Grasp the pattern, read the trend

No. 3, March/2023

Brought to you by CPG

Supported by KAS

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the latest issue of Europe in Review, in which we bring you a comprehensive overview of the developments impacting the continent and provide detailed reporting that will help you cultivate a better understanding of an increasingly complicated geopolitical landscape.

In February, the war in Ukraine passed its one-year mark with no end to the fighting in sight. President Vladimir Putin remains defiant, blaming Western elites for the war he started. Washington and its European allies have given no indication that they are willing to curtail their support for Kyiv, with new weapons flowing into Ukraine in preparation for its spring offensive.    

In this issue, we report on US President Joe Biden’s unexpected visit to Kyiv, where he met with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. China has weighed in, proposing a nebulous peace plan that Beijing would broker between the warring parties. The US rebuked the effort, accusing China of planning to provide weapons to Moscow.

In other developments, Moldova’s president warned that Moscow was plotting to topple her country’s government. In Turkey, two earthquakes left thousands dead and injured and cities in ruins, with the political reverberations expected to impact an upcoming presidential election. Meanwhile, Europe has avoided major energy-supply disruptions this winter as cheaper fuel to produce power and warmer weather eased the strain on power stations and grids. 

As usual, we also bring you a thorough briefing on fresh developments in constitutional affairs, domestic politics, international relations, geopolitics, defence, collective security and human rights across Europe.

Kind wishes,

Glen Carey

Deputy Editor in Chief

Webpage: www.cpg-online.de, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPGTU

Main Sections

• Top Stories - Editors’ Pick

• Constitutional Law and Politics in Western Europe

• Constitutional Law and Politics in Eastern Europe

• Constitutional Law and Politics in Southeastern Europe

• Constitutional Law and Politics in Southern Europe 

• Constitutional Law and Politics in Central Europe

• Constitutional Law and Politics in Northern Europe

• International Relations/Geopolitics/EU Governance

Top Stories - Editors’ Pick

War in Europe: Biden visits Kyiv as Ukraine mourns one year of war

A year ago, military vehicles and soldiers poured into Ukraine en masse as Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the start of his so-called “Special Military Operation to de-nazify and demilitarise Ukraine.”

While it may not have come as a surprise, with Russia having stockpiled men and material at the Ukrainian border for months, the audacity of the invasion shocked the world. Daubed with the distinct – and to many sinister –  “Z”, “O”, and “V” symbols, the Russians attacked along several axes: sweeping towards Mykolaiv and Kherson in the south, into Kharkiv and the eastern Donbas region, and through Belarus towards Kyiv in the north and north-east.

However, within weeks, it was clear that Russia – and indeed, many others – had badly miscalculated Ukraine’s ability to resist. Ukraine’s government did not flee, nor did its soldiers. Russian forces instead met fierce resistance, a far cry from what they encountered in Crimea in 2014. Their advance outside Kyiv was stopped at Bucha, Irpin, and Brovary, where they would lose hundreds of armoured vehicles. After Russian troops captured Kherson, their assault was parried outside Mykolaiv. Heavily-shelled Kharkiv became a fortress in the east and isolated Mariupol became a symbol of resistance in the south.

Europe in Review has reported on every major turn in the conflict as the war raged on throughout 2022 with an almost unbearable intensity.

Russia was forced to abandon its attack on Kyiv in April, focusing its attention instead on the Donbas. Mass graves and torture chambers were discovered in Bucha. Mariupol was razed almost to the ground.

Ukraine counterattacked and drove Russian forces out of the Kharkiv region and the city of Kherson. Sleepy eastern Ukrainian settlements like Kramatorsk, Sievierodonetsk, Lyman, and Kupiansk would trend on social media worldwide. The Kerch Strait Bridge between Russia and Crimea was bombed and the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet was sunk.

Russia declared its intention to annex most of southern Ukraine, assaulted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and mobilised legions of men. According to some estimates, hundreds of thousands of invaders and defenders in total have now been killed, injured or gone missing, while millions have been forced to become refugees.

As the world remembered these moments while marking the unhappy first anniversary of the war, the fighting continued. Meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine has transformed Europe in ways that experts, journalists and ordinary citizens are still trying to grapple with.

Biden makes surprise appearance in Kyiv

The president of the United States visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, for the first time since the start of the war.

Joe Biden was scheduled to visit Poland and departed the US on February 19. The trip was kept tightly under wraps, with the few journalists informed of it beforehand sworn to secrecy. While there had been rumours that an important American VIP would be in Kyiv, few imagined it would be the US president himself. Biden arrived via an unremarkable commuter train, which departed the small Polish border town of Przemysl early on February 20.

Biden then appeared in public with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at St. Michael’s Monastery, having privately met with Zelensky at the Mariinsky Palace beforehand. At a joint press conference, Biden vowed to continue support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes” but said there would be “very difficult days and weeks and years ahead” for the country.

The Russian government was notified of the visit about ten hours beforehand, to avoid any dangerous surprises. While the visit lasted only five hours, the presence of Ukraine’s most important backer in Kyiv was hailed not just by the Ukrainians, but by their other Western allies too. After visiting Kyiv, Biden went to Warsaw on February 21, where Polish President Andrzej Duda thanked him in person and described the visit as “an incredible strategic and political gesture, an immensely important political signal”.

Biden brought more than moral support – his visit coincided with the announcement of additional US aid for Ukraine. This latest package, valued at USD 460 million, contains no new weapon systems and instead resupplies systems Ukraine already has from US stocks. [Irish Times] [POLITICO Europe] [Guardian] [Atlantic] [New York Times] [CNN] [TIME]

Zelensky also visited Ukrainian allies in person for only the second time since Russia’s invasion. In a series of stops in London, Paris and Brussels, the Ukrainian president continued to press for more support for the Ukrainian military – with a particular emphasis on fighter jets for the country’s increasingly stretched air force. Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the leaders of European Union institutions.

While the visits did not yield the fighter jets his air force is seeking, Zelensky’s trip saw additional pledges of Western support – but some were more concrete than others. The British pledged to give Kyiv “longer range capabilities”, which are considered by experts to be the missing link in Ukraine’s arsenal.

Macron also promised additional support, but made no specific commitments. Addressing the European Parliament, Zelensky re-stated his belief that EU membership was of paramount importance to Ukraine and that Russia was an “anti-European force”. However, despite Zelensky’s plea for urgency, accession to the EU is a slow process, something that the bloc has been keen to stress. [BBC News] [France24] [Le Monde] [Kyiv Independent] [Atlantic Council] [POLITICO Europe] [New York Times]

‘Shell hunger’ outside Bakhmut

At the frontline, fighting continued, though a long-expected major Russian offensive has yet to materialise.

At Bakhmut in the east, heavy clashes continue after more Russian forces joined the fray. In mid-January, Russian troops took the nearby town of Soledar and put pressure on Ukrainian supply lines. A mix of Russian paratroopers, Wagner Group mercenaries, and conscripts now make up a substantial attacking force but Ukrainian forces remain in the city.

In February, Russian forces continued to advance, capturing the villages of Krasna Hora, Berkhivka and Yahidne to the north, and threatening the town of Ivanivske to the east. These advances have left Ukrainian forces with only one secure road in and out of the city. If Ivanivske is lost, there will be no exit for the remaining defenders.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based defence think tank, assessed that Ukraine’s refusal to retreat from Bakhmut is “strategically sound” because it has degraded Russian forces that might have been used in future offensives. [Institute for the Study of War] [POLITICO Europe] [Euronews] [UnHerd] [Euractiv] [Guardian]

A major component of Russia’s forces at Bakhmut are “employees” of the Wagner Group, a private military company. Wagner contributed enormously to Russia’s recent gains in the area, being the first group to advance into Soledar in January. However, the mercenaries believe that their efforts are being punished – not rewarded – by Russia’s ministry of defence.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin hit the headlines as he openly feuded with Russia’s military. According to him, the Russian top brass has prevented Wagner from recruiting prisoners, refused to supply much-needed artillery rounds and taken the credit for the capture of Soledar.

The feud reached surreal heights when Prigozhin took to Telegram to post a picture of dozens of dead Wagner troops outside Bakhmut and blamed their deaths on “shell hunger”. Priogzhin later claimed the situation had been remedied, but observers believe this “shell hunger” may be a growing concern for all Russian units in Ukraine – despite Russia’s vast Soviet inheritance. [Guardian] [POLITICO Europe] [Times] [CNN] [Reuters] [Bloomberg]

Costly lesson for Russia?

While Russia has found success at Bakhmut, its efforts to take the town of Vuhledar have thus far resulted in high-profile failure – but there is every indication that the battle is far from over.

Europe in Review previously reported that Vuhledar, a town in the south of the contested Donetsk region, had become a new flashpoint on the frontline in January. Rather than continuing with probing or diversionary attacks, Russia attacked the town in force in early February. Russian troops, made up of mobilised conscripts and elite naval infantry, arrived with a large number of tanks and armoured vehicles, taking control of a small lakeside settlement to the south.

In the battle that followed, Ukrainian forces inflicted severe losses which, by February 11, had become obvious to all observers. Dozens of tanks and other vehicles were destroyed as Russian forces found themselves unable to press Ukrainian defenders back into the city itself.

Ukraine allegedly used the US-made Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) system to repel Russian armour, which attempted to advance on Vuhledar by road. The RAAM consists of artillery shells packed with landmines, which create minefields where they fall. One prominent Russian military commentator laid the blame at the Russian commander’s feet, saying the generals were “complete morons who don’t learn from their own mistakes”.

Despite Ukraine’s successful defence, Vuhledar itself now resembles Bakhmut. Most buildings have been rendered uninhabitable and the surrounding fields have been cratered due to Russian shelling.

The events at Vuhledar bode ominously for the Russian offensive many have been expecting. At Vuhledar, Russia failed once again to bypass dug-in Ukrainian defenders using a mechanised force. The Institute for the Study of War attributes this to the “lack of adequate vehicles, ammunition, and other materiel” required for such tactics. The Russian air force was once again completely absent.

If Russia cannot effectively deploy these capabilities, there is a risk that every battle it fights will become a repeat of Bakhmut – a costly, drawn-out grind that yields only a ruined settlement as a reward.

If Russian forces hope to take the Donbas, rather than just raze it to the ground, they will need to adapt. Otherwise, they may have to pin their hopes on out-lasting Ukraine rather than out-fighting it. [Euronews] [BBC News] [Business Insider] [POLITICO Europe] [New York Times] [Institute for the Study of War] [Guardian]

Ukraine dominates Munich Security Conference

The main obstacle for Russia in out-lasting Ukraine is Kyiv’s Western backers, many of whom gathered at the Munich Security Conference from February 17 to 19 to discuss the war.

Last year’s conference was also dominated by Ukraine. Then, Western nations threatened Russia with sanctions if it invaded but made no reference to any material assistance for Ukraine. Zelensky appeared in person at the conference, just days before the invasion of his country, to plead for assistance and for the end of a “policy of appeasement” towards Russia. The Russian delegation did not attend in 2022 and was not invited to this year’s conference, where the paradigm had shifted entirely.

This year, the question in Munich was not whether Ukraine should be supported with military hardware, but to what extent. From Western leaders, there was much talk of further and faster deliveries to Ukraine. US Vice President Kamala Harris accused Russia of committing crimes against humanity, while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg implored members of the alliance to invest more in their militaries amid warnings of dwindling artillery stockpiles.

China was in combative form at the conference, firing barbs at the United States over the shooting down of an alleged “spy balloon” earlier in February, but had no real input on Ukraine. China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, refused to be drawn into a position on the war.

Instead, China released a short and vague “peace plan” towards the end of the month and abstained in a vote to condemn Russia’s aggression, fuelling speculation that the country may be planning to supply Moscow with much-needed military equipment. Beijing has strongly denied such suggestions. (See separate story in this issue)

The conference reflected how radically the European security space had been shifted by the war but failed to draw support for Ukraine from the global south, which remained largely indifferent to the crisis. [Deutsche Welle] [NPR] [POLITICO Europe] [New York Times] [Reuters]

(wb/pk)

Putin accuses Western elite of trying to destroy Russia

President Vladimir Putin accused Western nations of trying to defeat Russia during his speech on February 21 that also blamed the West for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, criticised Western society and highlighted the country’s economic strength one year after the start of the war. [Speech]

“The Western elite make no secret of their goal, which is, I quote, “Russia’s strategic defeat,” Putin said. “What does this mean to us? This means they plan to finish us, once and for all.” [Speech]

Putin’s speech came as the world marked the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that has displaced millions of Ukrainians and caused a staggering number of casualties. Around 200,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded, according to Western estimates. Britain’s Ministry of Defense has estimated 40,000-60,000 Russian troops have died in the fighting. [NBC]

The war has also impacted global economic growth, which fell below the two-decade average of 3.8 percent based on the annual World Economic Outlook to 3.4 percent in 2022 and is expected to decline further to 2.9 percent in 2023. Global inflation, driven in part by the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to the war, spiked to 8.8 percent in 2022 but is projected to remain around 6.6 percent in 2023 – well above the pre-pandemic level of roughly 3.5 percent. [FoxNews][IMF]

Putin now faces an openly hostile West that has committed itself to supporting Kyiv.  US President Joe Biden visited the Ukrainian capital in February, a trip that coincided with the announcement of additional US aid for Ukraine. Moscow has lost its energy leverage over Europe and now finds itself dependent on oil trade with China and India to raise revenue.

Historic lands 

Despite this, Putin gave no indication that he was willing to seek concessions to end a war he said was started “to protect the people in our historical lands, to ensure the security of our country and to eliminate the threat coming from the neo-Nazi regime.” [Speech]

Putin underscored the level of distrust that he has for Western influence in Ukraine, blaming them for supporting the neo-Nazis he was attempting to defeat in the Donbas region of Ukraine. 

“As we can see now, the promises of Western leaders, their assurances that they were striving for peace in Donbass turned out to be a sham and outright lies,” he said. “They were simply marking time, engaged in political chicanery, turning a blind eye to the Kiev regime’s political assassinations and reprisals against undesirable people, their mistreatment of believers.” [Speech]

Putin pointed to Western deception that “has been tried and tested many times before.”

“They behaved just as shamelessly and duplicitously when destroying Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria,” he said. “They will never be able to wash off this shame. The concepts of honour, trust, and decency are not for them.”  [Speech]

Destruction of family

Putin also attacked Western leadership, saying that the elite are “all about the destruction of the family, of cultural and national identity, perversion and abuse of children, including paedophilia, all of which are declared normal in their life.” [Speech]

“Millions of people in the West realise that they are being led to a spiritual disaster,” he said. “Frankly, the elite appears to have gone crazy, and it looks like there is no cure for that. But like I said, these are their problems, while we must protect our children, which we will do. We will protect our children from degradation and degeneration.”

To do this, Putin in December signed into law a bill that expands a ban on so-called LGBTQ “propaganda” in Russia, making it illegal for anyone to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal.” The ban was rubber-stamped by Putin just days after a harsh new “foreign agents” law came into effect, as the Kremlin cracks down on free speech and human rights as its military operation in Ukraine falters. [CNN]

Putin has used the war to consolidate his control over society and has not tolerated dissent of any kind. Religious leaders, entertainers and journalists have been jailed or censored for their anti-war positions. Russia launched a news system to search banned content on the internet, as the country imposes tougher restrictions on the media. 

START Suspension

Putin also announced that he was suspending his country’s participation in the new START treaty, a nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States that limits the two countries’ nuclear arsenals and provides for mutual inspections of arms facilities. He cited Washington’s efforts “to refashion the international order to suit exclusively its own needs and selfish interests is unacceptable, as reasons for suspending the treaty.” [Euractiv][Speech]

“Now, they are using NATO to give us signals, which, in fact, is an ultimatum whereby Russia should, no questions asked, implement everything that it agreed to, including the New START Treaty, whereas they will do as they please,” he said.” I am compelled to announce today that Russia is suspending its membership in the New START Treaty. To reiterate, we are not withdrawing from the Treaty, but rather suspending our participation.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock immediately called on Putin to return to the treaty, saying that it was firmly in the “interest of all of us around the world.”  Russia’s Foreign Ministry called this suspension “irreversible.”

Baerbock added that, since the start of its invasion in Ukraine one year ago, Russia has been violating basic principles of international law and “undermines the arms control architecture we all depend on.”

In January, the US also accused Russia of violating the New START Treaty, saying Moscow was refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory. The treaty, which originally came into force in 2011, was extended for five more years until 2026.[Euractiv]

Putin warned that Russia was ready to resume nuclear weapons testing. "Of course, we will not do it first," Putin added. "But if the US conducts tests, we will do it as well." [MSN]

Economic Resilience

Putin also blamed the West for waging an economic war against Russia and pointed to the country’s economic resilience despite the sanctions. “Let me reiterate that the sanctions against Russia are merely a means, while the aim as declared by the Western leaders, to quote them, is to make us suffer,” he said. 

He pointed to a GDP decline of only 2.1 percent and an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent, which is below the pre-pandemic level, as examples of the country’s resilience. Some analysts had predicted that the economy would contract as much as 25 percent. [Speech]

Putin highlighted the Russian agricultural production as well. Russian farmers harvested more than 150 million tonnes of grain, including over 100 million tonnes of wheat and by the end of the agricultural season, which is  June 30, Russia will have grain exports of 55–60 million tonnes, he said.

“The Russian economy has embarked on a new growth cycle,” Putin said. “New, promising global markets, including the Asia-Pacific, are taking precedence, as is the domestic market, with its research, technology and workforce no longer geared toward exporting commodities but manufacturing goods with high added value. This will help Russia unleash its immense potential in all spheres and sectors.” [Speech]

(gc-ava)

ANALYSIS: The war one year on – where are we going?

The world marked the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine with plenty of questions but few answers. Many experts have theorised an “endgame” to the war, but few have plausibly articulated how that might be achieved. Meanwhile, there is little to indicate that either side is willing, or even able, to negotiate.

The war has pushed Russia into a corner, one from which it is unlikely to find a way out any time soon.

Domestically, President Vladimir Putin has used the war to consolidate his control over society, imposing draconian penalties on dissent of any kind. Militarised police units like the OMON gendarmerie now violently crack down on all anti-government protests, no matter how small. Questioning official narratives is treated as “discrediting” state-approved sources of information, and that is now a crime.

Though repression has made Russian society stable and, paradoxically, peaceful, there are challenges ahead. Nigel Gould-Davies, an International Institute for Strategic Studies senior fellow on Eurasia and Russia, says that unlike the Soviet Union, modern Russia’s “…capacity to mobilise and indoctrinate its citizens is weaker, and the resources it needs are greater”.

Meanwhile, Gould-Davies argues, the war has challenged the “bargain” Putin’s regime struck with Russian society and with elites. The “bargain” has seen oligarchs allowed to profit and regional authorities being left alone by the state in exchange for supporting Putin’s regime. There is no evidence that challenges to this arrangement will lead to an overthrow of the government, but they have caused stress that will compound the longer the war stretches on.

Internationally, Russia has put itself in a much worse position. In a speech announcing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Putin cited security concerns and ‘Nazism’ as the reason for military action. He framed Ukraine’s westward turn as a threat to Russia and pitched the war he was about to unleash as a mere “operation”.

If we take it that Russia’s goal was to dominate Ukraine, secure the Donbas, and drive away Kyiv’s would-be allies in the West, the war has been a disaster for the Kremlin. Before invading, Russia held a large degree of dominance over Ukraine’s international affairs, as neither NATO nor the EU were about to accept the country as a member state while it still had active territorial disputes.

Ukraine’s military remained utterly incapable of driving Russia out of the Donbas, let alone Crimea, equipped as they were with outdated Soviet hardware with a few local innovations, and a light smattering of Western systems. At the same time, Europe was dependent on Russia for energy and the country had been able to mitigate the effects of sanctions incurred after its 2014 takeover of Crimea. Russia enjoyed the sympathy of right-wing parties and movements in Europe and the US, and retained influence in Ukrainian politics. By invading, Russia has thrown this strategic stability away.

Russia in strategic quagmire

The Kremlin now faces an openly hostile collective West, which is steadily committing itself to a military build-up. Moscow has lost its energy leverage over Europe and now finds itself dependent on oil trade with China and India to raise revenue. Western sanctions, while hardly apocalyptic, have left holes in Russia’s economy that are impossible to fill at present.

Of the invasion, Steven Pifer, senior policy fellow at the Brookings Institute, said that “nothing has done more… to push Ukraine away from Russia and toward the West, or to promote Ukrainian hostility toward Russia and Russians”.

Worse still for Moscow, the Ukrainian army is now better equipped and more experienced than at any time in its history and poses an actual threat to Russia’s ambitions. Ukraine is also an official EU candidate state. While Russian society remains peaceful, and largely unaffected by the war, the Russian government now finds itself in a strategic quagmire, short of allies and options.

Nobody knows for sure how Russia can escape the problems it has created for itself. [Deutsche Welle] [Arena] [New Lines Institute] [Al Jazeera] [CNN] [Spectator] [Meduza] [POLITICO Europe] [Atlantic Council] [Wall Street Journal] [European Council on Foreign Relations] [Carnegie] [Prospect] [Telegraph] [Irish Times] [NBC News] [Brookings Institute] [International Institute for Strategic Studies] [Centre for European Policy Studies]

Unprecedented assertion of Ukraine’s nationhood

For Ukraine, the Russian invasion has been the worst disaster to befall the country since World War II.

Millions have fled the country and the death toll likely stretches into the hundreds of thousands. The damage inflicted by Russia will take an incredible economic effort to repair, which Ukraine’s shattered economy, with a GDP reduced by almost 40 percent, cannot hope to manage by itself.

The countryside is now littered with mines and unexploded ordnance, while millions have been internally displaced from Russian-occupied areas.

Russia is not, as it frequently claims, at war with the “collective West” – it is at war with Ukraine, it is killing Ukrainians, many of whom are Russian-speaking, and it is levelling Ukrainian cities, mostly in the Russian-speaking Donbas.

For Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Ukraine will remain “hard pressed” to hold Russia back, and it will struggle to rebuild while doing so.

Despite this pain, Ukraine has asserted its nationhood in a way it has been unable to do before. Russia’s seemingly eternal veto over its status is being openly repudiated. If Ukraine can hold back Russia, it stands to win the true independence it has sought since the fall of the Soviet Union.

However, preventing Western disengagement will be crucial to Ukraine’s future. While the country has proven it can repel Russian offensives and continue to defend its independence, the prospect of liberating Russian-held areas is now almost entirely dependent on the willingness of its Western backers to maintain support – an unhappy place to be, as the recent governments of Iraq and Afghanistan will attest.

Ukraine will nevertheless be looking to the West for reconstruction funds. Writing in Jacobin, Gregory Afinogenov, associate professor of Russian history at Georgetown University, raised two important questions: “Will NATO and the EU be as generous in peace as they are in war, and what will their generosity cost Ukrainians?”

Unfortunately, analysts can all agree on one thing: this war, and Ukraine’s suffering, will continue. A year ago, Ukrainians startled Europe with the fierceness of their resistance to Russian domination, just as they did previously, at Euromaidan in 2014 and during the Orange Revolution in 2004. As Russia remains devoted to its goal of dominating Ukraine’s destiny, Ukrainians will need to draw on deep reserves in order to persevere through another year of war.

They may just surprise the world again by doing so. [Jacobin] [Euractiv] [Euronews] [Associated Press] [Guardian] [Time] [Foreign Affairs] [NPR] [New York Times] [New Statesman] [Global Affairs] [The Atlantic] [Council on Foreign Relations] [The Hill] [POLITICO Europe] [European Council on Foreign Relations]

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Moldova’s president warns of Russian plot to topple government  

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of planning a coup to topple the country’s government in a speech made on February 13. 

His accusation came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr  Zelensky ’s statement on the discovery of a Russian intelligence plan “for the destruction of Moldova.” Earlier in the month, Russian President Vladimir Putin annulled a 2012 decree in which the Kremlin had guaranteed Moldova's sovereignty. [Reuters] [DW]

“The purpose of these actions is to overthrow the constitutional order, to change the legitimate power from Chisinau with an illegitimate one,” Sandu said at the Monday briefing, referencing the Moldovan capital. As a precaution, Moldova closed its airspace in order to investigate a “balloon-like object” in the sky following the accusations against Russia. [Washington Post] [Reuters]

The plan involved using "diversionists with military training, camouflaged in civilian clothes, who would undertake violent action, carry out attacks on buildings of state institutions or even take hostages," Sandu said. "Violent actions, masked as protests of the so-called opposition, would force a change of power in Chisinau," she added. [Euobserver]

Russian authorities denied all accusations of a coup plot against Moldova. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the claims “baseless and unsubstantiated.” Russian media has amplified its criticism of Moldovan leadership by accusing Kyiv of attempting to draw Chisinau into the war with Russia.[Reuters] [Washington Post]

Political uncertainty

Sandu spoke amid existing political uncertainty after the country's pro-EU government resigned last week over its handling of an economic crisis caused by Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine. The government collapsed on February 10, after the resignation of Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita. In a news conference she stated “time has come for me to announce my resignation.”   [Washington Times]

In her resignation speech Gavrilita also mentioned that no one in her government “would have to manage so many crises caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine.” Sandu thanked Gavrilita for her time in office and said “despite unprecedented challenges, the country was governed responsibly, with great care and dedicated work.” [Reuters][Euronews]

President Maia Sandu appointed Dorin Recean – former Interior Minister – to replace Gavrilita. Moldova’s parliament approved the newly formed government led by Recean.  The parliamentary opposition did not vote in favour of Recean. [Politico][Reuters][Bloomberg]

In his first speech, Recean stated that a policy plan titled “Prosperous, Secure, European Moldova” will be implemented to secure full European Union membership in the upcoming years. PM Recean also stated his priorities will be to increase efficiency in public administration, and to help the Moldovan economy by increasing investments and creating new jobs.  [Euronews] [Twitter]

NATO invitation

US President Joe Biden asked his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu to attend a meeting with representatives of the nine central and southeastern European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) in Warsaw on February 21, even though her country is not yet seeking membership.

During a speech, Biden addressed Sandu directly: "I am proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving Moldovan people," he said. "Give her a round of applause." [DW]

Sandu has asked Moldovans to remain vigilant and said that Moscow’s attempts to import violence into the country would fail. She also urged lawmakers to pass new laws that would give security forces additional power to prevent foreign subversion.

The coup plotters would also rely on "internal forces", including the so-called Sor organised crime group, Moldovan military veterans, former policemen, and "people known to have had connections with Plahotniuc," Sandu added. Vladimir Plahotniuc is a Moldovan oligarch who fled the country to evade corruption charges four years ago and reportedly lives in Turkey.

Russia has some 1,000 soldiers guarding a Cold War-era arms dump in Moldova's Transnistria region, which broke away from central authority in a civil war some 30 years ago."This [Sandu's] warning has to be taken seriously," an EU diplomat told EUobserver. [Euobserver]

(lc/gc)

Earthquake in southeastern Turkey kills thousands, devastates entire cities 

Two earthquakes struck southeast Turkey in February, leaving thousands dead and injured and cities and towns in complete ruins, with their reverberations expected to impact the upcoming presidential elections.  

At magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 struck Kahramanmaras, located in southeastern Turkey, on February 6, two earthquakes devastated more than ten Turkish cities – Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis and Malatya. The rescue operations, which were initially slow due to damaged roads and infrastructure, spanned more than ten Turkish provinces. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put the death toll at 42,310 and the number of injured at 195,962. The 7.7 earthquake is the deadliest on record. Over 6,000 buildings collapsed and workers from Turkey's Presidency of Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD) became casualties themselves during their rescue operations. [BBC]  [Afad] [CNN Turk] [Reuters]

Hatay province did not receive any help from the government in the first 48 hours after the quake. Initial search and rescue operations were conducted by civilians until AFAD sent rescue teams. The government failed to send sufficient aid to the disaster zone since the early hours of the earthquake. [BBC News] [Balkan Insight] 

Eventually, the government was able to mobilise more than 30,000 people, both professional and voluntary, including teams from other countries, to help in the rescue operations. Experts had warned that a massive earthquake was likely, but most did not expect it to be along the East Anatolian fault stretching across southeastern Turkey. 

Election impact

The devastation from the earthquakes is likely to play a role in presidential elections scheduled for May 2023, with opposition parties criticising the government’s response. Ankara was slow to send immediate and sufficient aid to the disaster zone. [BBC News][Balkan Insight]  

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has called for an independent commission to investigate the disaster and determine the cause of the government’s delayed response. CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu argued that after 20 years in power Erdogan's government has not "prepared the country for the earthquakes." [TheConversation]

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has accused the government of discrimination in the distribution of aid, alleging it favoured areas with a higher percentage of ruling party, Justice and Development Party (AKP), supporters, an issue that is likely to influence Kurdish voters, who make up about 18 percent of the population. [TheConversation]

Erdogan’s AKP could lose votes in quake zones where Kurdish votes hold the balance of power. Conversely, the disaster and the three-month state of emergency could also affect voter turnout and engagement working in AKP’s favour. [TheConversation]

As the level of devastation became more evident, public shock turned to resentment and dissatisfaction. Turks blamed the government for neglecting its responsibility regarding building regulations. [Guardian]

Calls for unity

Erdogan called for unity and solidarity, denouncing critics of the disaster response as dishonourable. He addressed the country through a pre-recorded tape on February 7. He informed the public of the immediate actions taken by the government to start search and rescue, and the EUR 5 billion allocated to AFAD. 

Erdogan declared a week-long national mourning period and a three-month state of emergency in the ten cities affected by the quake in accordance with the 119^th article of the Turkish constitution. Erdogan also thanked and expressed his gratitude towards all the countries and international organisations that offered help and sent condolence messages. [Anadolu Agency] [Turkish Constitution] 

In his speech, Erdogan called on Turkish citizens to donate to AFAD to help earthquake recovery. He emphasised that the occurrence of fake news is under surveillance and prosecutors are auditing social media and added “when the day comes, we will open the books that we keep on those in fault.”

Erdogan said “as a nation we overcame many obstacles, god willing we will overcome this disaster too.” [Anadolu Agency]

The government slowed down and blocked access to Twitter due to negative criticism the government was receiving on February 8. Main opposition leader, Kilicdaroglu, called on everyone to use VPN to access Twitter due to its importance in communicating with people. The government remained silent and Netblocks confirmed the act by the government on Twitter.  [Balkan Insight] [The Washington Post] [New York Post]

Condolences

World leaders expressed their condolences on social media platforms and offered their help after the disaster. The European Union activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism where 20 EU countries mobilised 1,500 rescuers and 100 search dogs to the areas affected in Turkey and Syria. 

The World Bank announced its pledge to provide Turkey with EUR 1.67 billion for reconstruction efforts on February 9.  [Twitter][Reuters] [Anadolu Agency]

The US Agency for International Development pledged EUR 80 million to the victims in Turkey and Syria. The US also sent a rescue team that consists of 159 rescue personnel, 12 dogs and equipment for disaster control. Rescue crews and donations have also been sent by India, Canada, Cuba, South Korea, Israel, China, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Taliban-led Afghanistan. [BBC] [Reuters] [Reuters] [Reuters]

Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expressed his condolences on Twitter with a Turkish tweet that said, “Greeks and Turks fighting side by side to save lives.” Greek newspaper Kathimerini published an image on their front page that read as “We are all Turks” to show their support.

Foreign Minister of Cyprus, Kornelios S. Korneliou stated that their rescue team offered to Turkey was rejected by Turkish officials by saying “Thank you but no.”  [Habertürk] [Sigmalive] [T24] [Habertürk]

The German International Search and Rescue and Germany’s Federal Agency for Technical Relief suspended their earthquake assistance due to the scarcity of water and food resources. International rescue workers were also concerned about the increasing tension between survivors and the rescue teams. 

The Austrian army announced that it would  briefly suspend their operations on February 11. The Austrian army continued their operations after the Turkish army increased the security in the area. [Reuters]

Turkey United as One

Erdogan held another press conference on February 15 to announce the nationwide fundraiser that will be broadcast in the major TV channels in Turkey. He assured the nation that “every penny” collected will be towards earthquake recovery and for the citizens affected. 

Turkey United as One campaign was held on February 15 where Turkish celebrities collected donations through phone calls. The largest donation came from the Central Bank of Turkey, which amounted to EUR 1.5 billion, and by the end of the campaign EUR 5.7 billion was collected. [Anadolu Agency] [AFAD]

Turkey declared on 18 February that search and rescue operations had ceased in all but two of the most severely affected provinces, Antakya and Kahramanmaras. 

The Council of Higher Education (YOK) announced in a press release that all education will continue online for the spring semester nationwide. Erdogan announced that universities will be “closed” and education will remain online until further notice. Government operated dormitories will be used for people who lost their houses as a temporary solution to the mass displacement problem... [Daily Sabah] [Al Jazeera] [The Wall Street Journal]

(at-lc/gc) 

China’s top diplomat tries to build ties with Europe, but refuses to condemn Russia’s war

A meeting between the Russian leader and China’s top diplomat has pointed to growing alignment between their countries, though the talks were held during a Chinese tour of Europe at a time of growing pressure on Beijing to condemn Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine.

Top diplomat Wang Yi visited European countries including France, Italy, Germany and Hungary on a tour widely seen as aimed at restoring ties with European nations. It came amid tensions between Beijing and Washington, which escalated over the shooting down of Chinese balloons over US territory. [AP] [CNN]

After Wang met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on February 22, the Russian leader announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping was planning a visit to Moscow. Referring to Chinese-Russian relations, Putin said: “We are reaching new frontiers.”

Chinese peace plan

Earlier, at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 18, Wang presented a Chinese plan for an initiative for global peace that would emphasise the importance of upholding the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the UN Charter.

At the same time, he reiterated China’s position that the international community needed to respect Russia's security interests. [AP News] [Munich Security Conference] [Politico 1] [Politico 2] [The Guardian] [Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China]

The Russian foreign ministry welcomed China taking a more active role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine and said it valued Beijing’s “balanced approach”. However, Lavrov said that China’s peace plan wasn’t discussed during his meeting with Wang. [Reuters]

The top Chinese diplomat’s trip to Moscow coincided with a surprise visit by US President Joe Biden to Kyiv to show support for Ukraine shortly ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Wang’s trip also came as the US said that China was considering delivering arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine, a claim which Beijing has strongly rejected. As Wang was in Europe, Putin announced he was suspending Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear weapons reduction pact with the US, undermining the last remaining treaty regulating the world’s two biggest nuclear arsenals. [CNN 2] [CNN 3]

Meeting with Macron 

The week before his visit to Moscow, Wang met French President Emmanuel Macron and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Paris. They discussed the Russian-Ukrainian war, security, climate-related issues and bilateral projects.

Both sides said they were determined to promote peace talks and contribute to a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, Wang refused to heed Europe’s call for Russia’s war to be condemned. At the same time, he said China’s position on the conflict in Ukraine was “objective and impartial.” [France Diplomacy] [Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1, China] [Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China 2]

On February 17, Wang met in Rome with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and President Sergio Mattarella for talks on the war in Ukraine and on the renewal of a memorandum of understanding signed by Rome and Beijing in 2019 on the One Belt One Road initiative.

Italy weighs position on Belt and Road project

Italy has been the only G7 country to join the Chinese global multi-billion infrastructure and development project. However, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called the memorandum “a big mistake” and, as soon as she came to power in September 2022, said she intended to withdraw Italy's endorsement by the end of 2023 – before its expiry date and automatic renewal in March 2024. Wang attempted to reassure the new Italian government of the strategic importance of the Belt and Road project.

Rome said that an official decision had not yet been taken, adding that a “soft phasing out” was possible. [Decode 39] [Il Foglio, in Italian] [La Repubblica, in Italian]

Building ties in Budapest

In Budapest, Wang met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. During talks on February 19 and 20, they discussed the war in Ukraine and reaffirmed their willingness to work together with “peace-loving nations” to find ways to end the conflict in Ukraine, according to Wang.

Shortly before he met Wang, Orban said that NATO was “vital” to his country, but also stressed that the Hungarian government would not join other European countries in delivering arms to Ukraine and would not sever economic ties with Russia. Meanwhile, Szijjarto reportedly said Hungary would continue to participate in the Belt and Road initiative.

Szijjarto also pledged to step up efforts to expand cooperation with China in areas including economy and trade, mutual investment and agriculture. [Reuters] [China.org.cn] [Global Times 2] [AiR, No.8 February/2023, 3]

(aml/pk)

Europe avoids winter energy-supply disruptions with milder weather, more coal use

Europe has avoided major energy-supply disruptions this winter as cheaper fuel to produce power and warmer weather eased the strain on power stations and grids, despite the abrupt curtailment of Russian gas shipments resulting from sanctions after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year. 

No major heat or power disruptions were reported in February despite the latest curtailment of Russian energy supplies.  A European Union-wide ban on Russian diesel and other refined products went into effect on February 5, following similar restrictions on seaborne EU crude oil intake, implemented on December 5. The latest ban was part of the  sixth package of Russian sanctions adopted by the EU on June 3.[EC] Euroweekly] [La Vanguardia][EC]  

Europe has benefitted from gasoline stockpiling by EU governments last year.

Bloomberg reported on February 13 that Sweden downgraded its risk of power cuts to “low” in a sign that the worst of the region’s supply crisis has passed. Power from Germany’s Emsland reactor before its final closure in April, along with a unit in Slovakia, has been beneficial, according to Swiss trader Axpo Solutions AG. [Bloomberg] 

This has had a positive impact on prices. European gasoline prices were down 80 percent from the peak of summer 2022 and are in line with global prices. European Natural gas prices declined to a 17-month low in mid February to about EUR 51 per megawatt hour (MWh), compared with over EUR 300 in August when Russia announced the closure of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Power prices have followed gas lower across Europe.[GPP][EC][Bloomberg] 

European energy producers are also turning to different suppliers and routes for their oil imports. 

Polish oil refiner PK Orlen said it would be able to fully replace suspended Russian oil shipments with seaborne imports through its northern  port of Gdansk. Russia suspended all oil exports to Europe through Poland via the Druzhba pipeline on February 25 following delivery of the first Polish Leopard tank to Ukraine. [Reuters] [Al Jazeera]  

Norway is increasingly filling the void, sending the equivalent of an additional 720,000 barrels per day to Europe from the giant offshore Johan Sverdrup oil field in the North Sea in February. That is almost double the output from the start of production in 2019. [Rigzone] [Reuters]  

Price ceiling 

The Group of Seven industrialised countries, the European Union and Australia in February set a ceiling for the price at which nations outside of the coalition may purchase seaborne Russian diesel and other refined petroleum products and still benefit from Western shipping and financial facilities.  

The price cap coalition, which is composed of Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, the UK and the US, seeks to deplete Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest amid Moscow’s ongoing hostilities in Ukraine.

Despite this, large shipments of Russian diesel have made their way to North Africa in recent weeks, where industry observers expect them to be blended with North African refined products and re-exported to Europe under North African labels of origin at higher prices. [CNBC]

“I would say that the main development of the past two weeks when it comes to Russian diesel has been happening not in Europe, but in North Africa,”  Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at Kpler, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”  [CNBC]

Katona said North African countries, who are not a part of the coalition, were expected to receive at least 6 million barrels of ultra-low sulphur diesel from Russia, estimating that this was roughly one-quarter of what the European Union used to purchase from Moscow. [CNBC]

IEA warning

While the end of Russian oil and gas exports to Europe has been largely compensated for over the past year, the growth in global oil demand is expected to push prices higher. Energy futures prices are rising, indicating that while traders believe that the risk to winter energy supplies in Europe is fading, future demand will be strong. Gasoline and diesel prices are expected to increase this year.  

The International Energy Association (IEA) said in February that global oil demand would rebound significantly with the post COVID-19 reopening of the Chinese economy. The IEA has warned that record demand may outstrip supply at a time when there has been a lag in oil and gas investments. [IEA] 

Oil majors are now adjusting their plans to expand exploration and production activity further than forecasted last year.  

Bernard Looney, CEO of UK oil giant BP told investors on February 9 that the company would slow its transition from oil and gas production to renewable energy, increasing near term oil and gas exploration and production to address rising global demand. [FT]  

(rw/gc)

Constitutional Law and Politics in Western Europe

Belgium: Excess tax on oil and gas will generate EUR 435 million in revenue  

Belgium’s excess take on oil and gas will generate almost EUR 435 million in government revenue this spring, Federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten said in the Parliament's Energy Committee.

The money will fund measures adopted by the government to help with public energy bills. 

"Every euro collected through the surplus profit tax goes back in full to our families and companies," Van der Straeten said. [BrusselsTimes]

Belgium's gas grid operator Fluxys transferred a EUR 300 million contribution in mid-January. 

At the start of February, companies trading in crude oil and petroleum products received the bill for the first half of 2022, amounting to more than EUR 134.5 million. The excess profit tax for electricity companies holds more difficulties and the government does not expect the first payments until autumn.  [BrusselsTimes]

[gt/gc]

Belgium: Government plans to spend EUR 1.8b on train stations by 2032

The Belgium government will spend EUR 1.8 billion to renovate train stations by 2032, the Gazet van Antwerpen newspaper reported. The work will include reshaping transportation hubs, improving accessibility, expanding bicycle parking facilities and improving the environment of run-down stations. [BrusselTimes]

Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet said that of the funds allocated for the renovations, 40 percent will improve mobility at the stations, while 60 percent will improve the functionality of the station.  [BrusselTimes]

“Making stations and their surroundings accessible to people with reduced mobility or disabilities benefits all travellers,” Gilkinet said. “People travelling with children or luggage also benefit from easily accessible stations and trains.”  [BrusselTimes]

Among the main goals, the Belgian ministry wants to create the concept of a “station” – a “living space that connects the surrounding neighbourhoods and is frequented by both travellers and local residents.”  [BrusselTimes]

[gt/gc]

Belgium: King Phillipe meets with Zelensky, Ukrainian military receives training in Brussels

King Philippe I of Belgium met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr  Zelensky in Brussels on February 9. [Ukrinform]

Prime Minister Alexander de Croo attended the meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart. Zelensky thanked the Belgian leaders for their continued military support and their welcoming of Ukrainian refugees displaced by Russia’s invasion. 

 Zelensky  gifted the King with a fragment of a Russian aircraft shot down in Ukraine, with the words “together we win” written across it. [Ukrinform]

A day later, Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder welcomed Ukrainian soldiers into the country. The training operation was part of a European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM) initiative. The soldiers received training regarding underwater systems provided by Belgium to Ukraine, also part of EUMAM. [Twitter] 

(sw/gc)

Belgium: Nuclear power plant closures delayed

Three nuclear power plants, operated by Engie, that were intended to be shut down in 2025 are due to extend operations by at least one year, upon the request of Prime Minister Alexander de Croo on February 3. 

This came one week after the government’s announcement that it intended to extend the lifespan of two other nuclear reactors near the cities of Antwerp and Liege by ten years. 

This is part of a broader strategy outlined in 2022 to delay Belgium’s planned 2025 exit from nuclear power. [Barrons] 

That same year, Belgium was the principal energy producer in the region.[L’Echo]

(sw/gc)

Belgium: Foiled terrorist attack at the Miss Belgium ceremony

An armed man was arrested outside of La Panne theatre in Brussels on February 11, the evening of the Miss Belgium 2023 closing ceremony. 

The arrest took place after police received an anonymous tip. The suspect was found with several weapons, a bullet proof vest, and enough ammunition to shoot at least 90 times. At the time, he was accompanied by an unknown Dutch woman. It is still unclear what her involvement was. [FranceInfo] [7sur7]

The next day, the 46-year-old suspect was charged with a terrorist assisination attempt, with authorities stating that this was most likely a foiled terrorist attack. [20minutes]

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France: Prime Minister makes concessions on retirement reforms

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has tried to win over support from conservatives in parliament for the government’s retirement reform plan by allowing people who started work at an early age to retire earlier. 

President Emmanuel Macron's government wants to raise the retirement age by two years to 64, and also extend the period workers have to pay in a reform it says is necessary to keep the system out of the red in coming years. Since his party lost its majority last year, the government needs votes from the conservative Les Republicains to pass the unpopular reform in parliament.  [France 24][Le Monde]

While workers who started to work before age 20 would be allowed to continue to leave the workforce early under the reform, Borne said she was open to suggestions from conservatives which would benefit more workers. 

"We are going to move by extending the measure for long careers to those who started working at 20 and 21. They will be able to retire at 63," Borne said in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche  newspaper. [France 24]

Borne announced that the compromise for those with an “early career” would affect up to 30,000 people and cost up to EUR 1 billion per year. To get the reform through the government, the majority of the national assembly needs to agree. More than 20,000 amendments need to be examined in ten days. [Le Monde] [France TV Info]

The retirement reform led to protests on January 19 and 31, and February 7 and 11. Unions also plan to strike on March 7. [France TV Info] [France Bleu]

Flights, trains, and local transport were disrupted during the strikes. They also disrupted schools, universities, and parts of the energy sector. On February 7, the interior ministry reported that 757,000 people protested, somewhat less than the two million the organisers estimated. On the fourth day of strikes, the Interior Ministry counted 963,000 participants, whereas the unions counted more than 2.5 million.  [Le Monde] [le Parisien] [Le Parisien]

(gm/gc)

France: National Assembly votes against one-euro meals for students

France’s  National Assembly voted against draft legislation introducing one-euro meals  for all students in French university cafeterias. The proposed law received 183 votes in favour and 184 votes against, most of which came from the liberal ruling party Renaissance. [Le Monde]

The draft was put forward by the Socialist Party and supported by the left-wing alliance NUPES and a portion of the far-right party National Rally. Renaissance deputies fought the proposition which they judged “unfair” as it would have inequitably profited students from affluent backgrounds. [France 3]

One-euro meals are already available for scholarship students in all university restaurants. They had been extended to all students in January 2021 during the Covid-19 lockdown. [Ministry of Higher Education and Research]

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France: Government starts discussions about planned housing decentralisation process

The French government started on February 14 considering how to implement a policy to decentralise the management of housing to local authorities. [Le Monde]

The law will give more authority to local collectivities in France. It gives local collectivities more power around issues such as transportation, housing, integration, and environment  transition. The law was passed in February 2022.  [Vie-publique] [Vie-publique][Vie-publique]

(gm/gc)

France: Senate considers health proposal despite strikes by doctors

The French Senate evaluated on February 14 a new law that aims to improve access to healthcare by allowing patients to visit paramedical staff, such as physiotherapists or speech therapists, without consulting a doctor first. Liberal healthcare unions called for strikes against the law. The law proposition was already voted for in a first reading by the National Assembly on January 19. [Public Senat] [Le Monde] [Public Senat]

(gc/gm)

France: Unemployment rate falls to lowest level since 2008

France's unemployment rate stood at 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter, its lowest rate since the first three months of 2008, according to official statistics. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast an unemployment rate of 7.3 percent for the fourth quarter, while the unemployment rate had stood at 7.3 percent for the third quarter. ( [Le Monde]

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Germany: Economy ministry reviews Russian oligarch’s investment in regional airport

The German economy ministry is reviewing the sale of regional airport Frankfurt-Hahn in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate to a Russian investor, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on February 6. [Reuters] [EURACTIV] [ZDF]

According to media reports, the possible investor is Russian billionaire Viktor Kharitonin, owner of the Nurburgring race track in Rhineland-Palatinate. The US Treasury Department listed Kharitonin as an oligarch close to the Kremlin. Kharitonin is not sanctioned due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [EURACTIV]

The investor and airport both decided to submit the contract to the economy ministry, according to the airport’s insolvency administrator. The economy ministry has the authority to stop investments of non-European Union (EU) parties in critical infrastructure. [Reuters] [EURACTIV]

Finance Minister of federal state Hesse, Michael Boddenberg, said no one should make business deals with Russian oligarchs at the moment.

According to creditors of the airport, Kharitonin is “not an oligarch” and “doesn’t influence Russian politics.” It is “wrong” to say he is close to the Kremlin, they added. [ZDF]

Kharitonin’s company has proposed an investment deal of under 25 percent, meaning the investor would not have veto power or authority to influence operations. [ZDF]

(mb/gc)

Germany: Economic experts warn of dependency on China trade

Germany’s trade ties with China are considered a growing geopolitical risk by experts after data showed that the Asian nation was the country’s biggest trading partner for the seventh year in a row, with trade rising to a record high in 2022, according to the Federal Statistical Office. [Reuters] [Tagesschau] [ZDF]

German imports from China increased by over 30 percent in 2022 while exports only grew by three percent, creating a trade deficit of around EUR 84 billion. According to the German Economic Institute, this trade deficit is the highest since 2010, when it was at EUR 24 billion.  [Tagesschau]

The rapid growth of the trade deficit is “problematic” and a “geopolitical risk,” Jurgen Matthes of the German Economic Institute said. [ZDF]

Lukas Menkhoff, head of the global economy department at the German Institute for Economic Research said that “Russia's war against Ukraine has dramatically shown us how commodity dependence can be used as political leverage by autocratic regimes.” The German economy could be “blackmailed if China should attack Taiwan.” [Reuters]

The German foreign ministry said at the end of 2022 that it is working on a new “China strategy” that may tighten rules for companies trading with China and place a bigger role on human rights. [Europe Monthly December 2022]

(mb/gc)

Germany: Courts rejects climate cases against carmakers BMW and Volkswagen

German courts have rejected climate cases by environmental groups against carmakers BMW and Volkswagen, ruling that the companies don’t have to stop selling cars with combustion engines by 2030, referencing the European Union 2035 ban. [AP] [Tagesschau]

The district court in Munich on February 7 dismissed a lawsuit by the environmental NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe. The NGO wanted to force BMW to stop selling cars with combustion engines by 2030. [Süddeutsche] [Spiegel]

On February 14, the district court in Braunschweig decided against plaintiff Greenpeace and said that Volkswagen was acting within the law by making and selling combustion engine cars. The court said it left open whether the company could be responsible for damage caused by climate change. [Tagesschau]

Companies like Volkswagen “have a responsibility to lower their CO2 emissions much faster and end their fossil business models,” Greenpeace said. In both cases, the environmental groups plan to appeal the decision. [AP]

A similar climate case against Volkswagen is still in process at the district court Detmold. The court said in September 2022 that it would keep hearing the case by a Greenpeace-backed farmer. The next hearing was scheduled for February 2023. [Europe Monthly October 2022]

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Germany: Government approves delivery of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine

The German government has approved the delivery to Ukraine of Leopard 1 and 2 battle tanks, which Berlin agreed to in late January after months of discussions with Western allies. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited Kyiv on February 7 and pledged up to 178 restored Leopard 1 tanks from industry stock to be delivered to Ukraine by a group of European states, including Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. [Tagesschau] [DW] [Reuters]

The exact number of battle tanks that can be sent depends on the extent of needed restoration work, according to the German Economy Ministry.

A minimum of three battalions should be equipped with Leopard 1 tanks by the second quarter of 2024, Pistorius said during his visit. [Tagesschau] [DW]

(mb/gc)

Germany: Police searches companies suspected of violating sanctions against Russia

German police searched three undisclosed companies suspected of violating European Union sanctions against Russia, authorities said on February 9. The companies allegedly kept shipping electronic components worth billions of Euros to Russia, despite export restrictions and bans.

A person familiar with the case said one of the three companies searched by prosecutors was Smart Impex GmbH, a German wholesaler of IT products that is suspected by authorities of bypassing sanctions on electronic components via an intermediary company in Turkey.[Reuters]

In a statement, the prosecutors said they confiscated records, documents, and technical equipment from the suspects. [EURACTIV] [Reuters]

(mb/gc)

Ireland: Immigration rallies tests Dublin’s ability to manage influx of migrants

The closing of a refugee centre in Ireland has set off a series of rallies in support of and against the government’s policy of housing and accepting more refugees, testing the ability of the country’s leadership to manage the increasing number of migrants living among the population of 5.1 million. [Europe Monthly Feb 2023]

Activists, political parties, trade unions, NGOs, grassroots and community groups formed “Ireland for All,” a 32-county coalition that supports diversity and is opposed to disinformation about refugees in the country.  They held a rally on February 18 with an estimated  20,000 and 50,000 people from all over Ireland standing together under one banner. [Irish Examiner] [Irish Examiner]

Smaller but more frequent anti-immigrant protests have also popped up around the country, fueling concerns about growing resentment for the government’s asylum policy. Protestors have said that the government has not properly communicated its refugee policies to the public. [RTE][The Journal]

One took place in Offaly, a county west of Dublin, last month against a proposal to accommodate refugees in a former convent. Protestor John McGhee said he was opposed to the accommodation plan because he did not believe that Ukrainians would be housed in the building. “It is more than likely going to be migrants from sub Saharan Africa, not Ukrainian women and children who are fleeing war. We are being lied to,” he said. [Irish Times] 

After the closing of the Citywest Transit Hub, a refugee centre, at the end of January,  Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin defended the government’s response. On February 2, he said that the government was  “bending resources” to respond to the influx of refugees, describing it as the  “largest humanitarian operation ever undertaken by the state.” [Europe Monthly Feb 2023][Irish Times][Irish Examiner]

‘Very Dangerous’

Some politicians have blamed what they call a “vacuum of misinformation” for the protests. This has led to the spreading of false rumours and migrants being attacked in some cases due to false allegations spread on social media. [Irish Times][Irish Examiner]

Politicians have raised concerns that the “very dangerous” anti-refugee sentiment was being whipped up by far-right elements. In Dublin, there have been anti-immigration protests. The Irish Times reported in January on how a migrant camp in Ashtown was attacked by a number of men with dogs, sticks and a baseball bat. [IrishTimes][Irish Times][Irish Times][Irish Examiner][Irish Times][Irish Examiner]

The government has called for support from the public and businesses to help provide housing for incoming refugees, though it has struggled to find suitable housing because of lack of availability, late payment by the government to providers and the negative impact it has had and will have on tourism. [RTE] [RTE] [Irish Times] [Irish Examiner] [Irish Times] [Irish Times] [Irish Times] [Irish Times]

The government has announced plans to start building 500-700 modular homes in April. They will be completed by the end of the year. It is also taking steps to speed up the allocation of housing applications within three months, rather than 17 to 24 months. [Independent][IrishTimes]

The government will also publish this month a new national action plan against racism. Some policy-makers have proposed the inclusion of migration status in the Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences Bill 2022 legislation, which is in its third stage. The Minister for Justice needs to seek legal advice on the impact this amendment may have. [IrishExaminer][Irish Examiner]

All-Government Approach

The leader of opposition party Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, criticised the government’s response, saying the Ministry for Integration has been effectively left to deal with the migrant crisis on its own. She called for an “all-of-Government approach” to resolve the immigration problem. Some members of parliament have called for the formation of a committee similar to the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response to coordinate policy, address issues as they arise, and create a public information campaign. [Irish Times] [Irish Times] [Irish Times] 

Several politicians have considered bans on protest, specifically outside people’s homes or near refugee accommodation. Labour Councillor Joe Costello called it an “invasion of privacy.” [Irish Times][IrishExaminer]

The Assistant Garda Commissioner Angela Willis said that there were numerous instances where protesters’ behaviour went “beyond what reasonable people would consider peaceful.” [Irish Times]

(wd/gc)

Ireland: New cost-of-living package has shortcomings, opposition says

 Ireland announced on February 21 cost-of-living relief payments totalling EUR 1.3 billion, with EUR 470 million to be allocated for social protection measures. Opposition parties opposed the measures. [Reuters] [RTE]

VAT rate for gas and electricity in the hospitality sector will remain at nine percent until the end of August, and the School Transport Scheme fee will be reduced. [Citizens Information] [Reuters]

One-off payments will include EUR 100 per child to families that receive Child Benefit in June 2023, an extra EUR 200 for those that receive long-term weekly social welfare payments in April 2023, and an extra EUR 100 back-to-school footwear and clothing allowance. [Citizens Information] [RTE]

The co-leader of the Social Democrats has stated that lump sum payments will not work when core social welfare payments have fallen behind inflation. The Prime Minister’s office countered this by saying this package was never going to be part of the budget, hence there would be no increase in weekly payments. [RTE]

The leader of Sinn Fein voiced concerns in relation to no support being provided for renters. In response, the opposition party called again for a three-year ban on rent increases, the extension of the evictions ban until the end of 2023, targeted mortgage interest relief, and credit for renters. [RTE][RTE]

(wd/gc)

Council of Europe committee to evaluate gender-based violence in Ireland

The Group of Experts on Action Against Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) travelled to Ireland at the beginning of February to examine how the country is responding to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV). [RTE] [Irish Examiner] [Independent] 

The group met with survivors of violence, NGOs, civil society and government bodies in order to gauge the implementation of the Istanbul Convention on Violence against Women,  a human rights treaty on domestic violence and violence against women that Ireland ratified in 2019. [RTE] [Independent] [Irish Examiner]

The examination comes at a critical time. One woman per week has died in violent circumstances since the beginning of 2023, according to the Irish Observatory on Violence Against Women (IOVAW).

 A shadow report containing 102 recommendations across articles of the Istanbul Convention was submitted by the IOVAW to GREVIO in August 2022. Some of these deal with the legal difficulties faced by survivors of domestic abuse, the lack of data on DSGBV and the need to increase availability of refuge beds for women fleeing domestic violence. [Independent][RTE] [Independent]

Ireland’s Minister for Justice Simon Harris has said a statutory domestic violence agency will be brought to parliament within a month as part of the government's zero tolerance strategy to tackle DSGBV. It is set to take office next January and will lead awareness campaigns, deliver refuge places, and implement government policy. Before this summer, Harris has said the government will pass laws that will double the maximum sentence for assault, and legislation that will allow courts to electronically tag sex offenders. [Irish Examiner][Irish Examiner]

The Rape Crisis Centre has expressed the need for an independent monitoring and evaluation mechanism, such as an Ombudsman, because presently these come from NGOs whose funding rests with the bodies they are trying to hold accountable, as well as tracking cases of all forms of violence against women, or cyber, psychological and attempted violence. [RTE] [Irish Examiner] 

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Netherlands: Council of State is against criminalisation of gay conversion therapy

The Dutch Council of State, a royal advisory body to the government, is against an effort by the country’s parliament to ban gay conversion therapy. According to the Council of State, there is no sufficient reason to amend the criminal code by approving the ban, which would additionally go against the fundamental rights of those involved. 

The Council of State has advised MPs to make it clear why the criminalization of this practice is important and provide more explanations on the proposal in general. [NL Times]

Dutch political parties have proposed legislation criminalising gay conversion therapy, a therapy intended to suppress people’s sexual orientation or gender identity through fines or imprisonment.

The ban was proposed in 2019 but the previous government was not ready to take the matter into consideration. [NL Times]

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Netherlands: Lower house votes in favour of bringing back student grants 

The Twede Kamer, Netherlands’ lower house, just voted in favour of bringing back student grants for students at research and applied sciences universities. The law still needs to be discussed by the Dutch Senate, but is expected to be approved given broad support. 

The Dutch Education Agency (DUO) is already informing students about new changes and, after approval, it will also write to students personally. [NL Times]

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Netherlands: Dutch human rights institute critical of arrests of climate protesters

Authorities in the Netherlands have placed an enormous strain on the public’s right to demonstrate by preemptively arresting environmental activists before a planned protest that took place at the end of January, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights said. [NLTimes]

The activists arrested were held on suspicion of sedition and were banned from the area where the protest took place in The Hague. In addition to the six taken into custody before the protest, 768 arrests were made at the demonstration itself. Two of those suspects were journalists covering the rally, which was originally organised by Extinction Rebellion, a global environmental movement of civil disobedience. [NLTimes]

The University of Groningen researcher Berend Roorda said that environmental activists and Black Lives Matter demonstrators are treated disproportionately harshly when compared to those from Farmers Defence Force.

“Whether it's farmers demonstrating against climate-protecting nitrogen policies, or climate activists calling for faster government action to combat climate change, the government must protect and realise the rights of both groups of protesters equally,” the Institute said. [NLTimes]

[gt/gc]

Netherlands: King meets families of victims after deadly earthquake hits Turkey and Syria 

Dutch King Willem-Alexander met with the families and friends of the victims of the deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The King said that the Netherlands sympathises with the victims.  [NL Times]

Two massive earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, leaving behind nothing but rubble and a large number of casualties. [The Guardian]

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Netherlands: EU calls for more protection of Dutch citizens arrested abroad 

The Dutch government does not provide enough help for Dutch people convicted abroad who want to serve their sentence in the Netherlands, the European Union (EU) said in an evaluation requested by the Volkskrant newspaper. There is a “clear lack of agreement” with the European rules in the Netherlands, the EU said, urging the Netherlands to amend its law for sentence transfer. [NL Times]

The Netherlands lets the Minister of Justice and Security decide whether or not someone can serve their sentence there, while the court observes an advisory role. In other European countries, the decision is completely judicial.[NL Times]

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Netherlands: Child refugees shelters are increasingly crowded

Dutch municipalities need to quickly create more shelter space for unaccompanied child asylum seekers, Joeri Kapteijns of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) and Tanno Klijn of the guardian organisation Nidos said to the ADnewspaper. 

The COA will shelter around 5,000 unaccompanied children and teenagers by the end of this year, with the need to come up with another 2,500 places in the next month, Kapteijns told the newspaper. [NL Times] 

The COA expects to already face a shortage of 200 beds by mid-March, partly because contracts for reception in hotels expire as hotels want to be available for tourists during spring and summer. Child asylum seekers whose application is approved and are awarded refugee status move out of COA shelters and into Nidos’s care. But according to Klijn, 145 children are currently on a waiting list for a more permanent home and 20 more are added every month. [NL Times] 

[gt/gc]

Netherlands: Dutch Parliament to hold hearings with companies still operating in Russia

A Dutch parliamentary majority will organise a hearing with several companies still operating in Russia, despite its invasion of  Ukraine in February 2022. The invited companies can decide for themselves whether or not to accept the invitation. [NLTimes]

Member of parliament Tom van der Lee issued an urgent procedure, labelling it a "painful fact" that Dutch companies are still active in Russia, further stating that  “[The Netherlands] should expect more from these companies.”[NLTimes]

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Netherlands: Dutch government to pay fines over mishandled asylum procedures

The Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) missed the six-month deadline for handling asylum procedures about 20,000 times last year. As a result, it has to pay compensation, De Telegraaf reported. The Netherlands is the only member state in the European Union that imposes penalty payments on asylum procedures. [NLTimes]

The IND did not report what amount it spent on penalty payments last year, but the estimated amount is between EUR 80 and  EUR 100 million. In the summer of 2022, the Justice and Security Inspectorate warned that the IND did not have enough money or staff to assess asylum applications properly. The IND also had to handle more asylum applications last year. [NLTimes]

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Netherlands joins France in halting shipments of F-16 jets to Ukraine

The Netherlands and France have decided not to supply Ukraine with F-16 jets following a meeting between Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and French President Emmanuel Macron in the Hague.

The countries fear that supplying fighter jets to Ukraine would escalate the conflict. “It would really be a big next step if it comes to that,” Rutte said. The United States has also refused to send fighter jets to help Ukraine in the war against Russia. [NL Times] 

During their meeting, the two focused on issues of migration, energy,  EU economy and the Russian campaign in Ukraine. [Twitter]

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Switzerland: Social assistance for Ukrainian refugees  is too low

Ukrainian refugees in the canton of Lucerne say  social assistance is too low. The Lucerne asylum social assistance is EUR 11 per day for refugees who live in the cantonal shelter and EUR 14 per day for refugees who have private accommodation.

Lucerne receives about EUR 550 a month for each refugee from the federal government, but only  about EUR 350 is directed to the refugees themselves, Urban Frye, member of the Lucerne cantonal parliament, said. As of now, 39 refugees have decided to take the issue to the Lucerne cantonal court. [Swissinfo]

The canton makes a profit with every refugee for whom it receives contributions from the federal government,” Fye said. "That contradicts federal law - and ultimately the European Convention on Human Rights.”  

Following the complaints, the government council is attempting a change to the canton’s asylum ordinance. [Switzerland Times]

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Switzerland: Bern to block transfer of arms from Spain to Ukraine 

Switzerland has rejected a request from Spain to re-export Swiss anti-craft guns to Ukraine. Switzerland had already rejected similar requests from Germany and Denmark. [Reuters]

In November, Switzerland rejected the request from Germany to export Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine, saying that such a move would violate Swiss neutrality. [Reuters]

Separately, Switzerland has not decided on whether Leopard 2 tanks could be sent to Poland or Germany then on to Ukraine. About 100 Leopard 2 tanks have been mothballed for years in a bunker in eastern Switzerland. [Switzerland Times]

Following decisions made by neighbouring countries to supply Ukraine with their tanks, Bern is still debating on whether to sell the unused tanks or not. 

“We will block all efforts which violate Swiss neutrality,” Thomas Aeschi, a member of the SVP, the largest party in government, said.

It is not the first time Switzerland has made exceptions about its neutrality. Last year it did so by embracing the EU sanctions on Vladimir Putin and other Russian politicians. [Bloomberg]

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Switzerland: Money confiscated under suspicion of money laundering to be returned to Russia

The Federal Criminal Court ruled for the return of EUR 14 million to three Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the US and other Western countries. 

The money was first frozen in 2011. At the time, the owners of the suspected accounts, Vladlen Stepanov, Denis Katsyv and Dimitry Klyuev, had fallen under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General regarding fraudulent transfers, granted by the Russian government, dating back to 2007. 

The investigation uncovered signs of money laundering, particularly the use of transit accounts, the speed and large volume of transfers, the frequent mixing of assets, use of shell companies, and numerous inter-country transfers. However, the investigation concluded that there was not enough evidence to charge anyone in Switzerland.  [SwissInfo]

This decision comes despite pressure from the US in January not to return the money to the Russian oligarchs. [BharatExpress]

Bern also faces pressure to make a decision about frozen Russian assets due to war-related sanctions, with banks raising concerns that the number of frozen bank accounts continues to grow. Federal Council member Ignazio Cassis has suggested diverting the sum to aid the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war, with a parliamentary working group concluding that this would undermine the law. [Watson][RTS][Bloomberg]

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Switzerland: Online government services introduces third gender options accidently

Switzerland online government services accidentally introduced a third-gender category for people who do not identify with either gender.

Users have mistakenly been given the choice to be addressed as Mr., Ms., or Mx., a category widespread in the English-speaking world for non-binary people or people who do not want to state their gender. 

“We will correct that as soon as possible, probably this week,” a member of the Federal Chancellery, which is responsible for the system, said. The introduction of the third gender was explained as being an “accident” – it was unintentionally activated during the last update. [Switzerland Times]

Around 1.7 million users are registered in the 800 government services accessible through the CH login. The system can be used by civil servants to plan their assignments, by drone pilots who want to register their aircraft, or even by farmers who want to register a cow. 

Contrary to neighbouring countries, the Federal Council does not think Switzerland is ready for a third gender. Last year, it rejected the idea of introducing the option in official records. “The binary gender model is still strongly anchored in Swiss society,” stated the Federal Council. [Euronews]

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Switzerland: Turkish visa request increase after earthquake

Switzerland is receiving 1,500 requests for visas under a new process created for earthquake refugees coming from Syria and Turkey.

“It is essential to de-politicise humanitarian aid," said the Swiss president of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.

Switzerland has decided to issue visas for up to 90 days for all the refugees who lost their homes during the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6. [Swissinfo]

The visas will be given to refugees who have a passport and close family residing in Switzerland. 

“We comply with the applicable law, which dictates that we must identify these people,” said a State Secretariat for Migration. [Swissinfo]

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Switzerland opens new gas reserves

The Swiss Federal Council has opened new gas reserves to prevent a shortage of supplies next winter.

“In the event of a serious supply crisis, access to foreign storage facilities is not automatically given,” the Federal Council said. Switzerland imports almost all of its gas. [Switzerland Times]

Following directives from the European Council, states without their own gas storage facilities should store 15 percent of their annual consumption in other European Union countries or on their own territory. [European Council]

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Switzerland: Bern Councilors draft motion to regulate city borrowing, following FIFA scandal

The municipal councillors for the canton of Bern drafted and tabled a motion to require the capital city to draw up and implement regulations and governance rules regarding financial borrowing. [Bloomberg]

This comes in response to an inquiry, triggered by two Bern parliamentarians looking into the city’s annual accounts, revealing that the city had received loans from Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 2017, which amounted to EUR 1.8 billion. [SwitzerlandTimes]

Bern is not the only Swiss city to receive loans from FIFA, according to an investigation conducted by local newspaper RTS. The cities of Geneva and Lausanne, as well as the canton of Neuchatel, have all received loans from FIFA since 2018. 

Notably, these cities, led by mostly left-wing and green parties, were particularly vocal about FIFAs partnership with Qatar during the 2022 World Cup. [RTS]

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Switzerland: Police arrest man carrying explosives, parliament evacuated 

Swiss police arrested a man carrying explosives and wearing a bulletproof vest near the Bundesplatz in Bern on February 14. [Crisis24]

The suspect, still unidentified, was initially observed by federal security services at the southern entrance of the parliamentary building to be wearing a weapons holster and bullet proof vest. A subsequent body search uncovered explosives.

Police cordoned off the Bundesplatz and surrounding roads for several hours. Firing squads, demining experts, police, and sniffer dogs were deployed to investigate the area, with specific concerns around the suspect’s abandoned car. [NBC]

The unidentified man continues to undergo mental and physical examinations as part of ensuing Federal Prosecutor investigations to uncover motive.[Mirror] 

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Switzerland: Geneva museum repatriates sacred objects to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy

A Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee delegation travelled to Geneva from Canada to retrieve sacred objects from the Musee d’ethnographie de Geneve.

The native American medicine mask and turtle rattle had been in the museum’s possession for almost 200 years. The handover took place in a public ceremony on February 7.

This took place a century after Chief Deskaheh arrived in Geneva to lobby for international recognition of Haudenosaunee – located along the US and Canadian border – as a sovereign state in 1923. [CBC]

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United Kingdom: Scottish First Minister resigns

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon resigned from her post on February 15. “This decision comes from a deeper and longer term assessment,” she said. “Giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it. But in truth, that can only be done for anyone for so long. For me it is now in danger of becoming too long.” [ABC]  

Sturgeon, who has been Scotland’s First Minister since 2014, said she would remain in office until her successor was chosen. Sturgeon became the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) following Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum, which saw the country vote to remain a part of the UK.  [ABC]

“I leave the SNP free to choose the path it believes is the right one, without worrying about the implications for me and my leadership,” she said during her announcement. [BBC] [ABC]

The decision by Ms Sturgeon to step down has also put an end to Ms Sturgeon’s plan to stage a special conference on her proposal to use the next Scottish election as a single-issue ‘de-facto referendum’ on independence. [The Guardian]

Nominations for the leadership of the SNP closed on February 24.  [The Guardian]  

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United Kingdom: Home Office will not appeal EU citizens ruling

The UK government will not appeal a High Court decision affecting the regulations of European Union (EU) citizens living in the UK.[BBC]

The UK’s Home Office confirmed that it will not appeal the High Court’s decision and is instead working to implement the law “as swiftly as possible.” The case was brought by a watchdog for EU citizens’ rights following Brexit, Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA). [BBC]

An issue was whether the Home Office had correctly interpreted the withdrawal agreement between the UK and EU when establishing the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS), a scheme established to settle EU citizens’ immigration status. [BBC]

The Home Office’s rules would have required EU citizens who had lost the right to lawfully live in the UK to make an application for further stay within five years. A lawyer for the IMA told the High Court that 2.6 million EU citizens living in the UK were at risk of losing their rights. [BBC]

In its ruling, the court held that the Home Office’s interpretation of the law meant “a very large number of people face the most serious uncertainty.” The court then concluded that the statute had been incorrectly interpreted. [BBC]

 (jn/gc)

United Kingdom: Rail workers will hold more strikes in pay dispute

British rail workers have declared that they will engage in a fresh round of strikes in March and April as part of a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. [BBC]

The rail workers union, RMT, represents 40,000 workers. In a statement, the RMT said that there would be “sustained and targeted” industrial action. [BBC]

The announcement of more strikes follows the RMT’s rejection of the rail industry’s latest offer, which Network Rail, responsible for tracks and bridges, and train companies said was their “best and final offer.” [BBC]  

“After denying its members a say on their own future, the RMT leadership is now trying to make them lose multiple days’ wages through yet more strikes,” UK Transport Secretary Mark Harper said. [BBC]   

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United Kingdom: Ford will cut a fifth of UK workforce

Ford will cut 1,300 jobs across the United Kingdom during the next two years, with the majority of losses at the Dunton site in Essex.[BBC]

“Here in Europe we’ve got a pretty difficult economic situation, and the outlook is uncertain,” Ford Chairman Britain Tim Slatter said, pointing to high inflation, higher interest rates and the ongoing war in Ukraine. [BBC]

The decision is part of a larger restructuring program which will see 38,000 jobs cut across Europe. [BBC]

“We are completely reinventing the Ford brand in Europe,” Martin Sander, the head of Ford’s electric vehicles division in Europe, said. “Unapologetically American, outstanding design and connected services that will differentiate Ford and delight our customers in Europe.” [BBC]

Ford said that it expects all the cars it builds in the region to be fully electric. [BBC]

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United Kingdom: PM Sunak and Bill Gates launch new UK clean technology coalition

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Microsoft founder Bill Gates launched Cleantech for UK at the Imperial College of London on February 15, an initiative that involves a coalition of investors and seeks to accelerate the transformation from scientific research into clean-tech scale up technology. [Imperial College]

Cleantech for the UK has combined funds of more than GBP 4 billion. “Investing in renewables and cleantech is one of the best ways to strengthen our energy security, create better-paid jobs and grow the economy,” Sunak said. [Imperial College]

“The UK has all the ingredients to become a major player in the global push to build a net-zero emissions future, including world-class research facilities and forward-looking investors. It’s great to see cleantech businesses, innovators and policy makers coming together to advance UK climate leadership,” Gates said. [Imperial College]

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United Kingdom: Downing Street seeks Northern Ireland Protocol agreement

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has continued to engage with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland’s national conservative political party, to seek an agreement with the European Union on post-Brexit rules in Northern Ireland. [BBC]

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that in order to reach a deal, further EU concessions are required. The DUP’s demands include that the EU accept UK laws and standards applied to goods traded within Northern Ireland. [BBC]

Sunak said that the deal would safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and protect the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement and continue free trade within the UK market. [BBC]

A spokesperson for Sunak confirmed that the prime minister held talks with president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on February 22. The meeting prompted speculation that a deal is close to being reached. [The Guardian]

The Northern Ireland Protocol was negotiated by Boris Johnson and came into effect in 2021. [BBC]

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United Kingdom: Government considers sending British fighters jets to Ukraine

The United Kingdom was “actively” considering whether to supply Ukraine with fighter jets after a plea from the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for greater military assistance. Downing Street clarified that it would not send fighter jets to Ukraine if there was  a risk to British safety. [The Telegraph][The Guardian][Forbes][Breaking Defence][Wall Street Journal]

In a statement from the office of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the prime minister  pledged to “bolster the UK’s training offer for Ukrainian troops, including expanding it to fighter jet pilots to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies well into the future”.  [The Telegraph][The Guardian][Forbes][Breaking Defence][Wall Street Journal]

The Russian embassy in London issued a statement warning the UK that sending fighter jets to Ukraine would have “military and political consequences for the European continent and the entire world.” [The Telegraph][The Guardian][Forbes][Breaking Defence][Wall Street Journal]

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Constitutional Law and Politics in Eastern Europe

Moldova: Parliament extends state of emergency for another 60 days

The Moldovan parliament extended the state of emergency for an additional 60 days on February 2. The extension  was approved due to security threats from Russia and to ensure the security of energy resource supplies.  [Moldpres][SeeNews]

“The state of emergency has allowed us to properly welcome hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the war and to continue providing good living, working and education conditions for refugees who have decided to remain in Moldova,” Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said.

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Russia: Moscow prepares for mobilisation students 

Russia is preparing for the mass mobilisation of college students following shortages of draftees, according to Ukrainian intel. [BusinessInsider]

“Notification points” are being created on campuses to make it easier for the commissariats to deliver drafting notices to students. Purported documents, revealed by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's defence ministry, show that Russia is "taking measures to ensure the next wave of mobilisation”. [Telegram][BusinessInsider]

This mobilisation was enacted following the mobilisation in September 2022.  Although student mobilisation is likely to start in April, some universities such as the Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University and the Tomsk Polytechnic and Pedagogical University have already issued orders initiating the process. [Meduza]

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Russia: Wagner Group calls for ammunition from defence ministry

The founder of Russia’s Wagner Group Evgeny Prigozhin called on the Russian defence ministry to provide him with ammunition following the “shell famine” experienced by his mercenary group.

“Please, tell me who I need to apologise to so that my guys will die at half the rate they are now!” said Prigozhin in response to claims that he has troubled relations with people “at the top.”

Prigozhin added that when the military was headed by General Sergey Surovikin, before the appointment of Valery Gerasimov, the Wagner Group never had these kinds of problems. [Meduza] [Meduza]

“I’m not trying to call attention to the fact that you’re sitting there, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner off of gold plates, and sending your daughters, your granddaughters, and their puppies to vacation in Dubai. With no shame at all. While Russian soldiers are dying at the front. No, I’m simply asking: give us ammunition!” said Prigozhin. [Meduza]

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Russia: Religious leaders censored for anti-war positions

Orthodox priest Maxim Nagibin was ostracised from a small village in Southern Russia after he gave a sermon declaring the Russian invasion of Ukraine to be a crime. [YouTube]

“I wanted to express my point of view for people to hear me, wanted to share the pain in my soul,” Nagibin said. “But, unfortunately, not everyone heard me and there were consequences.”

Many, like him, have tried to condemn the country’s actions. After speaking out, many were jailed, ostracised from their communities, and in some cases, executed.

Similarly to Nagibin, Priest Ioann Burdin was convicted under wartime censorship restrictions and was fined EUR 400 for giving anti-war sermons. [The Moscow Times]

“The liturgy for me is not just some ritual action, but a moment when a person really stands before God. There's no way to lie or pretend,” Buridin said. [Kommersant]

Many other religious leaders have publicly disapproved of the war, something which is surprising following the past positive relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the president. [The Moscow Times]

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Russia: Court charges journalist with spreading false information

A court in Moscow sentenced a journalist to nine years in prison in absentia for spreading “knowingly false information.” The court also ruled for a five year prohibition on running websites upon release from prison.

According to the prosecutors, she made Instagram posts containing “knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces murdering children, bombing a maternity hospital in Mariupol and murdering civilians in Bucha.” [Meduza]

The Ukrainian-born Russian journalist Veronika Belotserkovskaya also owns a culinary school in France where she lives. Given her location, she is unlikely to serve her sentence. 

Her Russian properties were already seized by the government. She was also added to the government’s wanted list and was labelled a “foreign agent.” [The Moscow Times]

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Russia: Authorities prohibit founder of anti-domestic violence group from travelling to Georgia

The founder of a Russian anti-domestic violence group has been denied entry into Georgia by Russian authorities. 

Anna Rivina, the founder of  Nasiliu.net, or No to Violence, has been accused of “distributing false information about the activities of the Russian authorities and negative information about the Russian defence ministry,” the Moscow Times reported.  She is considered to be a “foreign agent”. [The Moscow Times]

Prior to this, she had been able to cross into Georgia despite long delays at the border. [Holod]

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Russia: New web crawler to detect anti-Putin content on the media 

Russia launched a news system to search banned content on the internet, as the country imposes tougher restrictions on the media. 

“The system recognizes images and symbols, illegal scenes and actions, [as well as] analyses text in photos and videos,” a spokesperson of the state company behind the development of the tool,  Main Radio Frequency Centre (GRCHC), said.  The web crawler, known under the name of Oculus, is programmed to detect videos and images of protesters, LGBTQ+ propaganda, pro-drug content, suicide, and memes criticizing President Vladimir Putin. [The Moscow Times]

Before the launch, employees of Roskomnadzor – the Russian censorship agency – had to monitor the appearance of  banned content in the media. They did this through a programme that only allowed them to filter material by keywords. [Istories]

"The Oculus information system has already been launched and performs the tasks assigned to it in full,” a  representative of GRCHC said. [Vedomosti]

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Russia: Migrant workers flee Russia as economic sanctions tighten 

Migrant workers are leaving Russia in droves for their homes in Central Asia and South Caucasus, following  Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing Western sanctions and economic slowdown. 

“The Russian Federation is a significant destination for migrants from both Central Asia and the South Caucasus, with 1.1 million migrant workers having been registered,” the International Labor Organization said. As many as 1 million may have fled the country since the invasion. [ILO][Grid]

Some migrants decided to volunteer to fight in Ukraine instead of fleeing home, incentivised by the high salaries paid by the Russian military. Some were recruited for better-paid construction work in Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Moscow. [The Moscow Times]

This creates repercussions in the migrants’ home countries. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are warning citizens that if they enrol in the Russian military they could face  “10 years in prison and the confiscation of all property” due to “mercenary activity”. [RFERL]

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Russia: Ruling party wants to compares war in Ukraine to Battle of Stalingrad

Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, has made it a top priority to link the current invasion of Ukraine to the World War II  Battle of Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad is commonly considered by Russians to be one of the greatest battles of their Great Patriotic War, in which they fought off Nazi Germany and its allies. 

Like the Battle of Stalingrad 80 years ago, the war in Ukraine is one “we can’t back down from,” the ruling party said in a recommendation sent to representatives of the Duma, Russia’s lower house . The war in Ukraine will mean the same for Russia as it did during World War II.”  

“The enemy will run and we’ll launch our way to Victory,” the recommendation said.  

On February 2, 1943, Soviet soldiers won the Battle of Stalingrad against Nazi forces in the southwestern city, now-named Volgograd. On the anniversary of the battle, the sign at the entrance of the city was changed back again to “Stalingrad”. [The Moscow Times] [Telegram]

As part of the anniversary events, special “lessons of courage” and financial literacy lessons were held in schools to teach students about the main aspects of the party programme, together with the formation of budgets. [Kommersant]

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Russia: Defence ministry to limit number of banks soldiers can receive salaries

The Russian Defence Minister has prepared a bill that, if passed, will limit the number of banks in which soldiers currently fighting in Ukraine can receive their salaries and payments benefits.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the bill would not allow soldiers to withdraw payments from 77 banks, but instead they would have to use a designated military branch of the Russian Central Bank or other banks from a government-approved list. [RBC]

Shoigu said the bill will prevent the risk of information about troops' deployment being shared with third parties. [Meduza]

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Russia: Court dismisses libel case by Wagner owner 

A court in Moscow refused to review the libel lawsuit made by Wagner Group owner Evgeny Prigozhin against journalist Alexey Venediktov for labelling him as the owner of the private military company.

The court refused Prigozhin’s request to review a previous court decision due to “newly discovered circumstances,”  the court said. The court did not explain the reason why it dismissed the appeal but it might be because Prigozhin himself admitted ownership of the Wagner Group in 2014. [Meduza][Tass]

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Russia: Deputies no longer have to declare income publicly under new Putin law 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new bill that allows lawmakers to avoid declaring their income publicly. Deputies will still have to file income declarations but “without personal data.” [Government]

The government said that the measures were necessary because of the country’s current military operations. [Meduza]

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Russia: Prosecutor labels Ukrainian Legion a terrorist organisation

The Russian Prosecutor General filed a lawsuit to designate the Ukrainian parliamentary association legion Freedom of Russia as a terrorist organisation.

“The Legion was created in Ukraine with the aim of undermining the foundations of the constitutional order of the Russian Federation, overthrowing the government in the country,” the Prosecutor’s General Offices said in a statement. [Telegram]

The association was formed shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its aim is to “defend Ukraine and then return to Russia bearing weapons.” [Meduza]

(ava/gc)

Invasion of Ukraine displaced around 13.3 million people, UN says

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has displaced around 13.3 million people, the United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said on February 6 in remarks to the UN Security Council.

Almost 8 million people fled the country and another 5.3 million people were displaced internally in Ukraine since the beginning of the war in February 2022. Around 17.6 million people or 40 percent of the Ukrainian population need humanitarian aid, he said. [DW]

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Ukraine:  Zelensky  steps up fight against corruption

Ukrainian President Volodymyr  Zelensky  has stepped up measures to combat corruption as the country works on fulfilling its requirements for accession to the European Union.

Multiple high-ranking politicians resigned or were dismissed amid corruption allegations in January. The president's deputy head of office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, and Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov were among those  forced out. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

Security forces also searched the houses of oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskiy and former Interior Minister Arsen Avakov on February 1. Kolomoiskiy is suspected of embezzling EUR 1 billion with Ukraine’s largest oil company Ukrnafta and refiner Ukrtatnafta. He once had stakes in both companies. [EURACTIV] [Reuters] [Euronews] [Kyiv Independent]

David Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of Zelensky's Servant of the People party, wrote on Telegram that “the country will change during the war” and “if someone is not ready for change, then the state itself will come and help them change.”[Reuters]

EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, visited Ukraine from February 2 to February 3 for a summit to discuss Ukraine’s candidate status for EU accession, and further military aid. The EU made Ukraine a candidate country in June 2022. Kiev now must fulfil the so-called seven recommendations and establish legislative and policy reforms to become a full member.  [Reuters] [DW] [Euronews]

Security forces break up prosecution ring run by immigration officials

Veronika Borysenko from Transparency International, a corruption watchdog that ranked Ukraine at 122 out of 180 in its assessment of nations’ levels of corruption in 2021, said Kiev still has to make“proper judicial reform, next steps in procurement and state property reform, political party reporting” and demonstrate an “improvement of anti-corruption legislation”.” [EURACTIV] [Europe Monthly February 2023]

Separately, Ukraine’s intelligence service (SBU) uncovered a prostitution ring run by immigration officials, authorities said on February 1.

In a statement, the SBU said that senior officials of the Migration Department of the national police oversaw a “protection” scheme for prostitution and that the operation generated around EUR 1.2 million of monthly income. [Reuters] [Kyiv Independent]

Defence ministry leadership unclear

Separately, Arakhamia said Ukraine may replace Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, raising questions about the future of the country’s military leadership. As part of the changes, Reznikov would move to a position in strategic industries and head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, would become the new defence minister.The defence ministry should be led by someone with a defence or security background and not by politicians, according to Arakhamia.

Reznikov said on February 5 that he had not been informed of the change and would reject the strategic industries job. [EURACTIV] [Reuters] [DW]

The defence ministry is under scrutiny for allegedly approving contracts to purchase military food supplies at inflated prices. Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov was dismissed over the allegations and two other officials resigned. Reznikov has not personally been accused of corruption. [Europe Monthly February 2023] [Reuters]

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Ukraine: Venice Commission to examine minority law

The Venice Commission, the constitutional advisory body of the Council of Europe, announced on February 2 that it will prepare an opinion on whether Ukraine’s law on national minorities adopted last December complies with international standards.

The Ukrainian draft law, approved on December 13, ratified legislation from 2017 aimed at protecting the Ukrainian language and strengthening the national identity.  The Venice Commission has already called attention to some aspects of the 2017 law, saying it “failed to strike a fair balance” between promoting the Ukrainian language and safeguarding minorities. [Human Rights Watch][El País]

Romania and Hungary, with large ethnic minorities in Ukrainian territory, deemed the law “incomplete” and regretted that Kiev had not asked the Venice Commission for an opinion. The Romanian ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement the legislation “allows restrictions on rights and ignores the needs of ethnic communities living in the country”. [MTI]

“If Ukrainians do not back down from their anti-minority policy, it will very much limit the Hungarian government’s ability to provide any kind of support, even in this conflict,” Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto said. [Euractiv]

Changing legislation on national minorities is among the requirements set by the European Union (EU) Commission for Kiev to be granted the status of candidate for accession to the EU. [Eurointegration]

Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022, shortly after Russia started its invasion.

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Ukraine: Government removes 19 million Soviet-era books from libraries

The Ukrainian government has removed around 19 million Soviet-era or Russian-language books from its libraries, the Deputy Head of Parliament’s humanitarian committee, Yevheniya Kravchuk, said on February 6.

Of the 19 million, 11 million books were written in Russian, Kravchuk said. Some Soviet-era books in Ukrainian were also removed. 

“There are also recommendations to write off and remove books whose authors supported armed aggression against Ukraine,” she added.

The ratio of books in Russian and Ukrainian language in libraries is “very regretful,” Kravchuk said. The country needs to “purchase books in the Ukrainian language as soon as possible,” she said. Around 44 percent of the books in Ukrainian libraries are in the Russian language.

Ukraine has been restricting the use of Russian books since Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, a process that was sped up by the war in February 2022. [EURACTIV]

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Ukraine: SpaceX wants Ukraine to stop using Starlink internet for drones

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has taken steps to prevent Ukraine from using their Starlink satellite internet for drones used in the war, the company’s president Gwynne Shotwell said on February 8.

The internet service provided by SpaceX was “never meant to be weaponized,” Shotwell said. The Ukrainian military used the service to control drones, which was “not part of any agreement,” Shotwell said, adding that the scope of the contract was for humanitarian purposes. [Reuters] [EURACTIV]

Mykhailo Podolyak, President Zelensky ’s political adviser, said on Twitter that after a year of fighting, SpaceX should pick sides and “choose a specific option”.

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Constitutional Law and Politics in Southeastern Europe

Albania: Opposition party holds anti-government protest in Tirana

Albania’s opposition party has held protests outside of Tirana’s parliament calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over allegations of corruption and mismanagement of the country’s economy.  [Euractiv]

The protests, held on February 14, were organised by former prime minister and leader of the centre-right Democratic Party, Sali Berisha. Despite a significant police presence, fireworks and smoke bombs were thrown. [Euractiv][Euractiv]

Protesters claim that Rama is involved in the Charles McGonigal scandal,  a former FBI counter-intelligence official charged with receiving money from an Albanian local agent. [Euractiv]

“So I tell you, better follow the rules and laws and respect the rights of the opposition,” Berisha said. “There are 750,000 voters whose rights are suppressed in the parliament. We will never tolerate this. Long live the revolution, long live the resistance, long live you.” 

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Albania: Organised crime using illegal surveillance to avoid authorities

Albanian police have removed more than 500 illegal surveillance cameras allegedly set up by organised crime gangs to avoid detection by authorities. [Financial Times]

The cameras, half of which were found in Tirana, were identified during an investigation prompted by an explosive device that was detonated in the northern Albanian city of Shkodra. [Financial Times]

“The police dismantled…cameras placed on electric poles, in the street, to gather information for criminal purposes. The cameras installed by persons or criminal groups were also intended to obtain information about the movements of police,” a police statement said. [Financial Times]

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Albania: Environmentalists raise concerns over new airport

Albanian environmentalists have raised concerns about the impact that the construction of a new airport in the city of Vlora will have on a lagoon used by millions of birds during their annual migration from central and northern Europe to Africa. [ABC]

At a cost of EUR 125 million, the new airport will generate an estimated 1,500 jobs. The airport is due to open in 2025. [ABC]

“If you build the airport within this area, it’s going to harm the integrity of your river ecosystem. It is like cutting off the leg of the Vjosa River,” Annette Spangenberg, from the German based conservation group EuroNatur, said [ABC]

Activists have lodged court proceedings to stop construction. [ABC]

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Bulgaria: State prosecutors accuse former energy minister of buying Russian gas 

Bulgaria’s former Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov, one of his deputies, Danail Nikolov, and the former head of Bulgargaz, Lyudmil Yotsov, have been accused of allegedly purchasing gas from Russian-owned Gazprom. [Novinite]

The Bulgarian prosecution at the National Investigation Service (NIS) on February 8 accused the three of buying gas from the Russian energy company through intermediaries. After NIS summoned Nikolov, he and his lawyer Lulcheva declined to comment on the charges against him. Nikolov acknowledged that he had been charged.

Towards the end of April 2022, supplies from Gazprom to Bulgaria were suspended, yet the Bulgarian State Agency “National Security” (SANS) recently found that the country was buying Russian gas again, but through intermediaries. 

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Bulgaria: EU accession plans mired in accusations of parliamentary sabotage

Bulgaria’s accession plans to join the European Union are being undermined by political infighting in the country’s parliament, with two parties accusing another bloc of sabotage. 

The centrist We Continue the Change (WCC) and the Democratic Bulgaria (DB) parties have accused five other  parliamentary blocs  of conspiring against the country’s admission to the Eurozone. They made the assertion after parliamentarians abstained from  a vote on a key bill for Bulgaria’s path to the Eurozone, prompting the accusations.  [Novinite]

The pro-European GERB and DPS parties, along with the Eurosceptic Bulgarian Socialist Party, Revival and Bulgarian Rise party, didn’t cast their vote to change Bulgaria's Insurance Code, which is an essential condition for its admission to the Eurozone. [Novinite]

Chairman of the Economic Committee and DB MP, Martin Dimitrov, expressed his frustration with the parties’ refusal to cast a vote. “To fail [entry into] the Eurozone and say you are for the euro is demagoguery,” he said. One of the two GERB MPs present at the vote, Alexander Ivanov, defended the party’s behaviour, noting concerns over the bill's negative impact on increasing the price of Civil Liability insurance for Bulgarian drivers. [Euractiv]

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Bulgaria: Government introduce food price controls

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Galab Donev announced on February 7 that his government would introduce mechanisms to monitor and control food prices. The mechanism will track prices from the Customs Agency through the tax authorities and will also rely on the support of consumer organisations. [Euractiv]

Donev announced the measures following a meeting with ministers and representatives from the consumer protection, commodity exchanges and markets, customs, revenue and food safety bodies. The difference between the prices from the manufacturer, through the retailer, to the counter in the store was about 20 percent to 30 percent or more, he said. [The Sofia Globe]

Donev added that the policies would prevent and reverse “unfair commercial practices so that consumers are aware of where the distortion of the most necessary goods and services is”. Basic food prices in Bulgaria have increased in price by more than 50 percent since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

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Greece: Government survives no-confidence vote

The Greek government headed by the New Democracy party survived a no-confidence vote requested by the main opposition leader. 

Alex Tsipras, Syriza leader and former Prime Minister, formally requested a censure motion over a wiretapping scandal that plagued the nation in the run-up to elections. [AP News]

Tsipras revealed the names of people that were tapped by state intelligence, claiming that during the last six months Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was “lying that he wasn’t aware”. He then proceeded to file the motion. [Bloomberg]

The motion garnered 143 votes in favour, 156 against, whilst one lawmaker was absent. The New Democracy party holds 156 seats of the 300 available in the Greek parliament, which represent a comfortable majority.

Although still ahead of Syriza in opinion polls, New Democracy has seen its strong lead hurt by the scandal, as well as by the increased cost of living. Greece is to hold elections in the first half of this year, although no date has yet been set. [AP News]

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Greece decides against sending tanks to Ukraine

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview to Nikkei that Athens will not join other countries in sending tanks to Ukraine to help its war efforts against Russia. [UKRINFORM]

“We have provided significant military support to Ukraine,” including armoured personnel carriers, Mitsotakis said. “We will not provide Leopard 2 tanks for the simple reason that they are absolutely necessary for our defence posture.”

Mitsotakis also spoke of Turkey’s “special economic relationship” with Russia and his concerns about Turkish foreign policy during the past few years. Turkey has become increasingly “revisionist and more aggressive,” he said. 

For Mitsotakis, these factors all amount to Turkey “sitting on the fence” over the Ukraine war, which has “frustrated lots of lots of NATO members”. [Greek City Times]

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Greece: EIB agrees to provide EUR 108m to finance connector pipeline

Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) has signed a EUR 108 million long-term loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance a power connector between mainland Greece and the Aegean Islands. [Renewables Now]

The energy link consists of five underground submarine cables which will link the Cyclades group of islands together with Greece’s mainland, costing an estimated EUR 524 million. The EIB will finance the fourth stage of the project, which will connect the remaining islands in the chain including Santorini, Folegandros, Milos, and Serifos. The works aim to be completed by 2025. [PVTECH]

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Greece: Migrant boat sinks off island coast

Four migrants, including a woman and three children, died after their boat from Turkey sank off the island of Leros in the southeastern Aegean Sea. A statement by Greece’s coastguard added that 41 people were rescued, with search operations continuing. [Reuters]

Three boats and a helicopter participated in the rescue operations. Strong winds and choppy seas prevented the search team from completing their mission. Among the survivors, eight were transferred to a hospital in Leros.

Greece’s Merchant Navy Minister, Yiannis Plakiotakis, said “unfortunately, once again we have innocent victims who have lost their lives because of the criminal behaviour of traffickers”. [The National]

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Kosovo: Former KLA fighter pleads ‘not guilty’ to war crime charges

Former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighter Pjeter Shala has told the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague that war crime allegations made against him are false. [Balkan Insight]

Known as the Commander Wolf, Shala pleaded not guilty to all charges. [Balkan Insight]

Shala is accused of being involved in the arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder of prisoners held at the Kukes Metal Factory in Albania. Prosecutors claim that 18 people were detained, interrogated and abused at the factory between May 17 and June 5, 1999. The alleged victims were mostly Kosovo Albanians or Roma, allegedly detained for collaborating with Serbia or opposing the KLA. [Balkan Insight] [Balkan Insight]

Shala’s defence lawyer stated that Shala did not participate in any form of torture, and was not even aware of the existence of the detention centre at the Kukes Metal Factory. [Balkan Insight]

Established in 2015 by Kosovo’s parliament, the specialist chambers are part of Kosovo’s judicial system but are staffed by international experts. The chambers were established following pressure from Western European nations who did not consider Kosovo’s judicial system sufficient to try KLA cases. [Balkan Insight][Balkan Insight]  

The trial resumes on March 27. 

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North Macedonia: Government has taken steps to battle corruption, watchdog says

North Macedonia has taken steps to improve transparency as the country launches corruption cases, according to the latest report by Transparency International, a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank.

“These steps in the right direction are jeopardised by inefficient follow-ups with ongoing ones and a lack of integrity in selection of key figures in the judiciary,” Transparency International said. In 2022, it ranked 85 among nations in transparency, with an average score of 40, an improvement from 39 the previous year, it said. [Balkan Insight][Transparency International]

Transparency International’s Regional Coordinator for Eastern and South-East Europe, Lindija Prokic, said that the average score for the Western Balkans was 38, which is far less than the European Union average of 66. Bosnia, Hungary, Serbia, and Albania all declined in their progress, with only Moldova, North Macedonia, and Kosovo improving. 

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Romania: Army reports mysterious weather balloon in airspace

The Romanian Air Force announced that its surveillance systems detected an aerial object resembling a weather balloon in their southeastern airspace on February 14. Flying at 11,000 metres, two jets deployed to investigate further could not confirm what type of object it was. With no radar or visual confirmation, the Romanian defence ministry concluded that the object was of “no threat” to Romanian airspace.[Reuters][1news]

Moldova reported a similar sighting, and as a result, closed their airspace.[1news]

Ukraine shot down most of the six balloons found in their airspace on February 15. It is believed that these Russian balloons represent a surveillance initiative by the Kremlin, to preserve their stock of reconnaissance drones that are frequently shot down by Ukrainian forces. [GlobalNews]

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Serbia: Nationalists protest plan to improve political ties with Kosovo 

Hundreds of Serbian nationalist and pro-Russia activists rallied in Belgrade on February 15 in protest against a plan by the government to improve political relations with Kosovo. [Reuters]

Ultra nationalist Damjan Knezevic led the protest. He called for Russia to veto the United Nations Security Council plan to improve ties between the countries.  [Euractiv]

President Aleksandar Vucic said he was not sure if it was pro-Russian but it was anti-Serbian. He warned that those who continue to threaten Serbia will answer to Serbian laws.  After the protest, three men were arrested for calling for a violent change of the constitutional order, and illegal possession of weapons, according to a statement made by the interior ministry. [Reuters]

Members of Serbia’s parliament clashed on February 2 when the country’s president held a special session on how to improve Serbia-Kosovo relations.  During his speech some MPs from opposition parties approached the president holding banners that read “no to capitulation”, “treason” and “Vucic, you betrayed Kosovo”.  Bosko Obradovic, leader of the right-wing Dveri party, commented on the proposal, labelling  it an “ultimatum”. [Balkan Insight]

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Serbia: Prime Minister says sanctions on Russia are the main obstacle to EU accession

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on February 10  that Belgrade's refusal to apply sanctions on Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine is the main obstacle for Serbia’s European Union (EU) accession. [Reuters]

Brnabic said that joining the EU on sanctioning Russia was “a condition above all conditions.”  Belgrade’s position on Russia has hurt its  alignment with the EU on common foreign and defence policies. 

Brnabic also offered a public apology after a government website referred to Kosovo as the Republic of Kosovo. 

Serbia currently does not recognize Kosovo as an independent country. [Radio Free Europe] 

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Serbia: President Vucic denies possibility of early elections 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied the possibility of early elections and discussed the relationship between his party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS),  and their coalition partner, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) during an interview on Serbia’s Pink TV on February 7. [Serbian Monitor] [TASS]

Vucic said that he does not think early elections are a good idea for now. Vucic has said he was ready to go to the polls after a conflict occurred in the parliament over Kosovo talks on February 2. [Serbian Monitor]

President Vucic said he was “very disappointed with the behaviour of the Socialist party in the assembly” and added that he didn’t trust the SPS. [Euractiv]

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Turkey: Court rejects HDP’s bid to delay the closure case

A Turkish court has rejected an appeal by the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) that sought to delay the party’s closure until after elections in May. The request was rejected unanimously by the Turkish Constitutional Court. [Reuters]

The case to close HDP began in March 2021 when prosecutors accused HDP of having ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, European Union and Turkey. [Reuters]

HDP denies all ties to the terrorist organisation. The HDP’s former leader and candidate Selahattin Demirtas has been jailed under terrorism allegations since 2016.  [Anadolu Agency]

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Turkey: European consulates in Istanbul are closed due to security reasons

The Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom, United States and Switzerland have announced that their consulates in Istanbul will be closed until further notice as of February 1 due to security concerns. [Sözcü]

The United States Embassy in Turkey published a security alert for US citizens on January 27 and January 30, warning its citizens of a possible retaliatory attack by terrorists due to Quran burning protests in Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark. The embassy said its citizens should avoid religious buildings such as churches and synagogues, especially in touristic neighbourhoods.  [US Embassy]

All the embassies suspended their visa appointments until further notice. 

Turkish Minister of Foreign affairs, Mevlut Cavusoglu, summoned a meeting with the ambassadors of the Western countries who decided to suspend their diplomatic activities in Turkey. Cavusoglu said that the countries who closed their diplomatic facilities did not provide details about their security concerns. [Anadolu Agency][Reuters]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that no serious threat had been uncovered during an investigation conducted by the police, though they did detain 15 people due to their connections to Islamic State.  [Reuters] 

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Turkey: Foreign Minister denies new  influx of Syrian refugees after earthquake

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied that there was a new influx of Syrian refugees following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake during a news conference on February 13.

“Claims that there is a new influx of refugees from Syria to Turkey are not true,” Cavusoglu said. “We will not allow that. It is out of the question.” [Reuters]

Syrian refugees who are currently living in Turkish cities devastated by the earthquakes are crossing into Syria after losing their homes. Turkey will allow Syrians to come back to Turkey after six months if the refugees have their papers issued.  [Al Jazeera] [The New York Times] 

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Constitutional Law and Politics in Southern Europe 

Cyprus: Ex foreign minister elected president 

Centrist former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected president of Cyprus on February 12. He gained 51.9 percent of the vote in a runoff ballot, beating rival Andreas Mavroyiannis, a career diplomat.  

Shortly after being elected, Christodoulides said: “My biggest concern is the end of the Turkish occupation and the reunification of our homeland. I will do everything to break the deadlock, to restart the dialogue, to create the conditions for solving the Cyprus problem.” [Euronews] 

However, the Guardian reported that Christodoulides’s victory has dented the hopes of some that a solution will be found in the near future to a dispute that has divided the Mediterranean island for decades.

Christodoulides was backed by groups that take an openly hostile stance on talks to reunify the Mediterranean island, the Guardian added.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island after a brief Greek-inspired coup. Turkish Cypriots later declared independence in the northern part of the country. Greek Cypriots control two-thirds of the island. [Europe Monthly September 2022]  

There have been several failed attempts to reunify the island over the years, the most recent in 2017.   

Despite hailing from the ruling right-wing Democratic Rally (DISY), Christodoulides in the first round of the election ran as an independent against Averof Neofytou, a fellow member of the party, splitting the DISY vote. DISY did not formally back either candidate.[Politico] 

Outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades has held the position for the maximum two terms permitted, serving in the role for ten years in total.  

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Dozens of migrants die off Italian coast as boat breaks apart

At least 67 migrants died after a boat that was carrying them broke apart off the coast of Calabria in south-west Italy on February 26, authorities said. 

The vessel, which had sailed from Turkey, was said to be carrying around 200 people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Twelve children were among the victims, including an infant. [BBC] [The Guardian] [CNN]

Around 80 people were rescued from the water. Many others remain unaccounted for. [BBC] [CNN]

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed human traffickers for the incident. She said: “It is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women and children for the price of the ‘ticket’ they paid for in the false perspective of a safe journey.” [BBC] [CNN]

Former economy minister Carlo Calenda of the centre-left Action Party said that people stranded at sea should be rescued “whatever the cost,” but added that “illegal immigration routes must be closed.” [BBC] [RNZ]

EU leaders agreed on February 9 to take tougher measures against a rising number of migrants and to speed up the return of those who are not granted refugee status in the bloc. (See separate story in this issue)

Meanwhile, earlier in the month, a court declared unlawful a decree by Italy’s right-wing government which allowed only migrants who were deemed to be vulnerable to disembark at port. [The Local] [AFP-Barron’s] [Dawn]

The court judgement, which was published by the NGO SOS Humanity, said: “It is clear that among the international obligations assumed by our country, there is that of providing assistance to every shipwrecked person, without distinguishing on the basis of health.” [The Local] [AFP-Barron’s]

The court verdict came after 35 migrants were refused entry to a Sicilian port following the rescue of 179 people by a ship in the Central Mediterranean in November. [The Local] [AFP-Barron’s] [Dawn]

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Italy: Regional election wins bolster PM Meloni’s hard-right coalition

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right coalition has strengthened its position after winning key regional elections in its first electoral test since it rattled liberals across Europe by sweeping to power in September.

Voter turnout, however, was a record low in the February 13 elections in the western region of Lazio, which includes  Rome, and in the wealthy northern region of Lombardy, which includes financial centre Milan. [Reuters] [Bloomberg] 

The right-wing alliance which governs Italy at national level won some 50 percent of the vote in Lazio and over 55 percent in Lombardy. The results mean that conservatives are now in charge of 15 of Italy's 20 regions. [Reuters]

Despite low voter turnout – 37 percent in Lazio and 41 percent in Lombardy – Meloni wrote on Twitter: “This result consolidates the centre-right and strengthens the work of the government.” [Reuters] [ANSA]  

Attilio Fontana of the right-wing League party, which is a junior partner in Meloni’s coalition government, was re-elected regional president of Lombardy, a position he has held since 2018. 

In Lazio, right-wing candidate Francesco Rocca – who was backed by Meloni’s coalition – became regional president. [Bloomberg]  

In the country’s September parliamentary elections, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy won a decisive victory in a rightward shift that dismayed liberals but delighted nationalists in Europe. [Europe Monthly October 2022] [Europe Monthly November 2022] 

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Italy: Ex-PM Berlusconi acquitted in bribery case

Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been acquitted of bribing witnesses to lie in an underage prostitution case.

The decision on February 15 by a court in Milan came after a judge said there were alleged legal errors in the way prosecutors had drawn up a six-year-old case in which Berlusconi was accused of paying witnesses to give false statements at a previous trial when he was charged with having paid for sex with an underage girl. The Milan court ruled that Berlusconi had no case to answer. [Reuters] [The Independent] [CBS News]

The three-time former premier is the leader of the conservative Forza Italia party, which is a part of the ruling coalition. He said that he “had the good fortune to be judged by magistrates who knew how to remain independent, impartial and fair.” [Reuters] [Agenzia Nova]

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of the governing right-wing Brothers of Italy Party said: “The acquittal of Silvio Berlusconi is excellent news that puts an end to a long judicial affair that also had important repercussions on Italian political and institutional life.” [EuroNews] [Agenzia Nova]

Berlusconi was eventually acquitted in his initial case after an appeal court decided that although he had paid a teenager for sex, there was no proof that he knew she was underage. [Reuters] [The Independent] [Euractiv] 

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Italy increases security at embassies after anarchist attacks

Italy has stepped up security at all its embassies and consulates abroad after a string of attacks by anarchists, according to Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

Tajani said there had been more than ten such attacks since November, including incidents involving explosives and vandalism, aimed at Italian diplomatic targets in countries such as Germany, Spain and Switzerland, and in South American nations. No injuries have been reported.

Tajani told a news conference: “We are raising security in all of our embassies and consulates because at the moment international anarchists are mobilised against the Italian state.”

The attacks were carried out in solidarity with imprisoned anarchist Alfredo Cospito, who has been on hunger strike for over 100 days in protest at being confined under an isolation regime designed to prevent inmates from communicating with anyone outside prison. [La Stampa]

Cospito is serving a combined 30-year sentence for a series of dynamite attacks in Italy and the non-fatal shooting of an energy company executive. He was subjected to the isolation regime in May 2022 after writing articles from prison encouraging anarchists to continue an armed struggle. [AP News]

Italy’s hard-right government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has ruled out easing Cospito’s strict detention conditions, saying that it cannot give in to threats or terrorism.

Cospito was on January 30 transferred from a jail in Sardinia to one in Milan which offers better medical care. His lawyers are attempting to have his detention regime eased. [Reuters]

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Italy: Children do not have to spend time with grandparents, Supreme Court rules

Children in Italy have been granted a legal right to avoid spending time with their grandparents, following a Supreme Court ruling.

The court decision came after a case in which the grandparents of two minors complained that they were denied permission by the parents to visit their grandchildren because of a family conflict. [The Guardian] [The Independent] [Firstpost] [Italy 24 News]

The grandparents were initially granted the right to meet the grandchildren under the supervision of a social worker. This was overturned when the Supreme Court announced that an “unwelcome and unwanted relationship” cannot be imposed. The court added that the interests of the grandchildren should prevail over those of the grandparents.

The court said that although grandchildren could benefit from a bond with the “line of generations”, they should not be forced to meet their grandparents, particularly when the parents have a strained relationship with the grandparents. [The Guardian] [The Independent] [Firstpost]

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Italy: AI chatbot firm forbidden from using personal data

Italy’s Data Protection Agency on February 3 banned US-based company Replika, which offers people a “virtual friend” powered by artificial intelligence, from accessing the personal data of Italian users. The agency said the system posed a potential risk to minors and the emotionally fragile.

Launched in 2017 in San Francisco, Replika offers personal avatars that are able to listen and talk to users. The technology was marketed as capable of improving emotional well-being. 

But the Italian Data Protection Agency said that the app “may increase risks for individuals still in a developmental stage or in a state of emotional fragility.” 

The agency also noted that the app has no age verification requirement. [Euronews/Reuters]

To create a personalised avatar, Replika uses text and audio to communicate with users and asks for information like a person’s name, email and gender in order to create an account.

The Italian agency has ordered US company Luka Inc, Replika’s developer, to temporarily stop processing such data relating to Italian users. Luka Inc could face a fine of up to EUR 20 million if it does not comply with the Italian authority’s requirements. [GPDP]  [ANSA]

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Portugal: Nearly 5,000 children may have been abused by Church members, says inquiry

At least 4,815 children may have been sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church since 1950, a commission set up by bishops said on February 13.

A report by the Independent Committee for the Study of Child Abuse in the Catholic Church, which was established a year ago, says the findings are the “tip of the iceberg”. [AP] [Reuters]

According to the investigation, most of the perpetrators – 77 percent – were priests, and most of the victims were aged 10 to 14. [Reuters] [RTVE]

Child psychiatrist Pedro Stercht, the coordinator of the report, said that 512 testimonies had been collected so far and 25 allegations had been sent to the public prosecutor’s office. [RTVE] [AP] [Reuters]

While most of the cases have expired under a statute of limitations, the commission is drawing up a list of alleged abusers who are still working as priests. [Reuters] [RTVE]

Hans Zoller, a Vatican official in charge of child sexual abuse cases, said it was important to “continue to listen to victims because this will not be the end of it”. [Reuters]

The Portuguese committee started its investigation after an inquiry in France concluded in October 2021 that French clerics had sexually abused over 200,000 children during the last seven decades. [Europe Monthly December 2021]

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Portugal to host largest solar farm in Europe  

Spanish electricity producers Iberdrola and Prosolia Energy have secured approval to build Europe’s largest solar plant, and the fifth biggest worldwide, in Santiago de Cacem, southern Portugal. [Lusa]  

Iberdrola announced on January 31 that it had obtained an environmental licence for the plant from the Portuguese Environmental Agency. 

The solar farm will have 1,200 megawatts of installed capacity. It is expected to start operating in 2025 and to generate up to 2,500 jobs.

According to Iberdrola, the photovoltaic project “will avoid the consumption of 370 million cubic metres of gas per year”.  

“This solar farm sets a new benchmark in combining Europe’s clean energy ambitions with the delivery of tangible environmental and social benefits,” Iberdrola executive Ignacio Galan said. “We need to reduce our exposure to fossil fuels”.   

With 60 percent of Portugal’s electricity coming from renewable sources, it is in fourth place in Europe – behind Norway, Austria and Denmark – in terms of nations with the highest proportion of green energy. [TPN/Lusa]

The Portuguese government aims to increase this figure to 80 percent by 2026. [Europe Monthly February 2023]  

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Portugal: GDP growth in 2022 highest in decades, but slowdown expected 

The Portuguese economy expanded by 6.7 percent last year, the fastest rate since 1987, according to the country’s National Institute of Statistics, but growth is expected to decelerate amid steep inflation. [Reuters]

Finance Minister Fernando Medina said that Portugal’s 2022 growth “will be roughly twice that of the eurozone”. [Republica Portuguesa]

However, with high inflation hitting demand, Portugal’s GDP growth slowed to 3.1 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022, down from 4.9 percent in the previous three months. [National Institute of Statistics]

“We can already see that family income is being affected by inflation and the rise in interest rates”, said economist Paulo Rosa, cited by Reuters.

Inflation in Portugal fell in January for the third consecutive month to 8.4 percent but consumer prices are still close to three-decade highs. [Reuters] [National Institute of Statistics]

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Spain: Bomb-making workshop found after packages sent to embassies, officials say

Spanish authorities say they have arrested and charged a 74-year-old man with terrorism after discovering a bomb-making workshop in his home suspected to be linked to a series of letter bombs sent to high-profile officials and embassies.

An envelope containing pyrotechnic material was sent to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on November 24, but was intercepted before reaching its destination.

Recipients of similar packages included the US and Ukrainian embassies in Madrid, Spain’s defence ministry, a weapons manufacturer in the north-eastern city of Zaragoza, and the military base of Torrejon de Ardoz on the outskirts of Madrid.

One employee was slightly injured after such a bomb was sent to the Ukrainian embassy in November. [Europe Monthly December 2022]

The suspect wanted Spain to stop support for Kyiv amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a magistrate. [Reuters] [Italy 24 News]

The man was arrested in the northern city of Miranda de Ebro. The interior ministry said: “Inside the house, the investigators found a workshop with tools, welding, metal elements and screws.” [AP News]

Spain’s National Court said that the suspect had been charged with six offences including sending letter bombs to the prime minister and to the Ukrainian and US embassies.  [ABC News]

On February 1, the Spanish defence ministry was evacuated after receiving more suspicious packages, but experts who carried out an examination said they did not contain explosives. [Spanish News Today] [The Olive Press]

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Spain: New law expands transgender, abortion rights for teenagers

The Spanish parliament has passed legislation that makes it easier for teenagers to change their officially listed gender and to have an abortion. The country has also become the first European nation to grant paid menstrual leave.

The new law, approved on February 16, permits people aged 16 and above to change the gender listed on their national identity cards. Until now, transgender people needed a diagnosis from a doctor of gender dysphoria before they were able to take such a step.

Fourteen to 16-year-olds will be able to change the gender on their identity cards with the consent of their parents or legal guardians. [The Guardian] [France 24] [NPR]

Equality Minister Irene Montero of the left-wing Podemos Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, said the new rules “stop trans realities being treated as abnormalities. Trans people aren’t sick people; they’re people, full stop. They are who they are, full stop… From today, the state recognises that.” [The Guardian] [Thred]

Carla Antonelli, an LGBTQ+ activist and the first trans woman to serve in the Spanish legislature, hailed the new law as “historic”. [France 24] [EuroNews]

However, the bill was opposed by right-wing parties and has created a division within the ruling centre-left Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party. [The Guardian] [Thred]

The law also bans so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people, and offers state support for single, bisexual and lesbian women seeking IVF treatment. [Spain in English] [PA News/Wandsworth Guardian]

In further changes, women who struggle with severe menstrual pain will be guaranteed up to five days of paid menstrual leave per month. Free period products will be made available at schools and prisons. [The Guardian] [Al Jazeera] [ABC News]

The law also reverses a measure that was introduced by conservatives in 2015 whereby women below the age of 17 could not terminate a pregnancy without their parents’ consent. [Reuters]

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Spain: Mass rally demands improved healthcare in Madrid

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators held a mass rally in Madrid on February 12 to protest at what they say is the regional government’s poor management of healthcare services.

The government estimated that over 250,000 people took part, but organisers said the figure was closer to a million.

Protesters carried signs that read: “The right to health is a human right. Defend the health service.”

The health worker associations that led the demonstration were backed by left-wing parties and unions who expressed concern at what they say are poor staffing levels in hospitals.

They accused the conservative People’s Party, which runs Madrid, of favouring private health providers over public healthcare. [The Independent] [Reuters] [DW] [EuroNews] Isabel Diaz Ayuso, who heads the regional government, has denied the claims, saying: “We all believe in public health.”

Under Spain’s devolved system, regional authorities are largely responsible for healthcare in provinces. [Reuters]

Critics of Ayuso’s administration have said that the overburdening of doctors and nurses has resulted in longer waiting times in hospitals. [The Independent] [DW]

In January, healthcare workers staged a protest in Madrid demanding an end to cutbacks and privatisation. [The Local] [Europe Monthly February 2023] 

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Spain: Right-wing politicians criticised for remarks on Islam after attack in churches

Conservative politicians in Spain have been accused of making Islamophobic comments after a killing that is being investigated as a potential Islamist terror attack.

A man armed with a machete murdered a clergyman and injured another in two churches in the southern city of Algeciras on January 25. [Europe Monthly February 2023] The suspect is Moroccan, while the attacks have been linked to Salafist jihadism, an ideology that seeks to establish a global Muslim caliphate. [Politico] [The Guardian] [Transcontinental Times]

The leader of Spain’s conservative opposition People’s Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, said it had been “many centuries since we’ve seen a Catholic or a Christian killing in the name of their religion or their beliefs” but that “there are other peoples who have citizens who do that.” [Sur] [The Guardian] [Transcontinental Times] [World Nation News]

Santiago Abascal, the head of the right-wing opposition Vox Party, blamed the attacks on “illegal immigrants.” He added that “some open the doors to them, others pay for them and it’s the people who suffer. We can’t tolerate the spread of Islamism on our soil.” [The Guardian]

The remarks were criticised by Spain’s education minister, Pilar Alegria, of the governing centre-left Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party. Responding to Feijoo’s comment, Alegria tweeted: “There are times when it is better to remain silent and appear responsible than to speak like that.” [The Guardian] [Transcontinental Times] [World Nation News]

The leader of the left-wing Podemos party, which is part of the ruling coalition, condemned Abascal’s comments. Party chief Ione Belarra said: “I think it’s awful to spread hatred towards a group that are already very stigmatised because of who they are, especially at a moment as difficult as this.” [The Guardian]

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Spain: Top transport officials resign over trains too big for tunnels

Two top transport officials have resigned after it was discovered that 31 new trains ordered by Spain's rail operator would not fit into tunnels in two northern regions of the country.

Secretary of State for Transport Isabel Pardo de Vera and the head of state rail operator RENFE, Isaias Taboas, quit over the botched order for trains in the Asturias and Cantabria regions.

The 31 trains were ordered in 2020. In February, it emerged that they were too big to pass through tunnels. The trains will now be redesigned. [BBC]

Spain’s ministry of transport opened an investigation to find who was responsible. In addition to the two resignations, two senior officials were also fired from RENFE and state-owned rail company Adif. [AP News]

In response to demands from the two northern regions for compensation, the transport ministry said it would extend free commuter services until the new trains are delivered. [El Pais]

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Spain: Court rules Amazon violated labour law

A labour court in Madrid has ruled that tech giant Amazon violated Spanish labour law and must offer financial compensation to its workers.

The court said on February 3 that Amazon should pay social security contributions for over 2,000 freelance workers hired under the “Amazon Flex” scheme who were required to use their own vehicles and phones for deliveries and to use an app controlled by the company for scheduling work and payments.

After a 2020 supreme court ruling, Amazon’s Flex programme in Spain was scrapped and freelance drivers had to be hired as regular staff.

In response to the latest ruling, Ruben Ranz from the General Union of Workers (UGT) trade union said: “We’re happy with the result and especially happy that this Amazon Flex model no longer exists.” [Reuters]

Amazon responded to the labour court decision by saying: “We respect the court ruling, but we disagree and will be filing an appeal.” [AP News] [ABC]

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Spain: Animal rights bill passed amid protests over lack of protection for hunting dogs

Spain’s parliament passed an animal rights bill on February 9 that has caused protests because it excludes protection for dogs used in hunting.

The new law bans the sale of pets in shops, turns zoos into wildlife recovery centres and includes prison sentences for animal abusers.

On February 5, thousands protested in Madrid after an amendment that excludes the protection of hunting dogs was added to the bill. The amendment was introduced amid pressure by the hunting lobby. [AP News]

Thousands of greyhounds, which are used to hunt rabbits and pheasants, are abandoned in Spain at the close of every hunting season. Animal rescue associations wanted the new law to forbid owners from ditching dogs that are judged to be no longer fit for hunting. [AP News] [Reuters]

The leftist Unidas Podemos, a junior coalition partner in the governing coalition, opposed the exclusion of hunting dogs but supported the new law so that the bill as a whole could pass.

Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra, a member of Unidas Podemos, said: “To leave hunting dogs out of this law is to leave abusers unpunished.” [Reuters]

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Constitutional Law and Politics in Central Europe

Austria: Surging in opinion polls, far-right makes big gains in state election  

As it surges in opinion polls, the far-right opposition Freedom Party (FPO) has made huge gains in Lower Austria’s state election, while the governing conservative People’s Party (OVP) lost its majority in the regional assembly. [Der Standard] [Euractiv]    

The Freedom Party gained 24.2 percent of the vote, an increase of almost 10 percentage points since the last such election in 2018.  

Meanwhile, Austria’s two ruling coalition parties – the OVP and the Greens – both lost support. The OVP dropped to a historic low of 39.9 percent in the January 29 election in the country’s largest state, which is normally a conservative stronghold. [Der Standard][Euractiv]     

During the voting, three masked men walked into the OVP’s offices in Lower Austria and displayed banners with extremist slogans before being arrested by police.  

Gerhard Karner, the Austrian interior minister, said after the incident: “Today, right-wing extremist identitarians have once again shown the danger they pose to democracy.” [Euractiv]     

Austria’s growingly unpopular coalition government looks in danger of being usurped by the Freedom Party in the country’s next federal elections, scheduled for 2024. Many citizens have become unhappy with how the government has handled issues like migration and inflation. [Europe Monthly February 2022]    

A study by pollster Unique Research in February found that the FPO was in first place, supported by 29 percent of voters, followed by the OVP and the left-wing opposition Social Democratic Party (SPO), both on 24 percent. [Der Standard] [Profil]   

In the Lower Austria state elections, the SPO lost two percentage points of support compared to its tally in 2018 and was overtaken by the Freedom Party. [Der Standard] [Archyde]  

Disappointed with its result, the SPO announced that Sven Hergovich was taking over as its new chairman for that region. The party hopes that Hergovich will now play a key role in helping it form a coalition state government with the conservative OVP. [Der Standard]  

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Austria: Four suspected Russian spies expelled

Austria has expelled four Russian diplomats suspected of being Kremlin spies. The four “engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status”, the Austrian foreign ministry said in a statement issued on February 2. [Politico] [Der Standard]

Two of the alleged spies had been working at the Russian embassy in Vienna while the others were part of a permanent mission to the United Nations. [Politico] [Der Standard]

Security services across Europe have cracked down on alleged Russian spies since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, with Western officials saying that roughly 400 intelligence officers working under diplomatic cover have been expelled. [Politico]

Austria has been a hotspot for espionage since the Cold War due to its location between Russia and the West. [Politico] [Der Standard]

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Austria: Far-right sues rivals over claims of payments from Russia

Austria’s left-wing opposition Social Democratic Party (SPO) is being sued for claiming that the far-right opposition Freedom Party (FPO) has received financial support from the Kremlin. [Der Standard] [Kurier]

The SPO claims it found a report which proves the far-right party was given money by Moscow in exchange for advocating against sanctions on Russia. [Der Standard] [Kurier]

The FPO denies the allegations and has taken legal action. The SPO confirmed on February 17 that it had received a lawsuit. [Der Standard] [Kurier]

Christian Deutsch, a senior official from the SPO, called the lawsuit an “attempt at intimidation” and claimed it was evidence that the FPO gets nervous when any links between it and Russia are made. [Der Standard] [Kurier]

Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the FPO has been vocal in its criticism of sanctions against Moscow.[European Conservative]

The far-right party has previously had close ties with Russia. In 2016 it signed a five-year agreement with Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party to strengthen relations. The FPO says that this deal has long expired and was never politically binding. [Reuters]

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Austrian president pledges more aid for Ukraine

Austrian President Alexander Van Der Bellen has promised further aid for Kyiv amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [Euractiv][President]

During a trip to Kyiv, Der Bellen said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 1: “Austria is a neutral country. However, military neutrality does not mean that we are value-neutral. If one state in Europe invades another, we will never be indifferent.” [Euractiv] [President]

Austria has supported Ukraine since the Russian invasion, donating EUR 570 million worth of humanitarian aid last year until November. [KIEL]

Der Bellen promised to continue “to support the Ukrainian people with aid deliveries of various kinds”. 

His visit to Kyiv has been criticised by the leader of Austria’s far-right opposition Freedom Party, Herbert Kickl, who said that the continued support of Ukraine would bring about “a total break with Austria’s decades-long foreign policy tradition”. [Euractiv][President]

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Austria: Tougher penalties for terrorist threats 

The Austrian government plans to introduce new criminal legislation which will carry tougher penalties for people who make what are deemed terrorist threats. [Kurier] [Der Standard]   

The new law will apply to those with links to terrorism who threaten bodily harm, kidnapping or serious damage to property. [Kurier][Der Standard]

According to the Austria newspaper, punishments are set to increase from a maximum of three years in prison to up to five for all charges included in the new legislation. [Kurier] [Der Standard]

Justice Minister Alma Zadic said in a statement to the Austria Press Agency: “Terrorists are attacking our values and our society. They are trying to spread fear, insecurity and hatred… That is why terrorists who threaten acts of terrorism will be punished even more severely in the future”. [Kurier] [Der Standard]   

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Austria: Teachers will have to declare they have not committed sexual offences

The Austrian education minister has announced teachers will have to sign a declaration while being hired that affirms they have not committed any sexual offences. If they are found to have lied, they can be immediately fired under the new rules, which aim to increase child protection in schools. [Derstandard] [Diepresse]

Education Minister Martin Polaschek said that “not a single person who is associated with sexual offences” will be allowed to teach in schools. He added: “Child protection is our top priority.” [Derstandard] [Diepresse]

Polaschek also plans to introduce a child protection task force for Austria’s education sector, a move that will see stepped up security checks and a new process for handling suspected cases of abuse. [Derstandard] [Diepresse]   

Meanwhile, Austria’s coalition government has called for tougher penalties in criminal cases involving child pornography. [Europe Monthly February 2022]

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Austria: Retirement age for women to be raised from 60 to 65 

The retirement age for women in Austria is to be increased gradually by five years over the next decade to match the retirement age for men. [Derstandard] [Austrianpress]

Starting in 2024, the retirement age for women will start incrementally rising from 60 to 65. Those born in the first half of 1964 will only be able to start collecting state pensions when they reach the age of 60 years and six months. Women born in the second half of 1964 will have to wait until their 61^st birthday to start receiving pensions. [Derstandard] [Austrianpress]

By 2033 the retirement age for both men and women will be 65. [Derstandard] [Austrianpress]

The move comes as Austria aligns itself with other EU countries like France, Italy and Germany, where the pension age is equal for men and women. [thelocal]

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Croatia: Journalists urge health minister to quit after Covid death of reporter

Journalists are calling on Croatia’s health minister to resign after the death of a reporter who was denied hospital treatment while suffering from Covid. [Balkan Insight] [Hina]

Meanwhile, doctors unhappy with how the country’s health system is run have announced they will hold a demonstration outside parliament.

Six months after the coronavirus claimed the life of reporter Vladimir Matijanic, the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) held a protest in the capital city of Zagreb on February 5, demanding an independent investigation and urging Health Minister Vili Beros to quit. [Balkan Insight] [Hina]

Matijanic, a former reporter for the Index HR news outlet, had been suffering respiratory problems but his local hospital had deemed his case insufficiently serious enough for admission. His partner has insisted that his chances would have been better if he had received hospital care. [Balkan Insight] [Hina]

The rally in Zagreb drew hundreds of demonstrators and was held under the slogan “I’m sorry to bother you, I can’t breathe”, a reference to a call that Matijanic made to the hospital. [Balkan Insight] [Hina]

The chairman of the Croatian Journalists’ Association, Hrvoje Zocko, said at the protest: “We will never give up on this issue. The minister can say that what we are saying is malicious, but as long as he lives, he will not escape responsibility”. [Balkan Insight] [Hina]

Doctors plan protest

Meanwhile, five doctors’ associations in Croatia have announced plans to protest outside government and parliament buildings on March 18 amid claims by unions that the country’s health system is breaking down. [N1] [Hina]

The move comes as a recent survey by the associations found that 97 percent of nearly 6,000 doctors across the country were dissatisfied with the terms under which they perform their work. [N1] [Hina]

Croatian doctors made public demands for better conditions in August 2022, with health minister Beros agreeing that their concerns needed to be addressed, but little has happened since. [N1] [HRT]

The doctors say they want to protect the country’s health system and reduce the amount of stress faced by medical staff. Their demands include the abolishment of certain specialisation contracts which medics consider unfavourable to them. [N1] [Hina]

The leader of one doctors’ union, Renata Culinovic-Caic, told reporters: “Politicians are not honouring their agreement with us. We must do something for the patients because the system is breaking down.” [N1] [Hina]

Medical institutions in the country will be working on the day of the demonstration. Culinovic-Caic said that doctors would consider their next move, adding: “If necessary, we will go on strike”. [N1] [Hina]

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Croatia: Progress on LGBTIQ rights has stalled, says report by campaigners

A report by the Zagreb Pride campaign group has said that progress on securing more rights for LGBTIQ people has stalled in Croatia in recent years.

“The environment for LGBTIQ people became extremely unfavourable after a referendum on banning same-sex marriage was not prevented,” the group said. [N1] [Hina]

In 2013, Croatia – a majority Catholic nation – held a referendum in which a majority of voters backed a definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, a move that obliged parliament to amend the constitution and effectively led to a ban on gay marriage. [Balkan Insight]

Franko Dota, a member of Zagreb Pride, said at a presentation by the group on February 13 that many LGBTIQ people in Croatia were victims of violence and suffered high levels of prejudice.

While gay couples are unable to get married in Croatia, a law on “life partnership” was passed in 2014 giving same-sex couples a high level of legal protection.

Dota said, however, that the children of gay partners do not have the same legal protection as the children of married and non-marital partners of opposite sexes. [N1] [Hina]

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Czech president-elect heightens security amid fear of Russian spying

The Czech Republic’s president-elect has refused to work in Prague Castle, the office of the head of state, until a security sweep is carried out amid concerns of spying by Russian and Chinese intelligence agencies.

Petr Pavel, a retired NATO general and a former head of the Czech armed forces, said he would not move into the castle until it was “cleaned up”.

Pavel won the country’s presidential elections on January 28. He is due to be sworn in as president on March 9.

Czech news outlets reported there were fears that the phone of an advisor to outgoing President Milos Zeman had been bugged. The advisor, Martin Nejedly, is a former head of a Czech subsidiary of Russian oil firm Lukoil.  [Telegraph] [Intellinews] [Denikn]  

Zeman had fostered close relations with Moscow and Beijing. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he backed Kyiv and admitted that his pro-Russian stance had been a mistake.   

According to Czech news outlet Irozhlas and broadcaster Radiozurnal, Zeman’s office has faced criticism for destroying classified documents relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. [Euractiv] [Irozhlas] [Intellinews] [Idnes] 

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Czech president-elect urges more weapons for Ukraine, with nuclear arms the only exception

The Czech Republic’s incoming president has urged allies to provide Ukraine with more weapons, saying the only exception for military support should be nuclear arms. 

Petr Pavel, a pro-Western retired NATO general who beat a populist to win the Czech presidential elections on January 28, signalled support for delivering warplanes to Ukraine. [Bloomberg]

He acknowledged that “some countries have a bit of a reserved stance” after the US and Germany rejected Kyiv’s pleas for fighter jets amid fears that increased supplies of Western weapons could lead to escalation with nuclear-armed Russia. [France 24] [BBC] 

In an interview with international media, the Czech president-elect said: “If we leave Ukraine without assistance, they would most probably lose this war. And if they lose – we all lose.” [BBC News] 

Pavel also said that it was vital for Western allies to implement strict sanctions against Russia and added that Ukraine deserved to join NATO after the conflict ends. [France 24] [BBC News]

In the run-up to the Czech presidential elections, Pavel promised to keep his country firmly anchored both in the Western military alliance and in the EU.

Pavel will on March 9 formally take over from President Milos Zeman, a polarising politician who before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine pushed for closer ties with Russia. [Reuters]

Although Czech presidents do not have day-to-day executive power, they play a key role in shaping the country’s international image and setting the tone for its foreign policy. [Euractiv] [CPG] 

Pavel said he was proud that the Czech Republic was among the first nations that stood up for Ukraine. The central European country has sent tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv as part of deliveries that reportedly started in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. [BBC] 

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Hungary: PM under fire for overhaul of senior military officers

Hungary has dismissed hundreds of mostly senior officers in the biggest overhaul of its military ranks in the past two decades. Critics claim the move is a “purge” that allows Prime Minister Viktor Orban to replace top brass with loyalists who back his pro-Russia views. [Financial Times] [Bloomberg]

Hungarian Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that reforms were long overdue and that the country’s army was “burdened by a bloated leadership”. He told Bloomberg in an interview that he wanted to “introduce meritocracy and competition in the defence forces”.  

The military layoffs came after a decree signed in January by nationalist premier Orban that allows for the dismissal of officers who have reached the age of 45 and have at least 25 years of service. The step was not submitted for parliamentary debate.

Opposition politicians claimed that Orban is seeking to fill senior army positions with officers who support his Kremlin-friendly stance at a time when war is being waged in neighbouring Ukraine. [Financial Times] [Bloomberg]

Orban has refused to provide Ukraine with armaments and has long stood against EU sanctions on Moscow. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

Czech President-elect Peter Pavel, a former NATO general, described Hungary’s dismissal of top officers as a “continuation” of Orban’s “restrictions on all those who have a different view.”  [Financial Times]

Former Hungarian deputy defence minister Agnes Vadai, now a member of the opposition, called the move a “political purge”. [Telex] Orban’s opponents have long accused him of cronyism and authoritarianism.

But Szalay-Bobrovniczky insisted that “rejuvenation” was the reason behind the cuts and that Hungary needed young commanders “who speak [foreign] languages, have NATO training and mission experience”. [Honvedelem.hu]

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Hungary: Judicial independence must be bolstered ‘very soon’ to access recovery funds, EU official says

Hungary must bolster the independence of its judiciary “very soon” to access billions in EU Covid recovery funds withheld over rule of law concerns, Vera Jourova, ­­deputy head of the European Commission, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Last year, Brussels conditionally approved Hungary’s post-Covid recovery plan but froze EUR 5.8 billion in grants until Budapest implemented judicial independence reforms and tackled corruption. [Europe Monthly January 2023]

Hungary can also receive a further EUR 9.6 billion in cheap loans if it satisfies conditions set by the Commission. [Reuters]

“They will have to adopt laws which will strengthen the position of the judges, which will strengthen the anti-corruption actions,” said Jourova. “These are very concrete things which the Hungarian government has promised to correct or install very soon… time works against them.” [Reuters]

Tibor Navracsics, the Hungarian minister in charge of funding talks with Brussels, told the Vilaggazdasag online newspaper that was “optimistic” about ongoing negotiations. 

“I trust that the legislative package will be a good enough solution (…) and an agreement will be reached,” he said. [Vilaggazdasag]

Navracsics added that the Hungarian parliament had until March to pass legislation on judicial independence. [Reuters]

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Hungary: Budapest blamed by top rights court for Syrian refugee’s death

Europe’s top human rights court has ruled that Hungarian authorities are responsible for the death of a 22-year-old Syrian refugee at the Serbian-Hungarian border in 2016.

The European Court of Human Rights on February 2 ordered Hungary to pay a EUR 40,000 fine for failing to protect the refugee and for not properly investigating the circumstances of his death. [DW]

According to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee – a non-governmental rights watchdog – the young man drowned in the Tisza river after being injured by Hungarian border guards.

The refugee was trying to cross the river from Serbia into Hungary with his brother, who later sued Hungary at the European court for inhumane treatment.

The brother claimed that police officers released tear gas and threw stones at the pair, shouting “go back to Serbia”. [Hungarian Helsinki Committee]

The interior ministry in Budapest reacted to the court ruling by saying the case was “yet another attempt to discredit” Hungary. [Telex]

The ministry also blamed “Brussels’ failed immigration policy” and “international human trafficking organisations” for the death of thousands of “illegal immigrants” on their way to Europe. [Telex]

International organisations have long raised concerns over Hungary’s record on refugee protection. [Council of Europe] [UNHCR] [Amnesty International]

EU leaders agreed on February 9 to take tougher measures against a rising number of unwanted migrants and to speed up the return of those who are not granted refugee status. (See separate story in this issue)

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Poland: President sends judicial reform bill for review by top court

Polish President Andrzej Duda has sent a judicial reform bill that aims to unlock EU funds to his country’s top court for review. [Reuters] [Politico] [Deutsche Welle] [Notes From Poland]

Amid a standoff between Warsaw and the European Union, the parliament-approved bill aims to address concerns over judicial independence in Poland and pave the way for the release of EUR 35.4 billion in Covid recovery funds from Brussels for Warsaw. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

Poland’s government, led by the right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, hoped the new law would fulfil key “milestones” agreed with the European Commission as a prerequisite for the funds to be unfrozen. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

However, rather than sign it into law, Duda referred the bill to Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal to assess whether it complies with his country’s constitution. [Reuters] [Politico] [Deutsche Welle]

Duda said the bill “raises serious constitutional controversies.” He added that the law “will not be in effect until the tribunal has ruled on its constitutionality.” [Politico] [Polish President Andrzej Duda]

Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro backed the president’s decision, saying that signing the bill into law “wouldn’t have solved anything,” but instead would “worsen the disorganisation, chaos and rebellion in the Polish judiciary.” [Deutsche Welle]

Fractures in ruling camp

The hardline United Poland (Solidarna Polska) party, a junior coalition partner in the country’s government, had previously voted against the bill – highlighting fractures within the ruling camp. Ziobro, who heads the party, described the planned legal reforms as “policies based on blackmail from Brussels.” [Europe Monthly February 2023]

The new legislation would prevent judges from being punished for questioning the legitimacy of judicial appointments that they deem to have been politically motivated. [Europe Monthly February 2023] Critics accuse Poland’s governing nationalists of parachuting allies into judicial positions to make sure that courts toe the ruling party’s line.

The new bill would also assign disciplinary cases against judges to Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court, instead of to the Chamber of Professional Responsibility, which currently handles them. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

Rule-of-law concerns

The chamber was introduced in July 2022 to replace a controversial disciplinary body for judges which the EU had said undermined the political independence of the Polish judiciary and eroded rule-of-law principles. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

But Brussels had said that the new chamber still did not go far enough to ensure the independence of Polish courts. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

In another development, the European Commission is taking Warsaw to the Court of Justice of the EU over rulings by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal which Brussels says challenge the primacy of the bloc’s laws. (See separate story in this issue)

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Poland: Military spending to be boosted to among highest levels in NATO

Poland plans to raise its defence spending to four percent of its GDP in 2023, which would currently be the highest such figure among members of the NATO military alliance. [BBC News] [Notes From Poland] [Polsat News] [TVP Info] [France24]

“The war in Ukraine means that we have to arm ourselves even faster. That’s why this year we are making an unprecedented effort – four percent of GDP for the Polish military,” said Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, adding that this “could be the highest percentage… among all the nations in NATO.” [TVP Info] [BBC News] [Notes From Poland]

Poland at present allocates 2.4 percent of its gross domestic product to its armed forces – the third highest level in NATO in relative terms, behind only Greece and the United States. [France24] [BBC News]

A 2006 NATO agreement says that nations in the alliance should spend two percent of their GDP on defence, a target that most member states fall short of. [BBC News] [Notes From Poland]

The war in Ukraine has spurred the military alliance to make new commitments to the two percent goal, with member countries aiming to reach that level from 2024. [BBC News]

Many Western nations have already bought large quantities of military hardware since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. [BBC News] [France24]

Warsaw has made purchase agreements with the United States and South Korea for hundreds of additional tanks and howitzers, as well as combat aircraft, rocket launchers, and air defence systems. [Notes From Poland] [France24] [BBC News]

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Slovakia: Ex-PM wants EUR 500 incentive for citizens who vote in election 

The leader of Slovakia’s ruling centre-right Ordinary People’s party (OLaNO) has proposed a reward of EUR 500 for voters who cast a ballot in the country’s September 30 early parliamentary elections in a bid to encourage turnout. 

Former Prime Minister Igor Matovic submitted the proposal to parliament on February 14 amid fears that Slovakia will drift away from the EU mainstream and take a more pro-Russian stance if leftist opposition parties Smer and Hlas come to power. [Euractiv] 

“We’re facing a scenario that Slovakia could take a path out of the EU and NATO, towards our Russian Big Brother,” warned Matovic. [Tasr]

Branislav Groehling, the vice-chair of the opposition centre-right Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, criticised Matovic’s plan, saying that offering cash incentives for voting amounted to “election corruption”. [Rtv]

Matovic responded by saying that he did not aim to persuade voters to favour any one party but to encourage “maximum voter turnout”. He noted that offering the EUR 500 pay-outs would cost the country EUR 1.5 billion if three million voters head to the ballot box in September. [Tasr] 

Matovic said that Smer and Hlas officials would “steal” more than that amount if those parties come to power. He claimed that members of the groupings had embezzled EUR 30 billion in total when they were previously in government. Handing out a total of EUR 1.5 billion to voters in September would amount to only “5 percent of their loot”, he added, referring to Smer and Hlas. [Tasr] 

Matovic’s OLaNO party won parliamentary elections in March 2020 after pledging to clean up graft following a Smer-led government. Matovic was forced to step down as premier after secretly agreeing to a shipment of unapproved Russian Covid vaccines a year later. [Reuters] 

Ahead of this September’s elections, the Smer and Hlas parties are leading in the opinion polls. Smer chief Robert Fico, a former three-time prime minister, has opposed delivering arms to Ukraine and voiced scepticism over Western sanctions on Moscow.

Lawmakers on January 31 voted to shorten the Slovak parliament’s term after months of political turmoil that saw the country’s centre-right ruling coalition collapse. The move brings the elections forward to September from a previously scheduled date of February 2024. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

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Slovakia: Defence minister denies Ukrainian weapon repairs are being blocked

Slovakia’s defence minister has denied that his government is preventing Ukraine’s military equipment from being repaired in his country. [Spectator] [Euro Integration] 

Jaroslav Nad was speaking on February 16 after German media reported that 15 broken howitzers had been piled up on the Slovak-Ukraine border for weeks. [Teraz] [Business Insider] “I have no information about… any equipment standing there for weeks,” Nad said. [Teraz] 

On behalf of the German military, German company Kraus-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) in December set up a base in Slovakia near the Ukrainian border to repair howitzers, Gepard anti-aircraft guns and M270 rocket launchers which Berlin delivered to Kyiv and which were later damaged during fighting. [Business Insider] [Reuters] [Babel] 

News outlet Business Insider reported, however, that Slovakia was not accepting broken military equipment due to unresolved legal issues and import duties.  

German officials admitted that they had overlooked some legal questions as they attempted to set up the repair base quickly under an agreement with Slovakia, according to Business Insider. 

Nad said that Germany had resolved those issues, adding: “The German ministry of defence and the chancellor’s office took adequate steps. The situation has changed and I no longer see a problem there.” [Teraz] 

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Slovakia: Former interior minister charged with bribery

Former three-time interior minister Robert Kalinak of Slovakia’s leftist opposition Smer-SD party has been charged with bribery by the country’s National Crime Agency (NAKA). [Tasr]    

Officials said that Kalinak paid the former head of Slovakia’s Financial Administration, Frantisek Imrecze, in exchange for favours. [Slovak Spectator] [Euractiv]   

According to the indictment, the former interior minister had oligarch Jozef Brhel pay Imrecze a total of EUR 1.1 million between 2014 and 2018 for giving Kalinak information about tax audits. [Startitup]   

Kalinak denies the allegations. He and Smer party leader Robert Fico have said that the investigation into the former minister’s activities is politically motivated. [Tvnoviny] [Ujszo] [Nitranoviny]  

Smer-SD is doing well in opinion polls ahead of the country’s September parliamentary election. [Ta3]  The party has threatened to overturn police investigations into its members if it gets into power. [Sme] Smer has also said that it will abolish the Special Prosecutor’s Office (USP), which has been examining Kalinak’s case. [Pluska]   

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Slovenia: Same-sex partners allowed to marry and adopt children

Gay couples in Slovenia will have the right to adopt children after the country amended its legal definition of marriage to include unions between same-sex partners. [Slovenian government]

The amendment, adopted on January 31 following a Constitutional Court decision, has been welcomed by the ruling liberal Freedom Movement party and by LGBT organisations.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said on social media that her country had joined the “most progressive and open democracies in the world”. The Slovenian embassy in the United States added that Slovenia was the first country in Eastern Europe and the Balkans to legalise same-sex marriage. [Twitter, RTV SLO]

A liberal government took over in Slovenia after parliamentary elections last April, replacing a right-wing administration. Meanwhile, Natasa Pirc Musar, a staunch advocate of LGBT rights, won the country’s presidential election in November. [Europe Monthly December 2022]

Previously, same-sex partners in Slovenia could establish a civil union. The new rules allow such unions to be converted into legally-recognised marriages. [Slovenian Government]

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Constitutional Law and Politics in Northern Europe

Denmark: First licences issued for captured carbon to be stored in North Sea

Denmark has awarded its first licences allowing captured carbon emissions to be stored in the North Sea. The permits have been issued to Germany’s Wintershall Dea, Britain’s INEOS Energy and France’s TotalEnergies. [Carbon Herald]

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is a new way of removing CO2 pollution from the atmosphere by storing it underground. Denmark hopes the method will help it reach a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2045. [Reuters]

Wintershall Dea and INEOS are jointly leading the new Greensand Project, which will see over one million tonnes of CO2 injected into depleted North Sea oil and gas fields by 2025. The companies plan to increase this to eight million tonnes a year by 2030 – equivalent to more than 13 percent of Denmark’s annual CO2 emissions. [Newsendip]

Another initiative called the Bifrost Project, led by TotalEnergies, aims to inject up to three million tonnes of carbon into depleted oil and gas fields from 2027, with the amount rising to five million tonnes in total by 2030. [Euro News]

It is estimated that the total investment into these projects by Denmark will reach over EUR 74 million. [Euro News]

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Denmark: Non-tender wind projects halted for fear of breaching EU law  

Denmark has suspended processing applications for new wind power projects due to a possible conflict with European Union law, a move that has raised concerns over whether the country will be able to meet its clean energy targets. [Reuters] [Bloomberg]

The Danish Energy Agency said on February 6 that it had stopped examining applications under a programme that allows energy companies to suggest and build renewable energy projects without undergoing the usual tender process.  

The agency said that awarding permits through the programme could be in violation of EU laws. [Reuters]

Denmark aims to increase its offshore wind power capacity fivefold by 2030. Over 47 percent of its electricity production currently comes from wind power. [Reuters]  

The country's energy ministry has said that now it will instead issue tenders for new offshore wind power projects. [Reuters]

Meanwhile, Denmark’s minister of climate, energy and utilities, Lars Aagaard, ruled out using traditional nuclear power as an energy source, calling it “simply a no-go.”  He added that there was no market need for nuclear power, and that solar and wind energy were cheaper. [The Local] [Borsen]

His comments came in response to a demand by the right-of-centre opposition Liberal Alliance party to explore nuclear power as an energy source. [The Local]

 A report by 16 Danish researchers published last year said that nuclear power was “too slow and too expensive,” adding that nuclear power plants were twice as costly as wind or solar energy farms. [Videnskab]

Nuclear energy has been banned in Denmark since 1985. The Danish Climate Act aims to reduce the nation’s net greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 by switching to renewable energy sources. [IEA]

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Denmark: EUR 170m plan for renewable hydrogen approved by EU

A EUR 170 million plan by Denmark to produce renewable hydrogen has been given the green light by the European Commission. The decision by the EU’s executive, which took into account the bloc’s state aid rules, means that Denmark can proceed with its ambitious project to use wind and solar power to create hydrogen, which can be used as a clean energy source. [Offshore Energy][European Commission]

The plan is part of Denmark’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions and promote green energy. The country has set a goal of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030, and becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. The production of renewable hydrogen is seen as a key part of achieving that goal. [Offshore Energy]

Renewable hydrogen is created by a technology called Power-to-X (PtX), which uses renewable energy sources to power the process of electrolysis. The process splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then be converted into fuel or used to generate electricity.  

The Danish project involves the construction of large-scale electrolysers powered by wind and solar energy. The hydrogen generated is to be used in a variety of applications, including transport, industry and heating. [European Commission]

The approval of Denmark’s plan by the European Commission is in line with the targets of the European Green Deal, which aims for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by switching to renewable sources of energy. The project will also support theREPowerEU plan to end the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and tackle climate change.

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Denmark: Plan to ease work permit rules amid labour shortage

A new government bill aims to make it easier for foreigners to gain a work permit in Denmark as the country faces a labour shortage. Danish companies have requested a relaxation of the regulations so they can hire staff from overseas. [The Local]

Under the current system, non-European Union citizens must have a job that pays at least 418,000 kroner (EUR 40,822) a year lined up to obtain a work permit – a rule that has been criticised for limiting access to skilled labour. The new regulations would lower the salary requirement to 375,000 kroner (EUR 34,170). [The Local]

According to a survey by the Lederne management union, one in four companies in Denmark is reliant on foreign labour to keep running.

However, some critics have expressed concern that relaxing the rules could result in Danish workers being overlooked in favour of foreign labour. [The Local]

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Denmark: Storm Otto causes disruption

Widespread disruption was caused across Denmark following a powerful storm over the North Sea that hit parts of northern Europe. [AP News] 

The storm, named Otto by the Danish Meteorological Institute, first impacted north-western Denmark and southern Norway on February 17, with hurricane-strength gusts recorded in Thorsminde, a fishing town on Denmark’s North Sea coast. [AA] 

Train services were cancelled or delayed across the country. Ferries scheduled to depart from around Denmark to Norway and Sweden were told to stay in port, leaving some 5,000 passengers awaiting further travel instructions and arrangements. [Ice News] Flights to and from Copenhagen Airport were also cancelled or postponed. [BBC] 

As Storm Otto progressed east, the Oresund road and rail bridge connecting Copenhagen with the Swedish city of Malmo was closed during evening rush-hour. [BBC] 

Some 280 residents were evacuated from three different buildings on February 17 due to storm warnings, including the Bellahoj towers in the Copenhagen suburb of Bronshoj. [The Local]  Over 1,800 firefighters were placed on emergency duty between February 17 and 19. [AA] 

A ferry line to northern Germany was suspended as the storm hit parts of the German Baltic Sea coast. [South China Morning Post]

Disruption was also caused in Scotland and in north-east England as winds reached up to 80mph, resulting in some flights and trains being cancelled and tens of thousands of homes losing power. [South China Morning Post]

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Finland: New law makes it easier to change legal gender

The Finnish parliament has passed a law to make it easier for adults to change their legal gender, removing the need for medical or psychiatric approval of such a move. [Euro News]  [Bloomberg]

Under a previous law, last updated in 2002, transgender people have had to prove they are infertile to legally change their gender. That condition will now be lifted. [GenderGP]

Prime Minister Sanna Marin had earlier said that reforming the law was a priority for her government. The change was supported by Marin’s five-party coalition government but met with resistance from the opposition right-wing Finns Party and the Christian Democrats. [Yle]

The new rules have been welcomed by human rights organisation Amnesty International. Matti Pihlajamaa, an LGBTI rights advisor for Amnesty Finland, called the change “a major step towards protecting trans people’s rights”. [Amnesty International]

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Finland should triple immigration to boost workforce, says think tank

Finland needs a three-fold increase in immigrant workers to counteract the economic effects of a shrinking workforce as the country’s population ages, according to a new report by an economic think tank. [Helsinki Times]

The Research Institute of Finnish Economy (Elta) report said that an increase in working-age immigrants can help improve public finances. [Euractiv] [Helsinki Times]

According to Statistics Finland, the government’s statistical agency, around 15,000 migrants arrive in the country every year, most of them to take up jobs. The report by Elta predicts that if emigration and immigration were to continue at their present rates, the working-age population would decline by 20 percent by 2070. [Helsinki Times] [Yle]

Finland’s low birth rate and rising life expectancy are resulting in an ageing population. The report said that a dwindling workforce means that the state’s tax revenues will fall and less money will be available for the country’s welfare programme.  [Helsinki Times][Nord News]

The government plans to increase work-based migration to 50,000 a year by 2030. The issue of immigration is set to be a key issue in parliamentary elections in April. [Euractiv]

The opposition right-wing populist Finns Party believes that the government should focus on providing more jobs for its own citizens. In its recently published immigration programme, the party said that Finland should only allow immigrants from outside the EU if they are highly educated and bring value-added skills with them. [Helsinki Times] [Yle]

The Elta report, meanwhile, said that while the economic impact of immigrants with low levels of education is less than that of highly educated people, the former nevertheless support economic growth because they help provide basic services. [Helsinki Times] [Yle] 

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Finland to grant refugee status to Afghan women and girls

Finland has decided to grant refugee status to all Afghan women and girls seeking asylum, saying they face “persecution” in their home country after it was taken over by the Taliban in 2021. [Helsinki Times]

The Finnish Immigration Service said in a statement that women in Afghanistan are suffering amid the Taliban’s strict implementation of Islamic religious sharia law. This has prompted the Finnish authorities to grant asylum to Afghan women based on their gender alone. [Schengen Visa News]

The Islamic fundamentalist Taliban has taken over much of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021. Since then, there have been reports of widespread violence and human rights abuses. As a result, many Afghans, particularly women and girls, have been forced to flee abroad. [Council on Foreign Relations]

A January report by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) deemed Afghan women and girls at risk of persecution and hence eligible for asylum in Europe. The report cited restrictions imposed on women in Afghanistan in terms of work, access to healthcare and education, and freedom of movement.

In December, the Finnish Immigration Service updated its guidelines on the processing of asylum applications submitted by Afghans of Hazara descent. The new guidelines will take into account the Hazara background of such applicants more clearly when asylum requests are considered. [Helsinki Times] [Finnish Immigration Services]

The Hazara are an ethnic and religious minority in Afghanistan who are being targeted by the Taliban. They also face violence at the hands of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), a central Asian branch of the so-called Islamic State that has been designated as a terrorist group by the UN. [Daily Finland] [Helsinki Times]

Since July 2021, Finland has not issued any decisions on Afghan asylum seekers that would lead to their removal from the Nordic country. [Helsinki Times]

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Finland: New project to teach EU citizens cybersecurity skills

Finland has started a new Cyber Citizen Project to help people across the EU protect themselves from online threats. [Helsinki Times]

As part of the programme, a collaboration between Aalto University and the Finnish ministry of transport and communication, an education portal will offer people of all ages and backgrounds advice about safety on digital platforms. [Helsinki Times] [Finnish Government]

The Cyber Citizen Project comes amid escalating online threats in the EU and worldwide. Cybercrime cost the global economy EUR 5.5 trillion annually by the end of 2020, twice the amount in 2015, according to the European Council.

Finland has received three years’ worth of funding for the project totalling EUR 5 million from the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund.[Helsinki Times]

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Finland: Most citizens willing to adjust lifestyle to fight climate change - poll

Fifty-one percent of Finns are willing to make sacrifices in their standard of living in order to combat climate change, according to a survey by the Helsingin Sanomat daily. [Helsinki Times] [Helsingin Sanomat]

According to Pekka Jokinen, a professor of environmental policy at the University of Tampere, the poll results reflect an increasing awareness of climate change in Finnish society. [Helsinki Times]

The study found that younger people are more supportive of steps to protect the environment than older citizens, as the former have to live longer with the consequences of climate change. [Helsingin Sanomat] [Helsinki Times]

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Iceland: Solitary confinement overused, says Amnesty

Iceland is “vastly overusing” solitary confinement during pre-trial detention, according to a new report by human rights organisation Amnesty International. [Iceland Review]

The report called on the Icelandic government to address the “harmful and unjustified” use of such confinement. [Amnesty International]  [Iceland Review]

The report said that 825 people were put in solitary confinement before their trial between 2012 and 2021, ten of whom were aged between 15 and 17. It criticised Iceland for regularly putting people in solitary confinement for long periods, including vulnerable individuals like children and people with physical and mental disabilities.

“In a small country with low rates of imprisonment generally, and pre-trial detention specifically, these figures are troubling,” the report said. Amnesty called the “abusive use of solitary confinement” a violation of human rights.

The UN Nelson Mandela Rules for Treatment of Prisoners stipulate that solitary confinement should only be imposed in exceptional cases as a last resort and for the minimum period possible. The rules also prohibit the use of such confinement for individuals with physical or mental disabilities.

The Amnesty report set forth a set of recommendations for the Icelandic government to revise laws on solitary confinement. It urged the authorities to prohibit using isolation for children and people with a disability for more than 15 days. [Iceland Review]

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Norway: Sovereign wealth fund loses over EUR 150bn 

The sovereign wealth fund of Norway, one of the biggest global investors, posted a record EUR 151.9 billion loss in 2022, bringing the total in the fund down to an estimated EUR 1.15 trillion.  

Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, which runs the fund, said: “The market was impacted by war in Europe, high inflation, and rising interest rates. This negatively impacted both the equity market and bond market at the same time.” [Deutsche Welle]

Previously, the largest loss of the Norwegian sovereign fund was in 2008, when it lost EUR 58 billion. [Bloomberg] [Deutsche Welle] [Reuters]    

The fund, created in 1996 from oil and gas revenues, generates wealth through investment in real estate and company stocks, with additional investment in green energy transition technology. [Bloomberg] [Deutsche Welle] [Reuters] 

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Norway: Justice minister apologizes over TikTok on official phone

Norway’s justice minister has apologized for not admitting that she had installed TikTok on her work phone when she was questioned about the issue in parliament. [AP News] [Aftenposten]

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has prompted security concerns in Western countries, though Norway has no law barring politicians from using the application. [AP News] [Aftenposten]

Justice Minister Emilie Mehl came under scrutiny after videos she uploaded to TikTok appeared concurrently with work functions. Lawmakers questioned her about whether she had the application on her government-issued phone, but she had avoided direct answers. [AP News] [Aftenposten]

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store came out in support of Mehl, saying that he believed she properly followed guidance from Norway’s ministry of security.

Mehl said she had the TikTok application on her official phone for one month last autumn.

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Norway: High levels of toxic chemicals reported in Arctic ice

A study led by researchers at Britain’s Oxford University has found 26 different types of highly toxic PFAS chemicals in the ice floes of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, north of the Arctic circle, posing a danger to ecosystems. [The Guardian] [NRK]

PFAS are also known as “forever chemicals”, as they do not break down naturally. The study said that melting Arctic ice releases PFAS into all parts of the food chain – from the smallest plankton to apex predators such as polar bears. Researchers have previously found evidence of PFAS in the blood of polar bears on Svalbard.

The chemicals could spread from melting ice into fjords and tundra if left unchecked, according to the researchers.

PFAS belong to a class of chemicals used to make consumer products water, stain and heat-resistant, and have been linked to cancer, kidney failure, and other health conditions. PFAS compounds can move through the atmosphere to be deposited in the Arctic, the Guardian reported.

For two of the PFAS chemicals found, the levels were higher than what is considered safe for human consumption in drinking water. [NRK] [The Guardian]

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Sweden: Gov’t launches campaign backed by far-right to deter migrants

Sweden’s minority government, which is reliant on a far-right grouping, has announced a new campaign to cut the level of migration to the country.

The drive, which will see information sent to foreign embassies in Stockholm, aims to end the “idea of Sweden as a country of subsidies”, Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenegard said.

Stenegard announced the launch of the campaign alongside Henrik Vinge, the parliamentary leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, who are vocally opposed to migration. [Dagens Nyheter] [Euractiv]

The Sweden Democrats, who received the second highest vote share in the country’s September parliamentary elections, do not have any ministerial positions but the centre-right minority coalition government is reliant on the party’s support to pass legislation. [Europe Monthly November 2022]

Since being installed, the government has already started to limit migration, setting a higher income requirement for those who want to obtain work visas and introducing stricter regulations on undocumented migrants, including DNA sampling to corroborate identity. [Europe Monthly January 2023]

The new campaign will attempt to educate potential migrants about the realities of living in Sweden. It comes as EU leaders agreed to adopt tougher measures against a rising number of “irregular” migrants. According to Frontex, the EU’s border agency, around 330,000 crossings by such people were recorded last year around the continent, the highest figure since 2016. (See separate story in this issue)

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Sweden: Officials counter claims about kidnappings of Muslim children

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has tasked officials with combating what the government says is a disinformation campaign that alleges social service agencies are kidnapping Muslim children.

“This is false. This is not true,” Kristersson said at a press conference on February 3. “Sweden does not kidnap children. The social services do not kidnap children.”

The Swedish Psychological Defence Agency, which was created to combat misinformation, has previously said that the claims originated from a website set up by an individual who voiced support for the Islamic State militant group. [AP News] [Dagens Nyheter] [Goteborgs-Posten]

Officials say that disinformation about the Swedish Care of Young Persons Act started to appear around December 2021 and has spread through social media via videos and posts in Arabic.

Health and welfare officials will now increase their presence online to reach out with real information. In addition, the Psychological Defence Agency will work with affected populations and provide support where necessary, according to the government.

An additional proposal is to increase protection of social service workers’ personal data. [Dagens Nyheter] [Goteborgs-Posten] [AP News]

The moves by the government come amid tensions in Sweden’s Muslim community, which were fuelled by a protest in Stockholm in January where a Koran was burned. [Europe Monthly January 2023]

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Sweden tests new Patriot air defence system

The Swedish armed forces tested their new American Patriot air defence system on February 6 in the western port city of Gothenburg.

The deployment of the system is part of a larger contingency plan for the country’s west coast in the event of an attack. [Euractiv] [Goteborgs-Posten] [Svenska Dagbladet] The Patriots, which have a range of 60 to 160 kilometres, would be used to intercept missiles and aircraft.

Sweden bought the system from the US in two purchases last year totalling over EUR 2 billion. [Euractiv] [Goteborgs-Posten] [Svenska Dagbladet]

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Sweden: Public broadcaster, airline hit by cyberattacks

Sweden’s main public news station, SVT, and the country’s flagship airline, SAS, were among organisations hit by a cyberattack on February 14. In addition to service outages, SAS said that customer information had leaked from its app.

Hospitals, universities and smaller media outlets in Sweden also reported that they had been targeted. The incidents were deemed to be denial of service attacks, which attempt to overload an IT system, thereby limiting its use.

A group called Anonymous Sudan claimed it was behind the disruption, although Swedish cybersecurity expert Marcus Murray said that he believed the attacks were a Russian operation. [Euractiv] [Reuters] [Dagens Nyheter] [Goteborgs-Posten]

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International Relations/Geopolitics/EU Governance

EU agrees to tougher restrictions on ‘irregular’ migrants 

EU leaders have agreed at a special summit to adopt stricter measures against a rising number of unwanted migrants and to speed up the return of those who are not given refugee status. 

The bloc on February 10 reached a consensus that migrants who have been denied asylum in one EU country should be prevented from seeking asylum in a different European nation. 

“We will act to strengthen our external borders and prevent irregular migration,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. [DW]

She announced that the European Commission would allocate funds to reinforce the bloc’s external borders with additional cameras, patrol cars, watchtowers, aerial surveillance and modern surveillance technologies. [NL Times] 

The summit in Brussels was called after leaders from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands voiced concern over an increasing number of “irregular” migrants entering Europe. [Reuters] 

According to Frontex, the EU’s border agency, around 330,000 crossings by such migrants were recorded last year, the highest figure since 2016. [Reuters] 

While the 27-member bloc hosts millions of refugees who have fled conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine, it often declines asylum requests from nationals of what are judged to be safer countries, such as Bangladesh, Turkey, and Tunisia. [DW] 

The European Commission estimates that over 60 percent of those seeking asylum across the continent did not need international protection last year. [Euronews] 

Division over border walls 

European leaders were divided on whether to use EU funds to build more fences and walls on the bloc’s external borders.

Von der Leyen has previously said the EU would not pay for such infrastructure, while countries like Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary urged Brussels to help erect border fences to halt illegal entries from the EU’s neighbouring countries. [DW] 

Before the February 9 summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for EU financing for border fences, saying that “fences protect all of Europe”. [Reuters]  

But Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said that “Fortress Europe” was not the answer and that it was vital to offer immigrants legal ways to enter European countries. [Reuters] 

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EU: Two more MEPs arrested in ‘Qatargate’ corruption scandal

Amid a scandal that has damaged the EU’s reputation, two more lawmakers have been arrested in a corruption probe which alleges members of the European Parliament and aides were paid several million euros by Qatar and Morocco for influence and information.

Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, a member of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, was placed in custody on February 11 on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and participating in a criminal organisation, according to the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office. [FT]

Italian lawmaker Andrea Cozzolino was detained the day before in Naples as he was leaving a health clinic where he was receiving treatment for heart problems, his lawyer said in a statement.

Cozzolino, also from the Socialists and Democrats group, was placed under house arrest. His lawyer vowed to fight an attempt to extradite him to Belgium. Cozzolino and Tarabella both deny the accusations against them. [Euronews]

The allegations against the two are the same as those brought in December against Greek MEP and former European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, and three others. The revelations sparked a major political scandal, dubbed “Qatargate” by the media.

Kaili was arrested and jailed at the outbreak of the scandal alongside her partner Francesco Giorgi; the group’s alleged ringleader, Pier Antonio Panzeri; and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, who leads an NGO. The latter, who claims he is innocent, was released from prison.

Plea deal

In a plea deal with Belgian authorities, Panzeri – an Italian former MEP – confessed to being one of the leaders of a Brussels-based influence-peddling group, and agreed to share details of the network’s activities in exchange for a lighter sentence. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

Belgian media reported that Panzeri claimed he had handed EUR 120,000 in cash to Tarabella in several instalments relating to the latter’s work on Qatar-related issues. [Euronews]

Kaili’s partner, Francesco Giorgi, who served as a parliamentary aide to Panzeri before working for Cozzolino, was provisionally released from jail with an electronic tag on February 23. [Politico]

Giorgi has confessed to being involved in the corruption scheme. During questioning, he claimed Cozzolino and Tarabella were also implicated, and tried to shift blame away from Kaili.

Kaili has been denied pre-trial release and saw her detention extended by two more months on February 16. She continues to claim her innocence. [Euronews]

Link to Qatari labour minister alleged

An arrest warrant for Kaili seen by Politico alleges that Panzeri was working on behalf of Qatar’s Labour Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri.

The warrant also alleges “several million euros” were “paid secretly, in cash by Morocco and Qatar” to the suspects – hinting that the EUR 1.5 million seized by police in relation to the case may not represent the total amount paid to Panzeri’s group, according to Politico.

Answering a question about the discrepancy, a spokesperson for the Belgian prosecutor said investigators had not yet established the full extent of all payments related to the scandal. Qatar and Morocco have both denied any wrongdoing.

Moral standing of EU called into question

Despite being stripped of their functions and arrested pending trial, Kaili, Tarabella and Cozzolino still retain their status and salaries as MEPs. [Euronews 1] [Euronews 2]

Meanwhile, the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, a human rights watchdog, has warned in a report that the scandal could undermine the EU’s attempts to hold national governments to account for rule-of-law violations.

The report, assembled by 45 rights organisations in 18 countries across the bloc, said Qatargate was “likely to have damaged the credibility and moral standing of the EU”, which could make it more difficult to take action against member countries like Hungary and Poland, which “remain the worst offenders on the rule of law.” [Euractiv] (See separate stories in this issue on the EU’s latest action against Poland, and on Hungary’s problems with corruption)

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EU lawmakers approve effective 2035 ban on new fossil fuel cars

The European Parliament has approved a law that will effectively ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars as of 2035, in an effort to accelerate the EU’s transition to electric vehicles and reduce the bloc’s emissions in line with its climate targets.

The landmark legislation, endorsed by MEPs in a vote on February 14, will require carmakers to cut carbon emissions from new vehicles by 100 percent. This means that from 2035 onwards, no new hybrid or fossil fuel-powered cars will be allowed to be sold in the bloc. [France 24]

It also states that new cars sold in 2030 will need to have CO2 emissions 55 percent lower than 2021 levels. [Reuters]

EU member countries agreed on the bill in October, but still need to rubber stamp the legislation before it enters into effect. Final approval of the law is expected in March. [Reuters]

‘Victory for our planet’

Karima Delli, head of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee, said the decision was “a historic vote for the ecological transition” and “a victory for our planet and our populations”.

“We will no longer, or almost no longer, have petrol or diesel cars on our roads in 2050,” she added. [Euronews]

The law is part of a larger package of EU climate policies entitled “Fit for 55”, designed to slash the bloc’s emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The legislation will also contribute to the EU’s goal of a “climate neutral” economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

According to the European Commission, cars and vans are responsible for about 15 percent of the bloc’s emissions.

However, the bill ran into opposition.

Italy’s transport minister and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said: “We all care about water, air quality and a cleaner environment… but that does not mean laying off millions of workers and shutting down thousands of businesses.”

‘Ideological fundamentalism’

Salvini, who leads Italy’s right-wing League party, labelled the EU’s plans to rely solely on electric vehicles “ideological fundamentalism” that he said represented “suicide and a gift to China.” [Euractiv]

Jens Gieseke, a German lawmaker from the centre-right European People’s Party, said that rising energy costs have made “null and void” arguments from Green and Socialist MEPs that electric cars are cheaper to run.

Gieseke also said that the jobs of 600,000 people working in Germany on the production of internal combustion engines “are at risk.”

Members of the European People’s Party group who opposed the law argued it could generate a “Havana effect”, where EU citizens who cannot afford an electric vehicle would purchase second-hand, older combustion engine cars after the sale of new vehicles is banned.

Opponents of the bill also argue that batteries for electric vehicles are produced by the bloc’s competitors, but European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said EU investments would help increase European production. [France 24]

Competition from China

Timmermans, who is the bloc’s climate commissioner, also told MEPs that by the end of 2023 “China will bring 80 models of electric cars to the international market.”

“These are good cars. These are cars that will be more and more affordable, and we need to compete with that. We don’t want to give up this essential industry to outsiders,” he added. [Euronews]

Independently from the vote in the European Parliament, the European Commission on the same day unveiled plans to slash emissions from heavier vehicles, which it says represent six percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Taking 2019 emission levels as a reference, the plans stipulate that trucks and coaches must reduce their emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2040. City buses would also need to reduce emissions to zero by 2030. [FT]

The plans are subject to change during a lengthy negotiation process that will take place between the Commission, the European Parliament and European member states.

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EC announces new green deal energy development plan

The European Commission (EC) is planning new energy and industrial development legislation in response to the competitive pressures of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which provides tax breaks and subsidies that have led many European companies to plan new US investments.  

Dubbed “A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age,” the initiative would provide tax breaks and subsidies to ensure onshoring of manufacturing supply chains for renewable energy components, batteries, and related critical mineral processing. The EC announced the initiative on February 1. [EC]   

The new initiative purports to significantly expand the RePower EU plan by expanding the European industrial base to ensure made in Europe solutions comprise the majority of new renewable energy infrastructure to be built under the plan.

Separately, the German Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced on February 21 that state bank KFW would provide large scale financial support for renewable energy projects to enable it to reach its target to derive 80 percent of national energy needs from renewable sources by 2030.   

This planned shift under the new German “Energiewende” policy is especially significant given 75 percent of its energy is currently derived from fossil fuel. New subsidies are planned to support over 200 gigawatts of new wind and solar power generation. [U.S. ITA] 

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New York Times sues EU over Von der Leyen Pfizer texts

The New York Times is suing the European Commission over its refusal to publicly disclose text messages between the EU executive’s chief, Ursula Von der Leyen, and the CEO of American pharmaceutical company Pfizer amid a probe into the bloc’s coronavirus vaccine deals. [Euractiv]

The lawsuit was filed in the European Court of Justice on January 25 but was only revealed when it was published in the court’spublic register on February 13. [Politico]

The New York Times declined to comment on the case, but Politico reported that the newspaper would argue the Commission is legally obliged to release the messages, which may contain details on the bloc’s billion-euro procurements of Covid-19 vaccines.

The lawsuit comes after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, an independent EU body that probes financial crime, announced in October 2022 that it was opening an investigation into the bloc’s coronavirus vaccine purchases.

The probe drew attention to Von der Leyen’s handling of the EU’s largest vaccine procurement contract, signed in May 2021, which saw the bloc agree to buy up to 1.8 billion doses of Pfizer vaccines. [Europe Monthly November 2022]

The European Court of Auditors found in a report in September that Von der Leyen bypassed negotiation teams by exchanging text messages directly with Pfizer chief Albert Bourla to arrange a preliminary agreement.

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China’s ambassador to EU calls for end to mutual sanctions

Beijing’s ambassador to Brussels has said that the European Union and China should lift economic sanctions against each other and pave the way for an agreement on investment and trade cooperation. Ambassador Fu Cong’s comments came in an interview with the European Policy Centre think tank on February 8.

Negotiations on a comprehensive investment agreement between China and the EU started in 2013, but the European Parliament put the talks on hold in 2021 following sanctions imposed on Beijing over what Brussels said were human rights abuses in Xinjiang. [AiR No. 12, March/2021, 4] [Mission of the PRC to the EU] [AiR, No.7 February/2023, 2]

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EU, South Korea plan to strengthen ties

The European Union and South Korea are planning to enhance cooperation and strengthen ties.

South Korean deputy foreign minister Cho Hyun-Dong and Stefano Sannino, Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, met in Washington on February 14 to discuss bilateral relations, the Indo-Pacific region and the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Cho asked for the EU’s continued support on security and human rights issues, and for cooperation in efforts to bring about denuclearization in North Korea.

The EU and South Korea also discussed setting up a working-level consultation channel. [Yonhap] [AiR, No.8 February/2023, 3]

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Thai Cabinet gives green light to talks on free trade deal with EU

Thailand’s Cabinet on February 14 gave the green light for formal talks to begin with the European Union on a free trade agreement. [The Nation Thailand]

Official negotiations will start as soon as all 27 EU member states agree. Bangkok hopes to start the negotiation process in the first quarter of this year. [Pattaya Mail]

Talks on an EU-Thailand free trade deal were launched in March 2013 but put on hold following a military coup in Thailand in May 2014, after which bilateral relations remained frosty for several years.

Last year, the two sides concluded a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which sought to improve bilateral ties on a range of issues, from human rights to counterterrorism. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of an ASEAN-EU summit in Brussels in December. (See AiR No. 51, December/2022, 3)

Thailand is conscious of the need to diversify trade links away from the United States and China, two of its main partners. The EU, for its part, is seeking to diversify away from China as geopolitical risks rise and as Brussels increasingly views Beijing as a competitor. At present, the EU has free trade agreements with two ASEAN states – Singapore and Vietnam. [AiR, No.8 February/2023, 3]

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Council of Europe watchdog urges fair access to medical equipment at times of shortage

The decision-making body of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights watchdog, has said that access to medical equipment in situations of shortage should be fair.

The recommendation by the Committee of Ministers came as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, when demand for medical supplies and health care rose sharply, but supply chain disruptions and labour shortages caused a deficit of equipment and services. [FTIconsulting] 

The Council of Europe proposal, which is not binding on the watchdog’s 46 member states, lays down principles aiming to ensure that prioritisation is based on medical criteria that are transparent.

It also recommends ways to prevent shortages in equipment and health care, especially for people who have serious or life-threatening conditions. [Council of Europe] 

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Council of Europe presents action plan to support Belarussian democratic forces, civil society

The Council of Europe has presented its 15-point action plan to support Belarusian democratic forces and civil society which are working towards a free and democratic Belarus.

The framework, announced by Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric on February 1, includes training and workshops on human rights, especially on the European Convention of Human Rights, and study-visits for Belarussian lawyers to the Council’s headquarters in Strasbourg. Key issues that are being treated specifically are the abolition of the death penalty, non-discrimination, and the fight against violence against women. [Council of Europe]

After Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in March 2022 for invading Ukraine, the Council cut-off relations with Belarus which was never a member but had a special guest status. However, a contact group to keep in touch with and support the Belarussian civil society was founded. [tsikhanouskaya]

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Hungary ranked as most corrupt country in EU, Denmark the cleanest

Hungary is seen by experts to be the most corrupt country in the European Union, while Denmark and Finland are the “cleanest”, according to a new report by Transparency International.

The watchdog said in its annual Corruption Perception Index for 2022 that while Western Europe and the European Union is the world’s least corrupt region, progress in fighting graft has largely stagnated for more than a decade.

“The changing security landscape since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a looming recession both demand robust responses from governments,” the report added. “However, undue influence over decision-making, poor enforcement of integrity safeguards and threats to the rule of law are undermining governments’ effectiveness” in tackling corruption in Europe.

‘Democratic backsliding’ in Hungary

Transparency International said that Hungary has seen a decade of “democratic backsliding and systematic deterioration of the rule of law” under the ruling right-wing Fidesz party, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“Evidence is mounting against [Hungarian] political elites on their misuse of both state and EU funds”, the watchdog added. Hungary has dropped 24 places in the NGO’s corruption index since Orban came to power in 2010. [Bloomberg]

Hungary has been locked in a row with Brussels over rule-of-law concerns that has led to the freezing of EU funds for Budapest. [Europe Monthly December 2022]

Transparency International said that the effectiveness of the EU’s so-called conditionality mechanism, which links pay-outs of money to the upholding of democratic standards, depends on Brussels’ “willingness to compel Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government to introduce meaningful reforms”.

Corruption scandal in EU

Budapest reacted to the Transparency report by pointing to an EU corruption scandal that saw the detention of European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili in December over allegations of bribery. [AFP] [Europe Monthly January 2023] [Europe Monthly February 2023]

The scandal, dubbed “Qatargate” by the media, has been described as one of the biggest to hit the European Union.

The corruption scheme is suspected to have enabled Qatar and Morocco to pay European lawmakers and aides hundreds of thousands of euros in exchange for influence and information. Qatar and Morocco deny allegations of misconduct.

‘Oligarchic influence’ in Bulgaria

Among European Union countries, Bulgaria and Romania have once again joined Hungary at the bottom of the Transparency ranking. Bulgaria, judged to be second most corrupt in the bloc, has vested corporate interests which have “established strong oligarchic influence,” Transparency said.

The NGO added: “Political corruption has prevented free and fair parliamentary elections, while the latest round of legislative amendments pushed through at the end of 2022 further increase the likelihood of electoral manipulation” in Bulgaria.

The Council of Europe human rights watchdog has highlighted weaknesses in Bulgaria’s judiciary, putting the country under special supervision, Transparency International noted. [Transparency International]

Meanwhile, Denmark and Finland are perceived as the least corrupt countries both in the EU and globally. Nevertheless, the Transparency report says the two Nordic nations still need to address shortcomings in their political integrity.

Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. 

According to the latest report, Somalia, Syria and South Sudan are the most corrupt in the world.

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Ireland, Portugal scrap ‘golden visa’ schemes

Ireland ended its “golden visa” scheme, which granted residency to foreigners from non-EU states who invest heavily in the country, on February 14. Two days later, Portugal did the same.

Both countries launched their programmes in 2012, aiming to stimulate investment and create jobs. [BBC] [ElDiario.es] However, last year the European Commission voiced concerns about golden visas, saying they raise “inherent security, money laundering, tax evasion and corruption risks”. [Europe Monthly December 2022]

The Irish government said its decision was informed by reports from a range of international organisations.

Meanwhile, Portugal’s Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa said his government aimed to “fight against speculation in [Portugal’s] real estate”. [Forbes]

Golden visas have been long criticised for increasing housing and rental prices in Portugal. [Europe Monthly December 2022]

In Spain, the left-wing Mas Pais opposition party has submitted a bill to parliament that aims to end the possibility of obtaining golden visas through the purchase of real estate. [Publico]

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Poland taken to top court for challenging primacy of EU law

The European Commission is taking Poland to the Court of Justice of the EU over rulings by a Warsaw tribunal which Brussels says challenge the primacy of the bloc’s laws. [The Guardian] [Politico] [Reuters] [European Commission]

The Commission’s move is in response to rulings in 2021 by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal – the country’s top court – which said that parts of EU treaties are not compatible with the Polish constitution. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said at the time that the verdict posed a “direct challenge to the unity of the European legal order”. [Reuters] [Politico] [The Guardian] [European Commission] [Europe Monthly November 2021]

Justifying its decision to take the issue to the Court of Justice of the EU, the European Commission said in a statement: “Primacy of EU law ensures equal application of EU law across the Union.” It added: “The Commission’s objective is to ensure that the rights of Polish citizens are protected and that they can enjoy the benefits of the EU in the same way as all EU citizens.” [European Commission]

The Commission also said that “irregularities” in Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal mean that it “no longer meets the requirements of an independent and impartial tribunal.” [European Commission]

The Commission was referring to the appointments of several judges, which the EU’s executive says were not carried out in accordance with the rule of law. [European Commission] [Politico]

The Commission notified Warsaw of its concerns in July 2022, but said that the response it received did not address its worries, prompting it to refer the case to the EU’s top court. [European Commission] [Reuters]

Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro – who heads the hardline United Poland party, a junior coalition partner in the country’s nationalist government – called the Commission’s latest move part of a “German plan to liquidate EU member states in order to create one, centralised state with the formal capital in Brussels and the real one in Berlin.” [Notes From Poland]

Warsaw and Brussels have been in a long-running dispute over rule-of-law concerns, with the EU continuing to block EUR 35.4 billion in Covid recovery funds for Poland. Brussels refuses to release the money until Poland’s governing right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS) party reverses some of the sweeping changes it has made to the Polish judiciary. (See separate story in this issue)

Brussels says the changes undermine the political independence of Polish judges. Critics claim that PiS is flouting a key tenet of liberal democracy by stacking Polish courts with the party’s yes-men. The ruling party denies the charges. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

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European cyber attacks highlight question about insurable risk

A cyber ransomware attack that temporarily interrupted the functioning of global financial markets ended after ransom payment for an undisclosed amount was made on February 3 for Dublin, Ireland-based ION Derivatives after their multi-trillion dollar derivative trading operations were disrupted on January 31.  [WSJ] [Reuters][Reuters] 

International law enforcement attributed the attack to the Russian hacking organisation known as Lockbit. The attack incapacitated ION servers which allow banks to automate the processing of trades. Banks were forced to process trades manually as a result. [Bloomberg]

The hackers who claimed responsibility for a disruptive breach at financial data firm ION said a ransom had been paid, but they declined to say how much it was or offer any evidence that the money had been handed over.ION Group declined to comment on the statement. Lockbit communicated the claim to Reuters via its online chat account but declined to clarify who had paid the money - saying it had come from a "very rich unknown philanthropist.” [Reuters] 

Italy, France and Finland were among countries that were hit by global ransomware cyberattacks that left millions of users without internet access as servers were compromised on February 3. Thousands of computer servers were targeted in the global cyberattack, which also affected the United States and Canada.  [Reuters] [Politico] [EuroNews] [ABC News][Reuters] [Politico] [EuroNews] [ANSA] [Bleeping Computer]

The cyber strikes  followed a January cyberattack on the UK Royal Mail service. That attack, also attributed to Lockbit, crippled postal operations nationwide, highlighting the cyber risk to critical infrastructure in Europe and across the world. [Bloomberg]

The series of attacks have raised questions about how to cover the financial impact of the attacks and what will be insurable in the future. The private sector has been financially responsible for cyber risk in the past while governments focus on criminal investigation and legal prosecution.  

Government responsibility

Governments may now be forced to take financial responsibility for large scale damage from cyberattacks, particularly if companies attacked become uninsurable. That is likely to happen at some point in the near future, Zurich Insurance CEO Mario Greco said in a December Financial Times interview.  [FT]  

Zurich, a leading insurer worldwide, denied a 2019 USD 100 million claim by food processor Mondelez, claiming that the ransomware cyber attack that caused the damages was a “warlike” action. While it has now finally settled the claim three years later, Zurich and other firms in the insurance industry may be preparing to withdraw from the cyber insurance business altogether.  

Lloyds of London, a global insurance marketplace, also announced last year it would cease offering cyber insurance for state sanctioned cyberattacks on March 31 this year. [Lloyds]

Without cyber insurance, a lot of critical infrastructure owners and operators will be forced to shut down. Governments may eventually be responsible for sponsoring cybersecurity insurance, just as they have had to sponsor investment in critical energy infrastructure following the interruption of Russian energy supplies following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Increasing number of attacks

The debate about insurance against state-sponsored cyber attacks has emerged amid an increasing number of ransomware strikes. State attributed cyberattacks on critical infrastructure doubled in 2022, according to Microsoft. [Microsoft] 

European Union (EU) governments are stepping up their efforts. The EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) proposed a continent wide cybersecurity upgrade in its annual November report due to the rising frequency of cyberattacks following the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [ENISA]   

The EU revealed a “proposal for directive on measures for high common level of cybersecurity across the Union” on December 16 to update the Network and Information Security (NIS). The NIS was the first EU cyber and critical infrastructure security law.  It required European governments to form Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs), a “competent” national NIS government agency in each country, and a single point of contact for cyber incidents in each country. [EC][EC]   

It did not however, address the issue of cyber insurance or provide a mechanism to ensure a combined public and private sector response to a disruptive cyberattack on critical infrastructure. If private sector cyber insurance is withdrawn, governments may be forced to fill the void to ensure the continued operation of critical infrastructure. 

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Eight EU nations taken to Court of Justice over protection of whistleblowers 

The European Commission is referring eight EU countries to the bloc’s top court, saying they have failed to comply with rules drawn up by Brussels to protect whistleblowers.  

The Commission announced on February 15 that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Poland had not implemented the bloc’s directive on the protection of people reporting breaches of EU law.  

The directive was adopted in October 2019 to tackle the “fragmented” protection of whistleblowers across the bloc’s member states, which were supposed to transpose the rules into their national legislation before December 2021. 

EU countries were required to ensure that potential whistleblowers have “clear reporting channels available” and to prohibit and punish “retaliation in its various forms”.  

The Commission took steps against 15 nations for not complying with such rules and found the response of eight of them “unsatisfactory”. The EU’s executive has now decided to take the eight to the European Court of Justice. [European Commission] 

Two weeks before the Commission’s decision, Germany’s upper house of parliament shot down a bill on whistleblower protection. [DW] 

The legislation, which aimed to force companies with 50 or more employees to establish a mechanism for whistleblowers to reveal troubling activity without fear of reprisals, was halted by the conservative opposition. [DW] 

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European Commission sues Bulgaria over renewable energy delay

The European Commission (EC) plans on suing Bulgaria and Slovakia for their failure to comply with the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive and to implement the respective directives into national legislation. [Reuters]

The directive sets a binding target for renewable energy of at least 32 percent as well as a target of a 14 percent share of renewable fuels in transport, which must both be reached by 2030. The Commission gave European Union (EU) member states until June 30, 2021 to exhibit a demonstrative effort to comply with the targets set out.

The EC sent them a letter of notice in July after both countries missed their deadline. Neither has provided satisfactory responses, according to the Commission.

The Commission has now asked the Court of Justice to impose financial sanctions on Slovakia and Bulgaria to “ensure the development of renewable energy across the EU and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy dependence and high prices,” it said in the statement. [CGTN]

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Kosovo accepts EU proposal for peace deal with Serbia 

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has accepted a European Union (EU) proposed peace deal which aims to normalise relations between Kosovo and Serbia. The announcement on February 6 comes despite Kosovo’s concerns that the deal may give more concessions to local Serbs. [Reuters] [Reuters] [Radio Free Europe]

Western envoys have informed Kosovo and Serbia that they should state whether they accept an 11-point plan or face repercussions from the EU and US. The proposed peace deal, which is being lobbied for by France, Germany and the United States, also calls for the creation of semi-autonomous Serb majority municipalities. Prime Minister Kurti has previously been opposed to the plan on the grounds it would partition the country along ethnic lines. [Reuters]Reuters]

Under the deal, Serbia would be required to stop lobbying against Kosovo’s membership to international bodies, including the United Nations (UN) but would not have to recognise Kosovo’s independence. The plan would require both countries to have open representative offices in Pristina and Belgrade, respectively. [Al Jazeera]

The EU-mediated normalisation talks have been ongoing between the two countries for over ten years.

“We do accept the EU proposal for normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and consider it a good basis for further discussion and a solid platform for moving forward,” Kurti tweeted. [Reuters]

However, the proposal does not address the fact that the five EU member states which continue to refuse Kosovo as an independent state. They include Romania, Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Slovakia. It also does not outline a process for which Kosovo may join international bodies, including the UN. [Al Jazeera]

Kurt Bassuener, senior associate at Berlin-based think tank Democratization Policy Council, said that the deal is deliberately ambiguous because of challenges from other European countries. “It’s certainly not a recognition from a Kosovo perspective to join clubs in the international community.” [Al Jazeera]

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it will require “difficult compromises” of their respective leaders to achieve the normalisation of relationships between Kosovo and Serbia. [Reuters]

The statements refer to ongoing negotiations for an EU peace plan presented in 2022, which would see Belgrade stop lobbying against Kosovo participating in international organisations, including the UN. Pristina and Belgrade have accepted the EU plan in principle as a base for further negotiations.

“I am confident that normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo will bring security and prosperity for Serbia and all citizens in the Western Balkans,” Blinken said. “Certainly, Serbian and Kosovan leaders will make difficult compromises to achieve these goals, but rewards for the Serbian people – and the entire region – will be vast.” [Reuters]

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35 countries vow support for ban on Russia and Belarus in international sport

Thirty-five countries including France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the United States have voiced support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions. [Reuters]

In a joint statement published on February 20 by the British government, the countries denounced Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been facilitated by the government in Minsk.

They expressed concern over proposals by the International Olympic Committee to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic games under “strict conditions”. [gov.uk]

Last year, the Olympic committee recommended that athletes from Russia and Belarus should be barred from international competitions, but on January 25 it issued a statement saying that all athletes should be respected “without any discrimination”.

UN experts commended the Olympic committee for considering allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in a “neutral” capacity.

The 35 nations, including Ireland, Poland and Spain, said the “neutrality” model is troubling given that athletes are “directly funded and supported by their states”. [gov.uk]

Ukraine has threatened to boycott the 2024 Olympics if Russian and Belarussian competitors take part. [Reuters]

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Row over claim that Hungary could claim Slovak territory

Slovakia’s foreign minister has refused to apologise after he was criticised by officials in Budapest and by members of his own party for claiming that Hungary would take parts of Slovak territory if Russia defeated Ukraine. [Spectator] [Euractiv]     

Rastislav Kacer, a member of Slovakia’s governing centre-right OLaNO party, made the claims on the Markiza Na Telo PLUS television channel on February 6.    

Asked if Hungary would make territorial claims on neighbouring Slovakia, Kacer replied: “If Vladimir Putin were more successful and Russia was next to our eastern border, I think that we would be facing such claims today unfortunately.” [Spectator]   

At a press conference on February 8, OLaNO leader Igor Matovic said that Hungary was not a threat to Slovakia and called on Kacer to apologise. Matovic added that he would call on Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova and acting Prime Minister Eduard Heger to suspend Kacer as foreign minister if he failed to issue an apology.  [Tvnoviny] [Dailynewshungary]     

Kacer also claimed in his interview that he had in his safe an intelligence file proving Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban intended to claim Slovak territory. [Dennikn] [Dailynewshungary]    

Tamas Menczer, Hungary’s secretary of state for foreign affairs, called the claims “nonsense lies” and accused Kacer of “attacking Hungary”. [Facebook] [Budapesttimes]   

Gyorgi Gyimesi, a member of Slovakia’s OLaNO party who has Hungarian roots, called on Kacer to provide evidence of the alleged intelligence file. [Dailynewshungary]    

Kacer is not alone in warning of Budapest’s intentions. In April 2022, Boris Kollar, the Speaker of the parliament in Bratislava, also claimed that Hungary would make territorial claims on Slovakia if Russia defeated Ukraine. [Hungarian Conservative] [Dennikn]   

According to Kollar, Moscow undermined the “international system [of sovereignty]” by going to war with Kyiv. If Ukraine is defeated, Slovakia’s sovereignty would be threatened, and “Orban can take advantage of this,” Kollar said. [Hungarytoday] [Ma7] 

Orban was criticised for wearing a football scarf in November depicting Hungary’s pre-World War I territory, which included what are now parts of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Ukraine. [Europe Monthly December 2022]    

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Slovenia aims to strengthen military ties with Cyprus and Hungary

Slovenian Defence Minister Marjan Sarec discussed the strengthening of military and security links in talks with his Cypriot and Hungarian counterparts in early February.

In Nicosia, Sarec and the Cypriot defence minister, Charalambos Petrides, signed a deal on cooperation in military training, security research and development, and cyber security. Sarec said he supported a “more ambitious and effective” European Common Security and Defence Policy. [Slovenian Government]

Sarec also went to Budapest on a visit aiming to consolidate the existing military relationship between Slovenia and Hungary and discuss further cooperation between the two countries within NATO and the EU.

Sarec and his Hungarian counterpart Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky talked about maintaining their involvement in the security and stability of the Western Balkans. [Slovenian Government]

Alongside developing its defence partnerships, Slovenia has announced plans to rapidly increase military spending. [Europe in Review, No. 5, May/2022]

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Sweden, Finland insist they want to join NATO in tandem

Sweden and Finland have declared they want to join NATO at the same time following tensions between Stockholm and Ankara, which has suggested that it could consider a Finnish bid to enter the alliance while holding off on a decision about Sweden.

The two Nordic nations require the approval of all 30 NATO members, including Turkey, to become members of the military alliance. Ankara has so far refused to give the green light to their bids, which were launched last year as the two countries sought greater security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: “It is a fair approach to set a difference between a problematic country and a less problematic one.” [Reuters]

Relations between Turkey and Sweden deteriorated after protests in Stockholm in January during which a copy of the Koran was burned and an effigy of Turkish President Recep Erdogan was hanged. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

However, following high-level diplomatic activity, Ankara later signalled it was willing to resume talks with Sweden on its application.

Appearing together at a press conference in Stockholm on February 2, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin insisted that they wanted to join NATO in tandem. [The Independent] [Deutsche Welle]

Kristersson said: “We embarked on this journey together and we do the journey towards membership together.” Marin added: “It’s in everybody’s interest that we… join together.” [The Independent] [Deutsche Welle]

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said the two countries hoped to join the alliance by July. [Reuters] 

Stoltenberg urges speed

However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on February 14 suggested it was more important that the Nordic nations’ bids were ratified quickly than together.

“The main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together. The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg said. [Reuters]

One unnamed NATO diplomat was quoted in the Financial Times as saying: “It is essential that Finland is in NATO as soon as possible. Of course, we want Sweden in there too, but if we have to wait a month or two extra for that, I don’t see that as a problem.” [Financial Times] [Reuters] 

Meanwhile, Swedish police denied a protest permit to a group who wanted to burn a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. [Euronews] [Deutsche Welle]

The Swedish security service said that an earlier incident in which a Koran was set alight outside Turkey’s embassy in January “can be determined to have increased threats against both Swedish society at large, but also against Sweden, Swedish interests abroad and Swedes abroad.” [Deutsche Welle] 

NATO chief sees ‘progress’

Following a February 20 meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Turkish foreign minister, Ankara signalled it was willing to restart talks with Sweden on joining NATO. [Bloomberg] [Euractiv]

Stoltenberg met Erdogan in the Turkish capital  on February 15 and 16, saying afterwards: “I see progress... My aim is to have both Finland and Sweden as full members by the NATO summit.” The summit is to take place on July 11 and 12 in Vilnius, Lithuania. [Reuters] [Bloomberg]

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France establishes trilateral cooperation initiative with India and United Arab Emirates

The Foreign Ministers of France, India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) worked on creating an action plan for their new trilateral partnership during a phone call on February 4. The three countries agreed on establishing the Trilateral Cooperation Initiative in September 2022. [France Diplomacy]

The three sides agreed on four main specific areas of action. The initiative will promote projects in the fields of energy, sustainable developments in the fight against climate change, joint development in defence and technological innovation, notably in research against infectious diseases. The three countries scheduled a series of trilateral events organised in the scope of the Indian Presidency of the G20 and the UAE’s hosting of COP-28. [France Diplomacy]

Earlier that week, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna visited the UAE in the context of rising tensions in the Middle East. Colonna reaffirmed France’s commitment to regional security and stability and expressed her satisfaction with the cultural and security cooperation between Paris and Abu Dhabi. [France Diplomacy]

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Azerbaijan, European Union renew commitment to strategic energy partnership

The European Union and Azerbaijan renewed their commitment to a strategic energy partnership during the joint 9th Ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the 1st Green Energy Advisory Council meeting in Baku on 3 February. [European Commission]

The meetings aimed to promote long-term energy security, sustainability, and the diversification of supply, while also expanding cooperation on the energy transition agenda. The co-chairs of both councils expressed their support for expanding the Southern Gas Corridor to new energy markets, with the successful commissioning of the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector being recognized as an important development. [European Commission]

They emphasised the importance of reducing methane emissions across supply chains and highlighted the significance of the recent "agreement on strategic partnership in the field of green energy development and transmission between the governments of the Republic Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary" signed on December 17. [European Commission]

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev noted the importance of energy security and Azerbaijan's efforts to expand and diversify its energy supplies. He also mentioned the Southern Gas Corridor project, its recent expansion, and the successful implementation of gas exports to Europe, thanks to the mutual political will, technical efforts, and trust between countries. 

Aliyev highlighted the milestones achieved in 2022, such as the signing of an agreement on strategic partnership with the European Commission, the inauguration of the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector, and the agreement with Romania on gas supply. [Prezident AZ]

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Curbs to border traffic as tensions grow between Belarus and Poland

Tensions between Poland and its eastern neighbour Belarus have escalated, with tit-for-tat curbs on border road traffic introduced after a Polish journalist and activist was sentenced to eight years in a maximum-security penal colony by a Belarusian court.

Poland’s interior minister, Mariusz Kaminski, called the sentencing of Andrzej Poczobut a “repressive measure” against the Polish minority in Belarus. Kaminski ordered traffic at a border crossing in Bobrowniki, eastern Poland, to be suspended from February 10 until further notice.

He told TVP Info, a Polish state-run news channel, that shutting the crossing “sends a clear message to the Belarusian regime” that it cannot “persecute Poles with impunity.”

In response, Minsk restricted Polish freight traffic on Belarus’ borders with Lithuania and Latvia. And on February 20, two Polish consuls and a liaison officer of the Polish border guard in Minsk were told to leave Belarus.

Poland later the same day announced it was suspending freight traffic for Belarusian vehicles at its Kukuryki-Kozlowicze border crossing from February 21. [Reuters]

Relations between Minsk and Warsaw – which has provided refuge for political opponents of Belarus’ strongman President Alexander Lukashenko – were previously already tense over issues including the case of Poczobut.

The Polish journalist has been arrested and imprisoned numerous times since 2011, including in 2021 as part of a wider crackdown against critics of Lukashenko’s regime. [Radio Poland] [Politico]

Following almost 700 days in custody, Poczobut was given an eight-year sentence on February 8 after being found guilty of “fomenting hatred” and “acting to the detriment of Belarus”. [Radio Poland] [Politico]

The foreign ministry in Warsaw said the case was politically motivated and that the verdict showed “systemic discrimination” against the Polish national minority in Belarus.

This community totals some 300,000 people, according to the 2019 Belarusian census. [Radio Poland] [Politico] The Polish government, however, says the number is closer to 1.1 million. [Radio Poland] [Politico] 

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Bulgaria starts talks with EU over EUR 92m grant to fund circular economy

Bulgaria’s innovation ministry has initiated talks with the European Commission over a European Union (EU)-backed grant scheme of EUR 92 million to support Bulgaria’s transition towards a more circular carbon economy. [SeeNews]

The scheme will provide grants to manufacturing and industrial companies with the aim of reducing waste and pollution, while increasing output with recycled resources. Larger companies will receive greater subsidies on average. 

The project aims to introduce climate-neutral approaches and technologies for companies’ production and consumption. It will bring the Bulgarian economy in line with EU directives on climate efficiency for its member countries.

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Bulgaria withdraws ambassador from North Macedonia

Bulgaria has withdrawn its ambassador from North Macedonia for an indefinite period of time after an attack on the secretary of a Bulgarian cultural club, Hristiyan Pendikov, in the country. Ethnic hatred was cited as the motive behind the attack on the secretary.. [The Times]

Sofia has accused Skopje of inadequately protecting the ethnic Bulgarian minority within its borders. Both the US State Department and the European Union Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, have made statements expressing concern over the rising tensions between the Balkan nations, with the former explicitly calling on the nations to “de-escalate.” [Novinite]

North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osman described Bulgaria’s decision to withdraw Ambassador Angel Angelov as “disproportionate.” 

“The state immediately identified the perpetrators,” he said. “One of them is in custody. There were condemnations. I don't see what the connection would be between one case and the reaction." Osmani added that “there is an interest from third parties in supporting the once-frozen conflicts in the region”. [RFERL]

Further accusations

Bulgaria has also accused North Macedonia of preventing its citizens from crossing the border to attend a commemoration for a 19th century revolutionary who is considered a national hero in both countries. 

Following Sofia’s accusation, the North Macedonian interior ministry said that three Bulgarians, including former politician Angel Georgiev, had been detained at the border for insulting and subsequently attempting “to physically attack police officers while performing their duties”. 

North Macedonia held a ceremony for revolutionary Goce Declev at the Church of Holy Salvation in Skopje. Delegations from both nations attended. [VOA]

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Bulgaria inaugurates construction of gas pipeline with Serbia

Bulgaria has begun construction of a long-delayed natural gas interconnector with Serbia that will allow Belgrade to access the Southern Gas Corridor commissioned by the European Commission. [Reuters]

Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Rossen Hristov said at an event marking the start of construction that the ambition is to complete its 62-kilometre section by the end of 2023. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev added that “this project opens up new opportunities for genuine diversification and security of supplies Serbia will get access to new sources of gas coming from the Southern Gas Corridor and LNG terminals in the Aegean Sea”. [MENAFN]

The Southern Gas Corridor was proposed in 2008 to reduce European Union dependence on Russian gas. The pipeline, which runs from Azerbaijan to Europe, consists of the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion, the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

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Czechs end controls at Slovak border as migrant numbers fall

The Czech Republic on February 5 ended checks at its border with Slovakia that were imposed last year amid a rise in migrant numbers. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said that migration had now “significantly dropped”. [AP News]   

The border controls, which were criticised by Slovakia, were introduced in September 2022 to prevent illegal migrants – many of them from Syria – from using the Czech Republic as a transit route to Germany. [Schengenvisainfo]

Last year, the Czech authorities took some 12,000 migrants into custody, more than during Europe’s 2015 migration crisis. [AP News]

As well as being members of the European Union, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are both part of the visa-free Schengen zone, which enables unrestricted movement across 27 European countries.

Slovakia had said that Prague’s decision to conduct border checks went against the Schengen area’s free movement principle. [Reuters]

Other Schengen countries also imposed temporary border controls to restrict the spread of the coronavirus and illegal migration. [AP News]

The Czech border inspections had been set to end on January 25, but the country’s interior ministry extended the controls until February 5 amid concerns over people-smuggling. [Euractiv]

Austria, whose controls at its border with Slovakia were expected to end on January 26, continued to carry out checks until February 6 for the same reason. [Schengenvisainfo] 

Meanwhile, EU leaders have agreed to adopt tougher measures against “irregular” migration. According to Frontex, the EU’s border agency, around 330,000 crossings by such migrants were recorded last year around the continent, the highest figure since 2016.(See separate story in this issue)

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European Commission will not impose additional conditions on Bulgaria for Schengen accession

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said during a press conference on February 7 that the it would not impose additional conditions on Bulgaria for its accession into the Schengen area. [Novinite]

“Romania and Bulgaria fulfil all the conditions for Schengen and the fact that they were not accepted is regrettable,” Sefcovic said, adding that “placing additional conditions before Bulgaria’s entry is unfair”. [Anadolu Agency]

In December,  the Council of the European Union unanimously voted to lift border controls with Croatia. Austria and the Netherlands vetoed the accession of Romania and Bulgaria into the visa-free zone for concerns over illegal migration through the Western Balkan route.

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EU, Ukraine hold talks about Kyiv’s membership accession

European Union officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, visited Ukraine from February 2 to February 3 for a summit to discuss Ukraine’s candidate status for EU accession and further military aid. [Reuters] [DW] [Euronews]

The EU made Ukraine a candidate country in June 2022. Kiev now must fulfil the so-called seven recommendations and establish legislative and policy reforms to become a full member.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on January 13 that he thinks Ukraine could pass the accession process in less than two years. President Volodymyr  Zelensky  expressed his wish for a fast-track accession process, saying that the country “deserves to start negotiations on EU membership this year”. [Europe Monthly February 2023] [Ukrainian Government] [EURACTIV]

President  Zelensky  held his fist in-person address to the European Parliament on February 9, in which he reinforced his wish for a fast accession process. “Ukraine is going to be a member of the EU,” he said. [EURACTIV] [Reuters] [AP]

Together with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Zelensky asked EU member states to consider making long-range missile systems and jets available for Ukraine. His country is defending “Europe’s way of life” in the fight against the Russian invasion,  Zelensky said. [EURACTIV]

Lengthy Process

EU officials have said that full membership is still a lengthy process for Ukraine.

During the summit, Von der Leyen said that Ukraine is “taking notable steps forward to meet our recommendations while simultaneously fighting an invasion”. She added “there are no rigid timelines” but there are goals that Ukraine has to reach. [EURACTIV] [Reuters] [DW]

EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi presented findings of Ukraine’s current progress, saying that the report “underlines strong efforts in aligning with the EU”. But “speed should not come at the expense of quality,” he added. [EURACTIV]

Further reforms are necessary in areas of anti-corruption and justice, anti-money laundering, de-oligarchization, media laws and national minorities, Várhelyi said.

The next step is an informal assessment of the European Commission’s seven recommendations in spring 2023. President  Zelensky  said that “the goal is to start negotiations this year”. [DW]

The accession process can take years. The last country to have joined the EU was Croatia in 2013, 10 years after applying for membership.

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Greece, United Kingdom sign defence cooperation declaration

British Defence Minister Ben Wallace and his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos have signed a declaration of defence cooperation at the Portsmouth Naval Base. [ekathimerini]

A representative of the British defence ministry said the two countries want to “strengthen our already close relationship in order to face common threats and challenges together while looking forward to new opportunities for future cooperation”. The agreement will outline a cooperation framework for dealing with modern threats such as hybrid warfare and cyberattacks. [Greek Reporter]

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Greece signs EUR 900m in financing agreements with EIB

The Greek government has signed  financing agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support priority investments focusing on the country’s green and digital transitions.

The EUR 900 million in EIB financing will support a more competitive, innovative, and export-oriented growth model for Greece. It will also promote urban regeneration in local municipalities. Greece’s Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras said that EIB’s co-financing will facilitate investments of EUR 23 billion. [ekathimerini]

Greece’s Deputy Minister of Development and Investments Yannis Tsakiris, said “the co-financing of European structural funds provides yet another strong vote of confidence in the Greek economy’s prospects but also acts as a springboard for entrepreneurship to make a dynamic restart.” [EIB]

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Hungary will maintain ties with Russia, says PM Orban

Hungarian populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said his government will not cut off ties with Russia, challenging the EU’s efforts to maintain a united front against Moscow after it invaded Ukraine.

In his annual state of the nation address in Budapest on February 18, Orban said Hungary “will maintain economic relations with Russia” and urged others to do the same.

Orban, who has long been criticised for his friendly ties with the Kremlin, has stood against EU sanctions on Moscow and has refused to provide neighbouring Ukraine with armaments. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

He said that European nations, by supplying weapons, “are already indirectly at war with Russia”, and reiterated that he will not agree to “gas, oil or nuclear sanctions that would ruin Hungary”.

The government in Budapest blames EU sanctions for rising inflation in Hungary, which peaked at 26.2 percent in January, the highest in the European Union. [Eurostat]

Orban said that he wants a sovereign Ukraine, but added that the means to achieve this is “an immediate ceasefire and negotiations” and not “defeating Russia”. [Miniszterelnok]

Hungarian foreign minister visits Belarus

Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto travelled to Belarus on February 13, becoming the first senior official from an EU nation to visit the country since the regime in Minsk launched a brutal crackdown on opposition in 2020. [AP]

Minsk, a close ally of Russia, has supported Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and let Russian troops traverse its territory during the war. [RFE/RL]

The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus in 2020 and 2022, and Szijjarto’s visit came as Brussels is expected to consider further such measures. [AP] [RFE/RL]

“Many will attack me for this, but (…) channels of communication must be kept open,” Szijjarto said on Facebook.

He added that he had asked his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik to make sure that Minsk “does everything possible for peace”. [Telex]

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Italian Senate approves new cross-border commuter agreement with Switzerland

The Italian Senate has approved a new cross-border commuter agreement with Switzerland. [Switzerland Times]

With the continuous arrival of immigrants from the Mediterranean, Italy has refused to take back refugees from Switzerland, which is against the Dublin agreement. Switzerland has not been able to repatriate around 170 migrants following Italy’s hope for other European countries to take in more refugees. [Switzerland Times]

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Netherlands closes consulate in Istanbul after protestors shred Koran

The Dutch consulate in Istanbul has been closed indefinitely to the public after a Koran was torn apart during a demonstration in the Hague.  [NL Times]

After a copy of the Koran was shredded and stomped on during a demonstration led by a Dutch far-right group in front of the Netherlands’ lower house, the Dutch ambassador in Turkey was summoned by the government. The Turkish government demanded the Netherlands stop such “provocative actions”. [NL Times]

Similar demonstrations took place in Sweden and Denmark. 

According to the Turkish foreign affairs ministry these actions “may arouse anti-Western feelings and lead to demonstrations and protests,” and would increase a “threat of an attack against Western targets”. The ministry already warned Dutch people in Turkey to avoid protests over the weekend because they could turn violent. [NL Times]

Several countries closed their Turkish consulates as a precaution following the fear of anti-Western attacks. [NL Times]

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European Commission proposes EUR 100m aid to North Macedonia

The European Commission has proposed macro-financial assistance (MFA) of EUR 100 million to North Macedonia to support the country’s economy this year and in 2024. [SeeNews]

The Commission noted that North Macedonia’s external balance is deteriorating as it depends on energy imports of fuel and electricity, which has been disrupted by “Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine”. It added that North Macedonia faces large external debt repayment needs in 2023 due it is changing fiscal situation. 

The Commission will provide the funding in the form of loans, which are intended as a complement to assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The MFA is subject to approval by the European Parliament and as long as the policy requirements outlined in the memorandum of understanding between the European Union and North Macedonia are fulfilled. [STL News]

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EU provides EUR 22.5m to North Macedonia to improve waste management

The European Commission approved a EUR 22.5 million investment to  North Macedonia to help the country modernise and expand its waste management system. [SeeNews]

The commission approved the grant under the Western Balkans Investment Framework, a joint European Union initiative aimed at “enhancing harmonisation and cooperation in investment for the socio-economic development of the region”.

The waste management project will cover more than one million inhabitants in the nation, which will include sanitary landfills, new transfer stations, infrastructure for waste collection and transportation, and a recycling centre, as well as the closure of two landfills. [Balkan Green Energy News]

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Norway’s PM plans to donate almost EUR 7bn to Ukraine

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has laid out a plan to donate EUR 6.9 billion to Ukraine over the next five years, with half the money going to military projects and the rest for humanitarian aid.

The funds are expected to come from oil and gas profits made in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine. After Russian oil and gas supplies were either cut off or embargoed in Europe, Norway became one of the chief suppliers of both oil and gas to the continent. [Reuters] [Bloomberg] [AP News]

Store leads a centre-left minority coalition and will need the support of other parties in the Norwegian parliament to sign off on the support for Ukraine. [AP News] [Bloomberg]

Norway gave Ukraine around EUR 920,000 in aid in 2022.

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Romania signs gas delivery contract with Azerbaijan 

Romanian state-owned oil and gas company, Romgaz and Azeri, signed an energy supply contract with its Azerbaijani counterpart, Socar, on February 3.

The first Azerbaijiani delivery had already arrived in January, with the new contract to be enforced from April. [EurActiv] 

That same day, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev commended Bucharest for its recent signing of a new green energy deal between the Southern Gas Corridor, linking Romania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Hungary, to improve energy security in the region. [AzerNews]

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Russia and Azerbaijan sign parliamentary cooperation deal

Russia’s Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, and Azerbaijan’s Chairwoman of Milli Majlis, Sahiba Gafarova, signed a cooperation agreement between the two parliaments, which will establish a high-level inter-parliamentary commission. 

Gafarova noted the growth of trade, investments, and cultural and humanitarian ties between the two countries. She expressed confidence that the agreement would contribute to the comprehensive strengthening of cooperation between the two countries. [The State of Duma]

The two discussed the settlement of the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, with Gafarova expressing Azerbaijan's appreciation for the role Russian President Vladimir Putin has played in resolving the conflict. 

Volodin warned against involving European structures in the resolution of the conflict, in particular the European Parliament and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He cited their lack of success in the case of Ukraine, and stressed the need to comply with the agreements signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia. [The State of Duma]

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Russia reportedly has strategy document for annexation of Belarus 

Russia has reportedly developed a strategy to annex Belarus by 2030, the Moscow Times reported, citing a Kremlin strategy document  The paper details the political, military, defence, humanitarian, trade, and economic integration of Belarus into Russia as part of a so-called “Union State” Yahoo News reported, citing an unnamed Western intelligence officer with direct knowledge of the document. 

The two-part document lays out Russia’s short-, mid-, and long-term goals, and potential risks if it annexed Belarus. The leaked document reportedly outlines Russia’s military expansion in Belarus with a joint command system and Russian weapons depots. [The Moscow Times]

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Belarus has been hosting Russian troops within its borders. Troops would carry out military drills against Ukraine from the country. 

"We see that our independence now is under threat... We see the threat of a slow occupation of our country,” said Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. [The Moscow Times]

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Amid fears of U-turn by Slovakia, EU envoys say arms for Kyiv vital

Senior European diplomats have said it is vital for EU and NATO nations to keep providing military help to Kyiv, amid fears that Slovakia could halt such support if populist former Prime Minister Robert Fico returns to power in September elections.

Unlike Slovakia’s current government, Fico, the leader of the leftist opposition Smer party, opposes delivering arms to Ukraine. He has also voiced scepticism over Western sanctions on Moscow. [Reuters]

During a meeting of Western ambassadors with Fico on February 1, the British envoy to Slovakia, Nigel Baker, said that some Smer lawmakers had “repeatedly spread misinformation” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and about the supply of Western weapons to Kyiv.

Baker added, according to the British embassy in Bratislava, that such comments disrupt Slovakia’s “long-built partnerships” with allies.

The French ambassador to Bratislava also raised “concerns” over Smer’s foreign policy. He emphasised the importance of EU and NATO countries providing military and financial support for Kyiv, the French embassy said.

Slovakia is a member of both the Western military alliance and the European Union.

Fico’s Smer is doing well in opinion polls after Slovak lawmakers on January 31 voted to shorten their parliament’s term, meaning that early elections will be held on September 30 after months of political turmoil that saw the country’s centre-right ruling coalition collapse. [Europe Monthly February 2023]

The government has been accused of aiding Ukrainians more than its own citizens amid soaring costs of living at home.

Slovakia has been a strong backer of its eastern neighbour. Prime Minister Eduard Heger told reporters on February 10 that his country could start talks on delivering 11 MIG-29 fighters now that it had received an official request from Kyiv for warplanes. But Fico plans to initiate a resolution in an effort to stop such a move. [Reuters] [FT Times] [Euractiv] 

Slovakia has sent an S-300 battery to Ukraine, in what was the first known case of a country donating an air defence system after the Russian invasion. Bratislava has also provided other military equipment, including Mi-series military helicopters and Grad rockets. [Reuters] 

Slovak parliament declares Russia a terrorist regime 

In a resolution on February 16, the Slovak parliament declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism and condemned Moscow for its missile strikes on civilians and crucial energy infrastructure across Ukraine. 

The resolution was passed with 78 deputies voting in favour, just enough to clinch a majority in the 150-member parliament. [Euractiv] 

Slovak lawmakers denounced what they said were direct and indirect threats by the Kremlin to resort to nuclear weapons. Deputies also called for a special tribunal to be set up to prosecute “perpetrators of crimes against humanity”. [Spectator] 

At the same time, Slovak lawmakers reiterated their support for Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity.  

Ukraine criticises Croatian president over Crimea comments

The Ukrainian foreign ministry and members of Croatia’s ruling party have criticised Croatian President Zoran Milanovic for saying that Crimea “will never again be part of Ukraine”. [N1] [Hina]

Speaking to reporters on January 30, Milanovic said that any involvement in the war in Ukraine other than sending humanitarian aid was “lethally dangerous”. [N1] [Hina]

However, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, whose ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party has had numerous conflicts with Milanovic, pledged his country’s continued support for Ukraine as it fights Russian invaders. [N1] [Hina]

Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, wrote on Facebook: “I wonder if Zoran Milanovic, with such rhetoric, could have become the president of his country in the 1990s, as Croatia struggled to preserve its statehood. Would his voters have agreed to close their eyes to the occupation of parts of their country? I doubt it.” [N1] [Hina]   

During the 1990s, Croatia fought and won a war as it tried to break free from the Republic of Yugoslavia. Many parts of Croatia were occupied by the Yugoslav army, with Serbia, the largest constituent part of the republic, claiming them as its own. 

An association that brings together the founders of Croatia’s governing Croatian Democratic Union party released a statement criticising Milanovic, saying that his comments about Ukraine were “a glaring example of his irresponsibility and the miserable and sad state of his impoverished spirit and the questionable quality of his incoherent judgement”. [N1] [Hina]

Before becoming president, Milanovic was the leader of the centre-left opposition Social Democratic Party. Over the last few years, he has clashed repeatedly with the Croatian Democratic Union, including over differing views on sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. [predsjednik] [emerald]  

Croatia has helped support Ukraine during the war, sending weapons and providing health care for refugees, but in December 2022 the government rejected an EU proposal for Ukrainian troops to be trained in Croatia. [N1] [Euractiv]  

Despite criticising Milanovic, Nikolenko said that Ukrainians “highly appreciate and thank the Croatian government and the Croatian people for their unwavering support of Ukrainians in their fight against Russian aggression”. [N1] [Hina]   

Speaking to reporters on February 18, Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic said: “The Croatian government is continuing its military aid to Ukraine and we are helping… as much as Croatia can.” [N1] [Hina]

When asked about the chances of the conflict in Ukraine spilling over to the Western Balkans, Plenkovic said Croatia has long believed that North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania should be part of the EU, which would help increase the stability of the region. [N1] [Hina]

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Ukraine’s Zelensky visits Paris

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited France for the first time since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February last year. 

He arrived in Paris on February 8 to discuss the supply of arms and defence cooperation with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Earlier that week, Zelensky had also visited London to discuss military aircraft delivery.  [France Bleu]

During his short stay, Zelensky received the highest French decoration, the Legion of Honour, from President Macron. During the ceremony, which was later shared on social media, Macron saluted Zelensky’s “bravery and commitment”. [Twitter]

Macron and Zelensky jointly went to the Special European Council on February 9 where European Union leaders notably discussed restrictive measures against Russia and President Zelensky’s ten-points peace plan. [European Council]

European Council, International Crisis/Conflict, France, Germany, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Russia

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Ukraine says Italy’s Berlusconi is ‘spreading Russian propaganda’

Kyiv has slammed former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for “spreading Russian propaganda” after he said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was to blame for the war with Russia.

Berlusconi, whose Forza Italia party is a member of Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition, said that if he were still leading the government in Rome, he would not seek to meet with Zelensky.

“All he [Zelensky] had to do was to stop attacking the two autonomous republics of the Donbas and this would not have happened”, Berlusconi said on February 12, referring to territory that was held by Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country and is now occupied by Russian troops. [Politico]

“I judge very, very negatively the behaviour of this gentleman,” added Berlusconi, a self-confessed friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, said on Facebook that Berlusconi “bears political and moral responsibility” for “spreading Russian propaganda”. Nikolenko said such comments would encourage Moscow to pursue its war in Ukraine.

‘Attempt to kiss Putin’s hands’

“Berlusconi’s ridiculous accusations against the Ukrainian president are an attempt to kiss Putin’s hands, which are covered in blood up to the elbows," Nikolenko added in the Facebook post, which he published alongside a photograph of Berlusconi kissing the hands of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2010.

The Ukrainian spokesperson welcomed a statement from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office which insisted that Rome’s “support for Ukraine is firm and convinced”. [Reuters] [The Local]

Meloni, who leads a right-wing governing coalition which includes Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, visited Kyiv on February 21 to reassert her backing of Ukraine.

In a joint press conference with Meloni, the Ukrainian president responded to Berlusconi’s comments, saying: “Mr. Berlusconi, it seems to me, has never had his house bombarded with missiles every day. And thank God his partner from the Russian Federation didn’t drive a tank into his house and destroy his relatives and close ones.” [Reuters] [Politico]

‘Bloody trail’ left by Russia

“To fully form an opinion,” Zelensky added, “one needs to come here” and witness the “bloody trail left by the ‘brotherly’ Russian Federation.”

Berlusconi did not officially respond. According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he said behind closed doors: “It’s not true that I don’t know war, as a young boy I was displaced as well. I lived through the horrors of war.” [Euractiv] [Al Jazeera]

This is not the first time that Berlusconi has sparked controversy with his comments on the Ukrainian conflict.

In October, the three-time former Italian prime minister caused uproar when he revealed in a leaked recording that he had exchanged “sweet letters” with Putin. In another recording, Berlusconi said the Russian president had been pushed into the war, and wanted to install “a government of decent people” in Kyiv – comments that Meloni rebuked at the time. [Europe Monthly November 2022] [Reuters] [Politico]

Uproar in EPP

Berlusconi’s latest comments sparked outrage across Europe, including from members of the centre-right European People’s Party, the political group in the European Parliament to which Berlusconi’s Forza Italia belongs.

Members of the group threatened to boycott a summer meeting of the European People’s Party in Naples, prompting its leader, Manfred Weber, to distance himself from Berlusconi and cancel the gathering. In a tweet, Weber added: “Support for Ukraine is not optional”.

Weber had backed the Italian governing coalition – Berlusconi’s Forza Italia in particular – prior to elections last year that brought it to power. He has also recently sought to forge closer links between Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and his own group, but faced strong opposition from members of the European People’s Party. [Politico] [Euractiv] [El Pais]

(qv/pk)

Macron hosts Israeli PM Netanyahu in France

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited France, where he met from February 2-4 with France’s President Emmanuel Macron, members of France’s Jewish community and business leaders.

The meeting took place amidst the current new escalation of Israel-Palestine conflict. During a dinner meeting between the two heads of state in the Elysee Palace, Macron affirmed France’s “solidarity with Israel in the face of terrorism,” but also underlined “the need for everyone to avoid measures likely to feed the spiral of violence.” [France 24] [Le Monde] [Public Senate]

(gm/gc)

Albania to receive USD 50m from US to support cyber security

The US will provide USD 50 million in support to improving Albania’s cyber defences, US Ambassador Yuri Kim said during a speech at the “Cyber Security Challenges in Albania” Conference on February 7. [US Embassy]  

“Iran’s cyberattacks on Albania, the United States’ NATO ally, have been dangerous, reckless, and a threat to the Albanian people and the Albanian nation. The United States will not hesitate to respond forcefully to malicious cyber actors when their actions threaten the United States or our Allies, or friends and partners,” Ambassador Kim said. [US Embassy]

“From incident response to digital forensics, strategic planning to risk analysis, we are committed to enabling and supporting Albania to defend itself. We cannot substitute for your own defence, but we will do everything in our power to enable you to defend yourselves.” [US Embassy]  

(jn/gc)

Croatian defence minister holds talks with US National Guard chief 

Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banozic has praised America as his country’s “most important partner in defence” after holding talks with the chief of the US National Guard Bureau.

In a meeting on February 18 as the international Munich Security Conference in Germany was taking place, Banozic talked with General Daniel Hokanson about cooperation between the Croatian and US armed forces, and the importance of supporting Ukraine, the Croatian defence ministry said.

Banozic later told reporters: “The United States is our most important partner in defence.” Hokanson said that Croatia-US relations were in good shape. [N1] [Hina]

(iy/pk) 

Czechs receive US funds to modernise army

The Czech Republic will receive EUR 188 million (USD 200 million) in US funds to modernise its defence capabilities and to compensate Prague for equipment it has sent to help Ukraine battle the Russian invasion.

The assistance, announced by the American embassy in Prague on February 16, comes in addition to EUR 99 million (USD 106 million) provided to the Czech Republic as a part of US Foreign Military Financing funds in September. [U.S Embassy] 

The Czech embassy in London said supplies worth tens of billions of Czech crowns would flow to Ukraine in the coming months. [Czech embassy] 

“We can do that not only due to our own resolve but also thanks to allies giving financial support, financial resources for modernising the army,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said. [Reuters] 

Shortly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine a year ago, the Czech Republic was one of the first NATO members to supply Kyiv with helicopters, tanks, howitzers and rocket launchers. [Czech embassy] [Reuters] 

“The first delivery of heavy equipment to Ukraine organised by us arrived merely 14 days into the invasion,” Fiala said. [Czech embassy] 

To date, Prague has provided Kyiv with 226 infantry fighting vehicles, 38 howitzers, 33 multiple rocket launchers, six air defence systems and four helicopters as part of a joint effort by the Czech government and the private sector. The Czech Republic has also agreed to repair Ukrainian armoured vehicles. [Reuters] [Aljazeera] 

(yt/pk) 

Netherlands seeks stronger ties with US

The Netherlands wants to strengthen its ties with the United States after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. 

“This first year of the war would have looked very different without the colossal deployment of American material and resources,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. [NL Times]

Early in January, Rutte and US President Joe Biden met to discuss collaboration for economic prosperity and transatlantic security. [Facebook]

The Netherlands will invest two percent of its gross domestic product in defence in order to comply with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. [NL Times]

(ava/gc)

Turkish president meets with US Secretary of State 

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara on February 20. Blinken reaffirmed the US commitment to provide aid that will help Turkey with its earthquake recovery. They also discussed Turkey’s position in the war in Ukraine. [US Department of State] 

Blinken also met with his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and visited earthquake zones. In a press conference, Cavusoglu thanked Blinken for all the assistance provided for the earthquake zones. 

Cavusoglu also mentioned the US sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey, and assured US support on the matter. Blinken added that although there is no official deadline for the sales procedure, the Biden administration strongly supports this purchase despite Congressional opposition. [US Department of State]

(lc/gc) 

US urges its citizens to leave Russia as soon as possible

The United States embassy in Moscow has urged its citizens to leave the country due to the increasing security risks they could face, including the possibility of forced enlistment in the Russian army. [The Moscow Times]

“The right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are not consistently protected in Russia,” the embassy said. It advised US citizens to “avoid all political or social protests” and to be aware that “commercial flight options are extremely limited and are often unavailable on short notice”. [US Embassy in Russia]

Staff at Washington’s diplomatic mission in Mosch was reduced after Moscow banned embassies of so-called “unfriendly” states to hire Russian staff. [The Moscow Times]

(ava/gc)

Senior Czech official says Prague supports Taiwan, despite anger in China

Amid anger in Beijing, the speaker of the Czech lower house of parliament, Marketa Pekarova Adamova, assured Taiwan on February 1 that her country supports those who respect liberal democracy and human rights. [Reuters]

Her comments, ahead of a visit she plans to Taipei in March, came after China condemned Czech President-elect Petr Pavel for holding phone talks with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen on January 30.

China claims Taiwan as its territory under its “One China Policy”. [Dennikn] [China Mission] [BBC] In order to avoid provoking China, the second largest economy globally, few European countries officially interact with Taiwan at the top diplomatic level. [Reuters] [Euractiv]

Pavel, who won his country’s presidential election on January 28, said on Twitter after his call with Tsai Ing-Wen that the Czech Republic and Taiwan “share the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights” and had agreed to strengthen bilateral relations. [Europe Monthly February 2022]

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded by saying that Beijing “deplores” Pavel’s move and called for Prague to “undo the negative impact of this incident so as to avoid irreparable damage to China-Czech relations.”

Czech Prime Minister Petra Fiala said that his country decides for itself whom it contacts. [AP News] Despite Pavel’s phone call with Taiwan’s president, Fiala said that Czech policy towards Beijing had not changed.

Czech President Milos Zeman, who will retire in March, favoured building relations with Beijing, and his country does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

(jbn/pk)

Finland hopes to increase trade with Taiwan: parliamentary official

Helsinki wants to expand trade relations with Taiwan, a Finnish parliamentary official has said during a visit to Taipei, adding that the East Asian nation, which is claimed by China as its own territory, has the right to decide its future for itself.

During a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on February 8, Mikko Karna, the chairman of the Finnish Parliamentary Taiwan Friendship Group, condemned what he called “Chinese aggression”.

President Tsai highlighted the growing ties between Taiwan and Finland. Bilateral trade expanded by 30 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year. [Overseas Community Affairs Council, Taiwan] [Taipei Times] [AiR, No.7 February/2023, 2] 

(aml/pk)  

Greece strengthens bilateral ties with Japan

Greece and Japan signed a joint statement of strategic cooperation to strengthen their security, defence and economic ties. The nations also pledged to cooperate in their response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and with other threats within Europe and Asia. [The Greek Herald]

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the agreement supports efforts to upgrade strategic relations. It started “close cooperation over a range of different sectors of policy: political, economic, climate, digital education, culture and tourism,” Mitsotakis said upon meeting his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Tokyo. 

The leaders additionally noted in a joint statement following their talks that they recognised the importance of promoting North Atlantic Treaty Organisation cooperation and engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. [AP]

(jk/gc)

Luxembourg Foreign Minister meets Sri Lankan Ambassador

Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Olinger held talks with Sri Lankan ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Grace Asirwatham to discuss bilateral  relations. During the meeting, they talked about trade,  tourism and pending bilateral agreements. Asirwatham also updated Olinger on the kingdom’s progress in its economic recovery. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Sri Lanka][AiR, No.7 February/2023, 2]

(aml/gc)

Russia: Uzbekistan to import Russian gas amid energy crisis

Uzbekistan will import natural gas from Russia following energy shortages due to historically cold temperatures this winter.  The two countries are currently holding consultations on terms of supply and negotiations will continue until a fuel price agreement is reached, the energy ministry of Uzbekistan said. [TASS]

(ava/gc)

Swiss delegation to Taiwan calls for amicable solution with China

A Swiss delegation to Taiwan, led by lower-house member and socialist party member Fabian Molina, called for an amicable resolution with mainland China on February 6. 

Molina reiterated that Taiwan was an important trading partner for Switzerland, while also highlighting the importance for democracies to support one another. Similarly, his colleague and green party member, Nicolas Welder, called for the integration of Taiwan into international organisations. 

This comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises concerns that an emboldened Beijing may follow suit and reclaim Taiwan. [RTS] 

(sw/gc)

Eight Croats re-arrested in Zambia on child trafficking charges

Four Croat couples have been re-arrested in Zambia on suspicion of human trafficking after charges against them were previously dropped. 

The Croats are accused of trafficking four children to Zambia from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. On February 6, a court in the central Zambian city of Ndola dropped all charges against the couples and told them to leave the country within 48 hours. [N1] [abc]

The next day, the four couples were re-arrested at an airport as they tried to board a plane. 

The fresh charges accuse the Croats of conspiring with a Zambian immigration officer to traffick the children on December 7, 2022.

After their first arrest, there had been no mention of an immigration officer being involved. The officer has also been arrested. Like the Croats, he has pleaded not guilty. [N1] [Europe Monthly February 2023]

The Croats have been granted bail. Their court case is scheduled to begin in March. [N1] [abc]

(iy/pk)

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