Berlin to put relationship with ‘changing’ China on new footing

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

BERLIN

The German government is expected to release its long-awaited China strategy on Thursday to reshuffle its relationship with the eastern giant that is increasingly perceived as a rival and competitor. Read more.

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EU INSTITUTIONS

EU House stresses ‘side-effects’ of Romania, Bulgaria Schengen blockade. A non-binding European Parliament resolution adopted on Wednesday calls for Bulgaria and Romania to join the border-free Schengen area by the end of the year, stressing severe side effects for the two countries’ citizens and slamming Austria for blocking their accession without a legitimate reason. Read more.

High stakes as EU anti-SLAPP directive enters final negotiations. The EU directive to protect journalists and rights watchdogs from abusive litigation entered inter-institutional negotiations on Wednesday with key provisions remaining in the balance, after the European Parliament voted to approve the text with a broad majority. Read more.

MEPs slam ‘unsatisfactory’ ethics body plan in latest Qatargate row. MEPs dismissed the European Commission’s plans for a new EU Ethics Body as unsatisfactory and toothless in the latest row over transparency reforms following the Qatargate scandal. Read more.

Timmermans: EU farmers do not need more money to smooth green transition. The EU’s agricultural subsidies budget does not need to be bolstered in the next period, despite calls to enlarge the farming fund, Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told EURACTIV in an interview. Read more.

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BERLIN

Germany to counter Chinese influence in Latin America via Global Gateway. Germany wants to intensify its investment into Latin American and Caribbean infrastructure, notably via the EU investment initiative, Global Gateway, as a way to fight back against Chinese influence in the region, a new position paper of the German Development Ministry reads. Read more.

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PARIS

Indian PMs France visit criticised over human rights issues. French President Emmanuel Macron’s official reception of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accused of powering the country’s authoritarian drift, has caused quite a stir among human rights activists despite the Élysée Palace’s talk of an inevitable partner. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Belgian PM: NATO shouldn’t get involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine. The NATO alliance should maintain the delicate balance between helping Kyiv and not getting involved in the war as this would risk the security of NATO and Ukraine, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at the NATO summit in Vilnius on Wednesday. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Dutch to invest €100 million into innovative chipmaking technology. The Eindhoven-based chip plant Smart Photonics, specialising in producing photonic chips, will get a €100 million investment from a consortium of the Dutch government, banks and several semiconductor-producing companies, the group announced on Wednesday. Read more.

Dutch farmers’ association slams EU Nature Restauration law. The Dutch farmers’ association LTO hit the EU Parliament’s vote in favour of the EU Nature Restoration Law on Wednesday, warning that the law will only aggravate the country’s simmering nitrogen crisis. Read more.

Dutch justice minister to likely lead VVD post-Rutte, ready for PM role. Outgoing Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius will likely take over VVD leadership from former leader and prime minister Mark Rutte after she announced she was ready to take on party leadership and, if successful in the upcoming national elections, the prime minister’s office. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Finnish businesses fume at minister refusing to apologise for racist comments. Finland’s business community is now concerned over how Finland is viewed abroad, fuelled by the refusal of Finance Minister Riikka Purra (Finns Party) to apologise for past racist comments. Read more.

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STOCKHOLM

Sweden signs defence agreements with Ukraine. Sweden and Ukraine have committed to increased military cooperation by agreeing to share classified information and improve the delivery of defence equipment in the future, according to two agreements signed on Wednesday, ahead of Sweden’s formal accession to NATO. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

MADRID

Spain’s centre-right gains support after harsh election debate: poll results. Over 40% of 1.2 million voters said they would shift their vote to Partido Popular after watching the electoral debate between Partido Popular´s leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo (PP/EPP) and Spain’s acting prime minister and socialist leader Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) on Monday, according to poll results published on Wednesday. Read more.

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ROME

Meloni reiterates Italy’s military support to Ukraine at NATO summit. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated Italy’s commitment to supporting Ukraine with soldiers and weapons in addition to supporting Kyiv’s bid for NATO membership as soon as conditions allow, she said during the NATO summit in Vilnius on Wednesday. Read more.

EASTERN EUROPE

PRAGUE

Czech ex-hockey player asks EU to grant asylum to anti-war Russian, Belarusian athletes. EU countries should provide asylum for Russian and Belarusian athletes who condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Dominik Hašek, a former hockey goalkeeper, said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Read more.

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WARSAW

Berlin to withdraw from Polish military repair deal over high prices. Germany plans to terminate an agreement with Poland that sent broken-down Leopard tanks from Ukraine to Poland for repair due to high costs. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovak police chief threatens to quit amid conflict with interior minister. After Interior Minister Ivan Šimko posted a Facebook status criticising the police for not taking a gender-based violence case seriously, Police Chief Štefan Havran announced he is considering resigning from his post, adding that any political control of the police crosses a red line and is unacceptable. Read more.

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KYIV

Tobacco industry sets foot in war-torn Ukraine. Tobacco company Philipp Morris International has announced the construction of a new €27 million factory in western Ukraine that it expects to be operational by the beginning of 2024. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

BELGRADE

Vucic: US sanctions against Serbian Security Agency chief over Russian stance. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Serbian Security and Information Agency (Bezbednosno informativna agencija, BIA) Director Aleksandar Vulin over corruption and destabilisation, but Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said it is his stance on Russia that motivates it. Read more.

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SOFIA

Nearly half of Bulgarians believe AI will lead to job losses. About 45% of Bulgarians believe that artificial intelligence will lead to job losses, 37% worry that it could replace human labour in their field, and nearly one-fifth think that artificial intelligence should be banned because it poses a danger to humans, according to results of a study by Trend Agency. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romanian National Bank experts concerned over impending budgetary crisis. The budget deficit is at risk of surpassing 6% of GDP by the end of 2023, according to Valentin Lazea, the chief economist of the Romanian National Bank (BNR), which directly contradicts Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu’s target of a 4.4% deficit. Read more.

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TIRANA | BELGRADE

Serb trolls attack users who post about Serbia-Kosovo crisis online. Journalists and analysts of different nationalities have reported online threats, abuse and harassment when posting content related to the Serbia-Kosovo crisis, with most of the attacks coming from what many believe to be government-linked troll accounts. Read more.

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PRISTINA

FM: Kosovo not interested in ‘pseudo-dialogue’. The European Union-backed Kosovo-Serbia dialogue has been handshakes and photoshops and an opportunity was missed to present a better strategy and get more concrete results, according to Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla. Read more.

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TIRANA

Albanian parliament expected to lift immunity of former deputy prime minister. Albanian parliament is expected to greenlight lifting the parliamentary immunity of former deputy prime minister Arben Ahmetaj, currently believed to be on the run, over corruption and money laundering charges. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: Eurogroup convenes to discuss fiscal policy guidance for 2024, digital euro, EU capital and financial markets, and more;
Informal meeting of social affairs ministers to focus on teleworking and the right to digital disconnection, greater protection for the self-employed, analysis of social investments that generate better results, and more;
EU-Japan summit: President of the European Council Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to review digital partnership, green alliance, cooperation on security issues, international & regional developments, and more;
President Ursula von der Leyen hosts the high level European Commission-United Nations Retreat in La Hulpe, Belgium;
Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans participates in ceremony to establish EU Day to Commemorate the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis;
Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni meets with ESM Managing Director Pierre Gramegna;
Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius meets with Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault;
International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen attends the European Union – Latin America and Caribbean Forum (EU-LAC);
Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli participates in trialogue on directive for combating violence against women and domestic violence;
European Parliament plenary session debates global convergence on Generative AI; Votes on Act in Support of Ammunition Production, recommendations for reform of the European Parliament’s rules on transparency, integrity, accountability, and anti-corruption, and more;
France: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits for Bastille Day;
Belgium: Prime Minister Alexander De Croo hosts UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss Ukraine, climate;
Finland: US President Joe Biden on official visit;
ICC: Prosecutor Karim Khan briefs UN Security Council on Sudan;