Danish PM: Become greener to weaken Putin

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

COPENHAGEN

Denmark will stop reliance on natural gas by 2030 even though this means production will increase in the short-term, the Danish government announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

As part of the proposals in the new energy package branded ‘Denmark can do more II’ and presented on Tuesday (19 April), the government vowed to make Denmark independent from Russian gas.

“When we become greener, we weaken Putin. And when we become greener, we slow down the climate change that is destroying our planet,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Read more.

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PARIS

Zemmour calls on far-right forces to unite ahead of legislative election. The various forces of the radical and far-right should unite ahead of the legislative elections in June, far-right candidate Éric Zemmour, who failed to make it to the presidential run-off after taking just 7.1% of the vote in the first round, said on Tuesday. Read more.

Macron talks up green credentials ahead of French election. President Emmanuel Macron promised to put the environment at the heart of his government if he is re-elected next weekend, in a speech in southern France on Saturday (16 April) designed to appeal to young and green-minded voters. Read more.

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BERLIN

Economist: Inflation will eat up Scholz’s €100 billion defence package. The “historic” defence spending package announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will not be enough to make up for shortfalls in the country’s military spending, according to economists. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austrian Freedom Party continues to block Zelenskyy from addressing parliament. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to be blocked from addressing Austria’s parliament as the far-right party FPÖ continues to withhold agreement. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Dutch reopen embassy in Lviv. The Netherlands has reopened its Ukraine embassy, which will be run by the ambassador and a small staff in Lviv for the time being, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Read more.

Dutch government promises more weapons in call with Zelenskyy. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and defence minister Kajsa Ollongren pledged their support to Ukraine amid Russia’s renewed offensive and promised more weapons during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday.

“The Netherlands will be sending heavier material to Ukraine, including armoured vehicles. Along with allies, we are looking into supplying additional heavy materiel,” Rutte tweeted.

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON

Fraction of Ukraine aid has been delivered. Despite the government’s promise to provide £220 million of humanitarian aid to help the victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, less than one-third of the money has been distributed, a leading UK lawmaker has revealed. Read more.

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DUBLIN

Irish FM briefs UN Security Council after Ukraine visit. Irish Foreign and Defence Minister Simon Coveney spoke to the UN Security Council on Tuesday following his recent trip to Ukraine. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Finland’s foreign committee chair warns of Russian manoeuvres. Russia could intervene if Finland were to apply for NATO membership, Jussi Halla-aho, Chair of the nationalist Finns Party and head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, has warned. Read more.

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STOCKHOLM

Swedish government proposes €3.8 billion spring budget. The government’s new spring budget includes investments worth about SEK 35 billion (€3.8 billion) “to increase crisis preparedness”, Finance Minister Mikael Damberg announced in a press conference on Tuesday. Read more.

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TALLINN

More Russians want to be Estonians. Applications submitted by Russian citizens for Estonian citizenship since the war in Ukraine have tripled compared to the situation a year ago, the Estonian News Agency (ERR) reported on Thursday (14 April).

More generally, the number of Russians wanting to give up their citizenship is on the rise, statistics compiled by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) have found.

(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ATHENS

Greeks pay the highest electricity price in the EU. Greece has had the highest electricity price in the EU for two consecutive days, according to the EU Day-Ahead Market Prices. The government vows to take further measures to tackle an escalating energy crisis, while the opposition urges action against the “energy cartel”. Read more.

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ROME

Italy looks to Congo and Angola in mission to cut gas dependency on Moscow. Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the Republic of Congo President Dénis Sassou N’Guesso agreed on the “wide potential of the bilateral partnership, particularly in the energy sector”, Palazzo Chigi, Italy’s Council of State seat, said in a note on Tuesday. Read more.

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MADRID

Sanchez to ‘soon’ meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez plans to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “soon” and convey his country’s solidarity with the Ukrainian people, Spanish government sources confirmed on Tuesday. Read more.

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LISBON

Economy minister: ‘Windfall tax’ off table for now. Portugal’s government is currently not considering increasing tax on companies making extraordinary profits in a bid to support those that are struggling from the effects of the war in Ukraine, Portugal’s Economy Minister Antonio Costa Silva said on Tuesday. Read more.

VISEGRAD

BUDAPEST

Hungary invests in relations with Turkey. Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó travelled on Tuesday to the Turkish capital to visit the future 3,000 square metre building site of a new embassy in a sign of strengthening relations with Turkey. Read more.

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WARSAW

Polish supreme court classified judges’ asset declaration in new corruption scandal. The Supreme Court classified the declaration of assets of Constitutional Court head Julia Przyłębska, while she herself did the same thing with the declarations of five Tribunal judges, the Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported on Tuesday. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech expert: EU treaty change unlikely after Conference on the Future of Europe. The Conference on the Future of Europe will not lead to changes in the EU’s treaties because there is no consensus among member states for this, a Czech expert told EURACTIV.cz. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

EU Parliament VP to lead Progressive Slovakia party. European Parliament vice-president Michal Šimečka is the only candidate in the race to become Progressive Slovakia’s party chairman but does not want to give up his seat and position in the EU assembly. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

BELGRADE

British Embassy in Serbia denies reports about arming Kosovo as bogus. The British Embassy in Belgrade on Tuesday denied reports by several media outlets in Serbia about alleged arms exports from the UK to Kosovo, labelling them as totally bogus. Read more.

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SOFIA | THE HAGUE

Dutch official receives offer to reveal secrets on F-35s in Bulgaria. A Dutch military servant who is part of the staff of the F-35 stealth fighter jets stationed in Bulgaria has been offered payment to share information about the planes, an article published on the Dutch website www.nrc.nl, states. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania to reopen embassy in Kyiv. Romania has decided to reopen its embassy to Ukraine in Kyiv, foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Tuesday. “The activity of the Embassy will be resumed on the ground as soon as possible after the necessary technical and security preparations will be finalised,” Aurescu said in a Twitter post.

The Romanian embassy in Ukraine suspended its activity in Kyiv on 25 February, one day after the Russian military invasion. (Bogdan Neagu | EURACTIV.ro)

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ZAGREB

Croatia’s state attorney, tax, custom authorities to access Unified Accounts Registry. The finance ministry has put to public consultation a bill enabling the State Attorney General’s Office (DORH), customs and tax administrations and the police to have access to the Unified Accounts Registry (JRR), which is now available only to the Financial Agency (FINA). Read more.

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SARAJEVO | ZAGREB

Croatian PM urges BiH parties to agree on electoral reform. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković urged politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to decide on the reform of electoral legislation and limited constitutional reform as he met in Zagreb with the Chairman of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Čović, the Croatian government said in a press release, Hina reported. Read more.

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SARAJEVO

Russia suspends financing of High Representative in BiH. The Russian Federation has informed the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR) that it is suspending its participation in financing the OHR, daily newspaper Nezavisne Novine learned from the institution. Read more.

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PODGORICA

Dukanovic: Formation of minority government means return of DPS. The formation of a minority government also means the return of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) to a politically relevant position, said Montenegrin President and party leader Milo Đukanović.

The formation of a minority government means the return of the DPS as a transitional solution until the next parliamentary elections, which will mean a definite return of our party to the pivotal place of pro-European policy in Montenegro, said Đukanović.

(Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)

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TIRANA

Albania’s tourism sector braces for fallout of Ukraine war. Labour shortages, rising fuel and food prices, and the Ukrainian war are the triple forces threatening the revival of Albania’s fledgling tourist industry, which accounts for over a quarter of GDP. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee debates EU sanctions on Russia / Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov and Ukrainian MPs visit Brussels / US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is in Brussels for three-day talks on China, Russia and Indo-Pacific / European Parliament civil liberties committee discusses situation in Hungary with Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.
Germany: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock kicks off three-day trip to Baltic States / SPD leadership meets Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin for damage control.
France: President Emmanuel Macron and far-right presidential rival Marine Le Pen face at televised debate ahead of election.
Denmark: Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in Copenhagen, meets with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Finland: Lawmakers begin debating whether Finland should join NATO.
UK: Prime Minister Boris Johnson answers prime minister’s questions (PMQs) in parliament.
Spain: As of Wednesday, Spain the mandatory use of face masks indoors, with a few exceptions (in hospitals and pharmacies).
Bulgaria: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will meet Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Sofia, he already met PM Kiril Petkov and some of the Bulgarian ministers the day before.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: A US bipartisan congressional delegation will arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday as a part of a visit to the Balkan countries, the Voice of America reports.
Albania: Discussions continue amongst lawmakers as to who will be the next President of the Republic.