The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through field reports by the EURACTIV media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

Before you start reading today’s edition of Les Capitales, do not hesitate to consult the article Climate finance remains a stumbling block on the way to COP26, by Kira Taylor.

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

In today’s news from the Capitals:

In the aftermath of the meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Green MPs and the political parties of the countries around the Baltic Sea expressed their “firm disapproval” and their “opposition” to the Nord Stream 2 project. . Read more.

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EU PRESIDENCY

The Creative Europe program provides funding of 2.5 billion euros for the culture sector. European Innovation and Research Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said the Creative Europe 2021-2027 program will focus on ‘economic sustainability’ and ‘digital inclusion’ of the cultural and creative sectors by funding projects for specific challenges. Read more.

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BERLIN

German Defense Minister welcomes Turkey’s role in Afghanistan. German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer praised Turkey for wanting to take more responsibility for NATO’s deployment in Afghanistan during a trip to Ankara. Read more.

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PARIS

France is failing to take a clear position on the future financing of gas. France has yet to take a clear position on an agreement by EU energy ministers last week to phase out gas-hydrogen mixing projects. Read the story here.

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BRUSSELS

Belgian advisory committee to discuss further relaxations. The Belgian advisory committee is due to meet on Friday, June 18 to discuss further easing of restrictions imposed in the era of the pandemic for the restaurant industry and limits on social gatherings. Read more.

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VIENNA

Kurz will welcome the leaders of the Western Balkans in Vienna. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz will welcome the Balkan heads of state of Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia as well as the EU special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue at a summit in Vienna, Friday, June 18, to discuss the repatriation of illegal migrants and the prospect of EU membership. Read more.

UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND

LONDON

The EU will consider the UK’s call to extend the deadline for the ‘sausage war’. The European Commission announced on Thursday (June 18) that it would consider Britain’s request to extend a grace period for post-Brexit rules on chilled meat imports for Northern Ireland – as part of the se – saying the sausage war between London and Brussels. Read more.

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BELFAST

Northern Ireland’s DUP Poots leader is set to step down. Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party leader Edwin Poots is due to step down just three weeks after taking office, he said in a statement. Read more.

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DUBLIN

Ireland gives the green light to prescriptions for medical cannabis as part of a “historic” step. Patients in Ireland will now be able to obtain prescription medical cannabis for the first time, in what has been described as a milestone that should bring hope to many families, albeit with barriers to accessing medical cannabis. remain. Read the story here.

NORDIC AND BALTIC

VILNIUS

SOUTHERN EUROPE

ROME

The Italian government is stepping up cybersecurity measures. The Italian government has decided to expand the actors included in the national cybersecurity perimeter to include public and private companies will have the obligation to promptly report attacks or incidents detected, as well as to adapt the measures to protect their networks. to the defined standards if they wish to continue operating. Read more.

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MADRID

COVID-19 triggers a “demographic tragedy” in Spain. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen Spain’s death rate increase by 17% in 2020, with 492,930 new deaths directly or partially linked to the pandemic, the country’s highest death rate since 1941. Read more full article.

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LISBON

Portugal is experiencing the biggest daily jump in virus cases since the end of February. Coronavirus cases in Portugal have jumped by 1,350 in the past 24 hours, the biggest increase since the end of February, data from the national health authority DGS showed this week. Read more.

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ATHENS

Turkey wants the EU and the US to quit talks with Greece. Ankara and Athens interpreted differently the outcome of the recent meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan regarding the role of the EU and the United States in the Greco-Turkish conflict. Read more.

VISÉGRAD

WARSAW | BERLIN

The Polish and German presidents praise the mutual ties despite the differences. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier traveled to Warsaw on Thursday June 17 to meet his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda and mark a 1991 cooperation treaty. Read more.

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PRAGUE | WARSAW

Turów negotiations are taking place between Czechia and Poland. The Czech Republic and Polish governments on Thursday (June 17) began negotiations to try to resolve a dispute over the controversial Polish lignite mine at Turów near the Czech borders, which the Czech Republic says has become an environmental problem for the country . Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Hungarian PM: LGBTQ law “works the liberal steamrollers”. The new Hungarian law which prohibits “the representation and promotion” of homosexuality and trans identity in schools, media content and advertisements aimed at under 18s does not violate “any noble ideal or European law”, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán said Thursday (June 17), adding that “the liberal steamrollers are once again at work against Hungary”. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovak Parliament rejects European Parliament report on sexual health. The Slovak parliament on Thursday (June 17th) adopted a resolution criticizing a European Parliament report on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, presented by Croatian MEP Predrag Matic, insisting that sexual and reproductive health should be the responsibility of the Member States. treat as they see fit. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

The Sofia-Skopje talks resume with concrete proposals on the table. Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev is visiting Sofia with specific proposals to break the deadlock on his country’s integration process into the EU, which his Bulgarian counterpart Stefan Yanev has announced will be discussed intensively in the coming days. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

The personnel changes at the Romanian broadcaster were deemed unconstitutional. Romania’s Constitutional Court ruled that the change of director of the country’s public broadcaster “was not in accordance with the Constitution”. The decision is a real blow to the parties in the ruling coalition, which have long negotiated the changes before deciding to take the decision to parliament. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Concern after the mission of the green deputies to Slovenia. Two members of the European Parliament of the Greens-European Free Alliance expressed their concern after carrying out a three-day mission to Slovenia. They described the situation in the country as “very complex”. Read more.

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ZAGREB

The Croatian Prime Minister calls for Turkey’s support for electoral reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On Thursday, June 17, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo), calling for Turkey’s support for efforts to ensure respect for the equality of the three constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH ) and reform of the country’s electoral law. . Read more.

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BELGRADE

Vučić: Serbia stopped 38,000 irregular border crossings in 2020. Serbia has prevented more than 38,000 attempted migrants to cross the Serbian border in 2020, President Aleksandar Vučić said Thursday, adding that 3,977 migrants are currently staying in reception and asylum centers. Read more.

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SARAJEVO

DiCaprio urges BiH to stop building mini hydropower plants. Hollywood movie star Leonardo DiCaprio sent a letter to the authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian and Croatian entity), calling on them to pass legislation banning the construction of many small hydropower plants – demands he has already made to last fall. Read more.

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PODGORIC

67% of Montenegrins support NATO membership. A total of 67% of Montenegrin citizens would vote for Montenegro to remain a member of NATO, while 33% are in favor of leaving the country from the alliance, according to the latest NATO report, daily Pobjeda reported.

The figures, resulting from a survey conducted in April and May ahead of this week’s NATO summit, suggest that support for the alliance is increasing in Montenegro. Only 50% of citizens voted to keep the alliance in 2020. Despite growing support, the country still has one of the lowest scores among allies, ranking just above Slovakia with 61 % of its citizens supporting NATO membership. (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)

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PRISTINA

PM Kurti to US Ambassador: No ethnicity-based association in Kosovo. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he does not support an association based on ethnicity in the country, saying that “there can be an association of municipalities on a development basis, but not on a development basis. geographic base “. Read more.

AGENDA:

• Germany / France: Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin.
• Austria: Chancellor Sebastian Kurz will host the Western Balkans summit in Vienna.
• Slovakia: Minister of Finance and former Prime Minister Igor Matovič Friday will chair the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg, which will review the bank’s activities, financing operations and challenges over the past period.
• Croatia: Parliament is expected to adopt a revision of the state budget.
• Serbia: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko is visiting Serbia.

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[Edited by Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Paula Kenny, Josie Le Blond]