⊂ EUROPE ⊃

US puts troops on alert amid fears of Russia-Ukraine conflict: Western allies are preparing for some kind of military confrontation, with NATO putting more forces on standby and looking to reinforce Eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets. The US Department of Defense, meanwhile, said Monday that about 8,500 American troops are on heightened alert and awaiting orders to deploy to the region in the event that Russia does invade Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be world-changing. Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin: „If he were to move in with all those forces, it would be the largest invasion since World War II.“ Biden also said that the US government could sanction Putin personally if there were an invasion. The US has also helped prepare for the diversion of natural gas supplies from around the world to Europe in the event that the flow from Russia is cut. On Monday afternoon, Biden held a video call with a number of European leaders and NATO chief Stoltenberg. The EU Commission has proposed more than €1 billion in potential new funding for Ukraine. British foreign minister Liz Truss called for a halt to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine.
cnbc.com, npr.org, theguardian.com, politico.eu, tagesspiegel.de

• Political advisers to hold four-way talks on Ukraine in Paris reuters.com
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warns Russian invasion would be disastrous bbc.com
• Russia launches new military drills near Ukraine, in annexed Crimea france24.com
• Ukraine sends troops to defend Chernobyl merkur.de
• Croatia’s president threatens withdrawal from NATO if war breaks out in Ukraine politico.eu

Scholz and Macron warn Russia against attack on Ukraine: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed a coordinated response should Russia move forward with an invasion of Ukraine. Scholz called on Russia to pursue „clear steps“ to de-escalate tensions, adding that a Russian threat to Ukraine’s territorial integrity would bear „serious consequences“ for Moscow. Macron said the two countries are „united“ in the need for de-escalation in Ukraine. The French president also said he would hold phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, as part of a „demanding dialogue“ with the Kremlin.
dw.com

Belarus: ‘Cyberpartisans’ hack Belarusian railway to disrupt Russian buildup. theguardian.com

Germany: Navy chief Schönbach resigns over comments on Putin, Crimea. dw.com

Navalny: EU slams Russia for adding opposition leader to list of ‚terrorists and extremists‘. euronews.com

Treason case: Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko avoids detention. reuters.com

Serbian government allegedly spied on Kremlin critics: According to a report by the opposition Serbian news portal „nova.rs“, Serbia‘s interior ministry spied on Russian Kremlin critics in Belgrade and delivered the wiretapping protocols to Moscow. Serbia’s Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin denied the claims that he informed Russian intelligence chief Nikolai Patrushev about a meeting of Russian opposition members in Belgrade.
n-tv.de, balkaninsight.com

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EU countries look to simplify travel: Council recommendations: Travellers should be able to travel throughout the EU with proof of vaccination, recovery, or a negative test, without having to face quarantine or additional testing measures, under new nonbinding rules for travel. politico.eu

EU to take on US tech giants: The European Parliament has signed off on a proposal for new rules aimed at US tech giants, paving the way for talks on the plan with member countries and the European Commission. The Digital Services Act would force Amazon, Apple, Alphabet unit Google and Facebook owner Meta to do more to tackle illegal content on their platforms or risk fines up to 6% of global turnover. The proposal still needs to be ironed out with EU countries and lawmakers before it can become law, the first of its kind in the world.
reuters.com

Meta: EU Commissioner Thierry Breton warns Facebook of billions in fines if hate speech isn’t deleted; EU’s digital chief Margrethe Vestager says Metaverse poses new competition challenges. zeit.de; politico.eu

EU orders Poland to pay €70m in fines: The European Commission has sent Poland notice to pay some 70 million euros in fines for failing to reverse an illegal disciplinary regime for judges, a spokesman said. The Commission sent its first call for payment last Wednesday to Warsaw, after which Polish authorities have 45 days to pay. Last October the top EU court fined Warsaw for failing to immediately halt the work of the Polish Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber pending a final verdict on the scheme. Poland has said it will not pay the fine and has criticised the Commission’s actions.
euobserver.com, reuters.com

European court rules Turkey violated journalist’s human rights: Nearly three years after German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel was released from prison in Istanbul, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday ruled that Turkey had violated his human rights. In their decision, the court said Yücel’s „detention amounted to an ‚interference‘ with his exercise of his right to freedom of expression“ when „there had been no plausible reasons to suspect him of committing an offence.“
dw.com

Macron calls for new security order in Europe: In his address to the European Parliament last week at the start of France’s six-month rotating presidency of the European Council, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe to invest in its own collective security framework in the face of Russian military moves on the EU’s doorstep. Macron in his speech returned to his theme to call for a more autonomous and sovereign EU. He said Europe needs to set up its own security framework, and further talks with Moscow. He called on the EU to better defend its external borders, and promised to push ahead with an EU rapid reaction force. Macron also said he would push to have the right to abortion and defence of the environment added to the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. Macron explained the EU must also rethink its relationships with western Balkan countries and the African continent, adding that France will organise a summit in February aimed at rebuilding partnerships between Europe and Africa.
euobserver.com, france24.com

EU Commission refuses to store text and chat messages: The Commission still refuses to store text messages and conversations from services such as WhatsApp or Signal, thus make them accessible to the public. In an answer by Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova to an official question from the EU Parliament, Jourova reiterates the Commission’s previous policy of not archiving text and instant messages because they are „short-lived“ and don‘t contain „important information“ on Commission measures or decisions. As recently as November, Jourova had admitted that this policy was outdated and needed to be modernised.
spiegel.de

EU Parliament restricts live animal transports: The EU has moved to regulate live transports of animals more strictly. The changes come after an animal welfare investigation had revealed shocking insights into the industry.
dw.com

Sustainable finance: The EU Commission has drawn up plans to label some natural gas and nuclear energy projects as „green“ investments after a year-long battle between governments over which investments are truly climate-friendly. The idea has surprised the Commission’s closest advisory body, which is now settling the score. tagesschau.de, reuters.com

Taliban holds talks with Western officials in Oslo: Members of the Taliban have met Western officials in Norway for the first talks in Europe since the group took control of Afghanistan. The talks lasted three days and covered human rights and the humanitarian crisis in the country.
bbc.com

Burkina Faso’s military seizes power in a coup: Burkina Faso’s army said it took control of the country on Monday, deposing President Roch Kabore, dissolving the government and parliament, suspending the constitution and shuttering its borders. One of the coup leaders told CNN that Kabore was detained early Monday by soldiers that had taken control of a military base before storming the palace grounds and firing shots near the president’s home. The African Union, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union strongly condemned the military’s actions.
edition.cnn.com

Great Britain:

• Police investigating ’number of events‘ held in Boris Johnson’s Downing Street during Covid restrictions cnn.com
• Nusrat Ghani’s allegations reignite claims that Tory party is Islamophobic theguardian.com
• Minister quits in Lords over government handling of Covid loans fraud theguardian.com

Julian Assange can keep fighting his extradition to the US: The High Court in London ruled on Monday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal to the UK’s Supreme Court against extradition to the United States, where he faces espionage charges over the publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents more than a decade ago. Assange faces 18 federal counts — 17 of espionage and one of computer misuse — in the US over WikiLeaks‘ publication of thousands of leaked documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
npr.org

Brexit: Truss and Sefcovic discuss Northern Ireland Brexit row in ‘constructive’ talks independent.co.uk
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Armin Laschet elected Vice-President tagesspiegel.de
Cybercrime Convention: EU data protectionist sees fundamental rights undermined heise.de
The Conference on the Future of Europe: „We wanted to listen to citizens“ euronews.com
UN General Assembly adopts German-Israeli proposal against Holocaust denial dw.com
European Parliament to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day europarl.europa.eu
Mali: US army confirms Russian mercenaries in Mali; French soldier killed in mortar attack in Mali. france24.com; reuters.com

⊂ QUOTE OF THE DAY ⊃

„I hope that the Commission will follow our recommendations and remarks that nuclear power is not a sustainable form of energy.“
German Economic Affairs and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck on Tuesday called for his government to block EU-level attempts to classify nuclear energy as „green.“
dw.com

⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃

Shooting at Heidelberg University in Germany: One woman was killed and three others injured after an 18-year-old man opened fire on students in a lecture hall at Heidelberg University in southwestern Germany on Monday, according to police. After firing several shots, the lone gunman fled the auditorium and then turned a gun on himself, police said. The shooter lived in Mannheim, and had announced his plan in a WhatsApp message directly before the attack, according to police. No motive was released by police, and an investigation is ongoing into the suspect’s background and how he acquired the weapons.
cnn.com, dw.com

Former Pope Benedict XVI admits false statement during abuse probe testimony: Former Pope Benedict XVI has apologised for providing false information during a probe into sexual abuse in his old Munich archdiocese, his secretary said in a statement on Monday. The statement said the false information was not given „with ill intent.“ Instead, it was blamed on an editing „oversight“ that occurred with Benedict’s written testimony to the inquiry.
dw.com

Church: German Catholic priests come out as queer, demand reform. dw.com

Italy’s presidential vote inconclusive after round two : Italy’s lawmakers failed on Tuesday for a second day running to elect a new head of state, with party leaders struggling to find a consensus candidate. A successful candidate needs a two-thirds majority in any of the first three rounds of voting, with only an absolute majority required in subsequent rounds. Wednesday’s vote looks certain to once again end in failure, with the race only getting serious on Thursday, when the threshold for victory falls.
reuters.com

Clashes erupt in Brussels as tens of thousands protest Covid rules: Protests in Brussels against coronavirus restrictions spiralled into violence on Sunday as protesters clashed with police officers and vandalised the offices of the European External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic arm. Authorities estimated that around 50,000 people paraded through the Belgian capital. Clashes broke out close to the headquarters of the European Union as police used water cannon and tear gas to push back protesters hurling paving stones and firecrackers. “The side entrance was vandalized,” said a Commission spokesperson, adding that nobody was in danger. Top diplomat Josep Borrell visited the offices to inspect the damage and tweeted his condemnation of “the senseless destruction and violence.”
france24.com, politico.eu

Austrian parliament approves mandatory vaccination order: Austria has moved closer to introducing a compulsory vaccination order after parliament’s lower house voted in favour of new government proposals. The law, which is due to come into effect on 1 February, would make Austria the first European country to introduce a mandatory jab.
bbc.com

• Denmark abolishes Covid restrictions at the end of the month welt.de
• Netherlands: restaurants and cultural institutions open tagesschau.de

Poland begins work on Belarus border wall: Polish contractors have begun work on a new 353 million euro wall along the Belarus border aimed at deterring refugee crossings following a crisis in the area last year.
aljazeera.com

French lawmakers officially recognise China’s treatment of Uyghurs as ‘genocide’: France’s parliament on Thursday denounced a „genocide“ by China against its Uyghur Muslim population, in a resolution that risks straining ties between Paris and Beijing two weeks before the Winter Olympics.
france24.com

Germany, France and Britain take action against smugglers: Together with colleagues from Great Britain and France, German police officers are taking action against people smugglers who procure inflatable boats and outboard motors in Germany for the transport of migrants. A British-German project launched at the beginning of the year wants to gain further insights into supply chains and distribution channels of inflatable boats, which are used in particular for smuggling from France to Great Britain, according to a government response to Left Party MP Clara Bünger.
faz.net

Portugal allows those with Covid to vote on election day reuters.com
Ireland: UK government ‘dragged its feet for too long’ on Troubles legacy, Taoiseach says irishtimes.com
Sustainable nutrition: Row over meat consumption in Spain tagesschau.de
Belgium: Court convicts ring leader in 2019 smuggling tragedy apnews.com
France: MPs approve law banning so-called gay conversion therapy euronews.com
Iran: French man sentenced to 8 years in Iran prison for spying reuters.com
Hungary: Central bank raises monthly base rate to 2.9% from 2.4% bloomberg.com
Lithuania considers modifying Taiwan representation name to defuse row with China reuters.com

⊂ POLITJOBS ⊃

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⊂ LAST BUT NOT LEAST ⊃

Angela Merkel turns down UN job offer: Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected a top United Nations job offer from UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Merkel “spoke to the UN secretary-general on the phone last week, thanked him and told him that she would not accept the offer,” an official in the ex-chancellor’s office said Wednesday. Guterres had wanted Merkel to lead a UN advisory board on global public goods, such as oceans and the ozone layer.
politico.eu