⊂ EUROPE ⊃

Suspect in murder of journalist Khashoggi arrested in Paris: A Saudi man suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been arrested in France, police say. Khaled Aedh Alotaibi was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on Tuesday, a police source told the BBC. Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the government in Riyadh, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
bbc.com

Biden warns Putin against Ukraine invasion: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States and European allies would join together to impose “strong” economic penalties and other punitive actions on Russia should it mount an invasion of Ukraine. Biden also “reiterated his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy,” the White House said. The Kremlin also issued a statement after the call, saying that Putin had „complained about NATO’s dangerous attempts to develop Ukraine“ for its own goals. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen threatened Moscow with further sanctions.
politico.com, dw.com, spiegel.de

Nord Stream 2: US officials have told members of Congress they have an understanding with Germany about shutting down the natural gas pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine, a senior congressional aide told Reuters on Tuesday.
reuters.com

Belarus bans Western imports: Belarus on Monday announced retaliatory restrictions on airlines from the EU and the UK, as well as a ban on imports of Western goods from countries that have introduced sanctions against the former Soviet nation.
apnews.com

• Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau advocates ‚most severe‘ sanctions against Belarus dw.com
• Polish government estimate 7,000 migrants remain in Belarus dpa-international.com
• Lithuania extends state of emergency at Belarus border reuters.com

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EU agreement on updated rules for VAT rates: EU finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to change EU rules so that they can cut the Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services linked to fighting climate change, health protection and making the EU more ready for the digital age. This will allow governments to apply lower VAT rates on products and services like internet access and live streaming of cultural and sports events, health protective equipment, as well as bicycles, green heating systems and solar panels installed in private homes and public buildings.
reuters.com, consilium.europa.eu

Olympics boycott: China condemns US diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics; Netherlands undecided on boycott reuters.com; reuters.com
European Central Bank (ECB) watching rising credit risk, soured loans reuters.com
Economy: GDP up by 2.2% and employment up by 0.9% in the euro area ec.europa.eu
After Ryanair lawsuit: EU court to decide on millions in aid for Condor t-online.de
LGBTQ+: Chile legalises same-sex marriage at fraught political moment nytimes.com

⊂ QUOTE OF THE DAY ⊃

„The incidence of infection affecting us all today stems from those that are unvaccinated.“
German Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz has defended restrictions on unvaccinated people as a necessary means of breaking the fourth Covid wave.
welt.de

⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃

Germany’s governing parties defend mandatory vaccinations: Germany’s parliament debated a proposed vaccine mandate for hospital and nursing home staff on Tuesday. SPD politician Sabine Dittmar said that it was „unbearable and inexplicable“ to see pictures of full soccer stadiums when at the same time Covid patients had to be transferred to other hospitals by helicopter.
faz.net, spiegel.de

• Poland to make Covid jabs mandatory for some workers euronews.com
• New York makes Covid vaccinations mandatory for private sector euronews.com
• WHO wades into vaccine mandates dispute, saying they should be an ‘absolute last resort’ cnbc.com

Covid protests get nasty: Not only in Germany, but also in the Netherlands and Austria, security services have warned of growing radicalisation among coronavirus-sceptics. Thomas Strobl, who heads the conference of Germany’s regional interior ministers, warned that mandatory jabs will only „further harden the attitudes of opponents“. While a wave of dissent against Covid curbs had been there since the beginning of the pandemic, the hardening of the discourse is palpable today.
france24.com

• Deaths of five people in Germany: Authorities now believe the father killed his wife, three children and himself because he feared social services would take his children away. He had been caught forging a COVID-19 vaccination certificate for his wife. dw.com
• Health workers try to storm minister office in Brussels euronews.com

Austria plans to lift lockdown, but not for the unvaccinated: The unvaccinated will stay in lockdown when Austria lifts its wider general lockdown on Sunday, Chancellor Karl Nehammer confirmed on Tuesday, a day after he took office.
reuters.com

• Sweden rolls out new Covid measures to curb rise in infections thelocal.se
• Norway again hardens Covid curbs to try to halt spread reuters.com
• Slovakia’s government closes schools and opens trade for vaccinated people zeit.de
• Swiss army on standby to help beleaguered hospitals swissinfo.ch
• Denmark sees society-wide infection with Omicron variant reuters.com
• Spain approves Covid vaccines for children, with drive set to begin on 15 December english.elpais.com

Vaccination programme: EU agencies endorse mix-and-match of COVID-19 vaccines. reuters.com

Belgium’s system for asylum-seekers unable to cope as winter closes in: Authorities in Belgium are struggling to cope with the number of asylum seekers, according to the country’s agency that deals with handling applicants. With winter getting closer and temperatures beginning to drop, the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (FEDASIL) says it is in a race against time to give shelter to the overwhelming number of people seeking refuge.
euronews.com

Germany: Incoming government signs three-party coalition deal dw.com
France: President Macron to attend Visegrad group meeting in Budapest on 13 December reuters.com
Spain pledges $809 million package to bolster tourism industry bloomberg.com
Serbia: Protest against Rio Tinto lithium mine theguardian.com
Bulgaria: Foreign minister candidate appears to have lied in his official CV about the position he had held as a European Parliament employee euractiv.com

⊂ POLITJOBS ⊃

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⊂ LAST BUT NOT LEAST ⊃

Finnish PM Sanna Marin under fire over nightclub trip: Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin has apologised for visiting a nightclub after coming into contact with COVID-19. Marin was criticised for her night out over the weekend after knowing another government minister had tested positive for the virus. Finland does not require fully vaccinated citizens to self-isolate if they come into contact with a positive test, but it does advise citizens to avoid social contact and book a test.
euronews.com, politico.eu