Good morning.
Donald Trump calls her “a fantastic leader and person”, but today Europe will be watching to see if Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni can convert personal warmth into policy wins when the pair meet in Washington.
Tariffs, defence spending, increased imports of US liquefied natural gas, industrial cooperation, policy coordination on China, and support for Ukraine are all on the agenda.
The Italian government has been keen to portray Meloni as fully aligned with Brussels, noting her frequent calls with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen right up until her departure.
But, as Alessia Peretti and Thomas Moller-Nielsen report, Meloni has long seen Trump as a political muse, attending his rallies and echoing his worldview. She was the only European leader invited to his second inauguration.
"I think for the EU it’s key to see that she sticks to our joint approach, especially when it comes to trade," one diplomat said. “In the ideal scenario she can leverage her privileged position with Trump for a positive outcome for all of us."
As Meloni joked ahead of her departure, “No pressure, as you can imagine.” Read more. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [EPA-EFE/Albert Zawada] |
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More than two years after EU countries vowed to enhance cybersecurity in critical sectors like pharmaceuticals and government administration, 13 have failed to adopt the rules into national law, Théophane Hartmann reports.
EU countries agreed Wednesday to downgrade the protection status of wolves but did not make further changes to the bloc’s Habitats Directive as environmental campaigners had feared. As Bárbara Machado reports, however, the European Parliament may decide differently.
A Commission plan to relax rules on manure-based fertilisers has been stuck for a year, and Maria Simon Arboleas writes that the patience of industry and MEPs is wearing thin.
The Commission has selected which products will soon be required to meet higher sustainability standards, including greater durability and use of recycled components. As Bárbara reports, the list ranges from clothing and furniture to electronics. |
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| Today's edition is powered by ACI EUROPE. |
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| Geopolitics and aviation security take centre stage at the ACI EUROPE Annual Congress
Join Europe’s airport leaders in Athens, 18–20 June, as they confront the deepening impact of geopolitics on this strategic sector for Europe's competitiveness. The event will also address the fast-evolving security threats, resilience, energy sovereignty, and the future of European tourism. A must-attend event for the industry and decision-makers.
Find out more. |
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| BERLIN
Germany's government-to-be out of step on gene edited crops. While Germany's future government is still in its infancy, several agricultural issues remain unresolved – most prominently, new genomic techniques. Read more.
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PARIS
France questions short-term hydrogen imports in updated strategy. France’s decarbonised hydrogen industry needs more time to develop, but short-term imports and the related infrastructure appear in question in Paris’s updated strategy for the sector. Read more. |
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| [Scott Peterson/Getty Images] |
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| RIGA
Latvian lawmakers approved a bill to withdraw the country from the Ottawa Convention banning the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines, making it the first Baltic state to do so.
The withdrawal was supported by 68 MPs, while 14 voted against.
On 8 March, the defence ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia issued a joint statement recommending withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention.
Latvia's foreign ministry said that with its full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Russia has shown that it does not respect the territorial integrity of sovereign states or international law.
Latvia must therefore maintain freedom of choice and flexibility in using various weapons systems and solutions to strengthen deterrence and national defence, the ministry added.
(Juris Sokolovkis)
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COPENHAGEN
Denmark eyes drone training in Ukraine in a European first. Copenhagen plans to send soldiers to Ukraine this summer to learn how to use drones on the battlefield straight from the country's forces, Danish media TV2 reports. Read more. |
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| LISBON
Portugal: President calls for clarification of NATO's mission, criticises Trump. Portugal's president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, argued on Tuesday that it is necessary to quickly clarify the mission and adversaries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in a speech in which he once again criticised US President Donald Trump. Read more.
Portugal: PM focused on police to maintain country’s reputation for safety. Portugal's prime minister said Wednesday that his outgoing government has focused on police working conditions in order to ensure the country remains one of the safest in the world.
"We told the country that we needed to increase neighbourhood policing, the visibility of police action, that we needed to look at security,” Luís Montenegro said in Setúbal while handing over 19 vehicles, 222 bicycles and nine weighing scales to the Public Security Police. “And while recognising that we are a safe country in an international context, while praising the invaluable work of our law enforcement officers on the ground, we can't take that for granted.”
Montenegro added: "Instead of waiting for crime rates to develop less favourably, we do what we can to prevent the situation from deteriorating.”
(Gualter Ribeiro – edited by Pedro Sousa Carvalho | Lusa.pt) |
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| [Wolfgang Kaehler/Light Rocket via Getty Images] |
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| BRATISLAVA
The Slovak parliament has approved new legislation requiring NGOs to prepare a transparency report and disclose information on how they manage public funds. Read more.
Slovak president vetoes lifetime pension for Prosecutor General. President Peter Pellegrini followed through Wednesday on an earlier promise to veto a controversial bill that would grant the Prosecutor General a lifetime pension.
The legislation, passed recently by the Slovak parliament, drew criticism for introducing a generous pension during a period of financial consolidation, and for granting it after just four years in office, well before the full seven-year term of the Prosecutor General ends.
The opposition insisted that the ruling coalition was trying to “bribe” the current Prosecutor General, Maroš Žilinka, to step down early so they could install their own candidate in his place.
Pellegrini proposed two alternative approaches: either scrapping the pension altogether or postponing its payout until the Prosecutor General completes the full term.
In Slovakia, a presidential veto can be overturned by a simple majority of at least 76 MPs. However, Pellegrini’s move may still sway the legislative process as several lawmakers from his previous party, Hlas-SD (NI), as well as MPs from the National Coalition, have already expressed support for amending the bill.
(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)
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WARSAW
Public broadcaster rejects accusations of funding Trzaskowski’s presidential campaign. Following Friday’s presidential debate organized by Civic Platform candidate Rafał Trzaskowski, the rival Law and Justice party accused public broadcaster TVP of illegally financing the election front-runner’s campaign -- a charge the network denied on Wednesday, insisting all costs were covered by the event’s organiser. Read more. |
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| SOFIA
Bulgaria inks deal with Shell to explore Black Sea for oil and gas. Bulgaria has signed an agreement with Shell to explore for oil and natural gas in the country’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.
Bulgarian Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov described the deal over the Khan Tervel block, spanning over 4,000 square kilometers, as a significant step toward unlocking the economic potential of the deep-water Black Sea region.
“Gas discovered in the offshore deep Black Sea will be the cheapest gas for Bulgaria” Stankov said. “Currently, Bulgaria pays up to 30% of the gas price in transit fees when importing via pipelines. If gas is found here, Bulgaria will also receive concession payments of up to 30%, meaning every third gas molecule will contribute to the state budget.”
Separately, Austrian energy company OMV is also exploring for oil and gas in Bulgaria’s Black Sea waters through its Romanian subsidiary. OMV is optimistic about finding significant reserves, buoyed by the discovery of a gas field with an estimated 100 billion cubic meters in a neighboring block in Romania’s Black Sea waters. Initial gas production from the Romanian field is expected to begin in 2027.
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[Edited by Vince Chadwick, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara] |
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