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The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.
In today’s news from the Capitals:
While stabilising energy prices and a mild early autumn have brought a welcome respite for Europeans, a new survey suggests that the crisis the continent is bracing for this winter is already here.
One in four people say they are in a precarious situation, while the majority of Europeans have already had to make difficult because of financial difficulties, a poll by French NGO Secours Populaire revealed on Friday. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
EU countries lay bare Europe’s limits in securing critical infrastructure. National governments have opposed several fundamental parts of the European Commission’s plan to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure, according to written feedback seen by EURACTIV. Read more.
EU set to adopt mandatory recycled content targets in new packaging law. The European Commission wants to reduce the environmental impact of packaging by mandating that producers use a minimum amount of recycled plastic in new packaging placed on the market. Read more.
AI Act: Czech EU presidency makes final tweaks ahead of ambassadors’ approval. The Czech presidency of the EU Council shared with the other EU countries on Thursday (3 November) the final version of the AI Act, a flagship EU legislative initiative, which is set to be approved at the ambassador level by mid-November. Read more.
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BERLIN
Western Balkans sign landmark agreements in Berlin ahead of December summit. Western Balkan Six leaders signed three agreements under the Berlin Process on Thursday, sending positive signals ahead of a crucial Western Balkan summit set to take place in Albania in December. Read more.
Germany’s wounded chemical industry causes concern in Berlin. The deteriorating state of Germany’s chemical industry is causing concern at the highest political level, as the German government readies its €200 billion aid package for households and businesses. Read more.
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PARIS
French left fractures over tactics following failed no confidence motions. Cracks are appearing in France’s leftist opposition coalition NUPES, as the various groups and parties constituting the parliamentary left question whether to be part of an opposition that is as loud as it is radical. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria calls for speedy EU integration of Western Balkan states. The EU should speed up the integration of the Western Balkan states in order to ensure that other powers could not exert influence over the EU’s immediate neighbourhood, Integration Minister Susanne Raab said in Berlin on Thursday. Read more.
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BRUSSELS
Belgian State, Nuclear Control Agency deny starting process to dismantle Doel 3. The Belgian State and the Federal Nuclear Control Agency (FANC) refuted in court all accusations of having started the dismantling phase of nuclear reactor Doel 3. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
Bank of England issues bleak warning of recession. The UK is facing a recession that will last at least one year, the Bank of England warned on Thursday after increasing interest rates to 3% from 2.25%, the biggest jump since 1989. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Finnish automotive industry suggests measures to tackle rising petrol prices. A proposal for proactive measures against the expected rise in petrol prices was unveiled by the Association of Automobile Industry in Finland, an organisation of the country’s car importers and car industry. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME
Meloni offers support for the EU and vows to bring ‘strong voice of Italy’. In her first trip to Brussels, new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that she would bring “the strong voice of Italy to the EU” but gave her support for the bloc’s actions on the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and inflation. Read more.
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MADRID
Spain saw unemployment numbers drop in October. A total of 27,027 people were registered as unemployed in October, a national record, while 103,499 new employments were registered, data from the Ministry of Employment published on Thursday revealed. Read more.
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VALLETTA
Men who pleaded guilty to Malta journalist murder demand retrial. Two men who pleaded guilty for their involvement in the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia have demanded a retrial just two weeks after being sentenced to 40 years each. Read more.
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LISBON
Chinese battery plant to start operations in Portugal by 2025. A Chinese manufacturer, Aviation Lithium Battery Technology, wants the battery factory for electric vehicles in Sines to start operating by 2025, a company representative said on Thursday. Read more.
VISEGRAD
PRAGUE
Czech MPs label Russia ‘terrorist’ regime. The current Russian regime was described as ‘terrorist’ by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Czech lower house of parliament on Thursday following resolutions that condemned Russia’s large-scale attacks on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure. Read more.
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WARSAW
Polish opposition urges cooperation with Commission to gain EU cash. A draft resolution calling on the government to fulfil the conditions imposed by the European Commission to get money from the bloc’s COVID recovery fund was tabled by representatives of the opposition in Poland’s parliament on Thursday. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovak parliament’s ‘cyberattack’ caused by incorrectly plugged cable. Last weeks parliamentary IT shutdown, which led to suspicions of a cyberattack, was revealed to be an incident caused by an incorrectly plugged cable, the National Security Authority discovered. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Delays in restart of Bulgarian nuclear facility following accident. An accident in the cooling system led to the forced shutdown of Unit VI of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant – one of the two functioning nuclear reactors – on 29 October, with Bulgarian authorities initially announcing that the relaunch would take place a day later before pushing it back to 3 and then 7 November. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
France to deploy fighter aircraft in Romania. A squadron of Rafale fighters will be sent to perform air policing missions in the Romanian airspace, French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said during a meeting with Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca. Read more.
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TIRANA
Vaccines for seasonal flu, COVID-19 start in Albania. Just over a quarter of a million influenza vaccines have arrived in Albania, along with the first cases, and they will be doled out to the most vulnerable, along with COVID-19 boosters. Read more.
Albania demands European Parliament action over French far-right MEP. The head of the Albanian Delegation to the European Parliament, Taulant Balla, has condemned the statements of French MEP Nicolas Bay against Albanian people and called for disciplinary action. Read more.
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AGENDA
- EU: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen receives Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė; Receives Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol;
- Vice-President Vĕra Jourová in Bratislava, Slovakia holds consecutive meetings with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Minister of Justice Viliam Karas, Minister of Interior Roman Mikulec, representatives of Slovak media; Attends Joint Meeting with the Parliamentary Committees of Parliament of the National Council of the Slovak Republic;
- Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders meets with Albanian Minister of Justice Ulsi Manja, Minister of Justice of Kosovo Albulena Haxhiu and Deputy Minister of Justice of North Macedonia Agim Nuhiu in Tirana, Albania;
- High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell participates in the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting and holds bilateral meetings in the margins in Berlin, Germany;
- PEGA delegation to Greece and Cyprus concludes the visit with a press conference at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Athens, Greece on Friday at 11:00 EET; To be live broadcasted on social media accounts of the Liaison Office;
- The Sustainable Development Observatory (SDO) of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosts the “REPowering our EU” online conference on the potential for an energy shift towards renewables in Europe;
- EU Agency for Fundamental Rights Director Michael O’Flaherty addresses the Web Summit 2022 on automating human rights and hosting a roundtable on digital technologies and human rights, in Lisbon, Portugal;
- Portugal: Portuguese PM Antonio Costa and Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez give a press conference after the annual Iberian summit;
- Hungary: Demonstration against government control of media;
- China: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits;
- Angola: African Petroleum Producers’ Organization ministerial meeting;
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
