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In today's news from The Capitals :
PARIS
Three Parisian judges will deliver their verdict on Monday in an embezzlement case against Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right Rassemblement National. The verdict could upend French politics as prosecutors seek a five-year ban on public office that would prevent her from running in the 2027 presidential election. Read more.
WESTERN EUROPE
BERLIN
Germany's power trading zone split is gaining momentum. A 2022 proposal to charge different electricity prices in Europe's largest country has gained momentum thanks to a well-prepared negotiator for the new government. Read more.
NORTHERN COUNTRIES AND THE BALTIC
OSLO
Inside Norway's bold attempt to shift the EU towards Schein. Euractiv met with Norway's Climate and Environment Minister Anders Bjelland Eriksen and Minister for Children and Families Lene Vogslid during their online consumer rights rally in Brussels this week. Read more.
SOUTH OF EUROPE
ROME
Meloni is once again trying to save Albania's migrant centres. After legal setbacks, the Italian government has revised the Italy-Albania Protocol, allowing the transfer of migrants with confirmed or extended detention orders for repatriation from Italy to Albania. Read more.
EAST EUROPE
WARSAW
Meet the far-right candidate who is causing trouble in Poland's presidential race. Slawomir Mentzen is the new rising star of Poland's far right, and his beer-drinking campaign style and passion for physics are threatening the conservative PiS party's plans to hold on to the presidency. Read more.
Tusk copies PiS in presidential campaign by announcing his own “March of Patriots.” After PiS (ECR) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced a “March of Patriots” for April 12, Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded with his own demonstration, scheduled to take place just a week before the presidential election on May 18.
Last week, Jaroslaw Kaczynski called on “all Polish patriots” to join a march to mark the millennium of the Kingdom of Poland and the 500th anniversary of the so-called Prussian Homage, which ended the Teutonic Knights' rule in Prussia – a long war between the order and Poland.
Although the PiS leader did not directly link the march to the current presidential campaign, his statement comes at a time when his party's candidate Karol Nawrocki is struggling in the polls and is in danger of not making it to the second round against his far-right rival Slawomir Mentzen (Confederation, ESN/PfE). “The best answer to PiS's April march will be a big May march of patriots,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who also leads the ruling Civic Platform (PO, EPP) party, wrote on X over the weekend.
He stressed that the May elections would determine “whether Poland will be strong and secure or isolated and weak.” Tusk’s march is scheduled to take place in Warsaw – like Kaczynski’s – on Sunday, May 11, a week before the elections, and will begin at noon.
The PO candidate, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, maintains a comfortable lead in the polls. A recent Opinia24 poll for TVN24 gave him 36.3%, ahead of Nawrocki (20.4%) and Mientzen (18%). Since returning to power in late 2023, Tusk has increasingly echoed far-right rhetoric in an attempt to attract conservative voters, hardening his stance on migration and making defense a central priority of Poland’s EU presidency.
(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)
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PRAGUE
The Czech Republic supports the use of EU cohesion funds for defence projects. Czech Regional Development Minister Petr Kulhánek (STAN, EPP) called for the continuation of the EU cohesion policy in the largest possible form after 2028 and the inclusion of funding for defence projects.
Speaking after the EU Council meeting in Brussels on Friday, he expressed support for aligning regional funding with the EU's growing focus on defence. “During the meeting, the need to include defence in cohesion policy was raised. Defence is clearly becoming a priority and we, as the Czech Republic, agree with this and support this,” he said.
Defence is not a stand-alone sector . Discussions on how exactly the funding should be used are expected to continue, Kulhanek noted. “Defence is not a stand-alone sector. The funding can also support technologies that can be used in both the civilian and defence industries,” he added. The Czech Republic is a cohesion country, with around 40% of its public investment financed by EU funds.
(Aneta Zahova | Euractiv.cz)
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BRATISLAVA
Slovak government defends lifetime pension for attorney general. Last week, Robert Fico's government approved a lifetime monthly pension of €5,000 for the Slovak attorney general, even if he does not complete his term. The decision sparked a wave of criticism that continued over the weekend.
The opposition condemned the move, arguing that the government pushed through it during a period of fiscal consolidation. They also questioned whether the measure was an attempt to persuade current Attorney General Maroš Žilinka to resign.
“I don't see any other reason or motivation than to get rid of Maroš Žilinka. He will benefit financially, and the coalition will appoint an even more loyal prosecutor general,” said Branislav Vančo, an MP from Progressive Slovakia (PS/RE).
Members of Fico's coalition defended the pension during a political debate on Sunday. Hlas-SD (NI) party leader and Interior Minister Matus Szutai Esztok said the pension was part of a broader plan to introduce pension benefits similar to those available to former soldiers or police officers.
Defence Minister Robert Kalinjak (Smer-SD/NI) also supported the measure, while praising the qualities of two controversial lawyers closely associated with Smer-SD who were seen as potential successors to Žilinka.
(Natalia Silenska | Euractiv.sk)
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgaria's government protected ahead of eurozone entry Bulgaria's fragile government has been given a temporary reprieve from political instability as the main opposition parties signalled they would refrain from backing votes of no confidence until the country completes its convergence report, a critical step towards eurozone membership.
The largest opposition coalition, We Continue Change – Democratic Bulgaria, has explicitly stated that it will not support votes of no confidence and will not support the current government until the convergence report is completed. Without the support of the pro-European coalition, the opposition has no chance of overthrowing the government.
Security from threats . This position effectively protects the administration of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov (GERB, EPP) from immediate threats, allowing it to focus on meeting the economic criteria required to join the eurozone on 1 January 2026.
The Convergence Report, prepared by the European Commission and the European Central Bank, assesses Bulgaria's readiness to adopt the euro, analysing factors such as inflation, fiscal stability and exchange rate dynamics.”
“Being in the eurozone is one of the most important things for Bulgaria. On the other hand, we will not compromise with corruption or corruption schemes. That is why we have decided that on the first day after the publication of the eurozone convergence report, we are ready to initiate a vote of no confidence,” said former Prime Minister and current leader of We Continue the Change Kiril Petkov.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
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BUCHAREST
Almost half of Romanian children spend more than 6 hours a day online. According to a new study by the non-profit organization Save the Children Romania, almost half of children (48.3%) spend more than six hours a day in the digital environment, devoting most of this time to social networks.
In 2025, the age range at which social media use becomes significant is 5–10 years old. This compares to 9 years old in 2019, and in a 2021 study, the average age at which children began using social media was 8.2 years old.
According to the latest survey conducted in 2025, two in five children report being bullied or receiving offensive messages online, an increase compared to 2021 and 2024.
Save the Children statistics warn that every third child who sought advice from the organization's psychologists experienced anxiety and needed psycho-emotional support. Among teenagers, this percentage reaches more than 50%, and some cases develop into extremely serious consequences, including suicide attempts.
(Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)
AGENDAS:
- EU : Meeting between Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen;
- The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, receives the Chairman of the European People's Party, Manfred Weber, the Chairman of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Iratxe García-Pérez, and the Chairman of the Renew Europe movement, Valérie Hajer;
- High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas participates in the meeting of European Security Ministers and Ukraine in Madrid, Spain;
- Commission Vice-President Raffaele Fitto and Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis are taking part in the joint dialogue of the parliamentary committees on the Budget and Economic and Monetary Affairs on recovery and resilience;
- Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič receives the President of the International Chamber of Commerce, Philippe Varin;
- Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner attends the “Border Security Summit: Organised Immigration Crime” in London, UK;
- Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi attends the 16th meeting of the EU Animal Welfare Platform; meets with representatives of AnimalhealthEurope;
- Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christoph Hansen holds an exchange of views with the Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Climate and Food Safety on the vision for agriculture and food;
- Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zakharieva speaks at a plenary session of the parliament on the topic “European scientists and researchers in the situation in the USA and the impact on academic freedom”.
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[Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Shumsky, Daniel Ek, Sofia Mandilar]
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