Brussels Playbook: Ukraine anniversaries loom —
German gas woes — Serbian threats
BY SUZANNE
LYNCH
AUGUST 22,
2022 7:02 AM
POLITICO
Brussels Playbook
By SUZANNE
LYNCH
with ZOYA
SHEFTALOVICH
GOOD MONDAY
MORNING. It’s shaping up to be a big week for Ukraine, as the country prepares
to mark its Independence Day on Wednesday, which coincides with the six-month
anniversary of the Russian invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
urged people to be on guard, warning in an address that Russia could try to do
“something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel” to mark the day.
Moscow
blast: But as Ukraine braces for fresh attacks on its territory, attention over
the weekend shifted to Moscow, where a car bomb late Saturday killed the
daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, an ultra-nationalist writer and ally of President
Vladimir Putin. Daria Dugina, herself a well-known Russian commentator and
supporter of the Ukraine war whom the West has sanctioned, was killed when the
vehicle she was driving — her father’s car — exploded. Russian media reported
that state officials believe Dugin was the target. POLITICO’s Helen Collis has
a write-up.
Blame game:
Some Russian officials raced to blame Kyiv, with Denis Pushilin, the head of
the Kremlin-backed separatists in the Donbas, claiming that “terrorists of the
Ukrainian regime” were behind the attack. Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry
spokeswoman, stopped short of accusing the Zelenskyy government but said that
if Ukraine was involved, “then we need to start talking about a policy of state
terrorism.” Ukrainian official Mykhailo Podolyak insisted Kyiv had “nothing to
do” with the explosion.
Under fire:
The development comes amid a series of attacks in areas of Crimea that Russia
has illegally occupied, which have shaken Russians in the area. Saturday’s car
bombing, just outside Moscow, is likely to add to this sense of uneasiness and
vulnerability. But there are also fears Russia could step up its attacks on
Ukraine.
Odesa hit:
Russia’s bombardments are showing no signs of abating, with strikes near
Ukraine’s port city of Odesa over the weekend. Moscow claimed it struck an
ammunition depot, while Kyiv said the attacks had hit grain storage facilities.
The port city has been at the center of international efforts to restart
agricultural exports from war-torn Ukraine.
Mass move:
POLITICO’s Lily Hyde reports on Kyiv’s efforts to relocate 750,000 people in a
mandatory evacuation of parts of Ukraine where the fighting is fiercest. Worth
your time.
WHAT THE
NEXT 6 MONTHS LOOK LIKE: Mujtaba Rahman games it out in an essential Beyond the
Bubble column for POLITICO.
WESTERN
CALL: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British
PM Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke Sunday. They discussed the
situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, warning against military
operations in the vicinity and underlining the importance of a visit by the
International Atomic Energy Agency as soon as possible. (The leaders also
discussed the status of the Iran nuclear deal, following Tehran’s response to
an EU proposal to break the deadlock over the agreement.)
MEANWHILE,
IN ALBANIA: Three suspected Kremlin spies were arrested in Albania after an
attack on two guards at a military base with what is believed to be a chemical
agent. Helen Collis has more on that.
ENERGY
WOES Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap3
GAZPROM
CUT: Gas will stop flowing through the Nord Stream pipeline for three days from
August 31, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom announced over the weekend, adding to
jitters about the security of Europe’s energy supply. The halt of gas supply
through the pipeline that links Russia and Germany is due to maintenance
requirements, Gazprom claims, and comes just after a 10-day maintenance
stoppage last month.
RETHINKING
NUCLEAR: Olaf Scholz indicated Sunday that Germany could extend the life of
three nuclear plants that are supposed to come off stream by the end of the
year under the country’s plan to exit nuclear energy. Vice Chancellor Robert
Habeck, meanwhile, said the nuclear phaseout might have to be delayed in the
event of a power crisis. The government is waiting for a report on the
country’s energy needs due in the coming weeks, and these comments are the
latest sign that a U-turn is imminent.
NS2
COMEBACK? In a more radical suggestion to solve Germany’s energy problems, the
vice president of the parliament, Wolfgang Kubicki, said Russian gas should
start flowing through Nord Stream 2 — the controversial pipeline that Berlin
shelved after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His comments prompted a fierce
response from Kyiv, where Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said “addiction to
Russian gas kills.” More from POLITICO’s Wilhelmine Preussen.
ON THE HUNT
FOR ENERGY: Meanwhile, Scholz is joining the list of EU leaders who are
traveling further afield to look for alternative energy sources. He and Habeck
touched down in Montreal last night. They’re expected to sign an agreement on
hydrogen imports from Canada (though the required infrastructure is still some
time away). France and Italy have recently struck energy deals with Middle
Eastern and North African countries, as Europe seeks to diversify supply.
LUCKY
ESCAPE: The timing of Scholz’s first trip to Canada as chancellor couldn’t be
better, given his torrid political week last week. First there was outrage over
his (non) reaction to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ remarks about the
Holocaust last week (the police are now investigating). Then on Friday he
testified before a committee in Hamburg about his role in a tax decision while
mayor of the north German city. Grilled for more than three hours, Scholz
denied any impropriety, but some members of the committee said he may be called
for a third time — a sign the scandal is unlikely to die down anytime soon.
And then
there’s this: The chancellor was also over the weekend caught off guard in
Berlin by two protestors, who took off their shirts to reveal slogans calling
for an immediate gas embargo against Russia. Bild has the story and the (not
safe for work) photos.
MEANWHILE,
IN BREXIT BRITAIN: The U.K.’s largest manufacturers and goods exporters are
braced for a winter of sky-high energy bills and potential plant shutdowns as
they fear Britain can no longer depend on energy imports from the Continent,
reports our colleague Graham Lanktree.
PALESTINIAN
NGO LATEST: Nine European countries issued a statement on Friday, denouncing
the Israeli raids of Palestinian NGO offices last week. “These actions are not
acceptable,” said the foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. “The further reduction of
civil space in the occupied Palestinian territories remains a source of concern.
We stand firm with NGOs to uphold the right to freedom of expression and
association.”
EU
response: In a statement Friday, the EEAS said it “shares international
concerns” about the raids, adding that “on the basis of information provided
thus far, allegations of misuse of EU funds by these organisations have not
been substantiated.” While the statement was notably less forceful than that of
the nine EU countries — and was not issued by High Representative Josep Borrell
himself — Playbook couldn’t help notice Borrell retweeting the Spanish
government’s official announcement of the statement condemning the raids.
BALKANS
THREATS: Hopes of a breakthrough on the current Serbia-Kosovo tensions appear
as far away as ever after Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić delivered a fiery
speech on Sunday, warning NATO troops to “do their job” in Kosovo — or Serbia
would move to protect its minority there. The speech follows last week’s
meetings between Vučić and NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg and Josep Borrell,
which failed to break the impasse between Pristina and Belgrade over the use of
Serbian-issued license plates and ID cards in Kosovo. “We will save our people
from persecution and pogroms, if NATO does not want to do it,” Vučić said
ominously.
Meanwhile,
in Montenegro … The government collapsed late Saturday, over an agreement
regulating the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the country. The
government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, in place since April, lost a
confidence vote, plunging the Western Balkans nation into more political
instability. More here from Pieter Haeck.
HEAT WAVE
RETURNS: A state of emergency has been declared in Portugal as the country
braces for another heat wave. Soaring temperatures and high winds are predicted
in the coming days, prompting fears of more forest fires. The country has been
battling a raging inferno that has been ravaging the Serra da Estrela national
park in the center of the country.
Spain on
guard: Meanwhile, firefighters in neighboring Spain, which is continuing to
sizzle under record-breaking heat, finally managed to tame a huge fire in the
east of the country that forced passengers to jump from a train last week. El
País reported this weekend that the recent extreme weather is becoming an issue
for political parties across the country as they gear up for municipal and
regional elections.
YOU DOWN WITH
ÖVP? The Austrian People’s Party is facing an existential crisis, writes Moment
Magazine editor Liam Hoare in an op-ed for POLITICO. At the national level, the
ÖVP’s polling figures are plummeting, and Chancellor Karl Nehammer is now the
least popular head of government in the world, Hoare reports.
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