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In today’s news from the Capitals:
BERLIN
Germany’s dependence on Chinese raw materials is increasingly attracting the government’s attention as it continues, together with the EU, to work at full speed on freeing itself from Russian economic dependence. EURACTIV Germany reports. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
Liberal Renew opposes a no-confidence vote against von der Leyen. More than two-thirds of European lawmakers from the liberal Renew Europe group do not support the proposed vote of no-confidence against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, sources close to parliamentary group leadership told EURACTIV France. Read more.
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Czech Presidency: ‘Let’s forget about the Farm to Fork strategy for a few months’. It would be wise to forget about the EU’s flagship sustainable food policy, the Farm to Fork strategy, throughout the Czech Republic’s presidency to instead focus on increasing food production, Štěpán Černý, director-general for European Affairs for the Czech government told EURACTIV. Read more.
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North Macedonia PM: We wish Ukraine good luck but for us, the EU didn’t deliver yet. The EU’s stalled accession process has become a security issue amid an increase in the influence of foreign players in the vulnerable Western Balkans region, North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski told EURACTIV in an interview. Read more.
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PARIS
Macron, Mélenchon neck-and-neck amongst ex-pat voters. French President Emmanuel Macron and far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon are neck-and-neck as the results of the legislative elections among French people abroad published on Tuesday show. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria to support companies affected by Russian gas exit with €400 million. The government will cover new costs arising from diversifying gas suppliers, and infrastructure revamps by disbursing €100 million to companies per year from 2022 to 2025. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Monkeypox cases double in the Netherlands. The Netherlands now has 54 recorded cases of monkeypox compared to 26 registered last Monday, Dutch media NL Times reported. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
UK prepares for life without Horizon Europe ahead of ‘last round of talks’. The UK government is preparing to abandon its attempts should ‘a last round of talks’ fail to break an 18-month impasse on whether UK universities and researchers can access the EU’s €95.5 billion Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
UK Science Minister George Freeman will hold talks with European Commission counterparts on Wednesday (8 June), warning the plug will be pulled unless “a last round of talks” succeeds. Read more.
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DUBLIN
Ireland joins international trial of four-day work week. Thousands of workers in Ireland have begun trialling a four-day week after the country joined an international test of the system. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
TALLINN | HELSINKI
Finland, Estonia struggle to legalise pushbacks. Estonia and Finland are finding it challenging to prepare the foundations to legalise pushbacks, something Latvia, Lithuania and Poland did last year while the EU turned a blind eye. Read more.
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STOCKHOLM
Justice minister narrowly survives no-confidence vote. Swedish Justice and Home Affairs Minister Morgan Johansson survived a vote of no-confidence put forward by the far-right Democrats of Sweden on Tuesday by one vote. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ATHENS
Commission, Greece lost in translation over seizure of Russian ship transferring Iranian oil. The European Commission and Greek authorities cannot answer whether the seizure of the Russian tanker that transported Iranian oil from Greece constitutes a violation of European rules.
The seizure was also why the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran (IRGC) seized on 27 May two Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, causing turmoil in international shipping. Read more.
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LISBON
Energy sector is Europe’s greatest weakness, says Portuguese PM. The energy sector is “the greatest vulnerability that Europe has” right now, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa said in Paris on Tuesday. Read more.
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ROME
Commission confident Italy will eventually introduce minimum wage system. The Italian government will eventually see the importance of introducing a minimum wage system in Italy, Employment Commissioner Nicolas Schmit told reporters after a provisional agreement on an EU directive to settle new rules on adequate minimum wages was reached in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Read more.
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MADRID
Spanish government provides €7.6 billion for direct investments in mobility. The Spanish government has earmarked over €7.6 billion from its post-pandemic recovery plan to boost direct investments in transport and mobility, a sector transforming as it faces the challenge of sustainability, according to Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda Minister Raquel Sánchez. Read more.
VISEGRAD
PRAGUE
Czech president will veto same-sex marriage bill if lawmakers approve it. President Miloš Zeman said he would veto a bill that would allow same-sex couples in the Czech Republic to marry after the lower house of parliament received a bill amending the Civil Code to that effect. Read more.
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WARSAW
Polish households to receive subsidies to weather coal shortages, price hikes. Polish households will receive subsidies to weather the impact of coal shortages and high prices, according to one of the several support measures announced by Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moskwa on Tuesday. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian PM refuses to discuss sending heavy weapons to Ukraine. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov categorically rejected Ukraine’s request made public on Monday to send heavy weapons to stop the Russian offensive in Donbas. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
B9 Defence ministers commit to security priorities on Eastern flank. Defence ministers in the Bucharest Nine (B9) format adopted a joint statement on their commitment and common position in promoting defence and security priorities on the Eastern flank. Read more.
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ZAGREB
Croatian president: US sanctions in Bosnia are ‘arrogant terrorising’. New US sanctions against a top Bosnian Croat official represent “arrogant terrorising of a legitimate representative of the Croat people”, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday, upping the ante in his nationalist rhetoric often aimed against the West. Read more.
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LJUBLJANA
Slovenian court suspends extended producer responsibility rules. The Constitutional Court has suspended the implementation of provisions of the new environmental protection act that deal with extended producer responsibility (EPR). Read more.
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BELGRADE
EU will lose credibility if it neglects Western Balkans. The EU will lose credibility if it does not focus on the EU integration of Western Balkan countries, which are being threatened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, speakers at a conference attended by high-level representatives of Serbian and Romanian institutions and civil society said on Tuesday. Read more.
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UN to address Presevo Valley administrative cleansing. The matter of the mass removal of ethnic Albanians from voting lists in the southern-Serbian Presevo Valley will be discussed by the United Nations following a meeting between Albanian political representatives and Albania’s ambassador to the UN. Read more.
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TIRANA
Varhelyi to attend Open Balkan meeting amid claims of Russian backing. The announcement that European Commissioner for enlargement Oliver Varhelyi will attend day two of the Open Balkan initiative just a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov appeared to support it has caused outrage amongst politicians and analysts in Albania. Read more.
Agenda:
- EU: Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and Chairman of Ukraine’s parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk address the European Parliament.
- European Parliament votes on climate legislation.
- European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen participates in the debate on conclusions of the special European Council meeting on 30-31 May 2022.
- European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) holds a press conference on its annual report.
- EU Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell participates in OECD 2022 ministerial council meeting.
- Enlargement Commissioner Olivier Varhelyi attends Open Balkan summit in Ohrid, North Macedonia.
- France: Working dinner between French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime minister Mario Draghi in Paris on Wednesday (8 June).
- Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addresses Congress over Morocco’s new ties.
- Sánchez to explain the conclusions of the last European Council and the new Spanish policy on Western Sahara before parliament on Wednesday (8 June).
- Italy: Prime Minister Draghi to attend the opening ceremony of the Meeting of the OECD Council at the Ministerial Level.
- Greece: Protest over treatment of migrants and violence at borders.
- Turkey: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visits with a military delegation.
- World: World Oceans Day.
- Western Balkans: Day two of Open Balkan summit takes place in Ohrid, North Macedonia.
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Eleonora Vasques]
Source: euractiv.com
