⊂ EUROPE ⊃

Germany urges dialogue with Russia: Germany aims to halt further escalation of the Ukraine conflict, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Wednesday, after President Vladimir Putin said Russia was prepared to take military steps. Given „further troop movements on the border“ to Ukraine by Russia, Berlin was „greatly concerned“ by Putin’s latest remarks, Baerbock told reporters after talks with her counterpart from Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn. She said dialogue was now essential to try to defuse a major crisis. Asselborn said that in his 17 years in office he had never seen such a clear warning of a military operation as has now come from NATO, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the EU.
france24.com, n-tv.de

• Baerbock „concerned“ after postponement of presidential elections in Libya dw.com
• Baerbock and Asselborn don’t expect border closures because of Omicron handelsblatt.com
• Baerbock makes jokes about criticism of her English skills welt.de
• EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says EU will engage with US and NATO to ensure its interests are represented in any possible discussion with Russia on European security eeas.europa.eu
• OSCE says ceasefire agreement reached for eastern Ukraine reuters.com

EU starts legal action against Poland: The EU Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland on Wednesday over rulings by the country’s constitutional tribunal in July and October that challenged the primacy of EU law over national law. Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the Polish constitution has primacy over some parts of the EU Treaties and some of the rulings of the EU’s highest court, especially those that could influence the country’s judiciary. “The Commission considers that these rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are in breach of the general principles of autonomy, primacy, effectiveness and uniform application of EU law,“ the Commission said in a statement. Poland now has two months to reply to the Commission’s letter of formal notice.
euractiv.com, politico.eu

EU and UK reach deal on shared fishing stocks for 2022: The EU and the UK have reached an agreement on how to divide up fish stocks they jointly manage. The European Council announced Wednesday it had approved a deal between the EU and the UK for 2022. This is the second post-Brexit agreement on catch limits. The agreement is separate from the dispute between the UK and France over fishing licenses in the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, off the French coast.
politico.eu

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Dozens of refugees missing after boat sinks in Greek waters: The Greek coast guard on Wednesday said it was looking for dozens of migrants in the Aegean Sea after 12 people were rescued overnight. A coast guard official said rescuers found 12 people, mostly Iraqis, in a smaller auxiliary boat, but the rest were still missing. Only two of the rescued migrants were wearing life jackets. “Efforts will continue but in waters that are very cold and very deep the chances of finding anyone [alive] are decreasing by the hour,” said Nikos Kokkalas, the Hellenic coastguard’s spokesperson. Greece is an initial destination on the route into the EU for many asylum-seekers and migrants arriving from Turkey.
dw.com, theguardian.com

• Problems with distribution of cash to refugees in Greece tagesschau.de
• Despite EU court ruling: Hungary sticks to anti-migration policy de.euronews.com
• Sea rescue ship waits with 355 refugees for port allocation deutschlandfunk.de

EU proposes ways to finance Covid aid: The EU Commission has outlined ways to repay the billions in aid from the Covid recovery fund. To this end, it wants to draw on funds that will be raised through the expansion of emissions trading, the planned climate protection tariff and the planned global tax reform. The package would lay the foundation for the repayment of Covid aid and at the same time make it possible to support measures from the climate protection package „Fit for 55“, said EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn. The new sources of revenue would free up funds amounting to an average of around 17 billion euros per year from 2026 to 2030 for the EU budget.
tagesschau.de

Minimum corporate tax: EU to combat taxation ‘race to the bottom’ with 15% rate for big companies theguardian.com
State aid: Commission approves €88 million German support to compensate Deutsche Bahn for damages suffered due to Covid ec.europa.eu
Competition regulator: EU clears Microsoft-Nuance without conditions techcrunch.com
Energy transition: EU’s proposed social climate fund comes under fire from all sides euractiv.com
Protest: Greenpeace confronts Italian frigate returning from mission protecting oil and gas greenpeace.org
EU’s 2022 promotional policy brands meat cancer risk, encourages shift to plant-based diets euractiv.com

⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃

Stricter Covid measures in Spain, Belgium and Austria:

• Belgium will close cinemas, theatres and other indoor recreational activities euronews.com
• Spain to introduce mandatory outdoor masking english.elpais.com
• Austria tightens restrictions as it braces for Omicron wave reuters.com
• France says Omicron to be dominant variant soon, resists new restrictions reuters.com

North Macedonia’s prime minister submits resignation: North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has formally filed his resignation to the parliament on Wednesday, following his party’s loss at mayoral elections in the country in October. The resignation now paves way for Dimitar Kovacevski, who also replaced Zaev as the head of the ruling Socialists (SDSM), to form a new government.
reuters.com

Dutch prosecutors seek life sentences for MH17 suspects: Dutch prosecutors on Wednesday called for life imprisonment for three Russians and a Ukrainian charged with shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 and killing all 298 passengers on board. International investigators announced charges against the four suspects in June 2019, with the first hearing taking place in March 2020 in the Netherlands. The request comes four years after a Dutch-led joint international investigation concluded that the airliner was downed on 17 July 2014 by a surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Eastern Ukraine.
politico.eu

Czech central bank again increases key interest rate: The Czech Republic’s central bank has again aggressively moved to increase its key interest rate in a continuing effort to tame soaring inflation. The 1 percentage point hike Wednesday to 3.75% was the fifth straight increase since June and was higher than expected by analysts. The bank, which considers high consumer prices a major threat, also had indicated it would raise the rate.
apnews.com

Poland: Opposition members allegedly hacked with Pegasus spiegel.de
France and Austria ask Brussels to develop EU plant-based protein strategy euractiv.com
Denmark: Criticism for planned export of prisoners derstandard.at
Bosnia-Herzegovina: EU working to amend genocide denial law that is blamed for Bosnia crisis theguardian.com

⊂ POLITJOBS ⊃

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⊂ LAST BUT NOT LEAST ⊃

Spain holds draw for world’s richest lottery: This year, the winners of Spain’s „El Gordo“ or „The Fat One“ lottery will share a total of €2.4 billion. The Christmas tradition goes back more than 200 years. A full ticket costs €200 but is usually sold in fractions. Families, friends and colleagues usually buy one-tenth of a ticket, entitling them to a 10% share. „El Gordo“ is designed to allow as many people as possible a win, with 70% of the proceeds from ticket sales being paid out in prize money.
dw.com