EU socialists quiet as Slovak member spreads Kremlin propaganda

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The Need for a European Plasma Donation Ecosystem

In the coming decade, more patients will need access to plasma-derived therapies. The revision of the EU BTC legislation is an opportunity to increase the plasma collection across EU, which is needed to manufacture plasma-derived therapies.

In today’s news from the Capitals:

BRATISLAVA

The Party of European Socialists has stood by Former Slovak prime minister and Smer party leader Robert Fico after he announced he would pursue a coalition with the far-right Republika movement and likened NATO soldiers to Nazi troops. Read more.

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BERLIN

Germany struggles with distribution of Ukrainian refugees. The distribution of refugees across Germany’s 16 federal states, who have all signalled their willingness to take in people fleeing from Ukraine, remains uneven as redistribution measures within the country are voluntary. Read more.

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PARIS

French government warns of rising energy prices. Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire has called on the French to “make an effort” in countering the rise in energy prices despite financial support from the state. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austria to ‘stay neutral’, says chancellor. Austria will remain neutral, said Chancellor Karl Nehammer, calling the debate on the country’s neutrality that erupted following the invasion of Ukraine pointless. Read more.

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON

Johnson: New energy supply strategy will speed transition from Russian gas. The UK government will propose a new energy supply strategy that would see it use more of its own fossil fuels as it responds to the need to diversify its energy supply in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Boris Johnson said. Read more.

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DUBLIN

Irish politicians call for more coordinated EU action to aid refugees. More coordination of efforts to help people cross the border out of Ukraine and into the EU is needed, according to two Irish politicians who met with Ukrainian politicians in Lviv in the west of the country over the weekend. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

TALLINN

Estonia bans citizens, residents from joining Russia, Belarus army. Estonians in the country and abroad and non-Estonians living in the country are prohibited from joining or otherwise helping the Russian or Belarusian military, an official statement from the government states. Read more.

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COPENHAGEN

Denmark to boost defence budget to reach NATO target. The defence budget will be increased in 2023 by 18 billion DKK or €2.4 billion and receive a gradual boost from 2024 to ensure NATO’s 2% spending target is met, according to a major political agreement presented to the Danish Folketing on 6 March. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

MADRID

Spain could replace Russia in becoming EU’s main natural gas hub. Spain, which houses the EU’s largest storage and regasification capacity, could fill the gas gap left by Russia because of the war in Ukraine. However, its limited interconnections with the rest of the continent continue to be a problem. Read more.

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ROME

COVID-19 situation in Italy at a standstill. The number of COVID-19 cases, related deaths and admissions to intensive care units in Italy are decreasing though the incidence values in about half of the country’s provinces are at a standstill, the National Research Council (NRC) stated. Read more.

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LISBON

Former boss of defunct BES bank gets six-year prison sentence. The former chairman of the Banco Espirito Santo (BES), Ricardo Salgado, was sentenced to six years in prison by the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon on Monday. Read more.

Portugal receives 1,670 protection requests from Ukrainians since invasion. Portugal has received 1,670 requests for temporary protection since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) revealed to Lusa on Monday. Read more.

VISEGRAD

PRAGUE

Automotive suppliers are close to collapse due to war in Ukraine. Ukrainian manufacturers have stopped producing wire harnesses needed for car production, but European manufacturers cannot fill the gap due to a lack of raw materials such as copper. Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Hungarian forint hits record lows. The Hungarian national currency reached historic lows on Monday, weakening at a faster rate than its regional peers, leading experts to question whether it is due to the government’s policies. Read more.

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WARSAW | ROME

Italy’s Salvini arrives in Poland to help with refugees. Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s right-wing League party and until now known as a strong supporter of Vladimir Putin, arrived in Poland Monday to take to Italy some of the Ukrainian refugees Poland received in recent days. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Ukraine bans Bulgarian far-right leader suspected of Russian espionage. Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the pro-Russian far-right party Vazrazhdane (Revival) has been banned from entering Ukraine for 10 years, Kostadinov announced during a press conference on Monday. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania to lift most COVID-19 restrictions. The government will no longer extend the state of alert, which was enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning most restrictions will be lifted as of Wednesday. Read more.

Romania will not limit wheat exports. Romania has no plans to limit cereal exports, despite several countries in the region doing so in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Breast cancer mortality in Croatia falls for fifth consecutive year. Breast cancer mortality has fallen in Croatia for the fifth consecutive year, the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) announced ahead of Daffodil Day, noting that the disease was no longer the leading cause of mortality in women. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Upheaval at Slovenian public broadcaster as journalists complain of growing pressure. Reporters at public broadcaster RTV Slovenija staged a rally on Monday to demand full editorial independence and protest against deteriorating working conditions and growing political pressure under new management. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Expert: Time to scrap COVID passes in Serbia. The director of a major COVID hospital in Belgrade’s suburb of Batajnica, Dr Tatjana Adžić Vukićević, said that it’s time that COVID passes were scrapped. Read more.

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SARAJEVO

EUFOR: All 500 additional troops arrived in BiH. EUFOR has confirmed that all 500 reserves are now in place in BiH. The deployment of the reserves and their equipment, including light armoured vehicles, is a precautionary and proportionate measure to demonstrate EUFOR’s determination to support our BiH partners in maintaining a safe and secure environment, stated EUFOR’s Facebook page. (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)

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SKOPJE

Poll puts VMRO-DPMNE ahead of SDSM ahead of North Macedonia elections. The latest poll by the International Republican Institute shows VMRO-DPMNE, the biggest opposition party, are likely to defeat the SDSM, the leading coalition party, at the next general elections. Read more.

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PODGORICA

Montenegro’s SNP to take part in negotiations over new government. The Socialist People’s Party (SNP) will participate in the negotiations on the formation of the minority government, it was decided at the session of the party’s Executive Board. Read more.

Montenegro scores B/B credit rating with stable outlook. S&P affirmed Montenegro’s long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings at ‘B/B’, with a stable outlook.

“We estimate that Montenegro’s real GDP rebounded 13% in 2021, largely erasing the 15.3% drop in 2021, and expect growth of 5.5% this year will support a gradual consolidation of public finances”, the press release reads.

It adds that “we believe the ambitious economic and budgetary reform package the government recently launched could face execution risks and lead to fiscal slippages in the context of political uncertainty. That said, we forecast that the government’s cash reserves will cover the bulk of the government’s financing needs in 2022.” (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)

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PRISTINA

Kosovo’s NATO membership unlikely for now amid calls for accession. Kosovo’s request to join NATO appears highly unlikely due to a lack of consensus between members, and there are no foreseen processes that would speed up the process, according to a NATO official. Read more.

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TIRANA

Russian strike in Ukraine destroys Albanian consulate. Russian missiles demolished the Albanian honorary consulate in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday evening. Read more.

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CHISINAU

More than 250,000 refugees entered Moldova from Ukraine. More than 255,000 refugees have entered Moldova since Russia’s first military attack on Ukraine. Around 100,000 of them are still in the country, Moldova’s Interior Minister Ana Revenco told news agency Agerpres. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: College of Commissioners discusses energy package in light of Ukraine war, Ukraine refugees support, combating violence against women and domestic violence / EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell addresses European Parliament on Ukraine / European Parliament members hold presser on final report on foreign interference and disinformation in the bloc before vote.
France: Informal meeting of telecommunications ministers in Nevers and informal meeting of culture ministers in Angers.
Belgium: Belgian troops take off for Romania as part of NATO’s Rapid Reaction force.
Latvia: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg meets Latvian President Egils Levits in Riga, visits NATO battlegroup in Adazi jointly with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Estonia: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Tallinn.
UK: PM Boris Johnson hosts talks with the leaders of the Visegrad (V4) group of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Spain: UN World Tourism Organisation debates Russia’s suspension.
Romania: President Klaus Iohannis will attend a videoconference with Charles Michel and other EU leaders in preparations for the informal summit in Versailles that takes place later this week.
Slovenia: President Borut Pahor starts a two-day visit to Cyprus.
Serbia: Marija Pejčinović Burić, general secretary of the Council of Europe, to visit Serbia and speak with Foreign Minister Nikola Selaković, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and parliament Speaker Ivica Dačić.