Good morning from Brussels.

Trade relations between the EU and China are not good, and they are expected to worsen when Donald Trump officially returns to the White House. 

Although Europeans want to avoid opening new fronts as key economies are currently struggling, Russia's involvement makes things more complex. 

Trump may play the defence dependency card, forcing Europeans to align with Washington’s more hawkish line against Beijing. 

Euractiv’s Thomas Moller-Nielsen analysed the key sources of friction between the EU and China and how the new global trade order could affect the EU's stance toward the World Trade Organisation.

Using different available data, Euractiv ranked EU countries in terms of their progress toward transitioning from copper to fibre networks. Théophane Hartmann found that Portugal, Spain, and Sweden are leading the transition, while Greece, Germany, and Czechia are trailing behind. 

In the defence field, according to an internal document seen by Euractiv, the White Paper on the Future of European Defence – expected within 100 days of the European Commission taking office – will come late. 

As for energy, price spikes are triggering calls from some politicians to stop power flowing to their more needy neighbours, but Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten told Euractiv that Europe should instead double down on interconnections.

Von der Leyen’s special relationship with the truth: Lastly, the European Commission will not apologise for concealing the fact Ursula von der Leyen was hospitalised, its chief spokesperson said on Tuesday. In yesterday’s Brief, Euractiv’s editor-in-chief Matthew Karnitschnig wrote that the EU Commission chief has a rather fluid relationship with the truth.

BERLIN

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's latest dithering over promised funding for Ukraine underscores the indecisiveness that has characterised his government's handling of Ukraine and Germany’s rearmament ever since Russia began its all-out invasion nearly three years ago. Read more. 

German chancellor hopeful under fire for controversial take on steel industry’s future. Germany’s chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz (CDU) casting doubts on climate-friendly steel production has sparked strong reactions from trade unions and political opponents, but his team says the conservative politician was “misquoted." Read more.

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PARIS

French PM struggles to win socialist support for the no-censure pact. Prime Minister François Bayrou hoped to split the fragile coalition of left-wing parties in the New Popular Front (NFP) to secure a no-censure pact with its Socialist Party (PS) as the French government faces a no-confidence vote – once again. Read more.

French farming union elections turn into referendum on trade. The EU single market has become a bone of contention in France's national farmers' election campaign, as associations seek to capitalise on growing discontent with the bloc's trade policy. Read more.

DUBLIN

Irish centre-right parties agree coalition government with independents. Negotiators for Ireland's two main centre-right parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, secured a deal on Tuesday for a coalition government with a group of seven independent lawmakers, according to The Irish Times. Read more.

ROME

While the number of migrants using the Central Mediterranean route has dropped, mainly due less departures from North Africa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni quickly claimed the credit for herself. Read more.

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MADRID

Spain's Sánchez warns of ‘new arms race’. Donald Trump's return to the White House on 20 January should not lead the EU and the world into a militaristic drift that would lead us into a new arms race, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday. Read more.

Puigdemont won’t back motion to topple Sánchez. Former Catalan president and  JxCat leader Carles Puigdemont ruled out joining forces with Partido Popular and Vox to table a no-confidence motion against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, an initiative he described as a "macabre joke". Read more.

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ATHENS

Greek PM calls on von der Leyen to roll back climate measures. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to unlock investment in gas infrastructure and limit the costs of overregulating emissions, citing high and unequal power prices. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal to launch tenders for production of sustainable aviation fuel. Portugal's government is moving ahead with tenders for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and has already received expressions of interest from several companies. Read more.

WARSAW

More than half of Polish citizens oppose the government's decision to ensure the free and safe participation of Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czechia celebrates full independence from Russian oil imports. The Czech government announced on Tuesday that the completion of the so-called TAL plus pipeline marks the end of years of Czechia relying on Russian oil for almost half of its total consumption. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Fico faces backlash on Russia as Slovak opposition unites. Slovakia's pro-Western opposition parties united to challenge the Fico government, accusing it of failing to govern and undermining the country’s foreign policy by tilting it towards Russia. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgarian MPs reject new Russian gas transit tax. The Bulgarian parliament rejected a proposal to reintroduce an additional tax on the transit of Russian gas to central Europe, which could have angered Serbia and Hungary. Read more.

BUCHAREST

New scandal exposes Romania's failure to close communist-era orphanages. Revelations over the weekend that more than 60 malnourished children are living in deplorable conditions show that Romanian authorities have failed to meet their pledge to close all Communist-era orphanages by 2024. Read more.

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BELGRADE 

Serbia’s Vučić offers advisory referendum on his presidency. Faced with widely supported protests and blockades in the country, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić offered the opposition what he called an advisory referendum on his presidency, adding that he would resign if the vote went against him. Read more.

• EU: High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas hosts Foreign Affairs Minister of Iceland Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir;
• Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera meets with European Telecommunications Association;
• Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen hosts Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister of Australia Julie Collins;
• Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica meets UN/UNDP Office in Brussels Director and UN System Representative in the EU Camilla Brückner;
• Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra receives representatives of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA);
• Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath participates in working dinner with European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) President Michael Schmid;
• Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Commissioner Jessika Roswall gives keynote address at Cosmetics Europe Leadership forum.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Martina Monti, Alice Taylor-Braçe]