Good morning from Brussels, 

While European diplomats are expected to agree on the EU top jobs package at Thursday’s summit, lingering resistance to the re-appointment of incumbent Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is creating a few bumps in the road.

The negotiators from the so-called pro-EU bloc, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the EU socialists and liberal Renew, have agreed on a package deal: Ursula von der Leyen for the EU Commission presidency, Portugal’s Antonio Costa for the EU Council and Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the new foreign policy chief.

While the agreement is likely to be sealed, that doesn’t mean everyone, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, head of Parliament’s third-largest group, the hard-right ECR excluded from the core negotiations, is happy.

Alexandra Brzozowski and Aurélie Pugnet have all the details.  

In Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged his EU partners to reach a quick deal, saying Europe cannot afford “an impasse in these difficult times”. 

Asides from Meloni’s vocal discontent, Italian government sources even hinted that the ECR group might not back von der Leyen in the EU Parliament vote. However, this may be tricky for Meloni, as her candidate Commissioner may face political hurdles in the EU House. 

Reporting from Rome, Alessia Peretti has the story. 

But politically, von der Leyen already winked at Europe’s hard right. 

According to a letter seen by Euractiv, she told EU leaders that outsourcing procedures in migration policy would be a key priority. Meloni was the first EU leader to introduce the idea of externalising asylum processes in a deal with Albania. 

The EU should establish a jointly funded ground defence line on Europe’s eastern border, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia wrote in a joint letter seen by Euractiv. 

Moreover, the EU and Ukraine are expected to sign a long-term security agreement when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Brussels on Thursday, pledging to maintain military support and other aid to Kyiv as it fights off Russia’s invasion.

In EU politics, hard-right (ECR) postponed its constitutive meeting twice on Wednesday, rescheduling it for 3 July. According to well-informed sources, the reason is that the second-biggest delegation, Poland’s PiS, could not agree internally on who to propose for the group’s leadership positions and did not show up to the meeting.

Meanwhile, EU countries have reached a common position on the bloc’s first legislation for the welfare of cats and dogs.

PARIS

Many of the proposals put forward in the French national election by the Rassemblement National (RN, ID) and its allies, counter the European greenhouse gas reduction targets set out in the bloc’s Green Deal. Read more.

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BERLIN

German Chancellor Scholz urges hesitant EU leaders to greenlight Von der Leyen fast. EU leaders cannot afford to delay and must nominate incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a second term this summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged on Wednesday. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Brussels court rejects lobbyist’s arguments against von der Leyen’s reelection. A Brussels court rejected on Wednesday a Belgian lobbyist’s arguments opposing Ursula von der Leyen’s reappointment as head of the European Commission against the backdrop of accusations related to the controversial COVID vaccines contract negotiation with Pfizer. Read more.

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THE HAGUE

Timmermans’ cabinet chief Samsom to chair natural gas giant Gasunie. Diederik Samsom, former right-hand man of Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans, will assume the chairmanship of the supervisory board of Gasunie, the government-owned Dutch gas giant, on 1 July. Read more.

LONDON

Russian pranksters release hoax video call with UK’s David Cameron about Ukraine. Russian pranksters who often target people the Russian state is interested in released footage on Wednesday of a video call with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron after tricking him into thinking he was speaking to a former Ukrainian president. Read more.

VILNIUS

The EU should draw up possible responses against Russia’s growing hybrid and physical attacks inside its territory, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrelius Landsbergis told Euractiv, advocating a more pro-active approach to the bloc’s internal security. Read more.

MADRID

Spanish centre-right accuses Ribera of ‘electoral fraud’. The parliament spokesman of Spain’s centre-right Partido Popular (PP/EPP), Miguel Tellado, on Wednesday accused the ruling Socialist Party’s (PSOE/S&D) lead candidate and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, of having committed an alleged “fraud” by not taking her seat as an MEP. Read more.

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ROME

Meloni’s support for EU top jobs deal increasingly uncertain. On the eve of a European Council summit where EU leaders are supposed to seal the deal on EU top jobs, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sharply criticised the provisional agreement reached by the majority and indicated that she might oppose it. Read more.

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LISBON

Portuguese Liberal Initiative MEP chosen as one of Renew Europe’s vice presidents. João Cotrim de Figueiredo, a newly elected member of the European Parliament for Portugal’s Liberal Initiative (IL), has been selected as one of the eight vice-presidents of Renew Europe, the assembly’s liberal caucus, which now has 75 members, including two from Portugal, it was announced on Wednesday. Read more.

PRAGUE | BRATISLAVA

Diplomatic relations between Prague and Bratislava face turbulence after Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) said the resumption of intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia “is not currently a topic”, with the Slovaks calling the statement disrespectful ahead of a state visit. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgaria’s Borissov claims life in danger due to Ukraine support. The leader of Bulgaria’s largest party, GERB (EPP), and former premier, Boyko Borissov, said there was a grave threat to his life, suggesting it was due to his support for Ukraine. Read more.

Bulgaria’s ‘We Continue the Change’ join liberal Renew. Two MEPs from Bulgaria’s “We Continue the Change (PP)” party have been accepted as full members of the Renew Europe parliamentary group, the party announced on Wednesday. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romanian government urged to take back ‘Big Brother of bills’. Professional associations have urged the Romanian government to retract the emergency ordinance requiring companies to implement the e-invoice system for transactions with final consumers from January 2025.  Read more.

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BELGRADE | PRISTINA

Serbia and Kosovo talks collapse despite EU efforts. A European Union bid to breathe new life into stalled negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo fell through Wednesday, with Serbia’s president and the Kosovo prime minister failing to meet as planned. Read more.

• EU: European Council convenes to discuss Ukraine, Middle East, defence preparedness and capability, hybrid threats, and more;
• Commission Vice President Dubravka Suica delivers opening speech on “Navigating the future: Challenges and opportunities of longevity in Europe”;
• Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit delivers speech on “Pension and long-term care systems in Europe”; Gives keynote speech at CESI summer days “New technologies, AI and gender equality at work”; Participates in event to mark 5th anniversary of European Labour Authority;
• Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson participates in North-Sea Energy Cooperation stakeholder meeting, high level opening session of 10th Energy Infrastructure Forum, in Copenhagen, Denmark;
• International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen receives EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala;
• Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski participates in Global Agribusiness Festival, in São Paulo, Brazil; Holds meetings with Brazilian Minister for Agriculture Carlos Favaro, Minister for Agriculture of Uruguay Fernando Mattos;

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