EU democratic leaders turn their back on Orbán

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.

EDITOR’s TAKE: Where is the cash for Europe’s dash for gas? The European Commission may have focused only on €4 billion worth of coal in the latest sanctions package proposed on Tuesday but a total EU energy embargo covering Russian oil and gas has become inevitable.

Germany and Austria are among the last remaining holdouts, but the reports of war crimes and other atrocities committed by the Russian army against civilians only serves to speed up the journey toward a full embargo. Read more.

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

BUDAPEST

Coordinated or not, Europe’s pro-EU mainstream political leaders have refrained from congratulating, at least in public, Viktor Orbàn for his re-election in Hungary.

According to EURACTIV network partners across the bloc, most governments remained silent, Visegrad adopted a more cautious approach while others expressed their disappointment. As expected, far-right populist parties rushed to congratulate the Hungarian leader. Read more.

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BERLIN

Putin threatens retaliation after Germany nationalises Gazprom subsidiary. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to hold back food exports and take retaliatory measures against Western companies after Germany nationalised the German Gazprom subsidiary on Monday. Read more.

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PARIS

France to investigate war crimes against citizens in Ukraine. France’s anti-terrorism prosecutors have opened three new investigations over alleged “war crimes” perpetrated against French nationals in Ukraine. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austrian chancellor to travel to Kyiv. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer will be travelling to Kyiv to show his support to Ukraine following a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Former minister to coordinate Russian sanctions in Netherlands. The coordination of sanctions efforts against Russia will be tasked to former minister Stef Blok who was appointed National Coordinator for Sanctions Compliance and Enforcement on Monday. Read more.

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON

UK to host key NATO technology hub. The United Kingdom, in partnership with Estonia, will host the European HQ of a new programme for NATO allies to develop new military technologies. Read more

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DUBLIN

Ireland to trial basic income scheme for artists after COVID. Ireland’s government approved a three-year-long pilot scheme trialling basic income for artists on Tuesday. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Orban’s victory could block Finland’s NATO aspirations. Hungary’s newly re-elected Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party winning Sunday’s elections makes some Finnish analysts wonder whether Orbán could stand in the way of their NATO aspirations or ask NATO or the EU for something in return for his support. Read more.

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OSLO

Norwegian-Russian border cooperation thrives despite Ukrainian war. The border cooperation between Russia and Norway continues despite war in Ukraine, as evidenced by a recent meeting of the Norwegian Joint Operations Headquarters with the Chief of the FSB Border Directorate, according to High North News. Read more.

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COPENHAGEN | STOCKHOLM

Denmark, Sweden expel Russian diplomats for spying. More than a dozen Russian intelligence officers have been given two weeks to leave Denmark after the Foreign Policy Committee decided on Tuesday (5 April) to expel them, while Sweden announced the deportation of three Russian diplomats on the same grounds. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ROME

Italy to expel 30 Russian diplomats. Italy announced the expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats on Tuesday, the latest in a long line of EU states to do so. Read more.

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MADRID

Zelenskyy appeals to Spanish parliament, evokes Guernica bombing. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy referred to the Spanish Civil War-era bombing of Guernica to appeal to the Spanish parliament for stronger action against Russia on Tuesday, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal orders expulsion of ten Russian embassy staff. Portugal has declared ten employees of the diplomatic mission of the Russian embassy in Lisbon persona non grata, giving them two weeks to leave the country, the foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. Read more.

VISEGRAD

PRAGUE

Czech Republic sends tanks to Ukraine. The Czech Republic is the first country to send Ukraine tens of T-72 tanks to help its army defend against Russian attacks, news site Echo24 reported on Tuesday. Read more.

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WARSAW

Commission to postpone launching recovery fund for Poland. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denied rumours that the Commission would approve Poland’s Recovery Plan before her planned visit to the country later this week. Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Hungarian stock market plunges after Commission rule of law announcement. The Hungarian forint fell sharply following the news that the EU would trigger the rule of law conditionality against Hungary, while the local stock market also took a serious hit, with investors selling shares of OTP, Hungary’s largest commercial bank, Telex reported via Portfolio.hu. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Head of Slovak far-right party sentenced for using Nazi symbolism. Marian Kotleba, member of the National Council and head of the far-right People’s Party Our Slovakia, has received a suspended six-month sentence with an 18-month probation period for expressing sympathy for a movement suppressing basic rights and freedoms. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

ZAGREB

Croatian spy chief: US knew when Ukraine war would start. The US intelligence community knew seven days before Russia invaded Ukraine when exactly it would strike, Security and Intelligence Agency Director Daniel Markić told the Croatian-US Forum in Zagreb on Tuesday, adding that the US shared the information with Croatia, national agency Hina reported. Read more.

Possible NATO chief successor says qualifications are key for role. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Croatia’s former president and former NATO Secretary-General assistant who was several times mentioned as Jens Stoltenberg’s possible successor, said the person for the job should be chosen based on qualifications.

“The next NATO Secretary-General must be chosen exclusively based on their work, education, ethics, competence, experience and all the other aspects we insist on when selecting someone for a position,” she said during the panel at the Croatian-US Forum in Zagreb on Tuesday, Hina reported. “You have nothing to add?” the moderator asked.

“Nothing to add. We can discuss the women’s quota, but that is an entirely different matter,” said the former president. (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)

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SOFIA

Bulgaria predicts economic slowdown due to Ukraine war. The growth of the Bulgarian economy in 2022 will slow to 2.6%, according to the finance ministry’s spring forecast, which previously predicted 4.8% growth on which the state budget was built. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania expels 10 Russian diplomats. Romania has finally joined the ranks of other EU and NATO members that expelled Russian diplomats following the invasion of Ukraine by dismissing 10 Russian diplomats from its territory. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenia expels 33 Russian diplomats. Slovenia has effectively expelled 33 Russian diplomats without declaring them persona non grata. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Key EU nations back Ukraine in EU membership bid, not Serbia. Most citizens in Germany, France, Italy and Spain are in favour of Ukraine joining the EU, while the majority in those countries oppose Serbia’s EU path, a study published Tuesday shows. Read more.

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Xi congratulates Vucic on election win. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on his victory in the presidential elections, saying this was very important for developing relations between the two countries.

“Over the last several years, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Serbia has been sustaining a vital development trend,” said Xi according to a statement from Vučić’s office published Tuesday. “The mutual political trust between our two countries is firm and practical cooperation is producing rich results,” the Chinese president also said.

“We face changes that have not been seen for a century, our two sides are abiding by mutual respect and treating each other as equals and together advancing the building of a community for the shared fate of mankind and positively contributing to preserving international justness and justice,” Xi said. “I especially cherish my good business relationship and personal friendship,” with Vučić, the Chinese president added. (EURACTIV.rs | betabriefing.com)

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SARAJEVO

BiH genocide survivors slam Russian spokesperson’s Srebrenica statements. Genocide survivors in Bosnia and Herzegovina and BiH Foreign Minister Bisera Turković strongly condemned the statements of Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova that appear to imply the 1995 Srebrenica genocide was staged. Read more.

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SKOPJE

North Macedonia’s opposition more popular than government. Those in favour of North Macedonia’s largest opposition VMRO-DPMNE far outnumber those who would vote for governing party SDSM if elections were held today, a recent poll shows. Read more.

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PODGORICA

ECB extends EUREP deadline for Montenegro. The European Central Bank’s governing council has decided to extend the deadline for Montenegro’s Central Bank to continue using EUREP, the European bank’s repo facility that is one of the measures to curtail the COVID-19 crisis, Montenegro’s central bank announced. Read more.

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TIRANA

No end in sight for Albanian price increases. Albania’s rising price woes will continue until at least the end of the year, Bank of Albania Governor Genc Sejko told a press conference on Tuesday. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: European Parliament debates Russia sanctions, rule-of-law response to Hungary and Poland / European Council President meets Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meets with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev / Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni receives Executive Director of International Energy Agency Fatih Birol / Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on visit to Washington D.C.
NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels with Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Georgia and Asia-Pacific partners.
Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz takes questions from lawmakers at the German Bundestag.
France: Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA) meeting on crisis in the Sahel and Lake Chad region.
Switzerland: Human rights defenders attend ‘Summit for Human Rights and Democracy’.
Ireland: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky gives virtual address to Irish parliament.
Greece: Strike called by private and public sector unions against rising prices and calling for higher wages / Delphi Economic Forum.
Bosnia i Herzegovina: 30th anniversary of the start of the war in Bosnia.