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The Social Democrats in Sweden formed a minority government before the parliamentary elections in September 2022, which relied on the support of other parties. However, the Center Party withdrew from the coalition as its party leader, Annie Lööf, did not want to cooperate with the right-wing Sweden Democrats (SD). Lööf narrowly survived a planned attack by an SD supporter. In the elections, the Social Democrats became the largest party, but the SD became the second-largest party. After lengthy negotiations, the SD, the Moderates, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals formed a government supported by the SD. The new government emphasizes a "paradigm shift" in migration policy and crime prevention, although the Social Democrats had already implemented stricter measures in migration policy in 2015. The new government in Sweden, consisting of a coalition of conservative and right-wing populist parties, has initiated a series of political changes. Among other things, measures to combat crime have been introduced, which could lead to social conflicts in certain neighborhoods. Furthermore, the previous green energy policy has been abandoned, and the construction of new nuclear power plants has been announced. The government has also realigned its foreign policy and now emphasizes support for Turkey in the fight against terrorism. Critics fear that democracy could suffer under the new government and that the Swedish welfare state is at risk. [Extracted from the article]

The Fit for 55 package is the main project of European climate policy and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. It includes measures such as expanding emissions trading, reducing energy consumption, and expanding renewable energies. Regulations for taxing electricity and energy products are also being introduced, and CO2 emissions from cars are to be reduced. Another component is the introduction of a border adjustment mechanism for energy-intensive basic materials. The European Commission has presented various proposals for environmental and climate policy, which have been discussed in the European Parliament. The implementation of the proposals is closely linked to investment programs to address the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, EU environmental and climate policy is influenced by different responsibilities and interests of the member states. [Extracted from the article]

Transformation processes at both the political and societal level are decisive factors for the future integration process of the European Union. Among the member states, highly variable causes for change are evident and particularly the inclusion-exclusion cleavage stands out. In addition, the pan-European crises of recent years have proved to be catalysts for the transformation of European societies and party systems, which is also being driven forward by new communication structures. Although the European elections themselves did not turn out to be an "earthquake" for the European integration process, they do make it more difficult to find a majority and form a government. The campaign themes that shaped the 2019 European elections have proved to be diverse. Environmental and climate policy does not count among the crucial issues for the elections across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a report from a December 2-3, 2016 conference in Berlin, Germany on the historical impact of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster on environmental policy hosted by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung endowment, the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society Munich, the HoNESt–History of Nuclear Energy and Society, the Center for Metropolitan Studies at Technische Universität Berlin university, and the Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam historical society. Topics of presentations delivered include the Energiewende shift in German electricity generation, the reaction of the Danish anti-nuclear weapons movement to the Chernobyl disaster, and regional differences in perception of the disaster among nuclear power plant workers in Eastern and Western Europe.

The Yearbook of European Integration is a unique source of information on the latest developments in the European Union. It contains over 100 carefully selected and edited contributions from experts in their respective fields. This year's edition covers topics such as foreign and security policy, environmental and climate policy, energy policy, rule of law, crisis management, regional and cohesion policy, as well as domestic developments in various member states. The Yearbook also provides analyses of the EU's relationship with its neighboring countries, including the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkan states. The project is carried out by the Institute for European Politics in cooperation with the Center for Applied Policy Research at the University of Munich and the Center for Turkey and EU Studies at the University of Cologne, and is supported by the Federal Foreign Office. [Extracted from the article]

Information on Ökologie und Ökonomie. Zur Geschichte einer Beziehung, a conference that was held at Universität Freiburg in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany from November 13-14, 2015 is presented. Topics discussed include dam projects in Latin America, economic-ecological crises in 20th century and environmental policy of West Germany. The symposium featured several historians including Sabine Sauter, Frederik Schulze and Thomas Barth.

The Arctic is becoming increasingly important in terms of energy, security and climate issues on a global scale. Following the coastal states of the Arctic Ocean, which have presented Arctic strategies in recent years, the European Union has started developing an Arctic policy. While more or less consistent guiding principles have been established via several papers and communications, these have been backed up with concrete instructions and practical action to a diverging and an overall rather low degree. As a non-coastal state, the European Union will have to rely on its membership in relevant international and regional organisations, instruments such as the Northern Dimension and cooperation with member and partner states, also in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A report is presented from a May 17, 2012 conference for doctoral candidates in Munich, Germany on the history of technology. Topics of discussion included the use of the Arctic regions and Antarctica by the U.S. and the Soviet Union as technological testing grounds during the Cold War, the history of East German environmental policies, and cultural transmission of technology in 19th-century Württemberg, Germany.

The access to mineral occurrences becomes more and more difficult, mostly because of their neglectance in land use planning. The prime purpose of the Austrian Mineral Resources Plan is the identification of mineral occurrences, the harmonization of mineral occurrences with other relevant conflicting land use regulations and to safeguard mineral protection zones in land use planning as a proper base for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]