Good morning from Valencia
It’s an important week for Europe and its most powerful party family, the centre-right European People’s Party.
In Germany, the designated chancellor Friedrich Merz, a Christian Democrat, is due to present his cabinet picks on Monday. Among them will be key European roles, including the foreign minister. Reports suggest that Merz has tapped his close ally Johann Wadephul, who will also oversee the selection of Germany’s Europe minister.
With a coalition deal all but sealed, Merz is then expected to make his official EU debut as the chancellor-to-be at the EPP congress in Valencia, starting from Tuesday.
Another German will draw attention at Spain’s Costa del Azahar: Manfred Weber, the EPP’s president, who is running unopposed for a second three-year term as leader.
Valencia is a coronation mass for Weber, whose unusual dual role as party leader and president of the EPP’s parliamentary group makes him arguably the most powerful EU lawmaker in decades.
The EPP's success has put him in a relatively unchallenged position, which naturally provokes grumbling among national members, that loathe the concentration of power. It also raises questions about Weber's endgame.
Conversations with EPP officials suggest that the president is driven by a utopian, federalist, vision for his EU party, partly drawing inspiration from Angela Merkel, write Euractiv’s Nick Alipour and Nicoletta Ionta.
A shrewd operator, Weber is incrementally redistributing policymaking power from national parties and individuals to the EPP – a quest at whose end he may envisage the EPP as an actual political party, that enforces unified positions across its European machine. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto via Getty Images] |
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Better late than never. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally met US President Donald Trump in Rome on Saturday, with plans now underway for a formal meeting between the two, write Alexandra Brzozowski and Joshua Posaner.
The meeting was their first in-person conversation since Trump’s return to the White House. Senior Commission officials have been trying for months to arrange a bilateral meeting between von der Leyen and Trump without success. Until Saturday, the two hadn't formally met since Trump returned for a second term as president in January."
In their brief exchange, President von der Leyen and President Trump agreed to meet," said a Commission spokesperson on Saturday afternoon, adding that a full discussion would take place at a later date and not in Rome. They declined to comment when asked whether a formal invitation to Brussels has been issued.
This week. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that the Trump administration would decide this week whether to continue seeking a negotiated settlement over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or to shift its focus to other matters.
Meanwhile, according to a BBC analysis, there are indications that Trump may be preparing to back down on tariffs.
Tractors ready to take to the streets of Brussels again. Europe's farmers are against the European Commission’s plan to reform the Common Agricultural Policy budget and may take to the streets once again, the Copa lobby's president, Massimiliano Giansanti, told Euractiv’s Angelo Di Mambro in an interview.
In conflict with EU principles. The European Commission has told MEPs that companies that integrate China's DeepSeek AI models into their apps and platforms may be regulated under the Digital Services Act (DSA), writes Claudie Moreau. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Getty Images] |
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| BERLIN Germany became Europe's biggest defence spender for the first time since the end of the Cold War last year after spending billions on procurement, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on Monday. Read more.
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PARIS
Jordan Bardella says he will run for French presidency if Le Pen barred. The far-right National Rally’s Jordan Bardella will run to be French president in 2027 if current leader Marine Le Pen is still barred after an appeal against an embezzlement conviction, he told newspaper Le Parisien. Read more.
ArcelorMittal slashing steel jobs in France faster than the EU can respond. Even Brussels is stunned at French steel giant ArcelorMittal's 600 job cuts across seven sites in northern France. Read more.
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VIENNA
Austrian far right triples result in Vienna election. Austria’s far-right Freedom Party continued its march against the country’s political establishment in Vienna’s municipal election on Sunday, nearly tripling its result to finish a strong second behind the ruling Social Democrats. Read more.
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BRUSSELS
Belgium will hit 2% NATO defence spending target this year, says minister. Belgium will invest an extra €4 billion in military programmes to hit NATO's 2% of GDP spending target for the first time this year, Defence Minister Theo Francken has said. Read more.
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images]] |
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| ROME Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have maintained close contact in recent weeks, culminating in a phone call on Saturday evening to discuss transatlantic priorities and efforts to re-establish dialogue with Donald Trump. Read more. |
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| WARSAW
Pope’s death sways Polish election, candidate criticised over funeral conduct. In the first significant instance of Pope Francis' death impacting the presidential campaign in Poland, where more than seven in ten people identify as Catholic, one candidate faced criticism for inappropriate behavior at the funeral of the Church's leader on Saturday. Read more.
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PRAGUE Czech initiative delivers 400,000 shells to Ukraine, more aid planned. The Czech ammunition initiative will have delivered another 400,000 rounds of large-calibre ammunition to Ukraine by the end of April, Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová announced on Czech Television on Sunday. The initiative, launched by Czechia in 2024, pools international funding to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine from suppliers worldwide. Černochová recalled that last year, Czechia helped broker deliveries of around 1.5 million rounds. “We will deliver as much ammunition as we are able to procure around the world,” she said, adding that current funding could secure another 1.5 million rounds, depending on donor contributions. The goal in 2025 is to supply 125,000 shells monthly. Among countries that announced fresh financial support is Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and also Belgium. According to the Czech government, thanks to the initiative, Russia’s artillery advantage over Ukraine is shrinking. (Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
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BUDAPEST Agriculture at the centre of Orbán's latest campaign against Ukraine. Hungary's latest offensive against Kyiv's EU accession bid is in full swing, with agriculture high on the political agenda. Read more.
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BRATISLAVA
New tax reignites tensions within Fico’s fragile coalition. Slovak PM Robert Fico is standing firm on a newly introduced – and widely unpopular – financial transaction tax, despite growing pressure from within his own coalition to amend or scrap it. Read more. |
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| SOFIA
Costa: Bulgaria can play a key role in European defence. Bulgaria can play a key role in Europe's defence efforts through its defence industry, European Council President António Costa said on Sunday following a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov. Read more.
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BUCHAREST
Romania’s interim president urges swift action to reduce budget deficit. Amid growing global instability that could trigger a new financial crisis, Romania’s interim president is urging rapid measures to address the country's widening budget deficit, which has now reached 9.3%. He proposed cutting unnecessary expenditures and reforming state-owned enterprises he described as “out of control.” Ilie Bolojan also emphasised that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) will not be extended beyond the end of 2026, meaning Romania must secure the allocated funds or risk losing them. So far, Romania has accessed only €9.4 billion of the total €28.5 euros available. “It would be a real loss if we failed to absorb these funds, as it would mean missing out on much-needed investments in Romania,” Bolojan said on Saturday in an interview with Prima TV. The European Commission announced on Tuesday a budget deficit of 9.3% for Romania - the highest in the European Union. (Cătălina Mihai | Euractiv.ro) |
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- EU: Informal meeting of environment ministers expected to focus on disinformation related to climate and environmental policy, climate change adaptation, and more;
- High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas hosts Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo;
- Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera meets with Committee of the Regions President Kata Tüttő; Participates in exchange of views with Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO);
- International Partnerships Commissioner Jozef Síkela meets with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in New York, United States; Participates in Financing for Development Forum;
- Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius delivers speech at Wilfried Martens Centre on European Studies on “The Future of European Security, and Defence Cooperation with the U.S.”;
- Economy and Productivity Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis meets with New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) President Lynn Martin;
- Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs debates European Central Bank – annual report 2025.
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| [Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara] |
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