The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

Before starting to read today’s edition of Les Capitales, do not hesitate to consult the article “German Agriculture Minister slams Timmermans ahead of CAP trilogue “, by Julia Dahm.

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In today’s news from the Capitals:

BERLIN

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter backed a proposal for the city’s stadium to be lit in rainbow colors on Wednesday evening during the EURO 2020 game between Germany and Hungary as a sign of solidarity with the latter’s LGBTQI + community. European football’s governing body UEFA has banned the move, saying the overt political demonstrations are against its rules. Read more.

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VIENNA

The Austrian Minister of Finance caught in a controversy over missing documents. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Tuesday asked the Constitutional Court to intervene after Finance Minister Gernot Blümel did not handing over crucial documents to the commission of inquiry set up following the “Ibiza-gate” scandal to investigate political corruption in the former government. Read more.

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PARIS

The Council of State suspends the reform of unemployment insurance. France’s highest court suspended a draft reform of unemployment insurance days before new rules came into force on July 1. Read more.

UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND

DUBLIN

The new DUP leader is looking to meet the British Prime Minister. The new leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland, Jeffrey Donaldson, has said he wants to meet UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson quickly. Read more.

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LONDON

Five years later, Brexit afflicts the United Kingdom, stricken by a pandemic. Five years after Britain’s shocking decision to leave the European Union, the wounds opened by Brexit have not yet healed and analysts say its far-reaching changes have only just begun. Read the full story.

NORDIC AND BALTIC

STOCKHOLM

Swedish police are investigating faulty COVID-19 tests. Swedish police raided several premises of a private health trust around the Stockholm metropolitan area following reports that up to 100,000 Swedes may have received an incorrect COVID-19 test result, media say Swedish. Read more.

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HELSINKI

Finnish FM: the work of the EU envoy continues despite Ethiopian criticism. A recent report to the European Parliament by Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto who described the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region as “out of control” drew strong condemnation from Ethiopia. Read more.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

ROME

The head of the European Commission gives the green light to the Italian recovery plan. Italy has been given the green light for its recovery and resilience plan, which means the country will soon get its first tranche of around € 25 billion in stimulus measures to help it recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic. Read more.

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MADRID

The Spanish government pardon the imprisoned Catalan separatist leaders. The Spanish Socialist-led coalition government has finalized controversial pardons for nine Catalan politicians jailed for their involvement in an unauthorized referendum and declaration of independence in 2017. Read the full story.

VISÉGRAD

PRAGUE

Czech government criticized for the “insufficient” budget of the EU presidency. A A group of Czech economists, businessmen, diplomats and experts have called on the government to extend the budget for the rotating EU Council presidency that the country is expected to take over in the second half of 2022. Find out more.

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WARSAW

The Polish minister questioned about the violation of the rule of law. Polish European Affairs Minister Konrad Szymański was questioned on Tuesday by EU ministers on the Article 7 EU Treaty procedure launched against Poland in 2017. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovakia will receive 900 million euros less from the stimulus package. Slovakia will receive almost €1 billion less than foreseen in the stimulus plan, said Finance Minister and former Prime Minister Igor Matovič. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA | SKOPJE | BELGRADE

Bulgaria maintains veto on North Macedonia. Bulgaria said it supports North Macedonia’s European ambitions, but maintained its veto over Skopje starting membership negotiations, at the regular General Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday.

Bulgarian representative at the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Rumen Alexandrov, announced that his country was “open to a constructive dialogue with the incoming Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU in order to find mutually acceptable solutions”. After.

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BUCHAREST

The Romanian government faces a vote of no confidence. The Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) is expected to table a motion of censure against the center-right government on Wednesday. PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu said the government had failed in everything from developing a viable stimulus package to the vaccination campaign. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenia is in the process of fully digitizing its public services. Slovenia is planning a large-scale digitization of public services with the aim of improving the efficiency of public administration and initiating technological development in line with the objectives of the EU’s digital agenda. Read more.

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TIRANA

Albania, a hydroelectric company, launches its first tender for wind power. Albania on Monday launched its first tender for the construction of large-scale onshore wind power plants, with a total capacity of 100 MW, with the aim of diversifying its hydropower production capacity.

Albania produces over 99% of its energy from hydropower, with its main plant located in the northern part of the Dorini River. The country is therefore vulnerable to seasonal changes and depends on expensive and high-emission electricity imports. (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)

Agenda:

• France: French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Wednesday afternoon.
• France: Visit of the head of the European Commission von der Leyen to launch the Covid recovery plan
  
• Belgium: UN Secretary General Guterres meets EU chief von der Leyen, other Commissioners
• Italy: Prime Minister Mario Draghi will report to Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, before the European Council on June 24 and 25.
• Germany: Economy Minister Peter Altmaier will travel to the United States as Prime Minister since US President Biden took office.
• Germany: New round of Libya peace talks in Berlin
• Greece: The main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras is visiting Brussels to meet politicians from the Socialist Party of the EU, the left as well as the Greens.
• Poland: 33rd session of the Sejm of the 9th legislature
• Slovenia: Foreign Minister Anže Logar will participate in a virtual session of the Central European Initiative.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Paula Kenny, Zoran Radosavljevic, Josie LeBlond]