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Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13551
Contents Publication in full By article 11 / 27
EXTERNAL ACTION / Syria

German and French foreign ministers in Damascus to renew ties

The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, and her French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, travelled to Damascus on Friday 3 January for talks with the new Syrian authorities.

“Our message to Syria’s new leadership: respecting the principles agreed with regional actors and ensuring the protection of all civilians and minorities is of the utmost importance”, explained EU High Representative Kaja Kallas. The ministers visited Syria, representing the EU and on behalf of Ms Kallas.

Contents

POLISH PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
POLAND25EU: Ursula von der Leyen absent at launch of Polish Presidency of EU Council
JUSTICE/FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS : Polish Presidency of EU Council commits to strengthening legal protection, modernising justice and promoting equality
SOCIAL/EMPLOYMENT: Polish Presidency of EU Council will focus on transformations in workplace, discrimination and demographic ageing
ENERGY: Polish Presidency aims to adopt EU Council conclusions on strengthened European strategy for energy security
HEALTH: digital transformation of healthcare, mental health and medicines as Poland’s priorities
COHESION: Poland aims for Member States to adopt conclusions on cohesion policy’s future by end of March
SECTORAL POLICIES
COMPETITIVENESS: discussions to reduce administrative burden on businesses at EU level slowly get underway
DIGITAL: European Commission to assess whether X network is giving Elon Musk’s political activism artificially high visibility in EU
ENERGY: third-quarter 2024 retail gas prices confirm end of downward trend established since December 2022
TRANSPORT: Tom Berendsen MEP proposes alternative geographical scope for River Information Services Directive
EXTERNAL ACTION
SYRIA: German and French foreign ministers in Damascus to renew ties
Russian invasion of Ukraine
RUSSIA: after new incident in Baltic Sea at end of 2024, EU considers new sanctions against Russian fleet
ENERGY: end of agreement on transit of Russian gas via Ukraine, European Commission assures “market fundamentals have remained stable”
INSTITUTIONAL
BUDGET/RULE OF LAW: Hungary loses €1 billion in EU funds due to breaches of Rule of law
NEWS BRIEFS
HOME AFFAIRS: Romania and Bulgaria are full members of Schengen area
CHINA: EU calls for immediate release of lawyer Yu Wensheng sentenced to three years in prison
CUSTOMS: Georgia to be part of network facilitating cross-border movement of goods with EU from February
GENDER EQUALITY: Women on Boards Directive has come into force
ENVIRONMENT: revision of Urban Wastewater Directive came into force on 1 January
RULE OF LAW: Polish Presidency of EU Council planning ‘Article 7’ hearing with Hungary on 27 May
JUSTICE: Martyna Pospieszalska is new US liaison prosecutor at Eurojust
SINGLE MARKET: European Commission launches consultation on horizontal single market strategy
MEDIA: European Commission launches call for proposals for a European festival of journalism and media freedom and pledges €3 million
DRC: EU calls on M23 to abide by ceasefire
TRANSPORT: European regulation on sustainable marine fuels in force since 1 January
PLANTS: EU’s new plant health law comes into force
ZIMBABWE: EU welcomes abolition of death penalty