EURACTIV RAPPORTEUR - Eddy Wax, joined by Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels - the stories shaping EU and European politics.

 

Welcome to Rapporteur, the newsletter formerly known as The Capitals. I’m Eddy Wax, joined by Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels. Each day we’ll bring you up to speed on the stories shaping EU and European politics. Need-to-knows: Russia: Ursula von der Leyen says the EU will propose faster phase-out of Moscow energy Parliament: Lawmakers will vote on lifting Italian MEP Ilaria Salis’ immunity Alliances: Commission set to unveil new 'strategic agenda' with India But first, we turn to the Israel sanctions von der Leyen previewed in her State of the Union speech...

In the capital (EPA/Ronald Wittek) The punitive sanctions against Israel that the European Commission will unveil today are by now largely known – cancelling about €20 million in payments, freezing free-trade perks on around 40% of goods, and targeting extremist ministers and violent settlers in the West Bank. All are meant to pressure Israel to shift course in Gaza. What remains in doubt is if those sanctions will become reality – or, if they do, whether they will matter. The Commission can withhold bilateral payments on its own. But suspending trade perks requires a weighted majority of EU states. Germany and Italy, two of the bloc’s most populous nations, have shown reluctance to move. Their responses today will be pivotal – Nicoletta explains the backdrop here. A separate proposal to boot Israeli companies from the EU’s lucrative Horizon research program has been stuck at the same hurdle for close to two months, with Rome and Berlin among those refusing to budge. Hungary, meanwhile, blocks moves to sanction settlers, which require unanimous support. Inside the Berlaymont, Hungarian Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi voiced opposition to the new measures, two sources told Rapporteur – though he is not expected to prevent adoption. For von der Leyen, the stakes are political as well as geopolitical. Facing two concurrent censure votes in Parliament, she has managed to placate the Socialists but now risks a backbench rebellion from her own base – a year after she ran for re-election as the European People’s Party’s lead candidate. Just last week, 20 centre-right German MEPs, including Foreign Affairs Committee chair David McAllister, voted against a resolution backing these measures. She will leave today's presentation to Kaja Kallas and Maroš Šefčovič. An EU diplomat told Nicoletta that the Commission chief “effectively neutralised part of the opposition in the European Parliament with a proposal where she can also place the blame on the Council." That being said, Germany’s position as Israel’s ultimate defender has shifted slightly in recent weeks. Friedrich Merz restricted arms sales for use in Gaza, breaking a longstanding taboo, though he and his foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, have avoided taking a stance on the EU sanctions proposed by von der Leyen. With the continent in a supplicatory position vis-à-vis the US, the Commission also risks provoking Donald Trump, whose administration remains an uncritical supporter of Israel. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, appeared intent on amplifying that risk in a letter to von der Leyen – copying US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – in which he accused her of acting in bad faith and making a “clear attempt to harm Israel.”

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Trump rewrites EU’s new Russia sanctions The Commission will propose “speeding up the phase-out of Russian fossil imports” in its next sanctions package, von der Leyen said in a social media post last night, following a phone call with Trump. She stated in August that the package would come in early September, but it is yet to materialise – caught up in Trump’s threat that he would only impose major sanctions on Russia if Europe fully quits Moscow energy, and slap tariffs on China. Von der Leyen's new pledge – already under discussion within the EU – suggests the deadlock may soon end. As Euractiv's energy reporter Niko J. Kurmayer writes, Hungary and Slovakia remain the most exposed. In August, they imported €400 million worth of crude oil and around €220 million of gas from Russia. The EU is currently negotiating a law to ban short-term natural gas purchases by 2026 and long-term contracts by the end of 2027. That timeline may now be accelerated. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Euractiv the ban should happen “as soon as possible,” and in talks with his EU counterpart, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, floated a six- to twelve-month horizon. MEPs to weigh immunity of far-left colleague The European Parliament will vote next week on whether to lift Italian MEP Ilaria Salis’s immunity, in a case that has laid bare ideological rifts within the chamber and fraught ties with Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. Salis, 40, was arrested in Budapest in February 2023 after alleged clashes with far-right protesters and spent more than a year in a Hungarian prison. In June, she won election with Italy’s Greens and Left, a move her supporters said was intended to aid her release. Her earlier court appearance in Budapest, shackled and bound by a waist leash, drew international outrage. Zucman tax takes France by storm Paris begins crucial budget talks today as PM Sébastien Lecornu meets Socialist leaders pressing for a new wealth tax. The left is pushing economist Gabriel Zucman’s plan to impose a 2% levy on households worth more than €100 million. Business leaders warn of expropriation, but polls suggest strong public support. Laurent Geslin explores the man behind the controversial tax here. Civil society chief says he’s made niche body more relevant “We increased the impact of the committee,” Oliver Röpke told Rapporteur as he presided over his final plenary of the European Economic and Social Committee – a body that gives workers, employers, and civil society groups a say in Brussels policymaking. Röpke, who will join the UN International Labour Organisation, said the committee’s non-binding opinions have gotten more attention from lawmakers and even the Council during his 2½-year tenure. “They always take at least parts of them into consideration,” the Austrian trade unionist said. He also sought to involve civil society groups from EU candidate countries in the committee's work. As the institution asks for a 7% budget increase to €186 million for 2026, Röpke defended the expense: “We have people who stand for millions of constituencies.” Climate change killed 16,500 citizens this summer A new study found climate change caused 16,500 heat-related deaths in major European cities this summer, Thomas Mangin reports.

The capitals PARIS  Culture Minister Rachida Dati is under investigation for failing to declare jewellery to the country’s transparency watchdog, according to prosecutors. Dati, who is running for mayor in this capital, also faces trial alongside former Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn on charges, including corruption, influence peddling, and concealment of abuse of power. Investigators allege she was paid €900,000 between 2010 and 2012, while serving as an MEP, for consultancy work that was never carried out. LONDON  Trump has landed in the UK for his second state visit, a spectacle of pageantry that PM Kier Starmer had hoped would project authority. Instead, it comes amid political disarray: the firing of Washington envoy Peter Mandelson, a far-right surge on the streets, and polls showing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK ahead. King Charles will host Trump today at Windsor Castle before he joins Starmer for a military ceremony. MADRID  Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo announced on Tuesday a 2.7% growth forecast for 2025, saying the country had “recovered from COVID without any scars” and would be “the fastest-growing advanced economy.” He also projected the creation of 500,000 new jobs between 2025 and 2026, which would bring the active workforce to 23 million. ROME  Ministers Carlo Nordio and Matteo Piantedosi, joined by undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, defended their handling of the Almasri case in a memorandum, saying they acted in the “prevailing national interest.” They argued that the decision to let Libyan security chief Osama Almasri – accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) – return home was aimed at avoiding reprisals against Italians and protecting strategic assets in Libya. WARSAW  President Karol Nawrocki said Germany must pay World War II reparations to “end this issue once and for all,” in comments to Bild. He recently pressed the demand in meetings with Merz and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, though Berlin again rejected it. BUCHAREST  Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian Romanian politician, went on trial Tuesday on charges of complicity in attempted acts against the constitutional order and of spreading false information. He is among 22 defendants accused of planning to infiltrate post-election protests to sow chaos. LISBON  PM Luís Montenegro cast Portugal as the bright spot in Europe and urged the EU to change course to avoid “political withering away.” Addressing students at the Catholic University, Montenegro argued that his country has become a model of credibility, with growth above the EU average, repeated budget surpluses, and rising wages despite tax cuts.

Also on Euractiv Fraud cases shadow EU's €300 billion farm fund reshuffle Just as Brussels prepares to allocate €300 billion in agricultural subsidies, Europe’s prosecutors are warning of “serious deficiencies” in the way fraud is uncovered. Recent cases stretch from Latvia to Greece, where ministers resigned over misuse of EU farm funds. The concerns come as national shares of the bloc’s farm budget are set to be unveiled – shifting money away from France, Germany, and Spain toward smaller member states. Hungary sees no need for NATO backup in its airspace Hungary’s defence ministry has said it will not request additional NATO deployments under “Eastern Sentry,” the alliance’s new air initiative launched after Russian drones entered Polish airspace. While Orbán acknowledged the risks posed by the war in Ukraine, Budapest is reinforcing its own air defences and flying joint patrols, even as other European allies commit fighters, helicopters, and frigates to NATO’s eastern flank.