Macron’s party looks for EU lead candidate – can’t find one

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In today’s news from The Capitals:

PARIS

The date for the announcement of Macron’s Renaissance party’s EU candidate has been postponed several times, and key political figures have turned down the job, raising concerns that the party is not prepared or ready to launch its European Parliament electoral campaign. Read more.

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BERLIN

Germany’s Habeck blames Putin, world trade for industrial slump. Germany’s current economic weakness is mostly to blame on a slowdown of global trade and the aftermath of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said while presenting economic forecasts on Wednesday. Read more.

Germany’s rebel Wagenknecht plots new left-wing group in EU Parliament. With the new German party BSW projected to become the biggest left-wing delegation in the European Parliament after June’s EU elections, its leader, Sahra Wagenknecht, insinuated on Tuesday that she will try to create a new left-wing parliamentary group. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Belgian party system designed to keep newcomers out, Dutch MEP warns. New parties joining the Belgian political system face an uphill battle to establish themselves alongside well-funded and already-established groups, MEP Sophie in ’t Veld, running with Volt Belgium, told Euractiv in an interview. Read more.

NORDICS & BALTICS

STOCKHOLM

Sweden: Intelligence threat from Russia, China and Iran remains high. Sweden is in a serious international situation, facing growing threats from foreign powers such as Russia at a time when the country is at a key stage in its accession to NATO, according to the Swedish Security Service’s annual threat assessment review on Wednesday. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ROME

Italians increasingly sceptical of EU’s positive role in Ukraine war. Italians are among the most sceptical and disillusioned Europeans about the future of Ukraine, and, above all, they do not believe that the EU has played a positive role in the conflict, according to a survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations. Read more.

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MADRID

Traffic chaos in Madrid as farmers vow to continue with protests. Over 500 tractors from several regions descended on the Spanish capital, where they vowed to continue their struggle until Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his left-wing coalition implement concrete measures to secure the sector’s viability. Read more.

Sánchez visits Morocco to boost relations after past tensions. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez praised his country’s bilateral ties with Morocco during an official visit to the North African country on Wednesday, where he met with King Mohamed VI. Read more.

EASTERN EUROPE

PRAGUE | BRATISLAVA | WARSAW

Visegrad, Baltic farmers rally against EU policies backed by national governments. Farmers from eastern European and Baltic countries – namely the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Bulgaria – joined forces on Thursday to protest against EU policies, with many of their governments either supporting the farmers or expressing their understanding. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Bulgaria’s ruling coalition parties fight for high-ranking positions. Bulgaria’s ruling coalition parties on Wednesday began threatening each other with the withdrawal of support for the government amid a battle for top executive posts that could lead to early parliamentary elections alongside European elections in June. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romanian social democrats, liberals to have joint list at EU elections. The PSD and the PNL have agreed to merge the European elections with the local elections and to present joint candidates for the EU Parliament to ensure the largest possible turnout of citizens to vote. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Croatian NGO accuses ruling HDZ party of using bot farms on Facebook. Croatian NGO Gong has investigated the HDZ’s use of Facebook and judged that its bots are deceiving citizens and manipulating the public – a problematic assessment in Croatia’s ‘super election’ year, when Sabor (parliament), head of state and EU elections are due to take place. Read more.

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TIRANA

Albania demands action from TikTok, Meta over crime, hate speech. The Albanian government has called on social media platforms, including Meta and TikTok, to crack down on illegal activities such as revenge porn, bullying and facilitating human smuggling, demanding tougher measures and adequate monitoring capacity in the Albanian language. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: Informal meeting of economic and financial affairs ministers expected to focus on European Investment Bank’s future, retail investor participation in financial markets and financial literacy, EU competitiveness;
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen chairs Clean Tech Industry Dialogue; Hosts Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson;
Commission Vice President Vĕra Jourová speaks at “How to defend democracy in Europe” event, organised by the Centre for European reform and KREAB; Hosts Minister for Communications of Australia Michelle Rowland;
Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis hosts Orgalim (Europe’s Technology Industries representatives) President Javier Ormazabal and Director General Malte Lohal;
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders meets with General Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan; Visits the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) in The Hague, Netherlands;
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski speaks at 9th European Congress of Agrobusiness Managers;
Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Iliana Ivanova delivers keynote speech at music conference on “The European Music Ecosystem: Navigating Trends, Challenges, and Policy Imperatives for a Vibrant Future”; Hosts President of the European Court of Auditors Tony Murphy;

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