Agriculture may divide Poland’s future pro-EU coalition

The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.

Today’s edition is powered by European DIGITAL SME Alliance

The DIGITAL SME summit lands in Brussels on November 13!

It’s high time for a digitalisation driven by innovative SMEs to put Europe at the forefront of technological development. Join EVP Věra Jourová, Commissioner Ivanova, MEPs and other leaders and connect with European SMEs!

Find out more >>

In today’s news from the Capitals:

WARSAW

The three opposition parties likely to unseat Poland’s current ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party could be disrupted by a list of demands from farmers’ unions, known as the ‘Agricultural Twelve’. Read more.

EU INSTITUTIONS

EU edges towards call for ‘humanitarian pause’ in Israel-Hamas war but reservations remain. EU foreign ministers on Monday (23 October) edged towards endorsing a “humanitarian pause” in the Israel-Hamas war, though some member states have signalled reservations towards the idea. Read more.

More job cuts to EU mission risks ‘lost influence’, warns UK MP. MPs have warned that cuts to the United Kingdom’s diplomatic mission in Brussels risk undermining what remains of British influence in the European Union, following Brexit in 2021. Read more.

PARIS

French medicine safety body issues warning for over-the-counter cold tablets. Medicines that can be bought without a prescription to treat blocked noses pose a rare but very serious risk to users, the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) said on Monday as cold and flu season gets underway. Read more.

France calls for ‘humanitarian truce’ ahead of Macron’s Israel trip. France is calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to allow aid to reach civilians, particularly in Gaza, a move French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has said will lead to a truce ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Israel on Tuesday. Read more.

Macron’s Middle East diplomacy faces litmus test with Israel visit. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to visit Tel Aviv on Tuesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Paris tries to define the role French diplomacy can play in the conflict. Read more.

///

BERLIN

Germany’s left-wing rebel launches populist party to run in EU elections. An influential German leftist politician has officially launched a new populist movement on Monday, hoping for European election success next June on a platform opposing further EU integration and in favour of cheap Russian energy. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

MADRID

Dispute over working hours main obstacle to possible Sumar-PSOE government. Reducing the working week is the main obstacle to a quick government agreement between the left-wing Sumar platform and the Socialist Party of acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the progressive party’s spokesman Ernest Urtasun warned on Monday. Read more.

Spain’s Jewish community denounces the biggest increase in anti-Semitism. Spain has seen the sharpest rise in anti-Semitism recently following the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian war in early October, Isaac Benzaquén, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, told the acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday. Read more.

///

ROME

Italy calls for Palestinians to be protected, stresses the need to differentiate from Hamas. Ministers in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government called to protect civilians, both Palestinian and Israeli, and suggested Israel target Hamas headquarter instead of civilians who have no fault in the situation. Read more.

///

LISBON

Portugal to speed up citizenship process for Hamas hostage. Portugal’s justice minister will speed up the process of analysing the request for Portuguese citizenship made by an Israeli hostage of the Islamist movement Hamas, Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho said on Monday, describing the matter as one of “great urgency”. Read more.

EASTERN EUROPE

PRAGUE

Minister: No evidence of Muslim radicalisation in Czechia. There is currently no evidence of radicalisation of the Muslim community in the Czech Republic, Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan (STAN) said on Sunday in light of increasing terrorism-related incidents across the EU. Read more.

///

BUDAPEST

Orbán mocks EU rule of law ‘comedy’ as EU Parliament demands funds stay frozen. Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán took a swipe at the EU on Monday, describing it as a ‘poorly executed contemporary parody’ of the Soviet Union, after the EU Parliament urged the Commission to resist Hungary’s €13 billion rule of law ‘extortion’. Read more.

///

BRATISLAVA

Slovak libertarians looking to replace chief who wants to return to EU Parliament. The ECR-aligned Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party’s chairman, Richard Sulík, plans to step down from his post next March, meaning the party will vote on his replacement while Sulík, an EU-criticising former MEP, focuses his energy on running in the 2024 EU elections. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Russian oil company promises to pay more taxes to Bulgaria to save oil imports. Lukoil’s refinery in Bulgaria promised Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov to pay almost twice as much tax to the state after the Bulgarian parliament threatened to ban Russian crude oil imports by sea, DPS parliamentary group leader Delyan Peevski (Renew) announced on Monday. Read more.

///

BUCHAREST

Multinational Corps Southeast ready for ground operations in event of war. The Southeast Multinational Corps, a component of the NATO Force Structure officially inaugurated in 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine, is ready to lead ground operations in Romania and Bulgaria in the event of a war, Major General Dragoş Dumitru Iacob said at a press conference on Monday. Read more.

///

BELGRADE

International Monetary Fund sees evident progress in Serbia. The discussions about the budget for next year were very successful, and all goals have been fulfilled so far, Donal McGettigan, who heads the delegation of the International Monetary Fund, commented after a meeting with Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali regarding the second review of the standby arrangement granted to Serbia in December last year. Read more.

///

PRISTINA

Kurti accuses Serbian defence minister of involvement in attack, calls for special court. The group known as the “Clan of Novi Sad”, Serbian Defence Minister Milos Vuceci, was involved in the terrorist attack in northern Kosovo’s Banjska on 24 September, said Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who also called for the establishment of a special court to try Serb crimes. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: General Affairs Council convenes to discuss annual rule of law dialogue, demography toolbox, and more;
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen chairs College of Commissioners meeting; Hosts President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) Siegfried Russwurm;
Commission Vice President Vĕra Jourová speaks at European Elections event on Rights and Risks in the Digital Public Space; Hosts Prime Minister of Moldova Dorin Recean;
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski participates in trilogue on Geographical Indications;
Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi hosts Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili;
International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen participates in EU-Namibia Business Forum;
Financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union Commissioner Mairead McGuinness meets Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Verena Ross; Holds videoconference with Executive Board Member of ECB Isabel Schnabel;
EU Tax Symposium “The future of taxation in the EU: Challenges ahead & changes needed” co-hosted by Parliament and Commission on “The future of taxation in the EU: Challenges ahead & changes needed”;
Austria: Bulgarian PM Nikolay Denkov on official visit;
Sweden: PM Ulf Kristersson, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hold joint press conference;
Israel: French President Emmanuel Macron visits;
Kyrgyzstan: China’s PM Li Qiang on official visit;
IEA: World Energy Outlook 2023 gets published;
UN: Security Council meets on Middle East;