The Greek tax authority AADE is tightening control over short-term rentals through Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo: owners and managers of properties must verify and finalize their 2025 income data in the short-term accommodation registry by February 28, 2026, including the distribution of income among beneficiaries, amounts, and the correctness of the property registration number (AMA).
According to AADE, 2.2 million initial declarations were submitted for 2025, and the total declared income amounted to EUR 870 million (+16% y/y). At the same time, tax authorities warn that if the data is not confirmed and corrected on time, it is possible that tax will be levied on 100% of the income specified in previous declarations, even if part of the amounts was not actually received (for example, due to cancellation of reservations).
From the beginning of March 2026, AADE will launch cross-checks based on data provided directly by the platforms. If unregistered properties or properties without AMA in the listings are found, sanctions will be imposed: fines ranging from EUR 5,000 to EUR 20,000, as well as removal of listings from platforms until the violations are rectified.
Against the backdrop of the segment’s growth, the authorities are tightening requirements for correct registration and compliance with the rules for maintaining a presence in the register.
Slovakia, Poland, and a number of European countries have agreed on a position to strengthen controls on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products entering the European market, Slovak Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč told reporters after a meeting of European Union agriculture ministers (Agrifish) in Brussels on Monday.
“I can say that at an informal joint lunch, we discussed strengthening controls on imports from third countries, which is a key issue for the Slovak Republic with regard to Ukraine. Of course, for many other countries, this is partly MERCOSUR, but we also have other agreements with third countries,” he said.
Takács noted that during the informal talks, the parties agreed on a common position on the introduction of regular monitoring, in particular audits “in these third countries,” and support for strengthening controls in terms of food safety.
“We have a big problem, for example, on the border with Ukraine, where we need to strengthen these checks in terms of food safety when importing from these third countries,” he added.
According to Takach, the Polish representative presented materials that clearly demonstrate the need to strengthen such measures.
“I am glad that his materials also mentioned that Poland will propose the creation of a special fund for compensation for imports from third countries if farmers or food producers suffer. I am very pleased that they have adopted this rhetoric and the idea that we have been talking about for almost two years – that it is necessary to create such a compensation fund,” the Slovak minister emphasized.
He noted that the import of agricultural products from third countries is a topical issue for many European countries, which are convinced of the need to increase the protection of their consumers and raise the standards of third countries and their products to meet European Union standards.
“When a farmer in Europe has to comply with certain standards—how much he can spray (agricultural crops), how much he can fertilize, what the production process should be—we must demand the same when importing from third countries. And the creation of a special compensation fund and regular monitoring (of agricultural products) on a monthly basis, rather than once every six months,” summarized the Slovak Minister of Agriculture.
As reported, on January 26, the EU Council on Agriculture was to consider the request of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria to strengthen the protection of the European market from agricultural imports from Ukraine. The initiating countries argue that the existing mechanisms of the free trade agreement are not sufficient to protect their farmers, especially in sectors such as sugar, meat, grain, and dairy production.
The main demands are the unification of production standards so that Ukrainian products comply with strict EU standards on pesticides and animal welfare, as well as the creation of a special compensation fund for farmers. Until these measures are implemented and stricter border controls are in place, these countries are calling on the European Union to refrain from further tariff liberalization for Ukraine.
German authorities on Monday announced a decision to introduce temporary control at all land borders of the country starting September 16 to reduce the flow of illegal migrants, the Associated Press reports citing the German Interior Ministry.
“The ministry has informed the European Union of the decision to introduce border controls on the land borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark for six months,” the agency reports.
“We are strengthening our internal security by taking concrete measures and continue to take a tough stance against illegal migration,” German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said.
Earlier, Germany also introduced controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland.
Germany is a member of the Schengen zone, whose members abolish border controls on internal borders. However, in case of emergency, this control is allowed to be restored for a certain period of time.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the importance of creating a parliamentary commission to control foreign weapons.
“It is very important that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine today implemented the initiative of the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak to create a special commission to control the use of weapons provided by our partners,” he said in a video message on Tuesday evening.
“The commission included representatives of all factions and groups of parliament. I want to emphasize that there was not a single ground for any claims to our state in this regard. Our partners are fully aware of how we use the provided weapons. But in order to remove any manipulations by Russian propagandists and those who help them in Ukraine or somewhere else, such an additional parliamentary instrument of control will work,” Zelensky said.
The presence of specialists from the International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA) at Ukraine’s nuclear facilities is very important, and they will arrive there in the very near future, primarily at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, Director General of the agency Rafael Mariano Grossi HAS said.
“We see this as a step in the right direction. We are going to be there very soon, because in Chernobyl there is a lot of work to be done,” he said at a press conference in Vienna on Friday, following visits to Ukraine and Russia March 29 through March 31.
According to him, at this facility, due to power outages or physical damage, there could be a lot of things that could be turned off or fail. At the same time, during the occupation, remote monitoring of radiation indicators did not work.
Ukrainian specialists know how to do their job. But this does not mean that international assistance and cooperation will be superfluous, Grossi said.
According to him, the experience of operating nuclear power plants in the conditions of hostilities has shown that assessing the situation on the spot is much more reliable and efficient than using information from other sources.
In addition, the head of the agency added, it is necessary to check the safety of nuclear material. There are some things that can only be done by IAEA experts, Grossi added.
According to him, he does not know for what reason the Russian troops left the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. They did not tell him about why they left. He said that this could be the decision of the military authorities. And this is not what we discussed with the Russian side in Kaliningrad after a visit to Ukraine, the head of the IAEA said.
He called the general radiation situation around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant quite normal, while allowing some increase in radiation indicators during the withdrawal of troops, which was also observed during their entry to the plant site.
There was a relatively elevated level of localized radiation due to the movement of heavy vehicles during the occupation of the station. And, apparently, this could take place again at the exit, Grossi said.
He confirmed that he had heard about the possibility of radiation contamination of some of the Russian military, but noted that he had no evidence of this.
As for the provision of assistance to Ukraine, according to Grossi, due to hostilities, it may be complicated. However, the IAEA will try to provide it, he said.
In the case of Chornobyl, it is one thing, and in the case of the other plants, it is about the distance and the military situation. One of them remains under the control of the Russian forces. So this will undoubtedly require a different approach, but nothing makes Grossi think that this impossible to do, the head of the IAEA said.
He did not specify what kind of assistance could be discussed, referring to ongoing negotiations with the Ukrainian side on this issue, and asked journalists to be patient.
Commenting on the progress of his initiative on the necessary steps to reduce risks at Ukrainian nuclear facilities, Grossi said that he had abandoned the idea of a trilateral plan in favor of working on a bilateral basis.
Head of the State Customs Service Pavlo Riabikin considers the idea of transferring the function of foreign exchange control of the customs processing regime to be unrealistic. However, he admits the possibility of expanding the amount of information that the customs office transfers to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
“Now in certain circles they are discussing the possibility of transferring the function of FX control of the customs processing regime to the State Customs Service. But this idea seems unrealistic to me, since this is not part of the customs function,” Riabikin said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
The authority does not have either the appropriate specialists or technical capabilities, he added.
“But to improve interaction with the National Bank and help the regulator in FX control, in my opinion, it would be possible to consider expanding the volume of information that is transmitted from us to the National Bank,” Riabikin said.
In Ukraine, in September 2018, amendments to the Customs Code were adopted, which provided for the possibility of placing goods under the customs processing regime, regardless of the type of contract and forms of payment. This is a favorable regime for external investors, which allows importing raw materials into the country without paying taxes, producing finished products and selling them for export.
“Today, 355 enterprises process imported raw materials in this mode on the customs territory of Ukraine,” Riabikin said.
“Let me remind you: in Ukraine, the subjects of FX supervision are the National Bank and the tax service. Customs in this story performs a semi-technical function. We participate in FX control only in transferring information from customs declarations to the National Bank in accordance with a special instruction from the regulator,” he said.
At the same time, the volume of transmitted information is limited. Information in four of the 54 columns that appear in the document is given, the head of the service said.
