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.
The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.
Today’s edition is powered by CPK
Railway Direction Days 2023 – development of HS rail in CEE
International meeting RDD 2023 will focus the benefits of transforming the inefficient public transport in the CEE into a modern, sustainable, resilient, and fully integrated transport system for better integration, boosting economic development and increasing the security of Europe.
Register now >>
In today’s news from the Capitals:
Inflation is boring a hole in the budgets of EU states’ COVID recovery plans, with delayed implementation compounded by increasingly louder voices calling for fresh cash to battle rising costs while new administrations question previous commitments. Read more.
///
EU INSTITUTIONS
Inclusion of finance sector in EU due diligence law on the brink. Ahead of Thursday’s (1 December) meeting of EU industry ministers, the fight over whether to include the financial sector in the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is still ongoing with France, Italy, and Spain threatening to block a common member state position. Read more.
EU finalises new product safety requirements: here is what changes. EU institutions agreed on the EU’s General Product Safety Regulation in the early hours of Tuesday, which provides due diligence obligations for manufacturers, vendors and online marketplaces operating in the European single market. Read more.
EU tobacco taxation: The fine line between killing smoking and illicit trade. The European Union’s plans to further increase tobacco taxation and reduce declining smoking rates across the bloc have pleased public health advocates, but the industry warns that tax revenues may be disrupted by the rise of illicit markets that flourish when taxes are high. Read more.
///
PARIS
Kazakh president visits Macron after Putin meeting. Newly re-elected Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in France on Tuesday after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday amid Europe’s energy crisis. Read more.
///
BERLIN
Berlin proclaims (European) ‘year of industrial policy’. Berlin and Brussels say they are ready to respond to the growing global challenge posed by dedicated industrial policies now favoured by major powers, like America’s Inflation Reduction Act. Read more.
///
BRUSSELS
Commission sanctions Belgium for late transposition of EU directives. The European Commission sent letters of formal notice to Belgium for failing to transpose various environmental and transport directives into national law on time. Read more.
///
THE HAGUE
Dutch House of Representatives wants to reduce international student intake. Universities need to stop actively recruiting international students, the House of Representatives said on Tuesday due to the strain it has on resources. Read more.
UK & IRELAND
LONDON
Miliband hints at return, urges UK to repair EU relations. Labour grandee David Miliband has hinted at a return to national politics nearly ten years after leaving for the United States, while urging the UK to repair its relations with the EU. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finnish government on brink of collapse. The five-party government of social democrats, the Centre Party, the Greens, the Left Alliance, and the Swedish People’s Party was hit by the worst crisis of its tenure on Tuesday, now risking collapse. Read more.
Green NGOs sue Finnish government over carbon neutrality goals. The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and Greenpeace claim the government has failed to reach its carbon neutrality target and will be taking the issue to the Supreme Administrative Court. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME
Italy invests in clean energy to become European energy hub. The government is investing in clean energy, in addition to gas and LNG, to become energy independent and become the energy hub of Europe. Read more.
///
MADRID
Spanish inflation moderates but remains above trend. Spanish experts warned on Tuesday that prices moderated in November to 6.8% compared with October’s 7.3 %, but, due to lower fuel and electricity prices, it remains above-trend. Read more.
///
LISBON
European Public Prosecutor boosts fraud investigation in Portugal. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office sped up the progress of the investigation into fraudulent activity present in ‘Operation Admiral’, which began in Portugal and resulted in 14 arrests in the country, European prosecutor Jose Guerra confirmed. Read more.
VISEGRAD
PRAGUE
Ukrainian soldiers to train on Czech territory. A proposal to train Ukrainian soldiers in the Czech Republic and to deploy Czech soldiers in member states to train Ukrainian soldiers there was approved by Czech lawmakers on Tuesday. Read more.
///
WARSAW
Judge critical of Polish government ‘not guilty’, resumes work. Igor Tuleya – a judge critical of the conservative government – is not guilty of enabling public disclosure of information and can return to work after being suspended for over two years, ruled Poland’s Supreme Court on Tuesday. Read more.
///
BRATISLAVA
Slovak government adopts windfall tax on electricity producers. A new levy on excess revenues made by electricity producers was approved by the government on Monday on the basis of the EU regulation, which orders member states to tax the extraordinary profits of selected power plants and distribute them to households. Read more.
///
BUDAPEST
Hungary defends continued block of a NATO-Ukraine meet up. Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó defended his country’s continued block of formally convening the body responsible for developing the NATO-Ukraine relationship over minority rights row with Kyiv. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian hoteliers threaten to expel Ukrainian refugees. Nearly 20% of the hotels along the Southern Black Sea coast are ready to evict Ukrainian refugees from 1 December if the state does not resume funding refugees’ meals. Read more.
///
ZAGREB
FBI raids yacht of pro-Moscow Ukrainian tycoon in Croatia. FBI agents have raided the Croatia-moored luxury yacht of Ukrainian tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk, accused by Kyiv of treason for his pro-Russian activities. Read more.
///
PRISTINA
Kosovo visa liberalisation on EU ambassador agenda. The approval of the decision on the liberalisation of visas for Kosovo is expected to be on the agenda at the meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday. Read more.
///
TIRANA
Albanians celebrate inclusion of traditional dress on UNESCO list. An item of traditional Albanian clothing, the xhubleta has been declared as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage and thus protected by UNESCO, according to Culture Minister Elva Margariti. Read more.
AGENDA
- EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends a meeting of the College of Commissioners; European Commission presents the second part of the circular economy plan;
- Vice President Margrethe Vestager meets with the steering committee of the European Roundtable for Industry;
- Vice President Vĕra Jourová holds a meeting with the President of the Committee to Protect Journalists Jodie Ginsberg;
- Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides delivers an opening statement to the Global Health Policy Forum; Receives Director General of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus;
- Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski participates in the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions;
- High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell participates in the 29th OSCE Ministerial Council and holds bilateral meetings in the margins, in Łódź, Poland;
- Parliament President Roberta Metsola participates in the visit of the European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents to Stockholm, Sweden; Holds meetings with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, members of the government, Speaker of the Riksdag Andreas Norlén and members of political groups in the Swedish Parliament;
- Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs votes on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy;
- Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs debates the FTX crypto exchange collapse and implications for the EU; Votes on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion;
- Germany: Berlin Security Conference takes place;
- Sweden: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) publishes its global report on the state of democracy;
- Spain: Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska appears before parliament over the Melilla border migrant deaths;
- ECJ: Ruling on EU measures against PKK;
- United States: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks on US economic outlook; the United Arab Emirates launches unmanned ‘Rashid’ moon rover on iSpace lunar lander from Cape Canaveral;
- UN: General Assembly session on Palestinian Territories;
***
[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
