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In today’s news from The Capitals:
ATHENS
Greece’s conservative government is preparing a bill to ban all flavoured alternative tobacco products – sparing only natural tobacco and mint, Euractiv has learnt. Read more.
WESTERN EUROPE
PARIS
Macron reportedly weighing snap elections after summer. French President Emmanuel Macron is considering dissolving parliament and calling snap elections as early as this autumn, according to Bloomberg, which cites sources close to the discussions. Read more.
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BERLIN
Medical malpractice reports in Germany remain persistently high. The number of allegations of medical malpractice reported by patients in Germany remain near all-time highs, according to new figures published by the country’s largest health insurer on Tuesday. Read more.
NORDICS & BALTICS
STOCKHOLM
Sweden to criminalise virginity tests in new law. Sweden’s centre-right coalition and the far-right Sweden Democrats have agreed to criminalise so-called virginity tests, operations and certificates, describing them as “deeply offensive” and contrary to Swedish values.
In a joint op-ed published in Aftonbladet, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer of the ruling Moderate party and representatives of the Liberal, Christian Democrat and Sweden Democrat parties outlined plans for a new law targeting these controversial practices, which they say take place both in Sweden and abroad.
“Such invasive procedures are often carried out under intense pressure and violate basic Swedish principles of personal integrity and gender equality,” the authors write.
Under the proposed law, performing a virginity test or surgery would be punishable by up to one year in prison, while issuing a virginity certificate could result in fines or up to six months in prison – even with the woman or girl’s consent.
The legislation, which follows years of political debate and a formal government inquiry launched in 2022, is set to come into force on 1 December 2025.
The move is seen as part of Sweden’s wider crackdown on practices associated with honour-based oppression. These include social and cultural practices – such as virginity tests, forced marriages or restrictions on women’s autonomy – that are imposed to control female sexuality and preserve family ‘honour’, often through coercion or violence.
In Sweden, these practices are mainly associated with certain immigrant communities, where traditional patriarchal norms clash with liberal democratic values and gender equality.
(Charles Szumski)
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME
Italy’s first Albania repatriation ends where it started – in Italy. Italy has just carried out the first deportation linked to its new Albania-based migrant detention centre – but the individual ended up being deported from Italy, not Albania. Read more.
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MADRID
Sánchez: Spain will reach 2% defence spending four years early. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced today a €10.5 billion security and defence plan to reach 2% of GDP on military expenditure this year, well before its initial 2029 deadline. Read more.
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LISBON
Barroso: EU defence problem is coordination, not lack of spending. Former president of the European Commission José Manuel Durão Barroso said on Tuesday that “the fundamental problem” of European defence is not a lack of investment, but a “mismatch”, arguing that the focus should also be on industry and research.
“The fundamental problem of European defence is not a lack of investment. It’s the lack of coordination and its fragmentation,” said the social democrat and former Portuguese prime minister, during a conference on national defence.
In a speech in which he stressed that he was making “strictly personal considerations,” Barroso argued that moving from the target of investing 2% of GDP in defence to “3 % or 3.5%” – a target he believes will be ‘agreed’ at the NATO summit – would not solve Europe’s defence problems.
“It could even aggravate the problems of European defence, because it would increase the dysfunctionalities and incompatibilities that exist between the different systems,” he said.
In this context, the former president of the European Commission believes that the “important thing” is to “ensure that this increase in spending and investment is done from a Community point of view.”
(Joana Morais Fonseca, edited by Cristina Cardoso | Lusa.pt)
EASTERN EUROPE
WARSAW
Opposition praises Polish handling of Ukrainian exhumation crisis. Right-wing PiS (ECR) lawmaker Michał Dworczyk praised the Polish government’s handling of the Volhynia massacre exhumations, saying it continues the policies his party pursued while in power.
As a result of an agreement between Warsaw and Kyiv, exhumations of victims of the Volhynia massacre will begin on Wednesday and Thursday. During World War II, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army carried out the ethnic cleansing of Poles in what is now western Ukraine, which continues to haunt Polish-Ukrainian relations.
Interviewed by Polsat News yesterday, Dworczyk praised the efforts of current Minister of Culture Hanna Wróblewska (NI), who is holding talks with Ukrainian Minister Mykola Tochytskyi on the exhumation of Polish victims. “They are engaged in a constructive dialogue and Ms Wróblewska deserves credit for this,” said the MEP.
He said that the current actions of the government of Donald Tusk (PO, EPP) are a continuation of those previously undertaken by the PiS. “This is how it should be. On all important issues, regardless of who holds the parliamentary majority, we should pursue wise policies and continue all the good initiatives of our predecessors,” he emphasised.
(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)
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PRAGUE
Czech MEP under police investigation after posting speeding photo. Czech police are investigating Czech MEP Filip Turek after he posted a photo on Instagram showing his car’s speedometer exceeding 200 km/h. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
Slovakia reports 17 bear deaths so far this year, hopes for more. Seventeen brown bears have died in Slovakia since the start of the year, the environment ministry’s state secretary, Filip Kuffa, said on Facebook. Read more.
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Sanctioned for corruption politician emerges as key power broker in Sofia. A Bulgarian politician sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom for corruption, Delyan Peevski, has become a central figure supporting the government in Sofia amid opposition accusations of his significant informal influence over the security services, police, and judiciary. Read more.
Bulgaria’s public debt nears 25% of GDP in 2024. Bulgaria’s public debt has reached €24.97 billion in 2024, amounting to 24.1% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the latest data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). This marks a continued upward trend in the debt-to-GDP ratio over recent years.
In 2023, the debt stood at 22.9% of GDP, while in 2022 and 2021 it was 22.5% and 23.8%, respectively. Although Bulgaria remains among the EU countries with relatively low debt levels, the consistent growth raises public concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability.
Further adding to the rising debt trajectory, the 2025 state budget allows the government to take on new debt of up to €9.65 billion. This move signals increased spending plans in the coming year, potentially pushing public debt even closer to the 30% threshold.
While current debt levels remain manageable, careful fiscal planning will be key to maintaining stability in the face of rising global economic uncertainties and political efforts for Eurozone membership in 2026.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
AGENDA:
- EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in leaders’ meeting on climate and just transition convened via video conference by Brazil and the United Nations;
- Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera on official visit in Mexico: holds meetings with Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Alicia Bárcena, Secretary for Energy Luz Elena González Escobar;
- Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius hosts Minister for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration of the Republic of Korea Seok Jong-gun;
- Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Commissioner Jessika Roswall hosts high level roundtable on Nature Credits’; Meets with International Union for Conservation of Nature European Regional Office Director Boris Erg;
- Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Commissioner Glenn Micallef meets with Independent Music Companies Association representatives.
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[Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara]