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

Newsletter

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Corruption scandal in the EU Parliament, Germany arrests 25 accused of plotting coup, EU imposes new Iran sanctions
European Circle in week 50, 2022
curated by Nina von Schweinitz

EUROPE

EU Parliament removes Eva Kaili as vice-president after Qatar corruption allegations: European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili and three others were charged and imprisoned on Sunday in Belgium, amid a corruption investigation into alleged bribery by Qatar. Belgian police have searched European Parliament offices as part of the investigation. Kaili has been suspended from her party and sanctioned, being withdrawn from duties, such as representing the head of the parliament in the Middle East. The allegations come at a sensitive time for Qatar as it hosts the World Cup. EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the allegations must be fully investigated, adding that the case was tantamount to an attack on European democracy. euronews.com, cnbc.com, theguardian.com, europarl.europa.eu

  • Moroccan envoy tied to EU Parliament scandal. politico.eu
  • EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposes establishing independent ethics body. washingtonpost.com
  • EU Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas rejects any link to Qatar corruption scandal. politico.eu
  • Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán trolls EU Parliament over corruption scandal. politico.eu

EU states agree to freeze funds for Hungary over rule of law concerns: Hungary got EU countries to lower the amount of a proposed funding freeze in exchange for Budapest lifting its veto on key items, including an aid package to Ukraine. Hungary had been on the cusp of losing €7.5 billion in EU payouts over concerns that the money may aid graft in the country. In protest, Budapest had been blocking both an €18 billion EU aid package for Ukraine and a minimum global corporate tax rate. But on Monday, EU countries agreed to lower the suspension to €6.3 billion. politico.eu

Donors pledge millions to get Ukraine through winter: Dozens of countries and international organisations threw their weight and more than 1 billion euros in aid pledges behind an urgent new push to keep Ukrainians powered, fed, warmed and moving as winter approaches. An international donor conference in Paris quickly racked up substantial promises of financial and in-kind support, a defiant response to sustained Russian aerial bombardment of critical infrastructure that has plunged millions of Ukrainian civilians into deepening cold and dark. apnews.com

  • EU ambassadors approve 18 billion euros in financial aid for Ukraine. consilium.europa.eu
  • Germany supplies Ukraine with more self-propelled howitzers.
  • Britain considers supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons.
  • Slovakia prepares delivery of fighter jets.
  • Poland trains Ukrainian medics in air rescue.
  • Czech Republic recruits Ukrainian skilled workers for defence industry.
  • Norwegian refugee aid expects hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.

EU imposes new Iran sanctions: European Union foreign ministers imposed new sanctions on Iran over its crackdown of anti-government protests and its drone deliveries to Russia. The EU condemned Iran’s military partnership with Russia as a gross violation of international law and announced new sanctions against eight Iranian individuals and entities over their role in supplying drones that Moscow has used to attack Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. Tehran on Monday executed a second man involved in anti-government protests that have turned into a popular revolt by Iranians, posing one of the biggest challenges to the Shi’ite clerical elite since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. reuters.com, nytimes.com

EU delays decision on natural gas price cap: European Union energy ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday failed to strike a final deal on a bloc-wide cap on natural gas prices, after months of debate between countries over whether the measure can ease Europe’s energy crisis. „We have made progress, but we are not done yet. Not all questions could be answered today,“ German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said after the meeting. Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have warned against a gas price cap, which they fear could divert much-needed gas cargoes away from Europe and disrupt the functioning of energy markets. reuters.com

EU seals agreement on world’s first carbon tariff: EU negotiators reached an agreement that will pave the way for Europe to set up the world’s first levy on carbon-intensive goods entering its market. The so-called carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) will mirror the EU’s own domestic carbon price, thereby shielding European industry from cheaper, more-polluting products imported from abroad. euractiv.com

Bosnia boosted in its bid to become a candidate for EU membership: EU ministers endorsed giving Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of being a candidate to join the bloc. The decision has to be approved by the leaders of the EU’s 27 members, who will gather in Brussels for a summit on Thursday. euronews.com

  • Schengen zone: Croatia gleeful, Bulgaria, Romania dismayed. dw.com

Agreement on a minimum level of taxation for largest corporations: EU member states reached agreement to implement at EU level the minimum taxation component of the OECD’s reform of international taxation. Effective implementation of the directive will limit the race to the bottom in corporate tax rates. The profit of the large multinational and domestic groups or companies with a combined annual turnover of at least €750 million will be taxed at a minimum rate of 15%. consilium.europa.eu

EU working together with African partners on migration: The EU and African partners have launched two initiatives focused on the Atlantic/Western Mediterranean and the Central Mediterranean migratory routes to ensure joint efforts by member states and the EU addressing the migration challenges that the EU and its partners of North Africa are confronted with due to the upsurge of irregular flows and abuse by smuggling networks. ec.europa.eu

WhatsApp: EU court rejects WhatsApp challenge against EU Data Protection Board reuters.com
Human Rights Watch: EU should stop illegal migrant pushbacks at its borders hrw.org
Investigative research: Refugees are lured into the EU with Russian visas tagesschau.de
Protecting eel stocks: Council of the EU approves fishing opportunities for 2023 in EU and non-EU waters consilium.europa.eu
Climate: Destruction by forest fires in the EU at a new high in 2022 nau.ch
Fight against terrorism: EU countries decide on military mission for Niger tagesspiegel.de

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Despite the action that we have taken, we might still face a gap of up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas next year.”

The European Union has secured enough gas for this winter but could face a gas shortage next year if Russia further cuts supplies, the European Commission and the International Energy Agency said on Monday. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that preparations for next winter must begin now. reuters.com

NATION

Germany arrests 25 accused of plotting coup: The far-right coup plotters had mapped out their own government, with people chosen for cabinet-like roles if they succeeded in overthrowing Germany’s elected leaders. That’s among the revelations shared by German officials on Wednesday in an update on what they say was a conspiracy foiled by a massive anti-terrorism operation. A man named as Heinrich XIII, from an old aristocratic family, is alleged to have been central to their plans. A former far-right AfD member of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, is suspected of being part of the plot, and of being lined up as the group’s justice minister. npr.org, bbc.com

Serbia mulls sending troops to Kosovo as tensions escalate: Serbia’s prime minister said Friday the country’s leadership was close to demanding the deployment of their security troops to Kosovo, claiming lives of minority Serbs there were being threatened. A fragile peace has been preserved in Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following the 1998-99 war in which NATO intervened to protect Kosovo’s Albanian majority. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s independence. In recent weeks, minority Serbs in northern Kosovo have responded with violent resistance to moves by Pristina that they see as anti-Serb. apnews.com, cnn.com

Riots in Brussels and Paris after Morocco’s World Cup win: French police fired tear gas on the Champs Elysees in Paris as fans were celebrating victories by France and Morocco in the World Cup, sending them to the tournament’s semi-finals. In Brussels, dozens of rioters overturned and torched cars, set electric scooters on fire and pelted cars with bricks. Police moved in after one person suffered facial injuries, said Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere. reuters.com, france24.com

Greek foreign minister slams Turkish leader’s missile threat: The Greek government lashed out at Turkey after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened over the weekend to hit Athens with ballistic missiles. “It is unacceptable and universally condemnable for threats of a missile attack against Greece to be made by an allied country, a NATO member,” Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said. “North Korean attitudes cannot and must not enter the North Atlantic alliance.” washingtonpost.com

UK PM announces crackdown on illegal immigration: Britain on Tuesday said it planned to bring in new legislation to prevent migrants who cross the English Channel from remaining in the country, as the government tries to control a surge in people arriving in small boats on its southern coast. The number of people arriving in England across the Channel has more than doubled in the last two years, with government figures showing Albanians account for the highest number of people arriving by this route. reuters.com

Lockerbie bombing suspect is now in US custody: A Libyan man accused of being involved in making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie in December 1988 is now in US custody, authorities in the United States and Scotland said Sunday. The attack killed 270 people as the bomb detonated over the Scottish town as it flew from London to New York. The Lockerbie bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack to have taken place in the United Kingdom. cnn.com

French court sentences eight over 2016 truck rampage in Nice: The court convicted seven men and one woman for their roles in a 2016 truck rampage in the Riviera city of Nice in which 86 people were killed. The driver of the truck that plowed into crowds watching fireworks, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, was killed by police the night of the attack. The eight defendants were convicted of helping him orchestrate a terrorist attack. The judge gave them prison sentences ranging from two to 18 years. Prosecutors had acknowledged not all of them had a clear connection to terrorism or knew what Lahouaiej-Bouhlel planned. reuters.com, npr.org

Denmark gets a new government: Denmark has a new government after weeks of negotiations that will bring together a left-right political alliance between the Moderates, the Social Democrats and the Liberals, prime minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday. „A new government will be presented on Thursday,“ the left-wing Frederiksen told reporters, following a narrow election victory for her Social Democrats in November. france24.com

German climate activists raided over oil refinery protests: German investigators have carried out raids on members of the Last Generation climate activist group over actions against an oil refinery in eastern Germany. The climate activists said that the government is leading the country toward “climate collapse” and it is drawing attention to that. It vowed that “we will continue to do so unchanged, because we are the last generation that can do it.” apnews.com

Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announces new measures to curb food prices euractiv.com
Czech Republic: Former sports presenter may run for president rnd.de
Denmark’s new minks face death on arrival n-tv.de
France: Government announces €100 payment for those joining carpooling platforms thelocal.fr
Christmas cold snap: Travel chaos as Northern Europe braces for further freezing conditions euronews.com
Hydrogen pipeline between Spain and France to be complete by 2030 and cost €2.5 billion euronews.com

NUMBERS

Inflation in the US has hit 7.1%, a slowdown from the 7.7% in October. It’s the smallest 12-month increase since December 2021, when it was 7.0%. This strengthens the euro and boosts Europe’s stock markets. nbcnews.com

AT LAST

Twitter confuses Norway and Nigeria: As part of Twitter’s new verification process, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store had his account updated Tuesday to say he’s a „Nigerian Government Official“. Even the foreign ministry in Oslo had its Twitter bio automatically updated to describe it as a „Nigeria Government Organization.“ Norway’s foreign ministry took it in stride and tweeted: „Dear @TwitterSupport, as much as we enjoy our excellent bilateral relations and close alphabetical vicinity with Nigeria, we would much appreciate if you could label us as Norway.“ euronews.com