Good morning from Lisbon, Portugal’s Socialists continue to lose ground ahead of national elections on 10 March, with the centre-right opposition leading the polls but needing the strengthened far-right to govern, according to Euractiv’s November projections following a high-level corruption probe. Read more. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | Photo by [Shutterstock/Pixavril] |
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| PARIS France will again abstain from Thursday’s second vote on the European Commission’s proposal to renew the approval of the contentious herbicide glyphosate for the next decade, French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau made said on Wednesday. Read more. /// BERLIN Use of €60bn COVID debt for climate fund unlawful, German top court rules. Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that the German parliament’s 2022 decision to pour €60 billion from the unused debt contracted during the COVID-19 crisis into a new climate fund was unlawful. Read more. /// VIENNA Far-right strongman Kickl commits to project ‘fortress Austria’. Austria’s far-right, emboldened by consistently high opinion polls, is insisting on a veto on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, an investigation into COVID-19 measures and making Austria a country that does not accept asylum seekers. Read more. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | Photo by [Shutterstock/Alexandros Michailidis] |
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| STOCKHOLM | BUDAPEST The Hungarian parliament is not yet prepared to ratify Sweden’s application to join NATO, as the issue will not be on the agenda of the upcoming parliamentary session, despite expectations and earlier assurances, MP Ágnes Vadai said on Wednesday. Read more. |
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| ROME Meloni confirms checks at the Slovenian border are ‘temporary and proportionate’. The border controls introduced at the border with Slovenia at the end of October to deal with growing migratory pressure are ”temporary and proportionate”, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told her Slovenian counterpart Robert Golob during his Rome visit on Wednesday. Read more. /// MADRID Sánchez vows to be ‘wall against far-right’ amid amnesty law fallout. Spain’s acting prime ministerPedro Sánchez, to be sworn in as the new head of government on Thursday, vowed that his government will be a “wall” of democracy, progress and coexistence against the “reactionary” and “retrograde” political strategies of the Partido Popular (PP/EPP) and the far-right Vox party (ECR) while defending the approval of an amnesty law to “reconcile” Madrid with Catalonia. Read more. /// NICOSIA Cyprus pledges to probe Russia sanction busting allegations. Cyprus vowed Tuesday (14 November) to investigate new allegations by a group of international journalists that it was a hub for Russian money-laundering enabling oligarchs to bypass sanctions. Read more. |
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| WARSAW Poland on track to receiving funds from modified recovery plan. The European Commission is to approve Poland’s revised recovery plan regarding the REPowerEU initiative, for which in August Poland applied for €2.76 billion in grants and €23 billion in low-interest loans, media reported on Wednesday. Read more. /// PRAGUE Czechia mulls penalising ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free’ slogan. Saying the words “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” may be considered a criminal offence in certain circumstances, Czech authorities informed on Wednesday. Read more. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | Photo by [Shutterstock/Iliev75] |
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| SOFIA Bulgarian army weakened by pro-Russian disinformation. The constant fear of war that currently pervades Bulgarian society, fuelled largely by disinformation spread by pro-Russian influence networks, is beginning to seriously affect the army’s ability to fight, Bulgarian Defence Minister Todor Tagarev said on Wednesday. Read more. /// BELGRADE Kosovo issue remains sticking point in Serbia-Montenegro relations: survey. Relations between Serbia and Montenegro could be improved, according to a recent survey, which also found that the two countries disagree widely on the issue of Kosovo’s independence. Read more. /// TIRANA Albania-Italy migration deal takes next step towards parliamentary vote. The Albanian government has approved the agreement signed by Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni relating to the processing of asylum claims by Italy on Albanian territory, with the next step being a vote in parliament. Read more. |
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| EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in “European China Conference 2023 Strategic priorities: Creating momentum for an effective European approach to China”, in Berlin, Germany; Delivers keynote speech at “Strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific: reducing dependencies, expanding trade, implementing China strategy” congress, organised by the CDU/CSU faction in the German Bundestag; Commission Vice President Vĕra Jourová speaks at Aspen Annual Conference 2023, in Prague; Visits European Union Agency for the Space Programme; Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson participates at high level Energy Dialogue with Vice Prime Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Levan Davitashvili, in Tbilisi; Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas meets Assistant High Commissioner for Protection UNHCR Gillian Triggs, Director General of the International Organization for Migration Amy Pope, in Madrid, Spain; Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit hosts Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia at ILO Beate Andrees, Assistant Director General for External and Corporate Relations at the ILO Laura Thompson; Participates in EU Social Forum 2023 on “AI and the world of work”; Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni participates in CEOs Dialogue 2023 event organised by BusinessEurope; Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson participates in European Migration Network Conference co-hosted by European Commission and Spanish Presidency, in Madrid, Spain; Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra delivers opening remarks in “The EU’s Carbon-Border Adjustment Mechanism for Climate Policy, and Implications for Chinese Companies” event, hosted by the EU-China Partnership Facility (ECPF); Meets with China Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua, Minister for Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu, in Beijing, China; Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders participates in opening of “European Innovation Centre for Justice”; Gives closing speech to event on civic, organised by DG JUST; Gives closing remarks to IAPP Europe Data Protection Congress; Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli makes online keynote speech for the high level Presidence Event on Disability; Financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union Commissioner Mairead McGuinness exchanges views in event organised by EU-ASEAN Business Council and EuroCham Singapore; |
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| *** [Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson] |
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| The Capitals is brought to you by Senior Network Editor, Sarantis Michalopoulos (@SarantisMich), Editor & Reporter, Alice Taylor (@Aliceinalbania) and Sofia Leeson (@sofia_leeson) , Network Coordinator, Daniel Eck and Network Reporter Charles Szumski (@charles_szumski) |
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