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

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In today’s news from the capitals:

BERLIN | PARIS

Germany and France are disappointed by the lack of global ambition of States regarding the phasing out of fossil fuels and the reduction of emissions in high emitting countries such as China and India in the last hours of the negotiations of the Sunday’s COP27 in Egypt. Read more.

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EU INSTITUTIONS

The EU must offer an alternative to Russia and China, says Borrell. The EU must avoid creating new ‘dependencies’ and offer an alternative to partner countries as it reshapes its diplomatic approach following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the bloc’s top diplomat tells EURACTIV , Josep Borrell. Read more.

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PARIS

One in five French children lives below the poverty line, warns Unicef. One in five French children lives below the poverty line, and France is struggling to guarantee the most basic rights to children in vulnerable situations, writes Unicef ​​France in a report published on Sunday. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austria is considering withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty. The Austrian government is considering withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), a controversial energy investment protection treaty, after a European Commission-led reform failed on Friday. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

FIFA World Cup: Dutch interest in Qatar matches is very low. Interest in the controversial Qatar-hosted tournament has hit an all-time low in the football-loving nation, with King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte not planning to attend and just 14% of Dutch citizens are excited about the tournament. Read more.

UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND

LONDON

NORDIC AND BALTIC

HELSINKI

No takeoff for Finnair as cabin crew strike. Flag carrier Finnair had to cancel around 100 flights on Sunday and Monday as the company’s cabin crew staged a strike over pay cuts. Read more.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

ROME

Most Italians oppose ex-minister as EU envoy to Gulf. Italy’s former foreign minister Luigi Di Maio could be the EU’s next special envoy to the Gulf, but most Italians don’t think he’s the right man for the job . Read more.

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MADRID

Mortgage relief measures should soon help heavily indebted Spaniards. Homeowners at risk of financial insolvency could see their mortgage terms eased under an agreement between the Spanish government and the country’s banking sector to be announced on Tuesday. Read more.

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ATHENS

Soaring food prices in Greece are causing headaches for the government. Food prices in Athens and Berlin are almost at the same level, but Germany’s minimum wage is more than double that of Greece, the left-leaning Avgi newspaper reported. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal asks the Commission to release the second recovery tranche soon. The European Commission is expected to release the second tranche of the recovery and resilience plan soon as Portugal is currently implementing the first, the prime minister said. António Costa said on Sunday. Read more.

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VALLETTA

Immigrants in Malta protest against racism, discrimination, violence. Migrant workers and activists from Malta took to the streets of the capital this weekend to protest racial violence and abuse of power against the country’s ethnic minorities. Read more.

VISEGRAD

WARSAW

Poland will not admit Russian representatives on its territory. Poland has issued a series of decisions that effectively ban Russian representatives, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, from attending international meetings and summits held on its territory. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech police are investigating a racist attack on a journalist. PPolice are currently investigating the racist attack which allegedly targeted Czech TV editor Richard Samek during a protest against the government and the public broadcaster Czech television Last week. Read more.

BALKAN NEWS

SOFIA

Bulgarian detainees not linked to terror attack in Turkey, court says. There is no clear evidence that five suspects currently being held in Bulgaria were involved in the Istanbul terror attack on November 13, a Bulgarian court ruled late on Saturday. Read more.

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BELGRADE|PRISTINE

The EU must hold urgent talks with Kosovo and Serbia as the deadline approaches. Amid the looming deadline for license plates, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called an emergency meeting between Kosovo and Serbia on Monday. Read more.

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PRISTINE

US pressure on Pristina ahead of urgent Kosovo-Serbia talks on Monday. Over the weekend, US State Department adviser Derek Chollet discussed three points raised with Prime Minister Albin Kurti regarding the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, ahead of a crucial meeting in Brussels on Monday. Read more.

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TIRANA

Concentration of media ownership is the main problem in Albania. Media ownership by powerful businessmen with vested interests is the main threat to media freedom in Albania and reform is needed, says a coalition of international media freedom delegates who visited the country. Read more.

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AGENDA:

• EU: The Agriculture and Fisheries Council discusses the new EU forestry strategy for 2030, nature restoration, availability and affordability of fertilisers; EU ministers briefed by Commission on bioeconomy conference and action plan to promote energy transition of fisheries and aquaculture sectors; Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski attends the meeting;
• Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis participate in a high-level stakeholder event during the EU-US Council on Trade and Technology, Brussels;
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola meet in Strasbourg;
• Von der Leyen meets with the President of the European People’s Party Manfred Weber, the President of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Iratxe García-Pérez and the President of Renew Europe Stéphane Séjourné;
• Metsola attends a plenary session in Strasbourg; Meets Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković and Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament Vejdi Rashidov;
• The European Parliament discusses the negotiations between the Commission and the Hungarian government related to the cross-compliance regulation and the RRP;
• Prevention in plenary session; Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis take part in the dialogue on recovery and resilience;
• European Parliament discusses managing and improving diabetes care in the EU on World Diabetes Day; Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, takes part in the plenary debate;
• Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson attends the plenary session of the European Parliament, Strasbourg;
• The EU Presidency organizes an expert meeting on vaccination with participants from the EU-27, focusing not only on vaccination against COVID-19, but also on routine vaccination in the context of the crisis refugees caused by the war in Ukraine or vaccination schedules in Prague;
• Plenary meeting of the European Cybercrime Judicial Network takes place in Prague and focuses on the topics of artificial intelligence and fundamental rights, digital evidence and encryption;
• France: President Emmanuel Macron receives Moldovan President Maia Sandu; Visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev;
• United Kingdom: The annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) takes place;
• Qatar: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue Meeting;
• UN: The Security Council holds a meeting on North Korea, the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Vlad Makszimov, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson, Sofia Mandilara]