Good morning from Warsaw,

VIENNA | ZAGREB |  LJUBLJANA

Austria, Croatia and Slovenia are pushing to open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina this year, arguing that the move would be of geopolitical importance to stabilise the region, the foreign ministers of the three states wrote in an op-ed that was published by multiple Balkan media and seen by Euractiv. Read more.

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BERLIN

German Greens snub Italy, insist on state funding for migrant rescue missions. Germany did the right thing by funding private rescue operations for migrants in the Mediterranean. Ricarda Lang, leader of the ruling Greens, insisted on Monday, rejecting complaints from the opposition and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Read more.

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PARIS

France prepares for HPV vaccination campaign in schools. France launched a vaccination campaign against genital human papillomavirus (HPV) for all girls and boys in secondary schools, as the country has one of the lowest vaccine rates against HPV in Europe. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Most Belgians back the government’s tough stance on migration. The government’s decision to suspend the reception of single male asylum seekers in the centres run by the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) to give priority to families with children is backed by 56% of Belgians, according to a poll cited by Le Soir. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

High influx of Ukrainian refugees putting Dutch capacities under pressure. Utrecht Mayor Sharon Dijksma (PvdA/S&D) has sounded the alarm as the Netherlands struggles to cope with a growing influx of Ukrainian refugees, with the country’s main asylum centre for Ukrainians in Utrecht at twice its capacity. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

Swedish Police launches unique initiative against gang-related violence. Swedish police have launched a unique national initiative to deal with the rise in violence, focusing on gang-related shootings and explosions after two new blasts rocked Stockholm on Monday. Read more. 

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VILNIUS

Taiwan encourages companies to invest in Lithuania to deepen bilateral cooperation. Lithuania has solid research capabilities and innovation while Taiwan has commercialisation capabilities and experiences in developing international markets, a Taiwanese official told Euractiv, adding that they would be glad to provide various kinds of facilitation to deepen this cooperation. Read more.

ROME

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has taken aim at Italian judges for refusing to order the detention of some refugees who should have been repatriated in accordance with the government’s most recent measures, accusing them of politicising the issue and going against Italy’s efforts to regulate migration flows. Read more.

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MADRID

Sánchez close to moment of truth in Catalan deal debacle. As Spain’s King Felipe VI began his second round of contacts with the country’s main political parties on Monday, acting Prime Minister and Socialist candidate Pedro Sánchez is nearing his own “moment of truth” as he must soon clarify how far he is willing to go to return to government. Read more.

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LISBON

UN rapporteur: Climate activists in Europe under increasing pressure. Climate activists are under increasing pressure in Europe, Michel Forst, the UN special rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, told Lusa on Monday while expressing his surprise at the violence with which some governments treat them. Read more.

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VALLETTA

€440 million ‘seamless’ AirMalta transition aimed at profitability. A new national airline set to replace AirMalta by next March – which will cost the government an estimated €440 million – was announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela and Finance Minister Clyde Caruana on Monday, with plans for the new airline to retain the same name hinging on the result of a tendering process. Read more.

PRAGUE

Czech FM calls to start Ukraine’s EU accession talks in autumn. EU accession negotiations with Ukraine should be opened in autumn 2023 or early next year, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv on Monday. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovak President tasks Fico with forming new government. Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová has given election winner and Smer leader Robert Fico 14 days to form a new government, while he says he will do “everything possible” to make it happen, with the second-placed Progressive Slovakia saying the same about thwarting his efforts. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgaria became the latest EU country on Tuesday to ban the entry Russian-registered cars, joining Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

NATO deputy secretary leads Romanian election race. In a close race ahead of next year’s presidential elections, independent candidate Mircea Geoană, the deputy secretary general of NATO, is leading the race for the presidential elections with 25.3%. Read more.

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PRISTINA | BELGRADE

Kosovo invasion ‘only on Vucic’s orders’ while Pristina maintains Belgrade’s annexe plan. Serbia’s Minister of Defence Milos Vucevic said they will only invade Kosovo on President Aleksander Vucic’s orders, while Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has reinforced Pristina’s view that Serbia was planning to annexe the north of Kosovo on the terrorist attack on 24 September. Read more.

• EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen chairs College of Commissioners meeting; Holds meetings with co-chairs of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament Terry Reintke and Philippe Lamberts, co-chairs of The Left in the European Parliament Manon Aubry and Martin Schirdewan;
• Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica meets with Foreign Affairs Minister of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili, followed by meetings with more Commissioners;
• Vice President Margaritis Schinas delivers remarks at Cybertech Europe 2023;
• International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen visits visits Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
• Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides participates in Parliament plenary debate on medicine shortages and strategic healthcare autonomy;
• Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli participates in trilogue on violence against women;
• European Parliament plenary session votes on European Media Freedom Act;
• Parliament President Roberta Metsola participates in press conference on “”Revision of the EU’s long-term budget MFF: outcome of the vote on Parliament’s interim report”; Meets with Minister for European Affairs of Italy, Raffaele Fitto;
• Armenia: French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna on official visit;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]