Why the next EU Commission’s enlargement portfolio could be its most wanted

Good morning from Brussels,

In the next European Commission mandate, the enlargement and neighbourhood file is expected to be one of the most prized possessions when it comes to distributing EU top jobs between member states.

“Let’s face it, the key task for that file in the next term will be ‘to get Ukraine done’ and keep others reforming, which will be a monumental task,” one EU diplomat told Euractiv on the condition of anonymity.

Several EU member states, including Austria, Sweden, and Greece—have been eying the file for their candidate, but not all of them are deemed up to the job.

Alexandra Brzozowski digs deeper.

The EU’s treaties explicitly state the European Commission should be ‘impartial’, something that the current EU executive has not followed, European Council President Charles Michel told several European media, including Euractiv.

While last week’s Chinese threats of a potential retaliation to EU duties on electric vehicles were not deemed a gamechanger by analysts, the option of negotiations is increasingly seen as an alternative to hardline tariffs from Europe – where a potential preliminary tariff announcement could serve as an ‘opening bid’ for talks. Jonathan Packroff has more.

Meanwhile, the lead candidate for the European Commission presidency for the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Nicolas Schmit, explained to Euractiv why over-regulation isn’t Europe’s main problem, while Parliament Environment Committee Chair Pascal Canfin told Euractiv’s Paul Messad that the Green Deal is a “job done”.

WARSAW

The European elections in Poland are set to be another battle between the two main rival parties, with Jarosław Kaczyński’s conservative PiS (ECR) and Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO, EPP) neck-and-neck in the polls. Read more.
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MADRID

Spain’s EU vote tainted by national topics amid warnings of far-right surge. The European campaign in Spain has been driven by sensitive national issues: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s ruling Socialists warn of the dangerous rise of the Spanish far-right, while opposition Partido Popular (EPP) attacks what it calls the Socialists’ “surrender” to the Catalan separatists. Read more.

BERLIN

New EU priorities, such as defence, should not come at the cost of helping poorer EU regions, European Commissioner for Cohesion Elisa Ferreira told Euractiv on Monday in Berlin. Read more.

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PARIS

French government dodges no-confidence votes as support wanes ahead of EU election. The French government survived two no-confidence votes in response to its announcement of further budget cuts on Monday, a development that threatens to erode further the already dwindling popularity of President Emmanuel Macron’s camp ahead of Sunday’s European elections. Read more.

TALLINN

EU elections in Estonia kick off with technical difficulties for online voting. The European elections began on Monday in Estonia, with people voting in person and online amid technical problems with the online voting platform. Read more.

ATHENS

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday that he would likely be the EU centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) main negotiator after the European elections on 9 June. Read more.

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MADRID

Spain’s ECR member VOX will not back von der Leyen. The far-right VOX party will not support a second term for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU/EPP), Jorge Buxadé, the lead candidate of the Spanish ‘ultra’ party, told Spanish public media RNE on Monday, adding her group in the European Parliament almost always sides with the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) on key EU issues. Read more.

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ROME

Italian ministers dismiss next commissioner rumours. Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti (Lega/ID) and EU Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR) have dismissed rumours they are in the running to become the next commissioner for Italy, despite Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (Forza Italia/EPP) calling them fit for the job and media speculation about their candidacy. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgarian president hints at rethink over backing Serbia’s EU membership. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has hinted that Sofia may reassess support for Serbia’s EU membership because of how Belgrade treats the Bulgarian minority in the country. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Liene Lūsīte, Alice Taylor]