Morawiecki in Strasbourg

Latest on the Council of Europe as Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki presents Poland’s position on the controversial rule of law ruling by its constitutional court to the European Parliament. The EU’s top court has also begun the long-awaited hearings on the bloc’s rule of law mechanism - a clause Warsaw and Budapest are expected to contest legally. Morawiecki’s time and efforts in Strasbourg likely to be spent on convincing others that EU funds should not be withheld on such a basis, a position shared by outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Hundreds of coal miners and energy workers rally in Sofia to protest against closure of coal plants in Bulgaria. Job insecurity is further fueled by fear of a huge spike in in heating bills this winter as the continent faces a shortage of gas supply. Ukraine accuses the Russian gas giant Gazprom of sending less gas to Europe than specified in the current transit contract. Czechia, facing significant budget constraints, seeks financial compensation from the Turow coal mine dispute as the European Commission is expected to send Warsaw a formal payment request in penalty fees.  Péter Márki-Zay, a conservative candidate with no party affiliation, beats Klára Dobrev in Hungary’s opposition primaries. Márki-Zay is not just an underdog backed by most of the opposition camp, but an experienced local politician with a clean slate running against the corrupt practices of the ruling Fidesz party. As shown by Czech elections, the centre-right is becoming a powerful counterforce to the populist right in the region.  At the sidelines of the sixteenth annual Riga Conference, Visegrad Insight Editor-in-Chief Wojciech Przybylski sits down with the chairwoman of the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation, Žaneta Ozolin̦a, to discuss the preparation, execution and theme of this year’s conference. Ozolin̦a elaborates on recent panel topics like Afghanistan, women in peace and security, and technology.