Italian court to rule on handover to Belgium of assistant in Huawei scandal

PARIS

Just hours after being sentenced to five years of ineligibility with immediate effect, Marine Le Pen once again denounced what she called a “political decision” during a televised address last night. Read more.

OSLO

Rocket crash is 'European cooperation at its best,' says Norwegian space minister. The cooperation between Norwegian Andøya Spaceport and German startup Isar Aerospace, which launched its first rocket on Sunday is "European cooperation at its best," said Norwegian Space Minister Cecilie Myrseth to Euractiv.

After lift-off, the rocket could not complete its first manoeuvre and crashed not afar from the Norwegian Andøya launchpad. The test flight "met all our expectations," saidIsar Aerospace's CEO and co-founder Daniel Metzler in a message on X.

The test flight was a first for the German startup, and a first for the Andøya launchpad.

Norway wishes to be a "fully integrated" member of EU’s secure communications constellation of satellites IRIS2, Myrseth told Euractiv earlier this month.

(Theophane Hartmann | Euractiv)
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STOCKHOLM
Swedish far-right does not rule out Swedish nuclear weapons. Jimmie Åkesson, the leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, does not rule out the possibility of Sweden developing its own nuclear weapons, he told Göteborgs-Posten.

“We had a lot of expertise in nuclear technology a long time ago... I think everything should be on the table at this point” he said.

The party leaders of the centre-right Swedish coalition are open to being part of the French nuclear umbrella, which President Emmanuel Macron mentioned earlier this month, a solution to which the far-right party is also open.

The Sweden Democrats support without participating in the centre-right ruling coalition made up of the EPP-members Moderates and Christian Democrats as well as the Liberals.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv)
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HELSINKI
Europe one step closer to clean energy as Helsinki ditches coal. Europe's coal phase-out is in full swing as Helsinki joins the fray as the next European capital to go fossil-free for its heating and electricity needs. Read more.

ROME

Suspected Russian drone over EU hub in Italy triggers espionage, terror probe. The Milan Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into suspected political or military espionage, with possible links to terrorism, following repeated drone incursions over the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, northern Italy. Read more.
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LISBON
Portugal: Group tracking abuse in Church receives 128 complaints; 71 want compensation. A group set up by the Portuguese Bishops' Conference (CEP) to monitor situations of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal, has received complaints from 128 victims, of whom 71 are seeking compensation, its coordinator announced on Monday.

On the day that the formal deadline for submitting complaints ends, the Vita group's coordinator, Rute Agulhas, explained that 32 people have already been heard in the case of compensation claims, and that this work is expected to continue until July, after which the Catholic Church's investigative commission will be responsible for deciding how to respond.
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ATHENS
Greek exporters push back against Bulgarian 50% national product bill. The Bulgarian government proposed last week a bill to regulate the agri-food chain to reduce food prices, requiring retailers to offer at least 50% Bulgarian products, sparking a backlash from neighbouring Greek exporters. Read more.

WARSAW

Warsaw is successfully delivering on the top priority of its EU presidency, which is European security and defence, the Polish government told reporters as Poland reached the halfway mark of its six months at the helm of the EU Council, while talking relatively little about climate policy and focusing instead on competitiveness. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Czech army could offer €40,000 sign-up bonus as recruitment falters. Czech President Petr Pavel today signed a law that could grant the one-off payment to recruits that complete a three-month trial period.

The amendment, backed by the government, quadruples the current recruitment bonus cap and introduces additional perks such as increased housing allowances, higher pay for foreign missions, and a boosted stabilisation bonus.

Desperate move. The move is part of a broader push to attract and retain personnel amid persistent recruitment struggles. As Euractiv previously reported, Defence Minister Jana Černochová recently warned that the army is critically understaffed.

The Czech army currently numbers around 23,600 soldiers – well below an earlier target of 30,000 by 2030. Last year's recruitment drive resulted in a net gain of only 176 soldiers.

(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
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BRATISLAVA
MEP warns of Slovakia’s shortcomings in handling foot-and-mouth disease. While the Slovak government emphasises that, according to the European Commission’s assessment, it took timely and even above-standard measures against the virus, Slovak MEP Michal Wiezik (PS/RE) warns that the EU-VET report also points to shortcomings that the government has not mentioned. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgarian opposition hopes Kövesi cracks down on political corruption in Sofia. The pro-EU liberal opposition party We Continue the Change has sent a signal to the EU's chief prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, to open an investigation into reports of large-scale misuse of European funds in Bulgaria's energy sector.

Liberal former prime minister Kiril Petkov of We Continue the Change is demanding that the EU prosecutor lift the immunity of Bulgarian centrist politician and businessman Delyan Peevski and open a criminal investigation.

The suspended prosecutor. Teodora Georgieva, the Bulgarian member of the EPPO who was suspended last week for possible wrongdoing, announced that she feels threatened by Peevski over the investigation into the expansion of the Chiren gas storage facility.

Georgieva claims "there is evidence that Delyan Peevski demanded 20 million leva (€10 million) from subcontractors on the project" to expand the gas storage facility, which is critical for Bulgaria and the region.

Peevski, who is sanctioned by the US and UK for corruption, has denied the allegations.

The Renew Europe group has also weighed in on the scandal, announcing on X that it stands “against corruption and fully supports the work of European Public Prosecutor Laura Kövesi”.

The liberal formation has called on the Bulgarian authorities to fully assist with the EPPO's investigation into the corruption allegations.

(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
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BUCHAREST

Romanian presidential runoff: two sovereignists face off – poll. The leader of the far-right party, George Simion, is polling at 35% in voting intentions for the first round of the presidential elections on 4 May. He is followed by Victor Ponta, who has 21.2%.

Former Prime Minister and former president of the Social Democrats, Ponta is now running as an independent, with a program that shares many similarities with that of the far-right.

According to the opinion poll conducted by Verifield, the mayor of the capital, Nicușor Dan, is down in third place with 20.8%, followed by the candidate of the governing coalition, Crin Antonescu, with 16.4%, and the leader of the opposition party USR, Elena Lasconi, with 4.3%.

Elena Lasconi has been urged, including by her party colleagues, to withdraw from the race in the hope that her votes would shift to Nicușor Dan, but she refuses.

She stated that she is not discouraged by polls placing her in lower positions, arguing that they actually confirm her chances of reaching the final. She is convinced that she will repeat last year's scenario.

"Nicușor Dan has no chance of reaching the second round, and I have no intention of withdrawing," declared Elena Lasconi.

(Cătălina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)

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