Euractiv.com

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has asked the European Union to refuse to recognise Russia's March presidential election, in a step that sharply escalates her campaign against Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine is seeking to expand its military "drone coalition" with allies, to include at least 20 new countries to help supply drones, cooperate on technology, and strengthen its military as the war with Russia enters its third year.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about the French right opposing von der Leyen’s re-run for EU Commission, the special EU fund for coal regions looking good but being costly, and so much more.

EU conditions for ensuring rule of law among member states before they can receive financial aid are not strong enough to completely rule out a backsliding in democracy, the 27-nation bloc's auditors said on Wednesday (21 February).

Liberal Action party (Renew Europe) leader Carlo Calenda slammed far-right Lega party leader Matteo Salvini on social media on Tuesday, demanding an account of the 2017 agreement with Putin’s United Russia party and evidence that the deal between both parties has been cancelled.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić will continue to refrain from imposing sanctions on Russia despite pressure from the West, he told the TASS agency, adding that when it comes to relations between Serbian and Russian citizens, a friend in need is a friend indeed.

Croatian President Zoran Milanović launched his strongest invective to date against conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday, calling him a “liar and a political faker who deceives Croatian citizens”.

The European Union summoned Russia's representative to the EU and called for an independent international investigation into the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the EU's diplomatic service said on Tuesday (20 February).

The Croatian Interior Ministry (MUP) is working on changes to the laws that should limit the import of labour into Croatia, a move that could result in a significantly larger import of labour ‘in the grey zone’ than now, independent labour market analyst Predrag Bejaković warned Euractiv.

AUR party leader George Simion is involved in “destabilising efforts in Moldova”, accused Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean, which resulted in Moldovan authorities extending the party leader’s ban from entering the country.

Creating a new European fund to support coal regions – the Just Transition Fund – may look like a positive step for disadvantaged areas, but its administration is complex, costly and threatens its effective use, warns a new Czech study based on interviews with officials.

Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar presented EU ministers with an action plan to restore the country’s rule of law, which EU Commissioner Věra Jourová described as a first step for the Commission to withdraw the Article 7 procedure against Warsaw.

Even though green investments have gained momentum in recent years, a gap of €406 billion remains to be filled annually in order to meet the EU’s 2030 climate goals, according to new research published on Wednesday (21 February).

Two years after the process was launched by European Commissioner for Regional Development Elisa Ferreira, and a year-long series of meetings and exchanges with academics and experts, the Group of High-Level Specialists on Future of Cohesion Policy has released their long-awaited report “Forging a sustainable future together: cohesion for a competitive and inclusive Europe”.

Several social-democratic and liberal politicians will eventually join the AUR party, party leader George Simion announced on Wednesday, adding that they have not officially joined the party yet due to the potential risk of losing their current political mandates.

Croatian farmers are holding off on protests until they know the outcome of next week’s EU farmers’ meeting, and are organising another round of negotiations with the government to see if it will meet their demands, according to the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture’s (HPK) press release on Wednesday.

The “need to find a strategic buyer” for the Lukoil Neftochim refinery in Burgas and possibilities of reducing dependence on Russian gas and oil in the Balkan region were discussed by a Bulgarian government delegation during its visit to the US, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

Germany said Wednesday (14 February) it would probably prolong the checks on its eastern border it launched last autumn to curb migration, and extend the controls to all borders when it hosts the Euro 2024 football tournament.

Despite new US sanctions against the Arctic LNG 2 project, Russian LNG exports to Europe have reached record levels. Russia continues to make money on LNG by avoiding sanctions through suspicious companies and corrupt links, writes Mykola Kolisnyk.

The European Commission has promised to speed up the approval of the reprogramming of Portugal’s National Strategic Plan for the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), said the Portuguese Farmers’ Confederation, which met with Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski on Wednesday, but noted that the ball is now in the government’s court.