European Union

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about the Hungarian president travelling to Warsaw in a bid to reinforce relations, Slovenia being unhappy about the continuation of Austrian border controls, and so much more.

The EU will leave its military training mission in Mali suspended, but will not terminate it for the time being, the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Tuesday (May 17). “We decided to reaffirm our decision of suspending operational...

Allowing Kosovo to join the Council of Europe (CoE) is contrary to international law, the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and human rights, Serbian National Assembly Speaker Ivica Dačić said in a discussion with Tiny Kox, president of the parliamentary...

Eyeing Turkey’s pressure on the US to unlock a deal for the delivery of F-16 jet fighters, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the US Congress in a speech that Washington should mind the consequences of such decisions. Referring to...

Slovenia is dismayed over Austria’s decision to extend police control at its borders despite a recent EU Court of Justice ruling saying that Austria’s justification for introducing border controls has been unsatisfactory since 2017. “We very much regret this move,”...

Croatia currently meets only 21% of its energy needs and is moving towards increasing its own production capacities, Energy Minister Davor Filipović told state broadcaster HRT on Tuesday. Croatia has decided to start filling its only underground gas storage, Okoli in...

Romania’s economy posted a surprising 6.5% growth rate in the first quarter, but economists predict a significant slowdown for the rest of the year. Romania’s GDP grew 6.5% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the same period of...

Over half of Bulgarians believe Bulgaria cannot guarantee its national security and territorial integrity outside NATO, while one in four think it can, a national survey by the agency Market Links has found. Against this background, 36% of respondents said that...

The ACER report on wholesale electricity markets makes the case for the status quo despite evidence that these same markets have delivered massive and unnecessary electricity price rises for EU citizens, writes Mike Parr.

Katalin Novák, Hungary’s newly appointed president, on her first trip abroad to Poland on Tuesday, attempted to reinforce relations as the traditional alliance between Budapest and Warsaw weathers Russia-policy divisions. After the parliamentary elections on 3 April, re-elected Prime Minister...

The integration of Western Balkan countries into the EU is in the interest of the Czech Republic and Austria, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and his Austrian counterpart Karl Nehammer said in Prague on Tuesday. Fiala and Nehammer met in...

Amid growing pressure to reduce Germany’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, the government presented plans on Tuesday (17 May) to save more energy, reports Clean Energy Wire.

Polish opposition parties have rejected the idea of the opposition submitting a joint electoral list for the parliamentary elections in autumn 2023, which was made by the chairman of the centrist Civic Platform and European People’s Party leader Donald Tusk....

Portugal is preparing to send another 160 tonnes of material to Ukraine, including military equipment, Defence Minister Helena Carreiras said after the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels Tuesday. As she left what was her first meeting at EU level...

It has taken two years, two months and four days for the border at Tarajal – the only crossing point between the Spanish city of Ceuta in North Africa and Morocco – to officially reopen after it was closed due...

Italian energy giant Eni has started procedures to open accounts in euros and roubles with private Russian bank Gazprombank, the company announced on Tuesday. In April, Moscow said it would only continue gas exports in exchange for roubles in response...

Foreign Minister Ann Linde signed Sweden’s NATO application after her government decided to apply for membership following a parliamentary debate during which almost all parties appeared to be on board. In a historical moment, Linde signed her country’s application to...

A record number of Finns favour nuclear power, a fresh survey commissioned by Finnish Energy has found, citing fighting climate change as the main reason. According to the survey conducted in April and published on Monday (16 May), about 60% said...

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called on the UK government not to act unilaterally as it published a bill which would put in place a statute of limitations on certain crimes committed during the Troubles. Under the bill, which was...

Sweden and Finland can count on military protection from the Netherlands and other European countries during their NATO application process, Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren has said,  NL Times reported. Sweden and Finland have decided to formally apply for NATO membership, but both...