How and where do people become radicalised?

Radicalisation processes draw on social networks for joining and staying connected. Physical and online networks provide spaces in which people can become radicalised and the more closed these spaces are, the more they can function as echo chambers where participants mutually affirm extreme beliefs without being challenged.

The internet is one of the primary channels for spreading extremist views and recruiting individuals. Social media have magnified the impact of both jihadist and far-right extremist propaganda by providing easy access to a wide target audience and giving terrorist organisations the possibility to use “narrowcasting” to target recruits or raise “troll armies” to support their propaganda. According to the 2020 EU Terrorism Situation and Trend report, over the last few years, encrypted messaging applications, such as WhatsApp or Telegram, have been widely used for coordination, attack planning and the preparation of campaigns.

Some extremist organisations have also been known to target schools, universities and places of worship, such as mosques.

Prisons can also be fertile ground for radicalisation, due to the closed environment. Deprived of their social networks, inmates are more likely than elsewhere to explore new beliefs and associations and become radicalised, while understaffed prisons are often unable to pick up on extremist activities.

January 27, 2021 EU Intellectual Property Network

European Cooperation: visual search for TMview extended to Denmark

As of 18 December 2020, the Danish Patent and Trademark Office Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) has made its trade mark images available to TMview visual search tool. TMview’s visual search facility allows users to search for trade mark images in the world’s largest online trade mark database.

Since 2017, when the first image search facility was implemented in TMview, additional intellectual property offices have incorporated this function into their search facilities. With this latest addition, the DKPTO joins the rest of the intellectual property offices already using visual search, thus bringing the total number of participating offices to 26.

The image search function can be used on trade marks registered with those IP offices that use this capability, which further enriches TMview as a whole.

The widespread use of this function in TMview by various IP offices is the result of the work undertaken by the EUIPO as part of the EUIPO’s European Cooperation Projects.

January 27, 2021 Learning

Tuesday Webinar: February 2021

The Academy is pleased to announce the Tuesday Webinar, live broadcasts scheduled for February 2021:

You can consult the Learning Portal Calendar for additional and updated information. Please note that one day after the broadcast, the recorded webinars will be available at the same link.
Do you have any comments on the Tuesday Webinar programme? Please share them with us Academy@euipo.europa.eu.

On Wednesday, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted its report on the new EU Circular Economy Action Plan, with 66 votes in favour, 6 against and 7 abstentions.

Circular economy principles

MEPs emphasise that the current linear “take-make-dispose” economy must be transformed into a truly circular economy, based on a series of key principles such as preventing waste and reducing energy and resource use. Products should be designed in a way that reduces waste, harmful substances and pollution, and protects human health. The consumer benefits of a circular economy should be made clear, they say.

Binding targets and indicators

MEPs call for science-based binding 2030 EU targets for materials use and consumption footprint, covering the whole lifecycle of each product category placed on the EU market. To this end, they urge the Commission to introduce in 2021 harmonised, comparable and uniform circularity indicators for material and consumption footprints.

The Environment Committee also calls on the Commission to propose product-specific and/or sector-specific binding targets for recycled content, while ensuring the performance and safety of the products concerned and that they are designed to be recycled.

Sustainable product policy

MEPs strongly endorse the Commission’s intention to broaden the scope of the Ecodesign Directive to include non-energy-related products. They insist that new legislation should be put forward in 2021. This should set horizontal sustainability principles and product-specific standards so that products placed on the EU market perform well, are durable, reusable, can be easily repaired, are not toxic, can be upgraded and recycled, contain recycled content, and are resource- and energy-efficient.

Other key proposals by MEPs include:

• introducing measures against greenwashing and false environmental claims, as well as legislative measures to stop practices that result in planned obsolescence;
• championing the EU Ecolabel as a benchmark for environmental sustainability;
• strengthening the role of Green Public Procurement by establishing minimum mandatory criteria and targets;
• mainstreaming circular economy principles into member states’ national recovery plans.

Quote

Rapporteur Jan Huitema (Renew Europe, NL) said: “The transition to a circular economy is an economic opportunity for Europe that we should embrace. Europe is not a resource-rich continent, but we have the skills, the expertise and the ability to innovate and develop the technologies needed to close loops and build a waste-free society. This will create jobs and economic growth and bring us closer to reaching our climate goals: It’s a win-win.” Watch video statement.

Next steps

The report will be put to the vote during the February plenary sitting.

Background

In March 2020, the Commission adopted a new “Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe”. A debate in the Environment Committee took place in October.

Up to 80% of products’ environmental impact is determined at the design phase. The global consumption of materials is expected to double in the next forty years, while the amount of waste generated every year is projected to increase by 70% by 2050. Half of total greenhouse gas emissions, and more than 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress, come from extracting and processing resources.

76 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the greatest symbol of Nazi evil, we stand united in our shared commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting antisemitism.

We pay tribute to the survivors, who represent the triumph of humanity over hate and whose inner strength inspires us all. We renew our promise that their legacies will live on and that their testimonies will forever stand as a wall against those who would deny the past.

Through initiatives such as the Lonka Project, which focuses on these heroes and their stories, we will work together to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust and the sacred vow of ‘Never Again’ are passed down to our children, our children’s children and all future generations.