Good morning from Bucharest,

Italy’s Forza Italia party, affiliated with the European People’s Party (EPP), wants right-wing Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, which is currently with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), to join the EPP family to strengthen Italy’s influence in the European Parliament, MEP Salvatore De Meo told Euractiv.

Speaking to Euractiv on the sidelines of the EPP congress in Bucharest, the MEP said, “[Former Forza Italia leader Silvio] Berlusconi thought this, and [current leader] Antonio Tajani has always imagined that the Italian centre-right, everything, even the League [ID], could find a way into the EPP”.

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Meanwhile, Max Griera and Nick Alipour report that national centre-right parties used the EPP congress on Wednesday as a platform to air grievances on national issues and rebel against the party line, as many feel the squeeze of home voters’ swing to the far-right.

As EPP leaders discuss their future EU plans, in Berlin, the opposition right-wing parties (CDU, CSU) are actively preparing for the collapse of the Social Democrat-led government coalition, writes Oliver Noyan. 

In a fresh nod to EU farmers who have been protesting across the bloc for weeks, the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council included a political message of support in its draft compromise on the controversial EU corporate due diligence law, seen by Euractiv.

Meanwhile, Angelo di Mambro reported that on Thursday, the European Parliament Trade Committee will vote on whether to add new limits on trade benefits with Kyiv to appease EU farmers or approve the new rules without any changes to speed up their adoption to help the country in the ongoing war.

Special summit on economy, competitiveness: A special meeting of the European Council will be held on 17 and 18 April, the office of Council President Charles Michel announced on Wednesday. EU leaders announced last December that two summits would be held ahead of the EU elections in June. A summit on 21-22 March will focus on security, defence and foreign affairs, and the April summit on economy and competitiveness. 

BERLIN

German Federal States demand progress on outsourcing asylum applications to third countries. In a lasting dispute over asylum policy between the German federal states and the government, the states have now made demands to proceed with outsourcing asylum applications to third countries, setting a deadline for the government. Read more.

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PARIS

French left party LFI unveils EU election list. Radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI, GUE/NGL) unveiled its EU election list on Wednesday, and although it remains incomplete and has yet to be voted on by party members, it includes all outgoing MEPs as well as some new faces. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

Swedish leaders travel to Washington ahead of NATO accession. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Foreign Minister Tobias Billström left for Washington on Wednesday, where the country is expected to formally join NATO in the coming days. Read more.

ROME

The Italian Chamber of Deputies will launch a major inquiry into how nuclear energy could help Italy reach its energy transition goals, a significant step as the country remains the only G7 nation not operating nuclear power stations, having shut down the last plant over 30 years ago. Read more.

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MADRID

Sánchez navigates controversial amnesty bill changes to secure separatist support. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accepted changes to the text of the controversial amnesty bill on Wednesday — the latest version of which is almost certain to be approved on Thursday — to satisfy the Catalan separatists who remain key to the government’s stability. Read more.

BRATISLAVA | PRAGUE

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has dismissed Czechia’s decision to suspend intergovernmental consultations due to Bratislava’s apparent pro-Russian stances by claiming they ‘just want peace’ while accusing Prague of having an ‘interest’ in supporting the war in Ukraine. Read more.

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WARSAW

Kyiv proposes temporary trade restrictions with EU in exchange for Russian grain import ban. Ukraine is ready to accept temporary trade restrictions with the EU provided the bloc imposes a ban on Russian grain imports, Ukrainian Trade Minister Taras Kachka told the Financial Times. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech concerns over costs and delays cast shadow on French EDF nuclear bid. In the race to secure a nuclear unit tender for the Dukovany power plant, Czechia express concerns over cost overruns and delays, casting a shadow on French company EDF’s bid. Read more.

TIRANA

The European Commission has called on Albania to ensure due process is upheld following the sentencing of Fredi Beleri, an opposition candidate from the Greek minority who won the elections in the southern municipality of Himara, to prison for vote buying which has led to heightened tensions between Tirana and Athens. Read more.

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SOFIA

Bulgarian public opinion of Putin turns negative after Navalny death. Most Bulgarians are convinced that the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was directly caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, leading to increased negative perceptions of Putin and Russia, a national poll published on Wednesday by Bulgarian consultancy Alpha Research found. Read more.

Bulgaria’s GERB leader accuses coalition partners of provoking early elections as government resigns. Bulgarian centre-right leader Boyko Borissov (GERB) on Wednesday accused his partners in the ruling PP-DB coalition of “provoking early elections” by hastily submitting the government’s resignation. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Croatian PM sees no threat in centre-left opposition. Ten left-wing and centrist parties have formed the “For a Better Croatia” coalition, led by the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP/S&D) – a new formation that centre-right HDZ leader and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has already dismissed as a threat ahead of the parliamentary elections. Read more.

• EU: Competitiveness Council convenes to discuss annual single market and competitiveness report, late payment regulation, future of EU industrial policy, and more;
• Commission Vice President on “the new challenges for France and Italy in a European context” in Rome; Meets with representatives of the Italian Digital Media Observatory;
• Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides participates in trilogue on European Health Data Space;
• Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli delivers speech at National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) International Women’s Day Conference 2024, in Malta;
• Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders participates via videoconference in the final Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)/EC training project;
• Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira delivers keynote speech at “Reinforcing European Cohesion” conference, organised by FEPS (Foundation for European Progressive Studies);
• Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson delivers keynote speech in panel discussion at the Offshore Norge’s annual conference;
• Cimmissioner Iliana Ivanova delivers keynote speech at “Widening: Opportunities for Romanian Research” conference in Bucharest, Romania;
• Parliament President Roberta Metsola participates in the Congress of the European People’s Party, in Bucharest, Romania;
• Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, Spanish and Belgian ministers visit Mauritania to sign migration agreement;
• Deadline for large tech companies to comply with rules under Digital Markets Act;
• ECB press conference on eurozone monetary policy;
• Spain: Deadline for Socialist Party, Catalan separatists to agree text of amnesty law;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]