Good morning from Brussels, The EU's new defence commissioner-designate, Andrius Kubilius, told Euractiv in an interview that he has an ambitious mission to boost Europe's military capabilities by aligning with NATO on top priorities. “We need to sit down and really look into priorities together with NATO,” Kubilius told Euractiv’s Aurélie Pugnet. He also focused on the funding of his plans. Politically, the message is clear: “It is most important really to show very strong signals to Putin that he should forget about testing the EU or NATO – and for that, we need to show that our industries are gearing up, that we are finding finances so that we shall be ready whatever Putin decides to do,” he said. Another test on the West-Russia reflexes is the Moldovan elections and an EU referendum on Sunday, as concerns over Russian interference remain high, state authorities claim. Moldova’s deputy prime minister Cristina Gherasimov told Euractiv, “For us, EU membership is existential, and it’s the only way to consolidate our democracy”. Meanwhile, the leaders of Germany, France, the UK and the US are holding a high-level meeting in Berlin today to discuss global matters, including Ukraine, days after Ukraine’s Zelenskyy presented his “victory” plan to EU leaders. However, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni's non-attendance has triggered several reactions at home. Making the geopolitical puzzle more complex, Donald Trump blamed Zelenskyy on Thursday for helping start the war with Russia. | 