German lawmaker: PiS plays political games against Kyiv

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

BERLIN

As tensions between Germany and Poland’s nationalist government continue to brew, asenior lawmaker in Germany’s coalition government blasted Warsaw on Thursday over what he called a “disgraceful” plan to end arms supplies to Ukraine, attributing it to electoral motives by Polish ruling PiS party. Read more.

BERLIN

German Greens turn against French comrades in driving licence debate. The German Green party has strongly distanced itself from a proposal on driving licences made by French Green EU lawmaker Karima Delli after politicians from Germany’s ruling and opposition parties strongly criticised the proposals. Read more.

PARIS

French politicians slam Borrell’s weak response to new Nagorno-Karabakh spat. French politicians have taken aim at EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s reaction to Azerbaijan’s military operations against the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh, saying his remarks were inadequate amid fears that economic and energy interests are taking precedence. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austria’s right takes aim at plans to raise national CO2 tax. Lower Austria’s conservative far-right government of ÖVP and FPÖ is going against federal plans to increase the country’s CO2 tax, claiming high inflation requires support, not additional burdens. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Belgium wants EU migration plan adopted by end of Council presidency. Belgium is aiming for a new migration pact to be ratified before its EU Council presidency stint ends, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a speech to the UN General Assembly Thursday. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

COPENHAGEN

Danish parliament allows Greenlandic Faroese without interpretation. Denmark’s parliament will allow the use of minority languages, Greenlandic and Faroese, spoken in the Kingdom of Denmark, but those who wish to speak in their native tongue will have to translate their speeches into Danish themselves, the parliament announced on Thursday. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ATHENS

‘Tsipras miracle’ happened once: Greek left on the brink of collapse. The main opposition leftist Syriza party is on the brink of collapse as internal elections to replace former prime minister Alexis Tsipras in the party’s leadership has turned into an unprecedented toxic civil war.

The European Left does not rule out a party split scenario, while MEP Stelios Kouloglou told Euractiv that the “Tsipras miracle happened once”, meaning that Tsipras’ success leading a small leftist party into power will not happen again easily. Read more.

Greece under scrutiny for failing to implement EU floods directive. As Central Greece starts to recover from the deadly floods caused by Storm Daniel, authorities are coming under scrutiny for their lack of preparation and failure to implement EU directives on flood management. Read more.

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ROME

Italian government begins discussions on clean nuclear power. The Italian government has launched the National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear Power, which will lead within nine months to developing guidelines for possibly reintroducing nuclear power among national energy sources. Read more.

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MADRID

Sanchez’s leadership plummets over controversial amnesty law. The possible approval of an amnesty law for those involved in the illegal 2017 Catalan referendum of independence, required by Catalan nationalist parties in exchange for the support Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez needs to form a government, has created a divide within the Spanish socialist party. Read more.

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LISBON

Portuguese company detects 961 pro-Russian cyber attacks in Western Europe. Portuguese company VisionWare detected 961 cyber attacks by pro-Russian hackers against Western countries and organisations between October 2022 and March 2023, according to an official report sent to Lusa on Thursday. Read more.

EASTERN EUROPE

WARSAW

Poland in talks with Germany over alleged illegal waste shipments. Poland and Germany had their first hearing with the European Commission on Wednesday, following a complaint by Warsaw that Germany shipped 35,000 tonnes of illegal waste into the country. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czechia struggles to finance arms for Ukraine. The Czech Republic will continue to prioritise supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression by helping it finance its weapons despite its obvious difficulties in consolidating its public finances. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Ukraine halts legal action against Slovakia amid grain import drama. Legal action against Slovakia, including before the World Trade Organisation and a ban on imports of Slovak agricultural products into Ukraine, will be dropped after online negotiations in which both countries agreed to set up a grain trading system based on issuing and monitoring licences. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

High-ranking Russian priest expelled from Bulgaria. Bulgarian authorities expelled on Thursday the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia, Archimandrite Vassian Zmeev, who was expelled from Skopje a week earlier because of allegations that he was a Russian spy. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romanian LGBTQ+ community wants equal rights, not special conditions. Same-sex couples married in other EU member states will not be recognised as spouses in Romania and will only be granted residence rights, a draft law approved by the government reads. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenia enacts amnesty for COVID rule-breakers. Anyone fined for violating COVID-era restrictions later declared unconstitutional will be reimbursed and their offences expunged from their records under a bill passed by the Slovenian parliament on Wednesday. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Vucic calls UN Charter an obligation, throws shade at Western states. Respecting the UN Charter is not a choice but an obligation, and its disregard, particularly in the case of Serbia, is a precursor to the problems the world is facing today, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić spoke told the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Read more

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TIRANA

Albanian president demands equal rights for Albanians in Serbia as in Kosovo at UN Assembly. The administrative ethnic cleansing of Albanians living in the south of Serbia was raised by Albanian President Bajram Begaj at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, where he called for the strengthening of their rights as Kosovo does with Serbs in the north. Read more.

Albania’s Skavica hydropower project to be examined by Constitutional Court. AAlbania’s controversial but yet-to-be-built Skavica mega-dam, which threatens some 41 villages in the north of the country, will be reviewed by the country’s highest court following a constitutional complaint by a coalition of energy and environmental NGOs. Read more.

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PRISTINA

Kosovo-Serbia relations teeter once again over Vucic visit, Serb arrests. Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina are rising once again after the arrest of three ethnic Serbs in Kosovo and Serbian President Aleksander Vucic saying he will visit the country without permission, with Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla saying he will be arrested if he does. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič participates in UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Ministerial consultations on funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage, in New York, United States;
Vice President Margaritis Schinas delivers keynote speech at opening session of 6th Mediterranean of the Future conference, in Marseille, France;
Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius meets with Minister of Natural Resources of China Wang Guanghua; Delivers opening remarks at the Ocean Governance high level dialogue, in Shezehn, China;
Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit participates in “The future of work and social dialogue” conference, organised by the Spanish Presidency, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
France: Press conference aboard Ocean Viking ship in Marseille on humanitarian situation in the Mediterranean;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]