The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.
In today’s news from the Capitals:
PRZEMYŚL
The police chief of Przemyśl, the city where Ukrainian refugees arrive by train, told EURACTIV that reports of fake news on Polish social media have increased, suggesting that “migrants are committing crimes”. He hinted that Russians are trying to turn the local population against Ukrainian refugees, although, in reality, Poles have shown significant solidarity.
Meanwhile, EURACTIV also spoke to a Ukrainian citizen who escaped from war and fled to Poland. Iryna described in detail how Russians are trying to cause panic in society, for example, with fake news about babies starving in shelters.
Alexandra Brzozowski and Sarantis Michalopoulos report from the Polish-Ukrainian border. Read more.
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BERLIN
Russia sanctions affect two-thirds of German businesses – study. Sixty-four per cent of German businesses say they are affected in some way by sanctions the EU has issued against Russia for invading Ukraine and by counter-sanctions Russia announced in response, a recent poll shows. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria to begin investigation into oligarch-owned wealth. Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler has spoken in favour of sanctioning oligarchs as Russia sanctions threaten the Austrian banking sector. Read more.
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PARIS
Macron: War in Ukraine marks ‘change of an era’ for Europe. The war in Ukraine signals a “change of an era” for Europe, which must now become a more sovereign force and build a common defence, President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech to the nation on Wednesday. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
DUBLIN
Protests held at big tech Dublin HQs over Ukraine disinformation. Protesters gathered on Wednesday outside the headquarters of Meta in Dublin before marching to those of Google in a call for action to combat the spread of disinformation linked to the war in Ukraine by Russian state media. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
VILNIUS
Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania can start work immediately. Ukrainians fleeing Russian invasion and have arrived in Lithuania can start work immediately “if there will be a wish for that”, Social Security and Labour Minister Monika Navickienė said on Wednesday. Read more.
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HELSINKI
St Petersburg-Helsinki train only direct link to Russia. As the EU has banned Russian flights from its airspace, the three and a half-hour train journey between St Petersburg and Helsinki is now the only direct passenger link from Russia to the bloc. Read more.
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STOCKHOLM
Sweden slams Russia with ‘Cold War rhetoric’. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson slammed Russia’s attack on Ukraine using rhetoric experts say the country has not witnessed “since the Cold War”. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
VALLETTA
Malta scraps citizenship scheme for Russians, Commission to monitor. The Maltese government has suspended its cash-for-passports scheme for Russian and Belarusian citizens following pressure from the EU and civil society over fears oligarchs linked to the Kremlin were buying their way into the bloc. Read more.
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MADRID
Spanish coalition split over decision to deliver weapons to Ukraine. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday confirmed that Spain would soon send lethal weapons to help Ukraine’s resistance against the Russian invasion. Still, his tougher position in the crisis has encountered criticism from left-wing coalition partner United We Can (Unidas Podemos). Read more.
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LISBON
Portuguese energy giant Galp stops buying Russian oil products. Galp announced Wednesday that it has suspended the purchase of Russian oil products and regretted the “acts of aggression against the Ukrainian people”, according to a statement sent to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM). Read more.
Portuguese border service to open counters for Ukrainians. The foreigners and borders service (SEF) is offering service counters dedicated exclusively to Ukrainian citizens as of Thursday, the SEF announced on Wednesday. Read more.
VISEGRAD
PRAGUE
Czechia declares state of emergency, expects influx of Ukrainian refugees. The Czech government has declared a state of emergency as it awaits a massive influx of Ukrainian refugees. Around 30,000 Ukrainians have already entered the Czech Republic since Russia waged a military attack on Ukraine. Read more.
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WARSAW
Morawiecki calls for total ban on Russian fossil fuels. The European Commission should ban imports on Russian fossil fuels, starting with coal, Polish Prime Mateusz Morawiecki said during a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday. Read more.
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BUDAPEST
Audi in Hungary braces for fallout of Russian war. Due to dependency on Ukrainian suppliers, Audi’s factory in Győr, Hungary, is expecting significant problems with the supply of spare parts within days, Telex reported on Wednesday. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovakia shuts down popular conspiracy website. The National security office (NBÚ) on Wednesday shut down one of the biggest and most influential conspiracy websites in the country – Hlavne správy (Headlines). Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian ex-general accused of spying for Russia. The Bulgarian prosecutor’s office has uncovered another Russian spy scandal involving diplomats from the Russian embassy in Sofia and a former Bulgarian general. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
Romania treats first two wounded patients from Ukraine. Two Ukrainian citizens, wounded in the war, have been admitted to a hospital in eastern Romania. This comes after the country offered to help Ukraine in its war efforts by taking wounded patients.
The defence ministry said the first transfer from Ukraine – a 44-year woman and her 19-year son, both wounded by shooting – were admitted at a military hospital in Galati, a few kilometres away from Ukraine.
According to the health ministry, Romania has reserved more than 3,000 beds for Ukrainian wounded in hospitals across the country. (Bogdan Neagu | EURACTIV.ro)
Romanian fighter plans missing, helicopter rescue mission crashes. A Romanian MiG-21 Lancer, which was executing an air patrol mission in the Dongorea region near the Black Sea, lost radio communication and disappeared from radars on Wednesday evening. A rescue helicopter sent to search of the fighter jet crashed about one hour later, killing all seven people on board.
The IAR 330-Puma helicopter was in a search-rescue mission to look for the fighter jet’s pilot, who was ultimately found dead. Before the crash, the helicopter’s pilot said the weather conditions were unfavourable, and he was ordered to return to base. The Romanian Defence Ministry said all MiG-21s and IAR-330s were grounded until the investigations were over. (Bogdan Neagu | EURACTIV.ro)
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ZAGREB
Croatian PM: Europe’s future depends on Kyiv’s fate. The future of Europe depends on Kyiv’s fate, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told Croatian lawmakers on Wednesday, where he once again condemned Russia’s aggression in the strongest terms and commended the Ukrainian army and people for their heroic resistance. Read more.
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Croatia’s HPB buys Sberbank. The Croatian Postal Bank (HPB) has bought Sberbank Croatia for 71 million kuna (€9.46 million). Read more.
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LJUBLJANA
Slovenia wants compensation after Russia destroys Kharkiv consulate. The foreign ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Slovenia Timur Eyvazov on Wednesday, demanding an apology and financial compensation after a Russian missile destroyed the building housing the Slovenian consulate in Kharkiv. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Russia prepared for any attack, won’t use nuclear weapons first, says ambassador. Russia is fully prepared to respond to any attack, but it will not use nuclear weapons first, the country’s Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, said in Belgrade on Wednesday. Read more.
Serbia to hold presidential elections on 3 April. Parliament Speaker Ivica Dačić has called for the presidential elections in Serbia to be held on 3 April. Read more.
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SARAJEVO
Dodik tries to push for BiH’s neutral stance towards Russia. Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of the tripartite presidency left a presidency session, demanding BiH take a neutral stance towards Russia’s war against Ukraine the same day the country voted in favour of a UN General Assembly Resolution condemning Russia. Read more.
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PRISTINA
Kosovo PM sets up fund for Kosovo Army, urges citizens to contribute. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has established a Security Fund to raise money for the Kosovo Army and called on citizens to contribute to it amid fears over the country’s security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read more.
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TIRANA
Albanian parliament to vote for resolution on Ukrainian war. The Albanian government has drafted a resolution on the war in Ukraine that is set to be voted on in parliament in the coming days, after previously saying it was not necessary. Read more.
AGENDA:
- EU: Justice and home affairs ministers meet in Brussels / Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola / European Parliament Committee votes on EU-UK fishing.
- Moldova: Commissioners Borrell, Várhelyi and Lenarčič as well as French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visit.
- France: European affairs ministers meet in Arles.
- Latvia/Lithuania: Parliament’s LIBE delegation visits.
- Romania: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visits Romania and will meet with President Klaus Iohannis. The governments of Romania and Poland hold a joint meeting in Warsaw.
- Serbia: Prime Minister Ana Brnabić to meet with the UK’s Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change Minister Gregory Hands.
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
