Speaking to EURACTIV. com on condition of anonymity, an EU diplomat said it appears a particular blow will be needed for Omicron. [Shutterstock/Mongkolchon Akesin]
The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, thanks to on-the-ground reporting via the EURACTIV media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
Before you start reading today’s edition of the capitals, feel free to read the article: USA. U. S. and Russia Make No Progress or Concessions in Security Talks, Pledge to Keep Talking
The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals via EURACTIV.
MADRID
The Spanish government has been working for several weeks on a plan to treat the COVID-19 disease as if it were a flu, EURACTIV’s wife reported EFE, citing El Pais. Read more.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
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SEDAN
A mega-cruise ship manufacturer with services in Germany files for bankruptcy. MV Werften, a huge shipbuilding company with services in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern that employs about 1900 workers, filed for bankruptcy on Monday. Read more.
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PARIS
Taubira will run in the French presidential election if he wins the citizens’ primaries. Former MEP and Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira has announced that she will only stand in the French presidential election if she is nominated through the People’s Primaries, a citizens’ initiative. According to her, it represents “the last possibility of an imaginable union of the left. ” Read more.
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VIENNA
Austria is stepping up controls on compliance with COVID rules. Starting Tuesday, shops and places to eat will be subject to intense police checks to see if they are checking their customers’ COVID certificates. Read more.
LONDON
The U. K. banned Huawei because the U. S. is in the U. S. The U. S. told us, former minister. The British government’s resolution to ban Huawei’s 5G devices “had nothing to do with national security” and was due to pressure from the US, a former industry and trade minister said. Read more .
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DUBLIN
Ireland is implementing mandatory vaccinations. Ireland’s National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) will present a vaccination mandate following the publication of an upcoming Department of Health paper on the complexities of the problem. Read more.
STOCKHOLM
Swedish Defense Minister: Russia threatens the European security order. Russia’s moves threaten the entire European security order, Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said in a keynote address at Folk och Försvar, an annual assembly of the Swedish security and defense policy community. The minister also discussed Russia’s demands against NATO and those existing on the border with Ukraine. Read more.
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TALLINN | LAUGH | VILNIUS
The Baltic States top the euro area’s monthly inflation table. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have lately the highest monthly inflation rates in the euro area, according to the most recent Eurostat estimates. Read more.
LISBON
Cyberattacks against Portuguese organizations increased to 81% in 2021. The average weekly number of cyberattacks against Portuguese organizations increased up to 81% year-on-year in 2021, with one organization attacked 881 times per week according to Check Point Research data. Read more.
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ATHENS
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ROME
Surgeries in Italy are dropping between 50% and 80% as ICUs fill up with COVID-19 patients. The lack of space in intensive care sets (ICUs) due to the number of COVID-19 patients is causing a deep crisis for surgical activities in hospitals, which have been reduced by 50-80%. Read more.
BUDAPEST
The Hungarian minister is sure of the fourth vaccine. Human Resources Minister Miklós Kásler said in an interview with InfoRádio on Monday that he was surely sure that the need for a fourth vaccination should be taken into account, Telex. Read more.
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WARSAW
Government critic acquitted for insulting Polish president. The Warsaw Regional Court has to suspend the trial of publisher Jakub Żulczyk, who called President Andrzej Duda an “imbecile. “The resolution was not well received by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, of which Duda was a member until 2015. Learn more.
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PRAGUE
Czech farmers are fighting for the CAP strategic plan. Small farmers protest against the national strategic plan to implement the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the Czech Republic, calling for more sustainable agricultural financing, while large farmers oppose last-minute changes. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovaks lose thousands of retirement savings every year. Every year, Slovaks who put their cash into the pension system pillar lose pension savings value burdens of millions, or more than a billion euros in total, each year. Read more .
TIRANA
The European Commission chooses to comment on the Tirana protests. The European Commission has opted to comment on the protests that rocked Tirana over the weekend as tensions between two factions of the Democratic Party came to a head. Read more.
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SOFIA
Bulgaria will have to concentrate its efforts on the rights of Macedonian Bulgarians. Bulgaria will concentrate its efforts on protecting the rights of Bulgarian Macedonians in talks with North Macedonia, while Skopje will seek to negotiate the rapid lifting of Bulgaria’s veto on the EU club that opposes it. . Read more.
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BUCHAREST
Romania has sold or donated only about 6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Romania has gained more than 28. 6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since the end of 2020, but less than 60% has been used for its own population. Some 3. 5 million doses have been sold to other countries, 2. 2 million have been donated and nearly one million of what remains has expired. Read more.
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ZAGREB
Electricity and fuel costs will be in Croatia. The government and all its ministries are working to avoid a blow to living standards due to emerging energy costs, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said. Read more.
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Unemployment in Croatia fell for the ninth consecutive month. At the end of December, another 125,715 people were registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ), 34,130 or 21. 4% fewer job seekers than in December 2020, the HZZ reported. Read more.
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BELGRADE
Serbian speaker: Harmonization with EU law does not raise fears. Serbia “cannot be harmed” by harmonizing its legislation with those of the European Union, Parliament Speaker Ivica Dačić said on Monday, adding that the alignment raises no fears. Read more.
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Serbian fitness expert: COVID passes are required 24 hours a day, he said Monday. Read more.
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SARAJEVO
The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina across Europe are protesting the crisis in the country. Bosniaks and Herzegovinians from the UK, Italy, Sweden, Belgium and 14 other countries held protests to preserve peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, urging the EU to react against those who question the country’s survival, reported N1. Read more.
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PODGÓRICO
Bread in Montenegro charges up to 30%. Basic types of bread in Montenegro will charge 65 euro cents, 30% more than the last 50 cents, according to an organization of bakery corporations at the Montenegrin Chamber of Commerce.
This comes after the Ministry of Economic Development announced in late December that it was proposing flexible cost formation for white bread from 1 January 20002.
(Zeljko Trkanjec | EURACTIV. hr)
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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor]