NewzIntel.com

Category: European Union

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Trump is prompting China to change its relationship with the world

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ming Gao, Research Scholar of East Asia Studies, Lund University

    China has spent much of the past two months shoring up friendships both near and far. Two rounds of ministerial meetings with regional rivals Japan and South Korea took place in Tokyo and Seoul at the end of March.

    And earlier in April the red carpet was rolled out for the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, for his second visit to Beijing in less than seven months. This came shortly before the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, embarked on his first overseas trip of 2025 – a charm offensive to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.

    Central to these diplomatic moves is Donald Trump, whose return to the White House has clearly unsettled the boundaries between friend and foe.

    China, Japan and South Korea have historically approached one another with caution. This is a legacy of imperial aggression, unresolved territorial disputes and diverging security alignments with the US.

    But the unpredictability of the Trump administration, which has most recently been demonstrated by the imposition of sweeping trade tariffs, seems to be bringing the three countries closer together.

    At the ministerial meeting in Tokyo in March, their respective governments agreed to extend the tenure of the secretary-general and deputy secretaries of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat from two years to three. This still relatively unknown international organisation was established in 2011 in an effort to promote cooperation between the three countries.

    The decision, while seemingly a minor administrative adjustment, symbolises a growing mutual trust between these nations. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, has explicitly acknowledged that the extension represents a full endorsement of the organisation’s role. And China has now called on Japan for a coordinated response to US tariffs.

    This renewed momentum in regional cooperation set the stage for Xi’s broader diplomatic offensive through south-east Asia, where China sought to reinforce strategic ties and assert its leadership.

    China rolled out an elaborate diplomatic programme for Xi’s stop in Vietnam. It aimed to reaffirm ideological ties of “comrades and brothers” and counter Hanoi’s recent deepening relations with Washington.

    Following talks with Xi, the general secretary of the Communist party of Vietnam, To Lam, said that his country has always regarded developing relations with China as “a strategic choice and top priority”.

    Malaysia, on the other hand, is one of the earliest supporters of Xi’s signature belt and road initiative. It officially joined the Brics group of emerging economies as a “partner country” in 2025 and currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the Asean group of south-east Asian states. This gives Malaysia a central role in coordinating China’s relations with the bloc.

    During Xi’s visit, the Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, made the alignment between the two countries clear. He stated that Malaysia “stands with China” in the face of US threats. Malaysia is one of China’s main trading partners.

    Cambodia is also considered one Beijing’s most loyal partners in south-east Asia. In May 2024, it even named a road in the capital, Phnom Penh, “Xi Jinping Avenue” to thank China for its contribution to Cambodia’s development.

    The authorities pulled out all the stops for Xi’s latest visit. Cambodia’s king, Norodom Sihamoni, personally greeted Xi at the airport in an unprecedented break from protocol. And the two countries elevated their ties to an “all-weather” partnership, a label signalling that their relationship is resilient to external shifts.

    Relations with Europe

    Sánchez’s April visit to Beijing, meanwhile, marked an important point in relations between China and the EU. Following the ramping up of US tariffs, Xi called for the EU and China to “jointly resist unilateral bullying”. This appears to have resonated in Madrid.

    The Spanish delegation carried a message that Washington’s tariff hikes were “neither fair nor just” and had harmed the EU economy. It also said that Europe must “strengthen unity and coordination to safeguard its own interests”.

    This message appears to be filtering through wider European circles, with some leaders signalling their interest in stabilising ties with Beijing. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, for example, has engaged in “constructive” discussions with Chinese premier Li Qiang to address potential trade disruptions from US tariffs.

    Yet the EU faces an obvious dilemma: whether to engage China as an alternative economic partner or push back against a likely surge in redirected Chinese exports that would threaten European industries and deepen existing political tensions.

    Spain, for its part, has its own strategic calculations. Sánchez’s return to China highlights Madrid’s interest in positioning itself as the European leader in renewable energy, with Chinese investment expected to play a central role in this transition.

    This helps explain why, when asked about the EU’s tariff policy on China during a press briefing in September 2024, Sánchez remarked that “Europe needs to reconsider this decision”. Spain ultimately chose to abstain in the EU’s vote on imposing tariffs on the Chinese EV industry.

    China’s message to the world is clear. It is a stable partner and a defender of free trade. Whether China can persuade the world to trust its leadership amid deepening geopolitical uncertainty remains an open question.

    Ming Gao receives funding from the Swedish Research Council. This research was produced with support from the Swedish Research Council grant “Moved Apart” (nr. 2022-01864). Ming Gao is a member of Lund University Profile Area: Human Rights.

    – ref. How Trump is prompting China to change its relationship with the world – https://theconversation.com/how-trump-is-prompting-china-to-change-its-relationship-with-the-world-253567

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM meeting with Prime Minister Mustafa of the Palestinian Authority: 28 April 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    PM meeting with Prime Minister Mustafa of the Palestinian Authority: 28 April 2025

    The Prime Minister met with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Mustafa this afternoon in Downing Street.

    The Prime Minister met with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Mustafa this afternoon in Downing Street.

    The Prime Minister began by expressing his sincere condolences for the appalling loss of life in Gaza. He said that the UK does not support the resumption in hostilities, which are in nobody’s interests. He added that the UK will continue to press for a return to the ceasefire as a first step to a lasting peace, and reiterated that the return of humanitarian aid into Gaza is critical. 

    He also said that we must not lose sight of the situation in the West Bank, where unlawful settlement and violence is of deep concern.

    Discussing the Arab Plan for Gaza, the Prime Minister shared the UK’s support for the Palestinian Authority’s reform programme, which he said is critical. The leaders agreed that a strategic political framework will be necessary as part of the implementation of a two-state solution, and that Hamas must have no role in Gaza’s governance. 

    They both agreed that the UK would continue to work closely with the Palestinian Authority and regional partners to find a constructive way forward, and deliver lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

    The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New King’s Gurkha Artillery Unit to boost Armed Forces Capabilities

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    New King’s Gurkha Artillery Unit to boost Armed Forces Capabilities

    Gurkhas are to take on artillery roles for the first time with the creation of a new regiment.

    • Over the next four years, 400 Gurkha personnel will join the unit known as The King’s Gurkha Artillery, bolstering UK security through the Plan for Change
    • New unit will offer career and development opportunities for Gurkha soldiers in recognition of their service to the UK
    • A new Gurkha unit is being created to bolster the Army – with the famous Nepalese soldiers taking up artillery roles for the first time.  

    The King’s Gurkha Artillery (KGA), announced today, will be a new unit in the Brigade of Gurkhas and will operate within the Royal Regiment of Artillery. 

    The regiment will strengthen the UK’s military capabilities by taking on 400 Gurkha personnel, yet another example of Government action to deliver national security for Britain as part of our Plan for Change.

    A new Gurkha cap badge has also been created – the first in 14 years – to represent the new unit and the expanded breadth of specialisms that the Brigade of Gurkhas deliver, continuing their proud tradition of military service to the UK. 

    The KGA will become an integral part of the UK Armed Forces’ artillery capabilities. As part of the new offer for Gurkha soldiers, and in recognition of the demands of modern warfare, personnel who join the KGA will be trained on advanced equipment, including the Archer and Light Gun artillery systems. In the future they will also train on the remote-controlled Howitzer 155 artillery system. 

    Today’s announcement follows the Prime Minister’s historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, recognising the critical importance of military readiness in an era of heightened global uncertainty.   

    Minister for Veterans and People Alistair Carns said: 

    The Brigade of Gurkhas has rightly earned a reputation as being amongst the finest soldiers in the world, and the formation of The King’s Gurkha Artillery recognises the outstanding contribution that they have made, through their years of dedicated service.  

    Our government is already delivering for defence through our Plan for Change, and this latest development will support retention efforts amongst Gurkhas while protecting and defending UK interests at home and abroad.

    The first recruits will finish initial training in November 2025 before going to Larkhill Garrison in Wiltshire, the home of the Royal Artillery for trade training.  

    Currently, around 4,000 Gurkhas serve across many trades in the British Army. All Gurkhas are recruited from Nepal, with thousands of candidates competing annually for a limited number of places. 

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Referendum date confirmed

    Source: City of Plymouth

    A notice of referendum has today been published, confirming that the referendum on how Plymouth will be governed in the future will be held on Thursday 17 July.  

    At the referendum, those on the electoral register will be asked to have their say whether Plymouth City Council’s governance model should be changed from a Leader model to a Directly Elected Mayor.   

    This process is separate – and not related to – the ongoing discussions about Plymouth potentially joining a combined regional authority that could be led by an elected Strategic Mayor.   

    There are a number of ways to cast your vote. You can vote in person at a polling station, by post, or by appointing someone you trust to vote on your behalf, which is known as a proxy vote.   

    Registering to vote is quick and easy, it only takes five minutes and can be done online. Once registered you will be placed onto the electoral register. However, you will need to register again if you’ve changed your name, address or nationality.   

    Once registered, you can request for a postal vote application online. Having a postal vote means that a postal ballot pack containing your ballot paper will be sent to your home, so you can vote via post, avoiding the need to go to a polling station. If you’re unable to vote in person you can apply for a proxy vote and ask someone to vote on your behalf.   

    All registered voters in Plymouth will also need to show an eligible photographic ID to vote in person at a polling station.  

    Accepted forms of ID include a UK, European Economic Area (EEA) or Commonwealth passport; a full or provisional UK, EEA or Commonwealth drivers’ licence; some concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass and a blue badge.  

    Anyone who does not have one of the accepted forms of ID can apply for free Voter Authority Certificate online or by completing a paper form which is available from the Council.   

    It is anticipated that the deadlines will be:   

    • Deadline to register to vote: 1 July 2025  
    • Deadline to apply or change a postal vote: 5pm on 2 July 2025  
    • Deadline to apply for Voter ID certificate: 5pm on 9 July 2025  
    • Deadline to apply for a proxy vote: 5pm on 9 July 2025  

    It is important to note that this is a totally separate process to work already underway to establish a strategic combined authority with directly elected mayor for the region. 

    For more information about registering to vote or applying for a postal vote or voter ID see our register to vote page.

    Referendum on how Plymouth City Council is run | PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: United States Signs Agreement to Advance American Civil Nuclear Deal in Poland

    Source: US Department of Energy

    WARSAW, POLAND—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today joined the Westinghouse/Bechtel Consortium (WBC), Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for the signing of the Engineering Development Agreement (EDA) for Poland’s first AP-1000 nuclear power plant. This agreement is a follow-on to an initial contract and is part of a larger nuclear energy security deal worth tens of billions of dollars to build large-scale civil nuclear reactors in Poland. This initiative originally started during the first Trump Administration and could ultimately accommodate a total of six AP-1000s across two sites. 

    “The strong partnership between our two countries is united by a long history of steadfast friendship and shared values, and I am proud to be here to mark this significant milestone for the United States and Poland,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “This first of a kind intergovernmental agreement, which began during President Trump’s first term, will provide Poland enormous levels of energy security and create tens of thousands of Polish and American jobs. It will truly be a joint endeavor that will include not just the construction of a very large power plant that will power the Polish economy for decades to come, but also marks the start of a long-term nuclear cooperation between the United States and Poland that will result in building future reactors.”  

    The EDA is an important step for the project in Choczewo, Pomeranian Voivodeship and paves the way for the next steps of the project, which include design, sitework, regulatory and procurement activities. This Westinghouse AP-1000, already operating in the U.S., will be constructed by Bechtel as a key partner in the proposed U.S. delivery team. Project construction for the three-unit site in northeastern Poland will generate almost 40,000 well-paying U.S. manufacturing, engineering and related jobs that support the project. Actual construction is expected to begin in 2026. 

    This agreement is also a significant milestone for the U.S.-Poland strategic relationship and underscores the commitment of the United States to work with Poland and other partners in the region to advance global energy security. The cooperation between the two countries will strengthen U.S. leadership in Europe and bolster America’s position as a secure and reliable provider of civil nuclear energy. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Energy Secretary Chris Wright Delivers Keynote Remarks at the Three Seas Business Forum in Warsaw, Poland

    Source: US Department of Energy

    WARSAW, POLAND— U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright delivered keynote remarks today at the Inaugural Session of the Three Seas Business Forum. 

    Secretary Wright’s full remarks from the Three Seas Business Forum are below:

    It is a great honor to stand here before you all at the 2025 Three Seas. A truly visionary idea from 10 years ago to unite the proud Central European nations in building infrastructure and investment in pursuit of opportunity and prosperity.

    Eight years ago, President Trump addressed the Three Seas right here in Poland and I will quote his words: “We support your drive for greater prosperity and security. We applaud your initiative to expand infrastructure. And we welcome this historic opportunity to deepen our economic partnership with your region.” 

    I can’t top those words, but I can reiterate them today. The United States stands here in partnership with all of you. We seek to work with you all for much betterment via energy, economic and strategic cooperation. 

    President Trump’s agenda is simple: Prosperity at home and peace abroad. He was elected by the American people to bring back commonsense to Washington and focus on bettering the lives of our citizens and our allies. I am in a room full of allies. Thank you all for that. 

    I thank Poland for hosting this fabulous conference and for inviting me to attend. I thank Poland and its people for its steadfast alliance with the United States that began with our Revolutionary War and continues today, as evidenced by our growing cooperation in LNG and our large-scale partnership in nuclear energy that was highlighted earlier today with a signing ceremony and press conference. 

    This nuclear partnership is strategic and long-lasting. It will grow and scale as we jointly pursue expansions of nuclear deployment in Poland and other countries. I am here to celebrate this emerging nuclear partnership between the United States and Poland, made possible through the tireless efforts of President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk.

    Partnership in energy, if chosen wisely, tends to be very long lasting. The U.S. nuclear relationship with Poland will tightly bind our nations through the next century. I will come back to natural gas and nuclear at the end of my words. 

    This visit is personal to me. I love the Three Seas nations. You have faced grave geopolitical challenges throughout history and have always faced them with courageous resolve. 

    I traveled on my own to Czechoslovakia — yes, that was a country then — and Hungary in 1987. I saw a people struggling under an external yoke and stymied in their pursuit of freedom and prosperity. Yet, I also saw unbowed commitment to our universal values and a yearning for freedom. I engaged in hushed conversations with those that I met. I left with the conclusion that surely this externally imposed suppression cannot last forever. 

    Little did I realize then that it would all come crashing down only two and half years later. Amen. A fork in the road arrived and Central Europe chose freedom and prosperity. 

    As a lifelong energy entrepreneur, please allow me to be blunt regarding another fork in the road. This is a “time for choosing”, to quote the late, great President Ronald Reagan. 

    After the Global Financial Crisis 15 years ago, the major nations of Western Europe — not Central Europe — choose one side of a fork in the road and the U.S. chose the other side. On one side is energy for the sake of human flourishing. Energy that is abundant, secure, affordable and reliable. Energy that comes from innovation and choice. 

    This is the road to economic growth, advancing the interests of our citizens and securing the economic and national security of our nations. A simple realization that energy’s true purpose is to better human lives. Full stop. 

    I testified in the British House of Lords more than a decade ago, urging the U.K. to choose our side of the fork. I failed. 

    The other side of the fork deprives citizens, consumers of choice. It is top-down imposition of mandates for the energy system. This top-down imposition of enforced “climate policies” is justified as necessary to save the world from climate change. 

    Might the causation actually run in the opposite direction? Could it be instead that a desire to grow centralization and re-establish top-down control is best served by climate alarmism? Is it the chicken or the egg? I don’t know.

    But I can say that climate alarmism has clearly reduced energy freedom, and, hence, prosperity and national security across Western Europe. Let me say that again. Climate alarmism has reduced freedom, prosperity, and national security. 

    On the other hand, top-down diktats have not been successful in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. They have indeed reduced local Western European greenhouse gas emissions. Europe, however, represents only 8% of global emissions and this impoverishing energy model is unlikely to spread globally because the emissions reductions are mainly due to two highly undesirable factors: 

    First, as Germany and the U.K. have both illustrated, an expensive and unreliable energy system drives industry and economic activity out of national borders and towards other nations with more rational energy policies. Moving industry from your nation and to another nation. Is that success? I suggest it is not. 

    Second, we have seen that more expensive energy imposes on citizens an economic necessity to reduce energy consumption and shrink families spending power, which limits a nation’s citizens’ pursuit of hopes and dreams. 

    Germany has more than doubled its electricity generation capacity over the last 15 years, yet German electricity production today is 20% below where it was 15 years ago. And each unit of electricity has tripled in cost. Is that success?

    Let me illustrate my point via a macroeconomic comparison of the EU and the U.S. over the last 15 years since the fork in the road. 

    In 2010, the U.S. and the EU each represented roughly 25% of global consumption. Today, U.S. consumption has risen to 28% of global consumption and EU consumption has declined to only 18% in dollar terms. This data is from 2023, but I have not seen any recent reversal of this trend. 

    Surely many things are responsible for this dramatic divergence. It is my belief that diverging energy pathways has been the largest driver of economic outcomes. Affordable, reliable, secure energy is essential to economic prosperity and national security.

    The previous U.S. administration worked hard to move the United States onto that same fork. The fork with mandated, top-down, expensive, unreliable energy that would drive de-industrialization of America. The American people rejected this pathway after seeing the ruinous toll that lay down that road. Instead, they re-elected President Trump to bring back freedom and prosperity. 

    Before I conclude let me say a few more words about climate change. I have been engaged in the climate discussion for over 20 years, mostly in the areas of physical science and economics.

    Unfortunately, most of the climate action we hear today in the media has been in the politics and social science areas of climate change. I urge a little more focus on the science and economics. I believe that might help drive a more balanced and beneficial approach. 

    While climate change is a real physical phenomenon, nothing in the data indicates that climate change is even close to the world’s most urgent problem. In fact, the clarion conclusion from economic studies of climate change is that Net Zero 2050 is absolutely the wrong goal. Not only is it unachievable, but the blind pursuit of it will cause, is causing, far more human damage than climate change itself. 

    Over two billion people today still lack access to basic energy services like clean cooking fuels. Millions annually die from indoor air pollution from burning wood and dung indoors. More than half of humanity is still living their lives in hand washed cloths still not utilizing the enormous time-saving and women-liberating benefits of washing machines.

    Today, folks struggling to pay their bills while aspiring to live highly energized lifestyles like you and I is a far bigger global challenge than climate change. Energy access is far too important to get wrong. 

    Only a billion people live the highly energized lifestyles of the people in this room traveling to conferences, having custom controls on our temperatures, turning off our cooking stoves when we want, driving around in motorized transport or riding in motorized transport. Seven billion people only aspire to what we have. Fulfilling their energy aspirations is the energy challenge of our time. 

    For my friends tightly focused on climate change, no nation has reduced greenhouse gas emissions more than the United States. While the U.S. gets a little more than 80% of our energy from hydrocarbons, Germany still gets 74%. A little difference. Not a lot. Although the difference in human opportunity through energy cost and availability is a lot. 

    It turns out to be very hard to transform energy systems. Decarbonization will likely take generations. Only time and innovation will deliver the low-carbon affordable, reliable secure energy that will gain widespread adoption.

    The two biggest “climate solutions” in the coming decades are the same as they were in the last two decades, natural gas and nuclear, for the simple reason that they work. They supply affordable, reliable, secure energy. 

    Central Europe faces a time for choosing. You all have a long history of choosing freedom and sovereignty for your citizens. 

    We warmly welcome you to join us on Team Energy Freedom and prosperity for citizens. President Trump’s agenda of prosperity at home and peace abroad is a team sport! God bless you all.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The UK is working to tackle the root causes of displacement, including war, instability and repression: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    The UK is working to tackle the root causes of displacement, including war, instability and repression: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council briefing by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

    I want to start by underlining our wholehearted support for UNHCR and High Commissioner Grandi’s passionate leadership. You have steered the organisation through a decade of global change. 

    A decade of increasing conflict, climate shocks and instability.

    All these factors continue to push people from their homes, driving displacement ever higher. 

    In the world today, over 123 million people are forcibly displaced.

    In the face of such challenges, we must focus on solutions. 

    I will highlight three that are priority areas for the UK.  

    First, we will continue to do all we can to tackle the root causes of displacement, including war, instability, and repression. 

    We will work at all levels, including through this Council to protect the rules-based international system and promote peace. 

    We will work with international partners to tackle people smuggling and human trafficking, which exploits vulnerable people for financial gain. 

    Just this month, the UK led a successful Border-Security Summit, where we secured agreements between participating countries, to drive efforts to disrupt organised immigration crime and save lives.

    Second, we will seek solutions to regional and country-specific crises. 

    Many of which, from Ukraine to the Middle East, are the focus of this Council.

    This month, the UK hosted a conference on Sudan with humanitarian and political objectives, including support for an end to the conflict and easing the impact on the region and we were grateful for the participation of Commissioner Grandi along with other parts of the UN leadership.

    In Cox’s Bazar, we have funded UNHCR to support refugees’ access to healthcare, clean water and hygiene. 

    We will continue to advocate for safe, dignified and sustainable solutions for refugees, including at the UN Rohingya Conference in September.

    And third, we continue to push for innovative approaches to addressing displacement. 

    We support the High Commissioner’s Sustainable Responses Initiative, which supports refugee inclusion and self-reliance, and ownership of solutions by host countries. 

    We look forward to the Global Compact for Refugees meeting in December – a key moment to review progress on pledges we made in 2023, to deliver better outcomes for displaced people and host communities. 

    And we encourage others to join and sustain our collective efforts to achieve the Compact’s goals.

    In conclusion, President, to reverse the growing trend of displacement, we need to focus on solutions to the causes we have all discussed today.

    The UK is committed to working with UNHCR and other international partners and institutions to achieve this.

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK Resilience Academy to help secure Britain’s future with “generational upgrade” in emergency training

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    UK Resilience Academy to help secure Britain’s future with “generational upgrade” in emergency training

    Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has launched the UK Resilience Academy

    • Academy to train more than 4,000 public and private sector workers in crisis skills and expertise every year, strengthening resilience in communities across the UK.
    • Biggest upgrade to resilience workers’ occupational standards in a generation to help keep the public safe as part of the Plan for Change.
    • Pat McFadden unveils Risk Vulnerability Tool to help Ministers and civil servants support vulnerable groups during a crisis and learn lessons from the Covid pandemic.

    Communities up and down the country are set to be better protected in the face of national crises from today as the government opens the UK Resilience Academy – helping to secure Britain’s future as it delivers on the Plan for Change.

    The cutting-edge centre will transform crisis training for thousands of public and private sector workers, with at least 4,000 people set to be trained at the Academy’s North Yorkshire campus every year, on courses covering everything from business continuity planning, to crowd management and crisis communications.

    The UK Resilience Academy, which will train citizens, businesses, the emergency services, the Armed Forces and the Civil Service, will sit at the heart of a newly formed network of public and private sector organisations – including the College for National Security and the Defence Academy – who have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to improve the quality and accessibility of resilience training. 

    Today’s announcement comes as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster unveils new software that will allow decision makers to identify groups that are vulnerable to particular risks, by mapping real-time crisis data alongside demographic statistics.

    The Risk Vulnerability tool is now available to 10,000 ministers and civil servants across Whitehall and the Devolved Nations. It has been developed by the National Situation Centre and the Office for National Statistics, and will feed directly into government decision making during future crises. 

    Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: 

    Our first duty is to keep people safe – and through our Plan for Change, we are creating strong and resilient communities across the country. 

    Today, we’re making a generational upgrade to crisis training for thousands of workers, and helping decision makers identify vulnerable groups in a crisis. This is all part of our plan to secure Britain’s future.

    In extreme cold weather, the software would show demographic data, such as households that rely either on gas or electricity, or areas with elderly people who would need support with food supplies, alongside near real-time data such as live weather warnings and power outages, helping decision-makers target support to those most in need. When planning for potential flooding, ministers and officials can identify areas where people have less mobility, and target these if evacuation is needed.

    This capability will strengthen the government’s approach to crisis management and better protect vulnerable people – learning from past events such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: How agentic AI is driving AI-first business transformation for customers to achieve more

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: How agentic AI is driving AI-first business transformation for customers to achieve more

    The role of agentic AI has grown rapidly over the past several months as organizational leaders seek ways to accelerate AI Transformation. We firmly believe that Agents + Copilot + Human Ambition can deliver real AI differentiation for our customers. By putting the autonomous capabilities of an agent to work for their businesses, our customers are unlocking AI opportunity to realize greater value. The recent introduction of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is delivering on our promise of “Copilot for all” by providing frontline workers with a free, secure and enterprise-ready AI chat interface. Our customers are building their own custom agents with the no-code, low-code features of Microsoft Copilot Studio, allowing citizen and professional developers to extend the capabilities of Copilot and deliver on the unique needs of their industry. We also offer the best prebuilt agent framework right out-of-the-box, such as Sales Agent that works autonomously to help sellers build pipeline and close more deals with greater speed. Similarly, we recently announced general purpose reasoning agents — such as Researcher and Analyst — and invite all of our Microsoft 365 Copilot users to try these in their environments.

    It is exciting to see how agents are driving pragmatic AI innovation for our customers by increasing productivity, creating capacity across every role and function and improving business processes. Below are a few highlights from the past quarter that underscore the impact of an agentic AI approach — from improving employee experiences to streamlined workflows and significant cost savings.

    Agentic service management software provider Atomicwork leveraged Azure AI Foundry to create Atom — an AI agent that transforms the digital workplace experience for employees and automates service delivery. Adopters of this agentic management platform recognize significant benefits, such as reduced operational costs and increased employee satisfaction, with one customer achieving a 65% deflection rate within six months of implementation and projections of 80% by the end of the year. Integration within Microsoft Teams and other enterprise tools have further streamlined service delivery, allowing employees easier access to information and support. The company’s AI-driven approach has resulted in a 20% increase in accuracy and 75% reduction in response latency when compared to competing solutions.

    To support employees as they manage the high demand of internal requests and to create a more satisfying work environment, BDO Colombia used Copilot Studio and Power Platform to develop BeTic 2.0 — an agent that centralizes and automates key payroll and finance processes. The agent reduced operational workload by 50%, optimized 78% of internal processes and showed 99.9% accuracy in managed requests. It also helped reduce duplicative work, optimized workflows, improved the employee-client experience and continues to serve as a competitive differentiator for the company in the market.

    Dow is using agents to automate the shipping invoice analysis process and streamline its global supply chain to unlock new efficiencies and value. Receiving more than 100,000 shipping invoices via PDF each year, Dow built an autonomous agent in Copilot Studio to scan for billing inaccuracies and surface them in a dashboard for employee review. Using Freight Agent — a second agent built in Copilot Studio — employees can investigate further by “dialoguing with the data” in natural language. The agents are helping employees solve the challenge of hidden losses autonomously within minutes rather than weeks or months. Dow expects to save millions of dollars on shipping costs through increased accuracy in logistic rates and billing within the first year.

    As a leading provider of sustainable energy in Belgium, Eneco serves over 1.5 million customers. Facing performance issues with their existing chatbot, Eneco developed a new AI-driven agent using the no-code, graphical interface in Copilot Studio. This multilingual agent was deployed on the company website in just three months, integrating seamlessly with its live chat platform. The new agent manages 24,000 chats per month — an increase of 140% over the previous solution — and resolves 70% more customer conversations without a handoff to a live representative. For requests that do require escalation, the agent provides an AI-generated summary of the conversation for a more optimized call center experience.

    To reimagine trend forecasting and consumer marketing, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. leveraged Copilot Studio to develop ConsumerIQ — an agent that centralizes and streamlines consumer data to enable instant access to actionable insights. Using natural language prompts, the agent reduced the time required for marketers to gather data from hours to seconds, while accelerating decision-making and helping prevent duplicated research. Together with Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Search, teams can gather data, identify trends, build marketing assets, inform research and move products to market faster.

    To create proposals and streamline knowledge retrieval and organization, Fujitsu leveraged Azure AI Agent Service within Azure AI Foundry to develop an intelligent, scalable AI agent for sales automation. The agent boosted productivity of sales teams by 67% while addressing knowledge gaps and allowing them to build stronger customer relationships. This transformation allowed teams to shift from time-intensive tasks to strategic planning and customer relationship building, while also supporting new hires with product information and strategic guidance.

    To reduce manual tasks and help employees deliver exceptional experiences, global baker Grupo Bimbo established its first ever technology Center of Excellence. Using Power Platform solutions and Copilot Studio, teams created 7,000 power apps, 18,000 processes and 650 agents to reduce busy work and enhance consumer service. By automating low-value tasks, the company saved tens of millions of dollars annually in development efforts and operational efficiencies. Grupo Bimbo also migrated to Azure for its AI capabilities, scalability, security and rapid time to market for apps.

    KPMG developed Comply AI — an agent that helps identify environment, social and governance compliance. Using Microsoft AI technologies, the agent helps identify relevant obligations, generate statements in natural language, assess control effectiveness and redraft control descriptions. This has already helped one of its customers achieve 70% improvement in Controls and Risks descriptions, an 18-month reduction in compliance program timelines and a 50% cut in ongoing compliance efforts. KPMG is also using an agent to support new hires by providing templates and historical references to speed up the onboarding process and reduce follow-up calls by 20%.

    To significantly enhance its customer service operations, T-Mobile used Power Apps to develop PromoGenius — an app that combines promotional data from multiple systems and documents to keep frontline retail employees equipped with the latest promotional information for customers. Using Copilot Studio, the company embedded an agent in the app so customer service representatives can instantly search for technical details from device manufacturers and create a customer-facing view of product information in a fraction of the time a manual search would require. PromoGenius is the second most-used app in the company, with 83,000 unique users and 500,000 launches a month.

    Using Copilot Studio, Virgin Money developed Redi — an agent serving as a digital host within a mobile app for credit card customers. The agent, trained to understand colloquialisms and even known to tell jokes, serves as a secure way for customers to get answers quickly while understanding appropriate context for when a live representative is required. The company views this agent as a tool for its employees to better serve customers, handling over one million interactions, boosting customer satisfaction and becoming one of the bank’s top-rated service channels. Redi now supports customers across Virgin Money’s digital platforms and has been recognized with an industry award for AI in financial services.

    To help employees navigate countless procedures, evolving regulations and complex banking systems, Wells Fargo built an agent through Teams to ensure fast and accurate customer support. Using large language models, the agent provides instant access to guidance on 1,700 internal procedures across 4,000 bank branches. Employees can now locate needed information faster without support from a colleague, with 75% of searches happening through the agent and response times reduced from 10 minutes to 30 seconds.

    There is immense potential for agents to drive AI-first differentiation for organizations everywhere, especially when combined with Copilot and human ambition. At Microsoft, we believe AI is about empowering human achievement, unlocking potential and democratizing intelligence for as many people as possible with our cloud and AI solutions — as evidenced by these AI Transformation stories of more than 700 customers and partners. I look forward to partnering with you to unlock continued AI opportunity, drive pragmatic innovation and realize meaningful business impact for your organization.

    Tags: AI, Azure AI Agent Service, Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Search, Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Teams, Power Platform, Researcher and Analyst, Sales Agent

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Investing in American leadership in quantum technology: the next frontier in innovation

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Investing in American leadership in quantum technology: the next frontier in innovation

    Artificial intelligence has captured the public imagination—and with good reason. It’s transforming how we work, create, learn, and navigate the world. But as AI carries the headlines, we also are on the cusp of another technological frontier: quantum computing. Long the domain of theory, quantum technologies are edging closer to reality, with profound implications for the world and American national competitiveness and security. As basic research and private sector advancements accelerate, a new global race is picking up steam. Now is the time for the United States and its allies to double down and invest in their strengths to claim the quantum frontier.

    Quantum technologies harness the mysterious and powerful behaviors of particles at the atomic level, offering unprecedented capabilities in computing, communication, and sensing. A single quantum computer at scale could offer more computing power than collectively exists in all of today’s computers. And like AI, quantum computing not only has the potential to transform entire sectors of our economy, but tackle previous insurmountable problems, opening pathways in science, medicine, and technology. The possibilities for chemistry, drug discovery, materials, energy, and agriculture provide promise in solving some of the defining challenges of our time.

    Microsoft’s recent quantum breakthrough adds to the breadth and pace of quantum science innovation. The development of our Majorana quantum chip leverages the unique properties of so-called “Majorana quasiparticles,” creating qubits that are more stable and less prone to decoherence. This approach promises to overcome one of the biggest challenges in quantum computing, enabling the construction of scalable and more efficient quantum systems. We believe it’s the type of advancement that can help accelerate the timeline for practical quantum applications.

    Countries around the world understand the criticality of quantum technology to their own economic competitiveness and security. During his confirmation hearing earlier this year, Michael Kratsios, the White House Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), rightfully emphasized that the shape of the global order “will be defined by whomever leads across AI, quantum, nuclear, and other critical and emerging technologies.” It is no surprise that over the past decade, governments around the world have poured resources into the fiercely competitive global quantum race. China, in particular, seeks to challenge American leadership in quantum through significant investments in infrastructure, research, and workforce skilling.

    The Trump administration’s long-standing leadership in quantum science

    Since the earliest days of quantum sciences, the United States has led the research and development of this technology. While most believe that the United States still holds the lead position, we cannot afford to rule out the possibility of a strategic surprise or that China may already be at parity with the United States. Simply put, the United States cannot afford to fall behind, or worse, lose the race entirely.

    The Trump administration understands well the national imperative and the risks of falling behind. During his first term, President Trump set the foundation for sustained leadership in the quantum sciences. This included the passage of the National Quantum Initiative Act in December 2018 (currently up for reauthorization), which accelerated quantum research and development. The Trump administration inaugurated the National Quantum Coordination Office (NQCO) within the OSTP. This office was empowered to oversee interagency coordination, serve as a central point of contact for federal quantum activities, and promote public outreach and early application of quantum technologies. These initiatives underscored the administration’s commitment to maintaining the American leadership and fostering quantum innovation.

    Last month, President Trump emphasized that actions during his first term “established the foundation for national quantum supremacy” and tasked newly confirmed Director Kratsios to “blaze a trail to the next frontiers of science.” Meeting the moment demands another round of decisive action—one that must be rooted in the very principles that gave rise to the past century of American primacy in the sciences.

    Harnessing America’s heritage of scientific innovation

    For the last 80 years, the United States has led the world with its scientific and technological prowess, resulting in transformative products and capabilities. This federally funded science and technology ecosystem is essentially America’s golden goose. It generates immense wealth and benefits for society by supporting scientific progress that in turn drives economic growth, extends life expectancy, and boosts national power. In many respects, it is the envy of the world.

    The United States has not always prioritized federal funding in scientific research. In fact, before World War II, the United States played a minor role in supporting research at U.S. colleges and universities. Instead, research institutions relied on philanthropic endowments or funding from private companies, often with vested interests. “Curiosity-driven” science, a cornerstone of discovery and innovation, was stymied in the process.

    This limitation changed dramatically after World War II when the federal government recognized the strategic importance of scientific research. In November 1944, thinking ahead to the end of the war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote to Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, Vannevar Bush, asking how the successful application of scientific knowledge to wartime problems could be carried over into peacetime—and requesting recommendations on a national policy for science. This initiative led to the creation of many of the research institutions and funding mechanisms that have driven American innovation for decades.

    For 80 years, American innovation has been driven by two critical ingredients. The first is basic research. This is based on curiosity rather than a profit motive, supported by federal funding, and pursued mostly by scientists at our universities and national labs. The second is private sector investment in product development by companies of all sizes. The United States, more than any other country, has mastered the process of bringing these together.

    This combination has led to spectacular discoveries with profound implications for our health, safety, and quality of life. Innovative cancer treatments, the laser, MRI, touchscreens, GPS, the internet, and even artificial intelligence are just a few of the successes from federal investment in research. These innovations have not only advanced science and improved lives but have also created entirely new industries and millions of jobs.

    The United States will need this extraordinary combination of resources more than ever to sustain its quantum leadership, especially as China invests more in its own quantum work.

    China’s focus on gaining quantum supremacy

    Since at least 2000, China has made quantum technology a cornerstone of its national technological strategy and has invested heavily to assert dominance in the quantum sciences. Over this time, China’s public spending on overarching R&D has grown 16-fold, placing it second in the world behind the United States for total spending. It surpassed Japan in 2009 and the combined R&D expenditures of the European Union countries over a dozen years ago, in 2013.

    The scale and focus of China’s efforts continue to accelerate. Last year alone, China announced a 10 percent increase in R&D with public reports indicating that China has increased government spending in quantum research to approximately $15 billion. This represents more than double what the European Union has pledged in quantum spending and eight times what the U.S. government previously planned to allocate. And earlier this year, China launched a government-backed venture fund worth 1 trillion yuan (approximately $138 billion) to support high-risk, long-term projects across various sectors, including quantum computing.

    In addition to state-directed quantum R&D funding, China has prioritized quantum infrastructure and domestic capabilities. The creation of the National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences, backed by over $1 billion, alongside a separate $10 billion investment in key projects such as the Micius satellite[1], and the Beijing–Shanghai backbone, underscores China’s ambition to dominate quantum technology—with the Chinese government hoping this institutional infrastructure will provide it with a significant advantage in developing and deploying quantum technologies at scale.[2] Moreover, during the last five years, China has methodically nationalized quantum efforts to pursue strategic, government-coordinated efforts that transition scientific breakthroughs into practical applications.[3]

    The importance of the federal research triad

    Given these coordinated efforts in China, sustained American quantum leadership will require continuing support across the federal government. Coordinated in substantial part by OSTP, American strength rests in substantial part on three federal agencies that collectively serve as the driving force of this leadership. The Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) possess the legislative authority and institutional capability to advance quantum technology research and development under existing Congressional mandates. This “research triad” provides a resilient science and technology research infrastructure as a bulwark against threats to our technological superiority. Indeed, perhaps more than any military capability, this American research triad is largely responsible for the preeminence of the United States’ global leadership over the past century.

    Each prong of this triad uniquely and collectively contributes to ensuring American technological superiority.

    For example, DOD, through the military labs and defense industrial base, provides a strong and reliable foundation for military readiness and battlefield dominance. There are several notable examples of research efforts funded by DOD for military applications that eventually found enormous civilian uses—the internet, GPS, and voice recognition are among countless other breakthrough technologies.

    DOE, through the network of national laboratories and university partnerships, provides a vital link to state and local communities across a range of national security priorities, such as maintenance of our strategic weapons (e.g., our nuclear weapons arsenal), energy security and innovation, and high-performance computing.

    And the NSF is perhaps the most robust frontline agency that supports workforce development goals in addition to promoting hugely important translational research through federal grants. Specifically, the NSF provides critical incentives for U.S. students to enter STEM fields from early education through post-graduate schooling by way of subsidizing their apprenticeships in research laboratories in colleges and institutions so they can learn from leading scientists and engineers who otherwise would not have the funds or resources to take on students.

    Three strategic actions to ensure American quantum leadership

    Winning the quantum race will require us to deploy and reinvest in our greatest American strengths: our intellect, our curiosity, and our drive to innovate and build. All these qualities are carried forward by the three great and enduring federal agencies that comprise our research triad. We will need to activate all three to succeed in the race to develop next-generation quantum technologies. More specifically, to win this race, we must deploy our research triad in three key areas: driving innovation through robust government-funded quantum research and innovation; developing quantum talent and a skilled quantum workforce; and directing efforts to secure the quantum supply chain.

    These strategic actions—described more fully below—will require DOD, DOE, and the NSF to work together to ensure our competitive edge in the face of intense global competition.

    1. Increase funding for quantum research and development

    To ensure leadership in quantum research, the U.S. government should consider prioritizing federal funding in quantum technologies through a directed approach. A survey by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a Washington-based think tank, suggested that China’s centralized funding approach might offer comparative advantages over the fragmented approach in the United States, where competing priorities can hinder systemic progress.

    To start with, the United States cannot win the quantum race without significant and sustained federally funded quantum research. While federal funding in quantum sciences more than doubled between 2019 and 2022 (from $456M in FY 2019 to $1,041M in FY2022), this funding started to decline during the last three years of the Biden Administration (from $1,041M in FY2022 to $998M in President Biden’s requested budget authority for FY25).[4] This means that the United States is not keeping pace—either with itself or with our global competitors.

    The first and most important step this Administration must take is fully funding research and grant programs in the basic and fundamental sciences across DOD, DOE national labs, and the NSF. As noted above, this research triad has been largely responsible for the sustained period of American technological leadership. We cannot make strides in the quantum race without reinvesting and building on these critical capabilities.

    Specific to the quantum sciences, Congress can begin by reauthorizing the National Quantum Initiative Act and this administration should work to ensure that all its programs are fully funded. This must include the Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes funded through the NSF, as well as the important work being led by the DOE’s National Quantum Initiative Centers. These initiatives were established through the National Quantum Initiative Act and are already demonstrating results, with each dollar of federal funding typically leveraging additional private sector investment. Expanding these proven programs would spur innovation in every region of the country while advancing American leadership in critical technologies of strategic importance.

    But even as we expand federal funding for the basic sciences and quantum research, the administration must simultaneously increase funding for government evaluation and validation programs that are focused on identifying scientific breakthroughs and supporting their continued development. DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) is the nation’s flagship program and must be expanded as public and private sector investments in quantum technology begin to bear fruit and achieve tangible results.

    2. Promote workforce and talent development

    Winning the quantum race requires the world’s best talent. While the United States and its institutions—both public and private—have thus far been able to leverage unique, highly skilled technical talent, the state of the domestic talent pipeline is alarming and requires immediate action. At a topline level, the U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is comprised of 36.8 million people of which foreign-born individuals make up 43 percent of doctorate-level scientists and engineers. That number is likely to increase given the wide gap between the United States and global competitors at the undergraduate level. In 2000, for example, the United States awarded 900,000 undergraduate degrees in STEM fields, compared to 2 million degrees in China and 2.5 million in India.[5]

    It is therefore no surprise that, when including all education levels, India and China were the leading birthplaces of foreign-born STEM workers in the United States, accounting for 29 percent and 12 percent respectively. The good news is that many international students have chosen to stay in the United States after completing their studies, contributing to the country’s technology innovation ecosystem. For example, according to the 2024 State of U.S. Science and Engineering Report, from 2018-2021, temporary visa holders—primarily from China or India—represented 37 percent of U.S. science and engineering research doctorate recipients. Over 70 percent of these doctorate recipients expressed an intention to reside in the United States following graduation. The same report indicated that when these doctorate recipients were surveyed in 2021 across all countries of citizenship and degree fields, the 5-year stay rate for those who were on temporary visas at graduation was 71 percent and the 10-year stay rate was 65 percent.

    In the quantum fields specifically, the number of quantum job postings globally outstrips qualified talent by as much as three to one. Currently, the European Union has the highest concentration of quantum talent, followed by India, China, and then the United States.[6] The United States faces a critical shortage of quantum-ready talent, particularly as other nations invest significant resources in their own national quantum programs and quantum research capabilities. Without concerted action by the federal government to address this skilling gap, even the most advanced quantum research programs will fail to translate into practical capabilities or economic benefits.

    The Trump administration can begin by launching a series of concerted efforts to expand the domestic pipeline. One historical analog is the National Defense Education Act of 1958, enacted in response to the Sputnik challenge. The NDEA provides a useful precedent for how targeted federal investment in technical education can rapidly address strategic workforce gaps.

    For starters, comprehensive STEM education programs must be introduced at all levels of education, from primary schools to universities, to develop a robust domestic pipeline of talent. Research has shown that elementary and secondary education in mathematics and science are the foundation for entry into postsecondary STEM majors and STEM-related occupations. To develop this pipeline, the Trump administration can leverage the existing strength and reach of the NSF. NSF programs, such as those specifically focused on the quantum sciences like the National Q-12 Education Partnership, are ready-made vehicles to promote awareness of STEM and quantum technology in K-12 institutions.

    Second, the United States can provide grants for quantum research and education to encourage students to pursue careers in this field, focusing not only on traditional four-year colleges but also community colleges and vocational programs that are often entry points for many Americans pursuing higher education. In 2021, the U.S. government supported 15 percent of full-time STEM graduate students (mostly doctoral degree students), a decline from the most recent high of 21 percent in 2004. Here, again, the administration should activate and expand NSF research initiatives, including the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) programs,[7] as well as those focused specifically on the quantum sciences such as the Next Generation Quantum Leaders Pilot Program envisioned by the CHIPS and Science Act. The National Quantum Virtual Laboratory is another promising initiative that would create shared research infrastructure and make quantum education more accessible to students and researchers across the country. Collectively, these national incentives enable the best and brightest of the world to conduct their cutting-edge research in the labs of the United States as opposed to the labs of our adversaries.

    Beyond looking to the NDEA to attract and develop the unique talent to lead the world in quantum development, the Trump administration can focus on three additional priorities.

    First, building on the themes described above, the administration should address the current talent gap in the current STEM workforce. Although there is no substitute for graduate degree programs to drive innovation in the quantum sciences, the broader quantum ecosystem would benefit greatly from an increase in the STEM workforce. To this end, the administration can again utilize the reach of the NSF to promote adult education, retraining, and professional development programs to facilitate current workers’ transition into quantum-related roles.

    Second, research universities also play a pivotal role as powerful economic engines in their communities, often ranking among the largest employers in their congressional districts while generating high-tech spin-off companies that create well-paying jobs. The presence of federally-funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) and university-affiliated research centers (UARCS)—which are not-for-profit organizations established to meet special long-term engineering, research, development, or other analytic needs—also attract private sector investment and create innovation clusters. But most importantly, these entities lead to organic skilling initiatives to up-level the existing labor market.

    Finally, with regard to foreign talent, it’s imperative that the United States continue to attract the world’s best and brightest. This requires developing fast-track immigration pathways for highly skilled individuals with unique technical expertise in the quantum sciences, and expanding the number of visas available to employ quantum STEM PhDs trained at American institutions. This also requires the United States to promote, coordinate, and potentially fund international research initiatives with strategic allies to facilitate cross-pollination of expertise and develop the talent pool within a sphere of select, like-minded countries.

    This includes deepening ties with strategic allies to advance our collective success in the quantum race. Denmark, for example, has continued the great legacy of Niels Bohr by creating a vibrant hub for quantum innovation—one that benefits not only Denmark, but the entire Nordic region and the United States. Through a steady, long-term strategy that has brought together the government, academic, private sector, and startup communities—including multilateral institutions, such as NATO’s Deep Tech Lab-Quantum hosted at the Niels Bohr Institute—Denmark has become a hotbed for quantum talent, as well as quantum research and early commercialization. For our part, Microsoft has benefited greatly from this rich ecosystem of talent and innovation through the Microsoft Quantum Lab on the outskirts of Copenhagen, where later this year we will expand our presence by opening a new state-of-the-art quantum research center.

    3. Ensure supply chain security for quantum technologies

    Securing our leadership in quantum technology requires a reliable supply chain and onshoring of key capabilities within the United States. This is a complex task that cannot be achieved without direct action by the federal government that tightly aligns to specific strategic objectives. To that end, the Trump administration could task the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee or another board of advisors to develop a detailed national strategy and execution plan aimed at de-risking the quantum supply chain. This strategy would focus on making the supply chain more independent, increasing the availability of quantum components, lowering prices, and introducing incentives to encourage the private sector to make the necessary investments in the United States for chip fabrication and assembly.

    More specifically, the U.S. strategy to secure the quantum supply chain must include at least three critical action items. First, the federal government can take a direct role through the Departments of Commerce and Energy to promote the diversification of essential quantum components and materials. This can be achieved through government-organized long-term purchase agreements and the deployment of strategic capital for widely needed components such as dilution refrigerators, superconducting cables, amplifiers, circulators, attenuators, lasers, and fiber at frequencies relevant for quantum technologies.

    Second, the administration should work to establish specialized facilities dedicated to the fabrication, packaging, prototyping, and manufacturing of quantum systems and their essential components, such as cryogenic systems, lasers, and advanced chips. By developing, testing, and ultimately producing essential components domestically, this initiative would reduce our dependence on foreign sources and work to mitigate the risk of supply chain disruptions.

    Finally, and most importantly, it is imperative to onshore domestic manufacturing of advanced technologies tailored for quantum devices and additional capabilities needed by American companies and research organizations. This includes design and fabrication of advanced lasers and optics, amplifiers, and advanced chip design and fabrication. It also includes critical capabilities for domestic cryogenic electronics fabrication and design, advanced metrology to characterize chips for quantum computing, and advanced packaging and 3D integration for quantum components.

    The way forward

    At the start of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order to advance American leadership in artificial intelligence. President Trump should now do the same with quantum by setting national priorities that support robust funding, promote a skilled workforce, and protect supply chain security through incentivized onshoring. Taken together, these strategic actions will not only bolster our nation’s security and competitive edge against competitors and adversaries, but it will also drive innovation and economic growth at home towards a new frontier of American prosperity.

    [1] Karen Kwon, “China Reaches New Milestone in Space-Based Quantum Communications,” Scientific American, June 29, 2020, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-reaches-new-milestone-in-space-based-quantum-communications.

    [2] One likely goal of these massive projects is undoubtedly to signal that the People’s Republic of China backs these investments, thereby attracting and retaining skilled professionals. According to the 2024 State of U.S. Science and Engineering Report developed, a regular report mandated by Congress, China is the top overall producer of science and engineering publications and international patents. For decades, the United States was the unparalleled leader in science and engineering doctorate awards until 2019 when we were surpassed by China. That being said, the United States remains the destination of choice for internationally mobile students, hosting 15% of all international students worldwide in 2020. National Science Board, The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2024, March 2024, https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20243/talent-u-s-and-global-stem-education-and-labor-force.

    [3] Hodan Omaar and Martin Makaryan, How Innovative is China, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, September 2024, https://www2.itif.org/2024-chinese-quantum-innovation.pdf.

    [4] National Science and Technology Council:  Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science, National Supplement to the President’s FY 2025 Budget, April 24, 2025, https://nqi.gov/supplement-fy2025-budget.

    [5] National Science Board, “The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2024,” March 2024, https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20243/talent-u-s-and-global-stem-education-and-labor-force.

    [6] McKinsey & Company, “Quantum Technology Monitor,”  April 2023,  https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business functions/mckinsey digital/our insights/quantum technology sees record investments progress on talent gap/quantum-technology-monitor-april-2023.pdf (defining quantum talent as “[g]raduates of master’s level or equivalent in 2019 in biochemistry, chemistry, electronics and chemical engineering, information and communications technology, mathematics and statistics, and physics.”).

    [7] National Science Foundation, “NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates,” accessed April 24, 2025, https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/reu; National Science Foundation, “NSF 24-503: Research Experiences for Teachers in Engineering and Computer Science,” accessed April 24, 2025, https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/research-experiences-teachers-engineering-computer-science/nsf24-503/solicitation.

    Tags: AI, quantum, STEM, Technology, United States

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: SNP offering hope amid ‘costly’ Labour decisions

    Source: Scottish National Party

    The SNP is offering hope and delivering for the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse whilst Labour offers cuts and despair says Shona Robison, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government.

    Speaking as she launched an SNP National Campaign Day in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, she highlighted how the SNP Government has introduced a number of policies to support households across the constituency with rising costs.

    These include:

    Meanwhile, Glasgow Disability Alliance has warned that Labour’s £5 billion of cuts to benefits that support disabled people will hit hundreds of thousands of Scots including 30,000 carers.

    On top of that, 15,000 children are being pushed into poverty by Labour’s two-child cap and average energy bills are rising by an average of £281 since Labour entered government.

    Locally, it gets worse for people in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse with the Labour-run South Lanarkshire Council – supported by the Tories – implementing a £45 garden waste charge and cuts to school buses; both of which Katy Loudon voted against as a local councillor.

    Shona Robison said having Labour in power at Westminster and in South Lanarkshire was costing the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse dearly and voting SNP would send them a strong message.

    Commenting at the launch she said, “Pensioners and families should get the support they need, and kids should be able to get the bus to school; but Keir Starmer’s Labour is taking these away, and making choices which have harmed families and worsened the cost of living crisis.”

    She pointed out that, in contrast, the SNP Government is delivering for families with policies like reversing Labour’s Winter Fuel Payment cut, scrapping the two-child cap and the Scottish Child Payment.

    “That’s exactly how we offer hope at a time when so many are struggling and it’s the message we are taking to doorsteps across this constituency on our National Campaign Day”, Ms Robison added.

    She concluded by stressing that Katy Loudon as the SNP MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, would not only send Labour a message but deliver an MSP who would put local priorities first and work for a better Scotland, free from damaging Labour decisions.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Secretary of State Extends Timeframe for Legacy Investigation Reports

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Secretary of State Extends Timeframe for Legacy Investigation Reports

    The Secretary of State has today, 28 April, extended the timeframe for Legacy investigation reports

    The Secretary of State has today signed a six month extension to a transitional provision made under the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, to allow investigating bodies to carry out post-investigative tasks until 31st October 2025.

    A transitional provision was made under the Act which specified that, where all that remains to be carried out by the investigating body is the preparation of the investigation report or something subsequent to that, it may carry out those post-investigative tasks until 30th April 2025.

    The Government received requests from the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, KENOVA and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to extend that provision in order to allow remaining post-investigative tasks to be carried out.

    The Government is committed to ensuring families receive information as soon as possible about what happened to their loved ones, so has agreed to extend the provision until 31st October 2025.

    The Government is committed to repeal and replace the Act. On 4 December 2024 the Secretary of State began this process by laying a proposed draft Remedial Order under the Human Rights Act. If adopted by Parliament, the Order will remedy all of the human rights deficiencies in the Act identified by the Northern Ireland High Court in February 2024 in the case of Dillon and Others and one issue from the Court of Appeal judgment in September 2024.

    The Secretary of State has also committed to introduce primary legislation when parliamentary time allows, which will reform and strengthen the independence, powers and accountability of the Independent Commission on Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Mercator Ocean’s transition to a European intergovernmental organization for ocean modeling (28.05.25)

    Source: Republic of France in English
    The Republic of France has issued the following statement:

    On April 22 and 23, 2025, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, Marine Affairs and Fisheries held an international conference to transition the non-profit organization Mercator Ocean International to an intergovernmental organization (IGO). This decision follows on from the commitments made at the One Ocean Summit, which was held on February 10, 2022, in Brest.

    Since it was founded by major French institutes 30 years ago, Mercator Ocean has become a European champion of ocean modeling and marine forecasting. Its transformation into an intergovernmental organization will allow Mercator to continue developing its work, in particular by digitizing ocean movements. This tool will boost ocean analysis and prediction capabilities in order to prevent climate risks. The new organization will advise governments, offer innovative services to those working in the maritime economy, and help raise citizens’ awareness about protecting the marine environment.

    The conference brought together representatives from Belgium, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands and Portugal and saw the adoption of the text of the convention establishing Mercator International Centre for the Ocean (MICO), which will be open for signature at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3). France and Costa Rica will co-chair UNOC3, which will be held in Nice from June 9-13.

    The establishment of the future organization’s headquarters in Toulouse reflects France’s policy of attracting international organizations and reinforces Toulouse’s role in the field of planetary space observation and scientific research to advance global priorities.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Secretary General welcomes German Federal President to NATO to mark 70 years of Germany’s membership in the Alliance

    Source: NATO

    On Monday (28 April 2025), NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier to NATO to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany’s accession to NATO. Mr Steinmeier was accompanied by the Acting Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius.

    The Secretary General and the German Federal President laid a wreath together at the NATO headquarters in Brussels and held bilateral talks. Mr Rutte emphasised that a strong Germany matters for Europe’s security and for global stability, “with troops along the eastern part of the Alliance, jets patrolling the Baltic skies, and ships protecting key supply lines and critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Germany is also the largest European contributor of military aid to Ukraine,” he said.

    This year Germany marks 70 years of membership in NATO, an anniversary that reflects its deep commitment to peace, security and international cooperation. Since becoming NATO’s 15th member in 1955, just a decade after the Second World War, Germany has undergone a remarkable transformation from a divided, war-torn nation to one of NATO’s leading members. It stands as a symbol of how former adversaries can become pillars of peace through shared values and collective defence. 

    Following the ceremony at the NATO headquarters, the German Federal President met with Philippe, King of the Belgians, at the Palace of Laeken.  

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Police appeal over stabbing in Southwark

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a man was assaulted in a public park.

    Around 21:40hrs on Friday, 11 April, officers attended Newington Gardens, Southwark, alongside the London Ambulance Service following reports that a man had been stabbed. A 19-year-old was taken to hospital for treatment, where his injuries were assessed as non-life changing.

    Police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident – or who has relevant CCTV or dashcam footage if they were around Newington Gardens at the time – to call 101, quoting CAD 7827/11APR. To remain 100 per cent anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

    A man has been charged with wounding with intent and appeared in court.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: François Villeroy de Galhau: Preserving our transatlantic values, beyond present unpredictability

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Ladies and Gentlemen, 

    It is my pleasure to be here in New York City; and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Noel Lateef and the Board of Directors of the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) for organising this event and awarding me the FPA medal. It really strikes a chord with me, as I will explain, and even more today when our transatlantic ties are so unfortunately under stress. 

    I. A very special gratitude to the FPA, and to your country

    I am both honoured and humbled to be included among the distinguished recipients of the FPA medal. These include prominent central bankers, such as Paul Volcker of the Federal Reserve or Jean-Claude Trichet of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Banque de France. This medal also has a personal resonance. I discovered in depth your beautiful country in March 1990, during a month-long trip of 15 so called “Young European leaders” invited by the German Marshall Fund. The United States welcomed us with open arms, taking us from New York City to Seattle, and from Detroit to Raleigh (NC). This was a time of hope, four months after the fall of the Berlin Wall; this was a time of mutual trust across the Atlantic built on the victory of freedom and democracy. This trip left me with a lasting friendship and admiration for the American people. 

    In a more collective dimension, I like to think that this medal is a testament to the common values and principles that this Association and the central banking community both strive to uphold. Your Association was founded at the end of the First World War by Americans committed [with President Woodrow Wilson] to creating closer ties between nations. It has since worked tirelessly to foster meaningful dialogue on the most pressing international issues, notably through its famous World Leadership Forum. This is especially important at a time when multilateralism is experiencing an unprecedented crisis. 

    Another common value, beside dialogue, is the importance of public engagement. For more than a century, the FPA and its Great Decisions programme have successfully promoted a more effective participation by American citizens in international affairs. Greater knowledge is indeed the key to informed opinion, and thus to a stronger democracy. At both the Banque de France and the ECB, fostering engagement with the wider public is also a priority. We regularly organise events directly involving the public such as the “Rencontres de la politique monétaire” [Monetary Policy Forums] similar to the “US Fed listens”. Greater clarity and transparency for our fellow citizens also helps to better anchor inflation expectations and thus to better ensure our price stability mandate.

    II. How to restore trust?

    Hence, let me please speak here not only as the French Governor, but as a committed friend of your country and a dedicated European. It is more crucial than ever, across the Atlantic, (1) to tell the truth, (2) to fully assess the damage of a trade war, and (3) to open the way for a possible positive dialogue.

    1) Telling the truth

    We, Europeans, heard with surprise some weeks ago that “the EU was created to screw the US”. With due respect, let me recall history. The European Union was constructed after WWII to lastingly establish peace, democracy and the market economy in Europe. These are three key American values, and this Union was legitimately founded with American support, as was the Franco-German reconciliation – so difficult, yet so decisive. 

    Furthermore, it is important to set the record straight on economics. No, international trade is not a zero-sum game, where one country’s gain is necessarily another country’s loss. On the contrary, it is the most effective way to prosper together by exchanging goods and services, ideas, talent, and innovation. And yes, our transatlantic bond is deep, balanced and mutually beneficial. The United States and the EU are the world’s two largest economies, maintaining one of the largest bilateral economic relationships, which amounted to around USD 900 billion in goods and USD 800 billion in services in 2023i. While the EU runs a trade in goods surplus with the United States (USD 234 billion in 2023), the services deficit has widened substantially in the last years (USD 125 billion in 2023)ii. Net primary income flows in favor of US firms – mostly composed of investment income such as profits and asset returns – also offset the trade in goods surplus, ultimately leading to a balanced current account (USD 19 billion in 2023). The effective applied tariffs between the EU and the United States were close before recent developments, with the EU imposing a 3.95% tariff on US products, while the United States applied a 3.5% tariff on EU productsiii. And let me remind here the obvious: value-added tax (VAT) is not a customs duty; it is levied on the final value of imported and domestically produced goods equally, like the sales tax in the US. EU and US firms have long established a robust investment presence in each other’s markets. European majority-owned affiliates directly employed an estimated 5.3 million US workers in 2023iv. European-based investors play a crucial role in the strength of the US economy, representing close to 50% of all foreign holdings of US securities in 2023v. 

    2) The possible damage of a trade war is huge

    The new measures announced as well as the increasing unpredictability, constitute a major negative shock to the global economy, but first and foremost to the US economy. 

    According to convergent analyses by several US and international banks and today by the IMF, the United States could suffer in 2025 from an average estimated loss of around one percentage point in annual growth and a similar-sized rise in underlying inflation. But bad news for the US is bad news for all, and for Europe. According to preliminary assessments, there could be a direct negative impact of at least a quarter of a percentage point to euro area GDP growth in 2025. Nevertheless, this depends on the outcome of the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs. The impact on inflation remains more uncertain but could be as a whole negative. Our baseline scenario for France and the euro area remains however that of an exit from inflation – returning to our 2% target this year – without a recession.

    Financial markets reacted very negatively to these trade announcements with the unusual combination of a sharp drop in US equity indexes, a rise in US long term bond yields, and a broad-based decline in the US dollar value. The economic uncertainty may possibly threaten financial stability. Such deeply negative financial effects would also result from attacks on the independence and credibility of central banks, as we saw very recently. 

    I don’t mean that the latest globalisation wave was a fairy tale: it had its problems and its imbalances, both social and financial. But the current lose-lose game will obviously increase them, and in no way solve them.

    3) Is there a way for a possible positive dialogue?

    I still hope there is, and let me share three more positive reflections to conclude with:

    a) Let us use the 90-day pause to seriously talk. The least economically harmful option would be indeed to negotiate – a bold European proposal, zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods, is already on the table – and then de-escalate the situation rather than setting off a transatlantic spiral of tariff hikes. So far, Europeans have reacted in a remarkably united and calm manner. The European Commission has prepared a series of retaliatory measures – in case it would be unfortunately needed – but deferred its application. It is also in Europe’s interest to maintain open trade ties with a maximum amount of partners from the Americas to Asia: increasing the number of balanced free trade agreements – including Mercosur – is a strategic priority.

    b) Europe and France also need to become stronger. The only positive I see in this situation, as I said already last November with my German colleague Joachim Nagel , it is a wake-up call for Europe. This is of course the case in terms of defence. But also, in economic matters, where we have the duty and the means to better master our own destiny. We need a “general mobilisation” focusing on three imperatives, 3 ‘i’s taking the best of the impressive economic success of America, or if you prefer, size multiplied by muscle multiplied by speed. First, we need to integrate the single market more. This means playing on its size – as large in GDP terms as the United States – by removing internal barriers in several areas such as services and energy. We also need to invest better, giving priority to the most promising breakthrough innovations, and particularly those related to AI. To succeed, we need to build financial muscle through a genuine Savings and Investments Union (SIU) fostering more our abundant private savings towards equity and venture capital. Finally, we need to innovate faster. Europe needs simplification: less bureaucracy, fewer procedures and shorter deadlines. But simplification is not deregulation, the European approachvii  will remain firm on the objectives, but be more nimble in design. And to successfully implement these three imperatives, we urgently need a binding, visible and not too distant calendar: such a calendar will mobilise all our political and economic forces, as did in the past the 1 January 1993 for the single market and the 1 January 1999 for the single currency.

    c) Europe and the United States can still commit to a “pragmatic multilateralism”, more focused on some practical themes of common interest, to name just a few: financial stability, cross-border payments and crypto-assets, cybersecurity, the fight against financial crime and the prevention of extreme climate events. Let us preserve the multilateral institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, born and hosted in this great country, with more focused ambitions.

    I will conclude by quoting Alexis de Tocqueville, a famous Frenchman – you may recall his influential work “Democracy in America” – who also had the privilege of discovering America during a memorable study trip two hundred years ago. “There is nothing more fruitful in wonders than the art of being free”.viii I mentioned shared transatlantic values: one cardinal value, freedom, is the driving force behind America’s outstanding economic performance. Let us continue as much as possible to cultivate it together, through trade, innovation and robust dialogue! Thank you for your attention. 

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to power outages across Spain and Portugal

    Source: United Kingdom – Science Media Centre

    Scientists comment on power outages across Iberian Peninsula, possibly caused by induced atmospheric vibration.

    Professor Solomon Brown, Professor of Process and Energy Systems at the University of Sheffield, said:

    “My understanding is that the power systems are connected through ‘interconnectors’ in the same way that Scotland and the rest of the GB network are connected, and also GB with other parts of Europe. This means that there is interdependency between the networks but also that they will have to be re-started separately.

    “As the two networks have gone down they will have to be re-powered, which means that the grid operator will slowly bring on key generators matched with users (so that production and consumption of electricity match) in regions of the network that slowly expand until the whole system is back on and can then be reconnected to external networks. This process can take a number of hours and may have to be attempted more than once if things don’t go smoothly.”

    Declared interests

    Professor Solomon Brown “No interests to Declare”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE supports Ukraine in fighting illicit trafficking of firearms and explosives

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE supports Ukraine in fighting illicit trafficking of firearms and explosives

    Panellists at an expert roundtable on preventing and combating illicit trafficking of weapons, ammunition and explosives (WAE) in Ukraine, Kyiv, 25 April 2025. (OSCE) Photo details

    The OSCE, in partnership with Ukraine’s Ministry of Interior, convened an expert roundtable to discuss various aspects of preventing and combating illicit trafficking of weapons, ammunition and explosives (WAE) in Ukraine on 25 April.
    The roundtable focused on the development of Ukraine’s national control system over firearms, which is a permit-based system that streamlines proper storage and adherence to public carry restrictions of civilian firearms. More than 50 representatives of Ukrainian law enforcement sector, parliament and international organizations that provide subject matter support to Ukraine attended the event held in Kyiv.
    “Counteracting the illicit trafficking of weapons cannot be postponed to later – our joint actions today define safety and security of our communities tomorrow. Even during the war, we introduce systemic solutions for better tracing and thus control over firearms, which is a unique experience by itself,” said Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Interior in his opening address.
    Reflecting on the threats illicit weapons currently pose in Ukraine, the participants shared their thoughts on appropriate response measures, such as improving national legislation on firearms, strengthening inter-agency co-ordination, implementing awareness raising campaigns, as well as enhancing capabilities of Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies in detection and investigation of illicit WAE. How to work closely with the Ukrainian society in curbing illicit circulation of firearms in the country was also discussed.
    “The recently launched mechanism for voluntary declaration of unregistered weapons and further digitalization of this process is a tangible step of the Ukrainian government towards reducing the risks of gun violence in Ukraine. Understanding deep trauma caused by the war and people’s natural desire of self-protection, it is important to build trustful relations between competent authorities and the population against illicit possession of firearms,” said Petr Mareš, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairpersonship – Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.
    The crucial role of the international support and synergy among all assistance providers on combating illicit WAE and affiliated threats in Ukraine was emphasized to ensure tailored address for Ukraine’s needs. Shawn DeCaluwe, Deputy Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre highlighted the OSCE’s role in providing training, specialized equipment and a platform for regular co-ordination among the organizations supporting Ukraine’s efforts in combating illicit WAE.
    The event was held as part of the OSCE extrabudgetary project “In support of strengthening the capacities of Ukrainian authorities in preventing and combating illicit trafficking of weapons, ammunition and explosives in all its aspects”, financed by the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Slovakia and Poland.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Remarks by President António Costa at the joint press conference with Prime Minister of Bulgaria Rossen Jeliazkov

    Source: Council of the European Union

    In the context of his visit to Bulgaria, European Council President António Costa visited the Trakia University in Stara Zagora. Addressing the press, he highlighted the importance of strengthening Europe’s economy, security and cohesion. He also praised Bulgaria’s efforts in innovation, research and defense, emphasising its contribution to a more prosperous and secure EU.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Africa Finance Corporation Appoints Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as Chair of Board of Directors

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    LAGOS, Nigeria, April 28, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) (www.AfricaFC.org), the continent’s leading instrumental infrastructure solutions provider, today announced the appointment of Mrs Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as Chair of its Board of Directors. She succeeds Mr. Emeka Emuwa who has completed 12 years of meritorious service to the Corporation.

    Mrs. Samuel-Ogbu brings a wealth of experience spread over three decades leading and transforming the banking sector in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Until recently, she led Citi’s institutional businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, with oversight across Banking, Markets and Services. During this period, she steered the franchise through significant macroeconomic and regulatory headwinds, strengthening its strategic momentum and resilience.

    Her international career within Citibank included senior leadership roles across over 50 countries in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, during which time she worked in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, and South Africa.

    Mrs. Samuel-Ogbu has extensive boardroom experience including Citibank Nigeria where she was a Non-Executive Director for 6 years and Chair of the Risk Committee prior to becoming the Managing Director. She also served on the board of CHAPS Clearing UK, the high value payment system now operated by the Bank of England and a UK-based charity, Opportunity International. Her extensive experience and unwavering dedication to the advancement of Africa make her a valuable asset to AFC at a time when the Corporation is more committed than ever to accelerating Africa’s transformation through bold investments, innovative financing models and catalytic partnerships.

    AFC recently delivered a record-breaking FY2024 financial performance, with total revenue increasing by 22.8% to US$1.1 billion, surpassing the US$1 billion milestone for the first time. This strong performance was driven by several transformational projects including acting as the Lead Project Developer for the Lobito Corridor, a transformative multi-country transport network connecting Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), financing of the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC — one of the world’s highest-grade, low-carbon underground copper mines and financing support for the commissioning of the Dangote Refinery, the largest in Africa.

    Speaking on the appointment, Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC, said: ” We are delighted to welcome Mrs Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as Chair of the Board. Her wealth of experience, visionary leadership and deep understanding of Africa’s financial landscape will be invaluable as we navigate our next phase of growth- expanding our impact, mobilising urgently needed capital and delivering transformative projects that enable inclusive and sustainable prosperity across the continent.”

    Mrs Ireti Samuel-Ogbu commented: “I am honoured to take on the role of Chair at AFC, an institution that serves as a trusted bridge between international capital and Africa’s dynamic growth opportunities. I look forward to working closely with the board, management, and all stakeholders to advance the Corporation’s mission and strengthen its role as the leading provider of strategic, investment-driven solutions that unlock Africa’s full economic potential.”

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Winning hearts and power: how Mali’s military regime gained popular support

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Morten Bøås, Research Professor, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

    Mali’s interim president, Colonel d’Armée Assimi Goïta, who came to power in a coup on 18 August 2020, enjoys remarkably strong public support. Survey data from pan-African research network Afrobarometer and the Mali-Métre survey, run by Germany’s Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung since 2012, indicate high levels of satisfaction with junta rule. In the 2024 Mali-Métre, nine out of ten respondents considered the country to be moving in the right direction.

    Yet economic conditions are worsening for Malians. In a recent analysis the World Bank pointed out that the junta was finding it difficult to deliver services amid sluggish growth, high inflation and extreme poverty.

    That Malians still seem to be very satisfied with their leader needs some explanation.

    In a recent paper, we draw on our extensive fieldwork experience in Mali. We argue that Goïta has crafted a new social contract based on a strongman narrative, portraying himself as Mali’s defender. The regime has used dissatisfaction with international interventions to frame Goïta as an “exceptional man” in “exceptional times”, in ways that resonate with Malian myths and traditions.

    We show how the regime’s new social contract is based not on public services but on the idea of Goïta as Mali’s defender and liberator. In this way, the regime has established a social bond with the population that places dignity above all.

    A new social bond

    In 2012, Mali experienced a severe crisis triggered by a separatist rebellion in the northern regions of the country. Jihadist insurgent groups took over the rebellion, leading to a military coup. International interventions followed. The regional grouping Ecowas, the UN and France made efforts to restore security, stability and peace.

    But the deployment of 5,000 French troops and 15,000 UN peacekeepers failed to prevent a deterioration in security.

    At the same time, Mali’s democratic institutions failed to restore territorial control and address corruption and poverty, despite regular elections being held.

    Mass protests calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta paved the way for the 2020 military takeover.

    These failures offered the junta a rich repertoire to draw on for its own legitimacy. With Goïta came a new narrative, not about liberal state-building and development, but about restoring Malian sovereignty and dignity.

    These ideas are conveyed through speeches at forums like the UN general assembly and public addresses shared through the media, along with an organised network of online influencers.

    Public debates about fighting the forces of neocolonialism and reclaiming sovereignty predate the junta. The regime has harnessed these sentiments. It contrasts decades of indignity, weakness, and dependence on France with a glorified vision of Mali’s ancient past.

    Popular protest movements such as Yerewolo Debout sur le Remparts have long done the same.

    Now, so the narrative goes, Goïta has emerged as a hero capable of leading his people towards a new age in which Mali is treated with respect.

    This framing has rekindled the legacy of Thomas Sankara, the late military leader of Burkina Faso (1983–1987). Often dubbed Africa’s Che Guevara, Sankara was a charismatic revolutionary known for his passionate speeches, bold stance against corruption, and efforts to challenge former colonial powers. He was assassinated in a coup in 1987, but his legacy continues to inspire young Africans.

    Regime figures, particularly foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop, often refer to legends and historical narratives as part of this myth-making:

    According to recent survey data from the Mali-Mètre, 70% of Malians identified combating insecurity as their highest priority. This indicates how many Malians feel they face a threat similar to the one that existed when the Malinke people pleaded with Sunjata to be their saviour.

    Thus, in an environment of chaos, war, confusion and despair, a hunter-warrior hero is needed. This agent can not only save society, but re-set it in an orderly and just manner, bringing dignity to his people if they undergo the necessary sacrifices.

    This story requires a villain. Finding culprits in Mali was not difficult. All it required was harnessing of social frustrations already directed against France and other external forces failing to combat insurgents and restore security.

    A unifying enemy

    As shown by Afrobarometer and Mali-Mètre, many Malians, as poor and destitute as they may be, take comfort from the regime’s confrontations with and – as it is presented to them – victories over such formidable adversaries as France and the UN.

    With nearly 60% of its population under the age of 25, Mali is one of the youngest countries in the world. The Malian case shows a youthful African population that is desperate for social change and willing to endure hardship to reach their promised land.

    The current political landscape in Mali, and in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger where conditions are similar, is an invitation to reconsider local agency. Citizens actively and rationally respond to their political contexts. Writing off people as ignorant or stupid will not advance understanding of the new political terrain.

    Our journal article is part of a forthcoming special issue in the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding.

    – Winning hearts and power: how Mali’s military regime gained popular support
    – https://theconversation.com/winning-hearts-and-power-how-malis-military-regime-gained-popular-support-254518

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Sustainable aviation fuel revenue certainty mechanism

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Written statement to Parliament

    Sustainable aviation fuel revenue certainty mechanism

    Update on government actions to support the UK sustainable aviation fuel sector.

    Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is integral to reaching net zero aviation by 2050. It reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by around 70% on average over the lifecycle of its production and use when replacing fossil kerosene. It is also an enabler of growth, and can provide good, skilled jobs across the UK.

    That is why this government has taken rapid action to support SAF. Just weeks into office, we reiterated our commitment to the SAF Mandate. In November (2024), we signed it into law, and it has been in place since January (2025).

    The SAF Mandate is the UK’s key policy mechanism to secure demand for SAF. It delivers GHG emission savings by encouraging the use of SAF within the aviation industry. It does this by setting a legal obligation on fuel suppliers in the UK to supply an increasing proportion of SAF over time. Suppliers receive certificates for the SAF they supply. Certificates are issued in proportion to the level of GHG emission reductions that the fuel delivers. That is, the greater the savings, the greater number of certificates they receive. The SAF Mandate started at 2% of total UK jet fuel demand in 2025 and increases linearly to 10% in 2030 and then to 22% in 2040. It could deliver up to 6.3 million tonnes of carbon savings per year by 2040.

    We are also committed to developing the UK SAF industry to secure a UK supply of SAF, attract investment and create good green jobs across the UK.

    In January, we announced an additional £63 million of funding for the Advanced Fuels Fund, our grant funding programme for UK SAF production, extending the programme for another year.

    We are also introducing a revenue certainty mechanism to help attract investment into UK SAF production. Under the SAF revenue certainty mechanism, SAF producers will enter into a private law contract with a government-backed counterparty. These contracts will set a strike price for SAF: if producers sell their SAF for below the strike price, the counterparty makes payments of the difference; if the SAF is sold for above the strike price, the producer makes payments of the difference to the counterparty. This addresses the most significant constraint on investment in SAF production and sends a clear signal to investors: that this is a serious UK investment opportunity.

    This government has made significant progress towards delivering the revenue certainty mechanism. We announced that we will be introducing a revenue certainty mechanism bill in the first session of this Parliament in the King’s Speech and will have the legislation in place by the end of 2026 at the very latest.

    In 2050, up to 15,000 jobs and £5 billion gross value added (GVA) in the UK could be supported with future low carbon fuel production for the domestic and international markets. The revenue certainty mechanism, along with the government’s modern industrial strategy, will provide a launchpad for this sector to drive growth and investment.

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Šiaulių Bankas Group results for 3M 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Profit. Šiaulių Bankas Group earned a net profit of €17.7 million
    • Fee and commission income. Net fee and commission income exceeded €7.5 million, up 17% year-on-year
    • Loan portfolio. The loan portfolio exceeded €3.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year
    • Financing structure. The bank successfully placed €300 million bond issue on the international markets
    • Buybacks. The bank has requested the ECB for authorisation to purchase 4.5 million of own shares
    • Rebranding. Šiaulių Bankas will become Artea as of 5 May 2025.

     

    “We are about to take a historic step by becoming Artea in early May. This is more than just a new name. It is a strategic initiative to strengthen our relationship with private and corporate clients, the public and investors, and to become the first choice bank for customers in Lithuania.

    We are fully focused on this important strategic change from the beginning of the year, which we believe will support long-term business. Our first quarter were in line with our market guidance,” says Vytautas Sinius, Chief Executive Officer of Šiaulių bankas.

    Šiaulių Bankas Group earned unaudited net profit of €17.7 million in the first quarter of 2025, which is 21% less than in the corresponding period of 2024. Operating profit before impairment and income tax amounted to €24.5 million, down 18% compared to an operating profit of €30.0 million in the corresponding period of 2024.

    Net fee and commission income in Q1 2025 grew by 17% y-o-y to over €7.5 million, while net interest income decreased by 13% y-o-y to €34.4 million.

    All loan book segments grew during the quarter, with the total loan portfolio increasing by 2% (€76 million) to €3.5 billion. New credit agreements signed in the first quarter amounted to €0.4 million, 6% more than in the corresponding period of 2024 (€0.37 million).

    The quality of the loan portfolio remains very strong, with loan provisions of €1.9 million in Q1 2025 (€2.2 million in the corresponding period of 2024). The Cost of Risk (CoR) of the loan portfolio was 0.2% in Q1 2025 (0.4% in the corresponding period of 2024).

    The customer deposit portfolio grew by 1% (€45 million) since the beginning of the year and exceeded €3.6 billion at the end of the quarter. Demand deposits grew by 4% (€67 million) during the quarter to over €1.7 billion.

    In the first quarter of this year, the bank’s funding structure was reinforced by €300 million senior preffered bond issue. As planned, the bank redeemed a subordinated bond issue of €20 million after the end of the quarter.

    The group’s cost-to-income ratio at the end of the quarter was 52.6%1 (Q1 2024: 42.1%1) and the return on equity was 12.4% (Q1 2024: 17.6%). The group has accumulated capital and liquidity reserves, which include a contingent reserve for changes in CRR3 regulatory requirements to be implemented by June 30, 2025. Preliminary prudential ratios – the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 22.8%2, while the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) stood at 254%2.

    The bank’s strong and sustainable capital base has enabled it not only to pay out a record dividend for 2024 (50% of 2024 net profit, €0.061 per share), but also to achieve a higher return to shareholders through the use of a buybacks of its own shares. The bank plans to continue its own share buybacks under the ECB’s authorisation and intends to buy back up to 2.65 million shares. In the first quarter of 2025 the bank has also submitted an additional request for ECB authorisation to purchase up to 4.5 million own shares

    Income Statement (€`m)

    2025 3M YTD

    2024 3M

    % ∆

     

     

    Net Interest Income

    34.4

    39.6

    -13%

    Net Fee and Commission Income

    7.6

    6.5

    17%

    Other Income

    6.4

    11.4

    –44%

    Total Revenue

    48.3

    57.4

    -16%

     

     

    Salaries and Related Expenses

    -14.0

    -11.3

    24%

    Other Operating Expenses

    -9.9

    -16.1

    –39%

    Total Operating Expenses

    -23.8

    -27.4

    –13%

     

     

    Operating Profit

    24.5

    30.0

    -18%

    Provisions

    -2.2

    -2.2

    1%

    Income Tax Expense

    -4.6

    -5.4

    -14%

     

     

    Net Profit

    17.7

    22.5

    -21%

     

     

    Balance Sheet Metrics (€`m)

    2025.03.31

    2024.12.31

    % ∆

     

     

    Loan Portfolio

    3 511

    3 435

    2%

    Total Assets

    5 286

    4 923

    7%

    Deposits

    3 606

    3 561

    1%

    Equity

    561

    585

    -4%

     

     

    Assets under Management3

    1 957

    1 977

    -1%

    Assets under Custody

    1 964

    1 936

    1%

     

     

    Key indicators

    2025 3M YTD

    2024 3M

    ∆

     

     

    Net Interest Margin (NIM)

    3.0%

    3.9%

    -94bp

    Cost-to-Income Ratio (C/I)1

    52.6%

    42.1%

    +1054bp

    Return on Equity (RoE)

    12.4%

    17.6%

    -521bp

    Cost of Risk (CoR)

    0.2%

    0.4%

    -15bp

    Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR)2

    22.8%

    21.1%

    +169bps

     

    Overview of Business Segments

    Corporate Client Segment

    The volume of new business finance contracts in Q1 2025 was €0.2 billion, the same as a year before. Since the beginning of the year, the business loan portfolio grew by 2% (€33 million) to almost €1.9 billion. The strong growth is maintained by the high quality of the loan portfolio, with a partial release of provisions on the corporate loan portfolio Q1 2025, with a Cost of Risk (CoR) of -0.21%.

    The bank’s continues to diversify growth across strategic sectors such as manufacturing, retail and renewable energy. The favourable business environment has stimulated investment and created additional opportunities for expansion.

    Private Client Segment

    In Q1 2025, the volume of new mortgage contracts increased by 90% to €76 million compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of the year, the housing loan portfolio has grown by 5% (€43 million) to almost €1 billion.

    The volume of new consumer finance contracts fell by 9% year-on-year to €49 million in Q1 2025 compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of the year, the consumer loan portfolio grew by 1% (€5 million) to almost €0.4 billion.

    The bank continues to implement strategically important projects, modernising its core banking platform in line with the plan and rebranding. Šiaulių bankas will becomes Artea as of 5 May.

    Investment Client Segment

    In an environment of decreasing base rates, customers continue to invest and save actively. In Q1 2025, the value of bonds issued on behalf of corporate clients amounted to €64 million. At the end of the quarter, the value of assets under custody amounted to almost €2 billion.

    At the end of Q1 2025, the assets managed by SB Asset Management remained above €1.4 billion. The performance of the managed pension funds continues to rank among the best compared to competitors, both since the beginning of the year and over longer 3- and 5-year periods. Thanks to the applied Index Plus investment strategy—where part of the funds is allocated to private debt, real estate, and other private assets—the funds experience lower volatility during turbulent periods, while maintaining high returns.

    1eliminating the impact of SB Insurance’s client portfolio
    2Preliminary data
    3 includes assets managed by asset management and modernisation funds

    Šiaulių bankas invites shareholders, investors, analysts and all interested parties to a webinar presentation of the financial results for the first quarter of 2025. The webinar will start at 08:30 (EEST) on 29 April 2025. 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, +370 610 44447

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Winning hearts and power: how Mali’s military regime gained popular support

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Morten Bøås, Research Professor, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

    Mali’s interim president, Colonel d’Armée Assimi Goïta, who came to power in a coup on 18 August 2020, enjoys remarkably strong public support. Survey data from pan-African research network Afrobarometer and the Mali-Métre survey, run by Germany’s Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung since 2012, indicate high levels of satisfaction with junta rule. In the 2024 Mali-Métre, nine out of ten respondents considered the country to be moving in the right direction.

    Yet economic conditions are worsening for Malians. In a recent analysis the World Bank pointed out that the junta was finding it difficult to deliver services amid sluggish growth, high inflation and extreme poverty.

    That Malians still seem to be very satisfied with their leader needs some explanation.

    In a recent paper, we draw on our extensive fieldwork experience in Mali. We argue that Goïta has crafted a new social contract based on a strongman narrative, portraying himself as Mali’s defender. The regime has used dissatisfaction with international interventions to frame Goïta as an “exceptional man” in “exceptional times”, in ways that resonate with Malian myths and traditions.

    We show how the regime’s new social contract is based not on public services but on the idea of Goïta as Mali’s defender and liberator. In this way, the regime has established a social bond with the population that places dignity above all.

    A new social bond

    In 2012, Mali experienced a severe crisis triggered by a separatist rebellion in the northern regions of the country. Jihadist insurgent groups took over the rebellion, leading to a military coup. International interventions followed. The regional grouping Ecowas, the UN and France made efforts to restore security, stability and peace.

    But the deployment of 5,000 French troops and 15,000 UN peacekeepers failed to prevent a deterioration in security.

    At the same time, Mali’s democratic institutions failed to restore territorial control and address corruption and poverty, despite regular elections being held.

    Mass protests calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta paved the way for the 2020 military takeover.

    These failures offered the junta a rich repertoire to draw on for its own legitimacy. With Goïta came a new narrative, not about liberal state-building and development, but about restoring Malian sovereignty and dignity.

    These ideas are conveyed through speeches at forums like the UN general assembly and public addresses shared through the media, along with an organised network of online influencers.

    Public debates about fighting the forces of neocolonialism and reclaiming sovereignty predate the junta. The regime has harnessed these sentiments. It contrasts decades of indignity, weakness, and dependence on France with a glorified vision of Mali’s ancient past.

    Popular protest movements such as Yerewolo Debout sur le Remparts have long done the same.

    Now, so the narrative goes, Goïta has emerged as a hero capable of leading his people towards a new age in which Mali is treated with respect.

    This framing has rekindled the legacy of Thomas Sankara, the late military leader of Burkina Faso (1983–1987). Often dubbed Africa’s Che Guevara, Sankara was a charismatic revolutionary known for his passionate speeches, bold stance against corruption, and efforts to challenge former colonial powers. He was assassinated in a coup in 1987, but his legacy continues to inspire young Africans.

    Regime figures, particularly foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop, often refer to legends and historical narratives as part of this myth-making:

    According to recent survey data from the Mali-Mètre, 70% of Malians identified combating insecurity as their highest priority. This indicates how many Malians feel they face a threat similar to the one that existed when the Malinke people pleaded with Sunjata to be their saviour.

    Thus, in an environment of chaos, war, confusion and despair, a hunter-warrior hero is needed. This agent can not only save society, but re-set it in an orderly and just manner, bringing dignity to his people if they undergo the necessary sacrifices.

    This story requires a villain. Finding culprits in Mali was not difficult. All it required was harnessing of social frustrations already directed against France and other external forces failing to combat insurgents and restore security.

    A unifying enemy

    As shown by Afrobarometer and Mali-Mètre, many Malians, as poor and destitute as they may be, take comfort from the regime’s confrontations with and – as it is presented to them – victories over such formidable adversaries as France and the UN.

    With nearly 60% of its population under the age of 25, Mali is one of the youngest countries in the world. The Malian case shows a youthful African population that is desperate for social change and willing to endure hardship to reach their promised land.

    The current political landscape in Mali, and in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger where conditions are similar, is an invitation to reconsider local agency. Citizens actively and rationally respond to their political contexts. Writing off people as ignorant or stupid will not advance understanding of the new political terrain.

    Our journal article is part of a forthcoming special issue in the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding.

    Morten Bøås receives funding for the research that this article is based on from the Research Council of Norway – grant number 325236

    Viljar Haavik receives funding from the Research Council of Norway: Grant Number 325236.

    – ref. Winning hearts and power: how Mali’s military regime gained popular support – https://theconversation.com/winning-hearts-and-power-how-malis-military-regime-gained-popular-support-254518

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Dividend Payments ex-date of Coop Pank AS

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    For the year of 2024 Coop Pank AS will pay dividend in the net amount of 7,00 eurocents per share. The list of shareholders entitled to receive dividend will be established as at 02.05.2025 COB in the settlement system. Consequently, the day of change of the rights related to the shares (ex-date) is set to 30.04.2025. From this day onwards, the person acquiring the shares will not have the right to receive dividend for the financial year 2024. Dividend shall be disbursed to the shareholders on 06.05.2025.

    Coop Pank, based on Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The number of clients using Coop Pank for their daily banking reached 213,000. Coop Pank aims to put the synergy generated by the interaction of retail business and banking to good use and to bring everyday banking services closer to people’s homes. The strategic shareholder of the bank is the domestic retail chain Coop Eesti, comprising of 320 stores.

    Additional information:
    Paavo Truu
    CFO
    Phone: +372 5160 231
    E-mail: paavo.truu@cooppank.ee

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Valuation Office Agency scrapped in government drive to slash inefficiencies

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    News story

    Valuation Office Agency scrapped in government drive to slash inefficiencies

    Reforms to cut red tape, make savings, and improve businesses’ experience of the tax system have been set out today (28 April 2025) by Tax Minister James Murray, helping to deliver the Plan for Change by creating the conditions for growth.

    • VOA to become part of HMRC to increase efficiency, business experience and ministerial accountability

    • Comes ahead of government’s review of the status of hundreds of Arm’s-Length Bodies to rewire Whitehall for a more agile state

    • Measure features as part of government’s Tax Update: Simplification, Administration and Reform (TUSAR) published today

    As part of the government’s drive to slash red tape, increase oversight and ministerial accountability and rewire Whitehall to be more productive and agile, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the arm’s-length body (ALB) responsible for valuing properties for council tax and business rates, will be brought into its parent department HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) by April 2026.

    This is the latest ALB to be moved into central government following the decision last month that the world’s biggest quango, NHS England, will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

    Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, said:

    We are determined to reduce the hassle of the tax system for British businesses and taxpayers. Ending the inefficiency and duplication of a standalone VOA will help us drive change faster and improve value for money.

    This government is determined to make public services more productive, helping to deliver our Plan for Change and put more money in peoples’ pockets.

    The VOA’s work supports the collection of over £60 billion in council tax and business rates each year, and also provides commercial property valuation services to the public sector. 

    The move will improve the experience of taxpayers and businesses by cutting the time spent managing taxes and upgrading the customer experience during the transition to a reformed business rates system.

    Having become chair of HMRC’s board last year to strengthen political accountability and delivery, this will help deliver James Murray’s three priorities for HMRC: improving customer service, closing the tax gap, and modernising and reforming services.

    The majority of the VOA’s functions will be brought into HMRC by April 2026, and is expected to deliver between 5 to 10% of additional savings in VOA administrative costs by 2028-29.

    The announcement is part of the government’s Tax Update: Simplification, Administration and Reform (TUSAR) published today.

    As part of this update, 41 measures to reform and simplify the tax and customs system have been announced, making it more modern and effective, and creating the right conditions to support the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.

    These measures include cutting red tape for small businesses by simplifying VAT administration through changes made to the VAT Capital Goods Scheme – a scheme allowing businesses to reclaim VAT on expensive capital items, based on their long-term use.

    The government will bring forward legislation to remove computer equipment from the Scheme’s qualifying assets. It will increase the threshold value for capital expenditure value of on land, buildings and civil engineering work from £250,000 to £600,000.

    This will free up time and resources spent on tax administration for around 105,000 commercial properties which will be removed from the scheme.

    Benefitting businesses, the government has also today published a consultation on a VAT relief to encourage charitable donations.

    Currently firms do not pay VAT on any goods they donate which are then sold on, for example through a charity shop. However, if goods, such as hygiene supplies and cleaning products, are not sold but are instead distributed free of charge to those in need, VAT must be paid for if it has been previously reclaimed by the business.

    The consultation is to introduce a UK-wide VAT relief for a range of goods which businesses donate to charities to give away free of charge to people in need.

    Mr Murray also announced that Scotch whisky makers will see an average 95% saving on their licensing costs from this summer through simplifying licensing.

    Producers of traditional spirits drinks which are protected by geographic Indication status, such as ‘Scotch whisky’ or ‘Somerset Cider Brandy’, are required to pay verification fees to HMRC.

    This can cost up to £11,410 every two years, and today James Murray announced that, from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2031, all spirit producers will start paying a flat fee of £250 every two years, regardless of the product.

    Further information

    • For more information on the 41 reforms measures announced, read the Written Ministerial Statement.

    • The new VAT relief on donated goods could include goods which are donated to charities for them to use, however such an approach would be paired with protections against VAT evasion, such as a low value limit on eligible goods. For example, the relief would not permit the commercial arm of an organisation buying IT equipment then donating it to a charitable wing to avoid VAT. The consultation seeks views on this.

    • Until today’s announcement, computers costing more than £50k were subject to the requirements of the Capital Good Scheme (CGS). The CGS was introduced in 1990 to ensure VAT recovery on long-life assets reflects their use over time. For land, buildings and engineering work, businesses need to review the taxable use annually over a 10-year period. It prevents schemes that use the asset for taxable activities, recover VAT, and then switch the use to exempt or non-business activity which would reduce the amount of VAT they should pay.

    • The Spirit Drink Verification Scheme is for the registration and verification of geographical indicators (GI) associated with spirit drinks. For example, the term “Scotch Whisky”. Those registered under the scheme pay verification fees to HMRC as part of an assurance process which checks whether products meet the specification associated with that GI. Although not a formal licensing scheme, only those products verified may lawfully carry those GI terms to describe them.

    • See the policy documents from the Tax Update Simplification and Reform Update 2025

    Updates to this page

    Published 28 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Prime Minister’s statement on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Speech

    Prime Minister’s statement on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

    Prime Minister Liz Truss’s statement on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

    2022 Truss Conservative government“>

    This was published under the 2022 Truss Conservative government

    Prime Minister Liz Truss’s statement on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

    We are all devastated by the news we have just heard from Balmoral.

    The death of Her Majesty The Queen is a huge shock to the nation and to the world.

    Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built.

    Our country has grown and flourished under her reign.

    Britain is the great country it is today because of her.

    She ascended the throne just after the Second World War.

    She championed the development of the Commonwealth – from a small group of seven countries to a family of 56 nations spanning every continent of the world.

    We are now a modern, thriving, dynamic nation.

    Through thick and thin, Queen Elizabeth II provided us with the stability and the strength that we needed.

    She was the very spirit of Great Britain – and that spirit will endure.

    She has been our longest-ever reigning monarch.

    It is an extraordinary achievement to have presided with such dignity and grace for 70 years.

    Her life of service stretched beyond most of our living memories.

    In return, she was loved and admired by the people in the United Kingdom and all around the world.

    She has been a personal inspiration to me and to many Britons. Her devotion to duty is an example to us all.

    Earlier this week, at 96, she remained determined to carry out her duties as she appointed me as her 15th Prime Minister.

    Throughout her life she has visited more than 100 countries and she has touched the lives of millions around the world.

    In the difficult days ahead, we will come together with our friends…

    ….across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world…

    …to celebrate her extraordinary lifetime of service.

    It is a day of great loss, but Queen Elizabeth II leaves a great legacy.

    Today the Crown passes – as it is has done for more than a thousand years – to our new monarch, our new head of state:

    His Majesty King Charles III.

    With the King’s family, we mourn the loss of his mother.

    And as we mourn, we must come together as a people to support him.

    To help him bear the awesome responsibility that he now carries for us all.

    We offer him our loyalty and devotion just as his mother devoted so much to so many for so long.

    And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country,

    – exactly as Her Majesty would have wished –

    by saying the words…

    God save the King.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortinet Threat Report Reveals Record Surge in Automated Cyberattacks as Adversaries Weaponize AI and Fresh Techniques

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FortiGuard Labs 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report highlights a boom in Cybercrime-as-a-Service on the darknet, fueling a lucrative market for credentials, exploits, and access

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
            
    News Summary

    Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced the release of the 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report from FortiGuard Labs. The latest annual report is a snapshot of the active threat landscape and trends from 2024, including a comprehensive analysis across all tactics used in cyberattacks, as outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The data reveals that threat actors are increasingly harnessing automation, commoditized tools, and AI to systematically erode the traditional advantages held by defenders.

    “Our latest Global Threat Landscape Report makes one thing clear: Cybercriminals are accelerating their efforts, using AI and automation to operate at unprecedented speed and scale,” said Derek Manky, Chief Security Strategist and Global VP Threat Intelligence, Fortinet FortiGuard Labs. “The traditional security playbook is no longer enough. Organizations must shift to a proactive, intelligence-led defense strategy powered by AI, zero trust, and continuous threat exposure management to stay ahead of today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape.”

    Key findings from the latest FortiGuard Labs Global Threat Landscape Report include:

    • Automated scanning hits record highs as attackers shift left to identify exposed targets early. To capitalize on newfound vulnerabilities, cybercriminals are deploying automated scanning at a global scale. Active scanning in cyberspace reached unprecedented levels in 2024, rising by 16.7% worldwide year-over-year, highlighting a sophisticated and massive collection of information on exposed digital infrastructure. FortiGuard Labs observed billions of scans each month, equating to 36,000 scans per second, revealing an intensified focus on mapping exposed services such as SIP and RDP and OT/IoT protocols like Modbus TCP.
    • Darknet marketplaces fuel easy access to neatly packaged exploit kits. In 2024, cybercriminal forums increasingly operated as sophisticated marketplaces for exploit kits, with over 40,000 new vulnerabilities added to the National Vulnerability Database, a 39% rise from 2023. In addition to zero-day vulnerabilities circulating on the darknet, initial access brokers are increasingly offering corporate credentials (20%), RDP access (19%), admin panels (13%), and web shells (12%). Additionally, FortiGuard Labs observed a 500% increase in the past year in logs available from systems compromised by infostealer malware, with 1.7 billion stolen credential records shared in these underground forums.
    • AI-powered cybercrime is scaling rapidly. Threat actors are harnessing AI to enhance phishing realism and evading traditional security controls, making cyberattacks more effective and difficult to detect. Tools like FraudGPT, BlackmailerV3, and ElevenLabs are fueling more scalable, believable, and effective campaigns, without the ethical restrictions of publicly available AI tools.
    • Targeted attacks on critical sectors intensify. Industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services continue to experience a surge in tailored cyberattacks, with adversaries deploying sector-specific exploitations. In 2024, the most targeted sectors were manufacturing (17%), business services (11%), construction (9%), and retail (9%). Both nation-state actors and Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) operators concentrated their efforts on these verticals, with the United States bearing the brunt of attacks (61%), followed by the United Kingdom (6%) and Canada (5%).
    • Cloud and IoT security risks escalate. Cloud environments continue to be a top target, with adversaries exploiting persistent weaknesses such as open storage buckets, over-permissioned identities, and misconfigured services. In 70% of observed incidents, attackers gained access through logins from unfamiliar geographies, highlighting the critical role of identity monitoring in cloud defense.
    • Credentials are the currency of cybercrime. In 2024, cybercriminals shared over 100 billion compromised records on underground forums, a 42% year-over-year spike, driven largely by the rise of “combo lists” containing stolen usernames, passwords, and email addresses. More than half of darknet posts involved leaked databases, enabling attackers to automate credential-stuffing attacks at scale. Well-known groups like BestCombo, BloddyMery, and ValidMail were the most active cybercriminal groups during this time and continue to lower the barrier to entry by packaging and validating these credentials, fueling a surge in account takeovers, financial fraud, and corporate espionage.

    CISO Takeaway: Strengthening Cyber Defenses Against Emerging Threats
    Fortinet’s Global Threat Landscape Report provides rich details on the latest attacker tactics and techniques while also delivering prescriptive recommendations and actionable insights. Designed to empower CISOs and security teams, the report offers strategies to counter threat actors before they strike, helping organizations stay ahead of emerging cyberthreats.

    This year’s report includes a “CISO Playbook for Adversary Defense” that highlights a few strategic areas to focus on:

    • Shifting from traditional threat detection to continuous threat exposure management: This proactive approach emphasizes continuous attack surface management, real-world emulation of adversary behavior, risk-based remediation prioritization, and automation of detection and defense responses. Utilizing breach and attack simulation (BAS) tools to regularly assess endpoint, network, and cloud defenses against real-world attack scenarios ensures resilience against lateral movement and exploitation.
    • Simulating real-world attacks: Conduct adversary emulation exercises, red and purple teaming, and leverage MITRE ATT&CK to test defenses against threats like ransomware and espionage campaigns.
    • Reducing attack surface exposure: Deploy attack surface management (ASM) tools to detect exposed assets, leaked credentials, and exploitable vulnerabilities while continuously monitoring darknet forums for emerging threats.
    • Prioritizing high-risk vulnerabilities: Focus remediation efforts on vulnerabilities actively discussed by cybercrime groups, leveraging risk-based prioritization frameworks such as EPSS and CVSS for effective patch management.
    • Leveraging dark web intelligence: Monitor darknet marketplaces for emerging ransomware services and track hacktivist coordination efforts to preemptively mitigate threats like DDoS and web defacement attacks.

    Discover how FortiGuard Labs Advisory Services combine cutting-edge technology and expert services to help organizations strengthen their security posture before threats emerge. In the event of an incident, FortiGuard Labs offers swift, effective response and in-depth forensic analysis to minimize impact and prevent future intrusions, delivering comprehensive protection in today’s increasingly volatile digital landscape.

    Additional Resources

    About Fortinet
    Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTS”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

    Copyright © 2025 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAgent, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAuthenticator, FortiCache, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiCNP, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiCSPM, FortiCWP, FortiDAST, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevSec, FortiDLP, FortiEdge, FortiEDR, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFlex FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiGuest, FortiHypervisor, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLAN, FortiLink, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPAM, FortiPenTest, FortiPhish, FortiPoint, FortiPolicy, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiScanner, FortiSDNConnector, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiSRA, FortiStack, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM, FortiXDR and Lacework FortiCNAPP. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Aktsiaselts Infortar 2024 audited Annual Report

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The Supervisory Board of Aktsiaselts Infortar approved the audited annual report for 2024 and will submit it to the Annual General Meeting for approval.

    Major events

    Maritime transport

    In the summer, Infortar invested €110 million in acquiring Tallink Grupp (Tallink) shares, increasing its shareholding in Tallink to 68.5%.

    The total number of passengers in 2024 reached 5.6 million. As of the end of the financial year, Tallink operated 14 vessels. Three vessels were chartered out during the year. The number of transported cargo units exceeded 303,000, and passenger vehicles transported totalled 777,000.

    Energy

    Infortar’s subsidiary, Elenger Grupp (Elenger), signed a €120 million agreement with the German energy conglomerate EWE AG to acquire EWE Group’s business operations in Poland. The transaction included natural gas assets, a distribution network in Western Poland, and all energy sales segments.

    In 2024, Elenger sold a total of 18.4 TWh of energy (15.9 TWh in 2023). Sales in Estonia accounted for 16% of the total energy sales in 2024. The company’s market share in gas sales across the Finland-Baltic gas market for the year was 24.3%.

    Real estate

    Infortar’s real estate portfolio has expanded from 100,000 to 141,000 square meters over the past year. At the end of last year, the Rimi logistics centre in Saue received its occupancy permit. This summer, a new bridge in Pärnu will be completed, followed by the opening of Lasnamäe’s second DEPO store in Estonia next year. In early 2028, the Kangru-Saku section of the Rail Baltica main route will also be completed.

    Key figures of financial year

    Key figures 12 months 2024 12 months 2023
    Sales revenue. m€ 1 371.775 1 084.626
    Gross profit. m€ 128.628 149.473
    EBITDA. m€ 145.275 143.283
    EBITDA margin (%) 10.6% 13.2%
    Operating profit. EBIT. m€ 77.024 123.628
    Total profit(-loss). m€1,2 193.670 293.830
    EPS (euros)2 9.36 14.62
    Total equity m€ 1 166.221 820.210
    Total liabilities m€3 1 223.287 441.160
    Net debt m€4 1 055.708 354.045
    Investment loans to EBITDA (ratio)5 3.0x 1.7x

    1.The 2024 financial year total profit includes a one-off revaluation of €94 million, mainly arising from the acquisition of Tallink. The 2023 financial year profit includes a one-off revaluation of €159 million, mainly arising from the acquisition of Gaso.

    2. In the Q4 and 12-month annual results reported on 25 February 2025, the consolidated total profit for the financial year was €173.351 million, and earnings per share (EPS) amounted to €8.46. Adjustments have been made in the audited figures, mainly related to the purchase price allocation of Tallink Grupp, resulting in an increase of €20.319 million in the total profit for the annual year and an increase of earnings per share (EPS) by 0.9 euros.

    3–4. The significant increase in liabilities and net debt is due to the consolidation of Tallink’s loans into Infortar’s financial statements in 2024.

    5. Infortar Group’s investment loans / EBITDA ratio. For 2024 Tallink’s 12-month EBITDA (€265.447 million) has been used for comparability purposes

    Revenue

    2024. financial year, the group´s consolidated sales revenue increased by €287.149 million reaching €1 371.775 million (compared to €1 084.626 million in 2023). A significant impact was made by the consolidation of Tallink Grupp’s results into Infortar’s consolidated financial statements starting from August 1, 2024.

    EBITDA and Segment Reporting

    Maritime transport Segment: The EBITDA for the maritime transport segment in 2024 financial year was €175.181 million (compared to €214.528 million in the 2023 financial year). In segment reporting 100% Tallink results are presented.

    Tallink´s financial results were affected by difficult economic environment across all our home markets, and the lowest consumer confidence levels in a decade.

    Energy Segment: The EBITDA for the energy segment of the 2024 financial year was €77.235 million (compared to €135.999 million in 2023). Warmer winter led to a decrease in sales volumes, which in turn impacted profitability in the fourth quarter.

    Real Estate Segment: The profitability assessment considers the EBITDA of individual real estate companies. The EBITDA for the real estate segment of the 2024 financial year was €13.567 million (compared to €12.39 million in 2023). Three new buildings at Liivalaia 9, Tähesaju 9, and Tähesaju 11 were included in the accounting for the 2023 financial year.

    Total Profit

    The consolidated total profit for the 2024 financial year was €193.67 million (compared to €293.83 million in the 2023 financial year). One-off significant impacts included the effects related to the acquisition of Tallink in 2024 and Latvian gas distribution company Gaso in 2023. The consolidated operating profit for the 2024 financial year was €77.024 million (compared to €123.628 million in 2023).

    Investments

    Infortar entered the agricultural sector by acquiring one of Estonia’s largest dairy farms in Halinga and began constructing a biomethane plant next to the farm for local biomethane production. Infortar invested €110 million in purchasing Tallink shares, increasing its shareholding in Tallink to 68,5%.

    Infortar subsidiary Elenger signed a €120 million agreement with the German energy group EWE AG to acquire EWE Group’s entire Polish business. The transaction includes the natural gas distribution network in Western Poland as well as all energy sales operations.

    Financing

    Loan and lease liabilities amounted to €1 223.287 million in 2024 financial year (compared to €441.16 million in 2023 financial year). Significant increase in the 2024 financial year is primarily due to the line-by-line consolidation of Tallink Grupp, which resulted in the full inclusion of Tallink’s liabilities among the group’s obligations.

    Proportionally to the growth in assets, Infortar’s net debt increased by €701.663 million, reaching €1 055.708 million (compared to €354,045 million in 2023 financial year). The net debt to EBITDA ratio was 3.4.

    Dividends

    According to the dividend policy, the objective is to pay dividends of at least 1 euro per share per financial year. Dividend payments are made semi-annually. Infortar Group’s management proposes to pay a dividend of 3 euros per share for the 2024 financial year results.

    Consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

    (in thousands of EUR) 12 months 2024 12 months 2023
    Revenue 1 371 775 1 084 626
    Cost of goods (goods and services) sold -1 243 034 -934 811
    Write-down of receivables -113 -342
    Gross profit 128 628 149 473
    Marketing expenses -21 086 -1 620
    General administrative expenses -50 438 -22 085
    Profit (loss) from biological assets -139 0
    Profit (loss) from the change in the fair value of the investment property -949 -4 074
    Profit (loss) from changes in the fair value of fixed assets -8 691  
    Unsettled gain/loss on derivative financial instruments 26 672 1 969
    Other operating revenue 4 682 2 523
    Other operating expenses -1 655 -2 558
    Operating profit 77 024 123 628
    Profit (loss) from investments accounted for by equity method 22 974 39 639
    Financial income and expenses 13 392 0
    Other financial investments -50 -4
    Interest expense -38 274 -22 573
    Interest income 4 979 2 765
    Profit (loss) from changes in exchange rates 100 -173
    Gain from bargain purchase 93 659 159 158
    Total financial income and expenses 73 806 139 173
    Profit before tax 173 804 302 440
    Corporate income tax 19 866 -8 610
    Profit for the financial year 193 670 293 830
    including:    
    Profit attributable to the owners of the parent company 191 253 293 778
    Profit attributable to non-controlling interest 2 417 52
    Other comprehensive income    
    Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss    
    Revaluation of post-employment benefit obligations -141 -44
    Items that may be subsequently reclassified to the income statement:    
    Revaluation of risk hedging instruments -45 792 -58 189
    Exchange rate differences attributable to foreign subsidiaries 53 -42
    Total of other comprehensive income -45 880 -58 275
    Total income 147 790 235 555
    including:    
    Comprehensive profit attributable to the owners of the parent company 145 514 235 503
    Comprehensive profit attributable to non-controlling interest 2 417 52
    Ordinary earnings per share (in euros per share) 9,36 14,62
    Diluted earnings per share (in euros per share) 9,12 14,15

    Consolidated statement of financial position

    (in thousands of EUR) 31.12.24 31.12.23
    Current assets    
    Cash and cash equivalents 167 579 87 115
    Short-term derivatives 8 333 28 728
    Settled derivative receivables 676 5 958
    Other prepayments and receivables 155 351 162 575
    Prepaid taxes 3 831 925
    Trade and other receivables 38 517 20 185
    Prepayments for inventories 2 498 3 493
    Inventories 215 914 146 884
    Biological assets 941 0
    Total current assets 593 640 455 863
    Non-current assets    
    Investments to associates 16 603 346 014
    Long-term derivative instruments 3 214 1 125
    Long-term loans and other receivables 35 163 9 072
    Investment property 67 931 176 024
    Property, plant and equipment 1 909 458 446 748
    Intangible assets 38 874 14 366
    Right-of-use assets 47 598 11 300
    Biological assets 2 753 0
    Total non-current assets 2 121 594 1 004 649
    TOTAL ASSETS 2 715 234 1 460 512
         
    (in thousands of EUR) 31.12.24 31.12.23
    Current liabilities    
    Loan liabilities 497 162 184 259
    Rental liabilities 9 020 1 766
    Payables to suppliers 87 941 74 751
    Tax obligations 49 354 32 822
    Buyers’ advances 31 126 3 099
    Settled derivatives 8 728 1 463
    Other current liabilities 63 431 10 851
    Short term derivatives 27 704 3 659
    Total current liabilities 774 466 312 670
    Non-current liabilities    
    Long-term provisions 9 946 8 399
    Deferred taxes 2 816 33 233
    Other long-term liabilities 43 209 30 679
    Long-term derivatives 1 471 186
    Loan-liabilities 676 670 246 410
    Rental liabilities 40 435 8 725
    Total non-current liabilities 774 547 327 632
    TOTAL LIABILITIES 1 549 013 640 302
         
    (in thousands of EUR) 31.12.24 31.12.23
    Equity    
    Share capital 2 117 2 105
    Own shares -72 -95
    Share premium 32 484 29 344
    Reserve capital 212 205
    Option reserve 6 223 3 864
    Hedging reserve* -21 674 24 118
    Unrealised exchange rate differences 45 -39
    Post-employment benefit obligation reserve -185 -44
    Retained earnings from previous periods 890 167 759 918
    Total equity attributable to equity holders of the Parent 909 317 819 376
    Minority interests 256 904 834
    Total equity 1 166 221 820 210
         
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 2 715 234 1 460 512

    Consolidated statement of cash flows

    Cash flows from operating activities    
    (in thousands of EUR) 12 months
    2024    		 12 months
    2023
    Profit for the financial year 193 670 293 830
    Adjustments:    
    Depreciation, amortisation, and impairment of non-current assets 68 251 19 655
    Change in the fair value of the investment property -22 974 -39 639
    Change in the value of derivatives -1 483 54 122
    Other financial income/expenses -112 030 -161 965
    Calculated interest expenses 38 274 22 573
    Profit/loss from non-current assets sold -955 -91
    Income from grants recognised as revenue -643 784
    Corporate income tax expense -19 866 8 610
    Income tax paid -10 551 -267
    Change in receivables and prepayments related to operating activities 52 023 54 540
    Change in inventories -12 831 -61 914
    Change in payables and prepayments relating to operating activities -81 275 -406
    Change in biological assets -322 0
    Total cash flows from operating activities 89 288 189 832
         
    Cash flows from investing activities    
    Purchases of associates 0 -10 314
    Purchases of subsidiaries -111 684 -103 414
    Received dividends 20 862 0
    Given loans 1 918 6 652
    Interest gain 4 953 2 691
    Purchases Investment property -10 352 -18 304
    Purchases of property, plant and equipment -27 835 -18 143
    Proceeds from sale of property 1 561 -252
    Total cash flows used in investing activities -120 577 -141 084
         
    Cash flows used in financing activities 12 months
    2024    		 12 months
    2023
    Proceeds from targeted financing 225 0
    Changes in overdraft 12 863 14 348
    Proceeds from borrowings 358 731 287 606
    Repayments of borrowings -151 790 -312 846
    Repayment of finance lease liabilities -11 300 -2 233
    Interest paid -39 153 -22 224
    Dividends paid -60 997 -15 750
    Gain from share emission 3 174 29 464
    Total cash flows used in financing activities 111 753 -21 635
         
    TOTAL NET CASH FLOW 80 464 27 113
    Cash at the beginning of the year 87 115 60 002
    Cash at the end of the period 167 579 87 115
    Net (decrease)/increase in cash 80 464 27 113

    The 2024 Annual Report of Aktsiaselts Infortar is attached to this notice and will be made available on the website Reports | Infortar.

    Infortar operates in seven countries, the company’s main fields of activity are maritime transport, energy and real estate. Infortar owns a 68.47% stake in Tallink Grupp, a 100% stake in Elenger Grupp and a versatile and modern real estate portfolio of approx. 141,000 m2. In addition to the three main areas of activity, Infortar also operates in construction and mineral resources, agriculture, printing, and other areas. A total of 110 companies belong to the Infortar group: 101 subsidiaries, 4 affiliated companies and 5 subsidiaries of affiliated companies. Excluding affiliates, Infortar employs 6,228 people.

    Additional information:

    Kadri Laanvee
    Investor Relations Manager
    Phone: +372 5156662
    e-mail: kadri.laanvee@infortar.ee
    www.infortar.ee/en/investor

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Italy’s Meloni is positioning herself as bridge between EU and Trump – but will it work?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Associate Professor of Critical Cultural & International Studies, Colorado State University

    Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks to thread a divide. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

    Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently became the first European leader to visit the United States after President Donald Trump announced a new tariff regime on trading partners, including a 20% levy on imports from the European Union.

    While those tariffs are currently on hold, the ongoing threat of them being enacted provided a telling backdrop for Meloni’s mid-April 2025 visit.

    Controversial and often perceived by critics as calculating, Meloni has walked a tightrope between European Union solidarity and embracing far-right causes since becoming Italy’s prime minister in 2022. She was the only European leader to attend Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 and counts tech titan Elon Musk among her allies.

    In many ways, Meloni reflects Europe’s own identity crisis: a regional power with global ambition. Italy, after all, was a founding pillar of the European Union, hosting the signing of the Treaties of Rome in 1957 establishing the European common market. Yet, for decades, Italy has often stood just outside the core of EU influence, overshadowed by the Franco-German partnership.

    Still, when the moment is right, Italy knows how to wield its leverage, especially as a bridge between clashing camps in Brussels.

    In Washington, Meloni made her pitch to Trump: a tighter ideological alliance over shared disdain for “woke” politics, diversity, equity and inclusion agendas, and lax immigration. She offered a sweetener – more Italian investment in the U.S. as a sop to the transatlantic trade dispute. But she also reiterated her and the EU’s support for Ukraine, a direct contrast to Trump’s skepticism to continued U.S. support in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.

    In so doing, Meloni has cast herself as someone who can serve both Brussels and Washington without burning bridges on either side. The gamble? That balancing act could backfire. Trump’s demands over trade and increased defense spending by NATO countries force Meloni to choose between appeasing Washington or staying in line with EU norms. Her overtures to Trump risk alienating key European allies who are wary of his disruptive politics.

    In trying to play both sides, she could end up isolated from both – undermining Italy’s credibility and influence on the world stage.

    Italy was a founder member of the European Union, but it is often a third wheel behind Germany and France.
    Simona Granati/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

    Meloni as a bridge

    The story of modern Italy has been one of playing off sides.

    During the Cold War, Italy walked a fine line between NATO commitments and accommodating a powerful domestic Communist Party.

    Italy was regularly governed by a series of often fraught center-right coalitions that were forced to navigate fractious politics and quid pro quo political violence between the far right and far left. The center-right Christian Democrats that dominated this period married conservatism at home with a strong pro-European outlook.

    In the first decades after the Cold War ended, Italy continued to carve out its own lane – pushing for leniency on issues like immigration and fiscal rules. The period saw Italy oscillate between pro-European integration and bouts of euroscepticism, with successive governments frequently challenging Brussels over budgetary constraints or border management.

    Meloni’s own rise is deeply rooted in the post-2015 tensions, when Italy – overwhelmed by the Mediterranean migrant crisis – felt abandoned by its European partners. Her party’s hard-line stance on immigration capitalized on public frustration. While she now presents herself as firmly pro-EU, it’s a version of Europe that aligns with her own vision: more secure borders, stronger national sovereignty and less technocratic interference.

    Ironically, as the bloc itself drifts rightward on migration, Meloni’s positions no longer seem so fringe – perhaps allowing her to embrace the EU pragmatically, even as she critiques it ideologically. Meloni’s own background and rise reflect this ambiguity and duality. Emerging from a political movement with fascist roots, she now presents herself as a passionate Europeanist and pacifist while maintaining right-wing positions on immigration and cultural issues.

    Meloni has governed in that fashion: cultivating ties with conservative heavyweights like Trump and right-wing European leaders, pushing back against Brussels on contentious policy issues, but also remaining firmly committed to the European project when it suits her. Especially when the economy is at stake.

    Meloni as pragmatic European

    Meloni’s strongly nationalist rhetoric and right-wing cultural views might appear at odds with the EU’s purpose, but her approach to the continent is highly pragmatic.

    While she regularly critiques EU bureaucracy at home, her government remains the largest recipient of EU recovery funds, securing €191.5 billion (US$218 billion) from the EU’s post-COVID recovery plan program. That critical cash infusion for an aging country with persistently sluggish growth comes with a commitment to enact a series of stringent fiscal reforms and austerity measures by 2026. In addition, Italy continues to benefit from long-standing cohesion and structural funds, particularly the economically struggling south,.

    Meanwhile, Meloni’s support for Ukraine helps her stand apart from pro-Russia voices in her coalition and strengthens Italy’s standing with NATO and the EU. It’s another strategic move that boosts her credibility both at home and abroad. Far from being a fringe player, Italy under Meloni is central to the EU’s narrative of unity, solidarity and survival.

    A spaghetti Western alliance?

    While Meloni reconciles her nationalist views vis-a-vis the supranationalist EU, she has also prioritized selling her idea of Italy on a bilateral basis.

    That has largely focused on a shrewd charm offensive in the U.S., particularly since the return of Trump, whose right-wing administration provides any easy fit for Meloni. She has attempted to play both Trump and Musk to Italy’s advantage, leveraging Rome’s geopolitical position to secure economic agreements and ease tensions wrought by Trump tariffs, which Meloni called “wrong.”

    Trump has been quick to praise her stance against “anti-woke” politics, while Meloni promises to help resolve trade issues and boost U.S. gas imports, all while keeping Italy at the forefront of negotiations. With Musk, she has attempted to position Italy as a key partner in tech and energy, navigating the global game with both finesse and ambition.

    Italy runs a substantial trade surplus with the U.S. and underspends on NATO defense – two things that typically trigger Trump’s criticism. Yet with Meloni, Trump has been full of admiration: “She’s taken Europe by storm,” he said in April, agreeing during their last meeting to meet again in Rome in the near future.

    Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, has expressed solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
    Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

    Meloni’s diplomatic ambitions extend beyond the U.S., including making moves in the Middle East, particularly with Saudi Arabia. By promoting Italy as a gateway to Europe, she is securing key investments in energy and infrastructure, while boosting Italian exports and increasing her diplomatic leverage. The fact that many in Europe, and indeed Italy, eye such overtures toward Saudi money with distaste, appears neither here nor there. After all, in Italy there has long been an attitude among leaders that “money does not smell” – or “pecunia non olet” as the locals say – a phrase that by legend was uttered by Emperor Vespasian while slapping a tax on public urinals.

    Will all roads lead to Rome?

    While Meloni’s approach of casting Italy as a bridge between the U.S. and Europe may yield some short-term diplomatic gains, it’s nonetheless a delicate path fraught with risk. Cozying up to Washington under Trump, whose policies – especially on trade – have engendered widespread outrage in Europe, risks ruffling feathers in Brussels. Indeed, while Trump praised Meloni’s leadership, and both sides talked trade with no urgency on tariffs, Europe watched warily.

    Trying to navigate between Trump’s protectionist leanings and the EU’s collective trade stance could leave Meloni unable to satisfy either side. Should Trump push for concessions – like shrinking Italy’s trade surplus with the U.S. or increasing defense spending – Meloni may find herself at odds with EU standards and alienating European partners. But leaning too far into EU alignment – and the bloc’s commitment to Ukraine – risks souring her ties with Trump’s camp, potentially weakening her influence across the Atlantic.

    In trying to please both Washington and Brussels, Meloni could end up with enemies on both fronts – and very few wins to show for it.

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

    – ref. Italy’s Meloni is positioning herself as bridge between EU and Trump – but will it work? – https://theconversation.com/italys-meloni-is-positioning-herself-as-bridge-between-eu-and-trump-but-will-it-work-254955

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –