Poland drops German war reparation claims

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In today’s news from The Capitals:

WARSAW

The new Polish government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk will drop demands for World War II reparations from Germany instigated by the previous PiS government and instead seek another form of compensation such as restoring historic buildings or investing in mutual defence, announced Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. Read more.

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PARIS | BERLIN

Zelenskyy goes to Paris, Berlin to sign bilateral security deals. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet his German and French counterparts on Friday to sign bilateral security arrangements following up on their G7 July commitments, as Russia’s war against the country enters its third year. Read more.

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PARIS

France to discuss assisted dying bill before summer. A law on assisted dying and end-of-life measures will be discussed before summer, newly appointed French health minister Catherine Vautrin told MPs on Wednesday. Read more.

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VIENNA | ROME

Italy’s Salvini takes Austria to court over highway restriction. Rome is taking Austria to the EU courts over motorway restrictions at their shared border, a measure introduced to protect residents in Tyrol that has proved unpopular with lorry drivers heading to Germany. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ATHENS

Divided Greek government greenlights same-sex marriage with opposition votes. The Greek government passed a bill on Thursday to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption thanks to the votes of progressive opposition parties, as 51 lawmakers from the ruling conservative New Democracy party (EPP) opposed it. Read more.

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MADRID

Sumar leader wants to end ‘tax injustices’ in Spain. To achieve a fairer country, the government should do more to end “fiscal injustices” and pave the way for “economic democracy in terms of public revenues”, Spain’s Labour Minister and leader of coalition partner Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, told Euractiv’s partner EFE in an exclusive interview. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal forecast to see solid job growth, high economic activity. Portugal is projected to see “solid employment growth” and a “high level” of economic activity, the European Commission said on Thursday, downplaying a slight downward revision to its forecast for the country’s GDP in 2024, which it stressed was in line with a slowdown in GDP growth across the eurozone. Read more.

EASTERN EUROPE

PRAGUE

Czech steel industry unprepared for EU decarbonisation. The Czech steel industry is unprepared for decarbonisation, not only technologically but also financially, making it challenging to implement the EU’s decarbonisation plans, experts say. Read more.

Czech ANO party a thorn in Renew Europe’s side – still. The liberal centrists in the European Parliament, already torn by internal rifts, have a new dilemma: the presence of Czech business mogul Andrej Babiš’s increasingly conservative ANO party, which counters their core values but may bring valuable seats in the EU elections. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovakia’s penal code reforms may lead to potential fines, EU fund suspension. The European Commission has warned Bratislava that it could face a fine or a complete suspension of European funds, as the government’s reform of the penal code could potentially affect the country’s compliance with EU directives, according to two letters seen by Euractiv Slovakia. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Bulgarian defence minister understands Trump’s NATO comments. Republican frontrunner and former US president Donald Trump’s recent comments about not protecting NATO countries that do not meet their spending commitments are “completely understandable”, Bulgarian Defence Minister Todor Tagarev told journalists in Brussels on Thursday, saying that NATO member states that have made commitments should respect them. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania to maintain the same energy price cap for another year. Romania’s cap on energy prices will remain unchanged until March 2025, announced Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja on Thursday, meaning Romanian consumers will continue enjoying the EU’s fourth cheapest gas prices. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Burning of Vucic effigy tests Croatia-Serbia relations. Relations between Croatia and Serbia continue to deteriorate after an effigy of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was burned at a carnival in Kaštela, a town near Split. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Each day, one child in Serbia is diagnosed with cancer. One child in Serbia is diagnosed with cancer every day, and one child dies every week, according to the NURDOR Association, on the occasion of International Childhood Cancer Day. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in Munich Security Conference 2024, in Germany;
Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis participates in panel discussion on “Rebuilding Ukraine”; Gives remarks on “High on Their Own Supply? Great-Power Competition and Supply Chain Dependencies” supply chain roundtable, in Munich, Germany;
Home Affairs Commissioner Yiva Johansson delivers remarks on “A Rocky Route: Managing Global Refugee Flows” panel in Munich, Germany; Holds meetings with President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker;
Vice President Dubravka Suica holds meetings with Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi; Delivers keynote speech at UNICEF’s event on “Upending what Hard-to-Reach Means: Delivering Services with and for Girls in Afghanistan” in Munich, Germany; Delivers keynote speech on “Sexual Violence as a Weapon” at Munich Security Conference;
Vice President Margaritis Schinas delivers introductory remarks on “Processing Power: The Impact of Cyber and Cutting Edge Technology on International Security” in Munich, Germany; Meets with Prime Minister of North Macedonia Xhaferi Talat;
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders meets with Chair of the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria Pavlina Panova, Minister of Justice Atanas Slavov, in Sofia; Holds discussion with university students on “EU Rule of Law Mechanism mechanism and developments in Bulgaria”;
Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Iliana Ivanova holds meetings with Chief Science Advisor of Canada Mona Nemer, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation of Morocco Abdellatif Miraoui;
Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola on official visit to Gdansk, Poland: meets with former President of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Lech Wałęsa;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]