Good morning from Washington.
US President Trump stated on Sunday that he would postpone the implementation of a 50 per cent tariff on all imports from the European Union until 9 July, in order to allow more time for trade negotiations, writes Aurélie Pugnet.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had spoken with Commission president Ursula regarding his recent threat to introduce the tariffs on 1 June if a trade agreement could not be reached within the following week.
Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media she had a "good call" with Donald Trump and indicated she appealed for more time for negotiations. Trump spent Friday vowing to hit the European Union with the tariffs from 1 June – but von der Leyen said on Sunday that an extra five weeks are needed to hammer out an agreement.
"Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively," von der Leyen wrote. "To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9."
The EU executive is in charge of the bloc's commercial policy, and it leads negotiations with the US on tariffs against EU countries.
The 9 July date cited by von der Leyen is when Trump's 90-day pause on a different set of tariffs he'd threatened back in April is due to expire.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat was that so many people were surprised, writes Thomas Moller-Nielsen. That tariff threat bodes ill for EU-China ties. |
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| Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv, in the largest aerial attack of the war so far, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more, officials said. Trump declared: Putin “has gone absolutely CRAZY!” |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images] |
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Ursula von der Leyen's office has recommended that her team of commissioners avoid attending a Pride march in Budapest next month in order not to "provoke" Viktor Orbán's Hungarian government, multiple sources told Thomas Mangin.
Weighing extension. What started as an emergency fix for Ukrainians fleeing war is now testing the limit of the EU law, with Brussels preparing for what comes next, writes Nicoletta Ionta.
Accusing innovative pharma. Adrian van den Hoven, the director general of the generics industry group Medicines for Europe, has accused the innovative pharmaceuticals industry of having bowed to pressure from US President Donald Trump and decided to relocate to the United States. But in an interview with Brenda Strohmaier and Sarantis Michalopoulos, he also questioned the support offered to the pharmaceuticals sector by EU countries.
‘Political pressure.’ The Council of Europe's leader denounced attempts at "politicising" the European Court of Human Rights on Saturday in a direct rebuke to several countries that signed an open letter challenging the court's rulings on migration, writes Aurélie Pugnet.
New push. A coalition of 11 countries, led by Austria and Luxembourg, is calling for the bloc’s anti-deforestation law to be included in upcoming plans to ease regulatory burdens on EU farmers, writes Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro.
‘Surf and turf.’ Greece and Italy, supported by nine EU countries, urge the Commission to keep agriculture and fisheries budgets separate at Monday’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council, despite its plan to merge them, writes Alice Bergoënd.
Satellite cybersecurity. EU ministers adopted today a set of conclusions on the use of satellite data, agreeing only to the "importance of protecting" space infrastructure rather than on any measures to actually do it, writes Théophane Hartmann. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Photo by Stephane Grangier - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images] |
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| PARIS Labels certifying local food sourcing and fair pay for farmers are gaining ground in France as organic products, which are often more expensive, struggle to maintain consumer interest. Read more. ///
BERLIN
German court rules against consumer effort to stop Meta training AI on user data. A regional court in Cologne today dismissed a consumer group's request to stop Meta from using Instagram and Facebook users' personal information to train its AI system. Read more.
German climate minister denies policy shift on nuclear energy. German Climate and Environment Minister Carsten Schneider has dismissed Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche's suggestion that EU money could be used to support nuclear research, calling it her "private opinion". Read more. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [EPA-EFE/RICCARDO ANTIMIANI] |
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| COPENHAGEN | ROME Denmark and Italy – flanked by other migration hardliners – have gone public with a bold call to rethink the European Court of Human Rights, confirming Euractiv’s earlier reports. Read more. |
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| | [Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images] |
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| ROME
Musk’s Starlink may soon provide Wi-Fi on Italy’s high-speed trains. Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini announced on Saturday that a two-week trial has begun to test internet service on Italian high-speed trains, using two providers – one of them being Elon Musk’s Starlink. Meanwhile, talks over the separate €1.5 billion, five-year deal between Italy and Musk’s SpaceX – covering encrypted government communications, military networks, and emergency satellite services – remain stalled. Andrea Stroppa, Musk’s representative in Italy, told La Stampa on Thursday the negotiations have been frozen for “six months or more.” He also claimed Industry Minister Adolfo Urso had told the Supreme Defense Council that Italy plans to build its own low-orbit satellite network within five years, without SpaceX. Urso dismissed Stroppa’s claim as “surprising,” stressing that the Council’s meetings are classified. However, his reaction has been widely seen in the press as an implicit confirmation that the satellite issue was indeed discussed. (Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it) |
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| WARSAW Beer, marches and snus – a highly political weekend in Poland. With the presidential runoff in Poland scheduled for this coming Sunday, the country has just had an intensely political weekend – from a controversy surrounding Friday’s debate, to an uproar over a Saturday night beer outing, and finally to two rival marches taking place on the streets of Warsaw on Sunday. Read more. /// PRAGUE
Europe is ready to strike back if Trump imposes 50% tariffs, Czech foreign minister says. If the United States goes ahead with plans to impose 50% tariffs on EU imports starting in June, Europe must respond in kind, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (independent) said on Czech Television on Sunday. “Europe is ready and we must make it clear to the US that if they impose tariffs on us, we are ready to do the same,” Lipavský said, adding that negotiations with the US should continue until any measures are actually enacted. Lipavský said the EU is handling the threat appropriately so far and that he trusts the approach taken by European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. “We are negotiating with a cool head. It's good that Europe is not reacting hysterically, but at the same time, it already has a retaliatory package ready,” he said. (Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz) |
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| BUCHAREST
Bucharest Gendarmerie on alert ahead of Dan’s inauguration. The Bucharest Gendarmerie is on high alert after hundreds of TikTok accounts began promoting a protest scheduled for Monday, the day President-elect Nicușor Dan is set to be sworn in before Parliament. In a message posted on social media, AUR leader and former presidential candidate George Simion urged his supporters to take to the streets in protest against the presidential election results.“Come out, brothers, and join the protests. I urge you to participate in peaceful demonstrations,” Simion said, adding that he would not attend himself, claiming the authorities might use his presence as a pretext ”to arrest me”, or provoke violence. His call quickly gained traction, with numerous TikTok accounts intensively promoting the planned protest. The demonstration is expected to take place near the Parliament building, where the official inauguration of Nicușor Dan is scheduled for Monday at noon. The Bucharest Gendarmerie has stated that no protest by AUR supporters has been officially authorized. Nonetheless, security forces will be deployed in the area as a precaution, to prevent any potential incidents. (Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro) |
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- EU: Foreign Affairs Council in its Development composition convenes to discuss Ukraine, EU-Africa relations, multiannual financial framework, and more;
- Agriculture and Fisheries Council expected to focus on market situation, vision for agriculture and food;
- Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera receives European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño;
- Vice President Henna Virkkunen visits IMEC (Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre), meets CEO and President Luc Van den hove;
- Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath delivers opening address at Global Economic Forum, in Kerry, Ireland;
- Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen receives European Heat Pump Association representatives;
- Parliament’s Committee on Development delegation on official visit to Mauritania; Committee on Budgetary Control delegation on official visit to Slovakia; Subcommittee on Tax Matters on official visit to United Arab Emirates; Committee on Public Health ad-hoc mission on official visit to World Health Assembly, in Geneva, Switzerland; Special Committee on European Democracy Shield delegation on official visit to Chișinău, Moldova.
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| [Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara] |
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