Good morning from Brussels, At least six of the 18 MEPs in the EP delegation of France's far-right RN party have already signed or will sign on Thursday a resolution calling for the "abolition" of the Green Deal, Euractiv has learned. The resolution, tabled by their Belgian ID colleague Tom Vandendriessche, builds on the anger expressed by farmers in recent weeks over the Green Deal's supposed unrealistic targets at a time when the ID group is expected to become the third political force in the European Parliament after the June elections. Paul Messad from our office in Paris has the story. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | Photo by [European Union] |
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| In an exclusive interview with Euractiv’s Eleonora Vasques, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said she supports a centrist approach to combat crises and political extremism ahead of European elections, calling on citizens not to vote for extremism out of frustration. The European Parliament adopted its position on gene-edited plants as the clock is ticking to reach a certain number of deals before the end of the legislature, approving its amendments on the new rules for the highly controversial new genomic technologies (NGTs), Maria Simon Arboleas explains in her story. This comes against the backdrop of a still tense agricultural climate. No one in Brussels or Strasbourg has forgotten the farmers' demonstrations that brought the EU to the gates of the European Parliament last week, and certainly not Maros Šefčovič, the vice-president of the European Commission, who called on MEPs to overcome political polarisation to establish the strategic dialogue launched by Ursula von der Leyen on 25 January. Confirming Euractiv's revelations, Belgium has postponed a vote by EU ambassadors on new emission standards for trucks until Friday after Germany withdrew its previous support for the legislation, leaving the majority unclear, Jonathan Packroff reports. The European Parliament has also formally approved legislation that will force banks and other payment service providers to offer EU citizens and businesses the ability to make virtually instantaneous money transfers, Thomas Moller-Nielsen explains. |
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| BERLIN German climate activists enter EU-Elections: Last Generation aims to ‘shake up’ Parliament. The list of fringe parties in Germany aiming for a seat in the European Parliament is getting longer, as climate activists want to “really shake up” politics this time. Read more. |
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| LISBON EU threatens Portugal with sanctions over conservation failings. The EU Commission started legal proceedings against Portugal at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Wednesday in two individual cases for its alleged failure to comply with a ruling on the conservation of sites considered Special Areas of Conservation and threatened sanctions. Read more. /// MADRID Spanish PM pledges to strengthen farmers’ power in food chain. Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, pledged on Wednesday 7 February to strengthen the national Food Chain Law, and to streamline the processing of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aids, to avoid what the far-right Vox party has described as “the rebellion of the tractors”. Read more. |
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| WARSAW Polish opposition storms parliament to let in former MPs. Lawmakers from the Law and Justice Party (PiS) tried to storm the Polish parliament on Wednesday, forcing security to allow two expelled ex-lawmakers, Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, to enter. Read more. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | Photo by [Shutterstock/motioncenter] |
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| Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has published a statement clarifying the decision to enforce Article 11 of the constitution regarding a single official currency in the face of increasing criticism from the EU and the US after Serbia claimed it amounts to a ‘ban’ on the Serbian dinar, still used illegally in Kosovo’s Serb-majority north. Read more.
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SOFIA Bulgaria to launch investigation against Kremlin regime’s ‘aggression’. Bulgarian authorities are preparing amendments to the country’s criminal code to allow prosecution of the Kremlin regime for the war of aggression against Ukraine, Bulgarian Justice Minister Atanas Slavov told Euractiv Bulgaria. Read more. /// BUCHAREST EU Commission warns Romania over landfill waste management. Romania received a warning on Wednesday for failing to fully comply with the Landfill and Waste Framework Directives despite having already been fined by the European Court of Justice in December. Read more. /// ZAGREB Parliament elects Turudić as new chief prosecutor, opposition, and NGOs predict democratic erosion. Parliament elected Ivan Turudić as the new Attorney General on Wednesday, further deepening the divisions in the already deeply polarised Croatian political scene. Read more. /// BELGRADE EU must continue to promote dialogue between Serbia, Kosovo, says Chinese Ambassador. China has encouraged the EU to continue making positive efforts to promote dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and hopes it will play a constructive role as a mediator, Chinese Ambassador Li Ming said following a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Read more. |
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| EU: Informal meeting of competitiveness ministers expected to discuss public procurement reinforcement, strategic autonomy, industry & innovation, and more; Commission President Ursula von der Leyen together with Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez, on official visit in Nouakchott, meet with President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould El-Ghazaouani; Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica delivers keynote speech at “Reconnecting EU citizens with the Single Market and the specific role of SGEI” event, organised by the Belgian Presidency, in Liege, Belgium; Vice President Maroš Šefčovič participates in Network of Heads of EU Agencies meeting; Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis receives Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Andrii Pyshnyi; Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni in Washington D.C., United States: participates in closed-door roundtable discussion at Brookings Institution; Meets with Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell; Meets with Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen; Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli participates in trilogue on European Disability Card; Delivers online keynote speech at 9th International Day of Women & Girls in Science Assembly; Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra holds meetings with President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Nadia Calviño, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso; Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit participates in trilogue on platform work directive; Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Iliana Ivanova participates in Parliament’s plenary session debate on working conditions of teachers in the EU; Parliament’s plenary session votes on automated data exchange for police cooperation, EU priorities for the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, situation in Serbia following elections, russiagate: allegations of Russian interference in the democratic processes of the EU; |
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| *** [Edited by Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson] |
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| The Capitals is brought to you by Senior Network Editor, Sarantis Michalopoulos (@SarantisMich), Editor & Reporter, Alice Taylor (@Aliceinalbania) and Sofia Leeson (@sofia_leeson), Network Coordinator, Daniel Eck and Network Reporter Charles Szumski (@charles_szumski) |
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