German senior ministers torpedo compulsory military service plans

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.

The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by Euractiv.

In today’s news from the Capitals:

BERLIN

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD/S&D) could be forced to water down a new conscription model to be introduced in 2025 after senior ministers from the junior coalition partner FDP said they would not support compulsory elements. Read more.

///

PARIS

In Europe as in France, Le Pen’s party still trapped behind ‘cordon sanitaire’. The president of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN), Jordan Bardella, already saw himself as France’s new prime minister last week but was instead elected to lead the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, remaining for the time being trapped behind a watertight cordon sanitaire. Read more.

///

VIENNA 

Austria’s Gewessler launches task force to investigate Gazprom energy contract. The Austrian energy minister launched a task force of independent experts to examine the country’s long-term gas contract with Russia’s Gazprom, on Tuesday, including investigating the level of political involvement in the 2018 signing. Read more.

UK & IRELAND

LONDON

UK’s Labour government puts health at the top of its agenda. The new Labour government takes office with an ambitious new approach to health, but there are questions over how these plans will be funded. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ROME

Italy’s Meloni at crossroads after far-right Le Pen’s defeat. The defeat of Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National in the second round of the French parliamentary elections has put Italy’s hard-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in front of a dilemma: follow the “pragmatic” approach or be driven by her “identitarian relapses” as one analyst described. Read more.

///

MADRID

Spanish Supreme Court shelves terrorism investigation against Puigdemont. Spain’s Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to shelve an investigation into alleged terrorism crimes against former Catalan separatist president Carles Puigdemont after a judge previously closed the case due to a procedural error. Read more.

Spain’s Court of Auditors fines far-right VOX for irregular donations. Spain’s Court of Auditors imposed on Tuesday two sanctions on the far-right VOX party, the third force in the Spanish parliament, for what it said were two serious violations of Spanish law on party financing. Read more.

EASTERN EUROPE

PRAGUE

Russian and Chinese hackers targeted Czech cyberinfrastructure – report. Strategic Czech institutions saw four hostile intrusions or attempted intrusions into their cyber systems last year, an annual report by the National Agency for Cyber and Information Security (NÚKIB) has revealed. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Pro-Russian politician in Bulgaria arrested for leaking state secrets. Zlatomir Dyovlensky, a local leader of the National Russophile Movement in Plovdiv, was arrested on suspicion of leaking state secrets in yet another case involving movement, whose national leader has been on trial for espionage for Russia since 2022. Read more.

///

CHISINAU

Moldova to acquire second airspace monitoring radar with help from EU funds. Moldova is expected to receive its second airspace surveillance radar in 2025 to complement its existing airspace surveillance system and improve the detection of potential threats, funded by the EU, Moldovan Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatîi announced on Tuesday. Read more.

AGENDA:

• EU: Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders participates in Eurojust high level conference with Prosecutors General from Latin American countries, in The Hague, Netherlands;
• Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Iliana Ivanova participates in G7 Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology, in Bologna, Italy; Meets with Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Science Adviser to US President Arati Prabhakar;

***

[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor, Sofia Mandilara]  

Read more with Euractiv