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In today’s news from the Capitals:
PRAGUE | SOFIA | BUCHAREST | ROME | BERLIN
Several EU countries have put their coal phase-out plans on hold as to continue would mean relying on natural gas imports from Russia. Instead of investments in gas infrastructure, renewables or other alternatives, the extension of coal mining is considered the quickest and most viable solution. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria pushing for suspension of EU minimum tax rates on oil. Austria is looking to reduce the burden caused by record-high energy prices by dropping taxes below the EU threshold after recently launching a €1.7 billion package to alleviate the strain on households and firms. Read more.
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BERLIN
Future of Russian arms imports unclear after Scholz Erdogan meeting. It is now unclear whether Turkey will buy Russian weapons in the future, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday. Read more.
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PARIS
France continued to deliver Russia weapons after 2014 embargo. France continued to issue arms export licences to Russia after the 2014 embargo, investigative website Disclose has revealed. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch stadium owner looks to take over Russian-owned football club. Michael van de Kuit, owner of the GelreDome stadium, hopes to acquire the Vitesse Arnhem football club from Russian owner Valeri Oyf. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
UK set to expand sanctions list. The UK government is expected to add the names of hundreds of oligarchs, individuals and organisations to its sanctions list on Tuesday, as soon as a key piece of new legislation is adopted by lawmakers. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
COPENHAGEN
Danish companies threatened with Russian takeover. Danish companies in Russia could be taken over within days, causing deep concern in the Danish business community. Read more.
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HELSINKI
Finland to take time to build consensus on security policy. Finland’s political leadership has opted for a cooling-off period in an attempt to find the best way to shape their security policy. Read more.
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STOCKHOLM | OSLO
Norway to host NATO Arctic military exercise. NATO’s major winter exercise Cold Response in which 30,000 troops from nearly 30 countries – including non-NATO countries Sweden and Finland – began on Monday in various parts of Norway, making it the largest exercise of its kind since the Cold War. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME
US tells China that support of Moscow will have implications. If China were to support Moscow in any way, there will be implications, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in Rome after US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan and Chinese Communist Party diplomacy chief Yang Jiechi met behind closed doors on Monday. Read more.
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MADRID
Spanish minister urges strengthened EU common defence policy. The Russian invasion of Ukraine shows the urgent need for an EU common defence policy, said the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, on Monday EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. Read more.
OECD recommends tax raise to mitigate crisis. Mathias Cormann, secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on Monday recommended raising taxes on electricity companies to offset rising electricity bills for the most affected consumers and businesses, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. Read more.
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LISBON
IAEA director: Kyiv fears nuclear plant agreement ‘recognises Russian control’. Ukraine fears that the agreement on the safety of nuclear power plants it is negotiating with Russia will be used by Moscow as a future “tacit recognition” of its control of the facilities, according to the UN Agency for Atomic Energy. Read more.
Tension between Chernobyl plant managers and Russians, power problems. Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant continues to have power supply problems that could affect the reactor cooling and “tension” between technicians and the occupying Russian military, the director of the UN Agency for Atomic Energy said on Monday. Read More.
VISEGRAD
BRATISLAVA
Three Russian diplomats expelled, at least three people arrested. Slovak security forces arrested at least three people on Monday for suspected Russian espionage, including a colonel from the defence ministry, a representative of Slovak intelligence service and a person involved with a conspiracy website that was already shut down, Denník N reports. Read more.
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WARSAW
Poland appeals for suspension of Russia from IAEA. Climate Minister Anna Moskwa appealed for the suspension of Russia as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) amid the country’s military actions in Ukraine, especially at the occupied nuclear power plants in Chernobyl and Zaporijia reports Polish Press Agency (PAP). Read more.
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BUDAPEST
Teachers accuse government of illegal pressure against upcoming strike. The Democratic Trade Union of Teachers (PDSZ) said it received reports of school administrators being forced by the school district centres to break the law to keep teachers’ from striking on Wednesday, Telex reported via Népszava. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SKOPJE | TIRANA
Borrell gives no date for start of EU accession talks with North Macedonia, Albania. The EU should start formal accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania as soon as possible, EU chief diplomat Josep Borell has said without mentioning a date, again. Read more.
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LJUBLJANA
Slovenia reintroduces fuel price caps. The prices of the two main motor fuels, regular petrol and diesel, will be capped as of Tuesday, after prices reached all-time highs last week and were set to rise further this week without government action. Read more.
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SOFIA
Bulgaria preparing to accept Ukrainian children. Bulgaria is preparing for a scenario in which up to 100,000 children and young people from Ukraine will remain in the country permanently and need to enter the education system, Education Minister Nikolay Denkov announced on Monday. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
Romania to extend capping energy prices by one year, asks for EU support. Romania will ask for the reallocation of unused funds from previous EU-financed programmes to provide aid to Romanian enterprises, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said Monday. Read more.
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ZAGREB
Croatian air defence system needs upgrading. Croatia should invest more in its air defence system, after a Soviet-era unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed in Zagreb last week, President Zoran Milanović said on Monday. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Serbian President says it’s easy for EU to take anger out on Serbia. It is “always the same self-appointed haters” who are behind a recent call by a group of MEPs to freeze Serbia’s EU accession talks over its stance on Russia because their dream is for Serbia never to advance in any way, President Aleksandar Vučić said Monday. Read more.
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SARAJEVO
Croat leader expects Borrell to prompt election reform in BiH. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Croat National Council leader, Dragan Čović on Monday said that he expected EU foreign affairs high representative Josep Borrell to prompt an agreement on amendments to the election law and remove the blockade of state institutions when he visits the country this week. Read more.
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PODGORICA
Yacht linked to Abramovich is not officially his. There was no legal basis to seize the yacht that arrived in Montenegro and which media linked to Chelsea owner and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich as it was not officially registered in his name, nor was he under EU sanctions at the time, the foreign ministry told RTCG.
Superyacht Solaris of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich anchored near the marina for luxury yachts Porto Montenegro a few days ago. However, according to RTCG, the yacht is now leaving Montenegro. (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)
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TIRANA
Albanian prime minister says Brussels oppose Putin-favouring cost of living protests. As the sixth consecutive day of nationwide non-partisan protests against high taxes and government corruption took place in Tirana, Prime Minister Edi Rama has said an official in Brussels told him these protests are in favour of Russia. Read more.
AGENDA:
- EU: Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly to vote on ousting Russia from the body / French Finance Minister Le Maire and Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis statement after EU finance ministers meeting / Enlargement Commissioner Várhelyi speaks in European Parliament’s AFET committee on Bosnia and Herzegovina / Home Affairs Commissioner Johansson speaks on EU asylum policy after Ukraine crisis at Centre for European Policy Studies / Competition Commissioner Vestager participates in trilogue on Digital Service Act.
- NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg gives a press conference ahead of defence ministers’ meeting.
- France: EU Health ministers hold special meeting on handling wounded and sick from Ukraine.
- Germany: Interior Minister Nancy Faeser gives a press conference to present action plan against far-right extremism.
- Austria: Slovenia’s President Borut Pahor scheduled to meet with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna for talks on the war in Ukraine.
- UK: Summit of 10-nation Joint Expeditionary Force.
- Spain: Government to present Brussels its plan to reduce child poverty and guarantee access for all children to services key for their development.
- Poland: President Andrzej Duda called to hold another meeting Tuesday of the National Security Bureau concerning Ukraine.
- Hungary: Demonstrations pro- and anti-Viktor Orban ahead of elections.
- Romania: President Klaus Iohannis meets with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev / Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca receives Manfred Weber, chair of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.
- Albania: EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borell visits Tirana, to me with Prime Minister Edi Rama.
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]
Source: euractiv.com
