nder The Radar is a special series and newsletter offering from Diplomatic Courier bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world over the past month. This month across Europe: violence over a contested election in Georgia, the preservation status of European wolves, and work to protect healthcare data from cyberattacks. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here.
Violence in Georgia escalates over contested election
Violent attacks are increasing in Georgia over political tensions. After the hotly contested October 2024 election results, the ruling Georgian Dream party has made some controversial decisions including freezing discussions on Georgia’s attempts to join the EU. Many believe the Georgian Dream party is behind attacks on political figures, journalists and citizen protesters.
On 14 January 2025, former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia was hospitalized after being assaulted. According to one member of parliament, the Georgian Dream party attacked the former prime minister. The member of parliament says the footage was “clear.” However, the Georgian Dream party has denied any involvement in the assault and instead accused Gakharia’s political party of deceit. Notably, the Georgian Dream party has made no known attempts to identify the assailants.
On the same day, the regional head of Transparency International, Zviad Koridze, was also assaulted when he was visiting Georgia to cover the case of a journalist arrested for protesting the election results. Koridze later accused two members of parliament of approaching him, with one screaming at him before he got hit and his glasses were shattered.
On 15 January, Georgian workers went on strike, closing their stores and demanding the release of hundreds of citizens arrested for ongoing protests calling for new parliamentary elections. Footage was released of figures wielding batons as they assaulted the striking workers. Once again, the Georgian Dream party has been accused of initiating the attack.
European wolves are no longer ‘strictly protected’
Wolves in the European Union member countries will no longer have the same protections that allowed them to recover from the brink of extinction. More than 20,000 wolves currently live in the EU—a huge resurgence from when a protection status was put in place to keep the species from extinction. However, in December 2024, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention agreed to follow the EU’s proposal and reduce the “strictly protected” status to “protected.” This allows EU member countries to allow fewer restrictions on culling—reducing the wild population through selective slaughtering.
The main reason cited in the EU Commission report for lifting the protection is the harm the wild wolves cause to farmers. Although there have been no fatal attacks on humans by wolves in 40 years, over 65,500 farm animals are killed yearly, costing countries around €19 million.
However, culling can harm biodiversity, often hurting multiple species. There is also no telling how the EU member countries will uphold culling regulations, and there is concern that if wolf populations are not monitored, the species could once again become endangered. Notably, rather than using culling measures, the Life Wolfalps EU project successfully provided farmers compensation to build protective measures for their farms in the French Alps, keeping out wolves without killing them.
Still, many farmers have been waiting for the opportunity to kill the wolves threatening their livestock. Only time will tell if Europe’s most successful conservation efforts will become a far–distant memory.
Europe’s action plan to protect healthcare from cyberattacks
The European Commission launched an action plan on 15 January 2025 to improve cybersecurity in healthcare. The first step is developing a Health Cybersecurity Advisory Board over the next two years to implement the plan.
The European Commission took action after a European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) report detailed that between 2021 and 2023, the healthcare system was the target of many cyberattacks, including attacks on healthcare providers and hospitals. Given the sensitive data stored digitally for healthcare providers, protecting private information is of the utmost concern.
Cybersecurity is paramount as the EU shifts toward a unified healthcare database, the European Health Data Space. The Health Data Space will collect expected healthcare data and compile collected data from different apps and research studies, like socioeconomic class and behavioral habits, to inform policy decisions. While the Health Data Space has specific regulations in place to protect the data’s usage, measures also need to be taken to develop cybersecurity.
The action plan to improve cybersecurity will add to existing programs and infrastructure, but there is concern about how effectively the EU will implement this plan. Previously, the EU created the NIS 2 directive, which demanded EU countries implement regulations to protect sensitive information from cyberattacks. However, at the deadline, only Belgium and Croatia were able to confirm they had implemented the rules, with Italy and Lithuania partially doing so.
a global affairs media network
Violence in Georgia escalates over contested election
Photo by the blowup from Unsplash.
February 7, 2025
Diplomatic Courier writer Stephanie Gull brings you three under–the–radar stories from Europe: political violence in Georgia, European wolves, and healthcare data cyberattack prevention.
U
nder The Radar is a special series and newsletter offering from Diplomatic Courier bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world over the past month. This month across Europe: violence over a contested election in Georgia, the preservation status of European wolves, and work to protect healthcare data from cyberattacks. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here.
Violence in Georgia escalates over contested election
Violent attacks are increasing in Georgia over political tensions. After the hotly contested October 2024 election results, the ruling Georgian Dream party has made some controversial decisions including freezing discussions on Georgia’s attempts to join the EU. Many believe the Georgian Dream party is behind attacks on political figures, journalists and citizen protesters.
On 14 January 2025, former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia was hospitalized after being assaulted. According to one member of parliament, the Georgian Dream party attacked the former prime minister. The member of parliament says the footage was “clear.” However, the Georgian Dream party has denied any involvement in the assault and instead accused Gakharia’s political party of deceit. Notably, the Georgian Dream party has made no known attempts to identify the assailants.
On the same day, the regional head of Transparency International, Zviad Koridze, was also assaulted when he was visiting Georgia to cover the case of a journalist arrested for protesting the election results. Koridze later accused two members of parliament of approaching him, with one screaming at him before he got hit and his glasses were shattered.
On 15 January, Georgian workers went on strike, closing their stores and demanding the release of hundreds of citizens arrested for ongoing protests calling for new parliamentary elections. Footage was released of figures wielding batons as they assaulted the striking workers. Once again, the Georgian Dream party has been accused of initiating the attack.
European wolves are no longer ‘strictly protected’
Wolves in the European Union member countries will no longer have the same protections that allowed them to recover from the brink of extinction. More than 20,000 wolves currently live in the EU—a huge resurgence from when a protection status was put in place to keep the species from extinction. However, in December 2024, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention agreed to follow the EU’s proposal and reduce the “strictly protected” status to “protected.” This allows EU member countries to allow fewer restrictions on culling—reducing the wild population through selective slaughtering.
The main reason cited in the EU Commission report for lifting the protection is the harm the wild wolves cause to farmers. Although there have been no fatal attacks on humans by wolves in 40 years, over 65,500 farm animals are killed yearly, costing countries around €19 million.
However, culling can harm biodiversity, often hurting multiple species. There is also no telling how the EU member countries will uphold culling regulations, and there is concern that if wolf populations are not monitored, the species could once again become endangered. Notably, rather than using culling measures, the Life Wolfalps EU project successfully provided farmers compensation to build protective measures for their farms in the French Alps, keeping out wolves without killing them.
Still, many farmers have been waiting for the opportunity to kill the wolves threatening their livestock. Only time will tell if Europe’s most successful conservation efforts will become a far–distant memory.
Europe’s action plan to protect healthcare from cyberattacks
The European Commission launched an action plan on 15 January 2025 to improve cybersecurity in healthcare. The first step is developing a Health Cybersecurity Advisory Board over the next two years to implement the plan.
The European Commission took action after a European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) report detailed that between 2021 and 2023, the healthcare system was the target of many cyberattacks, including attacks on healthcare providers and hospitals. Given the sensitive data stored digitally for healthcare providers, protecting private information is of the utmost concern.
Cybersecurity is paramount as the EU shifts toward a unified healthcare database, the European Health Data Space. The Health Data Space will collect expected healthcare data and compile collected data from different apps and research studies, like socioeconomic class and behavioral habits, to inform policy decisions. While the Health Data Space has specific regulations in place to protect the data’s usage, measures also need to be taken to develop cybersecurity.
The action plan to improve cybersecurity will add to existing programs and infrastructure, but there is concern about how effectively the EU will implement this plan. Previously, the EU created the NIS 2 directive, which demanded EU countries implement regulations to protect sensitive information from cyberattacks. However, at the deadline, only Belgium and Croatia were able to confirm they had implemented the rules, with Italy and Lithuania partially doing so.
