Euobserver.com

This time six opposition parties — spanning from once far-right Jobbik to urban liberal Momentum — have united to take on Orbán's Fidesz party, led by conservative newcomer politician and anti-corruption champion Péter Márki-Zay.

Russian disinformation and propaganda on the war continue to spread after a month of brutal fighting. But China's endorsement of the Kremlin narrative raises a new challenge for the West.

Belgium has expelled 21 Russian diplomats for alleged spying and posing threats to security, foreign affairs minister Sophie Wilmes told lawmakers on Tuesday. The 21 Russians worked at Moscow's embassy in Brussels and its consulate in Antwerp, Reuters reported, and were accredited as diplomats but were accused of spying and influencing operations. Wilmes said the move was not a sanction. "It is only related to our national security," she said.

EU institutions and agencies must boost cybersecurity preparedness as they are attractive targets for potential cyberattacks, EU auditors warned in a report on Tuesday. Cyberattacks targeting EU bodies have increased more than 10-fold during the last four years. But some EU institutions and agencies lack essential controls, good practices, or cybersecurity-training. The 2020 cyberattack on the European Medicines Agency leaked sensitive data that was used to undermine vaccine confidence.

Russia has promised to scale down military operations around Kyiv in the north of Ukraine, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The move is intended to foster confidence, although no agreement has been made. Peace talks took place at a palace in Istanbul, and Ukraine promised to adopt a neutral status after the war, in the first sign of progress towards a potential settlement yet.

Polish authorities detained four activists on 23 March after they were caught helping families with children stranded in a forest on the Belarus border. "Activists saved their lives by picking them up from the cold forest, the exact same way they had done in recent weeks," said Grupa Granica, an organisation helping migrants and refugees. A Polish prosecutor said they were arrested on suspicion of illegally smuggling people.

My organisation Democracy Reporting International has tracked the negotiation positions and it is clear that president Volodomyr Zelensky has opened wide space for compromise on all the contentious questions, except the two absurd Russian demands of "denazification" and demilitarisation.

EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson in Brussels said efforts need to be made to encourage refugees from Ukraine in Poland to fan out to other member states.

The EU needs to more clearly differentiate harmful and transitional investments from the sustainable ones in its new classification system, chief advisor said .

In November 2013, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych chose not to sign an EU Association Agreement, favouring a closer relationship with Russia. By February 2014, Yanukovych was ordering Ukrainian Special Forces to fire on protestors, killing over 100 peaceful activists.

Russia on Monday classified German state TV broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) as a "foreign agent", according to a statement from the justice department in Moscow, in the wake of a ban on the organisation broadcasting in Russia last month. DW director general Peter Limbourg called the decision "expected", but a "further attack on press freedom and a fresh attempt to cut the Russian population off from free, independent media."

Spain and Portugal will propose to Brussels this week a package of emergency measures, including a price cap — after EU leaders failed to find a common solution to the problem of high gas prices.

Energy ministers of G7 countries rejected Russian president Vladimir Putin's demands to pay in roubles for gas, Reuters reported on Monday. "All G7 ministers have agreed that this is a unilateral and clear breach of existing contracts," said German economy and climate protection minister Robert Habeck after a discussion with its counterparts. He said payments in roubles are "unacceptable" and an attempt to create divisions within the Group of Seven.

Talks on Albania and North Macedonia's accession to the EU need to start as soon as possible because any delay will make Western Balkans vulnerable to outside influence, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, according to Reuters. "It is clear for both Germany and Sweden that the EU must push ahead with institutional reforms to make itself capable of enlargement," Scholz told reporters after meeting Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday announced a €16bn "war-response shock plan" to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices for Spanish consumers. The package of emergency measures offers €6bn in direct aid and tax breaks and €10bn in loans for families and enterprises. It also includes a minimum reduction, of 20-cents, per litre of fuel. The state will cover 15 cents-per-litre and oil companies the remainder.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday some 15,000 Ukrainian refugees have so far asked for residency permits in France, under the EU's temporary protection scheme. Darmanin said around 80 percent of those are highly-skilled women, who should be able to find employment in France. France is ready to host over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, he added.

The European Commission on Monday urged member states to "immediately repeal" existing investor-citizenships, the so-called "golden passport" schemes, and ensure stronger scrutiny on residency permits given for investments. The executive also urged EU countries to assess whether citizenship granted under such a golden passport scheme to Russian or Belarusian nationals on an EU sanctions list in relation to the war in Ukraine should now be withdrawn.

Russia's military failures and impressive Western unity should encourage China to change its geopolitical calculations, diplomats say.

Top EU officials are expected to tell Chinese president Xi Jinping that his country will face serious consequences if it sides with Russia. Hungary's Orbán will face a united opposition at the polls.

Washington will increase supply of liquefied natural gas before the end of the year, US president Joe Biden and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday, amid warnings that such a move could push prices even higher.