Good morning from Berlin, 

The far-right Alternative for Germany party, affiliated with the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations group in the EU Parliament, has raised eyebrows in Brussels and the EU capitals. 

On Sunday, it marked its first-ever state election win, coming first in the Thuringia state election, followed by the centre-right CDU, and marginally second in Saxony behind CDU.

Meanwhile, the governing parties on a federal level registered poor results.

The Christian Democrats (CDU—EPP) are now facing the tough task of forming coalitions in both states that will isolate the AfD from power, but a collaboration with the far left seems unavoidable.

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) - a breakaway from the Left Party that CDU might need to collaborate with – said it would only join a coalition that opposes arms supplies to Ukraine and the stationing of US cruise missiles in Germany. 

Jonathan Packroff has all the details.

In the Global Brief, Euractiv’s Alexandra Brzozowski presents the key events and timelines ahead regarding EU foreign and defence matters.

Moreover, the EU wants to raise its training targets for Ukraine’s army from currently 60,000 to 75,000 by 2025, while Ukraine’s Zelenskyy presses Washington to greenlight deeper strikes into Russia.

Last but not least, EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell on Sunday accused China of taking “dangerous actions” against the Philippines, as Beijing and Manila blamed each other for deliberately ramming their coast guard ships.

PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet former Socialist behemoth Bernard Cazeneuve amid ongoing prime minister appointment talks on Monday (2 September), according to confirmation obtained by Euractiv. Read more.

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BERLIN

Germany resumes deportations to Afghanistan. Germany said it resumed flying convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country on Friday, days before German regional elections in which migration is a campaign issue. Read more.

ROME

Uncertainty has arisen in the Italian government over their position on Ukraine following the long-awaited summit of Italy’s three governing party leaders, intended to signal the trio’s alignment on the eve of the start of parliamentary work after the summer recess. Read more.

Raffaele Fitto proposed as Italy’s new EU Commissioner. Italian Minister for European Affairs and head of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Raffaele Fitto, has been nominated by his government to his country’s new European Commissioner. Read more.

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MADRID

Hungarian consortium withdraws Spanish trainmaker bid after Madrid blocks purchase.Hungarian consortium Ganz-MaVag withdrew its €619 million bid for Spanish trainmaker Talgo on Friday, just days after Madrid blocked the acquisition on national security grounds. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal: President warns of deep political crisis in Europe. President warns of ‘deep crisis in European political systems’. The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said on Sunday that there is an “end of a cycle” and warned of the “deep crisis” that European political systems are experiencing, arguing that it is necessary to “make ruptures.” Read more.

PRAGUE

Von der Leyen: Central Europe key to strengthening EU defence. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Central Europe for its growing strategic importance in the EU and highlighted its role in building new European defence capabilities at a conference in Prague this weekend. Read more.

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WARSAW

Most Poles support shooting down unidentified objects: poll. Most Poles want the army to shoot down potentially dangerous objects that enter their country’s airspace, even if they are civilians, a recent poll has found. Read more.

SOFIA

US-Bulgarian citizen arrested in Sofia for burning Russian flag. A woman with dual US-Bulgarian citizenship was arrested and then released for protesting outside the Russian Cultural and Information Centre in Sofia, writing “murderers” in chalk on the building and burning the Russian flag. Read more.

Bulgaria submits two candidates for EU Commissioner. Bulgaria submitted to Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, two candidates for Commissioner, reportedly becoming the only country to answer her request of proposing one male and one female applicant, on Friday. Read more.

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BUCHAREST 

Romanian government plans to cap markup on local foods. Romania’s Ministry of Agriculture is working on an emergency decree to limit the markup on Romanian food products to 20%. Read more.

• EU: Informal meeting of the General Affairs Council in Budapest, Hungary addresses EU’s competitiveness and tackling demographic challenges;
• Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visits the reconstruction of the August 2023 flooded areas, and delivers a keynote speech at the Bled Strategic Forum, in Slovenia;
• Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski participates in MED9 agricultural ministerial meeting, in Cyprus;

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