Georgia's parliament gave initial approval on Wednesday (17 April) to a bill on "foreign agents" that the European Union said risked blocking the country's path to membership and triggered protests for a third straight night.

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote Friday (19 April) on a Palestinian request for full UN membership, said diplomats, a move that the US is expected to block because it would effectively recognize a Palestinian state.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Sweden's new gender identity law that has left the majority divided, the astonishing Duda-Trump meeting in Poland, and so much more.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has dropped hints about the prospects of Socialist former prime minister Antonio Costa heading to Brussels to take the role of president of the European Council as a court case related to corruption flounders in the appeal courts.

Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta is set to present his report on the future of Europe’s single market to EU leaders on Thursday 18 April. A deepening of Europe’s Energy Union is a key priority, along with several targeted recommendations on how to transform Europe’s energy sector.

European Union leaders decided on Wednesday (17 April) to step up sanctions against Iran after Tehran's missile and drone attack on Israel left world powers scrambling to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East.

The Critical Raw Materials Act sets ambitious but vital goals for Europe to grow its metals resilience to supply the energy and digital transition. Now, the challenge is equally clear: delivering on this, and with speed.

Bulgaria's caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev's proposal to replace Foreign Minister Dimitar Stefanov with the conservative party's GERB deputy leader Daniel Mitov has caused tension with President Rumen Radev, who is due to sign a decree on the rotation.

Czechs are particularly concerned about security and industrial independence, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey, which reveals a divergence between voters' concerns in Czechia and the rest of the European Union.

Polish President Andrzej Duda's plans to meet with former US president Donald Trump during his visit to Washington on Wednesday were met with astonishment in Warsaw.

“I am absolutely convinced for my part that the Capital Markets Union is the best European IRA that we can develop, since it is trillions of euros of resources that can be mobilised, which are not [mobilised] today, to stimulate, support, to develop innovation, to invest."

To support the Czech initiative to aid Ukraine, which the Slovak government refused to join, Slovak organisations launched a fundraising campaign called "Ammunition for Ukraine," which raised over €700,000 in just two days.

Deputy leader of the far-left Podemos party Irene Montero on Wednesday lashed out at the Socialist Party (PSOE/S&D) government and its ally, the Sumar platform, for increasing defence spending by over €1 billion.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni embarked on a significant diplomatic mission to Tunis on Wednesday (17 April), where she solidified a partnership with President Kais Saied aimed at tackling migration challenges.

The Swedish parliament, led by conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s Moderate Party, passed a controversial Gender Identity Bill on Wednesday, despite objections from its coalition partner, the Christian Democrats and its far-right ally, the Sweden Democrats, revealing massive internal divisions within the ruling coalition.

Björn Höcke, one of the leading figures in Germany’s far-right AfD party, will go on trial on Thursday for allegedly using Nazi symbols, casting doubt on his ambitions to become prime minister of the state of Thuringia.

Croatia's ruling conservative party won the most seats in a parliamentary election Wednesday (17 April) but not enough to form a government, according to almost complete official results, with tough talks ahead to gather a majority.

All political groups in the European Parliament are at risk or have already been penetrated by Russia, including the Conservatives, as Russians are “masters of propaganda,” former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned in an interview with Euractiv.

Germany’s coalition government has many battles to tackle internally and externally and seems more divided than ever.

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