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Today's top stories

Good morning from Brussels, 

Mario Draghi’s presentation of his long-awaited report on the future of Europe’s competitiveness to EU diplomats and Parliament’s political groups’ leaders on Wednesday was light on details and policy proposals, with Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen signalling she has not accessed the full document yet. 

MEPs and diplomats who spoke to Euractiv said his speech was in “very broad” terms about the challenges confronting Europe’s economy, such as high energy prices, and did not come up with specific recommendations.

However, one thing was clear: the need for EU unity to implement the report. 

“Draghi stressed the necessity of unprecedented cooperation among member states and a comprehensive reform of all institutions to implement the report’s recommendations effectively,” an EU diplomat said. 

Some understood that the report will be presented to the College of Commissioners next Wednesday (11 September) while others described it as a “key element” to feed the informal European Council in Budapest on 8 November.

Thomas Moller-Nielsen has all the details.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Wallace wrote about von der Leyen’s balancing act for the next Commission’ portfolios, while Euractiv’s health hub reports that for now, there is no clear contender for the health portfolio.

Strategic Dialogue calls for big changes in EU farm funding

In this episode, host Giada Santana and agrifood hub editor Angelo di Mambro analyse the freshly published report and the future of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with comments from an exclusive interview with Strategic Dialogue’s chair Peter Strohschneider. Listen here.
Bubbling in Brussels
Click on the picture to read the story |  [Adria Black / Shutterstock]

In the coming weeks, the balance in the global soft wheat market will reveal as Europe grapples with low yields, Russia is eroding the bloc’s export share, experts told Euractiv. Hugo Struna has the story.

Meanwhile, a structured dialogue on the future of EU agriculture concluded a shift away from land-based subsidies towards more support for small farms and incentives for producers who go green while supporting demand for healthy and sustainable diets. 

In the health field, the ECDC calls for urgent measures to stifle the spread of sexually transmitted infections amid rising diagnoses in Europe.

Read also about Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s major Ukraine government shake-up.

Last but not least, a day after the EU’s top court issued a ruling seemingly limiting the Commission’s authority to halt ‘killer acquisitions,’ influential think tank Bruegel said the EU’s competition regulator should have a stronger regulatory strategy reviewing these.

The negotiations to form Ursula von der Leyen's second college of Commissioners is well under way, with lots of political intrigue and considerations in play. Euractiv's Commission Tracker aims to cut through that complexity for you, so you can be on top of the formation of the EU's new executive. 
Visit the Commission Tracker
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Western Europe

PARIS

French industry fears inertia on key energy, climate dossiers. Untreated dossiers like hydrogen, nuclear energy, and carbon capture are piling up on the desks of absent ministers, as France remains without a government since the July elections. Industry fears this governmental paralysis puts the country’s energy and climate goals and associated investment at risk. Read more.

Southern Europe
Click on the picture to read the story |  [EPA-EFE/OLIVIER HOSLET]

ROME

The leader of Forza Italia (EPP) in the European Parliament, Fulvio Martusciello, confirmed that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to grant Italy an executive vice presidency despite the ECR not being part of the pro-European majority in the Parliament. Read more.

Italy to put beach club concessions up for grabs by June 2027. Italy approved on Wednesday a plan to put 28,000 concessions for lucrative beach bars and clubs up for bidding by June 2027, in a long delayed response to a European Union demand for Rome to open the sector to newcomers. Read more.

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MADRID

Spain’s Sánchez announces 2025 budget ‘with progressive DNA’. The Spanish government will present a progressive draft budget for 2025 next week, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) announced on Wednesday, asserting that his coalition government will complete the three years left of its mandate amid opposition calls for it to resign. Read more.

Ireland

DUBLIN

Irish data privacy watchdog case against X is ‘struck out’. Court proceedings by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) against social media platform X are officially over as of Wednesday, after the company agreed to permanently stop processing some personal data collected in the EU for training artificial intelligence (AI). Read more.

Nordics
Click on the picture to read the story |  [EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK]

STOCKHOLM

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström unexpectedly announced his resignation on Wednesday evening, halfway through a term marked by his country’s accession to NATO, amid speculation of a rift between him and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Read more.

Eastern Europe
Click on the picture to read the story |  [Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images]

WARSAW

The former prime minister turned MEP Beata Szydło disagreed with her PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński’s approach to finding a candidate for next year’s presidential election, marking an unusual show of defiance towards the powerful politician. Read more.

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BUDAPEST 

Resistance lingers to Hungarian presidency’s new push for child sexual abuse prevention regulation. Resistance to the Hungarian presidency’s approach to the EU’s draft law to combat online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was still palpable during a member states’ meeting on Wednesday. Read more.

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CHISINAU

Separatist region of Moldova banns the term ‘Transnistria’. Lawmakers in Moldova’s separatist region of Tiraspol passed a law on Wednesday banning the use of the term ‘Transnistria’, equating it with terms such as ‘fascism’ and ‘Nazism’, with the region’s de facto leader, Vadim Krasnoselski, saying he prefers the Russian term ‘Pridnestrovie’. Read more.

The Balkans

SOFIA

Bulgarian pro-Russian party wants country to leave EU, join BRICS. Bulgaria’s largest pro-Russian party, Revival, called for the country to leave the European Union and become a member of BRICS, where Russia has a leading influence. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Putin to discuss gas supply contract with Serbian deputy PM. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he intended to discuss a gas supply contract with Serbia that expires in March 2025 with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin. Read more.

Agenda
  • EU: Informal meeting of ministers responsible for cohesion policy expected to focus on promoting competitiveness and employment, in order to effectively addressing demographic challenges;
  • Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson participates at Global African Hydrogen Summit’s ministerial panel discussion on “Africa’s Hydrogen & Clean Energy Frontiers: The Industry’s next major opportunities”, in Windhoek, Namibia;
  • Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski participates in International Forum of Landlocked Developing Countries on Food Security and the Sustainable Development Goals, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan;

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

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