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.
Before you start reading today’s edition of the Capitals, feel free to have a look at the “EXPLAINER: Next steps for Albania, North Macedonia as EU agrees to start accession talks“.
The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.
In today’s news from the Capitals:
As gas supplies from Russia dwindle and the summer heatwave is soon to be replaced by the winter cold, Europe is looking for alternative energy supplies.
However, from the United Arab Emirates to Azerbaijan, alternative energy sources for European energy are set to come from countries with long-running human rights concerns and prevalent issues with democracy.
These concerns are often forgotten during the energy talks between high-ranking EU officials and foreign representatives. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
EU ready to revive closer ties with Israel after decade of standstill. Joint talks between the EU and Israel could resume for the first time in a decade before November, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed. Read more.
Severe drought could cancel out gains in EU food production. Just under half of the EU’s territory is at risk of severe and prolonged drought, according to a new European Commission report, coming amid warnings this unprecedented heatwave may negate gains in food production supposed to help plug the gap left by the Ukraine war. Read more.
EU secures over 54,000 additional vaccine doses against monkeypox. As monkeypox cases in the EU almost double in a week, the European Commission’s Health Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) secured over 54,000 additional vaccine doses against the virus. Read more.
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BERLIN
Scholz warns of return to fossil energy as prices surge. German chancellor Olaf Scholz warned of a return to fossil energy and urged policymakers across the globe not to forget the looming climate crisis as more and more countries switch back to coal due to rising energy prices. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austrians asked to take heatwave seriously. Austrian Health Minister Johannes Rauch has called on citizens to take the heatwave seriously as the country faces temperatures consistently above 30°C. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch health services looking for more urgency on monkeypox vaccinations. Health services want more urgency for monkeypox vaccinations for at-risk groups as it has been over a week since Health Minister Ernst Kuipers announced vaccinations for these groups, yet there has been no update on the matter, NL Times reported. Read more.
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LONDON
‘Deep state’ could try to reverse Brexit. Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now set to see out seven more weeks in office after winning a confidence vote on Monday during which he vigorously defended his government’s record and hinted that the so-called ‘deep state’ might try to reverse Brexit. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finland sees return of Russian tourists. The end of travel restrictions on the Finnish-Russian border has increased traffic between the countries, but the numbers are far lower than pre-pandemic levels. Read more.
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ESTONIA
Security-focused new Estonian government takes office. The newly formed Estonian government, led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, was sworn in during the parliament session on Monday, starting an eight-month term. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ATHENS
Greece’s foreign ministry irked by Serbia, Ukraine following plane crash. Investigations are continuing to find the causes of the crash of the Antonov cargo aircraft on Saturday evening near the town of Kavala in northern Greece, while a team of US experts arrived in the area to join the investigation into both the cause of the crash and the identity of the cargo. Read more.
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ROME
Draghi visits Algeria in bid to accelerate gas supplies to Italy. Prime Minister Mario Draghi went to Algeria in a bid to speed up gas supplies to Italy, which will increase in the coming years, the leaders of the two countries announced. Read more.
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MADRID
Brussels approves Spanish agricultural plan. The Spanish national Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) plan was given the green-light by the European Commission on Monday, which will enter into force in January 2023. Read more.
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LISBON
Portugal launches ‘gigabattery’ renewable project. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa said there is “no time to lose” in the fight against climate change and investing in renewable energies such as the Tâmega gigabattery, which includes three dams and was inaugurated on Monday. Read more.
VISEGRAD
BUDAPEST
Serbia purchases gas from Hungary. Siniša Mali, Serbia’s Minister of Finance, said Serbia purchased 500 million cubic metres of gas thanks to their Hungarian friends, adding this gas would be stored in Hungary. Read more.
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WARSAW
Polish government admits coal subsidy scheme ‘problematic’. The Polish government will discuss other solutions to replace the Russian coal embargo and tackle high coal prices, said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki after a subsidy system introduced last month proved ‘problematic’. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovak health system on verge of collapse. Three thousand medical doctors – nearly all the current hospital staff – are threatening to resign at the end of the summer as hospital workers demand health service reforms and higher salaries. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
LJUBLJANA
Illegal migration through Slovenia increases by 75%. Slovenian police handled 6,006 cases of migrants crossing into the country illegally in the first half of the year, a 75% increase in comparison to the same period a year ago. Read more.
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SOFIA
Sofia, Skopje to fight propaganda on both sides of border. North Macedonia and Bulgaria have vowed to stamp out hate speech, and both countries must prepare a specific procedure for action in such cases, according to the bilateral protocol signed by the two foreign ministers on Sunday. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Vučić: Progressive Party has majority in parliament. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that the Serbian Progressive Party, of which he is the leader, informed him that it had a majority in the Serbian parliament on Monday, but that it remained uncertain who would be in the new cabinet. Read more.
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TIRANA
Albanian government seeks to reassure following cyber attack. After a sophisticated cyber attack brought Albanian government and citizen services to a halt over the weekend, the government has sought to reassure the public that there has been no security breach or lasting damage. Read more.
Agenda
- EU: EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council, Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi participates.
- Informal meeting of competitiveness ministers (internal market and industry).
- Finance Commissioner Mairead McGuinness participates in 9th High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue (HED) with China.
- Crisis management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič participates in national hearings on fight and prevention against fire risks.
- Finance Commissioner Mairead McGuinness meets CEOs of the Dutch, French, German and Italian banking associations.
- France: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas visits.
- Belgium: Belgian lawmakers due to vote on prisoner swap treaty with Iran.
- Ireland: Irish prime minister visits Japan, Singapore.
- United Kingdom: Result of strike ballot by UK postal workers.
- Iran: President Ebrahim Raisi hosts a summit on Syria with counterparts Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- Serbia: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Serbia on official visit until 21 July, during which he is to meet with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić.
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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
