All posts tagged: Ursula von der Leyen

Zelenskyy rejects Merz proposal for associate EU membership

Zelenskyy rejects Merz proposal for associate EU membership

Published by Sam Flores

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday rejected a German proposal to grant Ukraine associate membership in the EU because it would leave Kyiv without a voice inside the bloc. “There can be no complete European project without Ukraine, and Ukraine’s place in the European Union must also be complete — full and equal,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “It is important to open the clusters” on negotiation areas, he said. “It is important to make meaningful progress in the negotiations. It is important to work at one hundred percent for security and for our people,” Zelenskyy stressed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has suggested that Ukraine should be granted an “associate member” status in the EU that would come with benefits such as participation in meetings of the European Commission and the European Council. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Thursday appeared to endorse the incremental approach touted by Merz, arguing that EU candidate countries could be granted access to the “single market, customs union, the roaming area, Erasmus and Horizon” programs as steps …

Russia’s drone blame game fails to split Ukraine from its Baltic allies – POLITICO

Russia’s drone blame game fails to split Ukraine from its Baltic allies – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

That can send drones toward neighboring NATO territory — something Baltic and Ukrainian officials say is now happening. For Kyiv, the balance is delicate. Ukrainian officials have apologized for incidents involving stray drones, while insisting that strikes on Russian military and economic targets are lawful acts of self-defense. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown no sign of halting the bombing campaign, which he calls “sanctions” aimed at bringing Russia to its knees. Russia’s air defenses are becoming increasingly porous, prompting it to try to use political pressure to halt the Ukrainian attacks. “Russia wants to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of countries that are one of the key ones in terms of direct and indirect support for Ukraine,” Mykola Bielieskov, a senior military analyst with the Come Back Alive Initiative and a research fellow at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, told POLITICO. The goal, he said, is to create “a point of contradiction and division” between Kyiv and the Baltic countries. So far, that effect has not materialized. Baltic officials are not blaming Ukraine …

Why are drones suddenly terrifying Europe? – POLITICO

Why are drones suddenly terrifying Europe? – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

With drone alerts, emergency shelters and fighter jets over the Baltics, Europe’s security fears suddenly feel much less theoretical at the GLOBSEC forum in Prague. On the ground in Czechia for the Brussels Playbook Podcast, Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur unpack the growing wave of drone incursions linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine. They also discuss why Baltic leaders are sounding the alarm and how the crisis in Latvia became serious enough to bring down the government. Then: Germany is growing impatient with the EU’s enlargement drift. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is pushing a new concept called “associate membership” that would pull countries like Ukraine and Moldova closer to EU institutions — even before full accession. And finally: Brussels’ next big institutional power struggle is already underway. António Costa looks increasingly safe as European Council president, while the European People’s Party scrambles to keep its grip on the EU’s top jobs and protect Roberta Metsola’s position as European Parliament president. Do you live in Baltic country? Have the recent drone incursions affected your everyday life? We’re …

EU Commission eyes major restructure of departments that handle funds – POLITICO

EU Commission eyes major restructure of departments that handle funds – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

One Commission official described the process as part of von der Leyen’s “absolute centralization” drive. However, another official said it was an extension of the Brussels’ plans to change how the long-term budget is distributed, with spending programs merged into two main funds. The officials said they believe the plan is to have a single centralized service manage EU funds. One senior official said the model is the recovery fund that was set up after Covid (handled by the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support): with national governments submitting spending plans, cash disbursed based on hitting milestones, and centralized oversight. “If everything moves to this system, it’s logical to create a service that does exactly that,” the official said of plans for a future DG INVEST. Commission Executive Vice President Raffaele Fitto last week publicly hinted at the restructuring plans, saying: “Inside DG REGIO we are reflecting on the opportunity and possibility of creating a more efficient DG and identifying the right model.” The restructuring process is advancing. On the Commission intranet, seen by Playbook, a dedicated “workstream” has …

EU clears major hurdle to finalize U.S. trade deal

EU clears major hurdle to finalize U.S. trade deal

Published by Sam Flores

Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), President of the European Commission, sits on the podium at the Charlemagne Prize ceremony in City Hall. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday welcomed a provisional agreement on legislation to remove import duties on U.S. goods and called on co-legislators to move swiftly to finalize the process. EU lawmakers welcomed the breakthrough after more than five hours of talks overnight, saying it likely paves the way for the 27-nation bloc to avoid a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to punish a further delay with higher tariffs. The agreement includes a safeguard mechanism that would let Brussels suspend tariff reductions in the event that U.S. imports harm European industry. It also allows the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to suspend tariff preferences if the U.S. continues to apply a tariff rate higher than 15% on EU steel and aluminum derivatives by the end of 2026. The provisional agreement comes almost a year after the EU and U.S. first …

Meloni presses von der Leyen for energy carveout in EU spending rules – POLITICO

Meloni presses von der Leyen for energy carveout in EU spending rules – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Italy’s premier argued that in the same way that the stability agreement exempts defense expenditures from its calculation, energy-related costs should similarly not be taken into account. “We must have the political courage to recognize that today energy security is also a European strategic priority,” she insisted. Meloni added Rome would struggle to justify participation in the EU’s SAFE defense financing program if Brussels refuses similar flexibility for energy spending. Italy wants the bloc’s existing “national safeguard clause” — currently tied to defense investment — temporarily expanded to cover emergency energy measures as well. The Italian prime minister’s appeal comes at a fiscally fraught moment for Meloni. Last month the EU’s statistical body confirmed Rome’s 2025 budget deficit breached Brussels’ fiscal rules. The news came on the back of a major defeat for Meloni in a justice referendum, and will likely oblige the Italian government to limit expenditures ahead of a delicate election year, with her center-right coalition polling neck and neck with its center-left rivals. Since the Iran war erupted on Feb. 28 following …

EU must honor its trade deal with Trump – POLITICO

EU must honor its trade deal with Trump – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Adding insult to injury, instead of approving the deal as negotiated, the European Parliament is now trying to rewrite it by tacking on four new amendments. These changes would include sunrise and sunset clauses, suspension mechanisms and safeguards that were never part of the original Turnberry deal. In plain English, Brussels is trying to move the goalposts while the game is underway. That’s not how reciprocal trade deals work. Reciprocity means both sides deliver what they promise. It does not mean one side delivers, while the other stalls, delays and reserves the right to add new demands whenever it suits. Nor is that how allies are treated. A truck transports Mercedes-Benz cars in Long Beach, California in April 2025. | Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images The EU’s commitments are clear: zero percent tariffs on all U.S. industrial exports; duty-free quotas for key U.S. agricultural goods; and changes and flexibilities for the U.S. on burdensome regulations that in some instances discriminate against American companies. The EU has not complied with all of these commitments, and …

Von der Leyen and Costa pick their Eurovision favorites – POLITICO

Von der Leyen and Costa pick their Eurovision favorites – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The song that “moves me the most,” the German politician went on, “is ‘Ne partez pas sans moi’ by Céline Dion, which won [for Switzerland] in 1988. What a voice, what emotion.” And, from the more recent entries, “I think the energy in ‘Euphoria’ by Loreen in 2012 is unmatched!” The song won for Sweden, and Loreen went on to win the contest again in 2023. A spokesperson for European Council President António Costa said that his favorite Eurovision entry is Portugal’s 1974 chanson “E depois do adeus” by Paulo de Carvalho. While the song failed to win the contest, it became the anthem for the Carnation Revolution just three weeks later, ushering in the country’s democratic transition. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas did not respond to a request for their favorite Eurovision songs. Following the fall of the Iron Curtain, the participation of the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine in Eurovision has been seen as a symbol of the continent’s unity. Kyiv’s 2016 …

EU Commission’s structure leaves Brussels green campaigners dazed and confused – POLITICO

EU Commission’s structure leaves Brussels green campaigners dazed and confused – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The changes at the top of the Commission, introduced when von der Leyen started her second term in December 2024, reflect a broader political shift away from environmental topics — the Green Deal having been a key part of her first term — toward business and defense. The Commission now has its first commissioner dedicated to defense issues, while many European governments have shifted to the political right. As a result, said Sven Harmeling, head of climate at civil society organization CAN Europe, “sometimes it’s not clear which DGs [directorates-general, or departments] are involved,” which “creates challenges in terms of understanding where some of the discussions are.” One Brussels-based consultant who represents corporate clients, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said: “I think the structure [problem] is a Green Deal issue” rather than one that affects industry or other areas, adding that in their specialist area of health, “things have not changed that much.” Asked about Internal Market Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné’s meetings with businesses, a member of his team said bluntly: “The fact that the commissioner in …

EU trumpets its reliability on global health as US slashes foreign aid – POLITICO

EU trumpets its reliability on global health as US slashes foreign aid – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The strategy also condemns the “instrumentalization” of health and says closing “the emerging gaps in global health resilience” is crucial. The U.S. has come under fire from global health advocates for offering funding deals with developing countries that formerly received USAID support, in return for them boosting disease surveillance and providing America with access to disease data and in some cases rare minerals. “Health is increasingly instrumentalised in the pursuit of geopolitical and geoeconomic interests,” writes the Commission. “Global health governance is shifting away from multilateral cooperation and humanitarian principles towards at times overtly transactional bilateral approaches.” Staying the course The Commission wants to help strengthen countries’ health systems, fight fake news and tackle “dangerous dependencies” in supply chains — though it hasn’t announced any new funding for its plan. To boost prevention, preparedness and response to crises, the EU will invest in drugs, vaccines and diagnostics. It will also help set up a new global therapeutics development coalition and EU hubs for therapeutics and diagnostics. The EU will also help map global health spending, …