8:51 AM (4 hours ago)
EURACTIV
Rapporteur
Welcome to Tuesday's Rapporteur. This is Eddy Wax in Brussels, with Nicoletta Ionta.
Send us your tips, documents and story ideas: eddy.wax@euractiv.com and nicoletta.ionta@euractiv.com
Need-to-knows:
🟢 Trump sparks calls for EU reform – but there are no new ideas
🟢 Mercosur put on ice as MEPs vote on farmer protections
🟢 Socialists reach for MAGA playbook in Qatargate fight
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From the capital
Is this the week the EU tears itself apart?
With a climactic summit just days away, EU countries are growing more divided over the Mercosur trade deal and how to finance Ukraine. The tensions come as Donald Trump supercharges his support for Europe’s anti-EU far right, and literally rolls out the red carpet for the AfD in the US.
Common wisdom holds that Washington’s increasingly brutal scission with Europe should galvanise support for a more integrated EU – if not a full “United States of Europe,” then at least deeper coordination on foreign policy and defence.
And there are some signs of this impulse. Last week, Italy's foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, called for merging the presidencies of the European Council and Commission into one job, relax unanimity requirements on foreign policy, and give the European Parliament which he once led the right of legislative initiative.
In a recent op-ed, EU veterans Josep Borrell, Enrico Letta and Danuta Hübner called to overhaul the Treaties, arguing “only a more federal Europe” can meet the continent’s many challenges.
The problem is the federalist ideal seems passé, not helped by the fact the list of signatories to the declaration underpinning the article contained the word “former” no less than 37 times.
If the upheaval of the pandemic – which sparked Emmanuel Macron’s fast-forgotten Conference on the Future of Europe – failed to produce treaty reform, it is unclear why this new cocktail of challenges would succeed. Who has the stomach for it?
EU leaders are too busy infighting. Although the bloc now has a dedicated defence commissioner, he largely acts as a think-tanker, while national governments jealously guard their prerogatives from Brussels – a dynamic well documented by my colleague Charles Cohen. Ursula von der Leyen has long called for eliminating the veto on foreign policy, but capitals have shown little appetite to act.
“My impression is that the appetite for treaty change didn’t grow,” said Sven Simon, a federalist centre-right MEP.
With a strong pinch of realpolitik, an old proposal is now resurfacing. It goes like this: “A core group – maybe half the Union, with several medium-sized and big states – could voluntarily give up veto rights and move ahead on shared foreign policy goals, while keeping the door open to others.”
Those are the words of Bertelsmann’s Daniela Schwarzer, a professor who penned an influential report on preparing the EU for enlargement in 2023 and spoke to my colleague Magnus Lund Nielsen.
It is gaining traction among politicians tired of Hungary’s repeated obstruction of Ukraine’s accession. The idea may feature in an EPP paper that MEPs will draft next spring on the future of the EU.
Sceptics, however, question whether procedural workarounds of this kind can deliver genuine political power. Štefan Auer, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong, argues that the EU “cannot become a powerful geopolitical actor because it is in no position to develop military capabilities.”
Europe, he said, could still become more influential only if nations “reclaim more power and find new ways of working together.”
What just happened in Berlin?
Trump said a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine was “closer now than we have ever been” after talks in Berlin on Monday between US and EU leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as Europe floated a multinational force to help enforce a potential peace agreement.
The discussions, described by Friedrich Merz as opening a “real peace process,” centred on US-backed security guarantees for Ukraine, including continued military support, a force of up to 800,000 troops, and a US-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism, though sharp divisions remain over territory.
US officials warned Kyiv that the offer, described as NATO Article 5-like in deterrent effect, would not remain open indefinitely, while Zelenskyy said talks were “productive” but confirmed there was no agreement on ceding land to Russia – which has yet to respond publicly to the latest proposal and has previously rejected any European policing role.
Reparations groan
Kaja Kallas struck an unusually sombre tone at Monday’s meeting of foreign ministers, warning that leaders could yet fail to secure Belgium’s backing for the proposed “reparations loan” at a decisive summit on Thursday, according to my colleague Thomas Møller-Nielsen.
“I'm optimistic by nature, but I'm also seeing how difficult it is,” she said. EU envoys met late into the night to try to bridge differences with Belgium and are due to reconvene on Tuesday.
Belgium, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and Czechia want alternative funding options, including joint EU debt, to support Kyiv. Germany insists the reparations loan remains the only viable route, while Hungary and Slovakia are resisting both the use of Russian assets and additional taxpayer funding. A senior diplomat declined to speculate on whether Belgium could be overridden, telling Rapporteur the issue is “extremely delicate.”
Kallas meets Witkoff
Kallas will travel to The Hague today for a conference on establishing an international claims commission for crimes committed in Ukraine during Russia’s war, which Zelenskyy is also expected to attend.
She is due to hold talks with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, after their video dial-in to Monday's meeting in Brussels was disrupted by technical issues. “I don't know if it was a cyber-attack, but definitely the technology didn't work correctly,” Kallas said, only half-smiling.
France cancels von der Leyen’s Christmas
MEPs will vote today in Strasbourg on safeguard clauses for politically sensitive farm products under the EU-Mercosur trade deal, a key step ahead of a possible signing later this week, my colleague Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro reports.
The safeguards, unveiled by the Commission in October to reassure farmers and sceptical nations – notably France – have already been approved unchanged by EU governments. Parliament, however, is pushing broader amendments that would require South American producers to meet EU standards to access the bloc's markets.
The vote may end up as a sideshow. France has called for a delay, and Reuters reported that Italy swung behind it last night. As a result, Von der Leyen’s signing ceremony planned in Brazil on 20 December is now in doubt. It’s still technically possible that the pro-trade Danes will schedule a final vote on the deal – at least according to an agenda published late on Monday.
Van der Leyen
The Commission is gearing up to boost small electric cars and vans, with fresh legislative proposals landing today in an automotive omnibus package, according to a draft seen by Nicoletta and Stefano Porciello.
Carmakers would be rewarded with extra CO₂ credits if they bring a new category of small electric vehicles to market – an idea Ursula 'van' der Leyen floated in September.
In parallel, Brussels is working on a separate proposal that could soften the EU’s 2035 zero-emission target, potentially keeping combustion-engine cars on the road beyond the deadline.
They’re simplifying food now
I’ve never seen red tape in my food. But today the Commission will launch a food safety simplification package, which is spooking scientists concerned about laxer pesticide rules.
My colleague Alice Bergoënd, who scooped an explosive earlier draft, reports that more than 50 scientists have written to von der Leyen with concerns about plans to make the approval period for most active substances in pesticides unlimited.
S&D’s Trumpian Qatargate turn
When Qatargate erupted, the ashen-faced Socialists promised huge reforms and pledged to stamp out corruption among their MEPs.
Three years on, they’ve chucked that in and have decided to blame the prosecutors instead.
Two Italian members of the group, whom the Socialists readmitted while they were wanted for questioning in the corruption probe, face votes today: Alessandra Moretti could see her immunity lifted, while Elisabetta Gualmini is likely to retain hers.
The delegation’s leader, Nicola Zingaretti, downplayed the allegations, saying parts had proven “unfounded.”
“The fight against corruption is not in question, nor is the daily commitment to combating any illegal behaviour, but it is clear that in this case, the pillars of the rule of law are at stake,” he said, borrowing straight from the defence of Eva Kaili and Francesco Giorgi, two of the main suspects in the case.
Manfred’s secret plan for Udo
Rapporteur doesn’t have a crystal ball – only good sources. As we reported would happen in our 4 November edition, Manfred Weber last night parachuted his right-hand man Udo Zolleis into a cushy job as director for academia in Parliament. Full story here.
But is it all part of a bigger plan? Three people independently told Euractiv they suspect Zolleis – who is known to be indispensable to Weber – won’t be consulting academic tomes in Strasbourg research service for long. Having successfully promoted him to a director position, Weber could now bring him back to the group on a higher salary, perhaps as deputy secretary general under Ouarda Bensouag.
At the same meeting, MEPs pored over a document – seen by Rapporteur – that shows how €46 million of taxpayers' money for Europe-wide political parties will be divided in 2026. The payouts reflect their relative size. The EPP tops the table with €11.6 million, trailed by the Socialists (PES) on €8.9 million. Patriots for Europe receive €5.6 million, ahead of the ECR on €4.6 million. ALDE and the Greens follow with just under €4 million each, while smaller parties, like the AfD’s Europe of Sovereign Nations, split the rest.
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