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In today’s news from The Capitals:
PARIS
The decision to ban Marine Le Pen from running for political office for five years for embezzling EU funds has sparked unprecedented attacks on the judiciary in France, exposing a wider trend across the EU. Read more.
WESTERN EUROPE
BERLIN
German far-right MEP stripped of immunity. German MEP Petr Bystron, a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), had his immunity revoked by the European Parliament earlier today. The Munich public prosecutor’s office had requested to investigate the German politician regarding the alleged use of symbols of unconstitutional organisations. Read more.
Germany’s interior minister credits border controls for lowest migration figures since COVID-19. Germany’s outgoing Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, has credited a significant drop in asylum applications over her term to the reinstatement of controls at all German borders. Read more.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ATHENS
Greek floods aggravated by ‘unsustainable construction’, says former MEP. As Greece is hit by yet another wave of flooding, the country’s rapid overbuilding and lack of prevention measures may be exacerbating the problem. Read more.
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LISBON
Portuguese foreign minister calls for more European integration. Portugal’s foreign minister, Paulo Rangel, said on Tuesday that Europe must deepen its political integration and diversify its dependencies as a way of reacting to the changing world order and maintaining its strategic autonomy.
“The time has come for European political affirmation,” said Paulo Rangel, during his speech at the La Toja Forum, taking place today in Lisbon.
“It’s time for strategic autonomy and for what French President Emmanuel Macron controversially calls European sovereignty,” he said.
Considering that the Covid-19 crisis has revealed Europe’s health vulnerabilities and that the invasion of Ukraine has shown its energy and security vulnerabilities, Rangel said that the European Union needs “a big survival kit: in health, security, the economy and defence.”
Ukraine defence an objective. The defence of Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be an objective for Europe, said Paulo Rangel, adding that there was a need to create “a new regulatory framework for the relationship between Europe and the Russian Federation”.
“Yes, the Europeans, the Iberians must say “yes” to peace and a ceasefire [in the war in Ukraine], but on a sustainable basis,” he emphasised.
At the same time, the head of Portuguese diplomacy acknowledged that diversifying Europe’s dependencies, particularly in the economic field, is essential and that the first step towards this is to “deepen the relationship with Mercosur”, but also with Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Arab countries.
(Patrícia Cunha – edited by Pedro Sousa Carvalho | Lusa.pt)
EASTERN EUROPE
PRAGUE
Czech MEP on automotive industry’s payroll to lead work on key EU climate file. Czech MEP Filip Turek (Motorists, Patriots) has managed to get appointed as rapporteur for the opinion of the European Parliament’s Industry Committee on the proposed simplification of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) – despite declaring €10,000 a month in income as a freelance consultant in the automotive sector, Czech daily Deník Referendum and investigative platform Desmog reported.
The CBAM simplification, proposed by the European Commission, aims to streamline the system that imposes a carbon price on imports from outside the EU. The mechanism is designed to prevent carbon leakage and protect EU industries – including carmakers, who could be significantly affected by the changes. Turek’s dual role has therefore triggered criticism.
Transparency International and Corporate Europe Observatory have raised concerns about conflicts of interest, pointing to Turek’s advisory work, regular meetings with car industry lobbyists – and now his influence over legislation that could significantly affect the sector. Turek didn’t reply to Deník Referendum’s requests for comment.
The €10,000 monthly income from freelance car industry consultancy places Turek among the top earners in the European Parliament when it comes to side income.
(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
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WARSAW
Pardoned MEPs stripped of immunity, face prosecution. In a move that heightens political tensions in Poland, the European Parliament has stripped two PiS (ECR) MEPs, Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, of their legal immunity. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
Coast of Bulgaria’s largest Black Sea city deliberately polluted with oil. The beach of Varna, Bulgaria’s largest city on the Black Sea coast, has been deliberately polluted with fuel oil by a spill, local authorities allege.
“The pollution is deliberate. The offender must be found and heavily fined because it is tarnishing Varna’s image even before the start of the summer tourist season,” said Ercan Sebaytin, director of the environmental protection inspectorate.
State of emergency: Local authorities have declared a state of emergency to mobilise additional resources to deal with the oil spill. Police are investigating nine foreign ships that were waiting in the Gulf of Varna to be allowed to enter the city’s busy port as potential polluters.
Satellite images show that the fuel oil spill most likely extends about 16 kilometers from the coast. During a storm in December 2024, the Russian tanker Volgoneft-212 broke in half and sank, and another tanker ran aground. Oil spills quickly spread along the Ukrainian and Russian coasts, raising concerns among Bulgarian authorities that the ecological disaster could spread south.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
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CHIȘINĂU
Moldovan President condemns Russia’s interference in Moldova’s justice system. The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, has denounced Russia’s interference in Moldovan justice, calling it unacceptable and accusing Moscow of hostile actions through its embassy in Chișinău. Her remarks came after the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) revealed that convicted MP Alexandr Nesterovschi had been transported to the Transnistrian region with the assistance of the Russian Embassy.
“This is not the first time we have faced such actions. There are numerous instances where the Russian Federation, often through its embassy, has taken unfriendly measures against Moldova. In this case, Russia’s interference in our justice system is unacceptable. Imagine if Moldova were to intervene in the judicial affairs of the Russian Federation,” Maia Sandu said on Radio Moldova.
Authorities in Chișinău are demanding that the separatist administration in Transnistria return Nesterovschi so he can serve his court-ordered sentence. “It will not be easy. The Tiraspol regime still maintains strong ties with Russia and will likely try to avoid extraditing him,” President Sandu added.
(Cătălina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)
AGENDA:
EU: Informal meeting of defence ministers expected to focus on rearming of Europe and EU role in bringing just peace to war in Ukraine;
Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera meets with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, in Washington DC, United States; Meets with Mexico’s National Competition Authority COFECE Andrea Marván Saltiel; Participates in fireside chat at Little Tech Competition Summit;
Fisheries and Oceans Commissioner Costas Kadis participates in Parliament’s plenary session on European Ocean Pact;
Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius participates in EU Security Forum on White Paper on Future of European Defence, in Warsaw, Poland;
Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib meets with International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope;
Startups, Research and Innovation Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva hosts European Research Council (ERC) President Maria Leptin;
Parliament’s plenary debates on European Steel and Metals Action Plan, energy-intensive industries, Progress in the UN-led efforts for the resumption of negotiations towards a solution to the Cyprus problem, and more.
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[Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara]