Europe’s worst natural disaster in a century: The powerful earthquakes that struck central Turkey and northwest Syria just over a week ago are the worst natural disaster in Europe for a century, said the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge. „We are still learning about its magnitude. Its true cost is not known yet,“ Kluge said. The death toll from the earthquakes rose to more than 40,000 in both countries, authorities said, even as rescue teams searched for any remaining survivors in the rubble. Syria’s government has agreed to allow the UN to use two more border crossings to deliver aid to opposition-held north-western areas devastated by the earthquakes. politico.eu, nytimes.com, bbc.com

• Dutch cabinet in favour of relaxing visa rules for earthquake victims. euractiv.com

Moldova fears coup by Russia: Moldova’s President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of plotting to use foreign saboteurs to overthrow her pro-EU government. Sandu said the plot would involve protests by the so-called opposition, aiming to overthrow the constitutional order. Sandu alleged Russia was planning to use saboteurs with military background, camouflaged in civilian clothes, to undertake violent actions, attacks on state institutions and taking hostages. bbc.com

• The European Union adds Russia to its blacklist of tax havens. euronews.com
• Kyiv wants sanctions on Russia’s nuclear sector. But for the EU, the stakes are too high. euronews.com

Berlusconi blames Ukraine war on Zelensky: Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has blamed Ukraine’s president for the nearly year-old Russian invasion, again placing himself at odds with Premier Giorgia Meloni’s staunch support for Ukraine. Berlusconi is a long-time friend and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said the war in Ukraine would have never happened had Zelensky “ceased attacking the two autonomous republics of Donbass” — parts of the country that Russia has illegally annexed. apnews.com

Investigative journalist says report on Nord Stream sabotage by US is untrue: US investigative journalist Bob Woodward, who uncovered the Watergate scandal, has criticised a report by his colleague Seymour Hersh on the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. In his report, Hersh claimed that the US was responsible for the pipeline leaks last year. At an event in New York, Woodward said that some people had asked Hersh not to publish the story because it was not true. However, the 85-year-old Hersh still wanted to be a „crusader“. rnd.de

Germany calls on NATO to admit Finland and Sweden: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Turkey and Hungary to pave the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO, stating she expects all NATO members to ratify their bids to join the defence alliance without further delay. The accession of the two countries would strengthen the alliance as a whole and the two should join together, Baerbock told a news conference in Helsinki with her Finnish counterpart, Pekka Haavisto. reuters.com

EU to ban sales of new fossil fuel cars: The European Parliament on Tuesday gave its final approval to a ban on new sales of carbon-emitting petrol and diesel cars by 2035, with a view to getting them off the continent’s roads by mid-century. Supporters of the bill had argued to that it would give European carmakers a clear timeframe in which to switch production to zero-emission electric vehicles, and spur investment to counter competition from China and the United States. france24.com

New EU satellites to protect government communications: A new network of European IRIS² telecommunication satellites will be active from 2024, following the green light by the EU Parliament on Tuesday. The new satellites will provide a secure communications infrastructure for EU government bodies and agencies, emergency services and European delegations around the world. europarl.europa.eu

European allies condemn Israel’s plan to build more housing units in the West Bank: France, Germany, Italy and the UK joined the US in condemning Israel’s plans to build 10,000 more housing units in existing settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s right-wing government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also set to legalise nine smaller Jewish outposts on land the Palestinians want for a future state. The joint US and European statement said the countries strongly oppose these unilateral actions which will only serve to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution. npr.org

EU Commission sets out rules for renewable hydrogen: The Commission has proposed detailed rules to define what constitutes renewable hydrogen in the EU, with the adoption of two Delegated Acts required under the Renewable Energy Directive. These Acts are part of a broad EU regulatory framework for hydrogen which includes energy infrastructure investments and state aid rules, and legislative targets for renewable hydrogen for the industry and transport sectors. They will ensure that all renewable fuels of non-biological origin (also known as RFNBOs) are produced from renewable electricity. ec.europa.eu

„New York Times“ sues EU Commission: The „New York Times“ is suing the Commission for failing to make public the text messages exchanged between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Von der Leyen became embroiled in a scandal after her office was reluctant to make public the SMS texts von der Leyen exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla over the purchase of 1.8 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses. euractiv.com