Euractiv.com

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about a Bulgarian pro-Russian MEP being nominated for a pro-NATO party list for the EU elections, a brewing conflict in the German coalition government, and so much more.

Russia will intensify strikes on Ukrainian storage bases that house Western-supplied weapons, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday (23 April), as the United States prepares to approve and deliver a long-delayed batch of new military aid.

Romania's Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) have decided to withdraw their joint candidate in the race for mayor of Bucharest, the two parties announced on Tuesday, two weeks before they are due to launch their campaign for local and European elections, both set for 9 June.

A sweeping foreign aid package easily passed the US Congress late on Tuesday (23 April) after months of delay, clearing the way for billions of dollars in fresh Ukraine funding amid advances from Russia's invasion force and Kyiv's shortages of military supplies.

In 27 March 2024, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) hosted the inaugural edition of the European AI Roundtable in Brussels.

Elena Yoncheva, the EU lawmaker from the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP/PES), is poised to join the electoral list of the Turkish minority party DPS - a very pro-EU and pro-NATO political force.

Ukraine suspended consular services for military-age male citizens until 18 May, criticising Ukrainians abroad who it said expected to receive help from the state without helping it in the war against Russia.

The United Kingdom will support Kyiv with an additional £500 million, raising the country’s total annual spending on Ukraine to £3.5 billion, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said during his trip to Warsaw.

The Socialist Party (PSOE/PSC/S&D) candidate and former Spanish health minister Salvador Illa is on course to win the snap elections in Catalonia on 12 May, while the two main separatist forces, the right-wing JxCat and the left-wing ERC, could face a tough fight for second place, a new poll revealed on Tuesday shows.

The UK readied on Tuesday (23 April) to start detaining migrants within days for deportation to Rwanda after the controversial plan got parliament's approval, sparking outrage from the UN and rights groups.

The regional elections in Basilicata, which saw the expected victory of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party, surprised the centrist Italia Viva and Azione parties, which together won more than 14% of the vote.

Germany has been hit by espionage scandals in recent days, with several persons being arrested for allegedly spying for Russia and China, but the threat is prevalent across the bloc, with several national agencies sounding the alarm.

The public struggle within the German coalition government is continuing as liberal junior partner FDP presented a plan for an economic turnaround, provoking Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD to counter the ideas with a rebuttal of their own.

Sweden and Finland, NATO’s two newest members, have an important role to play in contributing to peace and toning down the rhetoric of war while nevertheless preparing for it, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in Stockholm on Tuesday.

North Macedonia heads to the polls Wednesday (24 April) for the first in a series of elections that could decide whether the diverse Balkan country will ever join the European Union.

The Parliament plans to open a new office in the Western Balkans, as a strategy to enhance its oversight over the enlargement process the European Parliament's administrative body plans in a document seen by Euractiv.

French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to plant one billion trees in France over 10 years, but environmentalists and researchers question whether this programme will achieve its stated biodiversity and climate objectives.

With only a bit more than a month to the European parliamentary elections’ polls are focusing on the performance of the political groups, the seats they may get in the parliament and on what is worrying EU citizens.

With foreign interference allegations piling up ahead of June’s EU elections, the European Parliament’s main political groups are demanding swift action from authorities to shed light on the cases.

The Paris Olympic Games have opted for low-carbon construction and the repurposing of existing facilities for its sports infrastructure. The target is to produce half the emissions of the Rio and London games.