Meloni hesitates about Kallas’ appointment as head of EU diplomacy – Euractiv

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PARIS

Privatization of the French public broadcaster possible if RN comes to power. France’s far right, united behind the Rassemblement National (RN), has made the break-up and sale of the public broadcaster one of its priorities, although the details of the sale remain unknown. Read more.

French elections: candidate proposals to reduce energy bills affect European legislation. All three blocs participating in the French parliamentary elections are promising energy bill cuts, with most of the envisaged measures compatible with European law but subject to certain conditions. Read more.

French markets are reeling as the European Commission launches a deficit procedure. French financial markets lost further ground on Wednesday after the European Commission announced it plans to open an excessive deficit procedure (EDP) over the national budget, fueling fears that the ongoing political realignment could worsen the country’s economic headwinds . Read more.

Macron’s biggest risk yet may not be the far right, but the left. Emmanuel Macron’s call for early elections was thought to give the cordon sanitary against the far right a whole new boost with him at the helm – but the rapid formation of a solid left-wing coalition could prove to be a bigger headache for the embattled president. Read more.

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PARIS | BERLIN

How France and Germany want to close the EU’s security gaps at the European Championship and the Olympic Games. The patchy exchange of police information across the EU is making it harder to protect the summer’s international sporting tournaments, leaving France and Germany reliant on bilateral cooperation to close gaps. Read more.

NORTH AND BALTS

STOCKHOLM

The Swedish parliament is divided over the new controversial EU law on chat control. Swedish politicians from all sides of the political spectrum have reacted strongly to a controversial but government-backed EU proposal to improve the detection and removal of child sexual abuse material in text communications. Read more.

THE SOUTH OF EUROPE

LISBON

With an eye to Africa, the Portuguese Prime Minister promises to strengthen the relationship with France. Portugal is ready to commit to strengthening relations with France, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro told French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Wednesday, highlighting European agendas but also the influence they share in Africa. Read more.

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MADRID

Brussels decides not to open the excessive deficit procedure against Spain. The European Commission decided on Wednesday not to launch an excessive deficit procedure against Spain despite the country breaching the limit of EU budget rules last year, as it urged Madrid to face “emerging delays” in implementing its national recovery plan to address accompanying budget reforms. Read more.

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NICOSIA

Hezbollah threatens war against Cyprus if Nicosia continues to help Israel. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned on Wednesday that “no place” in Israel would be spared in the event of an outright war against the Lebanese group, and threatened Cyprus if it opened its airports to Israel. Read more.

EASTERN EUROPE

PRAGUE

The court in Prague will try to lift the immunity of the newly elected MEP. The Supreme Court in Prague is preparing to ask the European Parliament to lift the immunity of newly elected MEP and ANO (Renew) party member Jana Nagyová, who is involved in the subsidy fraud case together with ANO leader Andrej Babiš. Read more.

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WARSAW

The left fell prey to its own success, say Polish experts. The left in Europe has fallen prey to its own success, especially with the results of the EU elections in Poland, social studies professor Andrzej Rychard from the Polish Academy of Sciences told Euractiv Poland. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Ukrainians arrested for ‘espionage’ at Bulgaria’s largest coal-fired power station. A 23-year-old man with a Ukrainian passport was arrested in Bulgaria on suspicion of espionage at the country’s largest coal-fired power plant, Maritsa East 2. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania must decide whether to send Patriot to Ukraine. It is not the right time for Romania to send a Patriot system to Ukraine, according to a Defense Ministry report that the Supreme Council of National Defense will decide on Thursday. Read more.

AGENDA:

• EU: The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council meets to discuss the Equal Treatment Directive, the social dimension of the internet market and more;
• The Eurogroup meeting is expected to focus on industrial policy and market integration, IMF review of Eurozone policies, and more;
• Commission Vice-President Vĕra Jourová speaks at the European Data Protection Summit (EDPS) Summit 2024; Hosted by Chairman of the Japan Commission for the Protection of Personal Information Shizuo Fujiwara;
• Vice President Margaritis Schinas delivers a keynote speech at the annual reception of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD);
• Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen attends the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) launch event in Paris, France;
• Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni attends the twelfth annual meeting of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) in Luxembourg;
• Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson meets with Deputy United States Attorney General Lisa Monaco; Participates in the EU-US Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs in Brussels;
• Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn delivers a speech at the 13th annual forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region in Vienna, Austria;

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(Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice TaylorSofia Mandilara)

Read more with Euractiv

Brussels decides not to open the excessive deficit procedure against Spain

The European Commission decided on Wednesday not to launch an excessive deficit procedure against Spain, despite the country breaching the limit set by EU budget rules last year. accompanying budget reforms.