Welcome to Rapporteur. This is Eddy Wax, with Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels, bringing you everything you need to start your week in Europe.
Need-to-knows:
- Copenhagen: EU leaders meet for an informal European Council to discuss Ukraine and defence
- Brussels: The Commission and Parliament clash over ‘omnibus’ package to cut red tape
- Gaza: Donald Trump’s peace plan complicates Europe’s debate on sanctions against Israel
Today’s edition is powered by EuropaBio
Making the difference – Biotechnology for Europe
Biotechnology drives solutions for health, sustainability, and competitiveness. As Europe prepares for the upcoming EU Biotech Act, EuropaBio leads the conversation shaping our future.
Discover how this legislation empowers innovation – learn more on our dedicated webpage.
From the capital
As Europe’s leaders meet in Copenhagen today to project unity on defence, Brussels is locked in open conflict over the bloc’s efforts to slash red tape.
The European Parliament has become the chief scapegoat for ministers, diplomats, and Commission officials who say the regulatory simplification drive, known as the “omnibus” packages, is moving too slowly.
Lawmakers reject accusations of stalling on proposals meant to rework the frenzy of EU laws made since 2019. But on Tuesday night, Parliament failed to agree on the first file, which would loosen corporate due diligence requirements. According to one person briefed on the meeting, the centre-right EPP threatened to side with further-right groups to water down the text beyond what governments had sought.
Negotiators insist a year-end target remains within reach. Yet the stalemate appears to reflect Parliament’s newly fragmented makeup more than institutional inertia. When these laws were concocted, the centre-right worked in tandem with socialists and liberals. Now the EPP is tempted to lean rightward – or at least threaten to – to squeeze concessions from its erstwhile allies.
Socialists don’t want to roll over and allow a deregulation blitz. Spain’s Teresa Ribera on Tuesday warned against backtracking on new AI rules. “We are ready to reach an agreement, but not at the expense of human rights and the environment,” group leader Iratxe García said through a spokesperson.
For Ursula von der Leyen, the pivot is stark. In what critics call a brazen U-turn, slashing bureaucracy has become a top political priority this year, pressed by national leaders such as Friedrich Merz, who said he would raise concerns about the Draghi report’s sluggish implementation at today’s summit.
MEPs counter that the Commission’s plans are too sprawling, cutting across policy areas and sparking turf fights between committees. These can drag on for months, delaying debate on the substance. Less discussed is Brussels’ parallel pledge to weaken its own corporate reporting rules under the EU-US trade deal – a move that only intensifies pressure to push changes through.
The emerging strategy is to shift blame onto the “co-legislators” – meaning Parliament – while working with Denmark’s EU presidency to force through ten omnibus packages this year, covering everything from agriculture and digital policy to the auto sector.
Read the full story by Thomas Møller-Nielsen and your Rapporteur.
What to watch out for in Copenhagen
By Magnus Lund Nielsen, reporting on the ground.
Drones. A spate of drone incursions over Danish airports and military bases has put PM Mette Frederiksen under political strain at home. Several countries, including Ukraine and the US, will pledge air-defence support during today’s European Council and Thursday’s European Political Community gathering. Read about how Frederiksen’s handling of the threat has battered her Iron Lady image.
Drone wall. The most eye-catching proposal for beefing up EU defences is the so-called drone wall – though how to pay for it remains unclear. Leaders will chew over a defence concept note from von der Leyen, which we covered here. On Wednesday, she announced an immediate €2 billion package for drones in Ukraine, again without saying where the money would come from.
Reparations loan. The Commission is floating a sneaky workaround to finance Ukraine with roughly €200 billion in frozen Russian assets, without seizing them outright. How will Belgium and Luxembourg react? Will the money stretch beyond military aid? Will leaders agree to share the risk equitably?
An EU official said today’s talks are expected to test leaders’ willingness to use the assets rather than settle details. Finland and Sweden have already backed a loan that would tap the funds to the “largest extent possible.”
Ukraine’s EU membership. The “Costa plan” to change the rules to skirt Hungary’s veto should surface in talks. But it is unlikely to fly.
US Gaza plan scrambles EU debate
EU leaders are also expected to weigh the Commission’s unused sanctions package against Israel at today’s summit. But a 20-point US peace plan, unveiled Monday at the White House with Benjamin Netanyahu, has thrown a spanner in the works – or offered a rationale to delay action, depending on the view.
Leaders across the bloc quickly rallied behind the American plan, which Hamas is seen as unlikely to accept. Trump gave the group three to four days from Tuesday to respond. Italy and Germany, meanwhile, have offered to help implement the plan, without specifying how.
In a draft letter still gathering signatures – and seen by Rapporteur – German conservative MEP Hildegard Bentele urges von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas to resist sanctions.
“At this stage, any attempt to impose EU sanctions on Israel would send the wrong signal and risk being counterproductive: it would punish the party that accepted a framework aligned with EU priorities, fracture international unity, and embolden rejectionists,” she wrote.
For now, there’s insufficient agreement to move forward any of the EU’s sanction proposals, including measures aimed at extremist ministers and violent settlers. Nor is there a qualified majority to suspend Israel’s preferential trade deal or its participation in the Horizon research programme, two diplomats said.
Parliament readies first-ever twin no-confidence debate
Today, Roberta Metsola and party leaders in Parliament are set to schedule two concurrent no-confidence motions against the von der Leyen Commission, tabled by the far-right Patriots for Europe and the far-left group The Left.
According to three Parliament officials, lawmakers are expected to hold a single debate in Strasbourg on Monday, combining both initiatives. As in July, the two groups backing the motions would speak first, followed by von der Leyen if she chooses to intervene, and then the leaders of other political groups.
Two separate votes are expected later in the week, and von der Leyen is likely to appear with her full team of commissioners once again.
Far-right Swedes want hijab ban in Parliament
Charlie Weimers, a Swedish lawmaker from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, has called on Metsola to ban hijabs and “other Islamic headscarves” for staff and contractors, according to an email seen by Rapporteur.
The demand – incendiary and almost certain to stir dissent in the chamber – has little chance of success. It could also breach EU staff regulations, which prohibit discrimination on grounds including religion.
“The hijab … raises concerns that go directly to the Parliament’s values,” Weimers wrote, calling it “closely linked to practices of gender inequality and coercion.” Allowing it inside Parliament, he added, “sends a signal at odds” with the EU’s commitment to gender equality.
The capitals
BERLIN 🇩🇪
A longtime aide to far-right German lawmaker Maximilian Krah has been found guilty of passing secrets to Beijing, exposing dissidents, and tracking sensitive military cargo – a ruling that deepens Europe’s unease about China’s expanding covert influence and political reach.
BUCHAREST 🇷🇴
Romania’s president, Nicușor Dan, pressed Europe on Tuesday to lower its guardrails for enlargement, pointing to Moldova’s election as proof of the need for speed. He recalled that Romania and Bulgaria were not fully ready in 2007 but gained from entry, nonetheless. Critics pounced: former prime minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu called the suggestion “irresponsible,” as if Romania had joined “unfairly.”
PRAGUE 🇨🇿
This capital moved to tighten its defences against Moscow on Tuesday, approving proposals to bar entry to Russian diplomatic and service passport holders unless accredited in the Czech Republic. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, warning of “rising sabotage operations,” said the step should be replicated across Schengen countries, underscoring Europe’s growing alarm over Russian covert activity.
WARSAW 🇵🇱
Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, moved to sharply toughen citizenship rules, sending parliament a bill that would lengthen the residency requirement for foreigners from three to ten years. The proposal, backed by the governing Law and Justice party, comes amid an immigration surge from Ukraine and echoes restrictions adopted elsewhere in Europe, according to Rzeczpospolita.
MADRID 🇪🇸
Spain’s fragile coalition showed fresh cracks as five ministers from the far-left Sumar party opposed the Gaza peace plan proposed by Trump and embraced by PM Pedro Sánchez. While Sánchez hailed the initiative as vital for stability, Sumar leader Yolanda Díaz denounced it as a denial of Palestinian sovereignty and a means of entrenching “occupation and genocide.”
ROME 🇮🇹
PM Giorgia Meloni called on an aid flotilla heading to Gaza to stand down, warning that a confrontation with Israel could imperil what she described as a “fragile balance” underpinning the Trump administration’s peace plan. She argued the mission risked handing opponents of the plan a pretext to derail it.
PARIS 🇫🇷
The pressures on Europe’s carmakers deepened as Stellantis said it would suspend production for several days this month at its Sochaux and Mulhouse plants, citing falling sales and fierce price competition. The move follows a recent decision to place 2,000 workers at a nearby facility on reduced hours, prompting union warnings of a slow erosion in jobs and stability across the sector.
Schuman roundabout
Housekeeping: Nicoletta will be your Rapporteur for the rest of the week. Please send her your scoops, tips, and stories by email here.
The Commission on Tuesday released an updated list of upcoming proposals – you can read it here.
Also on Euractiv
Ireland’s data scandal put homes, clinics, and bases on the map – for sale
Forget the EU’s big talk on its digital rules, anyone can still follow you home…
6 minutes
A media investigation in Ireland has revealed that phone location data for tens of thousands of Europeans was being sold online, allowing reporters to trace individuals back to their homes.
The revelations highlight longstanding concerns over the bloc’s enforcement of its data-privacy rules, with critics arguing that Dublin’s regulators have repeatedly failed to rein in Big Tech’s lucrative ad-tracking systems.
Meloni’s regional win secures midterm boost
ROME – Italy’s autumn marathon of regional elections opened with a win for Prime Minister…
3 minutes
Italy’s election season began with a boost for Meloni. Her right-wing bloc kept hold of Marche, the only region seriously up for grabs. The win cements her reputation for stability – a rare commodity in Rome – while exposing the centre-left as united on paper but limp at the polls.
Agenda
➡ Meeting of the College of Commissioners, with NATO’s Mark Rutte and von der Leyen delivering remarks at 08:45 a.m. (The Commission will table plans for a Savings and Investment Union, along with a new EU financial literacy strategy)
➡ Costa meets Commissioners Kubilius and Jørgensen, as well as mayors from the Alliance for Housing
➡ EU research ministers meet in Brussels, with a press conference expected around 3 p.m.
➡ Commissioner Šefčovič visits San Marino for talks with the Captains Regent and joins the Transatlantic Forum on Geo-Economies
Contributors: Thomas Møller-Nielsen, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Anupriya Datta, Catalina Mihai, Aneta Zachová, Aleksandra Krzysztoszek, Inés Fernández-Pontes, Laurent Geslin
Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara
