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In today’s news from the Capitals:
WARSAW
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki laid out his hopes to build a new economic community in Central and Eastern Europe with the participation of Romania and Ukraine on Tuesday in Bucharest, where he also criticised powerful Western countries for undermining the region for many years. Read more.
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LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg slams Germany on combustion, France on nuclear. Energy Minister Claude Turmes took aim at Germany’s business-friendly FDP for stalling the combustion engine row over the past few weeks and criticised Paris for its recent repeated attempts at pro-nuclear lobbying. Read more.
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BERLIN
Berlin vows to help Kenya boost climate-neutral fertilisers. Germany will send financial support to Kenya to boost the country’s production of fertilisers with green hydrogen produced by renewable energies to help reduce the country’s dependence on fossil-fuelled fertiliser imports. Read more.
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PARIS
Macron’s camp divided over labour union call for ‘mediation’. President Emmanuel Macron’s supporters, including in government and parliament, are divided on strategy regarding the “mediation” proposed by French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) leader Laurent Berger on behalf of the inter-union group on Tuesday. Read more.
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VIENNA
Amnesty International sounds alarm over human rights in Austria. Inadequate social benefits, racial profiling, inadequate protection of unaccompanied children seeking asylum, poor housing, increased pressure on media freedom, and failure to reach climate targets were listed as Austria’s human rights failures, Amnesty International wrote in its annual report. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Survey: Mental health issues affect half of young Dutch. Over half of the young Dutch aged 16-25 are dealing with mental health issues, of which many struggle with suicidal thoughts and loneliness, a survey recently published by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) shows. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
Illegal migration bill will drive traffickers underground, says former PM May. The illegal migration bill could result in modern slavery victims being less likely to give evidence against traffickers, making it harder to catch them, the UK’s former Prime Minister Theresa May warned. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
COPENHAGEN
Terror threats in Denmark take new shape. Denmark is facing new forms of terrorist threats, including anti-authority extremism and a so-called new ‘hybridisation’ phenomenon, while Islamist terrorism remains the main threat to the country, the annual assessment of Denmark’s Centre for Terror Analysis published Tuesday writes. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
MADRID
Spain’s Sanchez prepares for China’s visit with Ukraine high on agenda. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit China this week to explore how Beijing could play a more prominent role in ending the war in Ukraine, as relations with the world’s biggest economy pose no major hurdles. Read more.
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ATHENS
Greece holds elections on 21 May amid growing polarisation. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Tuesday that the next national elections would be held on 21 May, but analysts are divided over whether a coalition government could be formed in the first round and whether a second round would be needed. Read more.
Dombrovskis slams Greek government over spyware scandal. EU Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis slammed on Tuesday the Greek government over the use of spyware against citizens while simultaneously revealing that the executive is still waiting for an explanation about the export licenses of Predator spyware to Sudan and Madagascar. Read more.
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ROME
Italy struggles with Recovery Fund, Meloni says no risk. The Italian Court of Auditors found delays in National Reform Programmes (NRP)-related investments, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asking Brussels to shift some expenditures from 2026 to 2029 while reassuring the country that she sees no risk and Rome will receive the third tranche. Read more.
VISEGRAD
BRATISLAVA
Slovak MEP says decision to send fighter jets to Ukraine is anti-constitutional. The recent announcement of the government’s decision to provide Ukraine with 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets is not in line with the Constitution, Smer-SD/S&D MEP Katarina Roth Nevedalova said in an interview with EURACTIV. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Czechia disagrees with IOC recommendation for Russian athletes’ return. Czechia disagrees with the International Olympic Committee recommending on Thursday that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in international competitions as neutral competitors. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian president’s office accused of pressuring journalists. The attempt to interfere in the work of the media by the presidential press secretary Kiril Atanasov was registered as a threat by the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), which has registered 94 cases of violations of press and media freedom in Bulgaria. Read more.
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LJUBLJANA | ZAGREB
Slovenia to expand energy cooperation with Croatia. Slovenia and Croatia will shortly sign a solidarity agreement on gas supply and expand energy cooperation in other areas, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenković agreed at a meeting Tuesday. Read more.
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PRISTINA
Greek position on Kosovo’s independence unchanged. Greece’s position of not recognising Kosovo’s independence has not changed, said Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou during a visit to Serbia on Tuesday. Read more.
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TIRANA
Albanian police put up €100,000 reward over TV station shooting. Albanian authorities have put up a €100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of the murder of a security guard at the premises of the country’s largest television station, Top Channel, on Monday. Read more.
AGENDA
- EU: President Ursula von der Leyen attends College of Commissioners; Participates in the second Summit for Democracy, co-hosted by President of the United States Joe Biden, and the leaders of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Zambia, via videoconference; Receives President of the Republic of Kenya William Ruto; Participates in the European Parliament plenary session on the Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023;
- Vice President Margrethe Vestager meets with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo;
- Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis meets via videoconference UK Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch;
- Vice President Vĕra Jourová speaks via video conference at Media Freedom Rapid Response online Summit;
- Vice President Dubravka Šuica receives 15 media representatives from Croatia;
- Vice President Frans Timmermans speaks via videoconference with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin;
- Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli meets with representatives of the European Network of Parents of LGBTI+ Persons (ENP);
- Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi hosts President of Samaritan International Knut Fleckenstein;
- Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean delivers opening remarks at the Renawable and Low-Carbon Fuels Alliance Workshop in Brussels;
- Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson meets with the Rapporteur, MEP Heléne Fritzon, and Shadow Rapporteurs for the FEMM opinion on the proposal for the regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse;
- Conference on prevention models to combat the demand for trafficking in human beings for sexual purposes, organised by the Swedish Presidency; Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson gives online address on the impact of armed conflict and inequality;
- European Parliament holds plenary session, followed by the Ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement; President Roberta Metsola attends;
- Ukraine: IAEA chief Rafael Grossi visits Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Eviction deadline for Moscow linked Orthodox monks;
- Russia: Foreign Affairs Minister hosts Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian;
- UN: General Assembly votes on resolution on fight against global warming;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
