Could French far-right threaten EU’s Ukraine aid?

Good morning from Paris,

Brussels and Kyiv are concerned about the possibility of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party rising to power in France.

“I don't see how the RN ministers who will sit in the European institutions can be forced to follow the line defined by (French President) Emmanuel Macron,” a European Commission source responsible for Ukraine aid programmes told Euractiv.

Analysts told Laurent Geslin in Paris that RN could join forces with other countries, such as Hungary, whose opposition to Ukraine aid has so far been isolated.

Read the whole story.

Meanwhile, the EU formally launched accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday.

Alexandra Brzozowski spoke to both countries’ negotiators about their expectations.

EU leaders representing the three main political groups agreed on Tuesday on the EU top job package that would put incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen forward for a second term, Euractiv has learnt.

See also here for estimations on how citizens voted in the EU elections.

The hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group will elect its chair during a constitutive meeting starting at 11:00. Incumbent co-chairman Nicola Procaccini of Fratelli d’Italia, is running again with high chances, as his party holds the most seats in the group. No other candidacies have been made public, but the other co-chair will likely stem from the second biggest party within ECR, Poland’s PiS.

On a policy level, Aurélie Pugnet reports that EU countries are expected to advance defence industry policy talks despite France’s opposition. This is not the case, though, for the New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) legislation as the deadlock in the Council persists, writes Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro.

Last but not least, the Commission said in a formal ‘statement of objections’ on Tuesday that Microsoft had violated EU antitrust rules by bundling its Teams app with its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 productivity suites. Julia Tar has more.

BERLIN

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has second thoughts about forming a new parliamentary group out of fringe parties from the right, fearing close association with more extreme nationalistic viewpoints. Read more.

Germany’s Lindner pushes back against industry call for debt-financed fund. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP/Renew) has resisted a call by industry association BDI for a new debt-financed fund to pay for infrastructure, education, and additional industrial subsidies. Read more.

DUBLIN

Irish Greens show what can be achieved with 7.5%. Down, but certainly not out. Thanks to post-election political wranglings, the Greens may still be needed by incumbent Ursula von der Leyen, to secure a more secure Parliament majority behind her reappointment as Commission President. Read more.

ROME

The EU Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that operations at Italy’s Ilva plant in Taranto – Europe’s largest steelmaking complex – must be suspended if they continue to “presents serious and significant dangers to the environment and human health”, as they would breach the bloc’s industrial emissions rules as well as its Charter of Fundamental Rights. Read more.

Italy’s left calls for progressive coalition after electoral success. Following Italy’s Democratic Party sweeping victory in regional elections, leader Elly Schlein called for a progressive coalition to combat the right, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, accused the left of using “civil war tones”. Read more.

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MADRID

Spanish court applies amnesty law for first time to Catalan separatists. The High Court of Justice of Catalonia on Tuesday applied for the first time the controversial amnesty law to two Catalan separatist activists convicted of actions committed between 2012 and 2023 relating to the bid for the independence of Catalonia. Read more.

WARSAW

The Polish government may use its position at the helm of the EU Council presidency in the first half of 2025 to revise some key green EU policies, including the ETS2 system, according to Polish media reports. Read more.
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PRAGUE

Ammunition from Czech initiative reaches Ukraine. The first delivery of artillery ammunition purchased from non-EU countries through a so-called Czech initiative has successfully arrived in Ukraine, said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovakia’s SNS downplays tensions in coalition after Hlas minister questions its purpose. As Slovak Labour Minister Erik Tomáš (Hlas) expressed frustration with the SNS party for blocking the minimum wage law and questioned the purpose of the coalition, SNS emphasised that such disputes are normal and not a threat to the government’s stability. Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Transparency Intl under investigation by Hungary’s agency in charge of curbing foreign influence. Transparency International Hungary on Tuesday said that it had come under investigation by a controversial new agency set up under nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government to curb foreign influence. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgaria warns North Macedonia of straying further from EU path. The new government of North Macedonia is moving further away from starting EU membership negotiations, said Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry, referring in particular to the recent “unacceptable” positions stated by the new prime minister. Read more.

Bitter Balkan feuds spill into Euros once again. An Albanian player leads fans in chants against North Macedonia. Rival supporters unite to chant “Kill the Serbs”. A journalist from Kosovo receives death threats for an eagle gesture. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor]