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THE CAPITALS
YOUR DAILY UPDATE ON EUROPEAN POLITICS

Welcome to the Capitals, your concise and comprehensive summary of European news from Eddy Wax and Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels. We welcome feedback and tips here. You can sign up here.

In today’s edition:

  • A divisive post-Qatargate lobbying crackdown
  • Metsola told to raise Green Claims debacle with leaders
  • NATO grovels to Trump

An upcoming EU law could force every member state to set up a “foreign influence register” to track lobbying and funding from third countries – including cash flowing to NGOs, think tanks, and lobbyists. It’s proving the latest flashpoint in a Parliament still grappling with multiple corruption scandals linked to dodgy lobbying, and deeply split over how to treat NGOs.

Leading the file in Parliament’s internal market committee, which will discuss the bill today, is Adina Vălean, the former transport commissioner. Her centre-right EPP group is ready to push it through with backing from some of Renew, and the far right. The Greens and the Left want it pulled entirely but are willing to support the Socialists, who want to expand the law’s scope to cover all forms of lobbying. The EPP says no to an expanded scope, arguing this is about third-country interference, not sweeping reforms.

The proposed directive was put forward by the European Commission in the aftermath of the Qatargate scandal, in which Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania stand accused of corrupting officials and members of the European Parliament.

But the S&D and Greens – plus Transparency International and several UN special rapporteurs – warn the law echoes “foreign agent” rules seen in Russia, Georgia and Hungary, and could seriously damage civil society. The proposal was already delayed once after major pushback from NGOs and rights groups last year.

"The EPP is forcing through this proposal with the help of the far right,” Alex Agius Saliba, a Maltese Socialist MEP and shadow rapporteur on the proposal, told Nicoletta. The push “will do further damage to the pro-democratic platform of the von der Leyen majority”, he added.

Renew’s rapporteur Sandro Gozi, however, told Euractiv that “the purpose is not to target and stigmatise NGOs and CSOs but to introduce more transparency as to interest representation on behalf of third countries when provided as a service”.

We’ll be watching this space. For now – amid mounting disagreements that saw one negotiator walk out of the negotiating room – Vălean has decided to push the vote to September.

“Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do. It makes us all safer.” - NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s text message to US President Donald Trump on American airstrikes.

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Metsola pressured to raise greenwashing debacle with leaders

The chiefs of the Socialists and Renew groups in the Parliament have written to its president, Roberta Metsola, to ask her to raise the Commission’s controversial threat to withdraw an anti-greenwashing law with EU leaders when they come to Brussels for a summit on Thursday.

Iratxe García and Valérie Hayer wrote in a joint letter that they expect Metsola to raise “the issue of the protection of the Parliament and Council’s roles in the interinstitutional processes” at the European Council.

The two MEPs, who jointly lead groups amounting to 211 MEPs, accused the Commission of misusing its powers, not informing the Parliament as it should, and questioned the legality of its intended withdrawal, citing EU case law.

The law is now essentially dead after Italy withdrew its support following the Commission’s mixed (or non-existent) messaging on the subject at the end of last week. Journalists who asked whether Ursula von der Leyen had cooked up a plot with Giorgia Meloni when in Rome last Friday, were stonewalled by Commission spokespeople on Wednesday.

Next on the chopping block? The EU’s anti-deforestation law.

On Tuesday, the environment committee backed an EPP-led call to make most EU countries exempt from the Commission’s deforestation rules, which the EPP and the far right already managed to delay for two years during this mandate.

The non-binding resolution urges Brussels to create a “negligible risk” label for EU countries, while expanding its list of “high-risk” countries, currently just Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, and North Korea. Essentially it would mean letting most of Europe off the hook.

“We need a more nuanced approach,” said Austrian MEP Alexander Bernhuber (EPP), who led the charge. Speaking to Euractiv, he said the objection should be a signal for the Commission to “rework the proposal."

NATO

How much self-respect are NATO members willing to shed to keep Donald Trump from blowing up today’s summit in the Hague? Quite a lot, it seems, reading the grovelling text messages Rutte sent to Trump (released by the latter) praising his “truly extraordinary” move to bomb Iran that “no one else dared to do”.

European leaders are throwing everything at the US president, from creative accounting, to gifts, a royal dinner and even an overnight stay in a palace – to keep NATO on track and to keep Europe covered by American security guarantees. Though, on Air Force One, Trump was evasive when asked about the collective defence guarantees in NATO’s treaty.

Of course there's a greater good in the Europeans’ minds: Ukraine. But on the home front, Brussels’ latest efforts to punish Russian aggression are being hampered by Hungary. It’s a familiar story, but the 18th package of sanctions – once hoped to be ready for Thursday’s European summit – is still not there, with some governments calling for a rethink on pushing the oil price cap lower. The Commission said it stood by its proposal Tuesday, appearing to deny reports that it had already ditched it.

The EU’s offer to Ukraine to join the bloc is also stuttering. There are now discussions about how to continue supporting Ukraine’s progress among 26 member countries rather than 27 due to Hungary’s veto. Brussels would help Kyiv make the necessary reforms – but leave official progress until that veto falls away.

Amid it all today, the question is whether Trump buys European promises to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP.

Keep following the NATO developments on our dedicated live blog from The Hague, staffed by Euractiv's FIREPOWER team.

And speaking of Trump: A Republican congressman has nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize for his “extraordinary and historic role” in the Iran-Israel ceasefire and for preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, an initial classified assessment of the US bombing of Iran over the weekend found the strikes only set back its nuclear program by a few months.

GERMANY
Ahead of this week’s European Council summit, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for a new “culture of restraint” regarding EU regulation. He said this was essential for striking trade deals, as other countries would not want to adhere to Europe’s “complex rules”. EU trade policy is becoming a growing source of frustration for Merz: Earlier this week, he called the European Commission’s approach to tariff talks with the US “too complicated” for seeking a comprehensive deal instead of focusing on “four, five large industries”.

FRANCE
President Emmanuel Macron has invited New Caledonia’s main political leaders to a “summit” on 2 July, aimed at reviving negotiations over the territory’s future. Talks were relaunched by Overseas Minister Manuel Valls after the deadly unrest in spring 2024, which claimed 14 lives – including 11 Kanaks.

SPAIN
The judge investigating Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez’s wife has requested that the Supreme Court open a probe into Justice Minister Félix Bolaños for alleged embezzlement and false testimony. Read more.

POLAND
A first conflict is brewing between the Poland’s Law and Justice Party and Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki over the makeup of the latter’s presidential office. Read more.

Munir Podumljak [Personal archive]

At a time when several EU institutions are reeling from revelations of undue influence and opaque funding arrangements, one anti-corruption NGO's legal battle with Brussels has taken on broader significance, writes Laurent Geslin.

The case offers a sobering look at the risks small civil society organisations face when EU funding, political expectations, and informal understandings collide.

In the hours before it agreed to a ceasefire with Iran this week, Israel targeted key elements of the Islamic regime's enforcement apparatus in Tehran, including the headquarters of both the feared Basij militia and the domestic intelligence command. A person close to Israeli government told Euractiv that the Israeli Air Force attacked the sites around midday on Monday as part of a final push to undermine the government's system of oppression against its population. Read more.

Germany's departure from post-financial crisis austerity kicked off with a bang on Tuesday, as the country's new finance minister unveiled his first budget. Social Democrat Lars Klingbeil will become the finance minister who oversees the largest accrual of debt in any post-war budget, if it is passed as drafted. Read more.

French PM François Bayrou’s government is on the verge of collapse after failed pension talks, with the left pushing a no-confidence vote and the far right holding the key. Read more.

The Danish EU presidency will steer clear of culture wars over fake meat and avoid a major confrontation on the bloc's next seven-year budget, Agriculture Minister Jacob Jensen told Euractiv in an interview. Read more.

  • NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gives a doorstep statement ahead of the alliance’s morning working session (10:30–12:00).
  • Final press conference by Rutte, followed by his meeting with Donald Trump and Pacific leaders.
  • Security College discussion on EU stockpiling and preparedness strategy.
  • European Commission College read-out expected.
  • Gavi High-Level Pledging Summit 2025 - With Ursula von der Leyen, José Manuel Barroso, António Costa, and Bill Gates in Brussels.
  • European Parliament - President Roberta Metsola meets António Costa ahead of the European Council meeting.
  • European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development (REGI) votes on new priorities for cohesion funds.
  • Patriots Group holds its pre-summit meeting.

Contributors: Nick Alipour, Alexandra Brzozowski, Thomas Moller Nielsen, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Bárbara Machado, Niko J. Kurmayer, Aleksandra Krzysztoszek.

Editors: Vince Chadwick and Sofia Mandilara.

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