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In today’s news from the Capitals:
EU INSTITUTIONS
The Belgian police’s raid in the European People’s Party (EPP) headquarters on Tuesday in Brussels over an alleged scandal involving a former consultant of EPP chief Manfred Weber has caused frustration within the EU centre-right family, EURACTIV has learnt. Read more.
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BRUSSELS
Belgium’s supermarket prices increase by 20%. Prices in supermarkets have increased by around 19.3% over the last three months compared to the previous year, with inflation exceeding 20% for the first time in March, a study by the consumers association Testachats revealed on Tuesday. Read more.
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BERLIN
German opposition pushes to investigate Scholz over tax scandal. The conservative CDU/CSU are pushing for establishing an investigation committee in the Bundestag regarding a tax scandal allegedly involving Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with allegations dating back to when Scholz was mayor of Hamburg between 2011-2018. Read more.
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PARIS
France to spend €16 billion on ammunition by 2030. Paris plans to focus part of its Armed Forces budget on replenishing ammunition stocks over the next seven years, the government’s new finance bill published on Tuesday (4 April) shows. Read more.
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VIENNA
Majority of Austrians favour wealth tax: study. Seven out of ten Austrians believe income and wealth are unfairly distributed, with two-thirds of the population in favour of a wealth tax, according to the results of a SORA study on Tuesday which the Momentum Institute commissioned. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
UK-EU police cooperation could end without trade agreement update. If the UK government does not align with the EU’s ‘Prüm II’ proposals, the UK-EU cooperation on cross-border policing could end, meaning UK police would be locked out of EU-wide databases. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finnish ‘NATO’ beer, flags sell out after quickest accession in history. After the quickest accession process in the military alliance’s history, Finland became the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday, with a special NATO beer selling out in half an hour and flag sellers struggling to keep up with demand. Read more.
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STOCKHOLM
Five arrested over ISIS-related terror attack plans in Sweden. fFve men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack in Sweden on Tuesday in apparent retaliation for the Quran burning committed by a far-right activist in January. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
MADRID
Left-wing Unidas Podemos wants to ‘make peace’ with progressive group Sumar. Spain’s left-wing junior coalition member wants to agree with Sumar – the new progressive group that aspires to unite the country’s left and win general elections in December – as soon as possible, Unidas Podemos (UP) Secretary General Ione Belarra said on Tuesday. Read more.
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ATHENS
Predatorgate: Opposition lashes out at Greek PM after EURACTIV’s revelation. Main opposition leftist Syriza party and Greek socialists hit at Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after a EURACTIV report revealed that the EU prosecutor had launched an investigation over the use of illegal Predator spyware in the country. Read more.
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ROME
Save the Children survey shows troubling data for child labour in Italy. About 336,000 children between 7-15 (6.8%) have had work experience, while 58,000 (27.8%) adolescents between 14-15 say they have done work that is detrimental to their schooling and psychophysical well-being, according to the “It’s not a game” survey conducted by Save the Children. Read more.
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LISBON
Moody’s upgrades TAP Air Portugal ratings, outlook ‘positive’. Moody’s – a bond credit rating business – upgraded several of TAP’s ratings on Tuesday, improving the company’s outlook to positive after an increase in profitability since their review last April. Read more.
VISEGRAD
PRAGUE
Czechia-Poland dispute over coal mine settled, but locals still suffer. Czech and Polish political heads have settled the dispute over the coal mine Turow, but inhabitants of villages near the open-pit mine still face problems, EURACTIV.cz reported. Read more.
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WARSAW
Poles do not want the far-right to enter government. Most Poles do not want the ruling camp to invite the far right into government, believing a potential coalition would be bad for the country, according to poll results from United Surveys, commissioned by Wirtualna Polska. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovakia will survive winter even without Russian gas, says economy minister. It is already likely that Slovakia will survive next winter even if Russian natural gas imports to Europe stop completely, said Economy Minister Karel Hirman. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian Defence Ministry: Russia committing systematic war crimes in Ukraine. The Russian army is committing systematic war crimes in Ukraine, according to one of the conclusions in the State of Defence and the Armed Forces of Bulgaria’s 2022 report, which was approved and made public by the Council of Ministers on Monday. Read more.
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LJUBLJANA
Cross-party bid mounted to simplify Slovenian government appointment. A proposal to amend the Constitution to transfer the power to appoint government ministers from parliament to the head of state was tabled by the largest two parties of the ruling coalition and one of two opposition parties on Tuesday. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Serbia must implement agreements, compromise with Kosovo to see EU progression. The head of the EU delegation and the Ambassador of the EU to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, said Serbia must implement old and new agreements and be prepared to compromise with Kosovo if it wants to continue on its EU path. Read more.
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PRISTINA
As Kosovo, Serbia negotiators meet in Brussels, Belgrade slams Pristina over Serb arrest. On the same day that Kosovo and Serbia’s chief negotiators met in Brussels with the EU’s Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak, Serbian President Aleksander Vucic levied strong words against his Kosovar counterpart Albin Kurti, and the EU-facilitated process. Read more.
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TIRANA
World Bank pledges €900 million to help Albania create better jobs, beat brain drain. The World Bank announced on Wednesday it will make €900 million available to Albania to invest in projects designed to strengthen and stimulate human capital, job creation, and resistance to crises as the EU hopeful grapples with ‘brain drain’. Read more.
AGENDA
- EU: Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn hosts Special Envoy of the French President for Ukraine’s relief and reconstruction Pierre Heilbronn;
- Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit hosts Deputy General Secretary of European Trade Union Confederation Ståhl Claes-Mikael, Senior Advisor Doreste Ignacio;
- ECB’s Chief Economist Philip Lane delivers a speech on monetary policy and inflation, in Cyprus;
- Italy: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on an official visit;
- China: French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on an official visit;
- Russia: International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi visits to discuss Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
