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In today’s news from the Capital
The European Commission has not conducted an economic impact assessment of its push to cut Russian gas imports by two thirds by year’s end, the first step of its €300 billion plan to eliminate Russian energy imports altogether by 2027, EURACTIV has learned. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
EU leaders back partial ban on Russian oil imports into the bloc. After several weeks of drawn-out negotiations mostly stalled by Hungary, EU leaders on Monday struck a political compromise to ban seaborne imports of Russian oil by the end of the year but fell short of a full embargo.
Under the compromise agreed by EU leaders, the partial embargo will include oil and petroleum products but will crucially allow a temporary exemption for crude delivered by pipeline. Read more.
EU leaders to consider ‘all available ways’ to bypass Russian food export blockade. EU leaders will consider all available ways to circumvent the food export blockade imposed by Russia on Ukraine’s ports, including a naval mission to escort cargo ships, but will not concede to Russia’s demands to lift sanctions, sources told EURACTIV. Read more.
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GUEST CORNER
Navy ships escorting civilian tankers? The fact that Russia blocks Ukraine grain exports in the Black Sea and Iran seizes Greek tankers transferring oil in the Persian Gulf may bolster arguments to have navy ships escorting civilian tankers, according to analyst Cornelius Adebahr. Read more.
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VIENNA
Ukraine aid should not lead to more EU debt, says Austrian chancellor. It is important to ensure that a solidarity fund for Ukraine will not lead to additional joint EU debt, Chancellor Karl Nehammer told lawmakers in the parliament’s EU committee. Read more.
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BERLIN
Scholz under fire for alleged climate activist, Nazi comparison. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is facing criticism after allegedly comparing climate activists to Nazis during a speech on Sunday, an allegation his office denies. Read more.
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PARIS
French journalist killed in Ukraine during ministerial visit. Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff died while covering a Ukrainian evacuation operation near Severodonetsk on Monday, said France’s new Europe and Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna during a visit to Ukraine on the same day. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Russia’s Gazprom to cut gas supply to the Netherlands. Russian gas company Gazprom said it would cut its supply to the Netherlands from Tuesday after Dutch wholesaler GasTerra refused to bow to the Kremlin’s demand to pay in roubles for fear of breaching EU sanctions. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
BELFAST
Speaker unelected over Northern Ireland Protocol concerns. The Northern Ireland assembly failed to elect a new speaker on Monday after the Democratic Unionist party repeated that it would not vote on a speaker until its concerns about the Northern Ireland protocol had been resolved. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finnish industry opposes EU’s solar panel plans. The European Commission’s plans to favour and enforce the instalment of solar panels on commercial properties and public buildings is reminiscent of an old-style planned economy, the Finnish industry and trade sectors say. Read more.
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OSLO
Norway no longer calls Belarus ‘White Russia’. Norway will now use Belarus instead of Hviterussland – which means ‘White Russia’ in Norwegian and is the literal translation of Belarus – when mentioning the country, the foreign ministry wrote in a press release on Sunday, citing a show of solidarity with the democratic forces in Belarus. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ATHENS
Rumours about Turkey’s ‘hybrid war’ during summer sparks controversy in Athens. Leaked information from the defence ministry about Turkey preparing a “hybrid war” during the summer period – including even arsons in forests – has caused political turmoil in Greece. Read more.
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MADRID
Spain to boost military spending in response to Russian threat. Spain will increase its military spending to guarantee the stability and security of the country in response to the Russian threat, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday. Read more.
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LISBON
Pandemic causes drop in Portuguese life expectancy. Life expectancy at birth in Portugal has fallen to 80.72 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Statistics Portugal (INE), which released data for the 2019-2021 triennium on Monday. Read more.
VISEGRAD
PRAGUE
Czechia negotiates LNG imports from Oman. The industry and trade ministry has been negotiating with the Oman gas company over potential LNG imports to the country, with Czechia potentially investing in local fields and pipelines to secure energy supplies. Read more.
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WARSAW
Poland won’t tax state-owned energy company windfall profits. Polish state-owned energy companies have the obligation to protect the country’s energy security so burdening them with an additional tax on extra profits from high fuel prices is unnecessary, the Climate Minister Anna Moskwa has said, Polish Press Agency reported. Read more.
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BUDAPEST
Hungarian license plates stolen for cheap petrol, energy boss says. Slovak websites are advertising stolen Hungarian license plates following the government’s announcement that only Hungarian motorists will be able to enjoy capped fuel prices, according to a Hungarian energy giant MOL Group executive. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovak coalition MP wants to ban rainbow flags on state-owned buildings. Rainbow flags should be banned from state-owned buildings according to a proposal from György Gyimesi from the ruling OĽaNO party and a former member of a far-right party. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgaria leaves Ukrainian refugees to fend for themselves. The government’s housing programme for the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees is being terminated due to the attitude of most Ukrainians, Deputy Prime Minister Kalina Konstantinova announced on Monday. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
Romanian president says Council will not discuss EU treaty reform anytime soon. There will be no discussions on starting procedures to change the EU treaties during the current EU Council summit or the next one, President Klaus Iohannis said before meeting EU leaders for the summit on Monday and Tuesday. Read more.
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LJUBLJANA
Foreign minister: Slovenia to rejoin orbit of ‘core’ EU countries. Slovenia will return to the “EU’s core” after the previous conservative government had gravitated towards the Visegrad Group, incoming Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon announced. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Vucic announces EU-funded children’s clinic to be up and running by 2025. Construction for the Tirsova 2 University children’s clinic, for which the EU is giving €35.7 million – one of the largest EU donations for projects outside the transport and energy sectors – will be completed by 2025, President Aleksandar Vučić said Monday as he and European Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi toured the project’s building site. Read more.
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TIRANA
Albania recommends smallpox jab for monkeypox contact cases. People who have been in close contact with others with confirmed monkeypox cases should be allowed to use the smallpox vaccine, said Albania’s Committee of Vaccination Experts on Monday. Read more.
Agenda
- EU: Special meeting of the European Council. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen participates.
- Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová speaks via video conference at World Justice Forum 2022.
- European People’s Party (EPP) congress starts in Rotterdam. Von der Leyen and Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn participate.
- Belgium: Trade unions call for strikes on trains and public services.
- The Netherlands: Press conference of International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan, Eurojust and the joint investigation team appointed to work on international crimes in Ukraine.
- Spain: Reopening of Ceuta and Melilla frontiers with Morocco for cross-border workers.
- Russia: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visits Bahrain.
- World: World No Tobacco Day.
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Eleonora Vasques, Sofia Stuart Leeson]
Source: euractiv.com
