Hello from Brussels. In the Mared Gwynpenning the newsletter again this morning. My colleague Angela Skujins will be with you tomorrow.
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Later today, EU foreign ministers will gather in Cyprus for a dinner ahead of Thursday’s informal meeting – a six-monthly, intimate format which allows ministers to have frank dialogue.
High on their agenda is the question of whether the bloc should break the diplomatic isolation imposed on Russia in early 2022 and engage in direct peace talks. The idea, which has received public backing from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, continues to divide member states, with some worrying the cons would outweigh the pros, my colleague Jorge Liboreiro writes in to report.
In an interview with Euronews on Tuesday, France’s Minister for EU Affairs, Benjamin Haddadsaid Europe needs to “be ready” to have its “own diplomatic track” with Russia, but that “the priority now clearly is to continue to support Ukraine and to increase the pressure on Russia”.
Haddad’s cautious comments represent a walk-back of France’s earlier position. The French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the first promoters of opening diplomatic channels with Russia, and sent his diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne for talks with the Kremlin in February, only to be rebuffed in comments by the Russian Foreign Minister.
Meanwhile, countries on Europe’s eastern flank have consistently been more cautious in their approach. Romania’s Foreign Minister Oana Țoiualso speaking exclusively to Euronews on Tuesday, said that before “talking about any names or envoys” the EU needs to make sure it is consistently “increasing the pressure in terms of sanctions” on Russia.
Speaking from Lithuania on Tuesday, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna pointedly warned that direct talks would turn the EU into a “neutral mediator” expected to provide sanctions relief to Moscow. Meanwhile, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said that Russia would try to turn any outreach into a “PR game” and the EU would “end up more or less with nothing”.
“Russia really hates the EU and NATO as a collective force because then we’re much stronger. They try to divide us. If we’re able to reach a common position, I think that Russia will lose the interest to negotiate,” Rinkēvičs said.
The debate among foreign ministers will take place against the backdrop of Russia’s open threat to attack European diplomats based in Kyiv, which Brussels has strongly rebuffed. “Kind of hard to talk to people who want to kill you,” a senior official told Jorge. A diplomat said that discussing names for a potential envoy was “simply stupid” at this stage.
Also worth your attention this morning: Giorgia Meloni’s biting criticism of the European Union.
At a gathering of industry leaders led by the powerful Cofindustria business lobby in Rome on Tuesday, Meloni told the audience the EU should do less better, describing the Union as a bureaucratic giant that sacrifices growth on an “altar of ideological, technocratic approaches”.
Meloni’s comments come amid brewing tension between Rome and Brussels. The Italian government expressed frustration at the Commission last week, arguing Brussels has done next to nothing to tackle the energy crisis as a result of the war in Iran. In a leaked letter, Rome argument Brussels must treat the situation as a real emergency and pitched a carve-out for energy measures in the bloc’s fiscal rules, as has been done for defense spending.
So far, the EU executive has dismissed the idea on the basis that extraordinary budget measures can only be applied in a case of serious economic downturn. This year, Brussels sees a slowdown in growth, but no recession.
But Meloni is also looking ahead to 2027 elections and to the prospect of securing a second term – and is determined to avoid a campaign marred by the cost of living and high energy prices. The opposition argues she has done little to cushion the impact of the crisis for Italian households and the industry.
‘No alternative to full EU membership’, Ukraine’s deputy PM tells Euronews
Brussels must speed up Ukraine’s EU accession process and full membership remains the only option, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Taras Kachka, has told Euronews’ Sasha Vakulina.
“There are no alternatives for the fast, merit-based, but full membership in the European Union,” Kachka said in an exclusive interview with Euronews on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pitched the idea that Ukraine could become an “associate member” of the EU before becoming a fully-fledged member state.
Kachka rejected the idea, calling it “unacceptable if it is an alternative to full membership.”
He stated that Ukraine needs a “fast, comprehensive, normal accession process that will end with the signing of a treaty of accession under Article 49 of the Treaty of the European Union.”
Watch the full interview.
Major NATO military exercise underway near Finnish-Russian border
9000 NATO soldiers from Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, France, United Kingdom, United States, Italy, Hungary and Poland are taking part in a major military exercise at the Vuosanka military training ground, around 30 km from the Russian border, where our correspondent Shona Murray reports.
For over a month, NATO’s Northern Star exercise brings Baltic and other nations together amid the ramped-up threat of drone incursions within this territory.
A key priority for the nations is modernization of NATO’s deterrence force given the significant role drones are playing on the battlefield in Ukraine, as well as the constant threat of Russian either through drones or GPS aggression jamming of drones across the Baltic/NATO territory.
Meanwhile, NATO countries are slowly finding out further details of America’s long-term strategy of drawing away assets available to allies in the event of a war or invasion.
The US under President Donald Trump is now fundamentally shifting away from its role as a guarantor of European security architecture and traditional alliances. Several fighter jets, certain drones, submarines and warships will eventually be phased out from the pool of resources accessible by NATO allies when they’re in need.
More from our newsrooms
Exclusive: EU pushes silent approval for energy grid permits. The tacit approval of permits for new energy projects has emerged as one of the most politically explosive issues in the EU’s negotiations over the renewal of its aging power grids, according to a document seen by Euronews. Martha Pacheco has more.
‘Danger to the region’: EU and UNICEF send 100 tonnes of aid to DR Congo amid Ebola outbreak. The European Union and UNICEF have sent 100 tons of humanitarian supplies to the Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo to support the Ebola response, with the EU also contributing €7.4 million to the development of vaccines and treatments in collaboration with the World Health Organization. More.
Israel expands military ground operations in southern Lebanon as clashes with Hezbollah intensify. Israel’s military clashed with the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group on Tuesday along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to expand Israeli operations in the country. Jerry Fisayo-Bambi hasthe details.
We’re also keeping an eye on
- EU foreign ministers gather in Cyprus for dinner later ahead of tomorrow’s informal talks.
- European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib delivers a communication on humanitarian aid.
- European Parliament President Roberta Metsola continues her visit to Silicon Valley.
That’s it for today. Jorge Liboreiro, Maria Tadeo, Shona Murray, Sasha Vakulina and Marta Pacheco contributed to this newsletter.