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In today’s Capitals news:
STOCKHOLM
Leisure centers, nursery schools and social services are among the places where former IS jihadists now work, according to a survey, prompting liberal Education Minister Lotta Edholm to call “naive” Swedish policy regarding the return and control of former Swedish Islamist fighters. Learn more.
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BERLIN
Industries demand subsidies ahead of German government meeting. Representatives of energy-intensive industries have urged the government to decide whether to subsidize electricity prices, which, although strongly discouraged by economists, will be a subject of discussion in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s talks with leaders of the government. Learn more.
Scholz criticizes Meloni and Sunak: agreements on migration are more important than ‘tough talks’. Repatriation agreements with third countries are a game-changer and will help EU countries reduce the number of migrants, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, while attacking right-wing leaders who “claim to be able to expel migrants with tough speeches.” Learn more.
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PARIS
French winegrowers protest against cheap imports and destroy crates at the Spanish border. Hundreds of French wine producers blocked the highway at the Spanish border and unloaded trucks carrying Spanish cava juice, destroying the contents and spilling wine across the border to protest government support against bon alcoholic beverages. market from abroad. Learn more.
EU lawmaker: Commission should not fear a ‘power struggle’ with China over fisheries. The EU executive should not fear engaging in a “power struggle” with China to ensure good fishing practices, the chairman of the European Parliament’s fisheries committee, Pierre Karleskind, told Euractiv France in an interview. Learn more.
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VIENNA
Vienna convenes a crisis meeting on the situation in the Middle East. The Vienna government will convene a crisis meeting on Friday morning to discuss the Hamas-Israel conflict and the conflict’s impact on security in Austria. Learn more.
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THE HAGUE
Dutch Labor and Greens apologize for supporting pro-Israel motion. The Dutch Labor Party and Greens apologized on Thursday after receiving widespread criticism for supporting a parliamentary motion emphasizing Israel’s right to self-defense in its conflict with Palestine. Learn more.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
MADRID
Aragonès of Catalonia calls for a “Scottish-style” referendum. The future Spanish government should agree to organize a “referendum like that of Scotland” in 2014, the regional Prime Minister of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, of the separatist ERC party, told the Spanish Senate on Thursday. Learn more.
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LISBON
Portuguese and Kuwaitt Foreign ministers agree to protect Gaza citizens. Portuguese Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber al-Sabah, agreed on Thursday on the importance of protecting the population of Gaza and sending humanitarian aid there. Learn more.
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VALLETTA
The European Parliament calls on Malta to do more to protect journalists. Maltese authorities were called on Thursday to stop maintaining a hostile climate towards journalists, end the culture of impunity and speed up legal proceedings to bring to justice all those involved in the assassination by Daphne Caruana Galizia. Learn more.
EASTERN EUROPE
BRATISLAVA
Slovakian Fico will miss the October Council if he sticks to climate denialism. President Zuzana Caputová has refused the appointment of Robert Fico as environment chief, who denies climate change, meaning he will have to find an alternative if he is to achieve his goal of attending the European Council summit next Thursday. Learn more.
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WARSAW
Polish president begins negotiations with parties on forming new government. Polish President Andrzej Duda will begin consultations with parliamentary parties with a view to forming a new government after Sunday’s elections saw a merger of the opposition outperform Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. Learn more.
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PRAGUE
Nearly 80% of Czechs don’t trust PM: survey. Nearly four-fifths of the population do not trust Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, according to a new survey published by the CVVM agency, which shows that he remains the most trusted politician in the Czech Republic. Learn more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian government: “Interest” in purchasing the Lukoil refinery. Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov on Thursday confirmed interest in the sale of Lukoil Neftochim Burgas, the largest refinery in the Balkans and managed by the Russian company Lukoil through its Swiss company Litasco. Learn more.
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BUCHAREST | LONDON
British military trainers will travel to Romania to train Ukrainians. British military experts will train Ukrainians in Romanian bases next year, British Ambassador to Bucharest Andrew Noble said on Thursday at a press conference at the end of his mandate. Learn more.
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LJUBLJANA
Slovenia reintroduces police checks on the border between Croatia and Hungary. Slovenia will reintroduce police checks on the border with Croatia and Hungary from Saturday for at least ten days due to increased security risks amid organized crime and escalating tensions in the Middle East. Learn more.
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BELGRADE | PRISTINE
Freedom of movement restricted due to the blockade between Serbia and Kosovo. The Jarinje border crossing has been reopened to traffic from Serbia to northern Kosovo after a 24-day blockade, a situation that arose following the Serbian paramilitary terrorist attack in Banjska, while residents of villages along from the border report certain travel difficulties. Learn more.
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PRISTINE
European Parliament adopts resolution on Serbia, calls for action after ‘terrorist attack’ The European Parliament has called on EU member states to adopt targeted restrictive measures against EU candidate country Serbia in connection with the terrorist attack carried out by Serbian paramilitaries in northern Kosovo on 24 September. Learn more.
AGENDA:
- EU: The EU-US summit between Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden takes place in Washington; Agenda highlights include joint leadership on Ukraine, artificial intelligence, and more;
- Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, meets with the President of the Board of the European Innovation Council, Michiel Scheffer;
- Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders participates by videoconference in “United for Justice. “United for Nature” Conference;
- Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius met Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov and Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets in Kiev. Participates in “Russian ecocide in Ukraine.” A danger for the whole world”, session “Proclamation of the draft kyiv Environmental Declaration”; and informal working group on environmental damage;
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(Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara)
