Good morning from Bucharest, Lisbon and Warsaw.
The EU faces a political stress test this weekend as voters in Poland, Romania, and Portugal head to the polls in what is being dubbed the EU’s 'Super Sunday', writes Euractiv’s Charles Szumski.
Few expect possible gains by the far right to trigger an immediate political earthquake in the European Council, where EU leaders set the bloc’s political direction.
Yet the ballots will offer a snapshot of how far populist forces can push into Europe’s political mainstream.
Poland – A referendum on Europe: Sunday's first round of the presidential election follows a decade of conservative rule under President Andrzej Duda and marks a decisive moment for centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk's reform agenda - hamstrung until now by Duda’s veto power.
Romania – Here we go again: Romania’s Super Sunday presidential run-off comes amid a repeat of the annulled 2024 election, which was scrapped over alleged Russian interference for far-right candidate Călin Georgescu. In the first round at the beginning of May, ultranationalist George Simion led with 40.96% and he will now face centrist Nicușor Dan, who scored 20.99%. Simion’s rapid rise has rattled pro-European circles.
Portugal – Third time lucky: Finally, Portugal heads to the polls Sunday for its third election in three years. The latest vote was triggered by the collapse of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s minority government, brought down by a conflict-of-interest scandal that deepened public distrust in mainstream parties and led to the rise of far-right Chega. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [EPA-EFE/TOLGA AKMEN] |
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The EU and the UK are widely expected to sign a defence and security pact in London on Monday – because failure to do so would mean Europe had yet again missed its moment amid global geopolitical upheaval, writes Aurélie Pugnet.
Meanwhile, countries in the NATO alliance are ready to commit to higher defence spending targets, according to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday, even if many still remain far from the current 2% goal.
‘Crazy’ to suggest it. Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte brushed off the suggestion that Putin might set his sights on an EU country next, as he campaigned against the Commission's plans to boost military spending, writes Eddy Wax.
Ban the tan. Summer is coming and pressure is rising on the European Commission over its failure to act on sunbeds, as artificial tanning devices aren’t directly regulated by the EU for their health impact, but are classified in the same category as tobacco and asbestos, writes Magdalena Kensy.
Breaching DSA. TikTok has failed to meet its obligation to publish an advertising repository, as required by the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission informed the company on Thursday, writes Anupriya Datta.
Slow food. More than two decades after its debut in Turin, Slow Food's Terra Madre event is heading to Brussels – combining local food, education, and advocacy to promote sustainable, local production at the heart of EU policymaking, writes Angelo Di Mambro.
Water use. The next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will feature "transition packages" to reward farmers who commit to improving their water management, according to a draft of the EU's upcoming water strategy seen by Alice Bergoënd. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Michele Tantussi/Getty Images] |
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| BERLIN Germany’s new government will do away with a designated diplomat for the development and EU accession of the Western Balkans countries, raising concern that attention from one of the region's main champions may be slipping. Read more.
New Berlin government’s climate policy fails to convince advisory council. According to the government-appointed Council of Experts on Climate Change, Germany will struggle to meet its emissions targets if it follows through on policies the new coalition between Christian Democrats and Social Democrats has agreed on. Read more.
Tesla’s struggles could be German carmakers’ opportunity. While US tariffs imposed on car imports looked like another potential nail in the coffin of Germany’s troubled automotive sector, they pose a chance to prove their adaptability to changing markets. Germany’s ‘Big Three’ carmakers have floated plans to ramp up their manufacturing overseas in reaction, the most recent being Mercedes-Benz’ announcement to produce its most popular model in the US, the GLC SUV, overseas in the future. While these efforts are “a defence of the status quo” at best, according to experts, electric models - once the German carmakers’ poor child - could be a rare advantage for German carmakers amid tariff turmoil and US competitor Tesla’s tanking popularity, writes Jasper Steinlein. Read more.
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PARIS Paris and Beijing fail to reach agreement on Cognac tariffs. France has failed to convince Beijing to abandon its threat of slapping tariffs on the country’s cherished Cognac and Armagnac. Read more. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Eduardo Parra/Europa Press via Getty Images] |
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| MADRID
The Spanish government is facing growing criticism over systemic failures in the national rail network, despite receiving billions in EU recovery funds aimed at modernising infrastructure. Read more.
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ROME
Italy hits 2% defence target ahead of NATO Summit. Italy has reached the 2% defence spending target ahead of the NATO summit in June. The announcement came Thursday from both Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, who confirmed that the document certifying this milestone and outlining how it was achieved has already been submitted to NATO. Read more.
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LISBON
Portugal’s president: EU hampered by outdated systems and leadership. Portugal's president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has said that the European Union has a political problem of outdated leadership and institutional systems and needs to rebuild its support base. In a speech at the closing of the Cotec Europa business summit in Coimbra, he said, "Europe's problem is not economic, it is not technocratic, it is a political problem". "There is no European Commission, no European Parliament, no European Council with the strength to take political decisions if they are questioned at the grassroots level in a considerable number of European Member States". "It is impossible to solve the problem without rebuilding the internal support base, Member State by Member State, for the European project. By building conditions for European unity," he stressed, warning of the possibility of starting to operate “in groups of Member States”. According to the Portuguese head of state, "European and national institutions have an outdated concept of leadership and institutional system" and the European Union has suffered from "a loss of leadership in science, technology, energy, finance, capital markets, the internal market - all political problems". "The values are right. Europe has the right values. If others want to change values or forget values, they are wrong. We have the right values. He maintained that we do not have the instruments to effectively apply the right values politically, now and in the future. (Inês Escobar Lima – edited by Pedro Sousa Carvalho | Lusa.pt) |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images] |
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| WARSAW
Momentum behind the European Commission’s landmark Green Deal may be fast fading, but in Poland, farmers are still determined to hold politicians accountable for backing climate policies in Sunday’s presidential election. Read more.
Tusk launches ‘Polish Sea’ plan to secure Baltic. At a maritime conference on Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a new plan to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea and expand the country’s ports. Read more.
PiS Nawrocki leads first round, runoff tight, poll shows. If the presidential election, scheduled for Sunday (May 18), were held today, Karol Nawrocki, representing Law and Justice (PiS, ECR), would edge out the ruling Civic Platform’s (PO, EPP) candidate Rafał Trzaskowski in the first round, according to the latest survey by Atlas Intel. It is the first poll to show Nawrocki leading over Trzaskowski. The margin between the two is narrow - just 0.8 percentage points. Nawrocki is backed by 30.3% of respondents, while Trzaskowski garners 29.5%. However, in a potential runoff, Trzaskowski would narrowly come out on top. In a head-to-head matchup, 46.5% of respondents say they would vote for Donald Tusk’s candidate, compared to 45.2% for Nawrocki. Another 8.3% remain undecided. In contrast, a separate poll conducted by IBRiS for Onet shows Trzaskowski maintaining a clearer lead, with 32.6% support. Nawrocki trails with 26.4%. Friday (May 16) marks the final day of campaigning ahead of the Polish presidential election. Electoral silence will be observed on Saturday and Sunday. (Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)
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BRATISLAVA
Trigger warning: Fico's year of 'revenge politics' after the assassination attempt. A year after five would-be assassin’s bullets nearly killed him, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is still reliving the moment. So is his country. Read more. |
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| SOFIA
Bulgaria in talks with US hedge fund to expand TurkStream capacity. Boyko Borissov, leader of Bulgaria’s ruling GERB party, has announced talks with US investors to expand the TurkStream pipeline extension – currently the sole route for Russian pipeline gas to Central Europe and nearly fully supplied by Gazprom. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
Measles surges in Romania with anti-vax frontrunner in presidential race. Amid Romania’s soaring measles cases, ultranationalist presidential candidate George Simion could win Sunday’s election – and worsen an existing crisis fueled by vaccine conspiracies. However, vaccine hesitancy is only one part of the puzzle. Read more. |
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- EU: Meeting of the European Political Community expected to focus on security and democratic resilience, competitiveness, mobility challenges; European Council President António Costa co-chairs with Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, in Tirana, Albania; Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Parliament President Roberta Metsola attend;
- Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera meets with Ambassador of China Cai Run;
- Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius attends E5+ (recognized nuclear-weapon states under the Non-Proliferation Treaty) meeting, in Rome, Italy;
- Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen hosts European Association for the Promotion of Cogeneration representatives;
- Startups, Research and Innovation Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva meets with European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA);
- Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Commissioner Jessika Roswall hosts bioeconomy strategy stakeholder dialogue.
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| [Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara] |
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