Good morning from Bucharest, Lisbon and Warsaw.
Brussels can breathe a cautious sigh of relief after pro-EU candidates emerged victorious on Sunday in three bellwether elections in Romania, Portugal and the first round of Poland's presidential race, write Bárbara Machado and Charles Szumski.
But while the centre is holding for now, far-right populist forces continue to grow in all three countries.
Romania – Liberal turnaround sees off far right, for now: In the end, the pro-EU liberal mayor of Bucharest Nicușor Dan turned around a first-round deficit to secure about 54% of the ballot to prevail over far-right candidate, George Simion.
Poland – Tusk's party just in front: By earlier this morning morning, the candidate from the centre-right Civic Coalition, sat on 31.2% of the vote, setting up a second round against Karol Nawrocki, a historian supported by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, who was second with around 29.7%.
Portugal – 'Structural change' and a 'disaster' for Socialists: The ruling centre-right coalition, Democratic Alliance, prevailed with 32% of votes, but Chega earned 22.56% and the Socialist Party 23.38%. |
|
| Former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that has metastasised to the bone, his office said in a statement on Sunday. |
|
| Click on the picture to read the story | [Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images] |
|
Ending the Brexit era. The EU and UK will solidify a ‘reset’ in their tumultuous post-Brexit relationship at a summit in London on Monday, with a security pact and the contours of future deals on food and travel set to be unveiled, writes Owen Morgan.
Why still bother? With an overhaul of EU medical device rules on the horizon, small manufacturers like German entrepreneur Herbert Maslanka are sounding the alarm over a regulatory system they say is stifling innovation and burying them in paperwork, writes Brenda Strohmaier.
Convincing the Global South. The EU should lobby global partners to step up pressure on Moscow to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire, according to a letter backed by over half of its member states, writes Alexandra Brzozowski.
Meanwhile, as part of Estonia’s largest military exercise, Hedgehog 25, around 16,000 Estonian and allied troops from 10 NATO countries are taking part in drills showcasing the alliance’s capabilities — but the notable absence of American forces underscores lingering doubts over NATO’s unity.
In absentia. Officials from the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) did not take part in a crucial meeting between EU Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi and representatives of the pharma industry to discuss the next steps following US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs, Euractiv has learnt, writes Sarantis Michalopoulos.
Testing the waters. The EU commissioner in charge of taxation, Wopke Hoekstra, told MEPs at a breakfast in Strasbourg earlier this month that he wants a proposal to revise tobacco taxation before summer, Euractiv has learnt.
Urged to curb access. Spain, Greece and France are pushing the European Commission to swiftly introduce an EU-wide age verification system and set a minimum age for social media access write Anupriya Datta and Claudie Moreau. |
|
| Today's edition is powered by ACCA. |
|
| ACCA's Global Talent Trends Survey 2025 is here!
Sustainability careers are booming, with 67% of over 10,000 individuals from 175 countries eyeing accountancy roles focused on environmental issues. Discover unique insights on how accountancy and finance professionals feel about their work-life balance and future aspirations.
Find out more. |
|
|
| Click on the picture to read the story | [Thomas Imo/Photothek for the German Federal Foreign Office via Getty Images] |
|
| BERLIN
It is particularly hard for Johann Wadephul, and not just because the new German chancellor, who is nearly two metres tall, towers over his rather short foreign minister. Read more.
///
PARIS
A new prison revives memories of the penal colony in French Guiana. On Saturday, the French Minister of Justice announced in the staunchly right-wing Journal du Dimanche the construction, by 2028, of a 500-inmate prison in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, in western French Guiana, more than 7,000 kilometres from mainland France. Read more. |
|
| Click on the picture to read the story |[Jacquelyn Martin - Pool/Getty Images] |
|
| ROME Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held a meeting in Rome on Sunday with US Vice President JD Vance and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, marking the first official US-EU leadership meeting since Donald Trump took office. Read more.
///
MADRID
EPP demands EU probe over Spanish PM's leaked messages in airline bailout scandal. The European People's Party (EPP) has called on the European Commission to launch an investigation into the possible misuse of EU post-COVID recovery funds, following a bombshell leak that links Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to a controversial €475 million bailout of Air Europa. Read more.
///
LISBON
Portugal: Centre-right wins election, Socialists and far-right tie with 58 MPs each.The AD - PSD/CDS coalition (center-right) won Sunday's legislative elections with 86 seats, while the Socialist Party (PS, center-left) and Chega (far-right) tied for the number of seats in parliament, with 58, once all votes in the national constituencies had been counted. Read more. |
|
| WARSAW
Warsaw mayor to face nationalist conservative candidate in second presidential round. Poland is heading for a second round in its presidential election, with liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski and nationalist conservative Karol Nawrocki emerging as the top two contenders in today's vote, according to exit polls. Read more.
///
PRAGUE
Czechs say EU concessions on car rules are not enough. Czech officials and auto industry leaders say the EU's recent changes to car emission rules are a step forward, but not enough. At a roundtable in Prague organised by Czech Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka (ODS, ECR) said the new rule, which lets carmakers meet CO₂ targets over three years instead of every year, is a “real relief.” But he added, “It is far from sufficient.” He wants to extend the reporting period to five years. Kupka also confirmed that Czechia will keep fighting to scrap the planned 2035 ban on combustion engines. Kupka also called for “thorough and clear” technology neutrality. “The technological future of transport should not be decided by politicians, but by engineers, companies, and customers,” he said. He welcomed EU plans to support innovation and autonomous driving as a chance to catch up with global rivals. On the other hand, he refused social leasing for cars proposed in the EU's action plan for the automotive industry, presented by the European Commission in March. (Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz) |
|
| SOFIA
Bulgaria rolls out state food shops with price caps and local focus. Bulgaria’s agriculture ministry will run a new state-owned retail chain branded “Store for the People”, aiming to offer essential food items with a maximum price markup of 10% and a focus on Bulgarian-made goods. Read more.
///
BUCHAREST
Bucharest’s liberal mayor poised to win Romanian presidential runoff. The centrist mayor of Bucharest appeared set to win Romania's presidential runoff in an election closely watched across Europe. Read more. |
|
- EU: First EU-UK summit since the UK’s withdrawal from the EU expected to focus on common stance for peace and security in Europe, new strategic partnership, geopolitical issues;
- Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera participates in E.CA Competition Law and Economics Expert Forum (ESMT), in Berlin, Germany; Delivers keynote speech at high level conference “Europe as a Task”, in Prague, Czechia;
- Vice President Henna Virkkunen hosts Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Lerato Mataboge;
- Economy and Productivity Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis participates in second trilogue on macro-financial assistance to Egypt;
- Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius participates in roundtable discussion with European New Defence companies on defence innovations; Hosts Committee on Economic Development members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Participates in Implementation Dialogue on EU Defence Industry; Receives representatives from European Association of Remote Sensing Companies;
- Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe chairs European Board on Agriculture and Food (EBAF) second meeting;
- Startups, Research and Innovation Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva holds meetings with Ambassador of Tunisia to EU and NATO Sahbi Khalfallah, Ambassador of Uzbekiztan to Benelux, Head of Missions to EU and NATO Gayrat Fazilov;
- Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Commissioner Piotr Serafin meets with Turkish Ambassador Faruk Kaymakci;
- Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Commissioner Glenn Micallef participates in high level roundtable with pan-European think tanks on Strategic Foresight Report 2025;
- Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen hosts Energy Minister of South Africa Kgosientsho Ramokgopa;
- Parliament’s Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield and the Committee on Culture and Education hold joint meeting on State of Media and Media Resilience.
*** |
|
| [Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara] |
|
|
|
|
