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In today’s news from the Capitals:
PARIS | ROME
The French far-right hopes for a victory of Italy’s right-wing coalition led by Giorgia Meloni in the 25 September elections and seeks to seize the opportunity of something larger in the future, MEP and chief of Rassemblement National party Jean-Paul Garraud told EURACTIV France.
Just a few weeks before the crucial vote in Italy, the prospect of Meloni becoming the next Italian prime minister whets Europe’s far-right appetite. Read more.
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BERLIN
Germany to send Ukraine fresh weapons but not requested battle tanks. Germany will be sending a new batch of weapons to Ukraine though the shipment will not include the Western battle tanks Ukraine requested, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht announced amid growing pressure to support Ukraine in its military advances. Read more.
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PARIS
Le Pen’s debt-ridden party calls for public donations. The French far-right Rassemblement National party on Thursday resorted to asking for public donations to find €3 million to settle its debts. Read more.
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BRUSSELS
Belgian government unveils plan to fight organised crime. The government presented on Thursday its much-awaited plan to combat rising organised crime which includes boosting the police force, customs and the judiciary and giving local authorities more power to act on the ground. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch social programme to combat poverty gets EC go-ahead. The Netherlands will receive €413 million from the European Social Fund to help people in vulnerable employment positions and combat poverty until 2027, the Social and Employment Ministry announced following the European Commission’s approval on Thursday. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
DUBLIN
Director dismisses criticism of Irish data protection watchdog. Criticism of the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), long been described as a “bottleneck” in EU-wide data protection enforcement, is “old news”, the watchdog’s head has said. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finland demands compensation if Uniper is nationalised. Finland will not accept the nationalisation of German energy company Uniper without compensation, said European Affairs and Ownership Steering Minister Tytti Tuppurainen on Wednesday. Read more.
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STOCKHOLM
Sweden’s Andersson resigns as coalition talks begin. The now former Social Democrat prime minister Magdalena Andersson resigned on Thursday following her defeat to the right-wing bloc in Sunday’s elections and promised a smooth transition to the new government. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
MADRID
Controversial vote on NATO enlargement splits Spanish coalition. Parliament’s ratification vote on Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession on Thursday divided the Spanish coalition, with socialists of PSOE voting in favour and its minority partner in the progressive executive, left-wing Unidas Podemos, abstaining. Read more.
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ROME
The Italian parties’ position on digital policy. Before Italians head out to vote in a parliamentary election on 25 September. EURACTIV Italy took a closer look at how the main political parties propose to shape the country’s approach to digital files. Read more.
VISEGRAD
WARSAW
Polish parliament backs motion to claim war reparations from Germany. An overwhelming number of lawmakers in the lower house of parliament on Thursday voted in favour of the ruling Law and Justice party’s project to claim war reparations from Germany. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Czech government ignores fiscal council’s urge to raise taxes. The government is turning a blind eye to calls from the Fiscal Council who say that raising taxes is the only way to eliminate the imbalance between revenues and expenditures. Read more.
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BUDAPEST
Civil society condemns Hungary’s new anti-abortion decree. Abortion-seeking women having to hear the foetus’ heartbeat before being given access to fundamental healthcare under Hungary’s new decree that was condemned by the International Planned Parent Federation European Network in a press release on Thursday. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovak minority government fails to open first National Council session. The coalition – in a minority since the Freedom and Solidarity party left government at the start of September- was unable to gather enough members to open the first National Council session on Wednesday. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
LJUBLJANA
Slovenian government decides to end mega defence deal. The government will terminate a €281 million agreement on purchasing 45 Boxer armoured personnel carriers from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) which the previous government signed days before it was replaced. Read more.
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SOFIA
Bulgarian government wants to legalise illegal highways. The caretaker government has proposed an amendment to the law that would effectively legalise the illegal constructions on the Hemus highway, which spans the northern part of the country and has been under construction for 45 years. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
Romania to increase energy cooperation with Ukraine, Moldova. Romania, Moldova and Ukraine agreed to sign an inter-governmental agreement on interconnection and increased cooperation in the energy field. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Serbia promises to hold much shorter Belgrade EuroPride Parade. The Serbian government promised the European Commission they would allow the EuroPride parade on Saturday, but its itinerary would be significantly shorter, BETA learned from western European sources on Thursday. Read more.
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TIRANA
Russian Embassy in Tirana moves from Free Ukraine Street. Tirana’s Russian embassy has upped and moved from its long-standing location, just a couple of months after the road it is situated on changed its name to Free Ukraine Street. Read more.
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SARAJEVO
Serbian officials attend Serb Unity ceremony in Republika Srpska. Top Serbian officials, including President Aleksandar Vučić, attended the Day of Serb Unity, Freedom and National Flag in Bijeljina, in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday. Read more.
Agenda:
- EU: Commissioner Thierry Breton receives Hanno Pevkur, defence minister of Estonia;
- Commissioner Sinkevicius meets Ingrida Šimonytė, prime minister of the Republic of Lithuania;
- Germany: G7 parliament speakers meet in Berlin;
- Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi;
- Scholz speaks at the conclusion of the yearly Bundeswehr Conference in Berlin;
- France: Air traffic controllers strike over pay;
- Estonia: NATO Military Chiefs of Defence conference;
- Serbia: European Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli on a two-day visit to Belgrade to organise a roundtable discussion with local human rights organisations and meet Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and Deputy PM and Culture Minister Maja Gojković.
- President Aleksandar Vučić to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom he will award the Order of the Republic of Serbia for outstanding merits in developing and strengthening peaceful cooperation and friendly relations between the two countries.
- Uzbekistan: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin expected to meet on the sidelines of SCO summit;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Maksimov, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]
Source: euractiv.com
