Car-makers buckle as Kremlin’s war hits European industry

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

EUROPE

Kremlin’s war on Ukraine is dealing another blow to Europe’s car manufacturers, already reeling from the pandemic and the global chip shortage. Read more.

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BERLIN

Germany investigates suspected gouging of petrol prices. The economy ministry is investigating why petrol prices have remained high despite falling oil prices following accusations of price agreements between petroleum companies. Read more.

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PARIS

France presents plan to curb impact of Russia sanctions. A French “resilience plan” to cope with the sanctions issued against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine was announced by Prime minister Jean Castex on Wednesday. Read more.

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VIENNA

Vienna pushing for sanctions on more Russian oligarchs. The Austrian government is pushing to include more oligarchs in the fifth round of sanctions against Russia. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Dutch could face recession as a result of Ukraine war. The Dutch economy could be facing a recession as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Read more.

UK AND IRELAND

DUBLIN

Irish journalist killed in Ukraine. Irish cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was one of two journalists killed in Ukraine this week in an attack that left another reporter seriously injured. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

STOCKHOLM

Sweden is not ruling out additional weapons to Ukraine. The government has received answers from the country’s Armed Forces about what can be sent to Ukraine’s military in addition to the equipment already sent, broadcaster SVT reported. Read more.

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COPENHAGEN

Denmark to join possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. Denmark is ready to send soldiers to a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Defence Minister Morten Bødskov said after Poland suggested such a mission should be carried out. Read more.

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TALLINN

Estonian parliament demands no-fly zone over Ukraine. The Estonian parliament Riikokogu is appealing for a no-fly zone over Ukraine and has encouraged the EU and NATO to enhance Ukrainian alliances with the West. Read more.

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VILNIUS

Lithuania to create ‘complex solution’ on fuel prices. As fuel prices rise in Lithuania, the government is looking for ‘complex solutions’ rather than focusing specifically on fuel, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has said. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

MADRID

Spanish government to increase defence budget. The government will gradually increase the country’s defence budget, close to 2% of Spain’s GDP, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, confirmed on Wednesday, despite criticism from its left-wing coalition partner Unidas Podemos (United We Can). Read more.

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ROME

Italian aircraft very close to Ukrainian warzone. Italy’s fighters are currently deployed close to the warzone in Ukraine, the head of the Italian Air Force Staff, Luca Goretti, said on Wednesday. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal can receive Ukrainians, hopes they fill vacancies. Portugal has the capacity to receive Ukrainians and needs people to work because, every month, about 23,000 job vacancies remain unfilled, said the Claudia Pereira, secretary of state for integration and migration on Wednesday. Read more.

VISEGRAD

PRAGUE

Czech PM suggests EU countries could grant asylum to Russian deserters. EU countries should take care of Russian soldiers who are not willing to fight anymore, said Prime Minister Petr Fiala who, after he visited Kyiv, presented several ideas on how the EU could further support Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion. Read more.

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WARSAW

Poland rolls out mass registration campaign for Ukrainian refugees. Poland is preparing to accept hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians into its administrative system, making it easier for Ukrainians to migrate permanently to Poland and other EU countries in the future. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Bulgaria to stop using Russian gas by 2023. The Bulgarian government is working on a plan to replace Russian gas after the expiration of the long-term contract with Gazprom at the end of 2022, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the state gas company, Bulgargaz Ivan Topchiiski has announced. Read more.

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ZAGREB | MADRID

Sanchez: Mistake with Zagreb drone crash threatens allies. The EU and NATO must learn from the “mistake” concerning last week’s crash of an unmanned aerial vehicle in Zagreb because “we are faced with a war”, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Wednesday in Madrid after meeting his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenković. Read more.

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ZAGREB

US F-16s air police NATO’s Southern Flank. Two F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft are being deployed to Croatia’s Air Base in Pleso to execute a combat exercise with the Croatian allies “while supporting NATO’s collective defence in Southeast Europe”, US Forces at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany said on Wednesday. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Brussels raises quotas for Serbia’s steel exports into the EU. The European Commission has raised the quotas for Serbia’s exports of various types of steel onto the EU market, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce announced on Wednesday. Read more.

Serbian flag carrier pressured to reduce Moscow flights. National flag carrier Air Serbia will have to “reset to factory settings” and run eight rather than the current 15 weekly flights to Moscow like it did before the crisis, following pressure from Europe, the Politika newspaper reported on Wednesday. Read more.

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SARAJEVO

EU’s Borrell: BiH security more important after Ukraine invasion. The EU will continue supporting peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, EU Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed Wednesday, noting that this has become particularly important after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read more.

Russian Ambassador says BiH can join NATO, but Moscow will react. Bosnia and Herzegovina has the right to decide whether or not to join NATO, Russian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Kalbukhov has said, warning, however, that Moscow reserves the right to respond to such a possibility. Read more.

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SKOPJE

North Macedonia Central Bank to keep historically low policy rate unchanged. North Macedonia’s central bank said on Wednesday that it had decided to leave its policy rate unchanged at the historically low level of 1.25%, as the current monetary stance supports lending to companies and citizens, providing support for the economy’s further recovery. Read more.

North Macedonia seeking alternatives if Russia cuts gas supplies. North Macedonia is looking into alternative ways to obtain gas, including via Greece’s Alexandroupoli, if Russia suspends its natural gas supply to Europe, government sources have said.

Macedonian natural gas supplies are fully dependent on Russia via a pipeline that goes through Bulgaria. Most economic operators in the country operate on natural gas. (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)

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PODGORICA

Montenegro to repay Credit Suisse to free up gold. The government will payoff a €30 million loan due to Credit Suisse Bank on 11 April to get back the gold placed as collateral on that loan, Finance and Social Welfare Minister Milojko Spajić has said. Read more.

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TIRANA

Civil society says police violence in Albania must end. A coalition of 18 civil society organisations as well as journalists has called on the Albanian police to stop using violence against protestors and respect the human rights of assembly following an increase in incidents. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: EU environment ministers meet in Brussels / Commissioners Elisa Ferreira and Nicolas Schmit host Cohesion Forum / Launch of the ‘Ukrainian Hub‘ at the European Parliament Station Europe building / Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov addresses European Parliament committee
Germany: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to deliver a video message to the German Bundestag plenary / Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in Berlin.
Ireland: Saint Patrick’s Day.
Poland: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visits Tbilisi.
Czechia: Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský will meet in Prague with his Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis.
Italy: Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio meets French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian.
Romania: Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez comes to Bucharest to meet his Romanian counterpart Nicolae Ciuca and President Klaus Iohannis. The president will also receive his Estonian counterpart, Alar Kalis, at the Cotroceni presidential palace.
Croatia: The City of Zagreb and the CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-Southeast Europe association host a two-day conference focusing on climate in cities.
Serbia: Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer visiting Serbia, scheduled to meet with President Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije.