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In today’s news from the Capitals:
As the Netherlands continues to withhold its green light for Romania and Bulgaria to join Europe’s border-free zone, politicians in the Balkan countries warn that the move, perceived as unfair and discriminatory, risks feeding Euroscepticism and discord during times of instability. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
EU leaders wary of dependencies created with China, but far from united. EU leaders expressed increasing concern on Friday (21 October) about economic dependencies with China and said they needed a united stance towards Beijing. Read more.
MEPs raise ‘geostrategic dependence’ concerns over shift to electric vehicles. Fifty European Parliament lawmakers have written to the EU executive to express concerns about the shift to electric mobility, a move they fear could leave Europe reliant on third countries for key materials. Read more.
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BERLIN
German government split over Ukraine military aid. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht are calling for the amount earmarked for Ukraine military aid in the annual budget to be tripled in a letter sent to liberal and famously frugal Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Read more.
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PARIS
Russia discusses “uncontrollable escalation” in Ukraine with France, Turkey. After a flurry of calls with Washington, the Russian defence minister discussed with French and Turkish counterparts the “uncontrollable escalation” of the Ukraine situation in Sunday phone calls. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria’s richest multi-billionaire, popular with anti-vaxxers dies. Multi-billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, famous for founding the energy drink company Red Bull and a TV channel popular with the right-wing and anti-vaxxers, died at age 78 on Saturday. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
Sunak favourite to be UK PM after Johnson drops comeback bid. Rishi Sunak looked set to become Britain’s next prime minister after Boris Johnson withdrew from the contest on Sunday (23 October), saying that although he had enough support to make the final ballot he realised the country and the Conservative Party needed unity. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finland to likely reject Brussels’ biodiversity strategy. Finland may vote against the Biodiversity Strategy tabled by the Commission, said Prime Minister Sanna Marin after her Green Environment and Climate Change Minister Maria Ohisalo and a parliament committee opposed Brussels’ involvement in the country’s forest policy. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ATHENS
Greece’s Tsipras blasts PM’s Ukraine policy favours diplomacy. Former Greek prime minister and President of the largest left-wing party in the EU, Alexis Tsipras, has called on Europe to take decisive initiatives to silence the guns and let diplomacy speak. Read more.
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MADRID
Spain could see close-to-zero growth in Q3, says expert. Spanish growth will come “close to zero” in the third quarter of 2022, a senior expert at the National Statistics Institute said Friday, confirming previous reports about the high probability of a “technical recession” in the Iberian country next year. Read more.
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NICOSIA
Nicosia ‘very’ unhappy about UN Special Representative. Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has expressed his strong discontent with how the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General Colin Stewart and UNFICYP are exercising their role in Cyprus. Read more.
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VALLETTA
Malta’s woes continue with embezzlement and tax evasion scandals. The head of the Agency for European Integration and Economic Development (AEI) in Vienna has been accused of embezzling EU funds to a Malta-based private trust while Belgium speaks out over yacht tax evasion loophole. Read more.
VISEGRAD
WARSAW
Polish government to increase sentences for espionage. Poland could increase sentences for espionage on behalf of a foreign state from 10 years to 25 years imprisonment, according to a government bill expected to be soon voted on by parliament’s lower house. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Czech presidential hopefuls united over EU, NATO membership. The candidates who have confirmed their interest in running for the presidential office agree that the Czech Republic should remain an EU and NATO member, and deepen relations with the US, a poll conducted by the Czech Press Agency has found. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovakia’s pandemic-exhausted municipalities face uncertain winter. The municipalities which have had to deal with the effects of the pandemic and are not receiving much government help are likely to face an even greater challenge this upcoming winter as they deal with the current energy crisis. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
LJUBLJANA
Former foreign minister wins first round of presidential election. Conservative lawmaker and former foreign minister Anže Logar has won the first round of the presidential election and will face the lawyer Nataša Pirc Musar, a left-liberal former information commissioner, in the run-off on 13 November. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Serbia president unveils new cabinet, 6 months after election. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić presented a new government on Sunday, led by his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), six months after a parliamentary election won by the SNS and their coalition partners. Read more.
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PRISTINA
Discussions over Kosovo-Serbia intensify, whispers of snap election emerge. Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti called opposition stakeholders to meet this weekend to discuss ongoing negations with Serbia while analysts believe a snap election could be on the cards. Read more.
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TIRANA
Albanian citizens protest over man who died in police custody. Protesters took to the streets of Tirana on Friday after a 32-year-old man died in police custody last week, sparking outrage and public political spats. Read more.
AGENDA:
- EU: The European Union Military Committee (EUMC) will convene at the level of EU Chiefs of Defence (CHODs) to discuss current developments and steps forward for the Strategic Compass implementation, including the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity, and the Capability Development domain; The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) expected to join during a session dedicated to Military Mobility; Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Missions and Operations, an update on the EU Military Assistance Mission Ukraine, and possible new activities also on the meeting’s agenda;
- EU Environment Ministers to decide whether to approve two sets of Council conclusions that will serve as the EU’s general negotiating mandate for the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), and for the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15); The Environmental Council is also expected to adopt the regulation on persistent organic pollutants formally; EU Ministers to debate the proposal to revise the Industrial Emissions Directive and the Waste Landfill Directive and the proposal to renew the Eco-Design Regulation on ecological design requirements for sustainable products;
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022;
- Vice-President Margaritis Schinas to receive Ambassador of the mission of the Republic of Armenia to the EU Anna Aghadjanian;
- Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager meets with the members of the Roundtable for Europe’s Energy Future;
- Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson participates in the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Prague Process, in Czechia;
- Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis participates in a videoconference with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai;
- Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders participates in a conference organised by the European Publishers Council, a high-level group of Chairmen and CEOs of leading European media corporations;
- EU Parliamentary Committee on Budgetary Control to debate on 2021 discharge: EU general budget, and discharge to other institutions, in Brussels;
- Parliamentary Committee on International Trade to debate the outcome of the modernisation process of the Energy Charter;
- Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to hold hearings with stakeholders;
- EU Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to debate Environmental Implementation Review 2022;
- Committee on Culture and Education to debate the external dimension of the new EU strategy for higher education, protection of students, researchers and academics under threat;
- Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal open the 5th German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin;
- United Kingdom: Deadline for nominations and candidates announced in Tory leadership election to replace Liz Truss as prime minister;
- Denmark: WHO Europe to brief on immunization for polio, COVID-19 and influenza;
- Italy: Pope Francis hosts French President Emmanuel Macron in Vatican City;
- Greece: Public deficit and debt figures from 2018 to 2021 to be published;
- Russia: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosts Secretary-General of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
