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In today’s news from the Capitals:
PARIS
Les Républicains has no money left to finance the legislative election campaign in June and is now appealing for donations, the treasurer of the French right-wing party revealed on Tuesday. Read more.
Mélenchon’s narrow defeat creates momentum for Europe’s left. France’s far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon failed to reach the second round of presidential elections on Sunday (10 April), but Europe’s leftists are still encouraged by his close third place. Read more.
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BERLIN
Ukraine refuses to welcome German President over Russia ties. Frank-Walter Steinmeier cancelled his trip to Kyiv as Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday that he was not welcome due to his alleged close ties to the Kremlin. Read the full story.
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VIENNA
Austrian chancellor under fire over Moscow trip. Chancellor Karl Nehammer has come under fire over his recent trip to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin because of its apparent failure and because he allegedly did not inform his president and vice-chancellor about it. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch COVID-19 rate sees significant drop. The average number of daily COVID-19 infections in the Netherlands has fallen below 10,000 for the first time since November, health authorities revealed in a new report published Tuesday. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
Johnson fined over ‘partygate’ but refuses to resign. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Finance Minister Rishi Sunak have refused to resign after being fined by the police for breaking lockdown rules in Downing Street in June 2020. Read more.
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DUBLIN
Irish broadcaster sued for defamation. EU lawmakers Clare Daly and Mick Wallace on Monday filed separate defamation lawsuits against Irish national broadcaster RTÉ. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
COPENHAGEN
One in three Danes still unsure ahead of defence referendum. Danes are almost evenly split, with a third in favour and almost as many against and in doubt, over scrapping the EU defence opt-out Denmark has, ahead of the referendum due to take place on 1 June, a study conducted by Epinion for DR Nyheder found. Read more.
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HELSINKI | STOCKHOLM
Eying Russia, Finland and Sweden edge closer to a NATO future. Finland and Sweden are edging closer to joining NATO. Helsinki is expected to produce a report on the country’s security policy this Thursday, which could present a key step toward its application. Read more.
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STOCKHOLM
Swedish military does not rule out Russia’s use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. The Russian army using chemical weapons in Mariupol is “unbelievable but not excluded”, Swedish Lieutenant Colonel Joakim Paasikivi told state-controlled TV broadcaster SVT during an interview on Monday. Read more.
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OSLO
New Norwegian ministers appointed following sex scandal. The Norwegian government appointed two new ministers on Tuesday after former defence minister Odd Roger Enoksen announced his resignation Saturday after being caught in a scandal. Read more.
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VILNIUS
Lithuanian MPs urge states to condemn Russian aggression, war crimes. The international community should unanimously condemn the aggression and war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine and classify them as genocide against the Ukrainian nation, a resolution adopted unanimously by Lithuanian MPs on Tuesday states. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ATHENS
Greece under EU pressure to transpose Whistleblower Directive. Amid the prosecution of two journalists over the Novartis scandal, the European Commission has again urged the Greek government to integrate into national law a directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of corruption, EURACTIV has learned. Read more.
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MADRID
Spain promises to boost dialogue on Western Sahara conflict. The Spanish government has reiterated its commitment to finding a viable solution to the Western Sahara conflict that will be accepted both by Morocco and the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement, diplomatic sources told EURACTIV’s partner EFE. Read more.
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LISBON
Portugal’s Catholic Church faces sexual abuse complaints. Two hundred and ninety people filed testimonies of their sexual abuse at the hands of the Portuguese Catholic Church before an independent commission, of which 16 have already been referred to the prosecutor. Read more.
VISEGRAD
WARSAW
Poland refuses to pay Commission fines, total continues to rise. The European Commission has requested the Polish government pay €42 million towards fines incurred for not complying with an EU Court of Justice ruling, Polish RMF FM radio reported. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Czechia wants to use EU recovery funds to help Ukrainian refugees. The Czech Republic wants to channel the EU’s COVID-19 recovery funding to Ukrainian refugees, for which it needs to update its national recovery plan – which, while possible, will require the European Commission’s approval. Read more.
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BUDAPEST
Hungarian NGOs go to court over referendum fine. NGOs who were fined last week by the National Election Committee (NVB) over their campaign to vote invalidly in the referendum they claim was homophobic will go to court, Telex reported. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
US to send hundreds of soldiers to Slovakia. At least 600 American soldiers will arrive in Slovakia as a part of NATO’s strengthening of the eastern flank and will be supplemented with high-end defence systems, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď (OĽaNO) has confirmed. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA | SKOPJE
Bulgaria refuses to lift veto on EU talks with Skopje. Bulgaria’s position remains unchanged as it refuses to lift its veto on the start of EU membership talks with North Macedonia, the foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. Read more.
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ZAGREB
EIB to support Croatian renewable energy storage capacity projects. The EU Investment Bank will finance and support projects to construct storage facilities for renewable energy, the Global Relationship Manager in Croatia, Olga Pascenco, said on Tuesday. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Serbian chamber of commerce asks businesses to help Ukrainians. Companies in Serbia should, within their means, join a humanitarian drive collecting aid for the people in Ukraine, Marko Cadez, president of Serbia’s Chamber of Commerce, said on Tuesday. Read more.
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SARAJEVO | ZAGREB
Croatia-BiH border sees a decrease in illegal migrants. The number of illegal migrants trying to enter Croatia from Una-Sava Canton in the west of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been steadily decreasing as migrants look for alternative routes to enter EU countries, according to estimates by government bodies and local police in western Bosnia. Read more.
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SARAJEVO
BiH High Representative suspends RS entity Law on Immovable Property. The High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, has decided to suspend the Law on Immovable Property in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity on Tuesday. Read more.
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SKOPJE
Gruevski: My fight to protect Macedonian interests earned me many enemies. Former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski responded to the decision of the US government to blacklist him for alleged corruption, saying his fight to protect Macedonian interests “irritated some countries” and made him enemies like Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros. Read more.
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PODGORICA | SKOPJE
Dukanovic worries over Serbia being armed by countries hostile to Europe, NATO. Any armament, including that of Serbia, can raise concern as it heightens the feeling of threat to security in Europe, Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović said in Cetinje on Tuesday. Read more.
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TIRANA
EBRD pumps millions in credit to Albanian agribusiness and tourism. An agreement to offer more funds to Albanian agribusiness and tourism companies has been signed between Albania and the European Bank of Research and Development in a ceremony in Tirana. Read more.
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TIRANA | BELGRADE
Albanian PM dismisses Serbia’s purchase of Chinese weapons. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he does not see any reason to worry over Serbia arming itself with Chinese weapons amid its Russian ally’s invasion of Ukraine. Read more.
AGENDA:
- EU: Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly
- France: European Space Agency Council holds extraordinary session.
- Cyprus: Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades meets with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar at Nicosia Buffer Zone.
- Croatia: Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković presents new grant agreements under the Rural Development Programme to 33 beneficiaries, with the approved support worth over 65 million kuna (€ 8.66 million).
- Bulgaria: European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control members on fact-finding visit.
- Serbia: First French-Serbian innovation forum to be organised in the Museum of Science and Technology by the French embassy in Serbia, the French Institute in Serbia and Tempus Foundation. Meanwhile, European Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimović is to sign an agreement with the EU that will give Serbia €12 million in grants to finance the fight against the pandemic. EU Delegation Head Emanuel Giaufret will attend the signing ceremony.
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]
Source: euractiv.com
