Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg urges EU candidate North Macedonia to accept constitutional changes in order to advance its EU accession process. The government of Morocco seeks a partnership with the EU in the fisheries sector. The European Parliament criticises Austria for vetoing the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria.
German MEP and EPP group leader Manfred Weber rules out cooperation between far-right AfD and other German conservative parties. Denis Zvizdić, Chair of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), calls on NATO to deploy soldiers on the territory of the Brčko district to prevent secession. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire is convinced that the EU could have its own generative AI within the next five years.
The EU’s third-largest suspension bridge opened in Romania. Meta does not launch Twitter competitor in the bloc due to regulatory issues. Further: The Commission intends to close the CVM and wants to take action on illegal trade in shark fins. North Macedonia signs cooperation agreement on the Union’s LIFE Programme for the protection of the environment and climate activities.
Austrian foreign minister says European airspace defence system Sky Shield is about “pooling and sharing.” In other news: Spain kicks off its EU Council presidency, the EU wants to reduce food waste by 30 percent until 2030 and the EU summit ends without consensus on asylum policy.
Slovenia experienced more cyber attacks in 2022 than in the previous year. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not want to impose new conditions on North Macedonia’s EU accession. The German Federal Statistical Office reveals that significantly more people live alone in Germany than in most other EU countries.
The Flemish government calls on the European Commission to focus on meeting the 2030 CO2 reduction targets before discussing goals for 2040. Kyriakos Mitsotakis wins Greek elections by a landslide. Austria and Italy join forces to fight illegal migration and reshape EU migration and asylum policies.