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In today’s news from the Capitals:

WARSAW | VILNIUS

“Legal” repression: the EU is walking a tightrope: Faced with a deadlock in talks on a new EU migration pact, several member states have tabled a proposal to legalize refoulements. Considering that no common EU response on migration is expected before the French elections in April 2022, the EU will walk a tightrope. Read more.

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EU PRESIDENCY

Slovenia welcomes EU Directors of Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. Slovenia hosted an informal meeting of EU non-proliferation and disarmament directors under the country’s presidency of the EU Council on Wednesday (September 29), the foreign ministry said. Following.

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BERLIN

The German Greens and the liberal FDP agree to form a coalition negotiating bloc. With the Greens and the pro-liberal FDP now holding the keys to the chancellery following their strong election results on Sunday, Green cO-leaders Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck met senior FDP officials on Tuesday. The aim of the meeting with leader Christian Lindner and party secretary general Volker Wissing was to explore whether they could find a common position before speaking to the bigger parties to form a government coalition. Read more.

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PARIS

The French Prime Minister announces the relaunch of “sustainable” social housing. As tensions in the housing market have increased over the past decade, French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Wednesday announced measures to revive construction and promote affordable housing. Read more.

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VIENNA

European Court orders Tuifly and Ryanair to reimburse Austria for millions. ON WEDNESDAY, The EU Court of Justice has ruled that the Belgian charter airline TUIfly and the low-cost carrier Ryanair must repay 13 million euros in sAustrian government grants in 2016. Read more.

UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND

DUBLIN

Ireland could face an electricity crisis for the winters to come. Ireland could face electricity shortages for the next five winters, a report produced by Irish public electricity operator EirGrid has warned. Read more.

NORDIC AND BALTIC

TALLINN

The completion of the Baltic rail is postponed until 2030. The Rail Baltic connection, connecting Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to central European destinations, will not be completed by 2026 as initially planned. Instead, it is expected to be completed by 2030, which coincides with the completion of the rest of the European TENT-T transport network. Read more.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

ATHENS

The prosecutor will investigate the capital increase of a public electricity company. Greek financial prosecutor Christos Bardakis called for an investigation into Public Power Corporation’s (PPC) capital increase a week after the announcement. The move will see the state lose its controlling stake in the company and has raised concerns about possible manipulation of the shares. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal: Lithium’s preliminary environmental report identifies “certain risks”. The preliminary environmental impact assessment report of the Lithium Prospecting and Exploration Program identified “some risks” in the eight potential zones in the north and center of the country, but still recognized the opportunity that this could have for decarbonization of the economy. Following.

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ROME

Draghi: The Italian economy is doing better than expected. The economic situation in Italy “is much better than we might have thought in the spring,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said at a meeting where he shared promising figures on the country’s economic and financial forecasts.

According to updated estimates, Italy’s GDP is expected to grow by 6% this year, while net debt is expected to fall to 9.4% of GDP. (Viola Stefanello | EURACTIV.it)

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MADRID

Fans will be returning in force to Spanish stadiums as COVID-19 cases decline. Football stadiums will return to full capacity this weekend for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown last year, the country’s health ministry said on Wednesday. Read more.

The Arch of Noah provides the cattle of La Palma with the shelter of its ashes. The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma destroys some of the most fertile farmland in the Canary Islands. It also threatens the livestock essential to the survival of artisanal dairies and farmers. Read the full story.

VISÉGRAD

BRATISLAVA

Slovakia’s recycling figures would have been overestimated, fraudulent. While Eurostat figures show that Slovakia recycles 38.5% of its municipal waste, the figures could be deliberately inflated, Denník N news outlet reported.

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PRAGUE

The Czech PM calls for a cap on emission allowances. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis called on the European Council to discuss carbon emission allowances and energy price caps at its next meeting. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

The Black Sea faces an ecological disaster due to Bulgaria’s inaction. The cargo ship Vera Su, which flies the Panamanian flag and has a Turkish crew, crashed and ran aground on the high rocky Bulgarian coast a few kilometers from the Kaliakra Nature Reserve on the 20th September. If the Bulgarian authorities do not transfer the cargo ashore, the more than 3,000 tonnes of urea on board could threaten to transform this part of the Black Sea – one of the most important natural habitats in Europe – into an area dead. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romanian government changes COVID-19 rules as incidence rate exceeds threshold. As Bucharest’s 14-day COVID-19 incidence rate surpassed the threshold of six per 1,000 people, the government decided to change some of the rules. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Croatian nationals will benefit from the US visa waiver program from December. Croatian citizens will be able to travel to the United States visa-free from December 1, Interior Minister Davor Božinović told national television HRT. He added that “this new ttestifies to the fact that Croatia is recognized as a strategic security partner, there are a number of agreements, technical adjustments. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenia suspends use of J&J coronavirus vaccine. Slovenia on Wednesday suspended use of the single-injection coronavirus vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson after a twenty-year-old woman died two weeks after receiving the injection. This development risks undermining the already slow adoption of vaccines in Slovenia, fueled by a strong anti-vaccination movement. Read more.

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BELGRADE

The situation in northern Kosovo, a “matter of great concern to Moscow”. “The situation in northern Kosovo was a matter of great concern to Moscow,” Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko told Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Wednesday. He stressed that “the responsibility for the new crisis lies with the provisional institutions of Pristina, which break or do not implement the agreements signed earlier,” said the office of the Serbian president, quoting the Russian diplomat. Read more.

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PRISTINA

Prime Minister of Kosovo Kurti: Serbian President Vucic is “the problem”. Serbs blocking two border crossings are under pressure from Belgrade, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told Croatian National Television (HRT) in an interview. He added that “tThe problem is Serbia, especially the president of that country who thinks and speaks like in the 90s of the last century. Read more.

AGENDA:

• France: The Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili and the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire will participate today in the National Hydrogen Council.
• Poland: European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson is due to meet Polish Interior Minister Mariusz KamiÅ„ski in Warsaw to discuss the border situation with Belarus. Meanwhile, the The Constitutional Court can rule on the constitutionality of certain provisions of the EU Treaty.
• Romania: A motion of censure must be read in parliament.
• Croatia: Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina will attend the official inauguration ceremony of the Svilaj Bridge over the Sava River from Croatia to BiH
• Slovenia: Prime Minister Janez JanÅ¡a to pay working visit to UK for talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Minister Liz Frame.
• Serbia: The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, ends her visit to Serbia as part of a tour of the Western Balkans. At the same time, the Serbian Ministry of Culture and Information will sign a cooperation program in the field of culture and art with the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism for the period 2021-2024.

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