Europe braces for a ‘new’ Germany. The continent has been nervously watching the election campaign of the continent’s biggest economy, whose importance at a time of global upheaval can hardly be overstated, writes Euractiv’s Nick Alipour.

The most likely outcome of Sunday’s German election would see Berlin play a more assertive role on the European stage – if at the risk of stepping on some toes.

Matching combos. Euractiv's Jeremias Lin has put together a handy guide to the coalitions likely to dominate post-election talks after Sunday's poll – and the nicknames that will be all over the headlines.

Well, bubbling in Washington, too.  Leading EU conservative and far-right figures will be taking the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington and schmoozing with the Trump administration’s top guns with one goal in mind: bring MAGA's impact to Europe, writes Euractiv’s Théo Bourgery-Gonse.

It’s that simple. Euractiv’s Nicoletta Ionta and Thomas Moller-Nielsen got their hands on a draft of the Second Omnibus package on investment simplification. The plan aims to streamline InvestEU and the European Fund for Strategic Investments while cutting red tape on reporting.

The European Commission intends to use an upcoming mid-term review of regional funds to enable more spending on “new priorities”, Vice President Raffaele Fitto said on Thursday, writes Euractiv’s Jonathan Packroff. The mid-term review of EU regional funds in March will be a “first step” to reform the EU long-term budget, Fitto said.

Going nuclear. The leaked EU clean industrial deal is “only focused on renewables” and needs a fix to recognise nuclear and gas roles in the bloc’s electrification, the EU power sector lobby chief said, writes Euractiv’s Stefano Porciello.

PARIS

The agricultural orientation law approved today in the French parliament establishes the principle of “non-regression of the country's food sovereignty” – but opponents fear environmental protection may be threatened. Read more.

DUBLIN   

Irish are living longer, better with healthcare workforce expansion, says new report. Ireland’s annual publication of national health metrics has highlighted an impressive average life expectancy of 82.6 years, the fifth highest in the European Union. It also outperformed the EU on health workforce expansion. Read more.

TALLINN 

The EU's pharmaceutical package is a key piece of legislation for smaller countries like Estonia, which experience delays in access to medicines, said Estonian Health Minister Riina Sikkut, adding that an agreement between member states was "possible" under the Polish EU presidency.  Read more.

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STOCKHOLM

Sweden to arm police with digital tools in anti-gang crackdown. The Swedish government has unveiled a new initiative to combat organised crime, launching what it calls a “digital police offensive” aimed at preventing gang recruitment, especially of children, through online platforms. Read more.

LISBON

Portugal’s PM to face parliament over family real estate company. Portugal's prime minister, Luís Montenegro, has declared that he is “very calm” about the situation of his family's real estate company and once again referred explanations to the debate on the motion of censure in parliament. Read more.

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MADRID

Spain’s centre-right pressures Sánchez to reveal Ukraine strategy in parliament. The leader of the Spanish People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, urged on Thursday the country’s Prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, to explain before parliament what steps Madrid intends to take together with its EU and NATO allies in the upcoming negotiations for Ukraine. Read more.

WARSAW

Polish PM Donald Tusk has accepted the resignation of Agnieszka Kwiatkowska-Gurdak, head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), as the investigation into the Pegasus surveillance case continues. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech institutions demand equal penalties for communist and Nazi propaganda. Three Czech institutions have called on lawmakers to amend the criminal code so that promoting communism is penalised in the same way as promoting Nazism. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

NATO chief meets Slovak leaders on Bratislava visit. NATO chief Mark Rutte visited Slovakia on Thursday, meeting President Peter Pellegrini and later Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer-SD/NI). Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgarian government worries peacekeeper deployment could spark public panic. Government representatives in Sofia said they were concerned about the possibility of instilling panic in society over the pending US question about the readiness of EU countries to send peacekeepers to Ukraine. Read more.

• EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosts Prime Minister of Romania Marcel Ciolacu;
• Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica in Beirut, Lebanon: Holds meetings with President of the Republic Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Foreign Affairs Minister Youssef Raggi, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri;
• Equality Commissioon Hadja Lahbib and Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Commissioner Glenn Micallef meet with EU Agency for Fundamental Rights Director Sirpa Rautio;
• Fisheries and Oceans Commissioner Costas Kadis hosts high level roundtable on “Helping Design the European Ocean Pact”.

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[Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara]