promote actions to prevent illegal operations in the maritime sector by shadow fleets and their flag states, including illegal operations for the purposes of circumventing sanctions, evading compliance with safety or environmental regulations, avoiding insurance costs, or engaging in other illegal activities.

    12. Enhancing Maritime Supply Chain Resilience and Energy and Food Security: Maritime supply chains will continue to underpin the global economy, but these face a variety of threats, both present and future, stemming from both geopolitical tensions and environmental factors.  Maritime disruptions raise consumer costs, increase transit times, and can reduce demand in importing countries, which in turn means lower revenues and diminished competitiveness for producers in exporting countries. Such vulnerabilities in maritime transport can undermine energy and food security, particularly for developing nations reliant on stable shipping routes, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). We welcome maritime initiatives involving and supported by G7 partners intended to promote energy and food security, such as the Grain from Ukraine scheme, and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We invite cooperation with the African Union (pursuant to Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy 2050) and other relevant International Organizations to identify best practices for enhancing maritime supply chain resilience and for safeguarding energy and food security, including in times of geopolitical crisis. 

    13. Promoting Safe and Resilient Ports and Strategic Waterways: Port ownership and operational control matter to national security, as foreign control or influence over critical port infrastructure can create vulnerabilities in trade, in defence and security, and in economic stability. Port resilience is also crucial to economic stability and global trade and yet ports face growing risks from environmental degradation, extreme weather events and geopolitical conflicts. Strengthening port security and modernizing infrastructure are essential to maintaining safe and efficient maritime trade. Ensuring that the ownership and management of strategic waterways and key maritime choke points are not vulnerable to undue influence by potential adversaries is also essential to national security. We underscore the importance of scrutiny of ownership structures and port management and resilience within our own national jurisdictions, including with regard to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems, to ensure that adversaries do not gain leverage over supply chains, military operations, or the flow of strategic resources. We will work with partners and with relevant International Organizations to encourage robust cybersecurity standards for port ICT infrastructure, to increase resilience against malicious cyber incidents on maritime logistical networks, to reduce monopolistic power over key supply chain nodes, to promote secure and transparent port ownership, to limit unsolicited or undue foreign influence over critical infrastructures and strategic waterways, and to otherwise encourage greater focus on such potential vulnerabilities.

    14. Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) at sea poses a significant hazard to the marine environment, to the safety of fishermen and other users of the maritime space, and to various marine economic activities. We commit to enhancing diplomatic efforts and to exchanging best practices among national authorities, relevant international and regional organizations, and relevant industry sectors to accelerate the clean-up of UXO from the seas and ocean.

    Sustainable Stewardship of Maritime Resources

    15. Strengthen Enforcement Against IUU Fishing: IUU fishing is a major contributor to declining fish stocks and to marine habitat destruction. It may account for a third of all fishing activity worldwide, at a cost to the global economy of more than US$23 billion per year and with negative consequences for fisheries as an enduring economic asset, including for developing countries. We welcome the Canadian-led Dark Vessel Detection System in Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and would see value in replicating the model to support other partners whose fisheries are under threat from IUU fishing. We recognize that data sharing and transparency play a key role in this fight by exposing bad actors and that technological advances can support a robust Monitoring, Control and Surveillance and enforcement landscape. We encourage further progress in addressing IUU fishing, working with and through relevant International Organizations to establish and strengthen rules to sustainably manage fish stocks on the high seas and to improve the enforcement of these measures, including through the further development of detection technologies, aircraft patrols and high seas boarding and inspection of vessels, building upon the 2022 G7 Ocean Deal.

    16. We welcome the Third UN Ocean Conference, in Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June 2025.

    PARTNERSHIPS

    17. This G7 Maritime Security and Prosperity Declaration provides a framework for cooperation with non-G7 partners, including countries hosting major ports, large merchant fleets, or extensive flag registries as well as relevant regional and International Organizations, such as the International Maritime Organization and ASEAN. We would welcome robust cooperation with partners to take forward the goals set out in this Declaration, consistent with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, under the efforts of the G7 countries, including a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific region, to build a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law, and of commitment to the sustainable development of the world’s maritime spaces.

    18. We welcome the cooperation on Coast Guard Functions, including the Global Coast Guard Forum hosted by Italy in 2025, as well as the Arctic Coast Guard Forum, which could also support the objectives of this Declaration.

    [14] March 2025

    Charlevoix, Canada

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    March 15, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Regarding the new management board member of the management company of UTIISIB UAB “Atsinaujinančios energetikos investicijos”

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The closed-end investment company intended for informed investors UAB “Atsinaujinančios energetikos investicijos” (the Investment Company) informs that, having received approval from the Bank of Lithuania regarding the candidacy of Marius Žemaitis, the newly elected management board member of the Investment Company’s management company, UAB “LORDS LB ASSET MANAGEMENT” (the Management Company), Marius Žemaitis has started to perform the duties of a management board member of the Management Company. The data regarding the newly composed management board of the Management Company have been registered in the Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Lithuania.

    Contact person for further information:
    Rūta Abromavičienė, Senior Legal Officer of UAB “LORDS LB ASSET MANAGEMENT”
    ruta.abromaviciene@lordslb.lt 

    The MIL Network –

    March 15, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Regarding the new management board member of the management company of SUTNTIB AB “TEWOX”

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Vilnius, Lithuania, March 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    The special closed-end real estate investment company AB “TEWOX” (the Investment Company) informs that, having received approval from the Bank of Lithuania regarding the candidacy of Marius Žemaitis, the newly elected management board member of the Investment Company’s management company, UAB “LORDS LB ASSET MANAGEMENT” (the Management Company), Marius Žemaitis has started to perform the duties of a management board member of the Management Company. The data regarding the newly composed management board of the Management Company have been registered in the Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Lithuania.

    Contact person for further information:

    Rūta Abromavičienė, Senior Legal Officer of UAB “LORDS LB ASSET MANAGEMENT”

    ruta.abromaviciene@lordslb.lt 

    https://lordslb.lt/tewox_bonds/

    The MIL Network –

    March 15, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Bigbank 2024 Audited Annual Report

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The Management Board of Bigbank has compiled the audited Annual Report for 2024. Compared to the unaudited interim report published on 26 February, there are no differences in the financial results.

    The consolidated Annual Report for 2024 of Bigbank AS is attached to this announcement and is also available on the bank’s investor page: https://investor.bigbank.eu/reports.

    The report will be presented for approval at the General Meeting of Shareholders.

    Growth in Operating Volumes in 2024

    • Total assets grew to 2.78 billion euros, increasing by 491 million euros (+21%).
    • The deposit portfolio grew to 2.39 billion euros, increasing by 456 million euros (+24%).
    • The gross loan portfolio grew to 2.2 billion euros, increasing by 535 million euros (+32%).
    • Net profit totalled 32.3 million euros.
    • Return on equity (ROE) stood at 12.5%.

    Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.eu), with over 30 years of operating history, is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of 31 December 2024, the bank’s total assets amounted to nearly 2.8 billion euros, with equity close to 270 million euros. Operating in nine countries, the bank serves more than 167,000 active customers and employs over 500 people. The credit rating agency Moody’s has assigned Bigbank a long-term bank deposit rating of Ba1, along with a baseline credit assessment (BCA) and an adjusted BCA of Ba2.

    Argo Kiltsmann
    Member of the Management Board
    Tel: +372 53 930 833
    Email: Argo.Kiltsmann@bigbank.ee 
    www.bigbank.ee

    Attachments

    • Bigbank_AS_Annual_Report_2024-EN
    • Bigbank_AS_Annual_Report_2024-ET

    The MIL Network –

    March 8, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Garantex Cryptocurrency Exchange Disrupted in International Operation

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Note: View the indictment here.

    Two Administrators Charged with Operating Multibillion-Dollar Crypto Money Laundering Service

    The Justice Department announced today a coordinated action with Germany and Finland to disrupt and take down the online infrastructure used to operate Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational criminal organizations — including terrorist organizations — and sanctions violations. Since April 2019, Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions.

    Garantex Splash Page

    In conjunction with the operation targeting Garantex, the Department also announced the unsealing of an indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia against Aleksej Besciokov, 46, a Lithuanian national and Russian resident, and Aleksandr Mira Serda (previously Aleksandr Ntifo-Siaw), 40, a Russian national and United Arab Emirates resident. Mira Serda and Besciokov are charged with money laundering conspiracy, and Besciokov is charged with conspiracy to violate sanctions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

    According to court documents, between 2019 and 2025, Besciokov and Mira Serda controlled and operated Garantex. Besciokov was Garantex’s primary technical administrator and responsible for obtaining and maintaining critical Garantex infrastructure, as well as reviewing and approving transactions. Mira Serda was Garantex’s co-founder and chief commercial officer.

    Garantex received hundreds of millions in criminal proceeds and was used to facilitate various crimes, including hacking, ransomware, terrorism, and drug trafficking, often with substantial impact to U.S. victims. According to the indictment, Besciokov and Mira Serda knew that criminal proceeds were being laundered through Garantex and took steps to conceal the facilitation of illegal activities on its platform. For example, when Russian law enforcement sought records relating to an account registered to Mira Serda, Garantex provided incomplete information in response and falsely claimed the account was not verified. In reality, Garantex had associated the account with Mira Serda’s personal identifying documents, even while disclosing identifying information related to other accounts requested by Russian law enforcement.

    On April 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Garantex for its role in facilitating money laundering of funds from ransomware actors and darknet markets. According to court documents, despite the widespread publicity of the sanctions and Garantex administrator’s personal knowledge of them, Besciokov and his co-conspirators violated those sanctions by continuing to transact with U.S.-based entities. Further, Besciokov and his co-conspirators redesigned Garantex’s operations to evade and violate U.S. sanctions and induce U.S. businesses to unwittingly transact with Garantex in violation of the sanctions. For example, Garantex moved its operational cryptocurrency wallets to different virtual currency addresses on a daily basis in order to make it difficult for U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges to identify and block transactions with Garantex accounts.

    Despite doing substantial business in the United States and operating as a money transmitting business, Garantex failed to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as required.

    On March 6, U.S. law enforcement, led by the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), executed a seizure order authorized by a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia against three website domain names used to support Garantex’s operations. According to court records unsealed today, Garantex.org, Garantex.io, and Garantex.academy were associated with the administration and operation of Garantex. The seizure of these domains will prevent these sites from being used for money laundering and additional crimes. Individuals visiting those sites now will see a message indicating that the site has been seized by law enforcement.

    As part of the coordinated actions, German and Finnish law enforcement seized servers hosting Garantex’s operations. U.S. law authorities have separately obtained earlier copies of Garantex’s servers, including customer and accounting databases. In addition, U.S. law enforcement has also frozen over $26 million in funds used to facilitate Garantex’s money laundering activities.

    Besciokov and Mira Serda are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Besciokov is also charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.    

    Supervisory Official Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director Michael Centrella of the USSS’ Office of Field Operations, and Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division made the announcement.

    USSS and the FBI are investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Bedell for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

    The Justice Department also recognizes the critical cooperation of the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the Frankfurt General Prosecutor’s Office, the Dutch National Police, Europol, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, and the Estonian National Criminal Police.

    Finally, the Department thanks Tether and blockchain analytics firm Elliptic for their proactive assistance in this investigation.

    Any individual who believes he/she is a victim whose funds were laundered through Garantex or who may otherwise have a claim to restrained funds should reach out to law enforcement via email address GarantexClaimants@secretservice.gov.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 8, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Garantex Cryptocurrency Exchange Disrupted in International Operation

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    Note: View the indictment here.

    Two Administrators Charged with Operating Multibillion-Dollar Crypto Money Laundering Service

    The Justice Department announced today a coordinated action with Germany and Finland to disrupt and take down the online infrastructure used to operate Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational criminal organizations — including terrorist organizations — and sanctions violations. Since April 2019, Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions.

    Garantex Splash Page

    In conjunction with the operation targeting Garantex, the Department also announced the unsealing of an indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia against Aleksej Besciokov, 46, a Lithuanian national and Russian resident, and Aleksandr Mira Serda (previously Aleksandr Ntifo-Siaw), 40, a Russian national and United Arab Emirates resident. Mira Serda and Besciokov are charged with money laundering conspiracy, and Besciokov is charged with conspiracy to violate sanctions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

    According to court documents, between 2019 and 2025, Besciokov and Mira Serda controlled and operated Garantex. Besciokov was Garantex’s primary technical administrator and responsible for obtaining and maintaining critical Garantex infrastructure, as well as reviewing and approving transactions. Mira Serda was Garantex’s co-founder and chief commercial officer.

    Garantex received hundreds of millions in criminal proceeds and was used to facilitate various crimes, including hacking, ransomware, terrorism, and drug trafficking, often with substantial impact to U.S. victims. According to the indictment, Besciokov and Mira Serda knew that criminal proceeds were being laundered through Garantex and took steps to conceal the facilitation of illegal activities on its platform. For example, when Russian law enforcement sought records relating to an account registered to Mira Serda, Garantex provided incomplete information in response and falsely claimed the account was not verified. In reality, Garantex had associated the account with Mira Serda’s personal identifying documents, even while disclosing identifying information related to other accounts requested by Russian law enforcement.

    On April 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Garantex for its role in facilitating money laundering of funds from ransomware actors and darknet markets. According to court documents, despite the widespread publicity of the sanctions and Garantex administrator’s personal knowledge of them, Besciokov and his co-conspirators violated those sanctions by continuing to transact with U.S.-based entities. Further, Besciokov and his co-conspirators redesigned Garantex’s operations to evade and violate U.S. sanctions and induce U.S. businesses to unwittingly transact with Garantex in violation of the sanctions. For example, Garantex moved its operational cryptocurrency wallets to different virtual currency addresses on a daily basis in order to make it difficult for U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges to identify and block transactions with Garantex accounts.

    Despite doing substantial business in the United States and operating as a money transmitting business, Garantex failed to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as required.

    On March 6, U.S. law enforcement, led by the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), executed a seizure order authorized by a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia against three website domain names used to support Garantex’s operations. According to court records unsealed today, Garantex.org, Garantex.io, and Garantex.academy were associated with the administration and operation of Garantex. The seizure of these domains will prevent these sites from being used for money laundering and additional crimes. Individuals visiting those sites now will see a message indicating that the site has been seized by law enforcement.

    As part of the coordinated actions, German and Finnish law enforcement seized servers hosting Garantex’s operations. U.S. law authorities have separately obtained earlier copies of Garantex’s servers, including customer and accounting databases. In addition, U.S. law enforcement has also frozen over $26 million in funds used to facilitate Garantex’s money laundering activities.

    Besciokov and Mira Serda are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Besciokov is also charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.    

    Supervisory Official Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director Michael Centrella of the USSS’ Office of Field Operations, and Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division made the announcement.

    USSS and the FBI are investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Bedell for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

    The Justice Department also recognizes the critical cooperation of the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the Frankfurt General Prosecutor’s Office, the Dutch National Police, Europol, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, and the Estonian National Criminal Police.

    Finally, the Department thanks Tether and blockchain analytics firm Elliptic for their proactive assistance in this investigation.

    Any individual who believes he/she is a victim whose funds were laundered through Garantex or who may otherwise have a claim to restrained funds should reach out to law enforcement via email address GarantexClaimants@secretservice.gov.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 8, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EIB lends Latvian energy utility Latvenergo €200 million loan to refurbish power-distribution network

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • EIB lends Latvian energy utility Latvenergo €200 million loan to refurbish power-distribution network
    • Project to make electricity supply more reliable for Latvian residents and businesses
    • Financing also promotes renewable energy and climate action

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending Latvian energy utility Latvenergo AS €200 million to upgrade the country’s electricity distribution network. State-owned Latvenergo AS will use the EIB credit to make the electricity-distribution system both more efficient and more capable of delivering clean power.

    This project, due to be completed by the end of 2026, will add digital features to the network, improve the dependability of electricity supply for the almost 1.9 million customers and contribute to the European Union’s fight against climate change.

    “Modernising Latvia’s electricity-distribution network is important both for the climate and for energy security,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. “This project will significantly boost the reliability of electricity supply for the country and accelerate the integration of renewable-energy sources into the energy mix, paving the way for a sustainable and resilient energy future. The EIB is glad to be able to support Latvenergo in this transformative endeavour.”

    The EIB’s financing offers Latvenergo favourable terms – including flexible disbursements and a longer duration – compared with market alternatives. The support is expected in turn to attract more long-term financing for Latvenergo and strengthen its green credentials.

    The credit marks the seventh financing accord between the EIB and Latvenergo, highlighting their strong partnership.

    “We are investing to promote energy sector transition to renewable resources and in modernisation of distribution network to make a significant contribution to the economy of the country,” said Guntars Baļčūns, Member of the Management Board of Latvenergo AS. “These targets require significant financial resources, and the EIB provides access to competitive funding that supports both business and climate objectives. Our successful cooperation with the EIB has continued for more than 25 years, and this loan will allow us to use the resources we invest in solar and wind parks more efficiently.”

    The investment programme aligns with Latvia’s National Energy and Climate Plan for 2021-2030 and the EIB’s Energy Lending Policy. In addition to supporting climate action, it aims to promote economic, social and regional cohesion.

    Background information  

    EIB 

    The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.  

    The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.  

    All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.  

    Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.

    High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

    Latvenergo

    Latvenergo Group is one of the largest providers of energy supply services in the Baltic states, engaged in the generation and trade of electricity and thermal energy, and distribution of electricity. Since 1939, Latvenergo is the largest producer of renewable energy in the Baltics and one of the greenest electricity generators in Europe – approximately half of the electricity is generated in three large hydropower plants. They are complemented by modernized combined heat and power plants, where electricity is obtained from natural gas. The Group develops new green wind and solar energy generation capacities in Baltics and is also a leader in the field of electromobility services. All shares of Latvenergo AS are owned by the state and held by the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 8, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Baltic Horizon Fund to sell Meraki Business Home in Vilnius, Lithuania

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Baltic Horizon Fund recently announced a structured process with the intention to dispose certain real estate assets, where the Fund does not see significant short-term opportunities for further value optimization.

    Today, the owner of Meraki Business Home in Vilnius, BH Meraki UAB, an SPV of Baltic Horizon Fund, signed a real estate sale and purchase agreement with Groa Real Estate Opportunity Fund UAB, a fund managed by Groa Capital to sell Meraki Business Home in Vilnius, Lithuania.

    The Meraki office building development commenced in 2019, and the first tower was completed in August 2022. The project included a second tower that has not been realized. The development was affected by COVID-19 as well as the high inflation rate levels.

    “Despite difficult conditions, we have been able to achieve a close to 90% occupancy level for the property. Today, Meraki remains as one of the most modern buildings in the area, which is also confirmed by its BREEAM Excellent New Construction certification,” commented Fund manager Tarmo Karotam.

    “We are pleased with the purchase of the Meraki office building as this acquisition will enable Groa Capital to further grow our portfolio of quality office buildings. We believe that this also presents an attractive opportunity for Groa Capital to build the second Meraki tower with around 8500 m2,” commented Nerijus Dagilis, CEO of Groa Capital. “We will start discussions with potential tenants immediately upon the closing of the transaction,” further added CEO of Groa Capital Nerijus Dagilis.

    The sales price of the asset is approximately EUR 16 million, which is close to the latest valuation. The proceeds of the transaction will be used to redeem EUR 3 million of Baltic Horizon Fund bonds and repay the loan from Bigbank.

    “Baltic Horizon Fund is in the process of deleveraging and has been decreasing its allocation in the B-class office segment since 2021. With the proceeds, the Fund plans to reduce its debt level and increase liquidity for its operations,” added fund manager Tarmo Karotam.

    Closing of the transaction is expected to take place by mid March 2025.

    For additional information, please contact:

    Tarmo Karotam
    Baltic Horizon Fund manager
    E-mail tarmo.karotam@nh-cap.com
    www.baltichorizon.com

    The Fund is a registered contractual public closed-end real estate fund that is managed by Alternative Investment Fund Manager license holder Northern Horizon Capital AS. 

    Distribution: GlobeNewswire, Nasdaq Tallinn, Nasdaq Stockholm, www.baltichorizon.com

    To receive Nasdaq announcements and news from Baltic Horizon Fund about its projects, plans and more, register on www.baltichorizon.com. You can also follow Baltic Horizon Fund on www.baltichorizon.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and YouTube.

    The MIL Network –

    March 8, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Academic freedom and democracy under siege: how a Nobel peace prize could help defend them

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    Echoing the Stand Up for Science movement, which was organised in the US to defend academic freedom, a call to mobilise in France has been launched for Friday, 7 March. Conferences, rallies and marches are being organised on the initiative of scientists united under the banner of Stand Up for Science France. Sciences Po, along with its partner The Conversation, has been committed from the outset to supporting those who advance research.

    March 7 has been recognized as the “Day of the Stand Up for Science Movement”, launched in 2017 in response to the anti-science actions of the first Trump administration. Under the second, attacks on scientists and scientific inquiry have escalated into a systematic assault–tantamount to a coup d’Etat against science itself.

    While Donald Trump is often portrayed as erratic, his policies in this area have followed a consistent trajectory. His new administration has once again declared ‘war’ on evidence-based national policymaking and science diplomacy in foreign affairs as evidenced by several early actions. Immediately after taking office, Donald Trump issued executive orders freezing or canceling tens of billions in research funding. All National Science Foundation projects have been halted pending review, while the National Institutes of Health faces suspensions under Health and Human Services directives. The US has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization, alongside a sweeping review of 90% of USAID-funded projects, signaling a major retreat from climate and global health diplomacy. Federal agencies and universities are in turmoil, leaving thousands of research-professors in limbo amid a politically driven funding freeze. The 2025 March simply calls for the restoration of federal research funding and an end to government censorship and political interference in science.

    The US is the world’s undisputed scientific superpower–for now

    While the Trump administration is not the sole force undermining academia worldwide, its actions are particularly striking coming from the world’s leading scientific superpower. Moreover, the situation is especially concerning because developments in the United States often have a ripple effect, shaping policies in other regions in the years that follow.

    Neither of the world’s top two scientific superpowers–Washington and Beijing–is positioned to champion academic freedom. China, having failed a liberal constitutional tradition and academic independence since the 1920s, restricts academic freedom to the confines of one-party rule. Caught between these rival scientific giants–both partners and competitors–the “old” Europe and like-minded coutries remain the only actors capable of setting new standards for academic freedom.

    A Nobel prize for academic freedom

    A decisive step toward its legal protection would be formal recognition by the Nobel Committees for Peace and Science of academic freedom’s fundamental role–both in ensuring scientific excellence and as a pillar of free, democratic societies.

    For the past decade, the Scholars at Risk association (SAR) has documented a broader global decline in academic freedom in its annual Free to Think Report. The 2024 edition highlights particularly alarming situations in 18 countries and territories (including the United States), which recorded 391 attacks on scholars, students, or institutions across 51 regions in a year. Data from the Academic Freedom Index in Berlin confirm that more than half of the world’s population lives in regions where academic freedom is either entirely or severely restricted. Some of the most concerning conditions are in emerging scientific ecosystems such as Turkey, Brazil, Egypt, South Africa, or Saudi Arabia. The overall trend is deteriorating: only 10 out of 179 countries have improved, while many democratic regimes are increasingly affected.

    Academic freedom in the European Union remains relatively high compared to the rest of the world. However, nine EU member states fall below the regional average, and in eight of them, it has declined over the past decade–signaling a gradual erosion of this fundamental value. Hungary ranks the lowest among EU countries, placing in the bottom 20–30% worldwide. Recent laws have further weakened university autonomy across the EU: financial autonomy in Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Slovakia; organizational autonomy in Slovenia, Estonia, and Denmark; staffing autonomy in Croatia and Slovakia; and academic autonomy in Denmark and Estonia. Moreover, the European Parliament’s first report on academic freedom (2023) highlights emerging threats in France–political, educational, and societal–that impact the freedom of research, teaching, and study.

    Academic freedom, a professional right granted to a few for the benefit of all

    Freedom of expression, a fundamental pillar of academic freedom, has long been established as a human right, overcoming centuries of censorship and authoritarian control. In contrast, academic freedom is a more recent principle, granting scholars–recognized by their peers–the right and responsibility to research and teach freely in pursuit of knowledge. Like press freedom for journalists, it is a right granted to a few for the benefit of all.

    Rooted in medieval Europe, academic freedom has evolved from a privilege granted to students in the Quartier Latin to a recognized principle in international rights frameworks. It gained a collective and concrete dimension in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with the rise of the modern university. Wilhelm von Humboldt, founder of the modern public university in Berlin (1810), articulated the concept of ‘freedom of science’ (Wissenschaftsfreiheit), later enshrined in the Weimar Constitution of 1919, which declared that “art, science, and education are free.” The rise of American universities around the same time reshaped the concept, giving rise to “professional academic freedom.” This was formalized in the American Association of University Professors’ 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which affirmed the scholar’s primary duty to seek and establish truth. Though its roots lie in Germany, academic freedom ultimately became a cornerstone of American academic discourse.

    In the United States, academic freedom draws from multiple sources, with its protection varying by state laws, customs, institutional practices, and the status of higher education institutions. However, U.S. Supreme Court rulings have gradually reinforced its constitutional foundation, particularly after the McCarthy era, by invoking the First Amendment. Landmark cases such as Adler v. Board of Education (1952), Wieman v. Updegraff (1952), and Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957) helped establish a constitutional doctrine on academic freedom. Finally, Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967) extended First Amendment protections to academia, ruling that mandatory loyalty oaths violated both academic freedom and freedom of association.

    Interestingly, the American interpretation of academic freedom is currently more restrictive than the German model in certain respects. Article 5(3) of the 1989 Basic Law affirms the “right to adopt public organizational measures essential to protect a space of freedom, fostering independent scientific activity”. In contrast, the U.S. places greater emphasis on prohibitions and prioritizing individual rights over institutional autonomy.

    The ‘right to be wrong’

    Despite local variations, academic freedom is fundamentally tied to a shared vision of the university that upholds freedom of thought, with rationality and pluralism at its core. It includes the genuine “right to be wrong”–the understanding that a scientific opinion may be incorrect or even proven so does not diminish its protection. This stands in stark contrast to the anti-science, scientistic, or techno-nationalist approach, which views knowledge as a tool of power to serve a predetermined truth and objective of dominance. Authoritarian science, driven by power interests, seeks to diminish critical humanities and social sciences while elevating religion. It tends to reject interdisciplinary work, is exclusively mathematized, and is oriented toward a centralized yet deregulated autocratic tech-utopian state model.

    Since 1945, we have operated under the illusion that academic freedom is an indispensable condition for scientific excellence. However, we have recently learned that no systematic link exists between academic freedom and breakthrough scientific innovation in our era of new technologies. Given these circumstances, this proposal advocates for a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, for the first time in its history, in recognition of academic freedom.

    The Nobel Prize Committees for Science and Peace share the responsibility of using their prestigious platforms to uphold fundamental scientific and democratic values. They are uniquely positioned to champion humanist science, reinforcing its importance for scholars, students, and civil societies worldwide. Since the 1950s, around 90% of Nobel Prize laureates in scientific fields have either been US citizens or have studied and worked at Ivy League research institutions.

    While some US scientists are contesting actions of the Trump administration in court, academics worldwide should stand in solidarity with their American colleagues in resisting the erosion of science. To strengthen their efforts, they require the support of the Nobel Prize Committees.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Convocation of the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of Šiaulių Bankas AB (the head office address: Tilžės str. 149, Šiauliai, Lithuania, the company code 112025254) (hereinafter referred to as the Bank) shall be convened on 31 March 2025.

    Meeting location – at Head office (3 floor, Eglių meeting room), Šeimyniškių str. 1A, Vilnius.

    Meeting starts at 15:00 (registration starts at 14:00) (Lithuanian time)

    The Meeting’s accounting day – 24 March 2025 (the persons who are shareholders of the Bank at the end of accounting day of the General Meeting of Shareholders or persons authorized by them, or the persons with whom shareholders concluded the agreements on the disposal of voting right, shall have the right to vote at the General Meeting of Shareholders).

    The day of accounting of rights – 14 April 2025 (shareholders will use the property rights arising from the decisions adopted at the general meeting of shareholders in proportion to the number of shares held at the end of the day of accounting of rights).

    The Meeting is initiated and convened by the Management Board of the Bank.

    Agenda of the Meeting

    1. Presentation of the consolidated management report of Šiaulių bankas AB for 2024
    2. Presentation of the conclusion of the independent auditor of Šiaulių bankas AB and the conclusion of the assurance of sustainability reporting
    3. Comments and proposals of Šiaulių bankas AB Supervisory Council
    4. Selection of the audit company to provide sustainability reporting assurance services for the period 2024-2025 and determination of payment terms 
    5. Approval of the set of audited financial statements of Šiaulių bankas AB and the group for 2024
    6. Allocation of Šiaulių bankas AB profit for 2024
    7. Determination of the procedure for the acquisition of Šiaulių bankas AB own shares
    8. Approval of the new version of the Articles of Association of Šiaulių bankas AB
    9. Approval of the reduction of the authorised capital of Šiaulių bankas AB and the amendment of the Articles of Association
    10. Approval of the updated Remuneration Policy of Šiaulių bankas AB
    11. Approval of the updated Rules for Granting Shares of Šiaulių bankas AB
    12. Election of the member of Šiaulių bankas AB Supervisory Council

    Reduction of authorised capital

    Item 9 on the agenda is a proposal to reduce the Bank’s authorised capital The purpose and method of the reduction of the authorised capital is to cancel the shares acquired by the Bank – in total 10 597 749 ordinary registered uncertificated shares with a nominal value of EUR 0,29 each.

    Draft resolutions and other information

    Draft resolutions on the agenda of the meeting, documents to be submitted to the General Meeting of Shareholders and information related to the implementation of shareholders’ rights are published on the Bank’s website www.sb.lt in the section “Bank Investors” / “Meetings”. For the entire period starting no later than 21 days before the meeting the following information and documents will be available there:

    • notice of the convening of the meeting;
    • the total number of the Bank’s shares and the number of voting shares on the day of convening the meeting;
    • draft resolutions on agenda issues and other documents to be submitted to the meeting;
    • general ballot paper form (to be filled in .pdf);
    • instructions for filling in and submitting the general ballot paper to the Bank;
    • the form of a power of attorney to represent the shareholder.

    Proposals to supplement the agenda

    The shareholders holding shares that grant at least 1/20 of all votes, shall have the right of proposing to supplement the agenda of the Meeting by providing the Meeting draft resolution on each additionally proposed issue or in case no resolution is required – the explanation. Proposals to supplement the agenda and any accompanying information must be submitted in writing. The proposals to supplement the agenda with the additional issues shall be submitted till the 19 March 2025, 17:00 (Lithuanian time). In case the agenda of the Meeting is supplemented the Bank will report on it no later than 10 days before the Meeting in the same ways as on the convening of the Meeting.

    Proposals of draft resolutions

    The shareholders holding shares that grant at least 1/20 of all votes shall have the right of proposing new draft resolutions on the issues already included or to be included in the agenda of the Meeting. The proposals shall be submitted in writing. They may be submitted to the Bank by 31 March 2025 8:00 (Lithuanian time).

    Questions on the agenda

    The shareholders have the right to submit questions to the Bank in advance related to the agenda of the meeting. Questions may be submitted by shareholders no later than by 27 March 2025 17:00 (Lithuanian time). The Bank will answer the submitted questions to the shareholder prior to the meeting, except for those related to the Bank’s commercial secret and confidential information.

    A power of attorney

    The shareholders’ authorized persons shall submit a power of attorney confirmed by the established order. The power of attorney issued by the natural person shall be notarized. A power of attorney issued in a foreign country must be translated into Lithuanian and legalized in the manner prescribed by law. Representative can be authorized by more than one shareholder and shall have a right to vote differently under the orders of each shareholder.
    The authorization of a shareholder to vote for another natural or legal person on behalf of the shareholder at the meeting may be granted by electronic means. Such power of attorney is not subject to notarizing. The power of attorney issued through electronic channels must be confirmed by the shareholder with a qualified electronic signature developed by safe signature equipment and approved by a qualified certificate effective in the Republic of Lithuania. The shareholder shall inform the Bank on the power of attorney issued through electronic communication channels by e-mail info@sb.lt no later than by 17:00 (Lithuanian time) on the last business day before the meeting. The power of attorney and notification must be in writing.
    A shareholder holding shares of the Bank acquired in his/her own name but in the interests of other persons must disclose to the Bank the identity of the final customer, the number of shares to be voted with and the content of the voting instructions submitted to him/her or another explanation regarding the participation and voting at the general meeting of shareholders agreed with the customer.

    Participation and voting

    Shareholders and authorized persons who will physically attend the meeting will vote with voting cards they would receive at the meeting registration.
    The Bank recommends shareholders and shareholders’ authorized persons to take the opportunity to vote in advance in writing by completing a general ballot paper. The General ballot (fileable .pdf) and instructions will be available on the Bank’s website www.sb.lt in the section “Bank Investors” / “Structure and management” / “Additional Information” / “General Meetings of Shareholders” no later than 21 days before the meeting. The completed general ballot paper must be signed by the shareholder or a person authorized by him. If the general ballot paper is signed by a person authorized by the shareholder, a document confirming the right to vote must be attached to it. Duly completed ballot papers received by 11:00 (Lithuanian time) on the day of the meeting will be considered valid.

    Document delivery
    All documents submitted to the Bank by the shareholder or his/her authorized person (general ballot paper with attached documents (if such must be attached), proposals on the agenda, questions) may be submitted to the Bank in the following ways: 

    1. Paper documents (originals or certified copies) could be presented in writing to the Secretariat on business days or by sending them by mail at the address: Šiaulių Bankas AB, Tilžės street 149, LT-76348 Šiauliai, Lithuania
    2. Physically signed, scanned documents could be transferred via the Bank’s internet bank (if the shareholder is its user). When logging in, choose Other Services / Messages / +New message / fill in fields Category: Securities, Subject: GSM, Message: Ballot paper / Upload the scanned document / Submit.
    3. Electronic documents signed with a qualified electronic signature are submitted to the Bank (e.g., via Dokobit platform) indicating the Bank as a participant (recipient) according to the e-mail address info@sb.lt.

    Scanned documents, submitted via internet bank (method 2) and electronic documents signed with an electronic signature through an electronic signature service provider (method 3) may be submitted only those, which are signed by the person providing it. In this way, for example, an authorized person cannot submit to the Bank a shareholder’s power of attorney or other document giving the right to vote for a shareholder.

    Additional information:
    Tomas Varenbergas, Head of Investment Management Division
    tel. +370 5 203 22 00, tomas.varenbergas@sb.lt

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Šiaulių Bankas Announces Strategic Rebranding Proposal: Change to Artea Bankas

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The Management Board of Šiaulių Bankas has submitted a draft decision to approve a new version of the Articles of Association of Šiaulių Bankas, which, among other things, proposes the change of the bank’s name to Artea Bankas, to the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on 31 March 2025.

    If approved by the General Meeting of Shareholders, the Articles of Association will be deemed to be amended as of the date of registration of the new version in the Register of Legal Entities of Lithuania – expected by this summer.

    “For more than three decades, we have been a trusted financial partner to a large number of Lithuanian businesses and residents. We have grown rapidly both in terms of business volume and competences. The rebranding is a strategic initiative – part of the fundamental transformation of the bank that we have announced last year,” says Vytautas Sinius, CEO of Šiaulių Bankas.

    Artea, our new brand, reinforces our dedication to the Lithuanian people, their needs, and their goals, aiming to become the top choice for residents and businesses.

    “As a Lithuanian bank, we are already more accessible, flexible, and expert, enabling us to make decisions faster to better meet the expectations of residents and businesses and to make a more significant contribution to the country’s prosperity. Those values remain unchanged. With our new brand we are entering a new stage of a modern bank, while maintaining our Lithuanian identity and our ambition to be closer to every person,” says V. Sinius.

    The name Artea combines elements that convey the bank’s vision and commitment. It sounds like Lithuanian word, the modern outlook is expressed through the contemporary form of the word, the graphic elements of the identity and the logo, and the message encoded in the name speaks of the bank’s commitment to being closest to its customers. Take a look at the new branding here, please.

    Šiaulių Bankas last year announced its updated strategy to become the best bank in Lithuania by 2029. The bank aims to significantly grow the number of both private and corporate customers and become one of the leaders in customer experience and one of the most loved brands in the Lithuanian financial sector.

    In addition to the brand refresh, the bank is currently implementing a highly modern cloud-based core banking platform that will provide an even better customer experience and more efficient operations. The new banking platform is scheduled to be rolled out next year.

    Šiaulių Bankas Group currently manages the bank, the asset management company SB Asset Management, the life insurance company SB draudimas and the leasing company SB lizingas. The rebranding will bring all the group’s companies together under one brand, Artea.

    Šiaulių Bankas invites shareholders, investors, analysts and all interested parties to a webinar on its rebranding on 18 March 2025 at 9:00 am (EET). The webinar will be held in English. Please register here.

    If you would like to receive Šiaulių Bankas’ news for investors directly to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.

    Additional information:
    Tomas Varenbergas
    Head of Investment Management Division
    tomas.varenbergas@sb.lt

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin, Shaheen Host Lithuanian Minister Of Defense To Discuss Increased Russian Aggression Toward The Baltic Region

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    March 06, 2025
    The meeting comes after President Trump’s shameful outburst toward Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last Friday
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus, and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with Lithuanian Minister of Defense, Dovile Šakaliene, to discuss an increase in Russian hybrid attacks in the Baltics and across Europe, and the need to maintain allied support forUkraine and NATO. The meeting comes after President Trump’s shameful outburst toward Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last Friday.
    “My mother’s family originally came from Lithuania—a country that knows Russian tyranny too well,” said Durbin. “As I said to Minister Šakaliene, I was saddened, shocked, and stunned at what happened in the Oval Office last week with President Zelenskyy. During today’s meeting, we agreed that now, more than ever, the U.S. must reaffirm our support for our NATO partners in upholding democratic values and transatlantic security,”
    “Lithuania is a vital NATO Ally that has demonstrated leadership in support of Ukraine and countering the Russian threat,” said Shaheen. “During our meeting, I reiterated the bipartisan Senate commitment to the NATO Alliance, including our positioning of U.S. forces on the eastern flank.”
    Photos of the meeting are available here.
    As Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, Durbin has been a vocal supporter of President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine. Last night, Durbin, asked for unanimous consent (UC) to pass a simple resolution he introduced condemning Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children and called on Russia to work with the international community to return all abducted Ukrainian children to their families. Senate Republicans rejected the resolution.
    Last week, Durbin introduced the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act, legislation that would provide temporary guest status to Ukrainians and their immediate family members who are already in the United States through the “Uniting for Ukraine” parole process. Bill text can be found here.  
    Durbin also joined Shaheen in leading a simple resolution last week that expresses continued solidarity with the people of Ukraine and condolences for the loss of thousands of lives to Russian aggression; rejects Russia’s attempts to militarily seize sovereign Ukrainian territory; reaffirms U.S. support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine; and states unequivocally that Ukraine must be at the table for negotiations on its future.
      
    Durbin has also championed the creation of the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI), which enhances and strengthens U.S. security cooperation with the Baltics amid Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine and heightened tensions with China. In Fiscal Year 2024, Durbin secured $228 million in defense appropriations funding for the BSI.  
    In 2022, Durbin traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania, where he received the Aleksandras Stulginskis Star Award—only the second individual and first American to receive this award. It was granted to Durbin forhis decades-long support of Lithuanian independence and democracy and his promotion of parliamentary values. He was in Vilnius three years ago on the morning Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: €10 million EIB Global and WHO initiative to strengthen public health across Lebanon

    Source: European Investment Bank

    EIB

    • The European Investment Bank and the World Health Organization signed the agreement today at the EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg
    • Lebanon’s health system is under significant economic and financial strain.
    • The donor-funded initiative will re-establish Lebanon’s Central Public Health Laboratory and prioritise medication provision and healthcare support to over 50,000 people with chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, and cancer.

    The European Investment Bank (EIB Global) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have formally launched a €10 million grant support to boost health resilience across Lebanon, including combating medicine scarcity and fragmented laboratory services.

    The cooperation was signed at the EIB Forum in Luxembourg by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and EIB Vice President Thomas Östros and will support the re-establishment of the Central Public Health Laboratory in Lebanon crucial for enhancing the detection capacity for emerging infectious diseases. It will test for emergency infectious diseases, promptly confirming potential pathogens to prevent outbreaks, which will be especially relevant among vulnerable displaced populations and refugees. The CPHL will also test all blood donations to ensure safe transfusions.

    Today’s agreement will also unlock provision of essential medicines and expert support to primary healthcare centres across Lebanon. This will enable public healthcare centres to restore services, including reproductive health and prevention of gender-based violence, addressing specific gender gaps in services.

    EIB Group President Nadia Calviño said, “Strategic partnerships and win-win solutions are more important than ever in these challenging times. This important European Union financing for Lebanon’s public health system is also the fruit of our good cooperation with our fellow multilateral institutions and the excellent partnership with the World Health Organisation whose expertise on the ground is vital to deliver projects like this one.”

    WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros said: “This initiative comes at a critical time for Lebanon and will make a real difference in strengthening Lebanon’s capacity to detect and respond rapidly to health emergencies, and in expanding access to lifesaving medicines. It’s a perfect example of the impact that WHO, EIB and other multilateral development banks aim to have around the world through the Health Impact Investment Platform.”

    “We are grateful for the EIB and WHO’s support for Lebanon’s health sector. This initiative will help us address critical needs, improve the quality of care, and build a more resilient health system for people living across Lebanon,” said Ambassador of Lebanon to Belgium and Luxembourg Fadi Hajali.

    “This joint initiative by the European Investment Bank and implemented by WHO is a crucial step towards strengthening Lebanon’s health system and ensuring that vital services reach the most vulnerable. By supporting the re-establishment of the central public health laboratory and bolstering primary healthcare centres, we are addressing immediate needs and building long-term resilience. This initiative is a prime example of the Team Europe approach, aligning with the European Union’s priorities in Lebanon and complementing our existing support for the health sector, particularly in ensuring access to essential medicines,” said Sandra De Waele, Ambassador of the European Union to Lebanon.

    The grant is provided by the donor-financed EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) Fund, supported by EU member states

    This project in Lebanon builds on previous projects co-managed by WHO and the EIB in Palestine, Rwanda and Angola.  It paves the way for the operational launch of the Health Investment Platform- a unique financing approach that has seen several multilateral development banks, including the Islamic Development Bank and African Development Bank join the EIB and WHO to provide a targeted and strategic approach to primary health care financing. 

    Lebanon’s health system is under significant strain due to a severe economic and financial collapse, compounded by multiple crises, including conflict in southern Lebanon, the Beirut port explosion, the Syrian conflict and a cholera epidemic. Humanitarian challenges continue to escalate, making the population increasingly vulnerable.

    The initiative will prioritise medication provision and healthcare support, including supporting over 50,000 people with chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, and cancer. Vulnerable populations, including those affected by the current conflict, Syrian refugees, and others will benefit from this initiative. Lebanon hosts approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees and around 200,000 Palestinian refugees, constituting about one-third of the total Lebanese population. In addition, in 2025, the number of displaced people within Lebanon has risen to over 950,000.

    The initiative will be implemented by the World Health Organization and is fully endorsed by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. The initiative will contribute to the Ministry of Public Health’s strategy to strengthen the health services among vulnerable populations, including those affected by the current conflict.

    Background information

    About EIB Global

    The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives.  

    EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance, and a key partner of Global Gateway. We aim to support €100 billion of investment by the end of 2027 — around one-third of the overall target of this EU initiative. Within Team Europe, EIB Global fosters strong, focused partnerships alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the EIB Group closer to people, companies and institutions through our offices across the world. 

    About the Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) Fund

    The Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) Fund, which backs this grant, was established by the EIB in 2017 to channel donors resources to impactful projects in the Southern Neighbourhood and Western Balkans to address the challenges posed by forced displacement and migration. The ERI Fund donors are Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

    Lebanon WHO Health Resilience Initiative
    €10 million EIB Global and WHO initiative to strengthen public health across Lebanon
    ©EIB
    Download original
    Lebanon WHO Health Resilience Initiative
    €10 million EIB Global and WHO initiative to strengthen public health across Lebanon
    ©EIB
    Download original

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: SUTNTIB AB “Tewox” publishes its NAV for February 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Vilnius, Lithuania, March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    As at the end of February 2025, the net asset value (NAV) of SUTNTIB AB „Tewox“ decreased to EUR 42,794,355, compared to previously determined NAV at the end of January 2025, which was EUR 43,109,329.

    The share price decreased to EUR 1.0222, from EUR 1.0298 at the end of January 2025. The pro-forma internal rate of return (IRR) decreased to 0.78%, compared previously announced IRR of 1.07% at the end of January 2025.

    Contact person for further information:

    Paulius Nevinskas

    Manager of the Investment Company

    paulius.nevinskas@lordslb.lt

    https://lordslb.lt/tewox_bonds/

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Advanced attack drones for Ukraine in new deal struck by UK government and Anduril UK

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Advanced attack drones for Ukraine in new deal struck by UK government and Anduril UK

    Ukraine’s armed forces will be backed by more advanced attack drones to tackle Russian aggression in the Black Sea, following a deal struck by the UK government and an Anglo-American defence tech company.

    Defence Secretary John Healey visits Anduril in Washington DC

    • The deal with Anduril UK has been agreed ahead of the Defence Secretary’s meeting with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon today.
    • During his visit to Washington D.C., John Healey MP met with staff at Anduril’s facility.
    • The UK continues to work with allies to put Ukraine in the strongest position for peace as it continues to defend itself against Russian aggression.

    Defence Secretary John Healey MP visited Anduril, the firm supplying the drones, in Washington D.C. ahead of a meeting with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon today.

    The deal follows a meeting of world leaders in London last week, when the Prime Minister and allies agreed it was essential that military support continues for Ukraine to put the country in the strongest possible position for peace as it continues to defend itself from Russian aggression.

    The new contracts, totalling nearly £30 million and backed by the International Fund for Ukraine, will result in Anduril UK supplying cutting-edge Altius 600m and Altius 700m drones – known as loitering munitions – that are designed to monitor an area before striking targets that enter it.

    The Defence Secretary visited Anduril yesterday, where he spoke with a number of American and British staff. Founded in California, Anduril continues to invest significantly in the UK with a large footprint across the country and plans to rapidly scale, in line with the Government’s commitment to keeping the nation safe while providing highly skilled jobs.

    Securing a lasting peace in Ukraine and strengthening bonds between NATO allies set to top the agenda when the Defence Secretary meets with his US counterpart today.

    The visit follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer meeting the US President last week, and John Healey MP will hail the unparalleled depth of the UK’s special relationship with the US – the UK’s closest security ally – as both nations continue to collaborate to bolster security and support economic growth. 

    The meeting follows the recent decision by the UK Government to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027 – the biggest sustained uplift since the Cold War. National security is a foundation of our Plan for Change, and the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary have said that Europe needs to take a greater responsibility for its security, and that defence can be an engine for economic growth.

    Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said:

    We are determined to achieve a secure, lasting peace in Ukraine, which means putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position to prevent any return to Russian aggression.

    The UK has already provided more than 10,000 drones to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, which have proved vital in disrupting Russian troop advances and targeting positions behind the frontline.

    With a £2.26 billion loan from seized Russian assets, plus £1.6 billion worth of air defence missiles announced for Ukraine in the last week, the UK is continuing to show leadership in securing a lasting peace for Ukraine.

    The work with Anduril UK been led by Defence Equipment & Support – the procurement arm of the MOD – on behalf of the UK-administered International Fund for Ukraine (IFU). The fund now stands at more than £1.3 billion worth of pledges from 10 other countries, of which the UK has contributed £500 million. 

    Ukraine’s armed forces will take delivery of the drones, launchers and spare parts over the coming months. 

    Dr Rich Drake, MD of Anduril UK and Europe said:

    Anduril UK is proud to partner with the UK Government, working hand in glove to deliver vital capabilities for the UK and its Allies. Our focus on developing and deploying technology where and when it’s needed is at the core of everything we do – from the rapid delivery of Altius to Ukraine to the expansion of our presence here in the UK. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Ministry of Defence to protect our nation and our allies.

    In January, it was announced that 30,000 drones will be sent to Ukraine by the international Drone Capability Coalition, co-led by the UK and Latvia.

    Since July 2024, the Government has provided over £5.26 billion in military aid and financial support to Ukraine, including a £3 billion annual military aid and a £2.26 billion loan for military spending.

    The British and US Armed Forces operate in close alignment around the world, from the long-standing global coalition to combat Daesh in the Middle East to joint maritime security patrols in the Indo-Pacific. 

    The Defence Secretary’s visit to Washington D.C. comes as the UK receives the last of an order of 50 of the latest generation AH-64E attack helicopters for the British Army, the most advanced attack helicopter in the world. The helicopter was handed over this week at the Boeing site in Arizona under a programme that supports more than 300 UK jobs, helping to grow the UK economy – underscoring defence as an engine for driving economic growth. 

    The visit also comes at the conclusion of the 50th occurrence of Exercise Red Flag in Nevada, a joint exercise with the UK, United States and Australia. The training is designed to test equally matched air forces in a realistic combat scenario and involves more than 3,000 military personnel in high-intensity training, such as dogfighting, air-policing and practicing bombing runs, at Nellis Air Force Base.

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    Updates to this page

    Published 6 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Global: Electric shock equipment widely abused by law enforcement agencies due to alarming lack of regulation

    Source: Amnesty International –

    States and companies are manufacturing, promoting and selling electric shock equipment that is being used for torture and other ill-treatment, said Amnesty International, in a new report calling for a global, legally-binding treaty to regulate the unchecked production of and trade in law enforcement equipment.

    “I Still Can’t Sleep at Night” – The Global Abuse of Electric Shock Equipment, documents how law enforcement agencies are using inherently abusive direct contact electric shock weapons – including stun guns and electric shock batons– on the street, at borders, in migrant and refugee detention centres, mental health institutions, police stations, prisons, and other places of detention.

    These inherently abusive devices, which deliver painful shocks at the press of a button, have been used against protesters, students, political opponents, women and girls (including pregnant women), children and human rights defenders, among others. Survivors have suffered burns, numbness, miscarriage, urinary dysfunction, insomnia, exhaustion and profound psychological trauma.

    The report also looks at the escalating misuse of Projectile Electric Shock Weapons (PESWs), which can have a legitimate role in law enforcement, but are often misused. Cases include the unnecessary and discriminatory use against vulnerable groups resulting in serious injuries and in some cases even death.

    Direct contact electric shock weapons can cause severe suffering, long-lasting physical disability and psychological distress.

    Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International

    “Direct contact electric shock weapons can cause severe suffering, long-lasting physical disability and psychological distress. Prolonged use can even result in death,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s researcher on military, security and policing issues.

    “PESWs are being used against individuals who pose no risk of violence, simply for punishment or compliance with orders. They are also being used in direct contact ‘drive stun’ mode, which should be prohibited. Despite the clear human rights risks associated with their use, there are no global regulations controlling the production of and trade in electric shock equipment. Direct contact electric shock weapons need to be banned immediately and PESWs subject to strict human-rights-based trade controls.”

    The extensive report draws on research carried out by Amnesty International from 2014 to 2024 in over 40 countries across all regions across the world, where cases involving torture and other ill-treatment using electric shock equipment have been documented.

    Vulnerable groups targeted by electric shock weapons

    Testimonies gathered by Amnesty International are harrowing.

    During the 2022 “Woman Life Freedom” uprising in Iran, the military unit IRGC Basijbattalion forced several boys to stand with their legs apart in a line alongside adult detainees and administered electric shocks to their genitals with stun guns.

    In another case, several schoolboys were abducted for writing the protest slogan “Woman Life Freedom” on a wall. One of the boys told Amnesty International: “They hit my face with the back of a gun, gave electric shocks to my back, and beat me with batons on the bottom of my feet and hands…”

    PESWs have often been used as de facto direct contact electric shock weapons when deployed in “drive stun” mode.

    “I was lying on the ground and still they have used tasers on me three times, and at the same time they beat me with the batons.

    Detainee from Sub-Saharan Africa

    Recounting a raid by border guards on the Medininkai detention centre in Lithuania on 2 March 2022, one detainee from Sub-Saharan Africa said: “I was lying on the ground and still they have used tasers on me three times, and at the same time they beat me with the batons.” Another described being threatened by police officers who placed a “taser” on her forehead, telling her “‘Shut up or I will shoot you!’”

    “Even when used as a stand-off weapon, PESWs have been linked to serious injuries and deaths,” said Patrick Wilcken. “These include dart lacerations and penetration of the skull, eye, internal organs, throat, fingers and testis; electrical discharge induced burns, seizures and arrythmias; and a variety of injuries and deaths from falls.”

    Amnesty’s report reveals patterns of PESWs’ discriminatory deployment against racialized and marginalized groups, such as young Black men. In April 2024, police in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, were filmed using a TASER directly on the leg of a Black protester at a Palestine solidarity demonstration while he was pinned to the ground by three police officers and handcuffed.

    “Given the high risks of primary and secondary injuries, the use of PESWs must be set at a high threshold. These weapons should only be used only in situations involving a threat to life or risk of serious injury which cannot be contained by less extreme options,” said Patrick Wilcken.

    The urgent need for prohibitions and trade regulation

    At least 197 companies from all regions manufactured or promoted direct contact electric shock equipment for law enforcement between January 2018 and June 2023 – with most companies based in countries such as China, India and the USA.

    According to US-based Axon Enterprise, Inc., their TASER brand models are currently used by over 18,000 law enforcement agencies in more than 80 countries.

    “There is an urgent need for a legally-binding treaty which would prohibit inherently abusive electric shock equipment and strictly control the trade in PESWs,” said Patrick Wilcken.

    “Companies should implement robust human rights due diligence and mitigation measures to ensure their products and services are not being systematically misused for torture or other ill-treatment. This includes ceasing production of direct contact electric shock devices and removing the ‘drive stun’ function from PESWs.”

    Amnesty International, along with a global civil society network of over 80 organizations worldwide, is campaigning for the negotiation of a Torture-Free Trade Treaty that would introduce global prohibitions and controls on a wide range of law enforcement equipment, including electric shock weapons and equipment.

    Background

    • In September 2017, the EU, Argentina and Mongolia launched the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade at the margins of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The Alliance currently comprises 62 states from all regions of the world pledging to “act together to further prevent, restrict and end trade” in goods used notably for torture or other ill-treatment. In October 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture presented a thematic report on the torture trade at the UNGA which argued for a legally binding instrument to regulate the production of and trade in law enforcement equipment and included lists of goods considered prohibited and controlled.
    • This is one of a series of in-depth research reports showing the devastating human rights impact of law enforcement equipment; previous reports include work on tear gas, batons, rubber bullets, and the trade in less lethal weapons used to repress protesters.

    MIL OSI NGO –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Global: Electric shock equipment widely abused by law enforcement agencies due to alarming lack of regulation – new report

    Source: Amnesty International –

    40 countries including the UK where cases involving torture and other ill-treatment using electric shock equipment have been documented

    197 companies manufactured or promoted direct contact electric shock equipment for law enforcement – most companies based in China, India and the USA

    Survivors have suffered burns, numbness, miscarriage, urinary dysfunction, insomnia, exhaustion and profound psychological trauma

    Harrowing testimonies of people of electric shock equipment used against people

    ‘They hit my face with the back of a gun, gave electric shocks to my back, and beat me with batons on the bottom of my feet and hands…’ – schoolboy in Iran

    In the UK, Tasers were drawn, aimed or discharged 33,232 times between April 2023 to March 2024

    States and companies are manufacturing, promoting and selling electric shock equipment that is being used for torture and other ill-treatment, said Amnesty International in a new report calling for a global, legally-binding treaty to regulate the unchecked production of and trade in law enforcement equipment.

    The 72-page report – “I Still Can’t Sleep at Night” The Global Abuse of Electric Shock Equipment – draws on research carried out by Amnesty from 2014 to 2024 in over 40 countries including the UK, where cases involving torture and other ill-treatment using electric shock equipment have been documented.

    Law enforcement agencies are using inherently abusive direct contact electric shock weapons – including stun guns and electric shock batons– on the street, at borders, in migrant and refugee detention centres, mental health institutions, police stations, prisons, and other places of detention.

    The devices, which deliver painful shocks at the press of a button, have been used against protesters, students, political opponents, women and girls (including pregnant women), children and human rights defenders, among others. Survivors have suffered burns, numbness, miscarriage, urinary dysfunction, insomnia, exhaustion and profound psychological trauma.

    The report also looks at the escalating misuse of Projectile Electric Shock Weapons (PESWs) which can have a legitimate role in law enforcement but are often misused. Cases include the unnecessary and discriminatory use against vulnerable groups resulting in serious injuries and in some cases even death.

    Trade fairs in the UK

    In September 2024, Amnesty and the Omega Research Foundation found that a British company, The Squad Group Ltd led by retired police officers – including a former Assistant Chief Constable – were caught on camera demonstrating electric-shock torture equipment at a trade fair in Birmingham.

    The revelations raised serious questions about the enforcement of laws in relation to the prohibition of torture equipment as well as the staging of security equipment trade events. The trade in direct-contact and body-worn electric-shock weapons is illegal under laws regulating the arms and security trade, with UK companies and nationals banned from importing, exporting or in any way promoting these goods anywhere in the world. Electric-shock weapons are prohibited under The Trade in Torture etc. Goods (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, and current Government export control guidance clearly states that all trading activity, including promotion and marketing of these goods anywhere in the world, is prohibited.

    More information about The Squad Group Ltd here.

    Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:

    “It’s shocking that prohibited torture equipment is openly being promoted and demonstrated by a UK company.

    “Despite raising this case directly with the UK government in September last year, no satisfactory answers have been provided to shed light on how these electric shock weapons have been able to be advertised, promoted and demonstrated despite seemingly robust legislation banning these activities. Alarmingly, since first alerting the authorities to this case, it has become clear that they have been demonstrated to several UK policing bodies.

    “Bringing any direct-contact electric-shock weapon into the UK must surely be a serious breach of current UK arms trade regulations that have been in place since prohibitions on electric shock weapons were first introduced by then Labour Foreign secretary Robin Cooke in 1997. To this day, these electric shock weapons are still being promoted for sale, suggesting that our existing rules are either not being properly enforced or are riddled with loopholes.”

    Tasers used in the UK

    In the latest use of force figures for England and Wales published by Home Office for April 2023 to March 2024, Tasers were used – that is drawn, aimed or discharged – a total of 33,232 times and police threatened to use Tasers against children 2,895 times with 66 charges. Five of those incidents, officers threatened to use Tasers against children under the age of 11.

    Tasers were used on Black people at a rate of 4.2 times higher than someone from a white ethnic group in England and Wales (excluding the Metropolitan Police). In the MET police area, Tasers were used at a rate of 4.4 times higher when percentages of Taser use by ethnicity were compared with the breakdown of ethnic groups in the general population in the 2021 Census. According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct found that Black people were more likely to be tasered for prolonged periods (over 5 seconds) than white people.

    Sacha Deshmukh added:

    “The police have a disturbing record of misusing Tasers, using them disproportionately against people from minority ethnic communities and those suffering from mental health crises, and also when people have been running away from officers and presenting no risk to them or the public.  

    “Tasers are potentially lethal weapons and they should only be made available to properly-trained specialist officers, and not normalised as a piece of weaponry available to every police officer operating on our streets.”  

    More information about Tasers used in the UK from page 30 in the report.

    Electric shock weapons used around the world

    During the 2022 “Woman Life Freedom” uprising in Iran, the military unit IRGC Basij battalion forced several boys to stand with their legs apart in a line alongside adult detainees and administered electric shocks to their genitals with stun guns. In another case, several schoolboys were abducted for writing the protest slogan “Woman Life Freedom” on a wall. One of the boys told Amnesty:

    “They hit my face with the back of a gun, gave electric shocks to my back, and beat me with batons on the bottom of my feet and hands…”

    PESWs have often been used as de facto direct contact electric shock weapons when deployed in “drive stun” mode. Recounting a raid by border guards on the Medininkai detention centre in Lithuania on 2 March 2022, one detainee from Sub-Saharan Africa said:

    “I was lying on the ground and still they have used tasers on me three times, and at the same time they beat me with the batons.” Another described being threatened by police officers who placed a “taser” on her forehead, telling her “‘Shut up or I will shoot you!’”

    Amnesty’s report reveals patterns of PESWs’ discriminatory deployment against racialised and marginalised groups, such as young Black men. In April 2024, police in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, were filmed using a Taser directly on the leg of a Black protester at a Palestine solidarity demonstration while he was pinned to the ground by three police officers and handcuffed.

    The urgent need for prohibitions and trade regulation

    At least 197 companies from all regions manufactured or promoted direct contact electric shock equipment for law enforcement between January 2018 and June 2023 – with most companies based in countries such as China, India and the USA.

    According to US-based Axon Enterprise, Inc., their Taser brand models are currently used by over 18,000 law enforcement agencies in more than 80 countries.

    Amnesty along with a global civil society network of over 80 organisations worldwide, is campaigning for the negotiation of a Torture-Free Trade Treaty that would introduce global prohibitions and controls on a wide range of law enforcement equipment, including electric shock weapons and equipment.

    Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s researcher on military, security and policing issues, said:

    “Projectile Electric Shock Weapons are being used against individuals who pose no risk of violence, simply for punishment or compliance with orders.

    “Direct contact electric shock weapons can cause psychological distress, severe suffering, long-lasting physical disability. These include dart lacerations and penetration of the skull, eye, internal organs, throat, fingers and testis; electrical discharge induced burns, seizures and arrythmias; and a variety of injuries and deaths from falls. They are also being used in direct contact ‘drive stun’ mode, which should be prohibited.

    “Despite the clear human rights risks associated with their use, there are no global regulations controlling the production of and trade in electric shock equipment. Direct contact electric shock weapons need to be banned immediately and Projectile Electric Shock Weapons subject to strict human-rights-based trade controls.

    “There is an urgent need for a legally-binding treaty which would prohibit inherently abusive electric shock equipment and strictly control the trade in Projectile Electric Shock Weapons.

    “Companies should implement robust human rights due diligence and mitigation measures to ensure their products and services are not being systematically misused for torture or other ill-treatment. This includes ceasing production of direct contact electric shock devices and removing the ‘drive stun’ function from Projectile Electric Shock Weapons.”

    Alliance for Torture-Free Trade

    In September 2017, the EU, Argentina and Mongolia launched the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade at the margins of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The Alliance currently comprises 62 states from all regions of the world pledging to “act together to further prevent, restrict and end trade” in goods used notably for torture or other ill-treatment. In October 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture presented a thematic report on the torture trade at the UNGA which argued for a legally binding instrument to regulate the production of and trade in law enforcement equipment and included lists of goods considered prohibited and controlled.

    This is one of a series of in-depth research reports showing the devastating human rights impact of law enforcement equipment; previous reports include work on tear gas, batons, rubber bullets, and the trade in less lethal weapons used to repress protesters.

    MIL OSI NGO –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: WhiteBIT and Bequant Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance Institutional Crypto Trading

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VILNIUS, Lithuania, March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The cooperation aims to offer professional investors deeper liquidity, enhanced trading capabilities, and exceptional market access.

    WhiteBIT, Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by traffic, has partnered with Bequant, a leading provider of institutional crypto trading solutions. This collaboration is keen to create a comprehensive ecosystem tailored for institutional traders, offering modern trading tools and compliance-driven infrastructure.

    The crypto industry has witnessed rapid institutional adoption, with professional traders seeking advanced trading capabilities, regulatory compliance, and efficient liquidity access. WhiteBIT and Bequant’s partnership aligns with this evolving landscape, equipping institutional investors with scalable, secure, and efficient trading solutions.

    “This collaboration with Bequant is a strategic move to further enhance institutional crypto trading. By combining our expertise, we’re ensuring that professional traders and institutional clients gain exceptional access to deep liquidity, regulatory-compliant infrastructure, and advanced trading tools,” said Volodymyr Nosov, Founder and President of WhiteBIT.

    Bequant Institutional Expertise

    Bequant is a top-tier proprietary trading firm that focuses on market making, quantitative trading, and institutional crypto services. By employing sophisticated trading strategies and efficient capital allocation, the firm enhances liquidity and improves overall market efficiency. 

    As a regulated entity, Bequant also offers institutional investors a range of services, including OTC trading, lending solutions, and secure custody options.

    “Partnering with WhiteBIT allows us to build deeper liquidity for institutional crypto trading across Europe, combining our expertise to deliver efficient, compliant solutions,” comments George Zarya, Founder of Bequant.

    Key Partnership Benefits

    The partnership between WhiteBIT and Bequant enables institutional clients to access WhiteBIT’s deep liquidity and advanced trading infrastructure through Bequant’s brokerage network. Market makers and high-volume traders using Bequant can now integrate WhiteBIT into their trading strategies, upgrading trade efficiency across different exchanges.

    Through this collaboration, institutional clients benefit from the following key advantages:

    • Deep Liquidity & Market Efficiency. Institutional clients will gain access to over $2 trillion in annual trading volume, ensuring robust market depth and optimal liquidity conditions.
    • Multi-Market Access. The partnership enables trading across spot, futures, and margin markets with competitive leverage options and advanced execution strategies.
    • Regulatory Compliance & Security. WhiteBIT and Bequant adhere to international regulatory standards, including ISO/IEC certification and GDPR compliance, ensuring a secure trading environment.
    • Seamless API Connectivity. REST, WebSocket, and FIX 4.4 integration will provide real-time market data access, automated trading capabilities, and efficient trade execution.

    WhiteBIT’s Institutional Growth and Leadership

    As part of a trusted and scalable ecosystem, WhiteBIT serves over 8 million users and more than 1,300 institutional clients, offering a reliable infrastructure for professional traders seeking efficiency and security in digital asset markets.

    In 2024, WhiteBIT reported a $2.7 trillion annual trading volume, primarily driven by institutional clients, reinforcing its position as a leader in institutional crypto trading.

    About WhiteBIT

    WhiteBIT is the largest European cryptocurrency exchange by traffic, offering over 730 trading pairs, 330+ assets, and supporting 9 fiat currencies. Founded in 2018, the platform is a part of WhiteBIT Group that serves more than 35 million customers globally. WhiteBIT collaborates with Visa, FC Barcelona, Fireblocks, ClearJunction, and Checkout.com. The company is dedicated to driving the widespread adoption of blockchain technology worldwide.

    About Bequant

    Bequant is where traditional investing meets cryptocurrency—a one-stop solution for professional digital asset investors and institutions. Located and regulated in Malta, Bequant’s breadth of products include prime brokerage, custody and fund administration, all enhanced by an institutional trading platform providing low-latency trading, liquidity and direct market access for investors. The Bequant team is composed of experts from institutional, retail and digital financial services with experience in banking, derivatives, electronic trading and prime brokerage.

    Contact
    WhiteBIT
    pr@whitebit.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a10ad6ac-b680-4388-b583-df20f69c57f5

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Global: Electric shock equipment widely abused by law enforcement agencies due to alarming lack of regulation – Amnesty International

    Source: Amnesty International

    States and companies are manufacturing, promoting and selling electric shock equipment that is being used for torture and other ill-treatment, said Amnesty International, in a new report calling for a global, legally-binding treaty to regulate the unchecked production of and trade in law enforcement equipment.

    “I Still Can’t Sleep at Night” – The Global Abuse of Electric Shock Equipment, documents how law enforcement agencies are using inherently abusive direct contact electric shock weapons – including stun guns and electric shock batons– on the street, at borders, in migrant and refugee detention centres, mental health institutions, police stations, prisons, and other places of detention.

    These inherently abusive devices, which deliver painful shocks at the press of a button, have been used against protesters, students, political opponents, women and girls (including pregnant women), children and human rights defenders, among others. Survivors have suffered burns, numbness, miscarriage, urinary dysfunction, insomnia, exhaustion and profound psychological trauma.

    The report also looks at the escalating misuse of Projectile Electric Shock Weapons (PESWs), which can have a legitimate role in law enforcement, but are often misused. Cases include the unnecessary and discriminatory use against vulnerable groups resulting in serious injuries and in some cases even death.

    “Direct contact electric shock weapons can cause severe suffering, long-lasting physical disability and psychological distress. Prolonged use can even result in death,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s researcher on military, security and policing issues.

    “PESWs are being used against individuals who pose no risk of violence, simply for punishment or compliance with orders. They are also being used in direct contact ‘drive stun’ mode, which should be prohibited. Despite the clear human rights risks associated with their use, there are no global regulations controlling the production of and trade in electric shock equipment. Direct contact electric shock weapons need to be banned immediately and PESWs subject to strict human-rights-based trade controls.”

    The extensive report draws on research carried out by Amnesty International from 2014 to 2024 in over 40 countries across all regions across the world, where cases involving torture and other ill-treatment using electric shock equipment have been documented.

    Vulnerable groups targeted by electric shock weapons

    Testimonies gathered by Amnesty International are harrowing.

    During the 2022 “Woman Life Freedom” uprising in Iran, the military unit IRGC Basij battalion forced several boys to stand with their legs apart in a line alongside adult detainees and administered electric shocks to their genitals with stun guns.

    In another case, several schoolboys were abducted for writing the protest slogan “Woman Life Freedom” on a wall. One of the boys told Amnesty International: “They hit my face with the back of a gun, gave electric shocks to my back, and beat me with batons on the bottom of my feet and hands…”

    PESWs have often been used as de facto direct contact electric shock weapons when deployed in “drive stun” mode.

    Recounting a raid by border guards on the Medininkai detention centre in Lithuania on 2 March 2022, one detainee from Sub-Saharan Africa said: “I was lying on the ground and still they have used tasers on me three times, and at the same time they beat me with the batons.” Another described being threatened by police officers who placed a “taser” on her forehead, telling her “‘Shut up or I will shoot you!’”

    “Even when used as a stand-off weapon, PESWs have been linked to serious injuries and deaths,” said Patrick Wilcken. “These include dart lacerations and penetration of the skull, eye, internal organs, throat, fingers and testis; electrical discharge induced burns, seizures and arrythmias; and a variety of injuries and deaths from falls.”

    Amnesty’s report reveals patterns of PESWs’ discriminatory deployment against racialized and marginalized groups, such as young Black men. In April 2024, police in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, were filmed using a TASER directly on the leg of a Black protester at a Palestine solidarity demonstration while he was pinned to the ground by three police officers and handcuffed.

    “Given the high risks of primary and secondary injuries, the use of PESWs must be set at a high threshold. These weapons should only be used only in situations involving a threat to life or risk of serious injury which cannot be contained by less extreme options,”said Patrick Wilcken.

    The urgent need for prohibitions and trade regulation

    At least 197 companies from all regions manufactured or promoted direct contact electric shock equipment for law enforcement between January 2018 and June 2023 – with most companies based in countries such as China, India and the USA.

    According to US-based Axon Enterprise, Inc., their TASER brand models are currently used by over 18,000 law enforcement agencies in more than 80 countries.

    “There is an urgent need for a legally-binding treaty which would prohibit inherently abusive electric shock equipment and strictly control the trade in PESWs,” said Patrick Wilcken.

    “Companies should implement robust human rights due diligence and mitigation measures to ensure their products and services are not being systematically misused for torture or other ill-treatment. This includes ceasing production of direct contact electric shock devices and removing the ‘drive stun’ function from PESWs.”

    Amnesty International, along with a global civil society network of over 80 organizations worldwide, is campaigning for the negotiation of a Torture-Free Trade Treaty that would introduce global prohibitions and controls on a wide range of law enforcement equipment, including electric shock weapons and equipment.

    Background

    In September 2017, the EU, Argentina and Mongolia launched the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade at the margins of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The Alliance currently comprises 62 states from all regions of the world pledging to “act together to further prevent, restrict and end trade” in goods used notably for torture or other ill-treatment. In October 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture presented a thematic report on the torture trade at the UNGA which argued for a legally binding instrument to regulate the production of and trade in law enforcement equipment and included lists of goods considered prohibited and controlled.

    This is one of a series of in-depth research reports showing the devastating human rights impact of law enforcement equipment; previous reports include work on tear gas, batons, rubber bullets, and the trade in less lethal weapons used to repress protesters.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

    March 6, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Academic freedom and democracy under siege: how a Nobel peace prize could help defend them

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Stéphanie Balme, Director, CERI (Centre de recherches internationales), Sciences Po

    A rally for science drew a big crowd during the American Geophysical Union’s meeting in San Francisco. MarcioJoseSanchez/AP, CC BY

    March 7 has been recognized as the “Day of the Stand Up for Science Movement”, launched in 2017 in response to the anti-science actions of the first Trump administration. Under the second, attacks on scientists and scientific inquiry have escalated into a systematic assault–tantamount to a coup d’Etat against science itself.

    While Donald Trump is often portrayed as erratic, his policies in this area have followed a consistent trajectory. His new administration has once again declared ‘war’ on evidence-based national policymaking and science diplomacy in foreign affairs as evidenced by several early actions. Immediately after taking office, Donald Trump issued executive orders freezing or canceling tens of billions in research funding. All National Science Foundation projects have been halted pending review, while the National Institutes of Health faces suspensions under Health and Human Services directives. The US has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization, alongside a sweeping review of 90% of USAID-funded projects, signaling a major retreat from climate and global health diplomacy. Federal agencies and universities are in turmoil, leaving thousands of research-professors in limbo amid a politically driven funding freeze. The 2025 March simply calls for the restoration of federal research funding and an end to government censorship and political interference in science.

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    The US is the world’s undisputed scientific superpower–for now

    While the Trump administration is not the sole force undermining academia worldwide, its actions are particularly striking coming from the world’s leading scientific superpower. Moreover, the situation is especially concerning because developments in the United States often have a ripple effect, shaping policies in other regions in the years that follow.

    Neither of the world’s top two scientific superpowers–Washington and Beijing–is positioned to champion academic freedom. China, having failed a liberal constitutional tradition and academic independence since the 1920s, restricts academic freedom to the confines of one-party rule. Caught between these rival scientific giants–both partners and competitors–the “old” Europe and like-minded coutries remain the only actors capable of setting new standards for academic freedom.

    A Nobel prize for academic freedom

    A decisive step toward its legal protection would be formal recognition by the Nobel Committees for Peace and Science of academic freedom’s fundamental role–both in ensuring scientific excellence and as a pillar of free, democratic societies.

    For the past decade, the Scholars at Risk association (SAR) has documented a broader global decline in academic freedom in its annual Free to Think Report. The 2024 edition highlights particularly alarming situations in 18 countries and territories (including the United States), which recorded 391 attacks on scholars, students, or institutions across 51 regions in a year. Data from the Academic Freedom Index in Berlin confirm that more than half of the world’s population lives in regions where academic freedom is either entirely or severely restricted. Some of the most concerning conditions are in emerging scientific ecosystems such as Turkey, Brazil, Egypt, South Africa, or Saudi Arabia. The overall trend is deteriorating: only 10 out of 179 countries have improved, while many democratic regimes are increasingly affected.

    Academic freedom in the European Union remains relatively high compared to the rest of the world. However, nine EU member states fall below the regional average, and in eight of them, it has declined over the past decade–signaling a gradual erosion of this fundamental value. Hungary ranks the lowest among EU countries, placing in the bottom 20–30% worldwide. Recent laws have further weakened university autonomy across the EU: financial autonomy in Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Slovakia; organizational autonomy in Slovenia, Estonia, and Denmark; staffing autonomy in Croatia and Slovakia; and academic autonomy in Denmark and Estonia. Moreover, the European Parliament’s first report on academic freedom (2023) highlights emerging threats in France–political, educational, and societal–that impact the freedom of research, teaching, and study.

    Academic freedom, a professional right granted to a few for the benefit of all

    Freedom of expression, a fundamental pillar of academic freedom, has long been established as a human right, overcoming centuries of censorship and authoritarian control. In contrast, academic freedom is a more recent principle, granting scholars–recognized by their peers–the right and responsibility to research and teach freely in pursuit of knowledge. Like press freedom for journalists, it is a right granted to a few for the benefit of all.

    Rooted in medieval Europe, academic freedom has evolved from a privilege granted to students in the Quartier Latin to a recognized principle in international rights frameworks. It gained a collective and concrete dimension in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with the rise of the modern university. Wilhelm von Humboldt, founder of the modern public university in Berlin (1810), articulated the concept of ‘freedom of science’ (Wissenschaftsfreiheit), later enshrined in the Weimar Constitution of 1919, which declared that “art, science, and education are free.” The rise of American universities around the same time reshaped the concept, giving rise to “professional academic freedom.” This was formalized in the American Association of University Professors’ 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which affirmed the scholar’s primary duty to seek and establish truth. Though its roots lie in Germany, academic freedom ultimately became a cornerstone of American academic discourse.

    In the United States, academic freedom draws from multiple sources, with its protection varying by state laws, customs, institutional practices, and the status of higher education institutions. However, U.S. Supreme Court rulings have gradually reinforced its constitutional foundation, particularly after the McCarthy era, by invoking the First Amendment. Landmark cases such as Adler v. Board of Education (1952), Wieman v. Updegraff (1952), and Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957) helped establish a constitutional doctrine on academic freedom. Finally, Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967) extended First Amendment protections to academia, ruling that mandatory loyalty oaths violated both academic freedom and freedom of association.

    Interestingly, the American interpretation of academic freedom is currently more restrictive than the German model in certain respects. Article 5(3) of the 1989 Basic Law affirms the “right to adopt public organizational measures essential to protect a space of freedom, fostering independent scientific activity”. In contrast, the U.S. places greater emphasis on prohibitions and prioritizing individual rights over institutional autonomy.

    The ‘right to be wrong’

    Despite local variations, academic freedom is fundamentally tied to a shared vision of the university that upholds freedom of thought, with rationality and pluralism at its core. It includes the genuine “right to be wrong”–the understanding that a scientific opinion may be incorrect or even proven so does not diminish its protection. This stands in stark contrast to the anti-science, scientistic, or techno-nationalist approach, which views knowledge as a tool of power to serve a predetermined truth and objective of dominance. Authoritarian science, driven by power interests, seeks to diminish critical humanities and social sciences while elevating religion. It tends to reject interdisciplinary work, is exclusively mathematized, and is oriented toward a centralized yet deregulated autocratic tech-utopian state model.

    Since 1945, we have operated under the illusion that academic freedom is an indispensable condition for scientific excellence. However, we have recently learned that no systematic link exists between academic freedom and breakthrough scientific innovation in our era of new technologies. Given these circumstances, this proposal advocates for a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, for the first time in its history, in recognition of academic freedom.

    The Nobel Prize Committees for Science and Peace share the responsibility of using their prestigious platforms to uphold fundamental scientific and democratic values. They are uniquely positioned to champion humanist science, reinforcing its importance for scholars, students, and civil societies worldwide. Since the 1950s, around 90% of Nobel Prize laureates in scientific fields have either been US citizens or have studied and worked at Ivy League research institutions.

    While some US scientists are contesting actions of the Trump administration in court, academics worldwide should stand in solidarity with their American colleagues in resisting the erosion of science. To strengthen their efforts, they require the support of the Nobel Prize Committees.

    Stéphanie Balme ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

    – ref. Academic freedom and democracy under siege: how a Nobel peace prize could help defend them – https://theconversation.com/academic-freedom-and-democracy-under-siege-how-a-nobel-peace-prize-could-help-defend-them-251494

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 6, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Baltic Horizon Fund General Meeting – notice to investors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    At the request of a unitholder whose units represent more than 1/10 of all the votes, Northern Horizon Capital AS invites Baltic Horizon Fund unit-holders and Swedish Depositary Receipt (hereinafter the “SDR”) holders (hereinafter together the “Investors”) to attend an extraordinary General Meeting (hereinafter the “General Meeting”) of Baltic Horizon Fund on 27 March 2025 at 14:00 (local Estonian time) at the office of Northern Horizon Capital AS at Roseni 7 (A tower), 6th floor, 10111 Tallinn, Estonia. Registration for the meeting will begin at 13:00. The General Meeting will be held in English.

    The meeting is convened in accordance with sections 10.3.3., 10.5, 10.6 and 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund and section 47-1 of the Investment Funds Act of Estonia.

    The total number of units and votes in Baltic Horizon Fund amounts to 143,562,514 .

    Investors may also join the webinar to view the General Meeting online on 27 March 2025 at 14:00.

    To join the webinar, please register via the following link: https://nasdaq.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Cd4HF9QwQpaCuPaPa5etOA.

    You will be provided with the webinar link and instructions how to join successfully. The webinar will be recorded and available online for everyone at the company’s website on www.baltichorizon.com.

    Agenda, as proposed by the unitholder:

    1. Decision to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    2. Decision to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    3. Decision to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
    4. Decision to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board for fulfilling obligations of the member of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 36,000 per calendar year.
    5. Decision to pay remuneration to supervisory board members, other than  the chairman, for fulfilling obligations of the member of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 11,000 per calendar year.
    6. Decision to recall Reimo Hammerberg, Monica Hammer and David Bergendahl from the position of the supervisory board member of Baltic Horizon Fund with the last date of the office being 30 April 2025.

    Investors are invited to send questions and comments on the agenda to the Baltic Horizon fund manager at Tarmo.Karotam@nh-cap.com by 20 March 2025. Northern Horizon Capital AS will respond to the questions and comments at the meeting itself.

    Participation – requirements and notice

    Investors who are entered in the Baltic Horizon Fund registry of unit-holders maintained by Nasdaq CSD SE and holders of SDRs registered in the Euroclear Sweden AB system ten days before the date of the General Meeting, i.e. at the end of business of Nasdaq CSD SE on 17 March 2025, are entitled to participate in the meeting.

    In order to facilitate the registration process, investors whose units are registered in their own name are invited to provide notice of their attendance by 24 March 2025 to bhfmeeting@nh-cap.com. Notice should include name, personal identification number (or the registration number of the legal person), address, number of units represented and, if applicable attendance of any representatives, along with the name and personal identification number of the representatives. The attendance of a representative does not deprive the unit-holder of the right to participate at the meeting.

    Instructions to holders of Baltic Horizon Fund SDRs registered with Euroclear Sweden AB in Sweden

    IMPORTANT REQUIREMENT: SDR holders whose SDR-s are registered with Euroclear Sweden AB via a bank or other nominee are required to notify their bank or nominee account provider by 17 March 2025 to temporarily add their name on the Euroclear Sweden AB owner register.

    Notice of participation should also be sent by 16:00 EET on 24 March 2025 to bhfmeeting@nh-cap.com. Notice should include name, personal identification number (or the registration number of the legal person), address, number of units represented and, if applicable, attendance of any representatives, along with the name and personal identification number of the representatives. The attendance of a representative does not deprive the Investor of the right to participate at the meeting.

    Representation under a power of attorney

    Investors whose representatives are acting under a power of attorney are requested to prepare a written power of attorney for the representative in Estonian or English (templates can be found at Annex 1).

    A copy of the executed power of attorney should be sent to bhfmeeting@nh-cap.com together with the notice of participation. In case the power of attorney is issued by a legal person, a certified copy of the registration certificate (or equivalent certificate of authority) shall also be submitted together with, as applicable, the documents certifying the authority of the representative in case the power of attorney is signed by a person under a power of attorney.

    Baltic Horizon Fund is registered in Estonia, which means that any power of attorney (or any certified copy of the registration certificate of a legal person) issued in a foreign country should be notarised and accompanied by an apostille. The apostille requirement applies, for example, to powers of attorney issued and notarised in Sweden or Finland. 

    Instructions for the day of the General Meeting

    We kindly ask Investors to bring a personal identification document, and for their representatives also to present the original written power of attorney in English or Estonian. In case the Investor is a legal person, documentation in Estonian or English certifying the authority of the Investor’s representative or the signatory of the power of attorney will also be requested.

    Data collected by Northern Horizon Capital AS from powers of attorney, the unitholders registry maintained by Nasdaq CSD SE, and the list of holders of SDRs registered in the Euroclear Sweden AB system will be used for the purpose of registration for the meeting.

    1. Decision to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund

    According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The  proposal is to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board.

    Dr. Smaliukas is the Managing Partner at MMSP, a Lithuanian law firm focused on strategic corporate advisory and dispute resolution. He previously partnered at one of the leading Pan-Baltic firm, Valiunas Ellex, and holds nearly 20 years of experience as an arbitrator and international arbitration lead counsel. Dr. Smaliukas earned his Ph.D. and Master of Laws from Vilnius University, conducted postgraduate research at Oxford, and completed executive programs at Cambridge Judge Business School and Harvard Law School. Dr.Smaliukas serves on the boards of Staticus Group, Kesko Senukai, has extensive advisory experience in commercial real estate M&A and investment management across the Baltic countries.

    Andrius Smaliukas does not hold any units of the Baltic Horizon Fund.

    1. Decision to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund

    According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The proposal is to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board.

    Milda Dargužaitė is the former CEO of Northern Horizon Capital A/S, the shareholder of Northern Horizon Capital AS. She was responsible for managing the company’s operations and strategic direction, including the development of new funds and investment vehicles. Milda has significant experience in both the public and private sectors, locally and internationally. She joined the company in 2018 after roles as the Chancellor at the Lithuanian Prime Minister’s Office, Managing Director of Invest Lithuania, and advisor to the Lithuanian Minister of Economy. Milda has a wealth of experience in finance and portfolio management from her time at Goldman Sachs in New York and Barclays in London. Milda Dargužaitė was the supervisory board member of Northern Horizon Capital AS from July 2018 until September 2023.

    Milda holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from Middlebury College and a master’s degree in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University. She has served on the boards of several Northern Horizon Group entities.

    Milda Dargužaitė does not hold any units of the Baltic Horizon Fund.

    1. Decision to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund

    According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The proposal is to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board.

    Antanas Anskaitis is a partner at Grinvest which is a private investment company with interests in real estate and transportation. Antanas has over 20 years of real estate investment management experience (out of which 16 within Northern Horizon Capital group). Since 2015 until 2020 Antanas managed a successful Baltic-Polish investment portfolio on behalf of Partners Group and lead over 30 commercial property transactions in the Baltics and Poland having experience both on sell and buy side. Antanas has MSc in Management and Economics.

    Grinvest through its subsidiary in Estonia Gene Investments OÜ is the largest unitholder in Baltic Horizon Fund (>25%) at the time of this notice.

    1. Decision to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board

    According to section 11.11 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members are entitled to remuneration for their service. The amount of remuneration payable to the chairman and members of the supervisory board shall be decided at the general meeting. According to section 11.4 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members elect a chairman from among themselves in the first meeting after election of any new member(s).

    The supervisory board in this composition intends working in close liaison with Northern Horizon Capital AS in the subcommittees and meet at least once a month while Baltic Horizon Fund is in the turnaround phase. The proposal is therefore to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 36,000 per calendar year.

    1. Decision to pay remuneration to supervisory board members

    According to section 11.11 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members are entitled to remuneration for their service. The amount of remuneration payable to the chairman and members of the supervisory board shall be decided at the general meeting. 

    The proposed remuneration is the same as for the current members of the supervisory board. The unitholder proposes to remunerate each supervisory board member (except the chairman, who shall be remunerated in accordance with point 4 above) in the amount of EUR 11,000 per calendar year.

    1. Decision to recall Reimo Hammerberg, Monica Hammer and David Bergendahl from the position of the supervisory board member of Baltic Horizon Fund

    According to section 10.3.3 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be recalled at the general meeting.

    Annex 1:

    Form of power of attorney to appoint a representative for the general meeting (in Estonian)

    Form of power of attorney to appoint a representative for the general meeting (in English)

    For additional information, please contact:

    Tarmo Karotam
    Baltic Horizon Fund manager
    E-mail tarmo.karotam@nh-cap.com
    www.baltichorizon.com

    The Fund is a registered contractual public closed-end real estate fund that is managed by Alternative Investment Fund Manager license holder Northern Horizon Capital AS. 

    Distribution: GlobeNewswire, Nasdaq Tallinn, Nasdaq Stockholm, www.baltichorizon.com

    To receive Nasdaq announcements and news from Baltic Horizon Fund about its projects, plans and more, register on www.baltichorizon.com. You can also follow Baltic Horizon Fund on www.baltichorizon.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and YouTube.

    Attachments

    • Annex 1 – poa.Investors-EGM-template.2025-03-05.est
    • Annex 1 – poa.Investors-EGM-template.2025-03-05.eng

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Change in Bigbank’s 2025 Financial Calendar

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Bigbank announces a change in its 2025 financial calendar.

    Bigbank’s audited Annual Report for 2024 will be published on 7 March 2025. The report was previously scheduled for publication on 5 March 2025.

    Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.eu), with over 30 years of operating history, is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of 31 January 2025, the bank’s total assets amounted to 2.9 billion euros, with equity of 273 million euros. The bank operates in nine countries, serving more than 168,000 active customers and employing over 500 people. The credit rating agency Moody’s has assigned Bigbank a long-term bank deposit rating of Ba1, along with a baseline credit assessment (BCA) and an adjusted BCA of Ba2.

    Argo Kiltsmann
    Member of the Management Board
    Tel: +372 5393 0833
    Email: argo.kiltsmann@bigbank.ee
    www.bigbank.ee

    The MIL Network –

    March 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Deus X Pay Unveils NeXus: Instant, Zero-Cost Cross-Border Transfers

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VILNIUS, Lithuania, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Deus X Pay, a regulated stablecoin payment provider, announced the launch of NeXus, enabling instantaneous transfers at zero cost across the Deus X Pay ecosystem. NeXus addresses the challenge of inter- and intra-company transfers, overcoming major pain points, particularly in cross-border transactions. 

    NeXus eliminates these pain points by offering a real-time transfer network, ensuring immediate and frictionless fund movements between Deus X Pay clients. With this innovative solution, businesses can enhance their financial operations and treasury management.

    Deus X Pay CEO Richard Crook shared his thoughts on the new feature: “NeXus is a game-changer, removing the inefficiencies of cross-border transfers while maintaining the security and reliability our clients expect. By aligning with the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, we actively contribute to the global goal of lowering costs and improving cross-border payments’ speed, access, and transparency.”

    How It Works:

    • Each Deus X Pay client receives a unique NeXus ID.
    • Using this ID, clients can instantly process cross-border payments, supplier payments, and fund transfers with others in the Deus X Pay ecosystem.
    • Funds move in real time, allowing for seamless business operations and treasury management.

    Deus X Pay’s innovative offering, NeXus, supports the evolving needs of institutions and businesses that require rapid, predictable, and cost-efficient transactions.

    About Deus X Pay
    Deus X Pay is a regulated institutional stablecoin payment provider offering secure and compliant digital asset transaction solutions. The company enables businesses to integrate cryptocurrency payments, ensuring fast and efficient financial operations while maintaining regulatory compliance.

    Contact

    Public Relations Manager
    Tshego Tshangela
    Deus X Pay
    media@deusxpay.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ace6b3b7-5d58-495c-bd70-cc34d92e77cc

    The MIL Network –

    March 5, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: America or Europe? Why Trump’s Ukraine U-turn is a fork in the road for New Zealand

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato

    The aftermath of one of the most undiplomatic – and notorious – White House meetings in recent history reveals a changed world.

    Having berated Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for supposedly not wanting peace with Russia and failing to show sufficient gratitude to the United States, President Donald Trump has now paused all military aid to Ukraine.

    This equates to about 40% of the beleaguered nation’s military support. If the gap is not quickly covered by other countries, Ukraine will be severely compromised in its defence against the Russian invasion.

    This has happened while the Russian army is making slow but costly gains along the front in eastern Ukraine. Trump’s goal appears to be to force Zelensky to accept a deal he does not want, and which may be illegal under international law.

    New Zealand is a long way from that front line, but the implications of Trump’s unilateral abandonment of Ukraine still create a serious foreign policy problem.

    Aside from its unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s actions, New Zealand has provided Defence Force personnel for training, intelligence, logistics and liaison to the tune of nearly NZ$35 million. The government has also given an additional $32 million in humanitarian assistance.

    At the same time, New Zealand has supported global legal efforts to hold Russia to account at both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. With Trump undermining these collective actions, New Zealand faces some stark choices.

    Allies at war

    While a genuine ceasefire and eventual peace in Ukraine are the right aims, Trump’s one-sided proposal has involved direct talks between Russia and the US, excluding all other parties, including the actual victims of Russian aggression.

    With eery parallels to the Munich Agreement of 1938 between Nazi Germany, Britain, France and Italy, peace terms could be dictated to the innocent party. Ukraine may have to sacrifice part of its territory in the hope a wider peace prevails.

    In exchange, Ukraine may be given some type of “security assurance”. But what that arrangement would look like, and what kind of peacekeeping force might be acceptable to Russia, remains unclear.

    If the current UK and European ceasefire proposals fail, Europe could be pulled more directly into the conflict. Since the Trump rebuff, European leaders are embracing Zelenskyy more tightly, wary of an emboldened Russia threatening other states with substantial Russian populations such as in Estonia and Latvia.

    European boots on the ground in Ukraine could escalate the existing war into a much larger and more dangerous conflict. The complexities of this new reality are now spilling over in the United Nations.

    A fork in the road

    While the Security Council finally agreed on a broad statement in favour of a lasting peace, just what that might look like has seen opposing resolutions in the General Assembly.

    On February 18, 53 countries, including New Zealand, voted in favour of a resolution condemning Russian aggression and calling for the return of Ukrainian territory. The resolution passed, but the US, Russia, Belarus and North Korea voted against it.

    The US then put up its own resolution calling for peace, without recognising Russian aggression or the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. New Zealand supported this, too.

    Those two votes clearly signal a fork-in-the-road moment for New Zealand.

    As well as the wider consequences and potential precedents of any Ukraine peace settlement for security in Europe and the Pacific region, there is the immediate problem of supporting Ukraine.

    With the US and Europe – both traditional allies of New Zealand – now deeply divided, whatever path the government chooses will directly affect present and future security arrangements – including any possible “pillar two” membership of AUKUS.

    Potentially complicating matters further, Trump’s civilian lieutenant Elon Musk has publicly advocated for the US leaving the UN and NATO. Whether or not that happens, the threat alone underscores the gravity of the current situation.

    No option without risk

    Ultimately, if Trump decides to force Zelensky to the negotiating table against his will, and Europe continues urging and supporting him to fight on, New Zealand will have to take sides. It cannot take both.

    The National-led coalition government will either have to abandon the stance New Zealand has taken on the Russian invasion over the past three years, or wait for Europe’s response and align with efforts to support a rules-based international order.

    The first option would mean stepping back from that traditional foreign policy position, cutting military support for Ukraine (and trusting the Trump process), and probably ending sanctions against Russia and diplomatic efforts for legal accountability.

    The other path would mean spending more on military aid, and possibly deploying more defence personnel to help fill the gap Trump has created.

    No option is without risk. But, on balance, the European approach to international affairs seems closer to New Zealand’s worldview than the one currently articulated by the Trump administration.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. America or Europe? Why Trump’s Ukraine U-turn is a fork in the road for New Zealand – https://theconversation.com/america-or-europe-why-trumps-ukraine-u-turn-is-a-fork-in-the-road-for-new-zealand-251459

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    March 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Education for Democracy, Agreement on Conservation of Marine Biological Diversity among Several Resolutions Adopted by General Assembly

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    Poland’s President Warns of Resurgence of ‘Russian Imperialism’, Calls War on Ukraine ‘Beginning of Effort to Violently Destroy International Order’

    The General Assembly, over the course of two meetings today, adopted seven resolutions — some drawing more contention than others — and heard an address by the President of Poland.

    International Day for Judicial Well-being

    First, the General Assembly took up the draft resolution titled “International Day for Judicial Well-being” (document A/79/L.52).  Introducing the text, Lionel Rouwen Aingimea, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Nauru, stressed that — while the judiciary “serves as a cornerstone of justice” — challenges faced by judicial officers have long been overlooked.

    However, the representative of the United States said that his delegation will request a recorded vote — and vote no — “because this resolution represents the internationalization of the self-care movement and the migration of it into domains where it does not belong”.

    The Assembly then adopted the resolution by a recorded vote of 160 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 3 abstentions (Haiti, Madagascar, Syria).  Through the text, the General Assembly decided to proclaim 25 July of each year the International Day for Judicial Well-being.

    Education for Democracy

    Next, the Assembly considered the draft resolution titled “Education for democracy” (document A/79/L.56).  The representative of Mongolia introduced that text, emphasizing that an inclusive education system empowers individuals and strengthens governance institutions.  The text therefore calls for investments in quality education and lifelong learning, also urging Member States to harness the potential of digital technologies to advance education for democracy, he said.

    The representative of the United States said that his delegation will again call for a recorded vote — and vote no — on this draft “because much of the text violates United States policies”.  Specifically, he said that its discussion of misinformation and disinformation is an “unequivocal red line for the United States”, as these terms are “intentionally nebulous and ill-defined so they can be wielded as tools of censorship”.

    The Assembly then adopted the resolution by a recorded vote of 151 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 8 abstentions (Argentina, Belarus, Fiji, Madagascar, Russian Federation, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Syria).  Through the text, the Assembly strongly encouraged Member States and education authorities to integrate education for democracy — along with civic education and human-rights education, among others — into their education standards.

    After the vote, the representative of the Russian Federation noted that “democracy does not have a universal definition or a single model”.  She also disassociated from the text’s reference to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stating that mention of the Office in a resolution about education is “unjustified” — a point echoed by Nicaragua’s representative.

    Iran’s representative, meanwhile, said that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Education 2030 Incheon Declaration are “absolutely non-legally binding”.  Disassociating from relevant paragraphs, he said that Iran’s national plans and programmes “will be our final source of action and reference”.  Argentina’s representative also disassociated from several paragraphs, stressing that “every State, within its own sovereignty, has the right to participate [in the 2030 Agenda] — or not”.

    UN Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Central Asia and Afghanistan

    The Assembly then turned to the draft resolution titled “United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan” (document A/79/L.57/Rev.1).  Introducing that text, the representative of Kazakhstan said that the Centre aims to address the specific needs of Central Asian countries, which each possesses unique challenges and opportunities that are shaped by diverse socioeconomic contexts, cultural realities and environmental conditions.

    The representative of the Russian Federation then noted that the countries of Central Asia are “unified by a shared history, similar geographic and social conditions and shared challenges in development”.  Therefore, they must coordinate efforts and find shared regional solutions.  “This, in turn, meets the current trends to regionalize efforts in the area of development,” he noted.

    The Assembly then adopted the text without a vote, through which it decided to formalize the Centre in Almaty, Kazakhstan.  Further, it requested the Secretary-General to appoint its Head and further decided that the costs of all its activities shall be met by voluntary contributions.

    After the vote, several delegates expressed concern over the process by which this text was negotiated.  Switzerland’s representative said that her delegation would have preferred more transparency and inclusivity, while the representative of Türkiye said that the wider membership was not sufficiently consulted during negotiations.  Mexico’s representative expressed hope that “this way of carrying out multilateral negotiations will not be repeated in other processes”.

    Meanwhile, the representative of the United States said that Kazakhstan “needs neither an expanded UN system nor the SDGs in order to prosper — it should instead make sovereign decisions for its people and cast aside the burden of soft global governance”.  For her part, Australia’s representative — also speaking for Canada and New Zealand — welcomed the adoption.

    International Day of Peaceful Coexistence and International Day of Hope

    The Assembly also considered the draft resolution titled “International Day of Peaceful Coexistence” (document A/79/L.53).  Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Minister for Transportation and Telecommunications of Bahrain, introducing that text, said that it reaffirms the role of Member States and other stakeholders in promoting tolerance, respect for religious and cultural diversity and human rights.

    The representative of the United States again said that his delegation will call for a recorded vote on this text — and vote no — expressing concern that the resolution “advances a programme of soft global governance that is inconsistent with US sovereignty”.  He added:  “Simply put, globalist endeavours like Agenda 2030 and the SDGs lost at the ballot box; therefore, the US rejects and denounces the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.”

    He also expressed concern that the resolution’s titular reference to “peaceful coexistence” could be “co-opted to imply the United Nations’ endorsement of China’s ‘Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’”.  Speaking in exercise of the right of reply, China’s representative said that such principles are “widely recognized by the international community and contained in many international instruments”.

    Adopting the resolution by a recorded vote of 162 in favour to 3 against (Argentina, Israel, United States), with 2 abstentions (Paraguay, Peru), the Assembly decided to proclaim 28 January as the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence, to be observed annually.

    The Assembly then turned to the draft resolution titled “International Day of Hope” (document A/79/L.54).  Introducing it, Kiribati’s representative said that hope is “a force that has carried humanity through the darkest of times and propelled us towards a future of possibility, resilience and renewal”.  However, he expressed disappointment over the decision by the United States to force a vote.

    On that, the delegate of the United States said that the text “contains references to diversity, equity and inclusion that conflict with US policies that seek to eliminate all forms of discrimination and create equal opportunities for all”.  He added: “In a world that faces many challenges, funding and effort should be allocated to critical causes and crises, rather than International Days.”

    The Assembly then adopted the text by a recorded vote of 161 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 4 abstentions (India, Paraguay, Peru, Türkiye), through which it decided to declare 12 July the International Day of Hope.

    “What we’ve just seen this morning is a clear example of the lack of commitment by the United States to a culture of peace, to the United Nations as a whole and to multilateralism in general,” stressed the representative of Cuba, after the vote.

    Agreement on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

    The Assembly also took up the draft resolution titled “Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction” (document A/79/L.55).  Singapore’s representative, introducing the text, called on States to ratify the agreement. He also made an oral revision to replace “welcome” with “take note of” regarding signatures and ratifications of the agreement to date.

    The Assembly then adopted that text, as orally revised, without a vote.  By its terms, the Assembly called on all States and regional economic integration organizations that have not done so to consider signing, ratifying, approving or accepting the Agreement as soon as possible.

    However, the representative of the Russian Federation disassociated from consensus, stating that mechanisms to establish marine protected areas without appropriate scientific research “run the risk of abuse and unsubstantiated restriction of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of States on the high seas”.  His counterpart from the United States, meanwhile, said that her country is “currently reviewing its policies and does not take a position on this matter”.

    Eightieth Anniversary of the End of the Second World War

    The Assembly also adopted, without a vote, a text titled “Eightieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War” (document A/79/L.51), which requested the holding of a special meeting of the Assembly to commemorate all victims of the Second World War in the second week of May in 2025 and every five years thereafter.

    The representative of the Russian Federation, introducing that text, said that 2025 marks the eightieth anniversary of the victory over Nazism, fascism and Japanese militarism.  Paying tribute to the millions who were sacrificed for that victory — including 27 million from the Soviet Union — he said that the international community has a shared duty to honour that victory.

    However, Ukraine’s representative underscored that it is the “height of cynicism” for a State engaged in an unprovoked war of aggression to attempt to unite nations around the memory of the Second World War.  She added:  “Despite the high price paid for peace, the promise of ‘never again’ remains unfulfilled — today, Europe is witnessing the most brutal war since Hitler.”

    The representative of the United Kingdom, similarly, pointed to the “fundamental irony of Russia summoning us here today”, having presented a resolution “to mark the end of one war in Europe having started another”.  Lithuania’s representative added:  “Today, Russia instrumentalizes the memory of the Second World War to justify its own crimes, both past and present.”  Poland’s representative, also speaking for a group of 34 other European States, spotlighted the Russian Federation’s “cynicism of using ‘de-Nazification’ to justify its illegal aggression and occupation of part of an independent UN Member State”.

    “We have to say this — the sponsor of this resolution simply does not live by the words of the UN Charter,” stressed the representative of Canada, also speaking for Australia and New Zealand.  “Russia’s aggression — and we must name it precisely — and its bid to expand its territory at the expense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other States is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter,” he said.

    For his part, the representative of the United States said that the “Russia-Ukraine war has waged on for far too long”, urging that the “UN be guided by its original purpose and unite to end the bloodshed”.  All Member States should recommit themselves to the “old vision of peace that propelled us out of the devastation and despair of World War II”, he added.  Israel’s representative said:  “It is our responsibility not only to remember but to ensure that future generations carry this memory forward to prevent history from repeating itself.”

    Speaking in exercise of the right of reply, the delegate of the Russian Federation expressed concern about the politicized statements delivered by the delegates of Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and the United Kingdom.  It is the actions of European States, she said, that are hampering the settlement of the Ukraine conflict.

    Appointments to Joint Inspection Unit

    In other business, the Assembly decided, without a vote, to appoint Makiese Kinkela Augusto (Angola), Victor Moraru (Republic of Moldova), Jesús Miranda Hita (Spain) and Marcel Jullier (Switzerland) to the Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations system, for a five-year term beginning 1 January 2026 and expiring on 31 December 2030.

    Address by President of Poland

    The General Assembly also heard an address by Andrzej Duda, President of Poland.  Noting that recent years have demonstrated how fragile peace and security are, he spotlighted the resurgence of “Russian imperialism”.  The 2014 attack on Ukraine marked “just the beginning of an effort to violently destroy the international order”, he said.

    Detailing Poland’s security cooperation, he pointed to the United States missile base in Redzikowo — an example of the “American security umbrella over Europe” — as well as recent talks with United States President Donald J. Trump.  Poland is also active in collective security systems and UN peacekeeping missions, and he also highlighted the Three Seas Initiative, which aims to improve connectivity among 13 countries across Central and Eastern Europe.

    “Poland has never imposed its views on anyone” or colonized another country, he went on to say.  Recalling his country’s long history, he invoked the construction of a powerful seventeenth-century State, gradual partitions, loss of independence, a 123-year-long independence struggle, the achievement of independence in 1918 and the destruction of that independence “by the two totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century:  Russian communism and German Nazism”.

    In the last 30 years of Poland’s history — after it broke free from the Russian Federation’s sphere of influence — it transformed from a backward, poor country with high unemployment into a highly developed State and the twenty-first largest economy in the world, he pointed out.  “Only peace can provide optimal conditions for development,” he said, adding that it is necessary to defend peace with real force.

    The representative of the Russian Federation, taking the floor under a point of order after the address, said that his delegation “had doubts” regarding the expediency of conducting today’s meeting.  “The President of Poland spent a lot of time on debating our country,” he said, adding that — although the Council adopted a text calling for peace between the Russian Federation and Ukraine — one of Poland’s leaders “talked about the logic of military focus” and providing support to Ukraine.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    March 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Mercosur – E-002033/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The Commission views the EU-Mercosur Agreement as politically and economically vital. The Commission’s objective is to ensure that the EU-Mercosur Agreement[1] delivers on the EU’s sustainability goals, while respecting the EU’s sensitivities in the agricultural sector.

    Chief Negotiators met in October 2024 to discuss the outstanding issues. These include: the EU proposal for a Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Joint Instrument[2], inclusion of the Paris Agreement as an essential element of the EU-Mercosur Agreement and Mercosur’s interests in the areas of public procurement, vehicles, export duties, a rebalancing mechanism, and a protocol on cooperation.

    On 6 December at the Mercosur Summit in Montevideo, the EU and Mercosur reached a political agreement concluding the negotiations.

    In September 2024, eleven Member States[3] addressed a letter to the President expressing strong support for a rapid conclusion of the negotiations on the EU-Mercosur Agreement.

    These Member States reiterated the high geopolitical and geoeconomic importance of the Agreement and its essential role in maintaining the EU’s economic and political influence in the region.

    They also noted that the agreement provides a unique platform for cooperation between the EU and the Mercosur countries on trade and sustainable development matters, ensuring that we can achieve our common sustainability and climate change ambitions.

    • [1] https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/mercosur/eu-mercosur-agreement_en
    • [2] https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/09242a36-a438-40fd-a7af-fe32e36cbd0e/library/da997440-4edb-437d-aa4a-3cb9a5e77930/details?download=true
    • [3] The following Member States are signatories to the letter: Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
    Last updated: 4 March 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: LHV Group 2024 Audited Annual Report and Dividend Proposal

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The Supervisory Board of AS LHV Group (hereinafter: LHV Group) approved the 2024 audited annual report and will submit it to the Annual General Meeting for approval. Compared to the unaudited interim report published on 11 February, there are no differences in the audited financial results. The 2024 consolidated annual report of LHV Group is attached to this notice and will be made available on the LHV Group investor page at https://investor.lhv.ee/aruanded/#aastaaruanded.

    LHV Group generated consolidated revenue of 338.3 million euros (+11%) in 2024. Of the revenue, net interest income accounted for 273.3 million euros (+8%), and net fee and commission income 60.3 million euros (+24%). The expenses of the consolidation group in 2024 amounted to 146.9 million euros (+14%). The consolidated net profit of LHV Group in 2024 amounted to 150.3 million euros, i.e., 7% more than in 2023. LHV Group’s annual cost/income ratio was a good 43.4% and return on equity 24.5%. Ordinary earnings per share in 2024 amounted to 0.46 euros and diluted earnings per share to 0.45 euros.

    As at the end of 2024, the consolidated assets of LHV Group stood at 8.74 billion euros, growing by 23%, i.e., 1.64 billion euros over the year. The Group’s consolidated deposits grew by 21% over the year to 6.91 billion euros. The Group’s consolidated loan portfolio increased to 4.55 billion euros, i.e., 28% in 2024. The aggregate volume of funds managed by LHV increased by 3% over the year, to 1.56 billion euros. The number of payments processed in relation to clients who are financial intermediaries reached 74.8 million payments (+51%) in 2024.

    The number of LHV Pank clients increased to 455 thousand in 2024. Over the year, the number of bank clients increased by 38,000, i.e., more than 9%. As at the end of the year, the number of active II pillar pension clients at LHV stood at 114,000 (-8%), and 170,000 clients had taken out insurance with LHV Kindlustus (+6%).

    Among the subsidiaries, in 2024, AS LHV Pank earned a net profit of 140.5 million euros (141.4 million euros in 2023), UK Bank Limited 5.8 million euros (5.3 million euros in 2023), AS LHV Varahaldus 1.6 million euros (1.7 million euros in 2023), and AS LHV Kindlustus 1.2 million euros (0.3 million euros in 2023). LHV Group as a separate unit generated 81.7 million euros in profit in 2024.

    Dividend proposal

    The Management Board of LHV Group proposes that the Annual General Meeting distribute the profit for 2024 as follows:

    • to pay dividends of 0.09 euros per share, for a total amount of 29,177 thousand euros; the income tax payable on dividends would be 8,229 thousand euros;
    • to transfer the profit for the reporting period, amounting to 123,228 thousand euros, belonging to the parent company’s shareholders, to retained earnings.

    The list of shareholders entitled to dividends will be fixed as at the close of business of the Nasdaq CSD settlement system on 9 April 2025. Consequently, the day of change of the rights attaching to the shares (ex-date) is set to 8 April 2025. From this day onwards, a person acquiring the shares will not have the right to receive dividends for the financial year 2024. Dividends will be paid to shareholders on 10 April 2025.

    LHV Group is the largest domestic financial group and capital provider in Estonia. LHV Group’s key subsidiaries are LHV Pank, LHV Varahaldus, LHV Kindlustus, and LHV Bank Limited. The Group employs over 1,200 people. As at the end of January, LHV’s banking services are being used by 460,000 clients, the pension funds managed by LHV have 112,000 active clients, and LHV Kindlustus protects a total of 172,000 clients. LHV Bank Limited, a subsidiary of the Group, holds a banking licence in the United Kingdom and provides banking services to international financial technology companies, as well as loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.

    Marthi Lepik
    Communication Specialist
    Phone: +372 5666 2944
    Email: marthi.lepik@lhv.ee 

    Attachments

    • Consolidated Annual Report 2024 (PDF)
    • Consolidated Annual Report 2024 (ESEF format)

    The MIL Network –

    March 4, 2025
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