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In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Italy making vaccines mandatory for the over-50s, large Czech farms threatening the new government to not approve the planned changes for the national CAP strategic plan, and so much more.

The opposition and medical associations have mounted pressure on the Greek government to distribute free PCR tests for people, as Greeks seem to be the only EU citizens who still pay to get a molecular test.

A stalled hydropower plant project has received Chinese backing, signalling that work could soon be underway in an area of outstanding natural beauty popular with tourists. Three dams will be built on the Shala River in north Albania, a region...

After an action packed 2021 full the Common Agricultural Policy reform, there’s still some fun in store for the agrifood sector in 2022, from the adoption of the national strategic plans to the review of the sustainable use of pesticides directive.

Russia has accused Kosovo of being provocative and “aggravating interethnic relations” following the designation of a Russian UN diplomat as persona non grata. On 31 December, a Russian diplomat with the UNMIK was earmarked for expulsion and designated non grata...

The US will not hesitate to use sanctions to send a strong message to corrupt and destabilising actors in the region, Gabriel Escobar, the US special envoy for the Western Balkans told the Montenegro agency MINA. He assessed that the identity policy,...

The US has sanctioned Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik and his associated media channel Alternativna Televizija (ATV) for “corrupt activities and continued threats to the stability and territorial integrity of BiH”. This is the first designation issued under US President Joe Biden’s executive order...

The Western Balkans and Croatia are losing long-term potential for economic growth due to youth emigration, and the fact that employable people are leaving the region is not good for the EU either, the Vienna Institute of Demography of the...

Serbia’s defence capability largely depends on Russia, Kremlin foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. “The defence capability of Serbia, probably for the past 200 years, largely depends on how quickly Russia would react to external threats to this...

One of Slovenia’s most prominent medical experts has withdrawn from public life after falling victim to one of a spate of attacks on health professionals by opponents of vaccination and COVID-19 restrictions. Borut Štrukelj, a researcher and professor at the...

The US offer for Bradley armoured fighting vehicles has again entered political discourse with President Zoran Milanović saying it is strategically and politically significant for Croatia. He has also criticised the government for being slow in the decision-making process. “This...

The government has requested an opinion from the Advisory Council of the Prosecutor General (PGR) on whether COVID-19 isolation prevents people from exercising their right to vote, or whether it could be suspended. The question comes ahead of the parliamentary...

The Spanish association of agri-food cooperatives on Wednesday asked Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzón to resign over his “unacceptable” comments on megafarms in a recent interview with The Guardian, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. In a press release published on Wednesday,...

The new Bulgarian government has not yet discussed the deployment of NATO troops in the country, but such talks will undoubtedly take place, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has announced. In December, Defence Minister Stefan Yanev spoke out against the deployment...

Finland will organise its first-ever county elections in January, but public indifference and confusion about the process, as well as the pandemic, will likely result in a low turnout. Until now, the country’s more than 300 municipalities have been responsible...

Vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to present a negative COVID-19 test before arriving in Ireland under new rules agreed by the cabinet on Tuesday. The decision comes as part of a package of new travel guidelines expected to...

UK Border Force staff could go on strike over the government’s “morally reprehensible” plans to turn back dinghies carrying migrants crossing the Channel, a leading trade union warned on Wednesday. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), whose members include...

Multiple protests will be held across the country this week, a Dutch activist group called “Netherlands in Resistance” (Nederland in Verzet) announced as the country faces its third week of a hard lockdown. On Wednesday, protests were held in several...

On the frontline of climate change, farmers across Africa face huge challenges to their livelihoods. But EU supported projects show what can be achieved when we matchmake these farmers with innovations farmers from the private sector. Rhys Bucknall-Williams is the CGIAR...

Austria is witnessing a 77% surge in COVID-19 infections due to the spread of the Omicron variant between Tuesday and Wednesday. The number of infections – which reached almost 10,000 on Wednesday alone – has tripled compared to Monday. The...