Slovak PM Fico’s assassination attempt likely not a ‘lone wolf’ attack

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In today’s news from The Capitals:

BRATISLAVA

The 71-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico last week may not have acted as a so-called “lone wolf”, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) reported, adding he was not the one who deleted the alleged shooters Facebook history hours after the attack. Read more.

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PARIS

Amid growing social unrest, New Caledonia’s nickel industry is also in turmoil. While the violence continues in New Caledonia, the archipelago is in a precarious economic situation, plagued for months by falling nickel prices, of which it holds 20% to 30% of the world’s reserves. Read more.

Poll: Macron’s list hits all-time low ahead of EU elections. The list backed by French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance (Renew) gets 15.5% of the vote – its lowest level since the start of the European election campaign – and now ranks behind the socialist party, according to the latest Elabe poll published on Saturday. Read more.

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BERLIN

Political violence in Germany on the rise. Offences against politicians have increased in the last year in Germany, highlighted by recent violent attacks against a couple of leading politicians on their campaign trail. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Pfizergate: Belgian court postpones case to December taking pressure off von der Leyen. The latest hearing in the Pfizergate scandal has been postponed until 6 December by a Belgian court to give parties additional time to examine certain aspects of the case, a decision likely to be a relief for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is currently busy on the campaign trail ahead of the June EU elections. Read more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ATHENS

EU Commission urges Skopje, Athens to stick to name-change deal. A European Commission spokesperson told Euractiv that the 2018 Prespa Agreement between Greece and North Macedonia must be implemented by “all parties” and in “good faith” amid a new spat between Athens and Skopje that threatens to revive a 25-year dispute. Read more.

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ROME

Italy’s family minister explains decision not to sign EU LGBT declaration. Italy was among nine EU countries that did not sign a declaration promoting European policies in favor of LGBT+ communities, sparking widespread protests within the country while the government described it as “unbalanced”. Read more.

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MADRID

Meloni, Orbán, Le Pen back Spanish far right in ‘battle against Brussels’. The Prime Ministers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR) and Hungary, Viktor Orbán (Fidesz/ID), and the leader of France’s Rassemblement National (RN/ID), Marine Le Pen, joined forces in Madrid on Sunday to boost the chances of the far-right VOX party, the third largest force in the Spanish parliament, ahead of the European elections in June. Read more.

Madrid demands ‘public apology’ after Argentine president Milei’s remarks. Socialism is “cursed and cancerous” and “invites death”, and the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) is “corrupt”, Argentina’s President Javier Milei said on Sunday, speaking at the Europa VIVA 24 rally organised by the far-right VOX party (ECR) in Madrid this weekend, which has led Madrid to recall its ambassador in Buenos Aires for consultations. Read more.

EASTERN EUROPE

PRAGUE

Czechs vote on an agenda driven by rising Eurosceptic Babiš ANO party. According to polls, former prime minister Andrej Babiš’s ANO party is expected to win the EU elections in the Czech Republic amid a public debate dominated by his Eurosceptic agenda, which targets the migration pact and the Green Deal. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Bulgarian president says Ukraine’s victory over Russia ‘impossible’. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has described Ukraine’s victory over Russia as “impossible” and linked the two-year war with Russia to the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Read more.

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TIRANA

Albania sees first same-sex religious marriage as LGBT couple challenge family code. Two Albanian women have become the first couple in the country’s history to challenge the laws on marriage under an article of the constitution while also taking part in a religious marriage ceremony, as the EU Ambassador to Albania, Silvio Gonzato, says Albania needs to consider the equality of citizens before the law. Read more.

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

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