Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa.
Here are the three things to take away from today’s Europe Live blog:
Greenlanders could soon vote in a referendum on independence from Denmark under plans proposed by the ruling party, Siumut (9:21). Party leaders want to accelerate the independence process by triggering Section 21 of the Greenland Self-Government Act to negotiate the terms of a future relationship and hold an independence referendum within the next parliament. The promise comes just weeks before a snap election on 11 March and after growing pressure from US president Donald Trump, who expressed his interest in Greenland.
The Swedish government has announced its intention to pursue a gun control law reform in the aftermath of the Örebro attack, in which 11 people died, including the attacker (10:47). While none of the victims or the perpetrator have yet been named by police, first details emerged about some of those who died in the attack (15:51).
The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has arrived in Santorini, accompanied by the country’s civil protection minister in what officials are calling “a show of solidarity” for the earthquake-stricken isle (10:28). But elsewhere, thousands of students have taken to the streets in towns and cities nationwide demanding justice for the victims of the country’s worst ever train crash two years ago this month (14:48).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
First details emerge about Örebro victims
Nordic correspondent
The suspect in the Örebro shooting, who apparently killed himself, has been named in media reports as Rickard Andersson, 35, a former student of the school who lived locally. He is understood to have attended maths classes at the school a few years ago and had been unemployed for a decade.
Among the victims was Salim Iskef, 28, who phoned his fiancee, Kareen Elia, 24, from the school and told her he had been shot. “He called me and said: “I’ve been shot, they shot us.’ He said he loves me and that’s the last thing I heard,” she said in an interview.
None of the victims or the perpetrator have yet been named by police, but they have said that they include “multiple nationalities, different genders and different ages”. The Guardian understands that the dead include a Syrian man, an Eritrean mother of four and an Iranian woman. Police are investigating whether the shooting was racially motivated.
Fr Jacob Kasselia, a priest at St Maria Örebro, the Syrian Orthodox church that Iskef was a member of, said the community is reeling. “We have our doors open for everybody. You can see that everybody is affected. A dark cloud has come over us all. But despite that we say that we must look for the light,” he told the Guardian.
The number of non-Swedish victims will affect Örebro and the whole of Sweden, said Kasselia, who went to the remembrance service attended by the prime minister and the king and queen on Wednesday. “It is dark over us all.”
The Bosnian Islamic Community in Örebro said that in light of recent events it had been advised to increase security and had hired security guards to keep watch outside the mosque.
Polish PM promises tougher action on deportation of foreign criminals
Poland will seek to adopt new measures allowing for “immediate response to organised and violent crimes carried out by foreigners,” prime minister Donald Tusk said, adding that immigrants who break the law “will be deported.”
Speaking in Gdańsk alongside European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Tusk said, “there has been too many examples recently that suggest that tolerating such behaviours ultimately leads to really negative effects.”
“You should expect decisive actions in the coming days that will reduce criminality among migrants and foreigners resident in Poland,” he said.
His comments come amid a heated debate about criminality and toughening migration and asylum laws in neighbouring Germany after a spate of attacks involving attackers of migrants background.
Greek students protest demanding justice for train crash victims
in Athens
In other developments in Greece, thousands of students have taken to the streets in towns and cities nationwide demanding justice for the victims of the country’s worst ever train crash two years ago this month.
While prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made “state support” the central theme of his flying visit to earthquake-stricken Santorini today, protesters who also included high school pupils, denounced the state for what they described as a whole scale “cover-up of the crime.”
Marching through central Athens they chanted “murderers!” and “we are the voice of all the dead.”
53 people – mostly students returning from a holiday weekend – were killed when their Thessaloniki-bound train collided head-on with a freight train just before midnight on 28 February 2023 in the valley of Tempe in central Greece.
A trial has yet to take place. Last week Mitsotakis expressed regrets over statements made following the tragedy amid signs that the cargo train may have been carrying highly flammable illegal supplies.
“Our main demand is vindication for all those who lost their lives,” said 17-year-old Alexandra Chrysokou who at the head of the march held a hand-painted banner aloft with fellow protesters emblazoned with the words: “I have no oxygen,” the last words a young woman was recorded saying on an emergency call.
“This is just the beginning. These demonstrations will get bigger,” she said.
Other banners proclaimed: “Their profits, our lives!” and “It is a crime.”
On 26 January tens of thousands participated in similar rallies across Greece in the biggest show of unrest to take place in years, since the debt-burdened country was rocked by economic crisis more than a decade ago.
Mass protest rallies are expected to take place later in the month to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy.
Updated
Norwegian Labour Party making gains in polls thanks to Jens Stoltenberg
The Norwegian Labour party has seen its public support explode over the last few days after it brought back the former prime minister Jens Stoltenberg into the cabinet.
Stoltenberg accepted the post of finance minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle the Labour party’s coalition with the Eurosceptic Centre Party collapsed last week over an EU energy dispute (14:23 last Thursday).
What happened next is nothing short of extraordinary:
A earlier infact poll for Nettavisen, conducted on the day the government collapsed, 30 January, showed Labour in distant second at 18.4%, well behind the Progress Party on 26.1% and effectively tied with the Conservative Party at 18.3%.
The government reshuffle, of which Stoltenberg’s appointment was a part, was conducted on 4 February.
And the latest poll, conducted on 5 February, shows... the Labour party firmly in the first place at 30.7%, with the highest result since 2017, way ahead of the Progress Party on 24.3% and the Conservative Party at 15.6%.
That’s 12.3 percentage points up within less than a week.
(Other polls also showed a significant jump in support for Labour, even if not quite that dramatic.)
Analyst Vegard Jarness from the polling agency infact told the publication that the change is “obviously linked to a fairly broad support for the comeback of Jens Stoltenberg.”
The importance of Stoltenberg’s return to domestic politics was perhaps best captured by an election analyst Svein Tore Marthinsen.
He told Nettavisen it was the equivalent of Vålerenga Fotball, a local football team in Oslo, signing Manchester City’s prolific forward Erling Haaland.
Quite.
12 Nordic, Baltic, CEE countries urge G7 to reduce Russia's energy revenues
12 countries from the Baltics, the Nordics, and central and eastern Europe have signed a joint letter urging G7 states to take additional steps to reduce Russia’s revenues from energy sale to stop funding its invasion of Ukraine.
Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden said that:
With these revenues, Russia is funding its continuing aggression in Ukraine. A third of Russia’s revenues and two-thirds of its exports are linked to energy carriers.
The 12 countries that sent the joint letter have continuously pushed for the toughest possible restrictive measures against Russia.
In their joint statement, the like-minded countries call on the G7 to leverage the Oil Price Cap to ensure it continues to serve as a meaningful instrument in curbing Russia’s revenue streams, to impose additional sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet vessels and involved actors, and to consider additional measures targeting seaborne transportation of Russian-originating exports.
Russia is using the shadow fleet to fund its war machine. The vessels of the shadow fleet are often old and in poor condition, posing environmental, maritime safety and security risks in Europe and our waters.
This comes as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are set to disconnect from the Russian power grid over the weekend, as reported yesterday (17:04).
Germany's Scholz joins EU in criticising Trump's sanctions against ICC
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday that US president Donald Trump was wrong to impose sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC) as it jeopardized an important institution.
“Sanctions are the wrong tool. They jeopardize an institution that is supposed to ensure that the dictators of this world cannot simply persecute people and start wars, and that is very important,” Scholz said at a campaign event, as per Reuters.
No Swedish police press conference currently planned
Nordic correspondent
Yesterday there were suggestions that perhaps police would soon name the victims of Tuesday’s mass shooting in Örebro, but Bergslagen police say they currently have no press conferences planned for today.
Swedish PM marks historic day with troops joining Nato; refuses to give more details about Örebro
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson is in Latvia this morning, taking part in a ceremony marking Swedish troops officially joining Nato’s multinational battlegroup in the country.
The threat from Russia is long term, and our response needs to be as well. We can afford to defend our freedom, we cannot afford to lose our freedom. …
We will ensure [Nato’s] continued success by safeguarding that every adversary knows that an attack on one ally will trigger the response of all. Not to start a war, but to prevent a war.
He marked it a “historic day” with “Sweden’s first substantial contribution to Nato” as a member since it joined the alliance a year ago.
But, understandably, Kristersson was also asked about proposals to tighten up the gun laws (10:47). He said they had been under development for some time, and it “felt particularly appropriate in these terrible circumstances” to pursue them further.
He said changes were required to make sure that it is “the right people who have guns,” and this access is appropriately controlled.
Asked about the progress of the investigation into the Örebro shooting, he declined to offer any new information, saying that he had been careful not to draw any conclusions before the formal police process was completed.
Updated
Five people still in hospital after Örebro shooting - local authorities
Five people, three women and two men, remain in hospital after the mass shooting in Örebro earlier this week, local authorities just said in an update.
Two of them remain in the Intensive Care Unit, it said.
The sixth person injured in the attack has now been discharged after being treated for minor injuries.
EU's von der Leyen defends International Criminal Court after Trump's sanctions
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has just tweeted her reaction to Trump’s decision to impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court.
Here is what she said:
The ICC guarantees accountability for international crimes and gives a voice to victims worldwide. It must be able to freely pursue the fight against global impunity. Europe will always stand for justice and the respect of international law.
Sweden to tighten gun control laws, limit access to semi-automatic weapons
The Swedish government has just announced its intention to pursue a gun control law reform in the aftermath of the Örebro attack, in which 11 people died, including the attacker.
Under plans, the laws on suitability testing will be clarified and tightened, and further restrictions will be introduced to limit access to certain semi-automatic weapons.
A new framework will also be developed to report and monitor people who may be unfit to possess firearms.
The proposals will take forward a number of suggestions made in the “Effective Weapon Legislation” report developed by a special inquiry and published last year.
Greek prime minister visits Santorini
in Athens
The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has arrived in Santorini, accompanied by the country’s civil protection minister in what officials are calling “a show of solidarity” for the earthquake-stricken isle.
🔵Οι δηλώσεις του Κ. Μητσοτάκη από τη Σαντορίνη: «Όλος ο κρατικός μηχανισμός έχει κινητοποιηθεί, δεν θα κάνουμε εμείς καμία επιστημονική εκτίμηση, ακούμε τις οδηγίες των ειδικών»
— Action24 (@action24tv) February 7, 2025
Δείτε καθημερινά στις 10:00 το #ActionTora με τους @NYpofantis και @dorakoi1 στο #Action24. pic.twitter.com/Bx5o13UZVn
The centre right leader began the visit – the first since seismologists expressed concern over the increase in intense seismic activity – inspecting the mobile operations unit dispatched to Santorini by the fire brigade, before stopping at the island’s hospital and visiting special forces.
“I am in Santorini to supervise the preparedness of the state machinery [set up to deal] with the active geological phenomenon that is underway ... I want to assure the residents of Santorini and other islands that the state machinery is by their side. It is better to be prepared,” Mitsotakis said.
Thousands of undersea tremors have rattled the island since the weekend with two – measuring 3.8 and 3.9 on the Richter scale – striking within ten minutes of each other shortly before Mitsotakis and his entourage landed.
A much bigger tremor with a magnitude of 4.8 shook the island earlier in the morning prompting further rockslides.
An estimated 12,000 people – locals, tourists and workers – have left using any means possible to flee.
Greek authorities declared a state of emergency on Santorini late Thursday at the request of the island’s mayor.
“The fire departments, police, coast guard, armed forces, and emergency medical services have immediately reinforced Santorini and surrounding islands with additional personnel and specialized equipment,” the government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told reporters.
EU 'regrets' Trump's decision to sanction the International Criminal Court
Here is the EU’s reaction, via our Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin:
A commission spokesperson said:
The EU expresses its regret regarding the US decision to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
The International Criminal Court is of key importance in upholding international criminal justice and the fight against impunity. The EU is supporting the International Criminal Court and the principles set out in the Rome Statute.
The executive order represents a serious challenge to the work of the ICC with the risks of affecting ongoing investigations and proceedings, including as regards Ukraine, impacting years of efforts to ensure accountability around the world.
The EU will be monitoring the implications of the executive order and will assess possible further steps.
And the International Criminal Court itself said this in a separate statement:
The ICC condemns the issuance by the US of an Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on its officials and harm its independent and impartial judicial work.
The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all Situations before it.
We call on our 125 States Parties, civil society and all nations of the world to stand united for justice and fundamental human rights.
Speaking of Donald Trump, he has signed an executive order overnight that authorises aggressive economic sanctions against the international criminal court (ICC), accusing the body of “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting the US and Israel.
The order grants the US president broad powers to impose asset freezes and travel bans against ICC staff and their family members if the US determines that they are involved in efforts to investigate or prosecute citizens of the US and certain allies.
You can follow live reactions on our US blog here:
Greenland could hold referendum on independence from Denmark
Greenlanders could soon vote in a referendum on independence from Denmark under plans proposed by the ruling party, Siumut.
You never expected to be this invested in the domestic politics of Greenland, right? Me neither. But that’s the Trump effect. We better get used to it.
Earlier this week, the Greenlandic parliament called a snap election for 11 March, partially in response to growing rhetoric about US aspirations to control the area by US president Donald Trump (very much against their will).
Last night, the leader of the ruling party there said that if they get re-elected, they will accelerate the independence process by triggering Section 21 of the Greenland Self-Government Act to negotiate the terms of a future relationship and, crucially, hold an independence referendum within the next parliament.
Party leader Erik Jensen admitted in media interviews that Trump’s intervention indirectly contributed to this decision, and Siumut’s political spokesperson Doris Jakobsen Jensen went further and criticised the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen for her “solo run” in Europe in response to Trump’s words, allegedly ignoring Greenland’s will.
However, there will be plenty of practical questions about how any future arrangement would look, which will probably complicate the process. For example, under the current arrangement, Denmark pays the territory a 4.3 billion kroner (£484m or €580m) grant.
A recent poll for Berlingske and Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq showed that most Greenlanders expect this to continue even after independence. But would Denmark agree? Her office declined to comment “out of respect for the electoral process.” If that money is not there, will Greenlanders still want independence now? Are they ready, or need more time?
(If you are getting Brexit flashbacks reading this introduction, I can’t even blame you. At least they don’t put it on the side of a bus, yet.)
However, the Trump effect also exists in Denmark.
Danish daily Berlingske is reporting this morning about speculations that Frederiksen – whose Social Democrats gained over 3 points in polls since Trump came into office on the back of her diplomatic offensive – could also be tempted to call a snap election, bringing them forward from late 2026 to bank another term amid the swirling uncertainty about life under Trump.
I think we can confidently say that this theme of how Trump’s politics influences – or, depending on your politics, interferes with – domestic decisions will continue throughout 2025: from elections in Germany, where his close aide Elon Musk directly supports the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, through presidential elections in the likes of Romania and Poland, and beyond.
“May you live in interesting times,” eh?
It’s Friday, 7 February 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
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