Greece launches experiment on Europe’s ‘Green Island’

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

ATHENS

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to announce on Wednesday (2 June) the details of a project which aims to transform the island of Astypalaia in the southeastern Aegean Sea into Europe’s “Green Island”.

The objective is to have all of Astypalaia’s daily activities run on renewable energy, from electricity to transport. Read more.

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BERLIN

Germany rejects military aid to Ukraine, prefers political solution. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas rejected a request for weapons on Tuesday from Ukraine, which has been fighting Russian-backed separatist rebels in the east of the country since 2014. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Cheap tests for non-vaccinated, not for vaccine refusers. Anyone who has not yet had a chance to be vaccinated should be able to get tested for free or cheaply if they need a certificate to travel, Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said on Tuesday. Read more.

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PARIS

French health professionals to get ‘well-deserved’ pay rise. A total of 1.5 million French healthcare workers will receive an “unprecedented and well-deserved” pay rise of €183 per month in the framework of the “Ségur de la santé”, a major national consultation, the French government announced on Tuesday. Read more.

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VIENNA

Hofer steps down as leader of Austria’s populist party FPÖ. Former infrastructure minister Norbert Hofer has resigned as leader of the far-right FPÖ party over increased tensions with his party colleague and former interior minister, Herbert Kickl, who recently announced his plans to lead the party in the upcoming elections. Read more.

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LUXEMBOURG

EU’s new tax chief previously urged bloc to ditch Luxembourg. French Professor Gabriel Zucan, head of the new European tax observatory previously argued that the EU should consider excluding Luxembourg from the bloc due to its lax tax policies. Read more.

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON 

UK has no COVID-related deaths for first time in 10 months. The UK recorded no COVID-19-related deaths for the first time in 10 months, but question marks remain about whether ministers will delay lifting remaining restrictions. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Finnish PM under investigation for monthly breakfast allowance. Dominating the political debate and making headlines for more than a week in Finland has been Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her family’s breakfast allowance reportedly worth €850 per month which has led to both the police and the tax authorities launching investigations. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ROME

Italy not happy with EU guidelines on single-use plastics ban. The European Commission’s guidelines on single-use plastics published on Monday, which includes an obligation – not foreseen in the 2019 EU Directive banning single-use plastic packaging from 3 July – to reduce the consumption of plates, glasses and paper packaging covered with a plastic film, has provoked strong reactions from the Italian industry which is heavily invested in the production of these products. Read more.

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MADRID

Spanish tourism sector dealt severe blow in first quarter. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to badly affect Spain’s tourism sector, which in the first quarter of the year saw an 82% drop in the number of international tourists it welcomed compared to the same period of 2020, from 10.6 million to only 1.8 million. EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. Read the full story. 

VISEGRAD

BUDAPEST 

Free Hong Kong: Budapest district renames streets in protest against Chinese university. Dalai Lama street and Uygur Martyrs’ road – these are just some of the new names the Hungarian capital’s municipality has given the streets that surround the area where the government plans to build a campus of China’s Fudan University. Read more.

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WARSAW

Polish President Duda signs off law to bolster youth councils. On International Children’s Day, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a law that aims to strengthen the role of youth councils at local government level to respond to the needs of youth. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech government faces no-confidence vote. The Czech government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO, Renew) will face a no-confidence vote on Thursday over its perceived mishandling of the pandemic and alleged misuse of EU funds. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovaks can now register for Sputnik V vaccine. Slovakia has officially opened registration for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on Tuesday, with the registration website allowing for people to tick a box to confirm their interest in receiving the Russian jab. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Bulgaria launches inspection of Russian oil giant Lukoil. Border police officers, tax inspectors and customs officials will begin an inspection of Russian oil giant Lukoil’s oil port located near the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas on Wednesday. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania to start vaccinating children against COVID-19. Parents can schedule their children aged 12 and above for vaccination as of Wednesday. Children will receive the BioNTech/Pfizer jab, which last week was approved for use for 12-15-year-olds by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). (Bogdan Neagu | EURACTIV.ro)

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ZAGREB

Healthcare costs main reason for Croatia to revise 2021 budget. “The main reason for revising this year’s budget are costs in the healthcare system as well as overall costs against a backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis also impacting other sectors. Our target is to have a budget deficit of 3.8%. All that has been projected under the current circumstances,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told press after a government meeting. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenian parliament paves way for arrival of ride-hailing platforms. The Slovenian parliament passed on Tuesday legislative amendments that will allow ride-hailing platforms such as Uber or Lyft to operate in the country. Read more.

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BELGRADE 

Serbian parliament speaker Dacic meets Lavrov in Moscow. Serbian parliament speaker Ivica Dačić has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow to discuss the Belgrade-Priština dialogue, the situation in the region and global politics. Read more.

In other news, as many as 17 military exercises took place in the Balkans and in Serbia’s neighbourhood from May to June involving 46,000 members representing the US armed forces, NATO countries and countries in the region, the most back-to-back military activities since the deployment of international forces to Kosovo in 1999. Read more.

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SARAJEVO 

US ambassador to Dodik: We support High Representative Schmidt. The US supports the appointment of German envoy Christian Schmidt as the new High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said US Ambassador to BiH Eric Nelson who discussed the appointment with BiH Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik (Serb member) who has openly advocated for the closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Read more.

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PRISTINA

Kurti says there will be no mono-ethnic communities in Kosovo. There will be no “mono-ethnic” community of municipalities in Kosovo, said Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Tuesday. Read more.

Agenda:

• Germany: Likely adoption of the the care reform
• France: President Emmanuel Macron will take part in a COVID-19 defence council on Wednesday.
• Italy celebrates the 75th anniversary of the birth of the Italian Republic.
• Spain: Millions of students across the country will start taking their University entrance exams amidst extraordinary COVID-19 measures. 
• Poland: Health Minister Adam Niedzielski will hold a press conference Wednesday to present his plans to ease restrictions in June.   
• Slovak Interior Minister Roman Mikulec will meet his Slovenian counterpart, Aleš Hojs, to discuss Slovenia’s upcoming EU Council presidency. 
• Romania: Prime minister Florin Citu will present the national recovery plan at a news conference.
• Slovenia will receive a donation of vaccines from Hungary. Prime Minister Janez Janša and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will be on hand for the occasion.
• Serbia: EU special envoy to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajčak and the US special envoy for the Western Balkans, Matthew Palmer, are set to visit Serbia.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Josie Le Blond]

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