| WARSAW Polish government plans child benefit overhaul, limiting access for Ukrainians. The government is preparing a draft law, expected to be revealed before the general election, that would link child benefit payments to parents' employment and tax contributions in Poland. This development follows presidential candidate Rafał Trzaskowski's proposal on the matter. Read more. /// PRAGUE Czech PM aide: holding 80% of land a major win for Ukraine. Tomáš Pojar, Czech Prime Minister’s sherpa and national security coordinator, says a realistic outcome of the war in Ukraine would be Kyiv controlling most – but not all – of its territory. “Let’s wait to see whether Donald Trump manages to stop the war and whether Ukraine ends up governing 80% of its territory—which, by the way, would be a huge success. That’s certainly not how Vladimir Putin envisioned it three years ago,” Pojar said in an interview with Czech daily Deník N. Strategic defeat for Russia. He suggested that such a scenario, while falling short of full victory, would still represent a strategic defeat for Russia and limit its ability to expand westward. Pojar argued that early hopes for Russia’s collapse and complete Ukrainian liberation were unrealistic and that the current situation should be viewed through a more pragmatic lens focused on stability and deterrence. “I am deeply convinced that Putin wants to restore the Soviet Union. And to do that, he needs Ukraine. The Soviet Union without Ukraine is not the Soviet Union,” Pojar said (Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
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Slovakia to ask Commission for compensation following foot-and-mouth outbreak. Slovakia will prepare a detailed analysis of foot-and-mouth disease-related damages for the European Commission in order to request compensation, Slovak Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč said in Brussels on Monday. Foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, and spreads rapidly within herds. According to the government, the disease likely reached Slovakia via airborne transmission from Hungary. The country had previously been free of foot-and-mouth disease for almost 50 years. According to Takáč, the Commission has aid schemes and compensation funds for farmers in EU member states, which it applies in the event of climate crises or disease outbreaks. This was the case with African swine fever and avian influenza, and is also the case with foot-and-mouth disease. Additional funding. Additional funding for this sector could come from the previous programming period's agricultural and rural development programmes, which are nearing completion. The Commission will only pay compensation after a final assessment of the damage caused to farmers and the national economy. Takáč told Slovak News Agency TASR that the Agriculture Ministry currently estimates losses at around €10 million - mainly due to culled animals and lost milk production. Total losses are expected to reach tens of millions of euros. (Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk) | 