| BRATISLAVA The Slovak and Hungarian prime ministers showcased their unity in Bratislava, criticising the EU together while steering clear of sensitive topics that could spark friction. Read more.
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WARSAW
Poland and US firms move ahead with first nuclear plant deal. Poland's state-owned Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) on Monday signed a bridging agreement (EDA) with the US consortium Westinghouse-Bechtel for the country's first nuclear power plant. The signing, witnessed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, outlines the next phase of engineering, permitting and geological studies for the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in northern Poland. The EDA became necessary after the previous contract for engineering services expired earlier this month. The project will use Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor technology and marks a major step in Poland's efforts to diversify its energy sources and move away from coal. (Charles Szumski | Euractiv)
Three Seas Summit welcomes new members, partners. Montenegro and Albania will officially join the Three Seas Initiative as associated states, President Andrzej Duda announced during the Three Seas Summit's opening in Warsaw on Monday. The main plenary session, featuring heads of state and government from the Three Seas Initiative countries, will take place at the Royal Castle on Tuesday. As part of the summit – the 10th in the initiative's history – Duda, alongside Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, took part in a high-level business event on Monday at the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw. “I believe that with new members, cooperation within the Initiative will become even more significant and fruitful, and the Summit taking place in Poland will contribute to strengthening ties between all member countries and Initiative partners,” Duda said. The Three Seas Initiative, founded in 2015 by President Duda and his then Croatian counterpart, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, brings together 13 EU member states: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia 2023. Additionally, two associated participating states—Ukraine and Moldova—are part of the Initiative. Its strategic partners include the United States, Japan, the European Commission, and Germany. (Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)
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PRAGUE
Czech construction faces raw materials crisis, government plans to open new quarries. Supplies of aggregates and sand-gravel mixtures, essential for highways, railways, and high-speed lines, are running dangerously low in Czechia and new quarries aren't opening fast enough, warns a new study. Read more. | 
