With deaths accelerating in Europe due to a rapidly aging population, observers might expect to a “silver lining” in at least one area of the economy: coffin production. However, just as with many other industries, China is even eating into this market share, helping result in dozens of coffin producers to go out of business in recent years.
European coffin manufacturers have now formed a coalition and are preparing a formal anti-dumping complaint against Chinese imports, arguing that low prices and alleged customs loopholes are eroding a traditional industry tied to predictable demand.
The number of European coffin producers has fallen from about 120 to 90 over the past five years, with smaller firms largely unable to compete, according to Folco Ciulli, a consultant coordinating the effort. Surviving companies have absorbed only about half the output of those that closed, he told Politico. The coalition, which previously lacked dedicated lobby representation, has met with European Commission officials, including from the trade department, organizers told Politico.
Chinese coffin are simply cheaper, costing approximately one-third less in Italy, even when using the same type of wood. Experts attribute the gap to state subsidies, lower labor costs, and cheaper timber, among other factors.
Higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods have also redirected some production toward Europe, the group contends. The coalition is compiling cost data on materials, labor and factory-gate prices for the comparison, in order to China is dumping coffin products.
A 2025 European Parliament question raised similar concerns, stating that Chinese imports accounted for about 60 percent of the Italian market. It cited production costs of roughly €260 in Italy versus €80 in China, enabling sales in Europe of €100-110, and alleged the use of toxic paints banned in the EU that release carcinogenic particles during cremation. It asked whether the Commission would open an anti-dumping probe and impose duties, and how it would enforce environmental and health standards.
Industry analysis points to statistical gaps that could indicate under-recorded imports. Mathematician Emiliano Inguscio, hired by the producers, calculated an unexplained surplus of about 30,000 coffins a year in Italy alone.
Producers suspect two practices: an “IKEA loophole” in which flat-packed coffins arrive classified as wooden parts and are assembled in the EU, and imports registered as packaging for other goods rather than as finished products. A Commission spokesperson confirmed that unassembled goods may still be treated as finished products under customs rules if their essential characteristics are recognizable, so flat-packed coffins should not automatically qualify as mere components.
The effort follows an earlier appeal by EU lawmakers to Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, who indicated the industry could file a formal complaint. A Commission spokesperson said the EU maintains more than 200 trade defense measures and takes action against unfairly traded imports, while declining to confirm specific meetings because contacts on potential complaints are confidential.
Coffin makers point to a recent precedent. In January 2026, the Commission imposed definitive anti-dumping duties of 56 percent to 60 percent on Chinese candles, tapers and similar products after finding dumped imports had injured an EU industry of roughly 9,000 workers across about 80 companies. The duties, set for five years, followed a 2024 investigation.
The case sits within a broader rise in EU trade protectionism and defense. The Commission’s 2025 report recorded 32 new investigations, close to the prior year’s high, protecting hundreds of thousands of jobs across sectors including chemicals and steel. Officials have described increased scrutiny of state-supported imports as a response to harm to European producers.
So far, the EU Commission has not announced an investigation into coffins.
As Remix News has reported, China has not just pulled ahead of Europe in terms of coffins and other lower-value goods, but also in renewable energy, automobile production, AI technology, machine tools, and a range of other high-value industries. As the EU is unable to directly compete, it has increasingly resorted to protectionism.
The post Europeans can’t even die in their own coffins? Cheap Chinese-made coffins flood EU market as manufacturers plead for anti-dumping measures appeared first on Remix News.
Wholesale natural gas prices in Europe have climbed above €100 per megawatt-hour for the first time since late 2022, raising the prospect of sharply higher household bills next year. The EU is already issuing serious warnings about an energy crisis and difficult economy for the winter ahead, which Hungarian MEP Balázs Orbán has labeled an example of European Union “idiocracy.”
Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said on Oct. 28: “Once again, due to geopolitical turbulence, Europe faces another energy crisis. We know that this winter will be difficult for European citizens and for our economy in general.”
Europe faces a difficult winter. We must ensure reliable fuel supplies for our citizens, businesses, & defense. And we must ensure that these supplies are affordable. Today we started our dialogue with European refineries. Looking at short-term & long-term. Press point ↓ https://t.co/suM6zfkYfn
— Dan Jørgensen (@DanJoergensen) October 28, 2026
“And fuel bills in the EU are skyrocketing. This is putting a strain on our companies and on our households. In spite of the difficult situation, markets have shown remarkable resilience over the past months. Refineries have played a vital role in ensuring security of supply by producing the fuels that the market needs, including jet fuel,” he added.
He has noted that nearly 50 million Europeans are already unable to heat their homes adequately in a typical year and warned the number could rise.
The news was met with disdain from MEP Balázs Orbán, who served as the former political director of Viktor Orbán during his tenure as Hungary’s prime minister.
“This is idiocracy. You are financing a war that involves restricting Europe’s energy supply through sanctions and destroying infrastructure that produces and transports oil, gas, and fuel accessible to Europe by land. On top of that, you have imposed, through regulation, an energy transition that makes energy more expensive for European businesses and households alike,” wrote Balázs Orbán.
“And what do we get in response? Another press conference and, as attributed to Politico, the conclusion that ‘neither governments nor the European Commission have many – if any – good ideas left.’ You created the problem. You have no idea how to solve it. And now you are trying to cover it up with political messaging.”
This is idiocracy. You are financing a war that involves restricting Europe’s energy supply through sanctions and destroying infrastructure that produces and transports oil, gas, and fuel accessible to Europe by land. On top of that, you have imposed, through regulation, an energy transition that makes energy more expensive for European businesses and households alike. And what do we get in response? Another press conference and, as attributed to Politico, the conclusion that “neither governments nor the European Commission have many – if any – good ideas left.” You created the problem. You have no idea how to solve it. And now you are trying to cover it up with political messaging. Politics is not an obligation of means, but an obligation of result.
— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) October 29, 2026
The Dutch TTF front-month contract, the European benchmark, crossed the €100/MWh threshold on Oct. 28 after rising more than 4 percent on the day. Prices have roughly tripled since the start of the year and from levels around €32 before conflict escalated in the Middle East earlier in 2026. They remain well below the August 2022 peak near €340 during the initial fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the direction and the timing ahead of winter have unsettled markets.
EU gas storage stood at about 75 percent in late October, a record low for the period and well short of the bloc’s usual 90 percent target by Nov. 1. Facilities ended the previous winter at just 28 percent full, below the multi-year average, and refilling has been slow and expensive amid disrupted LNG flows, particularly from Qatar, and higher summer demand for power generation.
Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have already begun drawing on storage as temperatures fall.
In Poland, Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domański said on Oct. 29 that the government is working on measures to shield households from significant bill increases. Speaking on Polsat News, he stated: “I can say today that work is underway. There are several solutions on the table and in the coming weeks ministers will inform about this… I think that still in November solutions regarding the situation on the gas market will be known.”
He noted that the details fall primarily under the competence of the Ministry of Energy.
The current regulated household gas tariff stands at 197.29 złoty (€176) per MWh and has been extended through the end of 2026. Analysts, including Michał Kozak of DM Trigon, have estimated that full pass-through of higher wholesale costs could push the 2027 tariff up by around 35 percent, potentially into the 230–300 złoty range.
According to reporting in Polish news outlet Rzeczpospolita, the Polish Energy Ministry is considering a return to mechanisms used in 2022–2024: statutory price freezes paired with compensations to sellers for the difference between the frozen price and the tariff approved by the Energy Regulatory Office (URE). Financing options, including the existing “Fund for Payment of the Price Difference,” remain under discussion.
Poland enters the season in a stronger storage position than most of the EU, with domestic facilities reported near 99 percent full — above its own long-term average. Immediate pressure is expected more on industrial users, while household protection is the focus of the November package.
Separately, legislation supporting energy-intensive industries for 2027–2030 has advanced through parliament.
Jørgensen has stressed that Europe is better prepared than in 2022: gas consumption is about 18 percent lower, and the share of Russian supplies has fallen sharply from around 45 percent.
Supplies are now more diversified, with U.S. LNG playing a larger role. At the same time, he and others have described the current situation as more complex because it also involves oil and refined products amid conflicts affecting the Middle East, the Red Sea, the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. Higher fossil-fuel costs since late February have added an estimated €100 billion to the EU’s import bill, with €18–33 billion attributed to gas.
EU energy ministers met in Luxembourg on Oct. 29 to discuss security of supply and affordability. Officials have acknowledged limited short-term tools remaining after earlier subsidies, demand measures and releases of emergency oil stocks. Goldman Sachs has also projected prices could reach €150/MWh in a scenario combining a cold winter with continued supply constraints.
The post ‘Europe faces another energy crisis’ – Gas prices in EU hit four-year highs as Hungarian MEP slams ‘idiocracy’ appeared first on Remix News.
The mayor of the German city of Frankfurt (Oder), Axel Strasser, has called on residents to demonstrate greater civic courage after bystanders did nothing as a group of teenagers repeatedly punched and kicked a 14-year-old student, including to the head, while he lay on the ground outside a high school earlier this month. Now, critics are calling his statement a recognition of the failure of state authority.
After a security conference with police, prosecutors, schools, youth welfare, and immigration authorities, Strasser, an independent, said it was unacceptable that people stood by without intervening. “We truly appeal to this urban society to show civic courage,” he said.
The attack occurred on Oct. 14 outside the Heinrich-von-Kleist High School. Video of the assault, which circulated widely on social media, showed roughly 10 teenagers surrounding the victim, striking him and continuing the assault after he fell.
The German government implemented a policy of mass migration, which has resulted in mob beatings and bullying of German students across the country. Now, government officials are calling on citizens to put their lives on the line and intervene in these mob beatings, including in this latest case in Frankfurt (Oder).
A commentary published by Lennart Zielke in Ostdeutsche Allgemeine, titled “Youth Violence in Brandenburg: The State Gives Up – The Citizen Is Supposed to Put Himself in Mortal Danger,” calls the appeal an admission of state failure. The piece argues that urging ordinary bystanders to intervene shifts the risk onto unarmed civilians who lack training, protection, or backup in confrontations with groups of attackers.
“You just have to imagine the scene in concrete terms. A group of violent youths, the perpetrators outnumbered the witnesses, the situation is confusing, and there are possibly knives or firearms involved. And now the average citizen is supposed to intervene – without training, without protection, without support. Anyone who intervenes is highly likely to end up in the hospital,” wrote Zielke.
Individuals on social media also highlighted the absurdity of asking the general public to step in to perform law enforcement actions.
“Since politics is failing—or, better said, has no desire to change anything—Mayor Strasser from Frankfurt/Oder is calling for more civic courage to be expected. He can go ahead and stand up to a horde of 20 migrants if he feels like it. I won’t!” wrote one user.
Weil die Politik versagt oder besser, keine Lust hat etwas zu ändern, ruft OB Strasser von Frankfurt/Oder dazu auf, dass mehr Zivilcourage erwartet wird. Der kann sich ja mal einer Horde von 20 Migranten entgegen stellen, wenn er Lust hat. Ich nicht!
— Das Nordlicht(@sma_nordlicht) October 28, 2026
Remix News broadly covered the beating video, including police statements threatening prosecution for publishing the video.
Authorities are investigating nine suspects, ages 13 to 15, who hold Polish, Russian, Syrian, and German nationality. They face allegations of dangerous bodily harm; earlier reports also referenced robbery. Police have spoken with the suspects and their families.
Strasser described the incident as “the first case of this dimension” in the city and said everyone immediately recognized the drama of the situation. Unlike recent group attacks in Potsdam that involved more entrenched youth structures, this case does not, according to officials.
The city and police plan heightened presence near schools after the autumn holidays, parent conferences, and anti-bullying efforts. An investigative team is active. The victim is receiving intensive support through the school and relevant authorities; youth welfare is examining further measures. “Offers of help are available and will be accepted,” Strasser said.
Residence-law options are under review, but Strasser said he sees little prospect of success. He added that there will be no simple solutions to rising youth violence in Germany or the influence of social media.
Brandenburg Integration Minister René Wilke (SPD) is pressing for accelerated reviews of protection status for Syrian suspects. He said 16 cases linked to violence incidents in Potsdam and Frankfurt (Oder) — including five minors in the latter — have been reported to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees so their status can be checked more quickly. “We have asked that the examination be brought forward,” Wilke said. Revocation of protected status can lead to deportation but does not automatically do so; each case requires individual assessment that can take months.
“If a child is out of control and the family shows no integration efforts, it can become tight,” he noted.
Interior Minister Jan Redmann (CDU) has spoken of influence from the “gangster-rapper milieu” and people who boast about their acts online. Redmann has also pointed to integration shortfalls in some cases and said authorities will use available tools of criminal and residence law, while stressing rapid action to stop the violence.
The attack prompted an AfD demonstration that drew up to a thousand people. The party pointed to migrant violence and called for deportations, including the families of perpetrators.
Strasser has said the city will not simply return to business as usual. He has also emphasized that protection granted in Germany is not deserved by those who abuse it so brutally, while stressing coordinated action by security authorities regardless of the origin of the suspect.
As Remix News has reported in the past, 40 percent of all violent crime suspects in German schools are foreigners.
The post After 10 youths beat German teen, mayor’s calls for more ‘civic courage’ is widely mocked as example of ‘state failure’ appeared first on Remix News.
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