⊂ EUROPE ⊃

Belarus threatens to cut gas deliveries to EU: The EU has accused Belarus of provoking the escalating migrant crisis at the country’s western border and is reportedly planning a fresh package of sanctions against Belarus. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said it was legally difficult to sanction airlines, but he mentioned measures to stop international airlines carrying migrants from landing at the airport in the Belarusian capital Minsk. Belarus’s leader Alexander Lukashenko has raised the prospect of cutting gas supplies to the EU if Brussels imposes new sanctions against his regime. Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya accused Lukashenko of „bluffing“ over his gas ultimatum.
tagesschau.de, bbc.com, euronews.com

• German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation on the Poland-Belarus border with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the second time in as many days on Thursday reuters.com
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia had nothing to do with the crisis dw.com
• US warns Europa that Russia may plan Ukraine invasion bloomberg.com
• Ukraine to deploy troops, helicopters to guard Belarus border reuters.com
• Turkey denies active role in migrant crisis n-tv.de

UN Refugee Agency says number of displaced people worldwide tops 84 million washingtonpost.com

Five EU countries don’t want to define nuclear energy as climate-friendly technology: The declaration made on the sidelines of the UN climate conference in Glasgow was backed by Austria, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg and Portugal. “Nuclear power cannot be a solution in the climate crisis,” German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said. She argued that nuclear power was too risky, too slow and not sustainable. The five countries said adding nuclear power to the EU-approved list of climate-friendly technologies risked diverting funds from renewable energies such as wind and solar power.
apnews.com

• Egypt to host COP27 international climate conference in 2022 reuters.com
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that a key temperature goal in climate talks is “on life support” apnews.com
• Scotland’s Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon called on rich countries to start to pay their debt to developing countries around the world nytimes.com

EMA recommends authorisation of two monoclonal antibody medicines: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended the authorisation of two new medicines against the coronavirus for people at risk of severe disease. The EU drug regulator said Thursday it had concluded that the monoclonal antibody treatments — a combination of casirivimab and imdevimab, and the drug regdanvimab — have both been proven to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death in patients vulnerable to serious COVID-19.
ema.europa.eu, apnews.com

• The Netherlands on Thursday recorded more than 16,000 coronavirus infections in 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the pandemic theguardian.com
• Austria could be days away from imposing a lockdown for the unvaccinated politico.eu
• Germany to classify Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary as high-risk areas de.euronews.com

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EU Commission lifts 2021 growth outlook: The Commission lifted its growth projection for the EU on Thursday, raising its growth forecasts for the eurozone to 5.0% for this year, up from 4.3% seen in the spring, while trimming the 2022 forecast to 4.3% from 4.4%. The Commission’s first growth projection for 2023 pegs growth at 2.4%. It issued the same projections for the wider EU as it did for the eurozone, for both this year and next. In 2023, the Commission expects the EU economy to expand by 2.5%.
politico.eu

Brexit: EU to tell David Frost Brexit talks will fail unless he ditches ECJ demand theguardian.com
EU asylum agency: Upgrading the existing mandate of the EU Asylum Support Office (EASO) europarl.europa.eu
Corporate tax transparency: MEPs okay new country-by-country reporting rules europarl.europa.eu
US and China: Biden, China’s Xi expected to meet virtually on Monday reuters.com
South Africa’s last apartheid leader FW de Klerk dies at 85, issues posthumous apology for pain of apartheid theguardian.com

⊂ QUOTE OF THE DAY ⊃

„We want to continue supporting this trend with record investments in digitisation, scientific research and climate protection.“
Germany’s next government can build its future policies on solid public finances thanks to better-than-expected tax revenues and an economic recovery following the pandemic, acting Finance Minister and Chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.
reuters.com

⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃

EU Parliament condemns Polish abortion law: The European Union’ parliament on Thursday condemned Poland’s recent near-total ban on abortions and called on the Polish government to make sure it no longer leads to the death of pregnant women. The condemnation came following news that a woman died of septic shock in her 22nd week of pregnancy after doctors failed to perform an abortion and waited for the fetus to die. Slovakia’s parliament on Thursday narrowly rejected proposed legislation that would have tightened access to abortion.
apnews.com (Poland), apnews.com (Slovakia)

Polish far-right Independence Day march: Polish far-right sympathisers marched through Warsaw on Thursday in an annual Independence Day gathering. Security forces patrolled the capital and other cities for the holiday rallies, which in recent years have seen some violent attacks by nationalist extremists. This year’s march comes as the country faces an unprecedented wave of migration along its border with Belarus.
france24.com, theguardian.com

Magdalena Andersson set to become Sweden’s first woman PM: Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson will have a shot at becoming the Nordic country’s first female prime minister after parliament speaker Andreas Norlen picked her on Thursday to try and form a government from a fragmented parliament. In order to secure her confirmation, the Swedish Social Democrats need the support of both their Green Party coalition partners and the Left and Centre parties, reported AFP. The Left and Centre parties said on Wednesday that they will support Andersson next week.
reuters.com, independent.co.uk

German parliament debates new coronavirus rules: Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz told parliament that Germany should take many more measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and get through the winter. New coronavirus cases in Germany topped the 50,000 mark for the first time on Thursday. The incoming government has nonetheless agreed that 25 November should mark the end of the so-called “epidemic situation of national relevance”, which created a legal framework for the government to agree on nationwide pandemic restrictions with the heads of Germany’s 16 federal states, effectively circumventing parliament. In the future, pandemic restrictions should again be debated and decided in the parliament, the incoming government argues.
euronews.com, politico.eu, theguardian.com

Merkel ally Helge Braun to vie for CDU leadership: Germany’s outgoing Chancellery boss Helge Braun will challenge for the leadership of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), local media reported. Braun’s candidacy won’t be official until he announces it to the CDU branch in his home state of Hesse this Friday. CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen has scheduled a press conference on his candidacy for Friday. The CDU is having to choose its second leader within a year after incumbent party boss Armin Laschet lost the fall general election to Olaf Scholz of the centre-left Social Democrats.
politico.eu

103rd anniversary of World War I ending news.yahoo.com
Paris Peace Forum: US Vice-President Kamala Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron push for global effort against inequality dw.com
Austria: Property billionaires charged with bribing Green party politician ft.com
Hungary: Orbán rival promises new constitution if he defeats the prime minister theguardian.com
Spain: Truck drivers announce three-day strike ahead of Christmas english.elpais.com
Italy: Rome’s new mayor has to deal with trash crisis derstandard.at

⊂ POLITJOBS ⊃

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⊂ LAST BUT NOT LEAST ⊃

Germany: Carnival party is on despite Covid wave: Traditionally, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month signals the official start of what some call the „fifth season“: Carnival. This year — despite skyrocketing infection rates as Germany navigates its fourth wave — the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf are going ahead with their celebrations. The street festivities in Cologne involve people dressed up in elaborate costumes, partying to big band music and enjoying comedy shows.
dw.com, france24.com