Good morning from Brussels, Donald Trump’s decision to pick Republican Senator JD Vance as his vice-presidential running mate for his White House bid has raised eyebrows in Europe as he is known for his support for isolationist foreign policies. Notably, EU diplomats expect him to support a hawkish China policy, pushing Europeans even further down their confrontational path with Beijing, which has been marked by tit-for-tat probes into trade barriers over products including electric vehicles, pork, and brandy In addition, Brussels is worried about Vance’s vocal opposition to US aid for Ukraine. When the US Congress held up a $60 billion military aid package, Vance played a key role in arguing to kill the bill. Read the story here. Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen’s meeting with the EU Left on Monday ahead of a crucial vote on Thursday in Strasbourg about her reelection as the European Commission’s president took place in a “negative atmosphere”, two EU lawmakers from the group told Euractiv. The EU Left currently has 46 votes and is expected to vote against von der Leyen. According to the MEPs, von der Leyen was asked whether the EU has a backup plan to address Russia’s aggression in case of a US change of policy in Ukraine after the November elections, but did not receive an answer. But Europe has headaches about the future Ukraine policy at home too with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s – whose country holds the EU rotating presidency - diplomacy unilateralism. In protest, the EU executive asked its Commissioners on Monday not to attend informal ministerial meetings during the Hungarian EU presidency. On a policy level, ministers from agricultural powerhouses Spain and Germany spoke out against Hungary’s stance on “novel foods” at the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) in Brussels on Monday. | 