ROUND TWO: Leaders are back at the table today for the EU summit’s second big battle – the bloc’s next long-term budget. We’ll be tracking every twist and turn from inside the summit venue in Brussels. Follow our live coverage throughout the day.
You’re reading Rapporteur on Friday 19 June. This is Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels, with Eddy Wax.
Need-to-knows:
🟢 EU leaders seek common format for Russia talks🟢 Budget fight moves into new phase🟢 Meloni attacks Spain’s migrant plan
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From the capital
Leaders arrived in Brussels fresh from the upbeat atmosphere of the G7 summit, expecting to discuss Europe’s fraught relationship with China.
Instead, the summit got hijacked by a familiar subject, Russia.
At issue was the role the EU should play in any future negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, and who should speak for the bloc when the time comes to engage with Moscow.
António Costa’s recent effort to establish a diplomatic back-channel with the Kremlin drew criticism from some Baltic and Nordic leaders.
The calls immediately fuelled speculation. Some diplomats saw the outreach as an early attempt by the European Council president to position himself as Europe’s eventual interlocutor with Moscow should serious peace talks begin.
The contacts were presented as exploratory diplomacy rather than the start of any formal negotiating track.
For now, such negotiations remain largely hypothetical. “There is no table to sit at,” one diplomat told me. But the episode nevertheless raised eyebrows among several leaders, who questioned both the timing of the outreach and the lack of prior coordination.
Inside the room, however, the issue barely registered. Four diplomats and one EU official described it as little more than a passing anecdote rather than a major point of contention.
Another diplomat said the outreach received a mixed response, while several others stressed that a clear majority of leaders ultimately backed it. The strongest reservations came from the Baltics, Denmark and other Nordic countries, which felt the outreach had not been sufficiently coordinated. Read Eddy and Magnus Lund Nielsen’s story wrapping up the first day of the summit.
The underlying debate is hardly new. Questions over who should eventually engage with Moscow have circulated both inside and outside EU rooms for months, prompting persistent speculation about which current or former leaders might take on the role.
One leader to revive the discussion was Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. According to two diplomats, the Italian prime minister again urged her counterparts to appoint a special EU envoy to open a structured dialogue with Moscow. Meloni has long been frustrated by the dominance of the E3 – Britain, France and Germany – and by diplomatic initiatives pursued outside a broader EU framework.
Costa himself has repeatedly tried to temper expectations. Last month, he argued that talks with Moscow were premature, insisting the EU would engage with Vladimir Putin only at the “right moment.”
Yet his cautious outreach has nevertheless thrust him into a debate that’s unlikely to disappear.
There was, however, a lighter moment at around 2 a.m. when Costa walked past Belgium’s Bart De Wever as he was speaking to journalists.
“I was just talking about you, António – full of praise! Saying you are the only one who can represent us and that we will send you to Moscow as quickly as possible,” De Wever joked.
“Because you don’t like me in Brussels,” Costa replied.
Leaders gear up for budget battle
The fight over the EU’s next long-term budget is entering a new phase now that the numbers are finally on the table. Leaders meet today for their first discussion since the Cypriot Council presidency unveiled its negotiating blueprint, the so-called “negobox.”
Positions remain far apart, and the figures are unlikely to survive intact. Securing the EU’s 2028-2034 budget is routinely described as the bloc’s toughest political bargain, one that often requires, as a senior official put it, “blood on the floor.”
The dividing lines are familiar. Fiscal hawks are keen to cut national contributions, while net beneficiaries seek to protect spending. Defenders of traditional programmes such as farm subsidies are also bracing for a fight with those pressing to redirect funds towards defence, competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
Who are the main camps, and what are they fighting for? Read the story by my colleague Victoria Becker and me.
Xi who must not be named
Over a dinner of Breton artichoke, roasted sea bass and apricot with cardamom last night, EU leaders turned to the question of how to shield European industries from Chinese competition.
Officials said the tone has shifted markedly. Measures once considered politically difficult because of fears of Chinese retaliation are now drawing support from a growing number of capitals, including Germany, long regarded as one of the more China-exposed EU states.
Several countries want the Commission to make more aggressive use of existing trade defence tools, particularly anti-dumping measures, in which investigations can take more than a year to conclude.
Others are pressing Brussels to develop new instruments aimed at tackling industrial overcapacity, arguing that heavily subsidised Chinese manufacturers are flooding global markets with products that European companies struggle to produce competitively.
One proposal under discussion would allow the EU to impose tariffs on imports linked to structural overcapacity. While any measure would need to remain country-neutral, officials acknowledge that China is the principal concern.
The Commission is also facing calls to accelerate efforts to diversify supply chains and reduce industrial dependence on China, particularly in strategically sensitive sectors.
Meloni v Sánchez
Giorgia Meloni took a swipe at Pedro Sánchez last night during a discussion on migration among EU leaders, arguing that Madrid’s plan to regularise hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants would have consequences beyond Spain’s borders.
What Spain is doing “affects its neighbours,” the Italian prime minister said, referring to a Spanish government-backed proposal expected to grant legal status to around 500,000 undocumented foreign residents. Read the full story.
Kallas surfs Israel row
Kaja Kallas had a bruising birthday on Thursday as Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he was cutting off ties with her over remarks comparing the situation in Gaza to apartheid-era South Africa.
The social media attack appeared carefully timed ahead of the European Council summit, where Friedrich Merz wasted no time in rebuking her upon arrival.
Eddy’s analysis is that Kallas – who remained silent on the controversy for six days – is strategically riding out the dispute to put distance between herself and Ursula von der Leyen, while shedding her earlier reputation as relatively cautious on Israel.
Kallas has been championing the “many” foreign ministers calling for additional sanctions on Israel, at times putting her at odds with fellow commissioners.
On Thursday, she sought to present herself as a staunch defender of the EU’s position on Israel and Palestine. “I can’t fight the shadows all the time,” she said. Meanwhile, the EU’s ambassador to Israel, Michael Mann, told the Jerusalem Post that the bloc does not consider Israel to be an apartheid state. Read Eddy’s full story.
Here are three new stories from Euractiv:
Schuman roundabout
ECR VOTE CHANGE: An ECR spokesperson said that the group’s co-chair Patryk Jaki has corrected his vote after casting a no vote on the EU-US trade deal this Tuesday. He now voted in favour.
The capitals
BERLIN 🇩🇪
Friedrich Merz distanced himself on Thursday from remarks by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas likening the situation in Gaza to apartheid-era South Africa, saying he did “not share the choice of words.” The rebuke came ahead of a European Council debate on the Middle East, where EU capitals remain divided over whether to pursue further sanctions against Israel. Read the full story.– Magnus Lund Nielsen
PARIS 🇫🇷
French lawmakers have agreed to a compromise bill aimed at curbing ultra-fast fashion, clearing the way for final approval later this month. The legislation, originally conceived as a broad environmental measure for the textile sector, now focuses on major Asian e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Temu while largely exempting European retailers. It would impose penalties on ultra-fast fashion products, rising to as much as 50% of a product’s pre-tax price by 2030, capped at €10 per item.– Charles Szumski
LONDON 🇬🇧
Andy Burnham won a crucial parliamentary by-election on Friday, returning the Greater Manchester mayor to Westminster and clearing the way for a widely expected challenge to Keir Starmer. Burnham secured almost 55% of the vote in Labour-held Makerfield, comfortably defeating Reform UK. Under party rules, he must be an MP to contest the Labour leadership.– Christina Zhao
MADRID 🇪🇸
Spain’s top criminal court has opened an investigation into the daughters and personal assistant of former PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as part of a probe into alleged influence peddling and money laundering linked to the bailout of airline Plus Ultra. The investigating judge said a marketing agency owned by Zapatero’s daughters may have played an “instrumental role” in the alleged scheme. Zapatero, who testified on Wednesday, denies wrongdoing.– Inés Fernández-Pontes
PRAGUE 🇨🇿
The bloc’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, is scrutinising the Czech authorities’ decision to resume EU subsidy payments to Agrofert, the conglomerate founded by Andrej Babiš. Czech media report that the review centres on whether the trust funds holding the company sufficiently mitigate conflict-of-interest concerns. OLAF said it was assessing information related to the case but had not opened a formal investigation.– Aneta Zachová
BUCHAREST 🇷🇴
Political tensions intensified in Romania on Thursday after prosecutors accused Bucharest Mayor Ciprian Ciucu of corruption. Ciucu, who denies wrongdoing, is a close ally of PM Ilie Bolojan and an opponent of President Nicușor Dan’s preferred candidate for prime minister. Allies of Bolojan alleged the investigation was politically motivated and designed to influence coalition talks. Adrian Veștea said a parliamentary vote on his premiership bid had been postponed until next week.– Matei Rosca
TIRANA 🇦🇱
The European Parliament’s latest report on Albania’s EU accession bid has intensified a dispute between environmental campaigners and PM Edi Rama over a tourism project linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Activists welcomed lawmakers’ call for a moratorium on new construction in protected areas, citing concerns over the Vjosa-Narta reserve. Rama argued the vote supported his position that the project could proceed if it meets EU environmental standards. Protests entered their 18th day on Thursday.– Bronwyn Jones
WARSAW 🇵🇱
Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski on Thursday dismissed the entire management board of the city’s Southern Hospital amid an investigation into alleged irregularities, including claims of preferential treatment for politicians and financial misconduct. Aneta Gomółka-Siembora, a healthcare audit specialist, will serve as sole chief executive and oversee cooperation with ongoing inspections. The move follows a scandal involving a former councillor accused of receiving excessive payments and operating a VIP fast-track system.– Charles Szumski
Contributors: Magnus Lund Nielsen, Victoria Becker, Pietro Guastamacchia, Bruno Waterfield, Elisa Braun, Martina Monti
Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara, Charles Szumski
Source:
www.euractiv.com