EU neighbours team up against Germany

Good morning from Brussels,

Poland will soon propose to hold consultations with Germany’s neighbours to consider a potential response, including at EU level, against the introduction of border controls, the Polish Interior Ministry told Euractiv.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already warned Berlin, but now Warsaw seems eager to take concrete action.

In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz insists on his decision despite other countries’ discontent. See here what the new measures mean for EU neighbours.

From Vienna, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticised Germany’s move while hinting that Berlin would revisit its welfare policy, which is considered attractive to migrants and refugees.

However, German social democrats have found unexpected allies belonging to different political groups.

In Italy, hard right Giorgia Meloni’s government praised Germany’s anti-migration measures, while Berlin’s stance may drag France’s newly appointed Prime Minister Michel Barnier into a tougher approach on migration too.

A report drafted by EU defence companies on EU research and innovation funding calls out governments for not supporting projects financially and for a lack of long-term perspective for their projects. Aurélie Pugnet has the story.

Meanwhile, Europe’s carmakers are struggling as they navigate a slowdown in electric vehicle sales and fierce competition from China. Euractiv’s Bárbara Machado contacted MEPs from carmaking countries to ask them what the EU can do to turn the situation around.

In the tech world, Julia Tar writes about the “unresolved” questions over X’s deal with Ireland to halt AI data processing, while in agriculture, producers have urged the EU to address delays in CAP aid for farms going organic.

BERLIN

To avoid future electricity price hikes, the German government is looking to reverse the liberalisation of its electricity market and move towards a more interventionist approach with the establishment of fixed-price capacity markets. Read more.

ATHENS

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticised Germany’s decision to introduce controls at its borders, saying such a move would endanger the Schengen Area, and hinted that Berlin’s current welfare policies may be to blame for attracting migrants. Read more.

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ROME

Italian undersecretary praises German border decision, notes left alignment with Meloni.Germany’s decision to tighten border controls drew praise from Italian Undersecretary of State for the Interior Wanda Ferro, who pointed to the left-wing parties in Europe aligning with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on migration. Read more.

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MADRID

Spanish PM says EU must reconsider Chinese EV tariffs. EU member states and the Commission must “reconsider” their position regarding the tariffs imposed on Chinese electric vehicles, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday. Read more.

Spain’s Sánchez to seek a unified EU approach to solve Venezuelan political crisis. Spain will not recognise Edmundo González Urrutia’s claimed victory in Venezuela’s recent election but will work towards a unified EU stance to negotiate with Nicolás Maduro’s regime for a resolution to the political crisis, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) said on Wednesday. Read more.

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LISBON

Changes to Portuguese wiretapping law could halt investigations. The possible revision of the law on wiretaps could lead to the collapse of some judicial investigations, Portugal’s attorney general warned on Wednesday, stressing that the number of phone-tapping operations has decreased in recent years. Read more.

PRAGUE

Russia rejects Czech jurisdiction in unpaid rent cases. Russia is rejecting the jurisdiction of Czech courts in a dispute over unpaid rent for buildings used by the Russian government, with the Czech Foreign Ministry demanding more than €2 million for Russia’s unauthorised use of the properties for commercial activities. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Key players withdraw from Slovak media freedom platform over controversial state nominee.The Investigative Centre of Jan Kuciak (ICJK) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have suspended their participation in the state-run press freedom platform, citing the inappropriate nomination of a new member linked to a media outlet spreading disinformation. Read more.

The Bulgarian parliament has decided to extend the deadline given to the government to negotiate the sale of two Russian nuclear reactors and related equipment to Ukraine by six months. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Martina Monti, Alice Taylor]