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.
The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.
Today’s edition is powered by AWS
AWS and comprehensive data protection in the cloud
How do organisations successfully navigate compliance within Europe? What are the cross-border data transfer requirements?
AWS experts Esther Stringham (AWS Legal) and Hans Bos (AWS) Security Assurance) dive deeper into both topics.
Watch the webinars >>
In today’s news from the Capitals:
In a sign of resistance to Western calls to choose between Moscow and the West, Serbian President Aleksander Vucic said his country’s brotherly relations with Russia cannot be destroyed, and Belgrade would never succumb to pressure during a meeting with Turko Daudov, an advisor to controversial Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Read more.
///
EU INSTITUTIONS
European Parliament and EU countries reach agreement on EU budget. Negotiators of the European Parliament and representatives of the member states reached an agreement on the 2023 EU budget on Monday night with the Parliament demanding additional means to address the fallout of the war in Ukraine. Read more.
ePrivacy: EU legislators chase compromise on processing electronic communications data. After months of stagnating debates on the ePrivacy Regulation, EU lawmakers and diplomats have moved on to discussing the sensitive issue of processing electronic communications data, metadata, and content. Read more.
Commission to temporarily re-approve glyphosate without member states’ go-ahead. Member states once again blocked the Commission’s proposal to extend the marketing authorisation of the herbicide glyphosate for another year, but the EU executive is set to still approve an interim renewal before mid-December. Read more.
///
VIENNA
Austrian conservatives bicker over migrant rights. Leading conservative Austrian politicians have called to make it harder for economic migrants to seek asylum, causing outrage across the political spectrum. Read more.
///
BERLIN
German army pulls Putin supporter from EU mission in Georgia. The German army removed a soldier from the EU’s EUMM mission in Georgia following reports he supports Russian President Vladimir Putin and sees Moscow as blameless for the war in Ukraine. Read more.
Germany inaugurates first new LNG terminal. The German government inaugurated its first floating terminal on Tuesday, built in record time and intended to receive liquefied natural gas as part of Berlin’s plan to replace Russian gas, with the first regasification ship set to dock in mid-December. Read more.
///
PARIS
France to offer asylum to seven Afghan athletes. Residence permits will be issued to seven female Afghan handball players seeking refuge in Pakistan after fleeing the Taliban regime, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced Tuesday. Read more.
///
THE HAGUE
Dutch FM takes cover in Kyiv during missile strike. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra and his delegation hid in a bomb shelter for about three hours as air raid sirens went off and missiles destroyed electrical infrastructure in Kyiv on Tuesday. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
LONDON
UK’s Cleverly cools expectations of Northern Ireland Protocol deal. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has played down prospects of reaching a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol just days after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that there was a new ‘window of opportunity’ to conclude talks. Read more.
///
DUBLIN
Ireland moves to reign in gambling industry. Widespread bans will be introduced on gambling advertisements, with violations incurring possible prison sentences, following new legislation approved by the Irish government on Tuesday. Read more.
NORDICS AND BALTICS
HELSINKI
Record number of parties eye up Finnish parliamentary elections. According to the latest list of contenders, a record number of 24 parties aim to enter the 200-seat unicameral parliament in the April 2023 elections. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME
Italy’s Meloni calls for global energy market reform at G20. The world’s energy sector needs to be reformed to prevent countries from using energy as a weapon, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at the G20 summit in Bali. Read more.
///
MADRID
Spain to train 2,400 Ukrainian soldiers annually, says defence minister. Spain has the capacity to train 2,400 Ukrainian soldiers a year in the framework of the recently approved EU mission, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Tuesday. Read more.
VISEGRAD
WARSAW
Poland missile strike: What we know so far. Two people were killed after a missile hit Polish territory in the village of Przewodów near the border with Ukraine on Tuesday, marking the first explosion on NATO members’ soil since the war broke out in February. Read more.
///
PRAGUE
Hungary’s opposition to EU Ukraine loan reinforces criticism, says Czech minister. The rejection of the EU’s joint loan for Ukraine reinforces critical voices in the EU against Hungary, Czech European Affairs Minister Mikuláš Bek said on Tuesday. Read more.
///
BRATISLAVA
Slovak Government to cap electricity, gas prices for municipalities. The price of electricity will be capped at €199 per megawatt hour and at €99 per MWh for gas, Finance Minister Igor Matovič decided together with municipalities following discussions for next year’s budget. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
LJUBLJANA
Slovenia secures Algerian gas to cover third of its needs. Slovenia has secured natural gas from Algeria that will cover a third of the country’s needs for the next three years under an agreement signed by Geoplin, Slovenia’s largest energy trader, and Algerian state-owned energy firm Sonatrach. Read more.
///
SOFIA
Confusion in Bulgaria over Netherlands’ F-16 offer. Bulgarian defence ministry says the Netherlands is only offering to train Bulgarian pilots despite media reports the Hague was considering transferring F-16 aircrafts to NATO allies in Eastern Europe if they agreed to provide their MiG-29s to Ukraine. Read more.
///
BUCHAREST
Romania’s economic growth slows down to 1.3% in Q3. Romania’s GDP grew by 1.3% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate of the country’s statistics institute INS. Read more. ///
PRISTINA
Kurti: Association of Serb Municipalities pushed by Belgrade, not Kosovo Serbs. Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti doubled down on the decision not to allow the creation of an Association of Serb Municipalities, noting it is unconstitutional and not wanted by the local population, rather only from Belgrade. Read more.
///
TIRANA
Albania courts Azeri strongman president in Tirana. After Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited Albania on Tuesday in the first-ever visit of its kind, Albanian President Bajram Begaj declared the welcoming of Azeri investments and the possible establishment of diplomatic missions. Read more.
///
AGENDA
- EU: President of the European Council Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meet with Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese in the margins of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia;
- European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans announces together with Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson an EU-Egypt Hydrogen Partnership; Participates in side-event ‘EU Innovation Fund – The role of cleantech funding for net zero’;
- College of Commissioners presents a communication on Schengen enlargement;
- Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel participates in the 9th high-level EPP Group Conference on the Western Balkans;
- Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson addresses the high-level event ‘How can we use technology to ensure safety for children online’ in the framework of the first Tech Awareness Week hosted by the EU Parliament;
- European Parliament President Roberta Metsola meets with German Parliament (Bundestag) President Bärbel Bas; Attends the European Business Summit;
- ECB publishes Financial Stability Review for November 2022;
- Germany: G7 interior ministers hold a meeting;
- Austria: UN nuclear watchdog IAEA holds quarterly Board of Governors meeting; IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi attends a press conference in the US;
- Sweden: Parliament votes on a constitutional amendment that would make it possible to strengthen anti-terror laws;
- Morocco: Global Investment Forum 2022 takes place;
***
[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]
Source: euractiv.com
