Low vaccination rate and tourism put Bulgaria at risk

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

SOFIA

Bulgaria, the country with the lowest vaccination rate in the EU, has every reason to fear a deadly fourth wave of COVID-19 infections caused by the highly infectious Delta variant being brought in by incoming tourists, authorities warned. Meanwhile, neighbouring Greece is taking measures to convince young people to get vaccinated triggering a wave of reactions. More.

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EU INSTITUTIONS

EU reproves Belarus’ walkout from the Eastern Partnership. Belarus said it was suspending its participation in the EU’s Eastern Partnership, an initiative to boost ties between the EU and its ex-Soviet neighbours, a move condemned by Brussels as “another step backwards” after the skyjacking of a European Ryanair flight last month. Remarkably, the EU confirmed it aims to continue working with the country on the initiative, despite Lukashenko’s pull-out. Read the story here.

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EU PRESIDENCY

Diplomat: Portuguese presidency unblocked EU legislative dossiers. The Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU has moved forward many legislative dossiers forward, even some that had been blocked for years, according to the the deputy permanent representative of Portugal to the EU, Pedro Lourtie. More.

BRUSSELS

High-ranking police officer penalised in Chovanec case. Belgium‘s interior and justice ministers announced on Monday that André Desenfants, the second highest ranking officer in the country’s federal police, will be punished in the ongoing investigation into the death of Slovak citizen, Józef Chovanec, who died in February 2018 while in police custody at Charleroi airport. Read more.

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BERLIN

German defence minister defends Mali mission. German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has said the presence of the international military in Mali is important to the reconciliation process, adding that it would not be Germany’s interest if the Sahel fell under the full control of terrorist groups. Read more.

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PARIS

French prime minister issues warning over voter absenteeism. French Prime Minister Jean Castex has said that the government must do more to address voter apathy following a voter turnout of just 44% at regional elections over the weekend.  Read more.

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VIENNA

Experts: Austria’s employment rate reaches pre-pandemic levels. The employment rate in May rose above pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by Austria’s Institute of Economic Research (WIFO). Read more.

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LUXEMBOURG

British people have six months until residency application expires. Luxembourg has extended the deadline for British nationals to apply for residency in the Grand Duchy until 31 December, 2021, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

They originally had until the end of June this year to apply for residency in the country after the UK officially withdrew from the EU on 31 January, 2020. It is estimated that there are some 5,700 Brits in Luxembourg, of whom only 3,800 have applied for residency. (Anne Damiani | EURACTIV.fr)

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON 

French fisherman will not have to meet new Brexit permit conditions. French fishermen will be allowed to operate in the waters of the Channel Island Jersey without meeting new Brexit permit conditions until the end of September, after ministers agreed on Monday to delay the phasing in of the new rules. Read more.

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DUBLIN 

Commission VP ‘confident’ solution can be found on chilled meats issue. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic has said he is “confident” a solution can be found on the post-Brexit importation of chilled meat products from Britain into Northern Ireland before Thursday’s deadline, the Irish Times reported. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

STOCKHOLM

Sweden’s PM resigns, asks parliament speaker to find replacement. Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven resigned on Monday in what he called one of the most difficult decisions of his political career. Löfven asked the parliament’s speaker, Andreas Norlen, to start negotiations to explore groupings to form the next government rather than call for snap elections. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ATHENS

Tsipras vows €800 minimum wage, 7-hour working day. Greece’s opposition leftist leader Alexis Tsipras (Syriza/EU Left) has proposed to increase the monthly minimum wage to €800 and reduce the working week to 35 hours without a salary reduction.

The announcements come amid a polarised political atmosphere with the discussion over snap elections heating up. More.

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ROME

Italians insist on face masks outdoors. While it was no longer mandatory from Monday in Italy to wear face masks outdoors, except for gatherings, many citizens have decided to continue wearing it as a precaution, habit and due to fear of the Delta variant, media reported. Read more.

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MADRID

Mobile World Congress defies pandemic for telecom industry meet. TThe Mobile World Congress has reopened for its first in-person gathering since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 30,000 visitors in the Spanish city of Barcelona. Read the full story.

In other news, Brits travelling to the Balearic Islands will have to present a negative COVID-19 test or proof of full vaccination, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Monday. The new entry rules for Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca, all popular tourist destinations, will come into effect within 72 hours, amid growing concerns over the Delta variant in the UK and a COVID-19 outbreak among students in Mallorca.

“We are going to apply to British tourists who travel to the Balearic Islands the same restrictions that we place on the rest of Europe: they will need either to be fully vaccinated or have a negative PCR test,” Sanchez told Cadena SER radio. 

The Balearics was the only Spanish region to be added to the UK’s green travel list last week. The Delta variant accounts for more than 90% of COVID-19 cases in the UK. The decision also comes after a COVID-19 outbreak linked to an end-of-year school trip in Mallorca led to more than 500 new cases. The students were staying at eight different hotels across the island and have been transferred to a hotel to quarantine. (EUROEFE)

VISEGRAD

BRATISLAVA

Slovak businessman in Kuciak trial also charged with planning prosecutors murders.  Slovak businessman Marian Kočner, already sentenced to 19 years in jail for forgery, is facing retrial in the murder case of journalist Ján Kuciak, charged with planning the murders of three high profile prosecutors, Denník N reported. Read more.

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WARSAW

Polish foreign minister: Western Balkans EU accession frustrating. Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau has said he shared the “frustration” of the Western Balkans’ delegations after the V4 + Western Balkans summit in Rogalin, Poland. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech PM’s conflict of interests becomes court decision. The Czech government has responded to the European Parliament’s recent resolution condemning Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s conflict of interest, stating in its official reaction that only courts can decide in the case, Regional Development Minister Klára Dostálová told a press conference. Read more.

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BUDAPEST 

Opposition-led town could lose billions after Hungarian government decision. The Hungarian government has declared Iváncsa and Rácalmás a special economic zone in a decree published on Monday evening, which likely means billions in lost tax revenue for opposition-run Dunaújváros, Telex reported. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

PRISTINA

Russia: the West’s Kosovo project ‘has failed.’ Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has told Serbian tabloid Kurir that “the West’s Kosovo project has failed despite the enormous sums of money poured into it and the media-political support.” Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania sells vaccines. Romania is selling COVID-19 vaccines to several countries, prime minister Florin Citu said on Monday. The prime minister did not name all the countries that will receive vaccines but said that 1 million doses will be sold to Denmark. 

The sale is made at acquisition prices, as the country’s vaccination campaign is almost brought to a halt, with very few people requesting vaccines as the number of daily cases decreased significantly in the past months. (Bogdan Neagu | EURACTIV.ro)

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ZAGREB

Croatia needs to boost GDP to stop emigration. Analysts say that to stop emigration and fight demographic decline Croatia should achieve a real per capita income of 75-80% of the EU average. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA 

Slovenia to purchase German-made armoured vehicles. Slovenia plans to purchase 45 German-made Boxer armoured vehicles for its armed forces, Defence Minister Matej Tonin announced after talks with German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Monday. Read more.

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BELGRADE 

Ambassador: Slovenia will work on Western Balkans’ EU accession. Slovenia supports the EU’s enlargement to include the Western Balkan nations and will work on the issue when it takes over the rotating EU Council presidency from July, Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia Damjan Bergant said on Monday. 

“We don’t expect a country to join the EU during our presidency, but I hope that some steps will be made in that direction,” Bergant told the conference held under the title From Portugal to Slovenia “Toward a Post-Pandemic Future for Europe”. During its EU presidency stint, Slovenia will pay particular attention to the Western Balkans and hold an EU-West Balkans summit, likely in early October, Bergant added. (EURACTIV.rs | betabriefing.com)

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TIRANA

EU ambassador gets increased security protection. The government provided EU Ambassador to Albania Luigi Soreca with personal security upon his request, Interior Minister Bledi Çuçi has said, exit.al reported. “This was Ambassador Soreca’s own request and we decided to provide increased security protection for him. You will need to ask ambassador Soreca why he requested additional protection,” Çuçi said. 

When asked about the reason for such protection measures, the EU Delegation in Tirana told Exit News last weeks that they do “not comment on security arrangements, which are decided by the Albanian government.” (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)

Agenda:

• France: National Assembly MPs will start their second reading of the bill to strengthen respect for the principles of the Republic and combat separatism.
• Germany: Germany bans most travellers from Portugal, Russia over virus variant
• Belgium: Brussels Economic Forum
• Luxembourg: AgriFish Council
  
• Italy: Foreign ministers to attend the G20 meeting in Matera. 
• Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez meets Catalonia’s regional president and pro-independence leader Pere Aragonès.
• Slovakia: PM Eduard Heger will meet with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán to discuss bilateral relations, the European agenda and the pandemic. 
• Romania: Parliament to debate and vote on a no-confidence motion against the government on Tuesday. 
• Croatia: President Zoran Milanović to attend the opening of a centre for digital literacy of the blind and visually impaired.
• Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, and his North Macedonian and Albanian counterparts, Zoran Zaev and Edi Rama to discuss ‘Mini Schengen’ via video conference.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Paula Kenny, Zoran Radosavljevic, Josie LeBlond]

Read more with Euractiv

Diplomat: Portuguese presidency unblocked EU legislative dossiers

The Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU has moved forward many legislative dossiers forward, even some that had been blocked for years, according to the the deputy permanent representative of Portugal to the EU, Pedro Lourtie.