Good morning from Berlin,

Germany is not sufficiently prepared for a potential large-scale cyber-attack as it lacks a functioning crisis management system, the head of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) warned on Sunday.

“Why do we always have to learn from mistakes? We know that this topic is incredibly important,” Claudia Plattner noted in an interview.

Meanwhile, the local elections in Turkey on Sunday caused a political earthquake as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s party was dealt a severe blow. 

Though the EU has focused much of its industrial decarbonisation drive on the production and use of hydrogen, in a factory west of Milan, Italy, a quiet revolution is underway – the electrification of lower-temperature heat, writes Euractiv’s Nikolaus Kurmayer. 

Moreover, the European Parliament has demanded action over Russian interference allegations ahead of the EU elections in June, reports Max Griera.

PARIS

France wants China to send ‘clear message’ to Russia over Ukraine war. France’s top diplomat said Monday that Paris expects China to send “clear messages” to its close partner Russia over its war in Ukraine, after meetings with his counterpart in Beijing. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

Swedish PM, majority shaken by gender identity law. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson risks losing the support of his own parliamentary group and the ruling coalition over a controversial gender identity bill that has exposed divisions on both sides of the aisle. Read more.

ROME

The latest poll conducted by Ipsos shows a new balance of power between the centre-right parties in Italy’s coalition government as centre-right Forza Italia (EPP) has managed to overtake far-right Lega (ID) in the third position. Read more.

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MADRID

Argentina’s Milei to support Spanish VOX leader ahead of EU elections. Argentina’s President Javier Milei will travel to Madrid next May to publicly endorse Spain’s far-right VOX leader Santiago Abascal ahead of EU elections. Read more.

PRAGUE

Czech arms manufacturers are thriving and reporting record sales as a result of the war in Ukraine and heightened global tensions, Czech media report. Read more.

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WARSAW

Poland reacts to Russian missile strike on Ukraine, sends fighters  to border. Poland responded to Russia’s massive missile attack on Ukraine early Sunday morning by sending its fighter jets to its border with Ukraine, the Polish armed forces confirmed. Read more.

Polish PM Tusk warns Europe has entered ‘pre-war era’. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned of the “real” threat of conflict in Europe, saying that for the first time since the end of World War II the continent has entered a “pre-war era”. Read more.

SOFIA

Borissov’s GERB gains control over caretaker government. President Rumen Radev chose Dimitar Glavchev, a key figure in Bulgaria’s largest party, GERB, as caretaker prime minister and tasked him with forming a caretaker government to lead the country until a permanent government is formed. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania has not allocated funds for Ukrainian refugees in 2024. Romanian authorities have not allocated any financial aid to Ukrainian refugees so far in 2024, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) has announced. Read more.

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SOFIA | BUCHAREST

Bulgaria, Romania take first steps into Europe’s passport-free zone. Bulgaria and Romania joined Europe’s Schengen area of free movement on Sunday, opening up travel by air and sea without border checks after a 13-year wait. Read more.

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TIRANA

Albanian government to create commission against foreign influence, disinformation. The Albanian government has announced plans to set up a special parliamentary commission to fight against foreign interference and disinformation in the public sphere, according to Interior Minister Bledi Çuçi. Read more.

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