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In today’s Capitals news:
LISBON
Portugal’s socialists continue to lose ground in the run-up to national elections on March 10, with the center-right opposition leading in polls but needing a strengthened far right to govern, according to Euractiv projections. November following a high-level corruption investigation. Learn more.
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PARIS
France remains neutral on glyphosate. France will abstain again on Thursday in the second vote on the European Commission’s proposal to renew approval of the controversial herbicide glyphosate for the next decade, French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said on Wednesday. Learn more.
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BERLIN
Using 60 billion euros of COVID debt for the climate fund is illegal, according to the rules of Germany’s highest court. Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday (15 November) that the German parliament’s 2022 decision to pay €60 billion of unused debt incurred during the COVID-19 crisis into a new climate fund was illegal. Learn more.
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VIENNA
Far-right strongman Kickl supports the “Fortress Austria” project. Austria’s far right, emboldened by consistently high opinion polls, insists on vetoing Ukraine’s EU membership, investigating COVID-19 measures and pushing of Austria a country that does not accept asylum seekers. Learn more.
NORDIC AND BALTIC
STOCKHOLM | BUDAPEST
Hungary is “not ready” for Sweden to join NATO. The Hungarian parliament is not yet ready to ratify Sweden’s application for NATO membership, as the issue will not be on the agenda of the next parliamentary session, despite previous expectations and assurances, MP Ágnes Vadai said on Wednesday. Learn more.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
ROME
Meloni confirms that the controls at the Slovenian border are “temporary and proportionate”. The border controls introduced at the end of October on the border with Slovenia to deal with growing migratory pressure are “temporary and proportionate”, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared on Wednesday to her Slovenian counterpart Robert Golob during his visit to Rome. Learn more.
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MADRID
Sánchez promises to be a “wall against the extreme right” in the face of the fallout from the amnesty law. Acting Prime Minister of SpainPedro Sánchez, who is due to be sworn in as the new head of government on Thursday, promised that his government will be a “wall” of democracy, progress and coexistence against the “reactionary” and “retrograde” political strategies of the Partido Popular (PP/PPE). ) and the far-right party Vox (ECR) while defending the approval of an amnesty law to “reconcile” Madrid with Catalonia. Learn more.
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NICOSIA
Cyprus commits to investigating allegations of Russian sanctions violations. Cyprus pledged on Tuesday (November 14) to investigate new allegations by a group of international journalists that Cyprus is a hub of Russian money laundering allowing oligarchs to circumvent sanctions. Learn more.
EASTERN EUROPE
WARSAW
Poland is in the process of receiving funds from the modified recovery plan. The European Commission must approve Poland’s revised recovery plan for the REPowerEU initiative, for which Poland requested in August 2.76 billion euros in grants and 23 billion euros in low-interest loans , the media reported on Wednesday. Learn more.
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PRAGUE
The Czech Republic plans to penalize the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. Saying the words “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” can be considered a criminal offense in certain circumstances, Czech authorities informed Wednesday. Learn more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
The Bulgarian army weakened by pro-Russian disinformation. The constant fear of war that currently permeates Bulgarian society, fueled largely by disinformation spread by pro-Russian influence networks, is beginning to seriously affect the army’s combat capability, the Bulgarian minister said on Wednesday. of Defense, Todor Tagarev. Learn more.
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BELGRADE
The Kosovo issue remains a sore point in relations between Serbia and Montenegro, according to a survey. Relations between Serbia and Montenegro could be improved, according to a recent survey, which also reveals that the two countries largely disagree on the question of Kosovo’s independence. Learn more.
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TIRANA
The migration agreement between Albania and Italy takes a new step towards a parliamentary vote. The Albanian government has approved the agreement signed by Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni regarding the processing of asylum requests from Italy on Albanian territory, with the next step being a vote in Parliament. Learn more.
AGENDA:
- EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends the “European Conference on China 2023 Strategic Priorities: Creating Momentum for an Effective European Approach to China”, in Berlin, Germany; Delivers a keynote speech at the congress “Strategic Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific Region: Reducing Dependencies, Expanding Trade, Implementing the China Strategy”, organized by the CDU/CSU faction in the German Bundestag;
- Commission Vice-President Vĕra Jourová speaks at the Aspen 2023 annual conference in Prague. Visits the European Union Space Program Agency;
- Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson participates in a high-level energy dialogue with Georgian Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili in Tbilisi;
- Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas meets with UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner for Protection Gillian Triggs, International Organization for Migration Director General Amy Pope in Madrid, Spain;
- Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit receives ILO Deputy Director General and Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Beate Andrees, Deputy Director General for External and Corporate Relations of the ILO ILO Laura Thompson; Participates in the 2023 EU Social Forum on “AI and the world of work”;
- Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni takes part in the CEOs Dialogue 2023 event organized by BusinessEurope;
- Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson attends the European Network on Migration conference, co-hosted by the European Commission and the Spanish Presidency, in Madrid, Spain;
- Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra delivers the opening speech at the event “The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for Climate Policy and its Implications for Chinese Businesses”, organized by the EU-China Partnership Fund (ECPF); Meets with Chinese Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu, in Beijing, China;
- Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders takes part in the opening of the “European Innovation Center for Justice”; Delivers the closing speech of the event on citizenship, organized by DG JUST; Delivers the closing speech at the IAPP European Data Protection Congress;
- Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli delivers online opening speech for Presidency high-level event on disability;
- Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness exchanges views at an event organized by the EU-ASEAN Business Council and EuroCham Singapore;
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(Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara)