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In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Czechia’s Babiš facing criticism over his alleged alignment with pro-Russian forces, Italia Viva and Azione MPs aiming to reforge a centrist alliance, and so much more.

A week after the European Union launched membership talks with Moldova, the country's separatist region of Transnistria complained on Tuesday (2 July) that central authorities had ignored its proposals to settle their long-running dispute and imposed a "banking blockade".

EU candidate countries from the continent's South and East are meeting in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, 3 July, to reinforce efforts to integrate with the bloc’s energy markets to avoid potential tariffs on power exports to the EU.

The European Commission has issued a positive opinion on the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the project for units 3 and 4 of Romania's only nuclear power plant, the Romanian Energy Ministry announced on Tuesday.

The rapid collapse of the pro-Russian radical party Greatness will likely determine the successful formation of a regular Bulgarian government after the country headed to polls for its sixth parliamentary election in three years earlier last month.

The Commission has approved the fourth instalment of Slovakia's recovery plan in a preliminary decision, in which it also gave the green light to an outdated calculation of the spending limit and failed to use one of its options to pressure the Slovak government to uphold the rule of law.

Some elected Democrats loyal to President Joe Biden raised fresh questions on Tuesday (2 July) about his 2024 re-election bid, with one calling for him to step aside, a shift after many defended him in the wake of last week's shaky debate performance.

President Andrzej Duda took aim at Prime Minister Donald Tusk for saying Poland had given up on war reparations claims against Germany launched by the previous conservative PiS government during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Warsaw on Tuesday.

Former Czech prime minister and leader of the opposition ANO party, Andrej Babiš, has come under fire for recent political manoeuvres that critics say align him with pro-Russian interests.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the right-wing Partido Popular (EPP), criticised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez following the Supreme Court's decision not to apply the new amnesty law to former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont.

Two MEPs from Italia Viva and Azione have called on their respective parties to revive the old centrist Third Pole alliance, though well-informed sources told Euractiv that their efforts are futile.

An attacker who fired a crossbow at a police officer guarding the Israeli embassy in Belgrade was shot dead on Saturday (29 June) in what President Aleksandar Vučić called a terrorist attack against Serbia.

US prosecutors are meeting with Boeing and fatal-crash victims' relatives as a 7 July deadline looms for the Justice Department to decide whether to criminally charge the planemaker.

A moderate lawmaker will face Iran supreme leader's protege in a run-off presidential election on July 5 after the country's interior ministry said on Saturday (30 June) that no candidate secured enough votes in the first round of voting.

Tens of thousands of people took part in the big annual pride march in Paris on Saturday, with LGBT rights groups saying they fear discrimination if a far-right government takes power following the country's election.

The far-right AfD declared its ambition to rise to power in Germany as its party congress kicked off Saturday (29 June) with clashes between hooded demonstrators and police, just weeks after it scored record EU election results.

The European Commission on Saturday (29 June) signed €1 billion in macro-financial assistance with Egypt, part of a previously agreed funding package to help Cairo pursue substantial economic reforms.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday (28 June) denounced the use of a racist slur against him by an anti-immigration Reform UK party campaigner, as the general election campaign entered its final straight.

Joe Biden said on Friday (28 June) he intended to defeat Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would consider dropping out of the race after a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats.

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday (28 June) that Russia should resume production of intermediate and shorter range nuclear-capable missiles and then consider where to deploy them.