⊂ EUROPE ⊃
EU Parliament President Sassoli dies age 65: Leading EU figures have paid tributes to European Parliament President David Sassoli, who has died at the age of 65. Spokesman Roberto Cuillo said Sassoli had been in hospital in Italy since 26 December, because of a serious complication due to a dysfunction of his immune system. EU flags in Brussels have been lowered to fly at half-mast in his memory. EU Parliament ministers gathered for a moment of silence to honour Sassoli. Leaders and officials from around Europe have been reflecting on his life and work. „I am deeply saddened by the terrible loss of a great European and proud Italian,“ EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter. „David Sassoli was a compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament and, first and foremost, a dear friend.“ Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed shock over his death, praising Sassoli’s record. The Parliament’s current First Vice-President Roberta Metsola, a conservative from Malta who was already set to be elected as Sassoli’s successor next week, has been asked to temporarily assume his responsibilities.
cnn.com, bbc.com, euronews.com, politico.eu
WHO: Half of Europe to be infected with Omicron within weeks: The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that half of Europe will have caught the Omicron Covid variant within the next six to eight weeks. Dr Hans Kluge said a „west-to-east tidal wave“ of Omicron was sweeping across the region, on top of a surge in the Delta variant.
bbc.com
Several European countries are running out of hospital staff: Due to a sharp rise in Omicron infection rates, hospital staff is in short supply in several European countries. Countries such as the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy are currently particularly affected.
spiegel.de
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused of hosting another party during lockdown dw.com
- Sweden will impose a curfew on hospitality venues cnn.com
- Spain is calling for COVID-19 to be treated as an endemic disease, like the flu bloomberg.com
- Bulgaria’s top politicians self-isolate after parliament speaker gets Covid independent.co.uk
- Greece approves fourth Covid vaccine shot for those at risk politico.eu
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Thousands protest over coronavirus rules: Thousands of protesters again took to the streets of Brussels on Sunday to oppose Covid restrictions. Unmasked demonstrators, calling for “liberty” and “freedom,” said they wanted the government to abolish the Covid certificate required to enter various places, and for Belgium’s scientific advisory council to consider a greater range of perspectives in decision-making. Organisers estimated around 25,000 participated, while the police cited a figure closer to 5,000 — a major drop in participation from the roughly 35,000 people who attended a protest last November that turned violent.
politico.eu
British minister willing to override Northern Ireland-part of Brexit deal: The UK is ready to take unilateral action that would suspend customs checks on goods moving to Northern Ireland, foreign minister Liz Truss wrote in The Telegraph newspaper: „I want a negotiated solution but if we have to use legitimate provisions including Article 16, I am willing to do that.“ To avoid politically contentious border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland, Britain and the EU agreed Northern Ireland would effectively remain within the EU’s customs union for goods, with checks taking place on goods moving between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland instead. However, there has been friction about how this applies in practice as well as the arbitration role of the EU’s European Court of Justice.
reuters.com, bbc.com
EU institutions kick off negotiations on law targeting Big Tech: EU lawmakers held their first political discussion on the proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA), a key piece of the EU’s digital legislation, on Tuesday, with a view to reaching an agreement by the end of March. The current French presidency of the Council of the EU has made reaching an agreement on the DMA one of the top priorities.
euractiv.com
EU to step up fight against child abuse content: The EU plans to legislate to require technology companies to do more to tackle child sexual abuse, according to the bloc’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson. „I will propose legislation in the coming months that will require companies to detect, report, and remove child sexual abuse,“ Johansson told a German newspaper. „A voluntary report will then no longer be sufficient.“
dw.com
Data retention: Even after more than a decade of disputes, a majority of EU governments are striving to make an unconditional data retention compulsory throughout Europe. Meanwhile, in a decision published on Monday, EU Data Protection Commissioner Wojciech Wiewiorowski ordered Europol to stop unlawfully hoarding too much data. The EU Commission is now counting on a swift change in the law to prevent Europol from having to delete large data files. „Law enforcement agencies need the tools, resources and time to analyse data sent to them in accordance with the law,“ wrote EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson on Twitter.
netzpolitik.org, heise.de, faz.net
Privacy: EU watchdog condemns Parliament over illegal data transfer from Covid website. euractiv.com
Apple: Some European carriers are already blocking Apple’s Private Relay feature on the iPhone. 9to5mac.com
Ukraine crisis unresolved: Top diplomats from the US and Russia held talks on Monday in Geneva, seeking to quell heightened tensions over Moscow’s troop buildup near its border with Ukraine. The meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and her Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, concluded in the Swiss city after eight hours of discussions. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman described the talks as „frank and forthright“ but said it wasn’t clear whether Moscow would commit to deescalation. This Wednesday NATO members will meet with top Russian officials in Belgium to discuss ways to prevent a fresh conflict over Ukraine. Russia is also due to hold talks the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on Thursday.
dw.com, cnbc.com, reuters.com
- Russia positioning helicopters, in possible sign of Ukraine plans nytimes.com
- NATO: Russia continues troop deployment faz.net
- Ukrainian ambassador calls for arms deliveries from Germany spiegel.de
Tokayev and Putin declare victory over „coup attempt“ in Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has described widespread unrest last week as an attempted coup d’etat. He told leaders of a military alliance of ex-Soviet states the action had been co-ordinated by a „single centre“, but did not name those responsible. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Kazakhstan had been targeted by international terrorism, but provided no evidence for this claim. A Russia-led military bloc will begin withdrawing its troops from Kazakhstan in two days’ time after fulfilling its main mission of stabilising the country, Tokayev said. On Tuesday, Tokayev nominated Alikhan Smailov for prime minister, and the lower house of parliament swiftly voted him in during a session broadcast live on state television.
bbc.com, euractiv.com, reuters.com
Dispute over Poland’s judicial reform: EU will demand Poland pay fines for disciplining judges reuters.com
EU court: Bulgaria’s surveillance laws violate European human rights code dw.com
Frontex: 2021 as many illegal border crossings as in 2017 welt.de
EU auditors: Rule of law aid for W Balkans doesn’t pay off abcnews.go.com
Former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz to join European Council for Tolerance and Reconciliation handelsblatt.com
Ivory: EU ban on ivory trade comes into force 19 January derstandard.at
Disputed presidential election: EU, US widen Nicaragua sanctions euractiv.com
Mali: Russian mercenaries replace Western troops tagesspiegel.de
⊂ QUOTE OF THE DAY ⊃
„Coronavirus has taken a terrible toll on our country (…). Our way out of this pandemic is for everyone to get their booster or their first or second dose if they haven’t yet.“
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed sadness at the high number of COVID-19 deaths in his country.
twitter.com
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Hungary sets election for 3 April: Hungary has set 3 April as its general election date, with a referendum on LGBTQ issues to be held on the same day, the president’s office said on Tuesday. For the first time since taking power in a 2010 landslide, conservative nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party will face a united front of opposition parties that will make for a close election race. The opposition alliance is led by Peter Marki-Zay, who in 2018 ended many years of Fidesz rule in the farming town of Hodmezovasarhely where he is now mayor.
independent.co.uk
New Dutch government sworn in: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s fourth government was sworn in on Monday, a record 299 days after the last election and a year after his previous administration was forced to resign. The new coalition has promised generous spending on sustainable energy, housing, childcare and education. Although the coalition consists of the same four parties that have been in charge since 2017, it took almost 10 months to bring them back together after the inconclusive election in March 2020. Mark Rutte is now set to become the Netherlands’ longest-serving prime minister as he leads a fourth separate executive.
reuters.com, euronews.com
Germany to boost renewables: German Climate Minister Robert Habeck on Tuesday announced plans to fix a „drastic deficit“ in the country’s efforts to cut emissions, admitting it significantly missed its 2021 targets. The new measures focus on expanding renewables capacity, with the aim of doubling their share in the energy mix to 80% by 2030. „The task is big. It’s gigantic,“ Habeck said. „We managed to cut emissions by 15 million tons from 2010-2020, and from 2022 to 2030 we have to cut them by 40 million tons a year on average.“
politico.eu
German minister rejects EU proposal on nuclear power: German Environment minister says Germany prepares “clear no” on nuclear in EU taxonomy. cleanenergywire.org
Filling up with petrol is getting cheaper again: Poland launches economic stimulus package. n-tv.de
German foreign minister in Rome: Germany’s top diplomat, Annalena Baerbock, travelled to Rome on Monday, her first visit to Italy as foreign minister. She met with her Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio to discuss a common European approach to Russia’s provocative actions on its border with Ukraine. Baerbock and Di Maio also visited a coronavirus vaccination centre in Rome where doctors and medical staff have been administering jabs seven days a week since January 2021. After touring the site, Baerbock said that it was important to her „to come here and learn how Italian achieved such a high level of vaccination.“
dw.com, dw.com
Berlusconi steps up Italy presidential campaign with threat to coalition: Silvio Berlusconi has reportedly threatened to withdraw his Forza Italia party from Italy’s governing majority if the current prime minister, Mario Draghi, is elected president later this month. There are no official candidates in Italy’s presidential elections, although party leaders usually try to agree on a candidate. Berlusconi is a favourite among the rightwing parties for the seven-year-mandate. However, Draghi, who is credited with restoring stability in Italy, as well as keeping the broad coalition in line, is tipped as the frontrunner.
theguardian.com
Italy: Sexual assaults bring back memories of New Year’s Eve in Cologne. welt.de
Albanian opposition in crisis as warring members storm party headquarters: The Albanian capital of Tirana was rocked by protests on Saturday as one warring faction of the opposition Democratic Party (PD) used force to enter their own headquarters. Police special forces dispersed demonstrators, and several arrests were made. The conflict came after the founder of the party and ex-prime minister and president Sali Berisha was declared persona non grata by the US State Department for “significant corruption”. Since September, Berisha and party chairman Lulzim Basha have been wrestling for control of the party leadership, both holding national assemblies and votes to oust the other.
euractiv.com
Lithuania secures extra $1B pledge from Taiwan amid China blockade: Taiwan Tuesday substantially stepped up its financial pledges to Lithuania with a $1 billion credit fund to bolster the Baltic nation in its showdown with China.
politico.eu
Body of young child recovered off Greek island: The body of a young child was recovered from the Aegean Sea on Saturday, two weeks after two deadly accidents in the area involving boats loaded with migrants, Greek Coast Guard officials said.
apnews.com
Greece: US voices misgivings on EastMed gas pipeline reuters.com
Lithuania pays Guantánamo ‘forever prisoner’ Abu Zubaydah €100,000 over CIA torture theguardian.com
Poland’s phone spyware scandal raises doubts over 2019 election techcrunch.com
Bosnia and Herzegovina: US slaps sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik; Bosnian Serbs celebrate statehood day defying bans, sanctions politico.eu; reuters.com
France eases restrictions on blood donations from gay men welt.de
Germany plans $147 mln of household heating support reuters.com
Denmark: Danish spy chief Lars Findsen named as mystery leak suspect bbc.com
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⊂ LAST BUT NOT LEAST ⊃
Macron causes stir with vulgar term: French President Emmanuel Macron stirred controversy last week when he expressed his wish to „emmerder“ („piss off“) the non-vaccinated. In his interview with Le Parisien on Tuesday, Macron used the vulgar term „emmerder“ to say how he wanted to stir up the unvaccinated. „I really want to piss them off, and we’ll carry on doing this – to the end,“ he told the newspaper.
bbc.com