I’m Eddy Wax, with Nicoletta Ionta, in Brussels. Sign up to the newsletter here, and send us tips. We’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday. Enjoy the long weekend. In today’s edition: Merz in the White House EU ministers' deal on flight delay compensation France pushing an EU-wide social media ban for kids The UK state secretary for Northern Ireland out to win back the EU’s trust |
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New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emerged unscathed - and even projecting confidence - from his tête-à-tête with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, having carefully yet firmly pressed the US president to put more pressure on Russia to stop its war in Ukraine. Euractiv’s Nick Alipour has the write-up here. Merz's Trump strategy: He talked up American strength, lavished praise on Trump, gifted him a framed copy of his German grandfather Frederick Trump’s birth certificate, and mostly let him talk - bar for correcting a clumsy reference by Trump to the Second World War. Trump praised Merz’s English skills and sounded enthusiastic about the future of German-American ties. Good vibes only: The pair had a rapport. Trump described Merz as a “very good man to deal with” and joked that he was “difficult”, while suggesting that was perhaps no bad thing. Trump’s relationship with former Chancellor Angela Merkel, in contrast, was famously strained. Someone’s been reading the treaties: “We’ll have a good trade deal. I guess that will be mostly determined by the European Union but you’re a very big part of that,” Trump told Merz. He suggested the EU should buy more US oil and gas as part of that deal. Someone hasn't been reading the treaties: "We’ll end up hopefully with a trade deal, or we’ll do something, you know, we’ll do the tariffs, I mean I’m okay with the tariffs or we’ll make a deal with the trade, and I guess that’s what we’re discussing now,” Trump said after a reporter asked him about the EU-US trade talks. Only the European Commission can negotiate trade deals. Don't talk about the past – or do: In an interview with Fox News after the Oval Office encounter, Merz demurred over whether Russia’s full-scale invasion would have happened in February 2022 had Trump been in office. “It makes no sense to discuss the past,” Merz said, before noting that America had supported Ukraine’s 2008 application to join NATO, unlike France and Germany. “Ukraine was then a big nuclear power,” Merz said. “They were the third-biggest nuclear power in the world, and they agreed to get rid of all the nuclear weapons, and thereafter Russia attacked Ukraine. Would this have happened with nuclear weapons on the ground?” Tech EU could ban kids from social media: France, Spain, and Greece will today push for a social media ban for kids below 15, my colleague Anupriya Datta tells me. Euractiv scooped the push weeks ago and today the three countries will make their case to tech ministers in Luxembourg. The idea is to set EU-wide age verification to limit certain apps for minors and provide more parental control. Norway and New Zealand are already considering similar moves, while Australia passed an under-16s ban last year. UK-EU relations Brits seek EU’s trust: The recent EU-UK 'reset' deal set off talks that should see trade frictions between Britain and Northern Ireland reduced, pleasing both Brussels and Dublin. Euractiv’s Owen Morgan sat down with the UK’s State Secretary for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn, who was on a visit in Brussels, for an interview. On Boris Johnson et al: "The previous government signed agreements clearly with no intention of honouring them,” Benn said. “That was absolutely disastrous for trust. We have to show that we can be trusted once again, because Britain's reputation was frankly trashed by the last government." On the EU's Brexit point man, Maroš Šefčovič: "He put a huge amount of effort into the Windsor Framework [the post-Brexit deal concerning Northern Ireland]. He understands the political sensitivities in Northern Ireland." On when the 'reset' might become a proper deal: "I'm not going to predict a timeline." Parliament Russia threatens senior MEP: Vice-President of the European Parliament and Socialist Pina Picierno has been placed under police protection by Italy’s interior ministry after months of Russian-backed attacks and threats. Pina vs propaganda: In March, Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyev lashed out at Picierno, saying “her mouth reeks of tyranny”. Shortly after, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Europe of being a “digital information concentration camp” in response to a parliamentary question from Picierno. “There will be time to reflect on the climate of hatred and violence… and how demonising opponents and institutions has become a hallmark of our time”, Picierno said. Parliament picks holes in ECR’s NGO crusade: Parliament’s legal service is quibbling with a right-wing push to establish an inquiry into the lobbying practices of green NGOs. The ECR “plans to make those adjustments” ahead of a vote on establishing the inquiry committee on 19 June, per an ECR group spokesperson. The stumbling block is that all groups from the EPP leftward are opposed. Another idea floating around is to have a permanent working group on NGO funding attached to a pre-existing committee. The Patriots are still pushing for a committee about corruption in the EU institutions. Also on Euractiv Scoop – Commission wants Emiratis off money laundering list: The Commission is pushing again to remove the United Arab Emirates from a list of countries considered a high risk for money laundering and terrorist financing, just as the EU launches trade talks with Abu Dhabi, Nicoletta scooped here. Hungary rebuked over anti-gay law: An EU judge said Viktor Orbán’s government broke EU law with 2021 legislation that prohibits “promotion” of LGBTQ-related content with minors. Read more. Defence more crucial than trade: António Costa warned that “irritants” like trade fights mustn't distract from the all-important goal of boosting EU-US defence capacity. Read more. Flight delay compensation nosedives: EU countries backed a deal to gut flight delay compensation in a move that sparked outrage from consumer groups and MEPs. Read more. |
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Today's edition is powered by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO). |
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A strong Europe needs strong businesses! AT60 – the new House of the Austrian Economy in Brussels – is where vision meets action. Powered by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO), it’s a place to connect, share ideas and shape Europe’s future. Find out more. |
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“What certainly is not happening is that the EU will say: ‘Oh, it’s too bad that it's not working with US, we're just going to switch to China'," Poland’s Trade Minister Michał Baranowski told Euractiv. Read more. |
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GEORGIA The Georgian government effectively shut down the EU and NATO information office in the city’s famous Freedom Square by moving it to the foreign ministry, Alex Brzozowski reports. FRANCE Dockers at the port of Marseille-Fos refused to load 14 tonnes of spare parts for machine guns destined for the Israeli army onto a cargo ship that was due to set sail for Haifa last night. Port workers "will not take part in the ongoing genocide orchestrated by the Israeli government," according to trade unionists from the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). SLOVAKIA A small number of Slovak MPs approved a resolution obliging the government not to support anti-Russian sanctions- but it only passed because the opposition mistakenly failed to present itself for the vote. The opposition said they will do “everything possible” to submit a new resolution. Read more. ITALY Italians can vote in five referendums covering issues from labour rights to citizenship this weekend. But with turnout expected to fall below the required 50%, the votes may not count. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia is encouraging abstention, which opponents see as an attempt to stifle debate and evade accountability on issues affecting workers and immigrants. Read more. |
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Cheers to EU: Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič cut a relaxed figure as he sipped a pint of Guinness with his Cabinet members at Kitty O’Shea’s pub opposite the Berlaymont last night. The Slovak appeared to be in a jovial mood, guffawing and hobnobbing with staffers young and old. Those talks with the US can’t be going that badly then, surely. Brits running the Commission: British European Commission Civil Servant Patrick Child was made acting chief of DG Environment not too long ago, making him a rare director general hailing from the island of Brexit. Stephen Quest – another Brit – runs DG HR, and also holds French nationality. A fake Pascal Canfin MEP is roaming around on X. In our ears: Poland’s deputy finance minister Paweł Karbownik – a former adviser to Donald Tusk – tells Paul Adamson’s Encompass podcast that the European Green Deal is “badly calibrated, basically fuelling populism and it is not delivering on energy costs”. Susanne Raab, former Austrian minister for women, family, integration and media, has been elected the new Director General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). |
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EU Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council convenes to discuss the EU Blueprint on cyber crisis management, satellite connectivity and strategic autonomy, the extension of the EU’s ‘Roam like at home’ area to Ukraine and Moldova, and more; European Investment Bank holds the second Adaptation Days on the sidelines of the 2025 UN Oceans Conference in Nice, France. Agenda highlights include funding coastal resilience, regional perspectives on climate adaptation finance, and more; The second day of EU Industry Days 2025, Europe’s flagship annual event for key industrial policy discussions, takes place in Rzeszów, Poland. Agenda highlights include EU defence industry cooperation, integration of Ukraine into the EU Single Market, the Clean Industrial Deal, navigating raw material and supply chain challenges, and more; Ursula von der Leyen receives members of BusinessEurope (the Confederation of European Business) for a working dinner. |
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Reporters: Alessia Peretti, Natália Silenská. Editors: Vince Chadwick and Sofia Mandilara. Top image: Shane LaGesse. |
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