Austrian Chancellor Nehammer said it was “unthinkable” to expand Schengen at the moment, but this had nothing to do with Bulgaria and Romania. During a first visit to Brussels, Polish opposition leader Tusk vowed to restore Poland-EU relations. The European Commission doubles funding for wind energy to 1.4 billion euros.
In response to the record high temperatures in Europe and elsewhere around the world this summer, social media users accused the European Space Agency (ESA) of having modified its measurement methods to achieve the striking results. They claimed that the agency was now measuring the land surface temperature, which is higher than air temperature. However, this is a misinterpretation of an ESA article about the heatwave. The institution has not made changes to its methodology and had in fact already published land surface temperature data in the past. What’s more, the ESA is not responsible for validating temperature records. That is the role of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which uses other measurements that it receives from weather stations.
The EU pushes for more sustainable travel solutions continent-wide. The plan is to strengthen long-distance and cross-border connections with the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) policy and funding for railway infrastructure. While the demand for rail travel is high, national operators and startups are competing with “unreasonably low prices” for flights, night trains are experiencing a renaissance and experts are calling for a Europe-wide kerosine tax.
The European Union’s climate observatory, the Copernicus Climate Change Service, has reported that July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. While much of Europe was hit by historic heat, Ireland experienced another kind of extreme weather event being exacerbated by climate change: heavy rains. Within this context, an image circulating on social media appears to show a story about “asymptomatic global warming” published online by the Irish Independent, but the purported screenshot is fabricated.
Europe aims to become self-sufficient in the area of semiconductor production and the European Commission has positive evaluations for North Macedonia. In other news: Commission President von der Leyen visits flooded areas in Slovenia, European citizens want more action against disinformation online and July 2023 has officially been the hottest month ever recorded.