Kosovo could face imminent Western sanctions

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

Kosovo could soon face sanctions from the Euro-Atlantic community, multiple high-level and diplomatic sources told EURACTIV, while Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama cancelled his planned meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Wednesday, citing the pending measures as one of the reasons. Read more.

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EU INSTITUTIONS

Polls: One year before the EU elections. One year before the EU elections, Europe Elects’s projection shows that the informal coalition of centre-right EPP, centre-left S&D, and liberal Renew Europe will continue to hold a majority in the EU parliament. Read more.

Commission sees crop biofuels’ clean transport value, but outside EU. The European Commission has recognised the role of crop-based biofuels in decarbonising transport, despite pushing through legislation for their phase-out domestically. Read more.

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PARIS

French watchdog reveals massive Russian disinformation campaign. Russian actors have been involved in a digital information manipulation campaign, including several in Europe, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Tuesday, citing data from VIGINUM, the French watchdog that looks into foreign digital interference. Read more.

Macron announces boost in domestic drug production. France will boost its domestic drug production with 50 new medicines, with production for half of them set to begin in the next few weeks, said French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, attracting strong criticism for his vague timeline. Read more.

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BERLIN

German government resolves paralysis over heating policy. A controversial law banning fossil-fuel heating will enter the German parliament this week, the party leaders of Germany’s three-way coalition announced on Tuesday, resolving a months-long feud and blockade of government business. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austria firm on keeping controls at Slovenian border. Border controls must be kept at the Austrian-Slovenian border given the heavy migratory pressure from Slovenia, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer told his Slovenian counterpart Robert Golob in Vienna on Tuesday, adding that discussion about lifting controls is possible if pressure is reduced by autumn. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Belgian PM: depriving Hungary of EU presidency could be ‘counterproductive’. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said he was against stripping Hungary of its rotating presidency of the EU Council, saying it could be ‘counterproductive’ and even put Budapest in a ‘privileged position’. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Uncertainty reigns over Nord Stream pipeline attacks. The Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) allegedly told the CIA that Ukraine planned to sabotage the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, just days after Belgian media reported the CIA told their secret services that Ukraine was behind it. Read more.

UK & IRELAND

LONDON

Government prioritised no-deal Brexit planning over pandemic preparations. The government’s no-deal Brexit planning crowded out efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the first evidence session of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry – set up to examine the country’s response to and impact of the pandemic – which took place on Tuesday. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Finland heading towards full electric transport. Finland is rapidly moving towards full electrification of transportation as attitudes towards electric vehicles that remain expensive become more favourable, and petrol prices help drive the change. Read more.

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STOCKHOLM

Swedish Social Democrats want emergency measures against gang violence. The Swedish government should announce a weapons amnesty, rewards for tips on illegal weapons or even call in the army, said former prime Minister and Social Democrats’ party leader Magdalena Andersson at a press conference on Tuesday, reacting to recent gang violence that claimed more lives last week in Stockholm county. Read more.

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REYKJAVIK

Cyberattacks target Icelandic official websites, tech companies. Hackers sympathetic to Russia are believed to be responsible for a cyber attack on the websites of the Icelandic parliament, the cabinet and technology companies on Tuesday as the country struggles to defend itself against such attacks. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ROME

Meloni closer than ever to Biden’s USA. The recent death of Silvio Berlusconi, known for his pro-American stance but also for being a great friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, further distances Italy from Russia and brings it closer than ever to the US, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently saying there are two conditions for being a part of her government: Europe and Atlanticism. Read more.

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MADRID

Valencia to be governed by right-wing PP-VOX alliance. The centre-right Partido Popular (PP/EPP) will rule together with the far-right VOX party (ECR) in the Valencia region in a political coalition that foresees a decisive role in the local executive for the extreme right formation, the two coalition partners announced Tuesday. Read more.

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NICOSIA

How Cyprus became the EU launchpad of Israel’s spyware companies. Cyprus has become the privileged entry point for Israeli cybersecurity companies, including those operating in the shady world of surveillance software. Read more.

VISEGRAD

WARSAW

Poland to challenge Fit for 55 over combustion engine law. Poland will haul the law on combustion engine phaseout before the EU Court of Justice, as announced by Climate Minister Anna Moskwa on Tuesday, adding that the ban on combustion cars from 2035 is unprofitable for all the European economies. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Tensions rise between Czech nationals, Ukrainians following murder. A murder in Czechia – with sources alleging that the murderer was Ukrainian – has sparked tensions between the Ukrainian and Romani communities, while nationalists aim to capitalise on the tragedy. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovakia’s caretaker government opens abortion pill debate. After years of attempts to restrict reproductive rights in Slovakia – where the only legal way of accessing abortion is surgery under anaesthesia – the caretaker government is now considering abortion pills. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Macedonian reportedly attacked because of Bulgarian identity. The Co-Chairman of the Association of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia (RSM), “Shemeto” Bekir Kadrieski, was beaten by a stranger – who kept calling him a ‘dirty Bulgarian’ during the beating – in the city of Struga, he told Nova TV. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu nominated for Romania’s prime minister. President Klaus Iohannis nominated on Tuesday, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Marcel Ciolacu, as the candidate for the office of prime minister, inviting him to create a new government. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Media needs to be better trained to cover Serbia’s violent atmosphere. The atmosphere in Serbia after two mass shootings and femicides – with 19 women murdered since the start of the year – has been worsened by the media because of their lack of professionalism, publishing inappropriate and disturbing articles to gain more website clicks and social media post likes. Read more.

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PRISTINA

Serbs attack Kosovo police after arrest, Kurti calls for rule of law. Tensions flared again on Tuesday following the arrest of an individual suspected of attacking police in the north of the country as ethnic Serbs attacked Kosovo police with stones, while Prime Minister Albin Kurti called for the rule of law to be restored. Read more.

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TIRANA | PRISTINA

Kurti asks Albania to raise issue of Albanians in Presevo Valley with Serbia. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he had not read the draft for establishing the Association of Serb Municipalities presented to France, Germany, the EU and the US last Thursday by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, instead suggesting he present it to Serbia as a way to protect Albanians in southern Serbian municipalities. Read more.

AGENDA:

EU: Conference on green cities organised by the Swedish Presidency in Malmö, about the transition integrating aesthetical, social and cultural values;
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on official visit in Chile; Meets President of Chile Gabriel Boric;
Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis participates in the ECB Governing Council meeting in Frankfurt, Germany;
Vice President Frans Timmermans visits Guyana, South America for COP28 preparations;
Vice President Dubravka Šuica, on official visit in Spain, participates in working breakfast on demography & democracy with the Forum Nueva Economia (FNE); Attends annual meeting of Europe Direct Centres and European Documentation Centres;
Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni participates in European Parliament plenary session on implementation and delivery of sustainable development goals, the Pandora Papers; Delivers Commission statement on making Europe a place to invest;
Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič participates in the opening of the European Parliament’s day of dialogue in the framework of the Brussels VII conference on supporting the future of Syria and the region;
Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit participates in the “World of Work Summit: Social Justice For All”, organised by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in in Geneva, Switzerland;
Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson delivers keynote speech “Between urgency and energy transition: getting the balance right” at conference organised by E.DSO and ENTSO-E;
Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli holds bilateral meetings with Israeli Commissioner for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the Ministry of Justice Dan Rashal, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Gertrude Fefoame, US Special Advisor Sara Minkara, and Prince Mired bin Raad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan, in New York, U.S.;
European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg adopts position on AI regulation;
Parliament President Roberta Metsola hosts President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu;
Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the ministers of interior, foreign affairs, defence and finance present Germany’s national security strategy;
Russia: St. Petersburg Economic Forum;