The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

The EURACTIV media network is pleased to announce that a new team has resumed its Greek language edition. Following a fruitful collaboration with our former partners in Athens, EURACTIV now aims to increase its presence in the country where European “democracy” was born. Read the announcement here.

Before you start reading today‘s edition of The Capitals, be sure to take a look at EURACTIV’s German election poll, in cooperation with Europe Elects. You can find the English and German versions here.

The European news you deserve to read. welcome to The capitals by EURACTIV.

In today’s news from the Capitals:

ATHENS

A final deal on Europe’s new migration pact could be reached just after the French presidential elections scheduled for next year, European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas told EURACTIV Greece in an exclusive interview. Read more.

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BERLIN

Scholz and Baerbock close ranks in the last German electoral debate. In Germany’s third and final televised election debate, Social Democratic candidate Olaf Scholz and Annalena Baerbock of the Greens clashed with conservative candidate Armin Laschet on most issues. EU policy, meanwhile, was once again left out of the debate. Read the full story.

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PARIS

French FM calls on Europeans to unite on the agreement on submarines. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reiterated his anger and disappointment at the “major breach of trust” between France, Australia and the United States and called for greater unity within of the European bloc, after Australia canceled an order for submarines with Paris in favor of a deal with Washington and London. Read more.

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VIENNA

The Austrian opposition criticizes Kurz for his position on Hungary and Poland. Opposition in parliament condemned Chancellor Sebastian Kurz for calling for more fairness towards Poland and Hungary and for being lenient with respect to the rule of law. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

The Netherlands unveils its first national Holocaust monument. A monument listing 102,163 Dutch Holocaust victims was unveiled on Sunday by King Willem-Alexander in Amsterdam, the first national memorial to be built in the Netherlands. Read more on Reuters.

UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND

LONDON

UK-France defense summit called off following submarine dispute with Australia. A defense summit between the UK and France scheduled for this week has been called off as the dispute over the controversial Aukus defense cooperation agreement with the US and Australia continues. The meeting between Defense Minister Ben Wallace and his French counterpart Florence Parly has been officially postponed despite the hopes of the British authorities that it proceeds as planned. Read more.

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DUBLIN

Ireland now tops the list of the most vaccinated countries in the EU. Ireland has now vaccinated 90% of those over 16, making it the EU country with the highest proportion of vaccinations, closely followed by Malta, Denmark and Portugal, according to the latest data from the Center European disease control system. Read more.

NORDIC AND BALTIC

HELSINKI

The EU should stay away from Finnish forests. Forestry must be based on local conditions and know-how in each member state, the Finnish government ministerial committee for European affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Sanna Marin, said on Friday, stressing that forest policy falls within the remit of local governments. Member States. Read more.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

ATHENS

Greek politicians clash over the status of delivery men. The decision of a company that used the efood platform to change the status of its 115 employees to freelancers did not trigger a reaction from those directly concerned, but also from the food industry as a whole and became a central subject of controversy between the Greek government. and the opposition. Read more.

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MADRID

Volcano erupts on the Spanish island of La Palma – Sánchez suspends his trip to the United States. A volcano erupted on Sunday on the island of La Palma, in the Spanish Canary Islands, after a week of seismic activity in the region. Read the full story.

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In other news, tThousands of COVID-19 vaccines are about to expire in the region of Catalonia (northeastern Spain) due to slow inoculation and low demand, have warned local health authorities. Read the full story.

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ROME

Vaccine bookings increase in Italy after the extension of the COVID pass to all employees. Reservations for coronavirus vaccines in Italy jumped last week after the government said all employees must show proof of a jab, negative test or recent recovery from COVID-19 or be considered on unpaid leave. Read more.

VISÉGRAD

WARSAW | PŁOŃSK

Tusk gives PiS a chance to eliminate Polexit. In the midst of a nationwide debate over leaving the EU – also known as ‘Polexit’ – former European Council President Donald Tusk offered his biggest opponent, the ruling Law party and Justice (PiS), a helping hand to amend the country’s constitution to ensure such a move was not possible without a two-thirds majority in parliament. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czechia to start deployment of COVID-19 booster dose for all. Czechia is offering a third vaccine to everyone who completed their vaccination eight months ago, despite a recent report from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) indicating that there is is there not an urgent need for booster doses for fully vaccinated people. Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Hungarian opposition primaries suspended after “cyberattack”. On the day of the first round of the opposition primaries, supposed to nominate a common candidate for each electoral unit in next year’s elections, the pre-election was interrupted in the early afternoon by the overload of the computer system who fueled the vote, Telex reported. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

The highways intersect but do not connect. The National Highway Company will open a new highway in Slovakia on September 26, but will not include a junction with the D1 highway, the main road connecting the west and east of the country. Drivers will therefore have to find another way to get from one highway to another. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Bulgaria launches lottery to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates. Bulgaria plans to hold a lottery with prizes for those who have been vaccinated, Interim Tourism Minister Selta Baltova said in an interview with Nova TV, when asked if her ministry would consider setting up tourist vouchers for vaccinations as the country grapples with very low vaccination levels. . Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Journalists beaten during an investigation into illegal logging in Romania. Two journalists and an environmental activist were attacked last week while filming a documentary on illegal deforestation in Romania, Greenpeace said. They were severely beaten by around 20 assailants, some of whom were later arrested. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Croatian Ombudsperson: continuing education solution to violence against women. The key to solving the problem of violence against women lies mainly in the continuous training of those who apply the laws and regulations, said gender equality ombudsperson Višnja Ljubičić ahead of the National Anti-Gender Day. violence against women Wednesday. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenia is now a member of EU Med. Slovenia officially became a member of the club of EU Mediterranean countries now known as EU Med, which grew from seven to nine members with the inclusion of Slovenia and Croatia at a summit in Athens. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Pride parade, anti-globalization rally take place in parallel in Belgrade. As the Belgrade Pride March unfolded on Saturday, several hundred people gathered at an anti-globalization rally in downtown Belgrade, marching through the streets and chanting insults against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Premier Minister Ana Brnabić before the Serbian Presidency. with eggs. The police, however, prevented any contact. Read more.

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SARAJEVO

Senior Representative Schmidt: BiH will not become centralized. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), made up of two autonomous entities, will not become centralized in its journey to the EU, said Christian Schmidt, currently high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read more.

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PRISTINA

United States, Kosovo in dispute over gas pipeline. Economy Minister Artane Rizvanolli said the government needed more time to decide on building America’s natural gas distribution infrastructure. Read more.

AGENDA:

• Slovenia | EU: EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson begins a multi-day visit to Slovenia ahead of an informal meeting of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council.
• EU | WE: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, EU Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell in New York for the visit of the United Nations General Assembly / Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton in Washington.
• Germany: SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz appears before the parliamentary inquiry a week before the elections.
• UK: The COVID-19 vaccine booster program begins as well as vaccination begins for 12 to 15 year olds.
• Italy: Meeting of the Bureau of the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP) in Rome.
• Bulgaria: Visit by European Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, two weeks before the Western Balkans summit.
• Serbia: EU representative in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajčak is due to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, representatives of the international community in Belgrade, civil society and business from Monday to Tuesday.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic]