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In today’s news from the Capitals:
The September 2022 explosions that blew up Nord Stream pipelines, running from Russia to Germany at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, led to an ecological catastrophe and put local and endangered species at risk, according to a recent study by Research Square. Read more.
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EDITOR’S TAKE
The grown-ups are back in charge. That was the unmistakable subtext of UK Premier Rishi Sunak’s joint press conference with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Monday as they set out the terms of the so-called ‘Windsor Framework’, the potential successor to the Northern Ireland protocol. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
Qatargate: Belgian justice decides MEPs Kaili, Tarabella release appeals. Belgium’s justice authorities will decide on Tuesday whether the appeals to get released by jailed EU lawmakers Eva Kaili and Marc Tarabella as part of the Qatargate scandal will be accepted. Read more.
How the West’s position on Ukraine taking back Crimea could turn the war. Retaking control of the Russian-seized Ukrainian territory of Crimea, which Kyiv says it needs to retake to end the war, could soon become a point of divergence between Kyiv and its Western allies. Read more.
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BERLIN
German FM calls Putin to return to New START Treaty. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to return to the New START Treaty, Russia’s last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the US, which Moscow left last week. Read more.
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PARIS
France sees record number of foreign investments in 2022. Over 1,700 new foreign investment projects were identified in France in 2022 – a new national record – which should secure or create more than 58,000 jobs, according to findings published by public agency Business France on Monday. Read more.
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VIENNA
Romanian mission in Vienna to seek a way out of Schengen blockade. A delegation of the Romanian parliament came to Vienna on Monday to discuss overcoming the Austrian blockade of the country’s Schengen accession, criticising Austria’s hesitation in resuming a dialogue. Read more.
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BRUSSELS
Belgian FM meets Iranian counterpart over Belgian detainee. Olivier Vandecasteele, a Belgian detained in Iran and sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes, was one of the more pressing topics discussed between Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib and her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Monday. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
Boris Johnson undecided on new post-Brexit deal. Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson is not sure whether to endorse or oppose the new proposal announced by European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finnish dock workers paralyse foreign trade. The dock workers’ strike – which has gone on for two weeks now – has now paralysed Finland’s foreign trade, with no imports and exports going through any of the country’s ports. Read more.
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STOCKHOLM
NATO: Date set for Finland-Sweden-Turkey meeting. A third NATO meeting will be held between the three countries on 9 March, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu, with Nordic countries hoping they will become NATO members by the summer. Read more.
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OSLO
Greta Thunberg opposes controversial wind farm project in Norway. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg took part in a mass protest on Monday outside the Oil and Energy Ministry in Oslo against a controversial wind farm being built on a mountainous area in Sami lands. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ATHENS
Commission expresses concerns over Greek justice’s independence. The European Commission has expressed its concern regarding the independence of Greece’s justice system after a EURACTIV report revealed that there was an attempt to block an audit of an independent authority as part of the ongoing wiretapping scandal investigation. Read more.
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ROME
EPPO seized thousands in assets from Lega MEP suspected of fraud. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) seized over €170,000 in assets from Lega/ID MEP Stefania Zambelli and four of her assistants on suspicion of fraud. Read more.
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MADRID
Spanish far-right Vox tables ‘science fiction’ motion of censure against PM. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was accused of betraying the Spanish people in the Catalan political crisis and of bad governance, among other serious accusations, by the Vox party, who have tabled a censure motion against the prime minister. Read more.
VISEGRAD
WARSAW
Russia halts oil deliveries to Poland over lack of payments. The Russian Transneft company was supposed to pump Russian oil into Polish refineries at the end of February, but orders were not placed and paid, and, as a result, deliveries to Poland were excluded from the export program approved by the Energy Ministry of the Russian Federation, RIA Novosti reported. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Roma people still face discrimination in Czechia. Roma communities in the Czech Republic face discrimination in many areas, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović said after her visit to the country on Monday. Read more.
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BUDAPEST
Budapest-based Russian ‘spy bank’ faces bankruptcy. The Budapest-based International Investment Bank (IIB), which has almost 50% Russian and 25.27% Hungarian ownership, has used up nearly all of its liquidity reserves after being hit by EU sanctions. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovakia may build new nuclear power plant as electricity consumption rises. Slovakia may build a new nuclear reactor in the future as electricity consumption will increase with the new energy-intensive projects. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
TIRANA
Albanian, Montenegrin PMs sign agreements, pledge support for Kosovo dialogue. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was in Montenegro on Monday to sign several agreements with his Montenegrin counterpart Dritan Abazovic, including those relating to infrastructure, tourism, and customs. Read more.
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SOFIA
EPPO investigates multi-million euro fraud in Bulgaria. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is investigating a possible fraud case after they discovered a private company knowingly submitted false data for their annual reports in order to under-declare their emissions output under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Read more.
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ZAGREB
Report: Croatians consume most expensive eggs in EU. Egg prices have risen sharply, and these prices go up by more than 70% before reaching consumers, making them the most expensive eggs in the EU at €292 per 100 kilos, an analysis by the Novi List daily published on Monday showed. Read more.
Zagreb identifies key priorities for using billions of euros from European Social Fund. The country is entitled to draw some €2.27 billion from the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) in the 2021-27 period, Croatia’s Labor Minister Marin Piletic said on Monday. Read more.
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BELGRADE | PRISTINA
Mixed reactions from Belgrade, Pristina following normalisations of relations meeting. Leaders of Kosovo and Serbia have given mixed reactions following the high-level meeting in Brussels on Monday, designed to move forward with the normalisation of relations by agreeing on an EU-backed proposal. Read more.
Serbia, Kosovo move closer to EU-brokered deal on normalising ties. Serbia and Kosovo gave tacit approval on Monday to an EU proposal designed to normalise relations between the two countries. But with no signature on the dotted line yet, all eyes are on the next talks scheduled for March. Read more.
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SARAJEVO
Bosnian Serbs defy top international envoy’s decree. The increasingly defiant president of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb half, secessionist Milorad Dodik, brushed aside a decree by the country’s top international envoy on Monday and said a property law it sought to suspend “will remain in force.” Read more.
AGENDA
- EU: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen holds online meeting with President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) Siegfried Russwurm and President of the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux;
- Vice President Maroš Šefčovič hosts Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the U.S. Department of Energy Brad Crabtree;
- Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis participates in the European Investment Bank (EIB) Forum “Adapting to a changing world”;
- Joint visit of Home Affairs Commissioner Johansson and Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden to Ecuador and Columbia: meetings with ministers and authorities and a visit to the Port of Guayaquil in Ecuador;
- Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides delivers opening remarks at event on European Health Data Space at the European Parliament;
- Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni participates in the Digital Euro roundtable;
- Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski participates in the Start-up Village Forum “Innovative entrepreneurship in rural areas”;
- Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi in Serbia;
- European Parliament President Roberta Metsola gives closing remarks at the Anti-SLAPP Conference Meeting; Holds online meeting with Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme David Beasley;
- Parliament Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) exchanges views with President of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority Konstantinos Menoudakos, and President of Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy Christos Rammos;
- Germany: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hosts her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen;
- Finland: Lawmakers vote on NATO membership bill;
- Cyprus: Investiture ceremony for new Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides;
- China: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko visits;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara, Max Griera]
Source: euractiv.com
