'Broken' Franco-German tandem needs Tusk and Trump

Good morning from Brussels,

As the relationship between Germany’s Olaf Scholz and France’s Emmanuel Macron appears “broken” over the issue of Ukraine, hopes for a sustainable fix rest on the Weimar Triangle format and even the return of an old nemesis.

Military support for Ukraine is expected to be addressed at a meeting of the Franco-German-Polish Weimar Triangle forum later today, which will include Scholz, Macron, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Berlin.

This meeting came a day after the French President gave an interview in which he said that he could not rule out “taking new initiatives at the European level” when tensions were mounting over sending European troops to Ukraine.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is expected to start an “intensive” EU election campaign in May with several “thematic” events across Europe, a source familiar with the matter from the European People’s Party (EPP) headquarters in Brussels told Euractiv.

European Commissioner Gentiloni recently suggested that funding for the EU’s digital and green transitions - crucial for von der Leyen's re-election - "will largely rely on private resources".

But according to experts, the EU's recent push to encourage the private sector to step in to finance critical investment is both unrealistic and misguided, Thomas Moller-Nielsen writes.

Furthermore, the EU’s democratic oversight is now under scrutiny as the European Parliament filed a landmark suit against Commission over €10.2 billion in funds for Hungary.
However, a rocky road lies ahead as the Parliament now needs to build a bulletproof case, Max Griera explains in his article.
Meanwhile, EU humanitarian chief urges Israel to enable better land access to Gaza as famine looms, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič Lenarčič told a group of reporters, including Euractiv, in Brussels.

PARIS

Commenting on his recent statements on the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a television interview on Thursday that France would “never go on the offensive” but reiterated his goal of making Russia lose. Read more.

France’s Macron faces backlash over U-turn on legal definition of rape. In a video seen by AFP on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was in favour of including the notion of consent in the criminal definition of rape – a significant U-turn, given that France opposed the idea in an EU directive in February. Read more.

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BERLIN

EU delegation of German far-right faces revolt before European Elections. In an unprecedented move, outgoing members in the European Parliament of Germany’s far-right AfD have elected a new delegation chair, defying a direct request by the party leadership not to go through with it. Read more.

COPENHAGEN

Danish government’s plan to extend military service ‘unrealistic’, says union. The government’s recent proposal to extend compulsory military service from four to 11 months is “unrealistic,” mainly due to a lack of capacity, a leading union representing Danish armed forces personnel told Danish media on Thursday. Read more.

ATHENS

EU Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi has said the Greek authorities are posing obstacles in her investigation over a train accident last year which killed 57 people, mainly youngsters. Read more.

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ROME

Italian majority split on third term for regional governors. Tensions are rising among the majority parties in Italy’s ruling coalition after a proposal by Matteo Salvini’s Lega (ID) to extend the maximum term of office for regional governors to three years failed to convince the right-wing coalition’s other partners — a move that could reshape the power dynamics within the government and Lega ahead of June’s EU elections. Read more.

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MADRID

Spanish parliament OKs amnesty law, right-wing opposition announces block in Senate. The Spanish parliament has approved a bill that would pardon Catalan separatists who committed unlawful acts between 2012 and 2023, but with the text now heading to the Senate, the party with a majority in the higher house, the right-wing Partido Popular (PP), has said it will try to block the process. Read more.

BRATISLAVA

Slovak opposition reignites anti-government protests amid democratic concerns. Anti-government protests organised by Slovakia’s opposition parties, which have attracted tens of thousands of people in recent months, have resumed after a five-week break, citing the government’s constant attacks on Slovak democracy and the country’s reputation. Read more.

BUCHAREST

Romania delays adoption of energy and climate plan, casts doubt on renewable targets. The Romanian government will neither adopt its National Integrated Energy and Climate Change Plan before the expected 30 June deadline nor will the country meet the EU’s renewable energy targets, an energy ministry official said on Thursday. Read more.

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SOFIA

French company likely to supply new radars for Bulgarian army. French defence company Thales likely won the bid to supply Bulgaria’s army with new 3D surveillance radars for €142 million - a 25% decrease from the €200 million price Thales initially wanted Sofia to pay for them. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]