The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
Before you start reading today’s edition of the Capitals, feel free to have a look at the New migration row as African states slam Morocco and Spain over border deaths by Benjamin Fox.
The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.
Today’s edition is powered by WeMove Europe
We all want credible institutions. While the Von der Leyen Commission has made climate commitments, the practice is proving different. The energy taxonomy will divert investments to fossil fuels and lock us into climate meltdown. The WeMove community of 1 million Europeans calls on the EP to vote it down.
Continue Reading >>
In today’s news from the Capitals:
The longstanding French goal of increasing European defence cooperation got a boost during Paris’s stint at the helm of the EU Council during the past six months, driven forward by the Ukraine war. Read more.
///
EU INSTITUTIONS
EU auditors warn of risks linked to Commission’s expenditure on external consultants. The European Commission lacks comprehensive guidelines on the use of external consultants, according to EU auditors, who have warned of risks over conflict of interest and overdependence on a small number of consultancy firms. Read more.
EU and New Zealand sign free trade agreement. The European Commission signed a free trade deal with New Zealand on Thursday (30 June), slashing much of the remaining tariffs between the two trading partners while keeping certain protections for European beef and sheep farmers and including unprecedented sustainability provisions. Read more.
///
VIENNA
Zelenskyy calls for greater support from Austria in first live speech. Appearing at a festival after parliamentary parties could not agree to invite him to the country’s legislative, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Austria to increase support for his country in a speech broadcast live on Thursday night. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
EU citizens’ rights case to go to UK top court. The fate of EU nationals with temporary status in the UK will go to judicial review, a High Court judge ruled on Thursday (30 June), in a legal case with significant implications for around 2.5 million EU nationals living in the UK with five-year residency. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
VILNIUS
EU Court slams Lithuania’s Belarus migrant pushbacks. The Lithuanian law introduced in response to migrants coming from Belarus last year, which orders the automatic detention of people who cross irregularly into the country and denies the right to asylum, is incompatible with EU law, the Court of Justice found on Thursday. Read more.
///
HELSINKI
Pre-pandemic reality returns to Finland’s border. Finland lifted the entry restrictions it imposed because of the pandemic on Friday, meaning everyone travelling to the country will no longer have to present COVID-related documentation. Read more.
Finland has most drug-related deaths among youth in Europe. Finland is the European country with the most drug-related deaths among people under 25 in proportion to its population, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has found. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
MADRID
Sanchez implicitly calls on left to back deal with US on defence. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hinted on Thursday he will ask his left-wing coalition partner Unidas Podemos (United We Can) for support to fulfil Madrid’s fresh commitments with US President Joe Biden and NATO. Read more.
///
ROME
Draghi’s government to look into resuming domestic gas drilling. The government will discuss whether to resume domestic gas drilling in the following few weeks, Prime Minister Mario Draghi told reporters following the Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday. Read more.
///
LISBON
Lisbon airport expansion plan causes uproar. Infrastructure and Transport Minister Pedro Nuno Santos made a “serious mistake” in announcing a policy concerning a new airport for Lisbon, Prime Minister António Costa said on Thursday though he then “promptly corrected” it. Read more.
VISEGRAD
BUDAPEST
Metsola: No thawing between Fidesz and EPP yet. There is no thawing of relations between Hungary and the European People’s Party European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told EURACTIV.fr following reports from Budapest that former commissioner Tibor Navracsics was working on bringing Fidesz back into the centre-right political family. Read more.
///
WARSAW
Jourová: Polish Supreme Court bill does not fulfil recovery plan milestones. The law dismantling the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court does not fulfil the conditions for the Commission to disburse the Recovery Fund money, European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová said on Thursday. Read more.
///
PRAGUE
EU Commission eyes Czech state support for new nuclear unit. The European Commission has launched investigations into whether the planned public support for the extension of the Czech Dukovany nuclear plant is in line with EU competition rules. Read more.
///
BRATISLAVA
Slovakia eases EU funds access to boost geothermal energy. With the 2021-2027 budgetary period supporting exploratory drilling, the Slovak government has decided to remove one of the main barriers to geothermal energy development in the country, though the Commission still needs to give its green light. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
BUCHAREST
Romania joins EU black sheep over declining media freedom. Romania’s independent media community is feeling increasingly pessimistic over a series of journalistic violations and what they consider backsliding due to political figures, making it the latest in a growing line of EU countries to experience problems with media freedom. Read more.
///
SOFIA
Russia gives ultimatum to Bulgaria, threatens to break diplomatic relations. Russia gave Bulgaria until noon Friday (11:00 CET) to reverse the decision to kick out 70 diplomats, or it would break diplomatic relations with the EU country. Read more.
///
ZAGREB
Croatia considers fuel vouchers, among other options, finance minister says. Fuel vouchers for citizens are one of the remaining options the government is considering, having slashed VAT on fresh foodstuffs to the minimum, Croatia’s Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Thursday, according to the Poslovni Dnevnik business website. Read more.
///
LJUBLJANA
Slovenian inflation at 24-year high. Slovenia’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 10.4% in June, up 2.3 percentage points from May and the highest rate since July 1996. Read more.
///
SARAJEVO
UK to send military specialists to BiH over fear of Russian influence. UK military specialists will be deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina to promote security and counter Russian influence, British Prime Minister Boris Johnston announced on Thursday. Read more.
///
TIRANA
Albania’s medicinal herb industry flourishes but concerns over future remain. Albania’s medicinal herb industry, boosted by the pandemic, saw production increase by 65% in 2021 compared to 2020, providing much-needed optimism for an industry plagued by other issues. Read more.
Agenda:
- EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in College meeting in Prague.
- France: President Emmanuel Macron hosts Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
- Switzerland: UN Humanitarian Affairs office press conference on the situation in Lebanon.
- The Netherlands: Conference to mark 20th anniversary of the International Criminal Court.
- United Kingdom: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks at Chatham House.
- Poland: Ban on access to the border with Belarus lifted.
- Czech Republic: Czech Republic takes over rotating EU Council presidency.
- Slovenia: Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon will hold talks with her German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin.
- Serbia: Prime Minister Ana Brnabic to meet with the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro.
- Morocco: NGOs call for protests over deaths at the border with Melilla.
***
[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Eleonora Vasques]
Source: euractiv.com
