Secret deals with conservatives expose Austrian Greens

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

VIENNA

The Green party is currently facing backlash from party members for its lack of transparency and for deceiving the party base after side arrangements of the conservative-Green coalition agreement became public on Sunday (30 January). Read more.

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BERLIN

EU Commission investigates Germany over unfair competition concerns. The European Commission has launched an investigation into Germany’s financial support for rail freight company DB Cargo over concerns it may breach EU competition rules, it was announced on Monday. Read more.

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PARIS

French ambassador to Mali ordered to leave country. French ambassador to Mali Joël Meyer has been ordered to leave the country, the military junta announced on 31 January. “Hostile and outrageous” comments made by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian are the reason, a government spokesperson has confirmed. Read more.

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON

Johnson lambasted for ‘failure of leadership’. A long-awaited report by a senior civil servant on Monday blamed a “failure of leadership” by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for allowing parties to take place in Downing Street when the country was under strict lockdown in 2020. Read more.

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DUBLIN

Amnesty scheme for undocumented people in Ireland opens. An amnesty scheme for undocumented people in Ireland opened on Monday, giving many the ability to apply for official residency. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Finnish right-wing party VKK could emerge as new political force. The surprisingly good result of the pro-Russian and anti-immigration VKK party in the recent county council elections is making political commentators wonder whether it could become a new far-right force to be reckoned with. Read more.

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COPENHAGEN

Danish pig farmers against EU support measures. Danish pig farmers are opposing the call from MEPs to support the EU’s cash-strapped pig farmers, saying this will put them at a disadvantage. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ATHENS

Conservative MEP: Greece is heading toward ‘Orbanisation’. As declining press freedom in Greece is already under EU scrutiny, the government is heading toward “Orbanisation”, Giorgos Kyrtsos, an EU lawmaker from the ruling New Democracy party (EPP), said. Read more.

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ROME

Italy continues mandatory face masks outdoor and closure for discos for ten days. The Italian government extended the use of compulsory face masks outdoors and the closure of clubs for ten days. According to a government source, Prime Minister Mario Draghi intends to keep restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections. Read more.

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MADRID

Amnesty slams Spanish prosecution for ‘poor’ investigation of COVID-deaths in nursing homes. Amnesty International on Monday denounced the “poor performance” of the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office in clarifying over 35,000 deaths of elderly people in nursing homes during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in March-April 2020, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports. Read more.

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LISBON

Portuguese economy grew 4.9% in 2021, highest since 1990. Portuguese GDP grew 4.9% in 2021, according to data released Monday by Statistics Portugal (INE). This is higher than the government expected in October for its 2022 state budget proposal. Read more.

VISEGRAD

WARSAW

Poland to deliver ammunition to Ukraine. Poland will provide Ukraine with “any help” to supply the country with humanitarian and military needs, President Andrzej Duda told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyi during a phone call Monday. This includes “defensive ammunition,” Paweł Soloch, the head of the president’s National Security Bureau, has confirmed. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Treaty against gender-based violence divides Czech governing coalition. The new Czech government led by conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) wants to delay the decision on the Istanbul Convention’s ratification despite increasing pressure from Brussels. As Deník N learnt, the ratification could damage relations in the five-party governing coalition. Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Hungary employed Pegasus spyware in hundreds of cases, says government agency. The cases of Hungarian individuals who were targeted with the Pegasus phone spyware by the government were all completely legally justifiable, an investigation by the national security services found, Telex reported on Monday. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

PM Heger: Slovakia to accept NATO soldiers despite public reluctance. After a week-long silence on the possibility of stationing NATO troops in the country, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) came out in support of the move despite previous reports suggesting it would be politically damaging. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Influential MPs in Bulgaria threaten journalists with severe punishments. Proposals for tougher criminal liability for journalists’ articles, made by influential ruling coalition lawmakers, have been sharply criticised by the Association of European Journalists. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania eases rules for people entering country. People arriving in Romania without a green pass or a negative PCR test will have to quarantine for only five days regardless of where they are coming from, according to new rules decided Monday. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Industrial production in Croatia up 6.7% in 2021. Croatia’s industrial production increased in December 2021 for the thirteenth consecutive month and at an accelerated rate compared to November, increasing by 6.7% for the entire year, the State Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Government aid package to offset high energy prices in Slovenia. The government has put in place an aid package worth around €200 million to help businesses and households cope with high energy prices, a move that has been welcomed but also criticised for being long overdue. Read more.

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BELGRADE

EU, Serbia to bankroll new gas interconnector between Serbia, Bulgaria. The EU and Serbia are financing a new natural gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria, whose construction, beginning on Tuesday, is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2023, the Belgrade EU Info Centre announced on Monday. Read more.

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SKOPJE

North Macedonia expects to reach 46% target for renewables by 2025. The share of renewable energy sources in North Macedonia’s electricity production is expected to reach 46% by 2025, according to the new three-year Economic Reform Programme aimed at implementing several environmental reforms from 2022-2024, presented by the finance ministry. Read more.

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TIRANA

Albanian asylum claims continue to rise year-on-year. The number of Albanians applying for asylum in Europe fell in October and November, but significantly increased over 11 months of 2021. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: European Commission VP Valdis Dombrovskis and European Parliament delegation continue their visits to Ukraine / European rule fixing the period of validity of travel vaccination certificate comes into force.
NATO: Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg receives Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand.
France: Industry and internal market ministers meet in Lens, France, with Commissioners Maroš Šefčovič and Thierry Breton attending.
Denmark: Nearly all Covid restrictions to be lifted.
Italy: Italy eases Covid border rules for EU arrivals.
Greece: Covid booster vaccination mandatory for access to most indoor venues.
Poland: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visits Ukraine amid tensions with Russia.
Hungary: Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban goes to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Romania: Prime minister Nicolae Ciuca meets Israeli ambassador to Romania, David Saranga.
Croatia: UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace meets with his Croatian counterpart, Mario Banožić, and later with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
North Macedonia: President Stevo Pendarovski is convening the National security council, first such meeting for newly appointed Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski, and for the new Defence Minister Slavjanka Petrovska.