Europe

1509 readers

317 users here now

News and information from Europe 🇪🇺

(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)

Rules (2024-08-30)

This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism.
Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in !yurop@lemm.ee. (They're cool, you should subscribe there too!)
Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)

(This list may get expanded when necessary.)

We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.

If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.

If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the mods: @federalreverse@feddit.org, @poVoq@slrpnk.net, or @anzo@programming.dev.

founded 4 months ago

MODERATORS

federalreverse@feddit.org

poVoq@slrpnk.net

anzo@programming.dev

104

Czech efforts to limit the movement of Russian diplomats-spies in the EU are being blocked by Germany (www.telegraph.co.uk)

submitted 2 months ago by 0x815@feddit.org to c/europe@feddit.org

15 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Germany is blocking tighter restrictions on Russian spy-diplomats across Europe.

The Czech Republic has proposed ending free movement for Russian diplomats and their families in the European Union’s Schengen zone amid a series of Kremlin-inspired attacks.

Warehouses containing aid destined for Ukraine, arms factories supplying Kyiv and railway infrastructure heading east have all been targeted by Russia’s mounting hybrid war on the Continent, it is claimed.

Moscow has often deployed its intelligence officers in Europe under the guise of diplomatic postings.

The EU’s free-travel area, which spans 29 countries, is “easing malign activities” across the bloc, Jan Lipasvsky, the Czech foreign minister, wrote in a recent letter to Josep Borrell, Brussels’ top foreign diplomat.

Mr Lipasvsky, backed by eight EU counterparts, urged Brussels to “restrict the movement of Russian diplomats and their family members to the territory of a state of their accreditation only”.

[...]

European diplomats who spoke to The Telegraph and diplomatic notes seen by this publication revealed that Germany is a key blockage to the proposed crackdown.

It prompted allegations that Berlin’s government is attempting to foster relations with Russia, despite promises to end its reliance on previously cheap Russian energy supplies.

“Germany has the approach of returning to business as usual with Russia and they think this is escalatory,” a diplomat said.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] 14th_cylon@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Certainly easier then monitoring all national borders in the entire Schengen area for Russian embassy staff.

Monitoring them anywhere in the schengen is easier than monitoring them at specific and significantly smaller subset of anywhere (at the borders)?

That's absurd and not smart statement.

The solution is to kick out Russian diplomatic staff. That makes monitoring them easier.

That would be optimal. However if someone objects to solution of lesser intensity, then this optimal one is not likely to succeed, is it?

[–] Melchior@feddit.org 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Monitoring them anywhere in the schengen is easier than monitoring them at specific and significantly smaller subset of anywhere (at the borders)?

Yes! How do you know they are crossing a border in Schengen? There are not permanent border checkpoints and few border patrols. So you have to be lucky to catch them in a random patrol. So you either have to know their locations at all times, hence monitor them anywhere, or you need to reintroduce border checkpoints all across the Schengen Area, which means staffing thousands of km of borders and monitoring the rest of the borders for illegal crossings as well. Obviously that destroys the entire advantage of Schengen in the first place.

That would be optimal. However if someone objects to solution of lesser intensity, then this optimal one is not likely to succeed, is it?

Germany expelled so many embassy staff that Russia shut down 4 out of 5 consulats. Italy also kicked out a bunch of diplomatic staff.

[–] 14th_cylon@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yes! How do you know they are crossing a border in Schengen?

You know that when you find them on the other side of it. And being on the wrong side of the border is easier to prove than the fact they are going to commit terrorist act.

So you have to be lucky to catch them in a random patrol.

Which can happen. It also excludes them from the air travel, for example, so it makes their terrorism harder, which is our goal.

Germany expelled so many embassy staff that Russia shut down 4 out of 5 consulats. Italy also kicked out a bunch of diplomatic staff.

Others did as well. And then the fuckers can just freely come from some other country that did not, which is what this discussion is about.

[–] Melchior@feddit.org 0 points 2 months ago

Embassies are used to coordinate spies. The actual terrorists often have had contacts with the embassy spy staff, but they use other passports. So by monitoring the embassy staff, you are able to find the actual terrorist spies. So when you find a Russia diplomat in the wrong country, you start to follow them.