The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, with on-the-ground reports provided by the EURACTIV media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
Editor’s opinion: Turks urged to turn vegetarian in order to survive the economic crisis. The Turkish government decided to switch to vegetarianism and raise awareness against food waste in order to confront the collapse of the Turkish lira and the uncontrollable rise in food prices. If the rule of law were also respected, even Greenpeace would be jealous of the green orientation practiced by the Turkish regime. Read more.
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In today’s capital news:
Berlin
The Social Democrats, Greens and liberal Free Democrats announced that a “traffic light” alliance between the three parties would push for the development of a full European Union. Read more.
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Presidency of the European Union
The Slovenian Presidency welcomes the decisions to make the European Union more flexible. EU ministers responsible for European affairs in Brussels on Tuesday adopted decisions on strengthening the preparedness, response capacity and flexibility of the European Union in the face of future crises. As the country holding the current presidency, Slovenia sees the decisions as an important step in returning member states to a more flexible EU. more.
Paris
The French government is taking new measures to confront the fifth wave. As the number of Covid-19 infections continues to rise in France, government spokesman Gabriel Attal announced new “guidelines” to curb the pandemic and “save the holiday season.” Read more.
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Vienna
The huge increase in the number of asylum seekers sparks controversy in Styria. By November, 30,000 people had applied for asylum in Austria, compared to 15,000 in 2020, forcing refugee centers in Steinhaus and Leoben to reopen their doors. Read more.
United Kingdom and Ireland
London
The Irish deal could be a model for the rock. The Prime Minister of Gibraltar said on Wednesday that agreement between London and Brussels on the Northern Ireland Protocol could pave the way for an agreement that solves the product shortage problem facing Gibraltar. Read more.
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Dublin
Transport workers protest rising fuel prices in Dublin. Traffic in Dublin came to a standstill on Wednesday as a convoy of truck drivers and transport workers gathered in the city to protest against record increases in fuel prices this year. Read more.
The Nordic and Baltic countries
Stockholm
Sweden’s first female prime minister resigns hours after assuming power. The new elected president of the Social Democratic Party, Magdalena Andersson became Sweden’s first female prime minister on Wednesday, but resigned just hours after her appointment. Read more.
south of Europe
Lisbon
Portugal’s high vaccination rate makes the Commission confident of economic recovery. The European Commission remains optimistic that the Portuguese economy will recover quickly, especially since the country’s coronavirus vaccination rate is very high. Read more.
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Rome
Italy imposes a lockdown on the unvaccinated and boosters in the 18-39 age group. The Italian Cabinet voted on Wednesday to reduce the validity of a coronavirus pass from 12 to nine months and allow only those who have been vaccinated or those who have recovered from the virus to access bars, restaurants and other entertainment facilities. Read more.
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Madrid
Metal workers clash with police in Cadiz. Spain has seen a new wave of protests and clashes between metalworkers and police forces in Cádiz, Andalusia, leaving some injured and sparking controversy over the local police’s deployment of a light mobile tank (BMR) to contain the demonstrators, EFE, EURACTIV’s partner, reported. Read more.
Visegrad
Bratislava
Slovak police advice against rape: Women should not “provoke” men. Women should avoid dark places after sunset and parties with alcohol and drugs as these can “provoke violent behaviour”, according to Slovak police recommendations for rape prevention published on their official website. Women should also not “give mixed sexual signals and be unnecessarily provocative.” Read more.
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Warsaw
Half of Poles consider EU institutions “too weak” when it comes to the struggle over the rule of law. “EU institutions react too late and too weakly in response to violations of EU law by governments,” according to a new poll conducted by 48% of Poles.Found the Institute of Public Affairs (ISP). Only 22% of those surveyed disagreed with this statement. Read more.
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Budapest
A Budapest-based research institute suspected of spying for China. CEE-China, a Budapest-based research institute, is suspected of spying on the Central and Eastern European region. The institute operates as an independent research organization, but allegedly collects information for the Chinese government. Read more.
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The Hungarian public prosecutor denies any wrongdoing despite the European Court’s ruling. A Hungarian prosecutor has denied violating EU rules despite a European Court of Justice ruling on Tuesday that found his actions illegal.telex mentioned. Read more.
News from the Balkans
Sofia
Russian nuclear reactors could affect the stability of the future Bulgarian government. The decision to use the two Russian nuclear reactors that have already been paid for and delivered will pose a major problem for the stability of Bulgaria’s future ruling coalition. The other major problem is the use of the veto against European integration with North Macedonia. Read more.
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Bucharest
Fuel worth $2 million was stolen from a US military base. Members of an organized crime group stole $2 million worth of fuel over four years from a US military base in southeastern Romania, prosecutors have found. Read more.
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Zagreb | Vienna
The Austrian expert committee recommends banning the Ustasha rally in Bleiburg. A group of experts commissioned by the Austrian Ministry of the Interior to evaluate the annual gathering in Bleiburg recommended its ban. Read more.
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Zagreb | France
Prime Minister Plenkovic expects France’s support for entering the Schengen Area. president Emmanuel Macron came to Zagreb on Wednesday evening and had dinner with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic where the issue of the Schengen Area was discussed. Read more.
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Ljubljana
Slovenia supports Poland on border protection. Slovenia expressed its support for Poland’s position on border protection as Prime Minister Janez Janša hosted his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki on Wednesday. Read more.
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Illegal immigration to Slovenia decreased by almost 40% year on year. In the first nine months of this year, Slovenia recorded 8,144 illegal entries, 39% fewer than in the same period in 2020, the Slovenian Interior Ministry reported on Wednesday. Read more.
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Belgrade
Serbia is seeking a cheap price for gas from Russia The presidents of Russia and Serbia Vladimir Putin and Aleksandar Vucic will meet in Sochi on Thursday to discuss a solution to the Kosovo crisis, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing a statement from the Kremlin. For its part, Belgrade aims to achieve lower gas prices. Read more.
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Escobar: The Open Balkans Initiative cannot succeed without all the countries of the Western Balkans. The US special envoy to the Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said on Wednesday that the Open Balkans initiative cannot succeed if it does not include “all six countries” in the Western Balkans. Read more.
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Sarajevo
The German alliance agreement includes a reference to the Western Balkans. Germany’s Social Democrats, the Green Party and the business-friendly liberal Free Democratic Party have finalized their coalition agreement to form a new government, including A short note on the Western Balkans. Read more.
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There is no place for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Biden Summit for Democracy. Ministry of Foreign Affairs published The final list of participants is due on Tuesday, which includes all Western Balkan countries – including Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania, excluding Bosnia and Herzegovina. This puts Bosnia in line with China and Russia, which are also not included in the No. 1 list mentioned.
Media reported earlier this month that representatives of 100 countries, which then included only Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia, received the invitation letter. The final list also includes Serbia and Kosovo, likely due to the uproar and controversy caused by their exclusion.
(Zeljko Turkanjic | EURACTIV.hr)
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Scooby
Starting EU negotiations is in the geostrategic interest of the United States. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held a telephone conversation with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried. The two sides agreed that opening negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania is in the interest of the foreign and geostrategic policy of the United States. Read more.
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Prishtina
Kosovo cuts off free electricity to Serb-majority municipalities. Kosovo energy grid operator KOSSTT Announce It will not provide free electricity to consumers in four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of the country. Read more.
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Tirana
Albanian Covid-19 vaccine rates still lag behind. Albania is one of the countries with the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, with only 33% of the population fully vaccinated and 37% with one dose, according to Our World in Data. By Exit.al. Read more.
agenda:
EU: EU competition ministers prepare to take stance on landmark technology rules / Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) convenes / EU unveils reforms to boost cross-border finance and investment. Germany | Poland: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visits Berlin/German Future Coalition to formally announce ministerial selections (TBD). France: The European Court of Human Rights rules on claims by former Guantanamo prisoners that France used confessions obtained under torture. Portugal: Prime Minister Costa comments on Covid-19 ahead of possible new restrictions. The Council of Ministers meets to decide on the measures to be adopted to confront the increasing number of coronavirus cases in Portugal.
Croatia | Italy: French President Macron visits Croatia, and continues his trip to Rome to sign a new treaty with Italy, to strengthen relations between the two founding members of the European Union. Czech Republic: President Milos Zeman will be discharged from hospital after almost two months of hospitalization.
Bulgaria: The four parties negotiating a coalition agreement will hold consultations on “internal security,” “environment,” “regional development,” and “culture.” Negotiations began on Wednesday, divided into 16 committees – 4 days out of 4.
Romania: Parliament A vote of confidence is being held for the new government
Croatia: The Women’s Network of Croatia is organizing a press conference outside Parliament to demand the adoption of the main strategic document on the protection of women’s rights – a national gender equality policy. Serbia: National Council for Coordination of Cooperation with Russia and China – The Chairman of the Council met with former Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, with the Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan Kharchenko.
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(Editing by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eick, Benjamin Fox, Alice Taylor)
