Good morning from Tbilisi, 

Speaking to Euractiv in Tbilisi, Georgia's President Salome Zourabishvili stressed that the Kremlin-style “foreign agent” bill profoundly alters the country's relationship with its Western partners.

“The only ones who can change the bigger picture of our current situation are the people themselves in the elections. We have to prepare peacefully and quietly for the elections and the role the EU can play,” she said.

Zourabishvili also commented on whether the EU imposing sanctions could help steer the government back on the right path.

Read the full interview with Euractiv’s Alexandra Brzozowski. 

In other news from the EU capitals, after Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico’s assassination attempt, his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk received death threats on social media. 

In Stockholm, Swedish Social Democrats are calling on the EU to introduce an identity verification requirement across social media to prevent the creation of fake accounts. 

Two big agrifood policy files are pending for the next European Parliament, whose political composition will play a key role in decision-making, writes Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro. More stories focused on specific policy fields will follow in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the EU executive aims to tighten the leash on emergency use of EU-banned pesticides, according to a draft version of a new guidance document seen by Euractiv. 

In the energy field, Nathan Canas reports about a joint working document published by 15 EU countries calling on the European Commission to prioritise the decarbonisation of heating and cooling to increase the EU’s energy independence and meet its climate targets.

Last but not least, the EU Commission initiated on Thursday an investigation into whether Meta has violated the Digital Services Act (DSA) concerning the protection of minors as a new report by the EU Parliament’s left group suggests that a permanent tax on European companies’ excess profits could generate more than €100 billion per year.

PARIS

Experts are questioning the legality and effectiveness of France’s ban of TikTok in New Caledonia, imposed on Wednesday to contain widespread protests that rocked the French overseas territory in the South Pacific. Read more.

European elections: Raphaël Glucksmann, the man of Ukraine. With 14% in the polls, Raphaël Glucksmann, the leader of the Socialist Party (PS) list, is making the defence of Ukraine the priority of his campaign, while remaining more nuanced on other international crises, such as the war in Gaza. Read more.

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BERLIN

RussiaGate: German police search premises of leading far-right politician. On Thursday, German authorities searched the premises of Petr Bystron, a top candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany in June’s EU election, to investigate alleged bribes by Russian officials. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

Sweden’s Social Democrats want EU ID verification to fight social media trolls. Swedish Social Democrats are calling on the European Union to introduce an identity verification requirement across social media to prevent the creation of fake accounts, former prime minister Magdalena Andersson and socialist MEP Heléne Fritzon said on Thursday, following the recent revelations of alleged far-right troll farms. Read more.

ROME

The planned televised showdown between Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein and Fratelli d’Italia leader Giorgia Meloni, initially set for 23 May, has been cancelled, as other parties, both in opposition and in coalition, raised objections about fairness and are now seeking to have a debate involving all party leaders. Read more. 

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MADRID

Spain’s Sumar, Podemos condemn alleged arms shipment to Israel via Spain. The left-wing to far-left platform Sumar and its former ally, the far-left Podemos party, have pressured the government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to prevent Madrid from sending weapons to Israel on a ship that was due to dock in the south-east Spanish port of Cartagena, Murcia, on Wednesday. Read more.

WARSAW

As the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico continues to fight for his life after Wednesday’s assassination attempt, his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk made public one of the death threats he received on social media. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovak majority lawmaker met Russian ambassador in parliament, entertains pro-Russian narrative. The Russian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Bratchikov met secretly with controversial ruling party Smer lawmaker Tibor Gašpar in the Slovak parliament on Wednesday, to discuss the war in Ukraine and cyber security before dabbling in pro-Kremlin narrative. Read more.

Slovak president-elect calls to suspend EU election campaigning after shooting. Slovakia’s president-elect and Prime Minister Robert Fico’s coalition partner, Peter Pellegrini, called on Thursday (16 May) on all national parties to suspend or tone down campaigning ahead of European Parliament elections after Wednesday’s assassination attempt. Read more.

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CHISINAU

Moldova to hold EU referendum, presidential election on 20 October. Parliament in ex-Soviet Moldova voted on Thursday to hold a referendum in October on European Union membership, the cornerstone of President Maia Sandu’s policies, alongside a presidential election. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgaria demands €400 million from Gazprom for suspended gas supplies. Bulgarian state-owned gas company Bulgargas is seeking more than €400 million in damages from Russian gas monopoly Gazprom Export-Import for the sudden suspension of natural gas supplies at the end of April 2022. Read more.

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PRISTINA

Council of Europe: Kosovo’s last-minute bid to appease Germany falls flat in Belgrade, Pristina. Kosovo’s last-minute bid to placate Germany and get its application for membership of the Strasbourg-based human rights body the Council of Europe approved has been attacked by Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and criticised by Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani. Read more.

• EU: Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski participates in roundtable meeting of China-Europe Association for Technical & Economic Cooperation Constitution;
• Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli attends press conference of “Pride Alliances and Policy: Towards a Union of Equality” conference;
• Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts Moldova’s President Maia Sandu;

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