NATO’s Kucova air base in Albania was officially opened on Monday in the presence of key government officials, including Prime Minister Edi Rama, who described it as an important security element for the Western Balkans and the wider region.

The Croatian Parliament will be dissolved by 22 March at the latest and general elections will be held before the European Parliament elections scheduled for 9 June in Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced on Monday afternoon.

The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk has launched plans to reform the judiciary under the label of restoring the rule of law in Poland following the rule of the conservative PiS, Justice Minister Admar said in a presentation of the plan on Monday.

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) should cover more products, such as building or textile materials, Czech Environment Minister Petr Hladík told Euractiv Czechia, adding that it could encourage the world to reduce emissions.

The next European Commission needs a dedicated portfolio to combat disinformation as Russian President Vladimir Putin uses it as a weapon to weaken democracy by stoking mistrust of the EU,  Eugen Toma, Romanian MEP and President of the People’s Movement Party (EPP), said at an event organised by Euractiv’s partner HotNews.

Bulgaria has started negotiations with Azerbaijan to increase gas supplies to Romania, Moldova and Ukraine through the future vertical Balkan gas corridor, the Bulgarian parliament’s press centre announced on Monday.

European countries need to increase their defence budgets and the capacity of their defence industries beyond 2% of their GDP, Timo Kivinen said in his last speech as commander of the Finnish Defence Forces on Monday.

Greece’s independent Data Protection Authority has launched an investigation after numerous Greek voters living abroad complained that centre-right MEP Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou (EPP) sent them pre-election emails without their consent.

French President Emmanuel Macron will be in Prague on Tuesday to meet Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala to reinforce a “political and strategic dialogue” over support for Ukraine.

A grouping of northern European countries on Monday (4 March) agreed to work on a new "customs partnership" to disrupt the supply of small boats used to carry migrants cross the Channel, Britain's interior ministry said.

The Communists of Russia party has asked the FSB security service and top prosecutors to investigate the possible involvement of Western intelligence services in the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, RIA news agency reported on Tuesday (5 March).

Germany's levy on cross-border gas trading puts the EU's energy solidarity at risk and hurts efforts to cut the bloc's reliance on Russian gas, the bloc's energy commissioner and deputy Czech PM told reporters on Monday (4 March) following a meeting of EU energy ministers.

The French government has included agriculture in its list of "short-staffed" sectors to facilitate the recruitment of non-Europeans already irregularly working in France as part of efforts to fill the labour gap.

France signed a bilateral agreement with Denmark on Monday (4 March) for carbon transport and storage, with more deals potentially yet to come, as part of efforts to meet its domestic carbon targets. 

British judges should protect Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from extradition to the US, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday (4 March) in an unusual intervention, adding that the proportionality of Assange’s punishment in the US was questionable.

The sharp drop in the EU's CO2 price, caused by high energy prices and political uncertainty, risks the carbon market's credibility – and becomes an obstacle to the bloc's industrial decarbonisation.

The sharp reduction in the EU’s trade deficit with China in 2023 does not provide evidence that the bloc is successfully “de-risking” from China but rather supports the claim that Beijing is itself seeking strategic independence from the West, experts told Euractiv.

A wiretap leak has prompted Germany to denounce an “information war” and accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to undermine unity in Berlin over its support to Ukraine.

Transport Brief

The European Commission announced on Monday (4 March) a €1.8 billion fine for Apple, saying the tech giant abused its dominant position for music streaming providers.