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In today’s news from the Capitals:
PRAGUE
The Czech deputy ambassador to Moscow was asked by Russian authorities to cooperate with secret services before being expelled from the country, while another Czech diplomat was also approached, but both refused to cooperate. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austrian Chancellor says Putin was in ‘top’ psychological condition. In an interview with Kronen Zeitung about his recent visit to Moscow, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Russian President Vladimir Putin was in “top condition”, and he did not notice any signs of psychological illness. Read more.
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BERLIN
Social Democrats back Nord Stream 2 advocate. Social Democrats in the Bundestag have come to the defence of party elder Manuela Schwesig, the regional leader of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and, until recently, a leading advocate for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline after she was asked to step down. Read more.
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PARIS
French embassy returns to Kyiv. The French embassy was re-established in Kyiv this weekend after security conditions were deemed “acceptable” in the Ukrainian capital. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch prosecutors end Russian oligarch investigation. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) is shutting down all investigations into money laundering in the Netherlands by Russian oligarchs due to fears of creating a political battle with Moscow, according to Dutch media NRC. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
PM’s office could have been targeted by Pegasus spyware. The prime minister’s office and the foreign office were targeted by the Pegasus spyware, according to Citizen Lab, a Canada based investigative group. Read more.
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DUBLIN
Immunologist warns of new COVID-19 strain spread in Ireland. An Irish immunologist has warned that a new, more infectious variant of COVID-19 is likely spreading in Ireland. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finnish public donations to Ukraine reach record high. The war in Ukraine has conquered the hearts and minds of the Finnish public as it has triggered painful memories of Finland’s own history, leading people to donate in unprecedented numbers. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
NICOSIA
Russia rejects press reports about consulate in Cyprus’ occupied territories. The Russian embassy in Cyprus has rejected as unfounded press reports suggesting that Moscow was mulling establishing a consulate in the territories occupied by Turkey in the north of the island. Read more.
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ROME
Italy averted 150,000 COVID-19 deaths due to vaccinations. Infections, hospitalisations and deaths associated with COVID-19 could have been much higher without the help of vaccinations in Italy, a recent report published by the National Institute of Health (ISS) has found. Read more.
Draghi to skip ‘gas tour’ in Africa after testing positive for COVID-19. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will not be able to participate in a mission to Angola and Congo scheduled for 20-21 April after he tested positive for COVID-19 but remains asymptomatic, his office said on Monday.
The mission’s objective is to reach new energy agreements to cut the country’s reliance on Russian gas following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The delegation representing the Italian government in the missions to Angola and the Republic of Congo will be headed by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani. (Margherita Montanari | EURACTIV.it)
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MADRID
‘Cannot rule out’ Russia using biological, chemical weapons in Ukraine, says minister. Spanish minister of defence Margarita Robles stressed on Monday that one could “never” rule out the possibility that Russia is using nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. Read more.
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LISBON
Portuguese defence minister says modernising armed forces a priority. Modernising the armed forces and making sure Portugal asserts itself as a “credible security actor” on the world stage are among the priorities of defence minister Helena Carreiras, the minister said in a video message on Monday. Read more.
VISEGRAD
WARSAW
EU to grant Poland €59 million for helping Ukrainian refugees, media say. Poland will receive €59 million in advance from the REACT-EU programme to support Ukraine refugees, Polish RMF FM radio reported, citing Brussels sources. Read more.
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BUDAPEST
Number of births in Hungary in decline. The number of newborn babies has significantly declined in Hungary in the first two months of 2022, 24.hu reported via Népszava. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovaks support measures reducing energy consumption. Slovaks mostly support individual measures reducing oil and gas consumption as long as they receive discounts in return, a new survey conducted by the MNFORCE agency in cooperation with the Slovak Academy of Sciences has found. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
LJUBLJANA
Jansa’s challenger leads polls as campaign enters final week. Robert Golob, a former energy executive who did not have a party until January, has overtaken Prime Minister Janez Janša in the polls with just a week to go before election day. Read more.
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SOFIA
Bulgarians reject Russia as model state. Only a quarter of Bulgarians trust Russian President Vladimir Putin as support for him has continued to decline since the start of the war, a nationally representative survey by Alpha Research has found. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
Romania sends justice law changes to Brussels. Romania’s justice ministry sent a draft of new laws regulating the judiciary and the criminal codes to the European Commission for consultations. Read more.
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ZAGREB
Croatia to observe day dedicated to cancer survivors. This year, around 170,000 Croatian cancer survivors will witness the first national day for cancer survivors. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Petition against Russia sanctions presented in Belgrade. A petition against imposing sanctions on Russia was presented in Belgrade on Monday after signatures were collected from 200 public figures, including the academics Matija Becković, Kosta Čavoški and Vasilije Krestić, Serbian Orthodox Church bishops Irinej and David, filmmaker Emir Kusturica and former ambassador to Russia, Slavenko Terzić. Read more.
Serbia’s top three exporters headquartered in China. Three Chinese companies were among the top three exporters to Serbia, with the 15 top exporters to the country reaching €1.8 billion in output during this year’s first quarter. Read more.
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SARAJEVO
Republika Srpska would postpone competency transfer decision. Serb entity Republika Srpska would defer the decision transferring competencies from the central state government to the entity level that parliament adopted last year, Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency, told Serbian daily Politika in an interview. Read more.
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PODGORICA
Former head of Montenegrin Supreme Court arrested. Vesna Medenica, who previously headed the Supreme Court for 17 years, was arrested on Monday just before she was about to take a flight from Podgorica Airport. Read more.
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PRISTINA
Kosovo welcomes first Ukrainian journalist refugee. Open Democracy journalist Lyudmila Makey is the first Ukrainian journalist displaced by the war to move to Kosovo under the ‘Journalist in Residence’ scheme. Read more.
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TIRANA
Noncommunicable diseases set to increase in post-pandemic Albania. Instances of chronic lung disease, diabetes, and cancer will increase in Albania over the next decade as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s ageing population, according to the National Health Strategy 2021-2030. Read more.
AGENDA:
- EU: European Parliament’s Pegasus committee presents findings / Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic meets.
- Video call between US President Joe Biden and leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, the UK, Canada, the EU and NATO on Ukraine.
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]
Source: euractiv.com
