The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by Euractiv’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by Euractiv.
Today’s edition is powered by FuelsEurope
Climate neutrality cannot be achieved without renewable fuels. Our industry is part of the solution to meet EU’s climate objectives. Significant policy improvements are needed to unlock investments and technologies, we therefore offer the EU our cooperation to design a Strategy for the Transition of Liquid Fuels and Products.
Find out more >>
In today’s news from The Capitals:
BERLIN
Regional elections in Brandenburg on Sunday could see Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats lose an election in the German state for the first time, with some questioning whether Scholz should run for the country’s chancellorship again. Read more.
///
EU INSTITUTIONS
European Parliament recognises opposition Edmundo González as legitimate president of Venezuela. The European Parliament recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate and democratically elected president of the country with a non-binding resolution passed on Thursday. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME | MADRID
Spain’s PP leader praises Meloni’s migration strategy. Partido Popular leader Alberto Nùnez Feijòo met the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome and praised her migration policy, which focuses on stopping boats leaving Tunisia and Libya and setting up asylum application processing centres in Albania. Read more.
///
MADRID
Spain denies coercing Venezuelan opposition leader as diplomatic row deepens. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Thursday strongly denied that Madrid had forced Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia to sign a document recognising the victory of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in the recent elections, as a leading member of Spain’s Partido Popular had previously claimed. Read more.
///
LISBON
Commission to soon reply to member states’ request to postpone budget plan. The European Commission will soon respond to the request of 20 member states, including Portugal, to postpone the deadline for submitting the medium-term structural budget plan until October, a source close to the process told Lusa on Thursday. Read more.
Portuguese farmers have ‘high hopes’ in new agri commissioner. The Portuguese Farmers’ Confederation (CAP) has high expectations of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s choice for the new agriculture commissioner, Christophe Hansen, and is confident that he will pay attention to the sector, the group said on Thursday. Read more.
EASTERN EUROPE
WARSAW | BRATISLAVA
Von der Leyen pledges billions of euros for flood-stricken regions. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged EU-funded aid to help repair the damage caused by recent floods as she visited the western Polish city of Wroclaw on Thursday. Read more.
///
PRAGUE
Flooded Czech municipalities struggle to organise elections. Preparations are now well underway for the elections for local councils and a third of the Senate on Friday and Saturday in Czechia, albeit under extremely difficult conditions in the flooded regions. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA |SKOPJE
Bulgaria’s Borissov calls for North Macedonia’s deputy PM to resign. Boyko Borissov, leader of Bulgaria’s largest party, GERB, on Thursday called for the resignation of Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Alexander Nikoloski over his comments about Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Bulgaria, further adding fuel to the ongoing ‘missing flag’ scandal. Read more.
///
BUCHAREST
Romania to boost ammunition acquisition amid border war. Romania is to speed up the procurement of ammunition in response to Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT), chaired by President Klaus Iohannis, decided on Thursday. Read more.
///
LJUBLJANA
Slovenia removes obstacle to EU confirmation of new commissioners. The Slovenian government finally submitted nomination papers for Marta Kos to become its European commissioner on Thursday, paving the way for the European Parliament to kick-off its confirmation procedures, Slovenian government and EU sources told Euractiv. Read more.
***
[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor-Braçe, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
