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Good morning from Berlin, 

Putting up tariffs on Chinese electric cars to protect the European industry would be the wrong approach to promoting international competition, German liberal Transport Minister Volker Wissing told Euractiv in an interview. 

The European Commission is currently investigating China’s electric vehicles, which EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says are sold at “artificially low” prices on European markets. 

The investigation, the results of which are due to be presented shortly, could lead to new import duties on electric cars from China if firms are found to have received excessive state subsidies. The US administration hiked tariffs from 25% to 100% earlier this month.

“Some people who are particularly vocal about climate protection and want to electrify everything are misleading people about what they actually want,” Wissing said, adding that if a large share of transport ceases altogether, it will cause the economy to shrink.

Reporting from Berlin, Euractiv’s Jonathan Packroff has the whole story.

Meanwhile, Europe’s electrolyser manufacturers are ceding ground to Chinese competitors, putting pressure on politicians to shield the emerging industry using the EU’s new industry law, writes Nikolaus Kurmayer. 

Last but not least, a survey has found that a majority of European CEOs find China’s relations with the US to be one of the five most severe roadblocks to the EU-China relationship. The same survey noted that concerns over persistently weak economic growth push many corporate executives to prioritise commercial opportunities outside Europe. 

Thomas Moller-Nielsen digs deeper.

The future of the far right in Europe, viewed from France

In the face of a deeply divided left, the French National Rally’s grab for power is easier than many might expect. How is the party reshaping the influence of the far-right at the European level? We sat down with Paris correspondent Theo Bourgery-Gonse to put French dynamics into the European context. Listen here.
Bubbling in Brussels
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Nicolas Schmit, the Party of European Socialists (PES) lead candidate for the Commission presidency, told Euractiv in an interview that governments led by the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) should nominate Socialists to rebalance powers. 

On the digital field, a European Court of Auditors report published on Wednesday stressed that the European Commission failed to effectively coordinate a planned boost in investments in artificial intelligence (AI) on par with global leaders between 2018 and 2022.

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Western Europe
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PARIS | BERLIN | ROME

France’s Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Kyiv should be able to attack specific Russian-based military sites used to launch missiles onto Ukrainian territory, or else “we are sending weapons to Ukraine but tell them they can’t use it”, while Germany and Italy maintain their opposition on the matter. Read more.

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BERLIN | PARIS

Scholz, Macron adopt ‘competitiveness’ guidelines to set EU agenda. With the EU set for a new five-year term, the bloc’s powerhouses France and Germany insist that their economic priorities – featuring a heftier EU budget and less regulated industries – be considered first and foremost. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Dutch coalition taps former security boss as next prime minister. Dutch right-wing coalition parties on Tuesday nominated former security chief Dick Schoof as their preferred candidate to become the Netherlands’ next prime minister. Read more.

Nordics

STOCKHOLM

Sweden asked to pause plans to send Gripen jets to Ukraine, focus on US F-16s. Sweden has been asked to pause plans to send Jas Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson said on Tuesday, adding that the focus is now on US F-16s. Read more.

Europe's south
Click on the picture to read the story | Photo by [EPA-EFE/Christian Marquardt]

MADRID

Spain’s Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera, the lead candidate in the European elections for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE party, clarified on Tuesday that any kind of political agreement with Italian Prime Minister and ECR group leader Giorgia Meloni or any other “ultra” force in Europe is off the table. Read more.

Spain will not recognise changes to 1967 Israeli-Palestinian border lines, Sánchez warns.Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday that Madrid will not admit changes to the 1967 border lines that were not previously agreed between Israel and the Palestinian state, which Madrid officially recognised on the same day in a coordinated move with Ireland and Norway. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal may be next to recognise Palestinian statehood. Palestinian ambassador to Lisbon, Nabil Abuznaid, said he hoped Portugal would soon join Spain, Norway and Ireland in recognising Palestine as an independent and sovereign state on Tuesday, citing the several requests Portugueseparliamentarians have made to the government in this regard. Read more.

Eastern Europe

PRAGUE

Czechia urges allies to meet commitments, fund ammunition for Ukraine. Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová (ODS, ECR) called on its European allies to contribute financially to the so-called Czech ammunition initiative, as only four countries have so far met their financial commitments. Read more.

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WARSAW

Poland to strengthen EU’s eastern flank after migrant stabs guard at Belarus border. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced plans to reinforce the EU’s eastern flank after an asylum seeker attacked a Polish border guard with a knife while trying to cross the border with Belarus. Read more.

The Balkans
Click on the picture to read the story | [Esther Snippe for Euractiv / Photos: EPA/Shutterstock]

SARAJEVO

While Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is not ready for EU accession, the United Nations High Representative for Bosnia, Christian Schmidt, told Euractiv that EU leaders must be aware the country could be at great risk if the accession process is further delayed. Read more.

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SOFIA

Council of Europe praises Bulgaria’s battle against money laundering. Bulgaria has improved its work against money laundering and terrorist financing, making progress on most assessment indicators, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) anti-money laundering body said on Tuesday, but it will remain one of two EU member states on the ‘grey list’ along with Croatia. Read more.

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BUCHAREST | BUDAPEST 

Hungary’s Szijjarto hopes for more ‘pro-peace forces’ in the EU Parliament. The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz have expressed a common hope for increased representation of “pro-peace forces” in the European Parliament, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday. Read more.

Agenda
  • EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen chairs College of Commissioners meeting, including visit of Special Advisor and Former President of Finland Sauli Niinistö;
  • Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič hosts Vice President of the European Investment Bank Robert de Groot; Delivers closing remarks at the Committee of the Regions event on “Towards a Green Deal 2.0 that works for regions and cities”; Delivers keynote speech at the EU Green Week 2024 Brussels Conference;
  • Vice President Vĕra Jourová attends the AI Summit, in San Francisco, United States;
  • Vice President Dubravka Suica delivers keynote speech at event “Let’s speed up progress – Europe together against cancer”, organized by European Cancer Organisation, in Zagreb, Croatia;
  • Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson delivers an opening speech at 1st General Assembly of European Industrial Alliance on SMRs; Holds meeting with Europacable CEOs;
  • Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski meets Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, Minister for Agriculture Saparov Aidarbek Seipellovich, in Astana;
  • Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič participates in virtual USAID Donor Roundtable on Gaza with Administrator of USAID Samantha Power;
  • Financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union Commissioner Mairead McGuinness holds meetings with Chair of Board of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Jean-Paul Servais, Chairman of US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Rostin Behnam, in Athens, Greece;
  • Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton holds videoconference with delegation of EuroCommerce CEOs on Late Payments Directive revision and Egalim Laws;

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

The Capitals is brought to you by Sarantis MichalopoulosAlice Taylor, Liene Lūsīte, Daniel Eck and Charles Szumski
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