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In today’s news from the Capitals:
BERLIN | PARIS
Germany and France are disappointed by the lack of overall ambition states showed with regard to phasing out fossil fuels and cutting emissions in heavy-emitter countries like China and India in the final hours of Sunday’s COP27 negotiations in Egypt. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
EU must offer alternative to Russia and China, Borrell says. The EU must avoid creating new ‘dependencies’ and offer an alternative to partner countries as it reshapes its diplomatic approach after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the bloc’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell told EURACTIV. Read more.
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PARIS
One in five French children live below poverty line, UNICEF warns. One in five French children live below the poverty line, and France is struggling to guarantee the most basic rights for children in vulnerable situations, UNICEF France wrote in a report published Sunday. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria mulls withdrawing from Energy Charter Treaty. The Austrian government is considering withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), a controversial energy investment protection treaty, after a reform spearheaded by the European Commission failed on Friday. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
FIFA World Cup: Dutch interest in Qatar matches very low. Interest in the controversial tournament hosted by Qatar has reached a low in the football-fanatic nation, with King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte not planning to attend and just 14% of Dutch citizens excited about the tournament. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
Sunak government rejects reports of Swiss-style EU relationship. Rishi Sunak’s government has been forced to deny reports that it is planning to overhaul UK-EU relations by agreeing to a trade partnership based on Switzerland’s agreement with the bloc. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
No take-off for Finnair as cabin crew strikes. Flag carrier Finnair had to cancel around 100 flights on Sunday and Monday as the company’s cabin crew staged a strike due to salary cuts. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME
Most Italians oppose former minister as EU Gulf envoy pick. Former Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio could be the EU’s next special Gulf envoy, but most Italians believe he is not the right man for the job. Read more.
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MADRID
Mortgage relief measures expected to soon help Spain’s highly indebted. Homeowners at risk of financial insolvency could have their mortgage conditions eased according to an agreement between the Spanish government and the country’s banking sector to be announced Tuesday. Read more.
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ATHENS
Greece’s soaring food prices cause government headaches. Food prices in Athens and Berlin are almost at the same level, but the German minimum wage is more than double the Greek one, leftist Avgi journal has reported. Read more.
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LISBON
Portugal calls on Commission to release second recovery tranche soon. The European Commission should soon release the second tranche of the Recovery and Resilience Plan as Portugal is currently implementing the first one, Prime Minister António Costa said Sunday. Read more.
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VALLETTA
Immigrants in Malta protest racism, discrimination, violence. Migrant workers and activists in Malta took to the capital’s streets over the weekend to protest against racial violence and abuse of power against ethnic minorities in the country. Read more.
VISEGRAD
WARSAW
Poland will not admit Russian representatives on its territory. Poland has issued a series of decisions that effectively ban Russian representatives, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, from attending international meetings and summits located on its territory. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Czech police investigates racist attack against journalist. Police are currently investigating the racist attack that allegedly targeted Czech Television editor Richard Samek during a protest against the government and public broadcaster Czech Television last week. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian detainees not linked to Turkey terror attack, says court. There is no clear evidence that five suspects currently detained in Bulgaria were involved in the 13 November Istanbul terrorist attack, a Bulgarian court announced on Saturday evening. Read more.
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BELGRADE|PRISTINA
EU to hold emergency talks with Kosovo-Serbia as deadline looms. Amid the looming license plate deadline, EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell has called an emergency meeting between Kosovo and Serbia on Monday. Read more.
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PRISTINA
US pressure on Pristina ahead of urgent Kosovo-Serbia talks on Monday. Over the weekend, US State Department advisor Derek Chollet spoke of three points raised with Prime Minster Albin Kurti regarding normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia, ahead of a crucial meeting in Brussels on Monday. Read more.
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TIRANA
Concentrated media ownership main issue in Albania. The ownership of media by powerful business people with vested interests poses the main threat to media freedom in Albania and reform is necessary, according to a coalition of international media freedom delegates who visited the country. Read more.
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AGENDA:
- EU: Agriculture and Fisheries Council discusses the new EU Forest Strategy 2030, nature restoration, availability and affordability of fertilisers; EU ministers receive information from the Commission on Bioeconomy Conference and on the action plan to promote energy transition of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors; Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski participates in the meeting;
- Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis participate in a high-level stakeholder event at the EU-US Trade & Technology Council, in Brussels;
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola hold a meeting in Strasbourg;
- Von der Leyen meets with the Chair of the European People’s Party Manfred Weber, the Chair of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Iratxe García-Pérez, and the Chair of Renew Europe Stéphane Séjourné;
- Metsola attends a plenary session in Strasbourg; Meets with Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, and Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament Vejdi Rashidov;
- European Parliament debates the negotiations between the Commission and the Hungarian government linked to the Conditionality Regulation and the RRP;
- Prevention during plenary session; Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis participate in the Recovery and Resilience Dialogue;
- EU Parliament debates management and better care of diabetes in the EU on the occasion of World Diabetes Day; Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides participates in plenary debate;
- Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson attends European Parliament Plenary Session, in Strasbourg;
- EU Presidency organises an expert meeting on vaccination with participants from the EU-27, focusing not only on vaccination against COVID-19, but also on routine immunisation in the context of the refugee crisis provoked by the war in Ukraine or vaccination calendars, in Prague;
- Plenary Meeting of the European Judicial Cybercrime Network takes place in Prague, focusing on the topics of Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Rights, Digital Evidence and Encryption;
- France: President Emmanuel Macron hosts Moldovan President Maia Sandu; Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visits;
- United Kingdom: Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference takes place;
- Qatar: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue meeting;
- UN: Security Council holds meeting on North Korea, counter-terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
