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In today’s news from the Capitals:
ROME. Italy’s opposition left has urged Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to react to former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi who lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for actions he says have led to death and devastation in Ukraine.
Berlusconi also called Washington to step in and use the funds to rebuild Ukraine to stop Zelenskyy’s “attack” against the “two autonomous republics of the Donbas”. Read more.
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A WORD FROM VIENNA
Austria’s conservatives out of options. As support for Austria’s conservative ÖVP continues to thaw away like ice in the sun, the party that governed Austria through the COVID-19 and energy crises appears to be out of options. Read more.
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BERLIN
Conservatives secure clear lead in Berlin rerun election. The conservative CDU was crowned the clear winner in the rerun regional election in the traditionally left-leaning capital on Sunday, ousting the Social Democrats but likely not denying the rule of a future left-wing coalition. Read more.
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PARIS
French highway companies could soon pay for green transition. Highway companies will also have to foot the green transition bill, French Transport Minister Clément Beaune told Le Monde in an interview published on Friday. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria hesitant to halt comeback of cheap Russian gas. Stopping the comeback of cheap Russian gas to Austria by adopting measures is something the government is hesitant about, citing concerns of expropriating government-owned assets. Read more.
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BRUSSELS
Belgian MEP Tarabella claims innocence in Qatargate. Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella continues to claim his innocence with regard to any involvement in the Qatargate scandal, after he was taken into custody Friday and heard by investigators over the weekend. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch cabinet in favour of relaxing visa rules for earthquake victims. The Labour Party’s request to relax visa policy for Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims, is something the cabinet can get behind, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on WNL’s Sunday broadcast. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
Senior UK politicians to discuss Brexit malaise. A cross-party gathering of senior politicians to discuss the UK’s failure to make a success of Brexit an indication of a growing consensus about the malaise that the Brexit process is in. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finland, Sweden to join NATO by July, says Finnish president. Finland and Sweden will become members of the NATO alliance by July, President Sauli Niinistö told the Finnish News Agency STT on Saturday. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
NICOSIA
Centrist candidate wins Cypriot elections, EU family still pending. Independent centrist candidate Nikos Christodoulides won the second round of the Cypriot elections on Sunday and became the 8th President of the Mediterranean island. However, the political puzzle remains complex as it’s not clear yet which EU political family the new government in Cyprus will join. Read more.
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ATHENS
Court ruling on auctions upsets Greeks before elections. Greece’s Supreme Court has ruled that loan management companies can conduct auctions on behalf of “funds” that have bought packages of red loans. In practice, this means that hundreds of thousands of people risk losing their first residence at a sensitive time before the national elections. Read more.
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MADRID
Madrid protestors stand up against privatisation of public health. About 250,000 people took to the streets of Madrid on Sunday to defend the public health system, protesting against the ‘dismantling’ of the primary care network in the Spanish capital carried out by the right-wing regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, organisers said. Read more.
VISEGRAD
BRATISLAVA
Slovak government divided on Ukraine’s call for jets. Slovakia is willing to deliver grounded Soviet-made jets to Ukraine, according to acting Prime Minister Eduard Heger, though members within his government, and opposition parties leading the polls ahead of September’s snap elections, doubt his enthusiasm. Read more.
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WARSAW
Polish right wants EU Parliament to double down on corruption. The European Parliament must adopt anti-corruption legislation, representatives of Solidarna Polska, the main Eurosceptic force in parliament that is also part of the government, wrote in a letter sent to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Brussels could fine Czechia for poorly protecting children against sexual abuse. The European Commission may fine Czechia for not having sufficiently transposed the EU Directive on combating sexual abuse and exploitation of children, Czech government Commissioner for Human Rights Klara Simackova Laurencikova and MEP Marcel Kolaja (Pirates) said. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
BELGRADE
Serbia will struggle no matter who wins Ukraine war, says Vučić. It is no longer clear who is winning the war, but it will be difficult for Serbia – which has so far managed to avoid sanctioning Russia – to pick a side, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told TV Prva. Read more.
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SOFIA
Ex-PM Borissov distances himself from US corruption sanctions. Boyko Borissov, a former prime minister and currently leader of the largest Bulgarian party GERB, has tried to distance himself from his long-time finance minister Vladislav Goranov, whom the US recently sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act. Read more.
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PRISTINA
US hopeful over Kosovo-Serbia agreement, Vucic not convinced. US stakeholders in Kosovo have spoken in support of comments from Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Friday that he would accept the EU proposal, backed by France and Germany, for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Read more.
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TIRANA
Albanian opposition protest in Tirana, another scheduled for Monday. Head of the Democratic Party and former Prime Minister and President Sali Berisha called for another protest on Monday after thousands of opposition supporters marched against the government on Saturday. Read more.
AGENDA
- EU: Eurogroup convenes to discuss recent developments in the energy markets, euro area labour markets, and more; European Commission presents 2023, 2024 economic forecasts;
- Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets with Chairs of the European People’s Party and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament Manfred Weber and Iratxe García-Pérez;
- Vice President Maroš Šefčovič meets with Special Presidential Coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security Amos Hochstein in Washington; Speaks at event organised by the Department of Energy with the participation of the European Battery Alliance and U.S. Li-Bridge Alliance;
- Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn hosts Lithuanian Minister of Finance Gintarė Skaistė;
- Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni participates in European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) signature event, launched by the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) and five EU Member States (France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belgium);
- President of the EIB Werner Hoyer holds meetings with Vice President Frans Timmermans, International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen, and Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn;
- High level meeting organised by the Swedish presidency on active and autonomous ageing discusses challenges and opportunities of demographic change;
- Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hold meeting;
- European Parliament Plenary session convenes in Strasbourg, France; Agenda highlights include REPowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans, electoral rights of mobile Union citizens in municipal elections, and more; President Roberta Metsola attends;
- Finland: Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hold press conference;
- Portugal: Independent commission publishes final report on sexual abuse of minors in Portuguese Catholic Church;
- Kenya: US-led military exercises involving more than 20 states take place;
- UN: Security Council meeting on children in conflict zones;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
