New App tallies Russia’s bill for Ukraine’s ‘silent victim’

Good morning from Brussels,

Ukraine’s environment has been the “silent victim” of the Russian invasion, according to the country’s environment minister Ruslan Strilets, but thanks to app-wielding Ukrainian citizens, he can now put a price on the damage – more than €56 billion so far.

Speaking to Euractiv’s Donagh Cagney, Strilets said, “We have lost more than 14km³ of fresh water. Thousands of tons of demolition waste washed into the Black Sea […] A huge territory of our forest was flooded, and we understand that half of this forest will die.”

Read all the details here.

Meanwhile, as US President Joe Biden is preparing his first state visit to France on 8 June, EU trade ministers reaffirmed their support for free trade on Thursday despite signals from a top US trade official the previous day that Washington will not only rely on market mechanisms but also pursue state-driven policies.

Europe is facing a “generational shift” in its economic architecture that will cause inflation to be structurally higher than at any period since the early 1980s, two leading BNP Paribas economists told Euractiv, warning that high price pressures and high interest rates will be the new normal. Jonathan Packroff and Thomas Moller-Nielsen have more.

On the agricultural front, EU countries greenlighted a sharp increase in tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain on Thursday, aiming to halt imports of these products to member states.

Last but not least, take a look at an interview with Professor Jean-Yves Blay who analysed what is next in Europe’s fight against cancer.

An assassination attempt against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on 15 May has had a significant impact on the electorate, recent polls suggest, as his Smer party seems to have gained considerable ground ahead of the EU elections. Read more.

BERLIN

In the most heated moments of the first German EU election debate on Thursday (30 May), centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) chief Manfred Weber was at pains to reconcile his opposition to the EU’s combustion-engine ban with his support for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who did not take part. Read more.

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PARIS

France to host US President Joe Biden for first state visit in June. US President Joe Biden will make his first state visit to France next Saturday for a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy but also for talks with his host, Emmanuel Macron, on bilateral and global issues, including the war in Ukraine. Read more.

COPENHAGEN

Danish EU candidate accused of links with Moscow withdraws from the race. The Liberal candidate in the Danish European elections, Alexandra Sasha (Venstre/Renew Europe), announced on Thursday that she was withdrawing from the race after the press reported that she had links to Russia, allegations she has denied. Read more.

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TALLINN

Europe-Baltic states high-speed rail link moves one step closer. European Commission and Baltic countries’ representatives gathered in Tallinn on Wednesday to lay the foundation stone for the Ülemiste passenger terminal, a key part of the ‘Rail Baltica’ project that aims to connect Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania with the European network via high-speed rail. Read more.

ROME

New report questions Meloni’s narrative on fighting poverty. Nearly one in ten Italian youth live in poverty, with 60% believing a job will do little to lift them out of it, according to a new report that starkly contrasts with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s remarks that her party has reduced the risk of poverty. Read more.

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MADRID

Spanish parliament greenlights controversial amnesty law, many legal hurdles remain. A controversial amnesty law passed by the Spanish parliament on Thursday may have to overcome legal challenge at the EU Court of Justice, as well as before Spain’s Supreme Court and Constitutional Court, to which Partido Popular (EPP), the main opposition force, will appeal to try to stop it. Read more.

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LISBON

Portuguese regulator fines Euronews owner for failing to prevent money laundering. Portugal’s Securities Market Commission (CMV) has fined Alpac Capital, the owner of Euronews and Nascer do Sol newspapers, and two managers more than €100,000 for failing to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Read more.

BRATISLAVA | PRAGUE

Czech investment PPF group urged to defend media freedom in Slovakia. The Czech National Committee of the International Press Institute (CZ IPI) has expressed concerns about possible violations of the principles of free journalism at Slovakia’s television Markíza, which is owned by the Czech investment group PPF, as its editors threaten to go on strike. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czechia calls for more cash to fund ammunition for Ukraine. With only a small part of the pledged shells to be delivered to Ukraine next month under the Czech ammunition initiative, Prague stepped up calls on its European allies on Thursday (30 May) to fulfill their commitments and help shop ammunition abroad for Kyiv. Read more.

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WARSAW

Poland restricts conscience clause on abortion. An amended Polish resolution on the use of conscience clauses on abortion has come into force, requiring hospitals to have a doctor on site able to perform an abortion in certain circumstances – a significant change in a country with one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Hungary state TV hosts first election debate in nearly 20 years. Hungary’s public broadcaster – long accused of being a mouthpiece for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party – on Thursday (30 May) hosted its first election debate in nearly 20 years. Read more.

SOFIA

Attempt to reverse Bulgarian position on Srebrenica massacre causes pre-election scandal. The vote on the UN resolution on the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995 has led to unexpected pre-election tensions in Bulgaria, with the GERB party of former prime minister Boyko Borisov (EPP) accused of adopting a pro-Russian position in the final days of the pre-election campaign. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenia’s government recognises Palestinian state, needs parliamentary approval. The Slovenian government on Thursday (30 May) approved a decision to recognise an independent Palestinian state, Prime Minister Robert Golob said, following in the steps of Spain, Ireland and Norway. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Liene Lūsīte, Alice Taylor]