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In today’s news from the Capitals:
Countries in the EU waiting room such as Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have mainly failed to register any real progress in reducing corruption and improving democracy over the last four years, fundamental pre-requisites for EU accession.
The plight of the Western Balkan countries was in the spotlight at the recent EU-Western Balkan summit in Brussels. Angry regional leaders took to the stage to point fingers at the EU, its lack of unity, unfulfilled promises, and even accused the EU of not having its own house in order.
While some of their frustrations were justified, EURACTIV wanted to take a closer look to see just how far they have progressed in the last few years in terms of their own housekeeping.
The results are far from impressive. Read more.
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EU SPECIAL REPORT
Warsaw’s Ukranian ‘paradox’: The Polish capital’s long road to recovery. Inflation and war in neighbouring Ukraine have dampened the Polish capital’s efforts to rebuild after the pandemic while also tackling the city centre’s long-standing challenges – depopulation and soaring real estate prices.
Yet, industry representatives point out that “paradoxically”, the Ukrainian refugee crisis has presented Warsaw’s struggling hospitality industry with new opportunities. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
EU body brings overseas regions closer to Brussels. The Committee of the Regions, an advisory body representing local and regional authorities, will put a citizen from the bloc’s distant outermost regions at the helm of an EU institution – a historic first. Read the full story here.
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BERLIN
Germany’s Scholz rallies G7 countries behind ‘climate club’ idea. G7 countries have put their weight behind German Chancellor Olaf Sholz’s idea to create a climate club of ambitious countries aiming to accelerate their efforts, which is seen as complementary to the EU’s carbon border tax. Read the full story here.
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PARIS
Court condemns French state for poor COVID management. The Paris administrative court condemned the government on Tuesday for not having prepared sufficient stocks of facemasks and for the contradictory statements it issued about the virus at the start of the pandemic. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria to ease labour market access for third-country nationals. Faced with stark shortages of skilled workers, Austria will ease access to the labour market for third-country nationals through revamping the so-called “red-white-red-card” residence scheme. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch coast sees rapid rise in sea levels. Sea levels along the Dutch coast are rising rapidly, scientists from the Delft University of Technology have found. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
UK will not join Macron’s ‘political community’. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Tuesday ruled out the prospect of the UK being part of a ‘European political community’ proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron after it was suggested that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was interested in joining. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finland to broaden abortion rights in wake of Roe v Wade. An initiative pushing for loosening abortion requirements in Finland gathers steam as the Nordic country gains cross-party support to change its abortion law from the early 1970s. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME
Commission backs Italian LGBTQI bill proposal sunk by parliament. The European Commission has given its support to Alessandro Zan’s anti-homophobia bill that was sunk by the Italian parliament in October, EU Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli announced on Twitter after she met with the lawmaker in Brussels on Tuesday. Read more.
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LISBON
Portuguese PM calls on UN Oceans conference to produce ‘drastic actions’. The UN Oceans Conference, which is set to run until Friday in Lisbon, should define “drastic actions” to address the ocean emergency, Prime Minister António Costa tweeted on Tuesday after meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Lisbon. Read more.
VISEGRAD
PRAGUE
Central eastern Europe energy hub to coordinate EU gas supplies. The new Prague-based Central Eastern regional task force, established within the voluntary EU Energy Platform set up to secure energy supply and phase out dependency on Russia, will identify bottlenecks in gas supply in the region and propose urgent solutions. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovaks worried by climate change but don’t want drastic lifestyle shift. Most Slovaks view climate change as a serious threat but reject solutions that would drastically affect their lives, a new survey has found. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
ZAGREB
Croatian Commissioner admits inflation ‘likely’ means less COVID recovery projects. While the size of EU COVID recovery support will probably stay the same despite inflation, rising prices are likely to lead to fewer projects than initially planned, Croatian Commissioner Dubravka Šuica said. Read more.
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SOFIA
Bulgaria increases pensions amid political crisis. Parliament adopted a proposal of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s ousted government to increase pensions by 10% as Bulgaria heads for its fourth snap election in less than two years. Read more.
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BELGRADE
EU official urges Serbia to join bloc stance on Russia. The European Union wants Western Balkan countries to join its unified stance on Russian aggression, including with regard to sanctions, said Emanuele Giauffret, the EU Delegation chief to Serbia, on Tuesday, adding that the war in Ukraine had made the enlargement process an even more important geostrategic priority. Read more.
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SARAJEVO
Council of Europe calls on Bosnia to step up justice access for trafficking victims. Bosnia-Herzegovina should improve the implementation of the anti-human trafficking framework, particularly concerning victims’ access to justice and effective remedies, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Human Beings (GRETA) said in its third-evaluation report published Tuesday, where it also welcomed the legislative and policy developments the country has taken in the field thus far. Read more.
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PRISTINA
EU representative’s visit to Pristina draws a blank. Nothing new came out of the meeting between EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak and Prime Minister Albin Kurti where the two discussed the EU-facilitated dialogue and a recent energy agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. Read more.
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TIRANA
Albania seventh globally for cannabis cultivation and distribution. Albania is the seventh leading cultivator of cannabis in the world, according to the World Drug Report 2022 from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Read more.
Agenda:
- EU: European Commission College meeting.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to participate in the NATO summit.
- Vice-President Dubravka Šuica receives Ukrainian Social Policy Minister Maryna Volodymyrivna Lazebna.
- France: Verdict in the trial over the November 2015 Paris attacks.
- Court of Appeal to decide on the extradition of former Italian far-left activists wanted by Italy.
- High Council on Climate (HCC) annual report published.
- Portugal: Climate march during the UN oceans conference.
- Spain: NATO Summit.
- Anti-NATO protest.
- Serbia: EU special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Priština and other regional issues in the Western Balkans Miroslav Lajčak will pay Belgrade a three-day visit.
- Montenegro: Prime Minister Dritan Abazović to pay a visit to Serbia.
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Eleonora Vasques]
Source: euractiv.com
