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The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe through on-site coverage through EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
Editor’s opinion: The federal election reveals the “generation gap†in Europe. The first projections of the voices between different age groups identified a growing generation gap within the EU. German youth turned them back to mainstream conservatives and socialists. For voters over 60, however, the picture is very different. Continue reading.
The European news you should read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.
In today’s news from the capitals:
BERLIN
SPD secures victory, but coalition chaos threatens. For the first time in almost 20 years, the SPD secured the top spot in the elections. However, since a left alliance misses the majority, the party is confronted with severely limited coalition options and internal divisions. Continue reading.
Parties start electoral poker because the election in Germany is too soon. When Germany’s conservatives and their social democratic rivals competed against each other in the Bundestag election on Sunday, the leaders of both parties quickly claimed their right to form a coalition government. Read the whole story here.
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PARIS
The French opposition has resumed the debate on the exit of NATO after the AUKUS submarine series. Many opposition leaders on the left and right have recalled their position in favor of France’s withdrawal from the NATO alliance. This discourse stems from the dispute between the country and the United States following Australia’s announcement that it would end a submarine deal with France in favor of a US-American and British agreement. Continue reading.
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VIENNA
Communists win in Austria’s second largest city. According to current forecasts, the Communist Party managed to win the city council elections in Graz, Austria’s second largest city, with 29%. This puts them ahead of the incumbent Conservatives, who lost 12% and gained 25.7%. Continue reading.
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BERN
The Swiss say yes to same-sex marriage and no to higher capital gains taxes. The Swiss voted on Sunday with a clear majority of 64 percent to a law that gives same-sex couples the right to marry. Still, they were 65% opposed to a constitutional amendment aimed at increasing taxes on the capital income of the rich. These were the results of two separate national referendums held on Sunday. Continue reading.
Great Britain and Ireland
DUBLIN
Irish protest against British proposals to deal with the legacy of the riot. Protests this weekend were held across Ireland against the plans of the British Government’s Minister of Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis. Plans announced earlier this year would include a statute of limitations for prosecuting incidents related to civil unrest that occurred prior to April 1998, including probate investigations and civil suits. Continue reading.
NORDICA AND BALTIC
HELSINKI
Sweden, Denmark and Norway sign a defense cooperation agreement. Sweden, Denmark and Norway signed a defense cooperation agreement on Friday in response to growing tensions in the Baltic Sea and apparent Russian aggression. However, Finland’s absence from the agreement has raised some questions. Continue reading.
EUROPE’S SOUTH
SAN MARINO
San Marino holds referendum to legalize abortion. The people of the tiny inland voted in a referendum on Sunday on whether or not to allow abortions in a country that punishes going through the process or assisting someone with a prison sentence of six months to three years. Continue reading.
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LISBON
Former Commissioner Carlos Moedas wins the Lisbon City Council.
Local and regional elections were held in Portugal yesterday, September 26th. The results suggest a significant resurgence of the center-right PSD party in the country. Former Commissioner Carlos Moedas from the same party will head the Lisbon City Council. Moedas, who won 34.25% of the vote, “stole†the town hall of the Socialist Party, which has held office for the past 14 years. (Pol Afonso, EURACTIV.com)
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MADRID
Italian court releases former Catalan leader Puigdemont on bail. The Italian court in Sassari, Sardinia, released former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Friday after he was arrested on Thursday on a European arrest warrant. Read the full story.
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ATHENS
Greece at risk of poverty. In Greece, 21.8% of households said their income had decreased over the past 12 months, while 5.9% said it had increased and 72.3% said it had stayed the same over the past 12 months. Authority (ELSTAT). The main reason cited for the 14.5% increase or decrease in incomes was the COVID-19 pandemic, of which 2.9% reported an increase and 13% reported a decrease.
At the same time, the agency published two other reports, one on income inequality, the other on material deprivation and living conditions. According to these surveys, the income share of the richest 20% of the population is 5.2 times higher than that of the poorest 20%, and material deprivation affects not only the poor but also part of the non-poor population. (Kostas Argyros | EURACTIV.gr)
VISEGRAD
PRAGUE
The Czech Conservative opposition is on par with Prime Minister Babis’ party. The ruling party ANO (Renew) of the Czech Prime Minister Andrej BabiÅ¡loses its dominant position. Their popularity dropped to 24.5% before the October 8-9 elections. The conservative bloc SPOLU and the center-left coalition of the pirate party (Greens / EFA) and mayors and independents (EPP), on the other hand, are at 23 and 20%, respectively, as a Kantar poll published on Sunday by Czech television shows. Continue reading.
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WARSAW
Powerful NGOs attack Polish ECR MPs over gas lobby. Two powerful Brussels NGOs accused MEP Zdzisław Krasnodębski of the Law and Justice Party (PiS), currently part of the ECR faction in Parliament, of obscuring the list of lobbyists and supporting EU funding for fossil fuels. Continue reading.
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BUDAPEST
The Hungarian opposition begins to point the finger at problematic candidates. Cooperation in the rainbow opposition coalition is being tested during the first round of primaries when Prime Minister Gergely Karácsony’s Párbeszéd green party called on other parties to stop supporting their questionable candidates on Saturday after doing the same in the capital. Continue reading.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
BUCHAREST
Romanian Prime Minister wins party elections. Members of the National Liberal Party (PNL) elected Prime Minister Florin Citu as the new President of the Conservative Party. Continue reading.
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SOFIA
The MEP’s anti-corruption delegation in Bulgaria is not satisfied with the Prosecutor General. The delegation of the LIBE Observer Group on Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights, which oversees the rule of law in Bulgaria, met with Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev, Dutch MEP and Head of Delegation Sophia in ‘t. not satisfied Veld (Renew Europe) said on Friday. Continue reading.
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ZAGREB
Croatia target of dozens of government sponsored cyberattacks. According to a report by the National Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) for 2020-2021, Croatia has been the target of dozens of government-sponsored cyberattacks in recent years. Continue reading.
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PRISTINA | BELGRADE
The situation in the north of Kosovo is triggering international reactions. EU top diplomat Josep Borrell told both Serbia and Kosovo on Sunday that new provocations or unilateral and uncoordinated actions were “unacceptable” and said he was continuing to monitor developments in northern Kosovo closely. Meanwhile, US Deputy Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Gabriel Escobar said “Serbia and Kosovo should refrain from harmful rhetoric and discuss license plates in Brussels instead of militarizing the current situation at the border,” during The Russian Ambassador in Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko Stefanović accused the US and the EU of turning a blind eye to the situation in northern Kosovo. Continue reading.
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SARAJEVO
USA aggressively punishes corruption in BiH. The US will apply sanctions “very aggressively” over widespread corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), US State Department special envoy Gabriel Escobar told Voice of America. Continue reading.
AGENDA:
- EU: ECB President Lagarde speaks to the European Parliament’s Economic Committee via video link.
- Germany: Political parties evaluate the consequences of the federal election.
- France: WHO President Macron and Tedros attend the ceremony to establish the WHO Academy.
- Poland: Regional assembly votes for the abolition of the anti-LGBT declaration.
- Bulgaria: An initiative committee to nominate President Rumen Radev for a second term will be set up on Monday. The presidential elections will take place along with the early parliamentary elections on November 14th.
- Romania: European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will visit Bucharest as part of her next generation EU tour and meet President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Florin Citu and some members of the government.
- Croatia: President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Zoran Milanović adorns US General Jon A. Jensen, Director of the National Guard of the Army.
- Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama visits Pristina.
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor]
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