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European news you deserve to read. welcome to Capitals by EURACTIV.

In today’s news from the capitals:

BUDAPEST

If the Ukrainians do not give up their anti-minority policy, it will severely limit the ability of the Hungarian government to provide any kind of support even in this conflict, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in an interview with pro-governments. . Magyar Nemzet released on Wednesday January 26, Telex reported. Read more.

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BERLIN

German lawmakers divided on mandatory vaccines. Lawmakers are divided across party lines following the Bundestag’s first debate on mandatory vaccines on Wednesday. Read more.

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PARIS

A left-wing candidate proposes to create a European asylum agency. Left-wing presidential candidate Christiane Taubira said she was in favor of “the creation of a European asylum agency” during her meeting with volunteers from shelters for migrants in Briançon, a town bordering Italy in the Alps. . Read more.

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VIENNA

The pandemic is bringing Austria’s tourism industry back to 1970s levels. Austria’s tourism sector, a crucial part of the country’s economy, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, falling below levels seen in the 1970s, the Austrian Statistical Institute found. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

The Dutch government allows the reopening of bars, restaurants and museums. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for bars, restaurants and museums to reopen on Wednesday after the country closed them for more than a month. Read more.

UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND

DUBLIN

Ireland is creating an expert group to look at the lessons of the pandemic. The Irish government has set up an expert group to identify lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

NORDIC AND BALTIC

STOCKHOLM

Prime Minister Andersson refuses to convene the defense committee on the situation in Ukraine. Social Democratic Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has refused to convene a defense committee – a forum for consultation between government and parliamentary party representatives on security and defense policy – ​​on Ukraine despite calls from multiple parties of opposition. She called the ongoing talks a “side issue”. Read more.

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HELSINKI

Finland predicted “the strongest boom since the late 1980s”. Two financial groups predict Finland’s economy will see strong growth this year, with one predicting that 2022-23 will see the strongest boom since the 1980s. Read more.

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OSLO

Taliban leader satisfied with the meeting in Oslo. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said he was satisfied after a three-day meeting in Norway, but will not confirm that concrete promises have been made to improve women’s rights in Afghanistan. Read more.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

MADRID | HELSINKI

Spain and Finland warn of “serious consequences” if Russia invades Ukraine. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin told a joint press conference in Madrid that Russia should expect “serious consequences” if it invades or shows military aggression against Ukraine. Read more.

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ΑΤΗΕΝS

Greece’s prime minister avoids responsibility for the government’s snowstorm fiasco. After days of absence from the public, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologized on Wednesday (January 26th) for mishandling a snowstorm that paralyzed the country this week and left citizens stuck in cars for more than twenty hours.

However, he blamed the company that runs the Attiki Odos highway around the Athens metropolitan area, where thousands of car passengers were stranded during a blizzard on Monday. Read more.

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ROME

Disagreements persist between Italian parties over the presidential elections. Italian lawmakers and regional delegates failed to reach a consensus on a presidential candidate on Wednesday. Read more.

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LISBON

Portuguese researchers: The genetics of gut bacteria can be altered by a low fiber diet. Researchers from the Gulbenkian Institute of Sciences (IGC) in Lisbon have found that the genetics of gut bacteria can be altered by a low-fiber diet and make the gut more permeable to infection and inflammation, he said. we learned on Wednesday. Read more.

VISEGRAD

BRATISLAVA

Slovak Prime Minister supports compulsory vaccination against COVID-19. Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) said he would support compulsory vaccination in the event of a new, more dangerous variant that fills hospitals and puts pressure on healthcare systems. Read more.

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WARSAW

Protests in Warsaw as death toll linked to Polish abortion ruling rises. Hundreds of people gathered at the Constitutional Court and the headquarters of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party on Wednesday evening to protest against the Tribunal’s 2020 anti-abortion ruling after the death of another woman due to the refusal of the doctors to perform an abortion on time. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Almost half of Czech senior households suffer from fuel poverty. Czech senior households are very vulnerable to the current spikes in electricity and heating prices. Up to 60% of them are at risk and around 40% already suffer from fuel poverty. However, the current situation with high gasoline prices is not the only factor contributing to this negative trend. Read more.

BALKAN NEWS

SOFIA

Bulgaria is positioning itself like a dove in the Ukrainian crisis. While Bulgaria will not only benefit from the security of others, Sofia has de facto refused an additional presence of NATO forces on the country’s territory in connection with the Ukrainian crisis and has pledged to resolve it through diplomatic means. . Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania wants an increased presence of NATO and the United States on its territory. Romania will continue its actions to increase NATO and US troops on its territory, President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday, adding that this would help improve national security. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Croatia will buy 89 Bradleys from the United States. Croatia and the United States have agreed to purchase Bradley combat vehicles, for which Croatia will pay $145.3 million, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday. Read more.

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BELGRADE

The main partners of the ruling coalition in Serbia decide to stand separately in the elections. The two main partners of the ruling coalition in Serbia, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), led by President Aleksandar Vučić, and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) led by Speaker of Parliament Ivica Dačić, have decided to run separately in the parliamentary elections and the Belgrade vote in April, the Belgrade newspaper Nova reported on Wednesday. Read more.

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SARAJEVO

Palmer, Eichhorst: Electoral reform is crucial to overcoming the political crisis. Electoral reform is crucial to strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina’s institutional framework, US Special Envoy Matthew Palmer and European External Action Service (EEAS) Director Angelina Eichhorst said after meeting with members of both houses of the parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read more.

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TIRANA

Albanian flag given to 18-year-old Olympic hopeful. Deni Xhepa, the only Albanian participant in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, received the national flag, which will be taken to the event which is due to start on February 4. Read more.

AGENDA:

• EU: Informal meeting of education and youth ministers in Strasbourg / European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi visits Ukraine / Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson in San Francisco to meet representatives of Google, Apple and Meta / EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell visits Kenya
• Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
• Belgium: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets the King of Belgium.
• UK: Most Covid restrictions lifted in England.
• Sweden: Government decision on disposal of nuclear waste.
• Poland: Schools will partly switch to distance learning to combat Covid-19.
• Slovakia: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visits Bratislava.
• Romania: French Defense Minister Florence Parly travels to Romania and will meet Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
• Croatia: International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed.
• Bulgaria: Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and the country’s chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev are in Brussels to attend a closed meeting of the European Parliament of the monitoring group LIBE for Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (DRFMG ).

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor]