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Every Wednesday, the European Circle delivers an overview of the most important topics from the European Union and the European nations.

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Germany to send more arms to Ukraine, Cyprus cash-for-passports scheme rife with tax failings, France, Germany, UK and US discuss Ukraine nuclear plant
European Circle in week 34, 2022
curated by Nina von Schweinitz

EUROPE

Germany to send more arms to Ukraine: At an online conference on Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany planned to deliver further arms to Ukraine, worth more than 500 million euros. This would include three additional Iris-T air defence systems, a dozen armoured recovery vehicles, 20 rocket launchers, precision ammunition and anti-drone systems. Scholz assured Ukraine of Germany’s continued support, saying the international community would never accept the illegal and imperialist annexation of Ukrainian territory by Russia. reuters.com, welt.de

  • Germany, Slovakia sign tank swap deal to arm Ukraine. defensenews.com
  • US to send $3 billion in aid to Ukraine. apnews.com
  • Netherlands to provide Ukraine with at least 65 million euros for reconstruction. kyivindependent.com

Poland’s president calls for stop to gas pipeline: Andrzej Duda said that it was necessary to liquidate the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Because of Russia’s war against Ukraine, there could be no return to normality in relations with Moscow. A different policy of the West was necessary, which would not only lead to the termination of Nord Stream 2, but also its complete liquidation and dismantling, Duda said. rnd.de

  • Bulgarian Gazprom talks likely to fail due to Russian upper hand, expert. euractiv.com
  • Norway eyes high gas output until 2030. reuters.com
  • Where is the gas from Cyprus? rnd.de
  • Croatia to invest €180 million in LNG infrastructure. euractiv.com

Cyprus cash-for-passports scheme rife with tax failings: A cash-for-passports scheme discontinued by Cyprus in 2020 cost the state hundreds of millions of euros in lost revenues from misdirected tax breaks, an independent watchdog said. Just over 7,000 investors and family members benefited from the citizenship scheme. As the country is a member of the EU, Cypriot passports provide visa-free travel and access throughout the bloc. The report is the second censure by an independent authority of the programme, which proved popular with wealthy Russians and Asians. reuters.com

France, Germany, UK and US discuss Ukraine nuclear plant: The leaders of the United States, Germany, France and the UK are pressing for a rapid solution to the tensions surrounding Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. A White House statement issued on Sunday said the four had discussed the need to avoid military operations near the plant. During a phone call on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be sent to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the French president’s office and the Kremlin. euobserver.com, politico.eu

  • EU will discuss options for military training of Ukrainian forces next week. euractiv.com
  • Baltic states, Poland and Finland could ban Russian tourists, says Lithuania. euractiv.com
  • Russian tourists’ luxury cars fill up Helsinki airport. euractiv.com

Top EU climate official Mauro Petriccione dies. politico.eu
Europe faces its worst drought in five centuries, says report. euronews.com
EU Commission proposal for fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2023. ec.europa.eu
Commission repeats warning to Albania over cash for passports scheme. euractiv.de
EU hopes for US response on Iran nuclear deal proposal this week. reuters.com

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

„The next five to ten winters will be difficult. The developments are very tough throughout Europe. Some sectors are facing serious difficulties with these high energy prices.“

Belgians should brace for the worst, said Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, as fuel prices and electricity bills are expected to reach record highs soon. euractiv.com

NATION

Germany and Canada partner on transatlantic hydrogen trade: The leaders of Canada and Germany signed a green hydrogen deal, laying a path for a transatlantic supply chain as Europe seeks to lessen its dependence on Russian energy. „We cannot as a world continue to rely on authoritarian countries that will weaponise energy policy, as Russia is, that don’t concern themselves with environmental outcomes or labour rights or even human rights,“ Trudeau added. france24.com

Merkel awarded the 2022 Unesco Peace Prize for her efforts to welcome refugees: “All members of the jury were touched by her courageous decision in 2015 to welcome more than 1.2 million refugees, including from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea. This is the legacy she leaves,” said the chair of the jury, Denis Mukwege, winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. brusselstimes.com

Poland discovers 282 illegal sewage drains: In the search for the cause of the mass die-off of fish in Poland’s Oder river, authorities in Poland have come across illegal sewage drains. It is currently being investigated from where these pipes were laid to the Oder and who owns them. welt.de

Berlusconi is back on the ballot in Italy: One month ahead of parliamentary elections, the parties have submitted their candidate lists. In the region of Lombardy, the former government leaders Matteo Renzi of the centre party Italia Viva and Silvio Berlusconi of the conservative Forza Italia are running in the election. rnd.de

  • Twitter removes rape video posted by Italy’s Meloni. reuters.com
  • Russia’s interest in the Italian parliamentary elections. sueddeutsche.de
  • 40-metre yacht sinks off the coast of Italy. insider.com

Austrian campaign to fight illegal immigration: „Illegal migration: you will fail,“ reads one of the ads posted on social media in eight countries of origin and transit such as Morocco, Tunisia, India and Serbia. Austria’s asylum system is almost at the breaking point, explains Interior Minister Gerhard Karner. rnd.de

  • Czech Republic rehearses for possible next refugee crisis with border protection exercise. spiegel.de
  • 106 migrants rescued from distress at sea in the Mediterranean are allowed to land in Italy. tagesschau.de
  • Channel migrants: Almost 1,300 migrants cross Channel in new record. bbc.com

Finnish PM apologises for picture of topless influencers partying at official residence: An image circulating in social media shows two well-known female influencers kissing each other, covering their bare breasts with a “Finland” sign. “In my opinion, the picture is not appropriate. I apologise for it. That kind of a picture should not have been taken,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters, confirming the photo was from the Prime Minister’s official residence in Helsinki. A drug test taken by the prime minister, one of the youngest world leaders, came back negative on Monday. It was taken to assuage concerns after video footage was published last week showing her singing and dancing with Finnish celebrities at another party. nbcnews.com

Hackers demand $10m to end cyber attack on Paris regional hospital: A hospital southeast of Paris has been the victim of an ongoing cyber attack since the weekend, with disruption to emergency services and surgeries as hackers demand a ransom of $10 million to call off the digital assault. Hackers have reportedly issued a demand of $10 million dollars – in English – for the ransomware attack to be stopped. rfi.fr

Copenhagen’s dream of being carbon neutral by 2025 goes up in smoke. euractiv.com
French justice ministry under pressure to explain jail go-karting. theguardian.com
Bag found at Stockholm festival had an explosive. washingtonpost.com
Criminal barristers in England and Wales vote to go on all-out strike. bbc.com
Spanish secrecy law would hamper public participation, civil society warns. euractiv.com
Ten people killed by bulls at Spanish festivals so far this year. rnd.de

NUMBERS

Greece on Saturday concluded 12 years of European Union fiscal surveillance that was imposed in return for bailouts after a crushing debt crisis. euractiv.com

AT LAST

Russian tourists leak defence secrets on Twitter: A Russian tourist unwittingly revealed the location of Russian S-400 air defence systems in Crimea, after posting a selfie of himself standing near to them. Ukraine’s army chiefs couldn’t help but express their appreciation to the Russian holidaymaker on Twitter. telegraph.co.uk, express.co.uk