Welcome to Rapporteur. This is Eddy Wax, with Nicoletta Ionta.
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Need-to-knows:
- Netherlands: Voters head to the polls as Rob Jetten’s progressive D66 gains ground
- Parliament: EU still paid neo-Nazi MEP months after conviction, probe finds
- Trade: EU and India edge closer to a deal after ‘constructive’ talks
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From the capital
The sheer commitment of the European civil service to find a way to keep Ukraine afloat in its perilous battle with Russia is on full display this week in Brussels, where everyone has gone on holiday.
To be fair, Ursula von der Leyen is still on the job, spending Tuesday in the company of three Nordic EU leaders who agreed with her that the only workable option for sustaining Ukraine’s war effort is to (not) confiscate the €140 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets held in Belgium.
Her creative yet grammatically fraught interpretation of last week’s European Council conclusions is also the most politically realistic, despite resistance from Belgian premier Bart De Wever, who fears for the stability of Euroclear should Moscow come looking for its money.
The so-called reparations loan is the most realistic option for financing Ukraine, not because it’s such a great idea, as De Wever’s exhaustive arguments made clear, but because it’s more plausible than the alternative: Eurobonds.
Joint borrowing, a panacea that always returns to the conversation when the EU’s back is against the wall, would require unanimous consent from countries.
Now – amid misleading speculation in the EU bubble media that the Commission is trying to ram Eurobonds down the throats of capitals and absurd suggestions Belgium would be against it (they’re the ones proposing it!) – it’s worth remembering why this won’t fly: Germany has no interest in carrying the can for the rest of Europe, and letting high-deficit countries like France benefit from its shinier credit rating.
Indeed, the first experiment with joint borrowing has proved so cumbersome that around €30 billion a year needs to be earmarked to repay the post-Covid loans – and there’s even talk of pushing back the repayment schedule!
The thing that both options have in common is that the EU will avoid paying up for Ukraine in the here and now. Most of the risk, supporters argue, can be safely passed on to the future.
There is a third option: ask EU taxpayers to dig deep and make massive sacrifices. But politicians don’t even talk about this because it’s seen as taboo.
What is presented as a fiscal impossibility is, in truth, a political failure by the EU’s elected leadership. Three years into the war, timorous politicians under pressure from populists who want to cut Ukraine loose are not coming clean with their populations about the need for sacrifice.
The countries paying more will keep sniping at the under-spenders off the record. Meanwhile, Europe has no boots on the ground, its military aid is falling, and its best minds are working hard to prop up Ukraine using other people’s money.
Peace through strength, the EU’s well-worn mantra, may well require taking fewer holidays. It’s time EU leaders were honest about that.
D66 flies high as Dutch go to the polls
The Netherlands votes today after a choppy week of last-minute campaigning that has seen far-right leader Geert Wilders lose momentum while Rob Jetten’s progressive D66 has gained ground in late polls.
Could Jetten be in for a surprise victory tonight? Several polls on Tuesday put him roughly neck-and-neck with Wilders and left-wing chief Frans Timmermans. Wilders is all but guaranteed not to be in the government after the usual months of haggling, meaning whoever comes second could well become prime minister.
A key question is whether Timmermans can do well enough to play a leading role in whatever centrist coalition emerges, or whether right-wing parties like the Christian Democrat CDA, liberal VVD and farmers’ party BBB can win enough seats to form a right-wing centre coalition. Exit polls are expected at 9 p.m.
Convicted neo-Nazi MEP kept cashing EU pay cheques
Ioannis Lagos, a former Greek MEP and senior figure in the defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, continued to receive thousands of euros from the European Parliament months after being found guilty of leading a criminal organisation and illegal arms possession, an investigation by my colleague Elisa Braun shows.
Despite his unprecedented sentence, Lagos enjoyed immunity privileges and received at least €30,000 in benefits until April 2021, according to new parliamentary documents.
The case exposes how procedural loopholes allowed the MEP to remain on the EU payroll and highlights tensions over transparency and financial accountability in European institutions.
Countries sceptical of budget revision
While MEPs are confident that the Commission will amend its budget proposal before the 12 November deadline set by Parliament, three EU diplomats said there have been no indications the Berlaymont intends to do so.
“They have narrow options and all of them [are] risky,” one diplomat told Jacob Wulff Wold, warning that any move could either slow down the Council’s work or challenge its prerogatives under the EU treaty.
‘Brothers’ Sefco and Goyal near EU-India deal
Brussels and New Delhi are inching towards a trade pact – but not quite popping the champagne yet.
After three days of talks in Brussels, EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič and his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal called discussions “very constructive” and “positive,” even on the “most sensitive issues.” Still, though, there was no breakthrough, reports Sofía Sánchez Manzanaro.
Šefčovič said Sabine Weyand, the EU’s top trade civil servant, will head to Delhi next week to advance tariff negotiations. Goyal – who called Šefčovič “a good friend and brother” – hinted that the pair could meet again in the next couple of weeks to bring the deal “to fruition.”
Deep, but not that comprehensive
The EU’s new “deep and comprehensive” trade deal with Ukraine takes effect today, replacing the wartime measures that let most Ukrainian farm goods enter the bloc duty-free – but which had to be renewed annually amid a farmers’ backlash.
The new FTA is less generous than the earlier full liberalisation but still more open than pre-war tariffs. But there are strings attached. By 2028, Ukraine must align its pesticide and animal-welfare rules with EU standards – or risk suspension. Brussels also added a safeguard clause allowing imports to be curbed if they trigger “societal difficulties” (read: farmer protests).
The agreement does little to resolve tensions with Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, which have kept unilateral bans on Ukrainian agri-imports since 2023. The new framework didn’t sway them. “We’re engaging with all parties to find solutions,” a Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Time to pay, Beijing
EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra urged China to step up its financial contribution to global climate efforts. “Europe just simply doesn’t have the pockets to do that by itself,” Hoekstra said at Euractiv’s Energy & Environment Policy Conference on Tuesday.
Despite being the world’s second-largest economy and accounting for 30% of global emissions, Beijing still claims developing-country status and has offered little beyond bilateral aid. As developing nations call for €1.3 trillion in climate funding, Hoekstra said wealthier emerging economies like China, Singapore, and the Gulf states must “put more money on the table.”
The capitals
BERLIN 🇩🇪
Friedrich Merz is in Ankara on Wednesday for his first talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, aiming to recalibrate a relationship defined by both necessity and unease. For Berlin, Turkey is both a vital NATO partner and a growing authoritarian challenge. Merz is expected to defend democratic values while keeping channels open on migration, trade, and defence. Germany’s recent move to lift its Eurofighter veto may open the door to a lucrative arms deal, even as it invites scrutiny over human rights concerns.
WARSAW 🇵🇱
Poland plans to reopen two crossings with Belarus as soon as November, Donald Tusk said, arguing that security along the frontier has reached unprecedented levels. “The border is now secured better than ever before,” the prime minister said, describing it as probably the “best-protected border in Europe right now.” The decision follows Lithuania’s move to shut its own crossings with Belarus and builds on Poland’s decision in September to reopen several rail and a single road crossing as tensions with Minsk eased.
BUDAPEST 🇭🇺
Hungary’s ruling party is cosying up to Poland’s former leaders just as the two governments grow further apart. At an event in this capital, former Polish minister Zbigniew Ziobro was welcomed as a political ally by Viktor Orbán’s top aide, Gergely Gulyás. Their message – that Fidesz and Poland’s Law and Justice still stand together – risks deepening tensions with Warsaw, already angry over Hungary’s asylum for an ex-PiS minister facing criminal charges.
ROME 🇮🇹
Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini met Orbán here on Tuesday for what the Italian transport ministry described as an “affectionate” exchange focused on peace, migration, and criticism of “the EU’s suicidal policies.” The encounter follows Orbán’s talks with Giorgia Meloni, which were overshadowed by his claim in La Repubblica that the bloc “counts for nothing” and by his call for Donald Trump to lift US sanctions on Russia. Meloni declined to respond publicly, while Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani sought to distance the government from Orbán’s remarks.
BRATISLAVA 🇸🇰
Slovakia has suffered the EU’s steepest decline in the World Justice Project’s latest Rule of Law Index, falling 2.3% compared with last year. The country now ranks 36th of 143 globally, ahead only of Greece, Bulgaria, and Hungary within the bloc. The results come amid heightened concern in Brussels over Robert Fico’s government, which critics accuse of eroding judicial independence, media freedom, and civil society.
COPENHAGEN 🇩🇰
Denmark is tightening its childcare screening regime, expanding background checks to include convictions for physical and psychological abuse as well as so-called “negative social control.” The børneattester, which has mainly listed sexual offences against minors under 15, will be overhauled as part of a wider campaign against domestic and child violence. Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the changes reflect the persistence of “very extensive violence” in Danish society.
MADRID 🇪🇸
A year after floods killed 229 people in Valencia, Spain is still grappling with how to prevent a repeat disaster. Experts warn that despite billions in reconstruction spending, prevention and early-warning systems remain inadequate. The state funeral for victims on Wednesday comes amid public anger over official failures and growing scrutiny of Spain’s climate resilience strategy.
Schuman roundabout
“Navalny” mix-up: European Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho accidentally referred to Ukrainian journalist Vitaliy Sizov as “Navalny” during Tuesday’s daily press conference. Sizov took it in good humour, and Pinho quickly corrected herself. Alexei Navalny was killed in a Russian prison last year.
Italian MEP boycotts Israel trip: Socialist MEP Lucia Annunciata said she won’t join her colleagues from the European Parliament’s delegation to Israel in a visit to the Knesset this week, citing the West Bank annexation law and “indiscriminate attacks” on the UN as proof that the Israeli Parliament “is not ready to talk about peace.”
Leisterh quits: Brussels MR chair David Leisterh has stepped down from regional politics after failing to form a coalition to deliver the capital’s 2026 budget. Citing too many blockages and a political system that prevents action, he said he no longer wants to be complicit in a process that stalls reform – though he will remain mayor of Watermael-Boitsfort.
Also on Euractiv
Europe’s race to build its Air Shield
September came full of surprises: Nearly 20 Russian drones breached Polish airspace on 9 September,…
5 minutes
Russian drone incursions in recent weeks have forced Europe to confront the fragility of its air defences. Brussels’ talk of a “drone wall” – once dismissed as rhetorical – is now gaining political traction as the nucleus of a wider European Air Shield.
The project would link national systems under a single defensive architecture, but it faces the usual European obstacles: fragmented procurement, industrial rivalries, and uneven political will. The urgency is clear; the execution, far less so.
Agenda
📍 Dutch parliamentary elections
📍 Metsola addresses students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
📍 Coreper I and II
Contributors: Thomas Moller-Nielsen, Elisa Braun, Nikolaus J. Kurmayer, Sofía Sánchez Manzanaro, Jacob Wulff Wold, Jeremias Lin, Alessia Peretti, Charles Szumski, Aleksandra Krzysztoszek, Natália Silenská
Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara
