BERLIN

European Parliament’s far-right wildcard Maximilian Krah takes a seat in Berlin. Two German MEPs campaigned for the German Bundestag. Of the two -Volt's Damian Boeselager and Maximilian Krah from the far-right Alternative for Germany- only one has been elected and will take part in today’s inaugural session of the new German parliament. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Dutch health researchers advise eco sustainability trade-offs in pharma decisions. A consortium led by a researcher from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) has concluded that rather than ignoring or complaining about environmental sustainability trade-offs, these dynamics should be accepted as an inherent part of decision-making. Read more.

HELSINKI

New nuclear power projects in Nordic EU countries aren't economically viable for now due to low prices and volatility, Finland’s state-owned energy company Fortum said today on the release of a fresh nuclear power feasibility study. Read more.

ATHENS

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu's arrest and pre-trial detention have shaken diplomatic ties between Turkey and Greece, with Athens announcing that a planned meeting between the countries’ leaders will be postponed.

“Given these developments, it becomes difficult to organise the Greece-Turkey High-Level Council for Cooperation immediately,” Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said.

The high-level Council is a series of meetings to improve relations in soft politics, as progress on hot issues, such as territorial disagreements, is still poor.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos | Euractiv)

 

Greece Rule of Law call with Commission turns heated. During a recent video call between the European Commission and Greek media stakeholders held as part of data collection for the 2025 Rule of Law Report, the discussion grew highly heated.

The conversation between DG JUST personnel and journalist associations, trade unions, and independent media outlets covered a range of topics under the broader banner of media freedom, including strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), the physical safety of journalists, and access to information.

As soon as the discussion focused on the work of the Task Force for the Protection of Journalists -established by the Mitsotakis government in August 2022 in response to the country’s poor rankings in the RSF World Press Freedom Index, among others- the conversation turned sour, according to people present during the call.

Tick the box. Some Greek participants asserted that there has been no progress in the group’s work, no clear governance rules, and that it was created merely to ‘tick the box’ for the Commission’s report—an accusation that predictably elicited the ire of certain organisations aligned with the government.

Party politics aside, it remains the case that, more than two years since its inception, the task force has yet to adopt any recommendations with the full endorsement of all its members.

(Vas Panagiotopoulos | Euractiv)

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ROME

Italy to reopen repatriation hubs in Albania. To prevent Albania’s facilities from going unused, Italy plans to repurpose them as return hubs - an option that could become viable once Commissioner Magnus Brunner’s plan takes effect. Read more.

Polish government plans child benefit overhaul, limiting access for Ukrainians. The government is preparing a draft law, expected to be revealed before the general election, that would link child benefit payments to parents' employment and tax contributions in Poland. This development follows presidential candidate Rafał Trzaskowski's proposal on the matter. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech PM aide: holding 80% of land a major win for Ukraine. Tomáš Pojar, Czech Prime Minister’s sherpa and national security coordinator, says a realistic outcome of the war in Ukraine would be Kyiv controlling most – but not all – of its territory.

“Let’s wait to see whether Donald Trump manages to stop the war and whether Ukraine ends up governing 80% of its territory—which, by the way, would be a huge success. That’s certainly not how Vladimir Putin envisioned it three years ago,” Pojar said in an interview with Czech daily Deník N.

Strategic defeat for Russia. He suggested that such a scenario, while falling short of full victory, would still represent a strategic defeat for Russia and limit its ability to expand westward. Pojar argued that early hopes for Russia’s collapse and complete Ukrainian liberation were unrealistic and that the current situation should be viewed through a more pragmatic lens focused on stability and deterrence.

“I am deeply convinced that Putin wants to restore the Soviet Union. And to do that, he needs Ukraine. The Soviet Union without Ukraine is not the Soviet Union,” Pojar said

(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)

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BRATISLAVA

Slovakia to ask Commission for compensation following foot-and-mouth outbreak. Slovakia will prepare a detailed analysis of foot-and-mouth disease-related damages for the European Commission in order to request compensation, Slovak Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč said in Brussels on Monday.

Foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, and spreads rapidly within herds. According to the government, the disease likely reached Slovakia via airborne transmission from Hungary. The country had previously been free of foot-and-mouth disease for almost 50 years.

According to Takáč, the Commission has aid schemes and compensation funds for farmers in EU member states, which it applies in the event of climate crises or disease outbreaks. This was the case with African swine fever and avian influenza, and is also the case with foot-and-mouth disease.

Additional funding. Additional funding for this sector could come from the previous programming period's agricultural and rural development programmes, which are nearing completion.

The Commission will only pay compensation after a final assessment of the damage caused to farmers and the national economy.

Takáč told Slovak News Agency TASR that the Agriculture Ministry currently estimates losses at around €10 million - mainly due to culled animals and lost milk production. Total losses are expected to reach tens of millions of euros.

(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)

SOFIA

Bulgaria loses €600m in EU grants amid delays. The Bulgarian government has announced that it will forgo €600 million in EU grants for projects under the Recovery Plan, admitting that it cannot make up for the delay and complete them by 2026. Read more.

• EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets with European Council President António Costa and Republic of Serbia President Aleksandar Vučić; Hosts Committee members of Member States Permanent Representatives (COREPER) for working lunch;
• Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera receives President of Eurometaux Evangelos Mytilineos;
• Vice President Henna Virkkunen delivers speech at “Enabling Europe’s AI Ambitions” event; Gives speech at “Democracy Matters - Facts Matter” fact-checking conference;
• Vice President Raffaele Fitto meets with EUROCITIES President and Mayor of Leipzig Burkhard Jung; Meets European Citizens Initiative “Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures” organisers.

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[Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara]