Welcome to our new newsletter. This is Eddy Wax, with Nicoletta Ionta, in Brussels.
As we revamp The Capitals, we aim to give you snappy scoops, sharp analysis, and a handy guide to what’s happening in major capital cities around Europe. Feedback is welcome. |
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LINGO IN LIMBO
Two years of Spanish diplomacy comes to a head today when the bloc’s Europe ministers decide whether to add Catalan, Basque, and Galician to a list of 24 languages the EU uses to draft legislation.
It may sound symbolic but it’s potentially a make-or-break moment for Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He formed a government in 2023 by promising EU recognition for Catalan to the pro-independence Junts party of Carles Puigdemont.
The three tongues claim 20 million speakers and are already official languages in Spain. But detractors warn the move could prompt a slew of demands for equal treatment from smaller regions or even Russian speakers.
Last week, Madrid’s chances of success looked slim and Spanish officials even considered rescinding their request to put it to a vote. Now Spain is lobbying at the highest levels in national capitals, one senior EU diplomat said. Madrid might hope that countries ask to study the proposal for longer, allowing it to buy some more time to convince other capitals.
Aleix Sarri, international officer for Junts, said “We’re mildly optimistic … I think that [it’s] quite important that the proposal by the Spanish government has given solutions to all concerns.”
Sánchez, who meets Ursula von der Leyen here on Wednesday, faces a budget vote in the autumn. And he’ll need Junts again.
EU COUNTRIES BASH HUNGARY’S PRIDE CRACKDOWN
Euractiv was first to report that the Netherlands has spearheaded a letter from over a dozen EU countries criticizing Hungary for its domestic crackdown on LGBTQ rights.
Timed for today’s meeting of Europe ministers, the statement zeroes in on Budapest’s move to ban the annual Pride festival set for late June.
It comes as Hungary’s Europe Minister János Bóka is today grilled by fellow ministers on Hungary’s rule of law record, in an EU procedure that’s now a tradition - and a rather toothless one.
Exasperation about Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s antics is steadily mounting. But EU countries will not be stripping Hungary of its EU voting rights or move any closer to that today. Hungary retains its notorious veto leverage on upcoming EU files, from extending sanctions on Russia to Ukraine’s membership of the bloc - and it has an ally in Slovakia.
There’s also growing frustration among countries that the Commission is pulling its punches. The Dutch letter calls on the executive to “make full use of the rule of law toolbox at its disposal”.
An edict from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - another Euractiv scoop - that commissioners shouldn’t attend Budapest Pride festival has enraged liberal MEPs too.
A Commission spokesperson confirmed that commissioners have received their invitation for the march in Budapest, however “no decision has been taken” about commissioners’ attendance.
KYIV’S €3B HIT
Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Vitalii Koval is sounding the alarm over looming “moral losses”as Brussels gears up to reimpose pre-war tariff quotas on Ukrainian agri-exports from June 6, dialing back the full liberalisation granted after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion.
“What about the moral losses? This is not calculated in billions, but millions of Ukrainian citizens supporting integration into the EU,” Koval said during an appearance at a meeting of agriculture ministers in Brussels on Monday.
The Commission calls it a temporary patch while trade talks with Kyiv drag on. But for Ukraine, the hit is real: the return to quotas could cost between €2.8 and €3.5 billion in 2025 alone.
Koval expressed the aim to set up a long-term trade framework with the EU by the end of July. Read more here.
TARIFF TALKS CONTINUE
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and his US counterpart Howard Lutnick spoke by phone Monday afternoon to restart negotiations on tariffs. “The EU Commission remains fully committed to constructive and focused efforts at pace towards an EU-US deal”, Šefčovič said on X after the meeting.
The move follows Sunday’s Trump–von der Leyen phone call, during which both sides agreed to “fast track the trade negotiations and to stay in close contact”, Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said.
On this week’s potential meetings with US officials, Pinho added, “We’re taking this day by day. The idea is to remain very closely engaged”.
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| FRANCE French President Emmanuel Macron has called for “calm” after a video appeared to show his wife Brigitte smacking him in the face as they arrived in Vietnam. ///
GERMANY
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany, France, the US and Britain have allowed Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia. Read more from Nick Alipour. ///
SWEDEN
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced on Monday that Sweden will summon Israel’s ambassador in Stockholm to protest Israel’s ongoing blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
He stressed that Sweden alone has limited leverage, but called on the EU to consider coordinated sanctions, listings of extremist ministers and settlers, and a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which includes commitments to human rights.
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POLAND
Poland intends to build the largest transshipment logistics hub in Europe, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Monday.
Tusk visited the Euroterminal in Sławków, in western Poland, to announce the move to “practically double its transshipment capacity”. The estimated cost is €1 billion.
During the press conference, Tusk emphasised that Poland wants to earn significant profits from the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“There’s nothing wrong with saying this: We want to make big money for Poland from Ukraine’s reconstruction. We want to help, but we also want to benefit from it - and for that, this particular hub is essential,” Tusk said.
“It cannot be like it was in the past, when everyone got involved - Poland too, I’m referring to the war in Iraq - and then the biggest players made money on the reconstruction, while Poland was left out in the cold.” Read more.
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CZECHIA
On Monday, the High Court in Prague began hearing an appeal in the long-running Čapí hnízdo case involving former Czech PM and ANO leader Andrej Babiš and MEP Jana Nagyová (Patriots), whose immunity was recently removed.
Both were twice acquitted by a lower court over allegations they fraudulently secured a €2 million EU subsidy to build a luxury conference centre.
Babiš dismissed the trial on Monday as “politically motivated", insisting “everything was according to the rules”. The appellate court faces two options: confirm the acquittals or send the case back to the municipal court with further instructions.
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ROMANIA
Nicuşor Dan, winner of the 18 May presidential elections, was sworn in Monday, delivering a speech with the key challenges he plans to tackle over the next five years.
In the short term, Dan highlighted the country's budget deficit. In the long term, he stressed the need for “a fundamental transformation” of the Romanian state and called on civil society to apply “constructive pressure” on institutions to drive reform.
On foreign policy, Dan advocated for strengthening transatlantic ties, supporting the development of Europe’s autonomous defence architecture, and reducing strategic dependencies in energy, technology, and supply chains. He also pledged to bolster Romania’s defence system in the face of hybrid threats and to gradually increase defence spending as a share of GDP. Read more.
Informal coalition talks will begin today. |
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| VESTAGER’S TEA WITH VDL: Ex-Commissioner Margrethe Vestager was spotted chatting to security guards outside the Berlaymont late on Monday, having had tea with her former boss Ursula von der Leyen. Doorstepped by The Capitals about the state of EU-US trade relations, Vestager described it as “almost perfect uncertainty”. She was wearing a Commission badge marked “SPECIAL”.
BLACK BOX: When senior EU Commission officials like Björn Seibert brief national ambassadors on the state of EU-US relations - as they did Monday - the talks take place in a secure bunker in the Council building where electronic items are banned, and ambassadors are only allowed to be accompanied by one other diplomat.
PERSONNEL: Former Socialist official Annalisa Gliubizzi will become the European Parliament’s director for relations with other parliaments around the world, from 1 June. |
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| General Affairs Council convenes to discuss Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, Article 7 procedure concerning Hungary, Catalan, Basque and Galician introduction into EU’s language regime, and more; European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade delegation on official visit to Washington, D.C. |
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| Reporters who contributed: Magnus Lund Nielsen, Alexandra Brzozowski, Aleksandra Krzysztoszek, Aneta Zachová, Charles Szumski, Catalina Mihai, Inés Fernández-Pontes.
Edited by Vince Chadwick and Sofia Mandilara |
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