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In today’s news from the Capitals:
BERLIN
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has criticised the Swiss government over their ‘neutrality’, which is blocking the delivery of Swiss-made ammunition which Berlin wants to deliver to Ukraine. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
EU parliament blocks rule of law resolution on Greece, Spain to avoid interfering in elections. A resolution on the rule of law in Spain, Greece, and Malta has been postponed by the Parliaments’ top decision-making body comprised of political groups’ chiefs to avoid interfering in the upcoming Spanish and Greek elections, key for the socialists (S&D) and the centre-right (EPP), triggering a blame game between the political groups. Read more.
Luxembourgish MEP sanctioned over harassment allegations, again. Luxembourgish lawmaker Monica Semedo (Renew) was sanctioned once again over harassment allegations after a former staff member of Semedo accused her of bullying. Read more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch accused of ‘cold war mentality’ by Chinese diplomat. The Netherlands should give up their cold war mentality and stop conjuring up conflict, Chinese Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a press conference on Tuesday amid rising tensions between the two nations. Read more.
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PARIS
France to import abortion pills from Italy. France will import pills from Italy as, for several weeks now, the country has been dealing with a lack of misoprostol Health Minister François Braun announced on Wednesday. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria looks abroad to address labour shortage. The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) and the Labour Ministry want to work together to counteract the massive labour shortage in the coming years, Labour and Economic Affairs Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) said at a joint press conference on Tuesday. Read more.
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BRUSSELS
Belgium moves to relax abortion law. The Belgian government is currently discussing whether to raise the abortion limit from 12 to 18 weeks in a move that has divided political parties, including within the governing coalition. Read more.
Belgium officially requests aid worker liberation from Iranian jail. Belgian authorities on Tuesday filed an official request to transfer Olivier Vandecasteele, the Belgian aid worker who has been detained for over a year in Evin prison in Iran, back to his home country. Read more.
UK & IRELAND
LONDON
UK should not ‘pull shutters down’ on China, says UK foreign secretary. The UK should not pull the shutters down on China as it would be counterproductive to the national interest, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Tuesday. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finland requires guarantees from Israel on missile system deliveries. Finland is the first country to use the long-range air defence system “the David’s Sling” outside Israel, but Israel’s refusal to send arms to Ukraine has made the Finnish government take extra measures to ensure security of supply. Read more.
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STOCKHOLM
Vattenfall to expand hydropower activities in Sweden. Swedish energy giant Vattenfall wants to expand its existing hydropower in Sweden, Vattenfall stated in a press release on Tuesday, an initiative positively received by the Swedish government. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ATHENS
Athens on fire as MEP faces rape accusations. The political situation in Athens is deteriorating rapidly one month before the elections after Belgian authorities asked the EU Parliament to lift the immunity of Greek MEP Alexis Georgoulis, who faces rape accusations. Read more.
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ROME
Italian minister: Immigration helps labour force, ethnic substitution not ok. The entry of labour forces from other countries is justified in the face of low domestic demand, but Italy cannot give in to the idea of ethnic replacement, said Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida (FDI/ECR) during the Congress of CISAL (Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Autonomi Lavoratori). Read more.
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MADRID
Spanish centre-right PP proposes ‘State Pact’ to boost youth emancipation. An ambitious “State Pact” to increase emancipation of working-class youth, including a €1,000 state grant to help cover the costs of renting or buying a house, was proposed by the centre-right Partido Popular (Popular Party/EPP) on Tuesday. Read more.
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LISBON
Costa: Zero VAT on basic foodstuffs is ‘temporary measure’. The zero VAT applied to essential food items should last around six months, and incentives will be gradually withdrawn as inflation slows down, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Tuesday. Read more.
VISEGRAD
WARSAW
Polish resolution demands war reparations from Germany. The Polish government adopted a resolution on regulating the matter of reparations from Germany for the damages caused during the Second World War, according to a statement published by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s Office on Tuesday. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Czech people rate current government as worst in decade. The Czech government of conservative leader Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) has received the worst rating from the Czech population since 2013, according to a survey conducted by the Centre for Public Opinion Research of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CVVM). Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian pro-EU parties take major step towards forming government. GERB and the Change continues – Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition reached a landmark agreement on Tuesday that brings them closer to finding a formula for forming a government. Read more.
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LJUBLJANA
Slovenian farmers walk out of government talks over environmental policies. Slovenian farmers, who have been fuming about environmental and other policies they say are making it near impossible to continue farming, have abandoned talks with the government and announced fresh protests after having already staged a huge protest last month. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Serbian FM discusses Kosovo visa liberalisation, Ukraine war in Strasbourg. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić is in Strasbourg on the occasion of 20 years of Serbia’s membership in the Council of Europe, where he is using the opportunity to express his opinions on Kosovo and the war in Ukraine. Read more.
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PRISTINA
Kosovo visa liberalisation causes stir in Belgrade. European Parliament on Tuesday approved the visa liberalisation of Kosovo citizens with no objections, according to President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, in a move that sparked nervous reactions in Serbia. Read more.
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TIRANA
Albanian court rules to extradite fugitive Turkish crypto boss. The Albanian Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the appeal of Turkish cryptocurrency boss Faruk Ozer against his extradition to Turkey where he is accused of defrauding thousands of people who joined his cryptocurrency exchange. Read more.
AGENDA
- EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a keynote speech at the conference “Agreement 25” marking 25 years after the signing of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement;
- Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski hosts Ambassador of Türkiye to the EU Faruk Kaymakcı;
- Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn holds meetings with French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, Minister of Finance of France Bruno Le Maire, Secretary General of the Private Office of the President of France Alexis Kohler;
- Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit gives a keynote speech via videoconference at the international launch event of ALL DIGITAL Weeks; Speaks at a “European evening” event in Berlin entitled “Lack of skilled workers in Europe. How can the EU migration policy succeed”;
- European Parliament Plenary debates the EU Global Health Strategy; Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides participates; Plenary votes on the horizontal anti-discrimination directive, EU Rapid Deployment Capacity, EU Battlegroups, and more;
- Parliament President Roberta Metsola holds a meeting with Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel; Gives statement on the 80th anniversary of the Uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto;
- Belgium: Abortion debate in federal parliament;
- Sweden: Defence Minister Pal Jonson hosts US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin;
- Portugal: Prime Minister Antonio Costa hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
