German minister points at Pristina to deescalate Kosovo tensions

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BERLIN | PARIS

After tensions between Kosovo and Serbia flared up again, raising eyebrows in Brussels, Germany and France called on both sides to de-escalate as they are currently “really jeopardising” their EU path.

But in an exclusive interview with EURACTIV, German Minister of State for Europe Anna Lührmann pointed the finger at Kosovo, saying the de-escalation push “also applies to Pristina”. Read more.

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OPINION

Former Hungarian diplomat: Corruption is next decades’ biggest security challenge. Political corruption will be one of the next decade’s biggest security challenges for intergovernmental organisations like NATO, and will further jeopardise the work of international organisations going forward, Zsolt Rábai, the former Foreign Policy Adviser to the Hungarian president, writes. Read more.

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EUROPEAN SPECIAL REPORT

Anaphylaxis is ‘underestimated’ life-threatening allergic reaction. Anaphylaxis, a severe and life-threatening reaction triggered by allergies, is a major health risk due to its rapid onset while immediate access to adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) is not equal in the EU. Read more.

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EU INSTITUTIONS

EU court rejects German SPD MEP’s anti-EU taxonomy suit. In a first-instance ruling, the European Union’s top court rejected the lawsuit of SPD MEP René Repasi, who claims the European Parliament had no say in the inclusion of nuclear and natural gas in the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy, ruling that he has no standing. Read more.

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BERLIN

Germany’s emboldened far-right shoots for chancellorship. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will have a candidate run in the chancellorship race for the first time in 2025, party co-leader Alice Weidel confirmed as the emboldened party soars in the polls. Read more.

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PARIS

French government dissolves environmental group that clashed with police. The French government dissolved the environmental group, Les Soulèvements de la Terre, on Wednesday, citing the group’s violent clashes with the police as the group sought to stop constructing a water reservoir in western France on 24 March. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austria unveils ‘Friends of the Western Balkans’ group, wants speedy EU accession. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will present the “Friends of the Western Balkans”, a group of seven EU member states keen to speed up EU accession for Western Balkan states during the Europa-Forum Wachau in Lower Austria on Friday, his ministry announced Wednesday. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Disappointment in the Netherlands as Agricultural Accord falls through. Neither farmer’s representatives nor the cabinet hid their disappointment on Wednesday after negotiations on the long-debated Agricultural Accord were ultimately laid to rest late on Tuesday night, following the exodus of agrarian business association LTO Nederland. Read more.

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON

UK could have avoided lockdown, says former health secretary. The UK could have avoided the COVID-19 lockdown had it been better prepared, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the COVID-19 public inquiry on Wednesday. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Finland’s startup community threatened by new government programme. Leading Finnish startups have strongly criticised the new right-leaning government’s plans for employment and migration, saying they threaten the country’s entire startup ecosystem. Read more.

Bank of Finland Governor announces presidential run. Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn announced his candidacy to become Finland’s next president at a press conference Tuesday where he emphasised continued support to Ukraine and close cooperation with the West, particularly the European Union and the US. Read more.

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STOCKHOLM

Sweden to tighten asylum regulations to avoid ‘shadow society’. A geographical limit for asylum seekers, improving the efficiency of returns, and whether to tighten up asylum reception were discussed by Swedish Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard and far-right Sweden Democrat migration spokesperson Ludvig Aspling. Read more.

Sweden adopts ‘100% fossil-free’ energy target, easing way for nuclear. Sweden’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a new energy target, giving the right-wing government the green light to push forward with plans to build new nuclear plants in a country that voted 40 years ago to phase out atomic power. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

MADRID

Regional PP candidate rules out governing with ‘sexist’ VOX. With less than a month to go before the general elections in Spain, the candidate of centre-right Partido Popular (PP) for president of the autonomous region of Extremadura, María Guardiola, ruled out a future government with what she called a “sexist” far-right VOX party. Read more.

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ROME

Ailing Italian left struggles with internal nagging. Opposition to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is faltering as members of the Democratic Party (S&D) are now increasingly divided on issues like the war in Ukraine, while current Party Secretary Elly Schlein has resorted to ambiguous statements to avoid ruffling any more feathers. Read more.

VISEGRAD

WARSAW

Poland’s influential PiS leader returns to government. Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the Polish ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and former prime minister, will return to the government as deputy prime minister, government spokesman Piotr Müller confirmed. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech parliament to vote on Istanbul Convention. The Czech government agreed to give the green light to ratify the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence on Wednesday, sending the document to the Chamber of Deputies for a decision. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Bulgaria, Romania eye Schengen membership this year. European institutions are preparing to admit Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen this year, with visa-free travel by air expected in October, followed by the abolition of land border controls by 1 January, diplomatic sources in Brussels and the Bulgarian parliament and government told EURACTIV. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

OMV Petrom to partner with Romgaz for Neptun Deep project amid NGO criticism. OMV Petrom announced together with Romanian state-owned gas producer Romgaz that it will invest up to €4 billion in the development phase of the Neptun Deep project, which will generate approximately 100 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas – highly criticised by NGOs. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenia grapples with teacher shortage. Slovenian schools have been complaining about an acute shortage of teachers, and now parliament has stepped in by passing a bill that makes it easier to hire teaching staff without teaching skills or without the national teaching exam following a unanimous vote on Wednesday. Read more.

TIRANA

Albania’s efforts to combat money laundering show progress, more work ahead. Albania has improved measures for tackling money laundering and terrorist financing but there is still work to be done, according to the Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL follow up report, published on Wednesday. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: Online conference on “the EU single market as a driving force for European competitiveness” organised by the Swedish Presidency and the Council, hosts high level speakers, policymakers, local authorities, industry representatives and civil society actors to exchange views;
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France;
Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis meets Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey;
Vice President Frans Timmermans delivers opening speech at CAN Europe event on “Applying the Polluter Pays Principle for new sources of climate finance: building momentum on approaches which support global equity”;
Financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union Commissioner Mairead McGuinness meets with Chair of the Board of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) Jacek Jastrzębski in Warsaw; Holds meeting with representatives of Polish FinTech companies
Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn participates in the annual Deutsche Bank Forum in London, United Kingdom;
Parliament President Roberta Metsola, on official visit in Rome, Italy, meets with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni;
France: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visits;
UN: Security Council meeting on Somalia;