Forza Italia divided over Von der Leyen

Good morning from Rome,

The Commission President and the European People’s Party (EPP) lead candidate Ursula von der Leyen is currently touring member states to rally support for EPP national members ahead of the European Parliament elections next month.

While in Croatia, she was warmly welcomed to the centre-right HDZ campaign kick-off rally and various activities involving Prime Minister Andrej Plenkjovic, but in Rome on Monday, Forza Italia did not include her in their electoral campaign launch.

Max Griera, who is covering her campaign, reports from Rome that Licia Ronzulli, a powerful figure within Forza Italia, said on Sunday that “Ursula Von der Leyen is now a crippled horse.”

Read the full story.

Meanwhile, as rumours mount over a future collaboration between the EPP and the hard-right ECR, in Stockholm, vice-president of ECR Charlie Weimers backed an agreement with the EU centre-right similar to the one the Swedish ruling coalition has, but without von der Leyen as EU Commission chief. Charles Szumski has more.

The EU’s multibillion pandemic recovery fund is the key “piece in the jigsaw” of how to finance the bloc’s core economic objectives until private markets are sufficiently integrated, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe told Euractiv’s Thomas Moller-Nielsen in an interview.

He admitted that there currently “isn’t a consensus” among finance ministers on the need to renew NextGenEU. However, he suggested that future analyses will have a “very positive story to tell” about the initiative’s overall impact. Thomas has the full story.

In another interview, Vice Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee of Economic and Monetary Affairs Michiel Hoogeveen said Europe should deregulate its economy and “develop a culture of private investment” similar to the US.

On the foreign policy front, Alexandra Brzozowski reported on a letter signed by 12 EU foreign ministers suggesting that the EU should assess how Georgia’s foreign agent law will impact the country’s accession process before the parliament’s final vote.

Last, but not least, Maria Simon Arboleas reported that the EU Council greenilighted on Monday the relaxation of the environmental rules under the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which will apply until the end of the current period in 2027 despite vocal protests from green NGOs.

BERLIN

Germany looks to ‘Nordic perspective’ for shaping its new security doctrine. The Nordics’ approach to security policy is a role model for Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday at a meeting with Nordic heads of government, which saw participants united in calls for more air-defence systems for Ukraine. Read more.

///

PARIS

France attracts €15 billion in foreign investment during the ‘Choose France’ forum. France attracted a record €15 billion in foreign investment during the government’s flagship “Choose France” event, which brought together some 180 CEOs from around the world and some 60 French business leaders at Versailles Palace on Monday. Read more.

Renewables: slow progress means France remains on collision course with EU Commission. France achieved a 22.2% share of renewable energy in its gross final energy consumption in 2023, according to the French Ecological Ministry figures from 7 May, but the trend is not sufficient for the country to reach a target of at least 44% renewable energy by 2030, as set by EU law. Read more.

France announces low carbon fertilisers plant to reduce dependence on Russian imports. French president Emmanuel Macron announced the project aiming at producing decarbonised nitrogenous fertilisers at the “Choose France” summit, an annual meeting of international business leaders at the Château de Versailles. Read more.

LONDON

UK’s Labour pledges ‘ironclad’ commitment to Ukraine during Kyiv visit. Britain’s opposition Labour Party affirmed its “ironclad” commitment to Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv on Monday by the party’s foreign and defence chiefs. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

Swedish PM open to hosting nuclear weapons on home soil in case of war. Sweden is open to the possibility of having nuclear weapons on its soil in the event of war, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Monday, calming the concerns of local communities by asserting that any action would be on “Swedish terms”. Read more.

ECR Group vice-chair eyes ‘Swedish-style’ collaboration with EPP without von der Leyen. In an interview with the Swedish press agency TT, Charlie Weimers, MEP and Vice-President of the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR), said he was in favour of an agreement with the centre-right EPP similar to the one the Swedish ruling coalition has, but without Ursula von der Leyen as EU Commission chief. Read more.

MADRID

The results of Catalonia’s Sunday election, won by Salvador Illa from the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC) without a sufficient majority to govern alone, have left a complex situation in which the cross vetoes of the separatist parties make an agreement guaranteeing the stability of a future executive almost impossible, meaning a repeat of the vote could be on the cards. Read more.
///

ATHENS

Greece, Turkey take small steps in light politics, keep tough issues for later. A meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara occurred in a “positive atmosphere”, but thorny issues and disagreements remain. Read more.

PRAGUE | ROME

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and his Italian counterpart and partner in the conservative ECR group, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, showed they were on the same page on key issues on Monday in Italy, where talks focused on migration and “going beyond the EU’s migration pact.” Read more.

ECR will not give von der Leyen “blank cheque” ahead of elections, says Czech MEP. European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) do not intend to promise support for Ursula von der Leyen to continue as head of the European Commission, Czech MEP Alexandr Vondra told Euractiv Czechia in an exclusive interview. Read more.

///

WARSAW

EU’s Wojciechowski ‘concerned’ about Tusk’s methods. The reforms introduced in Poland by the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk are “concerning,” EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told Euractiv Poland. Read more.

SKOPJE | ATHENS
The former prime ministers of Greece and North Macedonia, Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev, have intervened in the latest spat over the “Prespa Agreement”, saying it’s crucial for the Balkan region’s stability. Read more.

///

SOFIA | SKOPJE

Bulgaria says North Macedonia risks EU accession over recent statements. Bulgaria does not accept Skopje’s statements contradicting the Neighbourhood Treaty, Bulgarian authorities said following the swearing-in of North Macedonia’s new President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova on Sunday, reminding the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party that the country’s EU integration path depends on respect for the treaties. Read more.

///

SKOPJE

EPP fumes at Macedonian member, says it tops list of upcoming ‘house cleaning’. North Macedonia’s election-winning nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party has sparked reactions across Europe and from its own EU family, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), after President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova refused to use the country’s official name during her inauguration on Sunday. Read more.

///

BUCHAREST

Romanian defence minister sceptical about providing Ukraine with Patriot system. Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tîlvăr is sceptical about sending a Patriot missile system to Ukraine a Patriot missile system, claims Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. Read more.

***

[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Liene Lūsīte, Alice Taylor]