Newsletter
Newsletter
EUROPE
Macron sparks anger by saying Europe should not be ‘vassal’ in US-China clash: Speaking to reporters from Les Echos and Politico, French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe should be a third power in the world order, along with the US and China. While the comments reaffirmed Macron’s long-term goal of strategic autonomy for Europe, namely avoiding military and economic dependencies, his remarks on Taiwan stoked anger and alarm on both sides of the Atlantic. German politician Norbert Röttgen said Macron had turned his trip to China into a PR coup for Xi and a foreign policy disaster for Europe. Eric Mamer, a spokesman for the European Commission, was asked about Macron’s comments as Ursula von der Leyen had joined the French president for a part of the trip to China. Mamer said that what counts are the actions that Europe takes on China, saying that the EU’s policies were consistent. politico.eu, theguardian.com, euronews.com
Protesters disrupt Macron speech on Dutch state visit: „Where is French democracy? When did we lose it?“ shouted the demonstrators, who were in the audience in the Amare theatre in The Hague where French President Emmanuel Macron was starting his address. Two female protesters held up a yellow banner saying „President of violence and hypocrisy“. „I can answer this question if you give me some time,“ Macron responded. Security guards escorted the demonstrators out of the hall after about one minute. Macron has faced a series of protests and strikes in France against his pension reforms, with a new day of industrial action scheduled for Thursday. france24.com
Pentagon documents leak a risk to US national security: A leak of classified US Defense Department documents is a very serious risk to national security, the Pentagon has said. The documents appear to include sensitive information regarding the war in Ukraine, as well as on China and US allies. The Ukrainian leadership has denied a CNN report that military plans had been changed as a result of the leak. Ukraine also questioned an alleged US wiretap against President Volodymyr Zelensky. Presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said the consultations between Zelensky and the military had taken place in a different way from what was presented in the leaked documents. South Korea’s presidential office said the contents of the documents, purportedly showing South Korean officials having qualms about supplying weapons to Ukraine, were altered and untrue. bbc.com, cnn.com, washingtonpost.com
- U.N. tally of confirmed civilian deaths in Ukraine approaches 8,500. reuters.com
- Germany can’t fulfill NATO obligations, says army chief in leaked memo. politico.eu
- Romania aims to buy F-35 fighter planes to boost air defences. reuters.com
- Lithuania sends military trainers for Ukraine to Germany. handelsblatt.com
- Russians may have sabotaged Slovak fighter jets, says Slovakia’s defence minister. euractiv.com
- Ukraine to stop exporting grain to Poland, keep transit to third countries. kyivindependent.com
- Denmark’s Defence Minister visits Odesa as Danish weapons proved efficient. euractiv.com
Hungary still wants Russian gas: Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday that Russian energy giant Gazprom would maintain an option to supply additional gas to Hungary this year on top of the shipments agreed under a long-term deal. Szijjarto has been visiting Moscow for talks since the outbreak of the war in neighbouring Ukraine, despite criticism from both sides of the Atlantic. reuters.com
- Ukraine resumes electricity exports to Europe. reuters.com
Latvia reintroduces draft in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine: Latvia’s parliament reintroduced compulsory military service to bolster the size of its defence forces after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lawmakers voted 68-11 to create a state defence service, which would begin calling up 18 year olds to serve 11 months of training on 1 July. Alternative service will also be available. The military previously ended the draft in 2007. bloomberg.com
EU plans faster phaseout of super-potent greenhouse gases: The European Union is set to begin negotiations on a law to slash the use of super-potent greenhouse gases in fridges and air conditioners, but countries and lawmakers are split over how fast to phase them out. EU countries on Wednesday agreed their position for negotiations on the law to cut Europe’s use of fluorinated gases (f gases), man-made gases used as refrigerants in heat pumps and fridges, and in aerosols and foams. reuters.com
- French parliament report slams ‘harmful’ EU energy policies. euractiv.com
Belgian MEP Tarabella to be released on house arrest: Marc Tarabella will be moved from jail to house arrest after being detained for over two months pending trial as part of a probe into an alleged cash-for-influence corruption scheme dubbed Qatargate. The EU Parliament had voted to lift Tarabella’s immunity earlier this year to allow Belgian authorities to investigate. Tarabella was then arrested and charged with corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation in the probe, centred on allegations that foreign countries, including Qatar, worked to influence the EU Parliament through cash payments and perks. politico.eu
- Corruption scandal: Eva Kaili kept behind bars as prosecutor’s ‚trophy,‘ her lawyer claims. euronews.com
UK proposes new border controls to address security, ease flow of trade: Last week, Britain published draft proposals on new border controls that call for greater protection from bio-security threats and fewer checks on some types of imports to ease the flow of trade. „The publication of our draft Border Target Operating Model is a huge step forward for the safety, security and efficiency of our borders,“ Lucy Neville-Rolfe, minister of state at the Cabinet Office, said. reuters.com
Anti-LGBT law: 15 governments join EU lawsuit against Orbán euractiv.com
Start-up develops climate model: EU states lag far behind Paris climate targets n-tv.de
New EU packaging law: Left-wing lawmakers to prioritise waste prevention euractiv.com
Crowdsourcing citizens’ ideas can benefit EU policy cycle, experts say euractiv.com
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Czech Commissioner Vera Jourova plans to meet with large technology companies in a month to discuss with them, among other things, the implementation of their new obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). euractiv.com
NATION
Derry crowd petrol-bombs police vehicle as Biden heads to Northern Ireland: Masked people attacked a police vehicle with Molotov cocktails and other objects at a parade opposing the Good Friday peace accord in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry on Monday. There were no casualties but the images overshadowed the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, which is drawing dignitaries to Northern Ireland. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed US President Joe Biden to Belfast on Tuesday night, the start of the US president’s four-day visit to the island of Ireland. theguardian.com, dw.com
Husband of former Scottish first minister arrested over party finances investigation: The husband of former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Murrell, was arrested last week in connection with an investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party. He was later released without charge pending further investigation, according to Police Scotland, after spending nearly 12 hours in custody. Murrell stepped down as the SNP’s chief executive last month after more than two decades in the role following Sturgeon’s shock resignation as first minister in February. cnn.com
Britain braces for disruption from doctors‘ strike: Junior doctors in Britain began a four-day strike over pay on Tuesday that is likely to cause unprecedented disruption to the state-funded National Health Service (NHS), prompting the government to warn of a risk to patient safety. Tens of thousands of junior doctors — qualified physicians who make up nearly half of the medical workforce — are striking for pay rises better aligned with inflation, in a walkout that follows a three-day doctors‘ strike last month. reuters.com
UK government hands out free e-cigarettes to smokers: One million smokers will be given a free vaping starter kit to encourage them to give up tobacco products. The British government has committed to getting smoking rates in England below 5% by 2030. In a speech on Tuesday, health minister Neil O’Brien described the free vape policy – dubbed „swap to stop“ – as the first of its kind in the world. bbc.com
- Serbia clamps down e-cigarette sales to minors. euractiv.com
Germany expels Chad’s ambassador in tit-for-tat move: Berlin has ordered Chad’s ambassador to Germany to leave the country within 48 hours in response to a similar move by the Central African country last week, the foreign ministry said. Germany’s ambassador to Chad, Gordon Kricke, was expelled from the country last week. The Chadian Communications Ministry said that the decision was a result of „non-respect of diplomatic customs“. Two Chadian government sources said the expulsion was due to Kricke’s critical comments about delayed elections and a court decision allowing interim military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby to run for political office. reuters.com
Swiss parliament fumes over Credit Suisse collapse: The Swiss parliament voiced its fury on Tuesday at the collapse of Credit Suisse and how the rules intended to prevent such a major bank from getting itself into trouble completely failed. At an extraordinary session of parliament called to debate the implosion of the bank and its takeover by larger rival UBS, Swiss President Alain Berset defended orchestrating the merger, saying a bankruptcy would have triggered a financial catastrophe and shredded the country’s reputation. france24.com
1700 migrants reach Italian island of Lampedusa: Footage from Sky Italia captured on Sunday showed dozens of migrants aboard an Italian Coast Guard vessel being helped off the boat and onto an awaiting mini-van. According to Interior Ministry figures, more than 28,000 migrants have arrived in Italy since the start of the year – almost four times those who arrived over the same period in 2022. africanews.com
- Italy declares state of emergency over migrants. dw.com
Thousands join mass anti-government rally in Georgia: Thousands of protesters rallied outside the Georgian parliament on Sunday amid mounting opposition to the country’s government. Critics accuse the ruling Georgian Dream party of being under the sway of Russia and of backsliding on democracy. The rally was organised by the main opposition party in support of jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili. bbc.com
Estonia PM’s party clinches new coalition government deal: Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Saturday that her centre-right Reform Party has clinched a deal with two other parties to form a coalition government, five weeks after a general election in the Baltic country. The party councils of Kallas’ pro-business Reform Party, which overwhelmingly won Estonia’s March 5 parliamentary election with 31.2% of the vote, the centrist Estonia 200 party and the Social Democratic Party said they would form the coalition after agreeing on government programmes for the nex four years following lengthy talks. apnews.com
Finnland: Outgoing Finnish leader Marin steps down as party leader apnews.com
Netherlands: Court rejects plan to cap Schiphol flights in 2023-2024 reuters.com
Fewer visitors from Germany: Brexit makes the UK less attractive as a travel destination spiegel.de
Italy mulls measures to protect cultural heritage from climate activists euractiv.com
Italy: Doctors express ‚cautious optimism‘ on Berlusconi’s health washingtonpost.com
Moldova outdoor assembly to confirm pro-European orientation euractiv.com
NUMBERS
The International Monetary Fund has released its weakest global growth expectations for the medium term in more than 30 years. In the short term, the IMF expects global growth of 2.8% this year and 3% in 2024, slightly below the fund’s estimates published in January. cnbc.com
AT LAST
Russian pranksters posing as Ukraine’s ex-leader call Hollande: Former French president Francois Hollande has been duped by two pro-Kremlin Russian pranksters Vivan and Lexus, who posed as former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. The video interview lasts about 15 minutes and was recorded back in February. But it was only released a few days ago on social media and has already gained millions of views. euronews.com