MEP: EU Conservatives will soon be ‘necessary interlocutor’

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

After the next EU elections, the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) will grow significantly and become a necessary partner to build strong alliances, conservative MEP Vincenzo Sofo told EURACTIV Italy in an interview.

“What is certain is that the conservative electorate is growing all over Europe and is clamouring for the relevant parties to build an alternative majority in Brussels to the one that existed so far”, the Fratelli d’Italia politician (ECR) said. Read more.

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BERLIN

Tanks missing from Scholz’s speech at Davos. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz avoided commenting on the contentious question of delivering Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine during his speech at the Davos World Economic Forum. Read more.

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PARIS

Electricity cuts: ‘the worst is behind us’, says French network manager. Risks of electricity cuts are now ‘behind us’, according to the French electricity network manager RTE, but not all is back to normal as strikes and a severe drop in temperatures could have a lasting impact on electricity production. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austria to spend another €200 million to reduce electricity prices. The Austrian government wants to reduce the burden of high electricity prices on households by covering 80% of network tariffs, while authorities look to tackle price gouging by utility companies. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Qatargate: despite Panzeri’s accusations, Tarabella is ‘serene’. Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella (S&D) told RTL on Wednesday that he was serene and did not receive money or gifts from Qatar after being accused by former MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri (S&D) of being involved in the corruption system operating in the European Parliament. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Cybercrime in the Netherlands tripled since 2019. The Netherlands reported a total of 13,949 cybercrimes in 2022, which is nearly triple the amount reported in 2019. Read more.

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON

Ministers push through ‘diktat’ bill to scrap thousands of EU laws. The UK government staved off criticism from the opposition and its own Conservative MPs on Wednesday as it forced through legislation that could lead to thousands of pieces of EU law being scrapped from the UK statute. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Logging continues in Finland’s Lapland despite protests. The Finnish government’s logging operations to thin out forests in the Aalistunturi area continued on Wednesday after environmentalists clashed with police to protest the move. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

MADRID

Madrid to push for EU strategic food autonomy, says agriculture minister. The European Union will be forced to produce more food but with fewer resources as the population grows, said Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Plana, citing this as the reason for the concept of strategic autonomy being put on the table. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal to increase cheap medicine prices by 5%. The prices of cheap medicines will be increased to facilitate access to them and avoid situations in which stocks run out, according to the Health Ministry. Read more.

VISEGRAD

PRAGUE

Weber slams Babiš’s presidential ambitions. Nobody is waiting on the European level for Babiš, EPP Chief Manfred Weber said about the presidential aspirations of former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš (ANO, Renew). Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovak city causes outrage after celebrating with Russian embassy. Poltár, a city in southern Slovakia, invited representatives of the Russian embassy to the commemoration of the liberation of World War II, a move that was heavily criticised by the Defence Ministry. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Bulgarian politicians still do not officially recognise arms exports to Ukraine. Bulgarian politicians that are directly involved still do not admit whether they knew Ukraine was the final destination of the record Bulgarian arms exports in 2022. Read more.

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TIRANA

Albanian PM: Country under daily cyberattacks. Albania is still experiencing daily cyber attacks following a serious attack from Iran in 2022, Prime Minister Edi Rama said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday. Read more.

AGENDA

EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen receives Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa;
Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson hosts Executive Director of Frontex Hans Leijtens;
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski delivers a speech at the International Green Week opening ceremony in Berlin, Germany;
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola attends the “Cooperation in a Fragmented World” meeting at the World Economic Forum 2023, in Davos, Switzerland; Participates in “Widening Europe’s Horizons” panel discussion; Holds bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković;
Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) debates study on its impact on aspects related to the EU’s external relations;
ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in the panel discussion “Finding Europe’s New Growth” during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland;
Germany: Newly appointed Defence Minister Boris Pistorius hosts US Defence Minister Lloyd Austin;
Belgium: Court rules on possibly extending provisional detention of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, detained over Qatargate corruption case;
Sweden: Verdict in trial of two Swedes charged with spying for Russia;
Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, French President Emmanuel Macron, and ministers, attend the Franco-Spanish summit;
Belarus: President Alexander Lukashenko hosts Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov;