You are reading the Reporter on Tuesday 16 June. This is it Eddy Wax in Brussels, with Nikoletta Ionta.
Need to know:
π’’ Austria’s Europe Minister wants to rein in the institutions
π’’ Interview: Lange, the old EU engine who took on Trump
π’’ EPP’s Fulvio Martusciello faces a day of reckoning
In the Schuman Roundabout: Parliament plans to build a food court
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From the capital
Claudia Bauer, Austria’s minister for European Affairs, is attending a ministerial meeting in Luxembourg this morning using a chainsaw.
In its sights: the EU institutions themselves.
“I’m fully aware that this isn’t the biggest budget item overall, and that criticism is often dismissed β but every little savings helps,” Bauer told my colleague Victoria Becker.
Commission wants to spray more than β¬100 billion for EU administration over the next seven-year budget cycle, including the creation of an additional 2,500 work in the civil service.
“Significant savings” must be found in the very structure of EU institutions, she argued.
For Vienna, the EU’s administrative spending plan itself sends “absolutely the wrong signal” at a time when national governments are cutting costs, digitizing public services and doing more with less staff.
The minister also questioned whether all EU agencies operate in areas where the bloc has clear competence, suggesting some could face the axe. Vienna, for one, hosts the fundamental rights agency.
Bauer can count on support from some capitalsincluding Rome, where Giorgia Meloni criticized last week the Commission’s plans to increase administrative costs for civil servant pensions, building and institutions with “over 20%”.
It is a crucial week for negotiations on the next seven-year budget. Later this week, leaders will hold their first substantive debate on the size of the package, with the aim of reaching a deal by the end of the year.
Austria is leading the push for deeper cuts. Speaking German for Victoria, Bauer dropped one last COMPROMISE to cut 2% from the Commission’s β¬1.76 trillion proposal as “a drop on a hot stone” – roughly equivalent to a “drop in the ocean”.
“The nine net contributor countries are responsible for over 60% of the EU budget,” Bauer said. “In other words, one third is responsible for two thirds of the EU budget.”
PRESENTATION OF THE REPORTER: Asking states to fund thousands of new jobs in Brussels was always going to be a tough sell, especially as the Commission has made ‘simplification’ its governing mantra and is carrying out its own review of staffing levels to make the civil service leaner.
But even if he loses this battle, this week has been good for Berlaymont’s budget brain. On Sunday, the capitals approved the Commission’s new structure, including valuable ideas such as the Competitiveness Fund.
And there is good news for budget watchers. The return of this traditional debate on the cost of EU bureaucracy itself is a sign that the battle is indeed about to begin. And it will be brutal.
The EPP heavyweight is fighting for survival
Fulvio Martusciello is an EPP stalwart if ever there was one. The 58-year-old from Naples is a key figure in Forza Italia, the party led by Antonio Tajani, the former president of the European Parliament and Italy’s foreign minister.
I remember watching Martusciello shed real tears in Strasbourg in 2023 as MEPs paid tribute to Silvio Berlusconi. Today could bring another difficult moment for Martusciello in Strasbourg. Or not.
MEPs are expected to vote β likely by secret ballot, Nicoletta said β on whether to waive his parliamentary immunity so Belgian prosecutors can investigate his alleged role in the Huawei lobbying scandal. He denies wrongdoing. In recent months, he has waged an intense behind-the-scenes campaign to protect his political future.
The vote is also a test of Parliament itself. After the defense Angelica Niebler and most of the other MEPs caught up in Huawei-gate, the institution is rapidly developing a reputation as a rogue body that protects its own at all costs. Read the full profile of Nicoletta and Elisa Braun.
Motorcycles, God and the Art of the Deal
In 25 years of parliamentary life, Bernd Lange says he has never felt such pressure.
The 70-year-old German MEP has spent months fending off pressure from Donald Trump and struggling to build unity in Parliament as she negotiates the bloc’s position on the EU-US trade deal. Today the deputies will give the final vote.
Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro and I sat down with Lange to trace the path that took him from teaching theology in northern Germany to becoming one of Brussels’ most influential business voices β and of course to discuss his enduring love of vintage motorcycles. Read the full interview.
Democrats’ advice for MEPs
A delegation of Democratic members of the US Congress has toured Strasbourg ahead of the vote on the EU-US agreement.
Sean Casten, a Democrat from Illinois, did not tell European lawmakers how to vote, but urged them not to face Trump alone. “Don’t pick a fight, but if a bully punches you, you kick him back,” he told Magnus Lund Nielsen.
“(Trump) scares people by suggesting that the tall poppies will be cut – to use a Dutch expression. You can either sit down individually or rise up collectively,” he said.
Lange’s advice to Democrats, by the way, was to take inspiration from the European Parliament.
Kallas narrows down the Hormuz role of Aspides
The EU’s top diplomat appeared to back away from suggestions that the Aspides bloc’s naval mission could help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, it will remain focused on protecting merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
Speaking on Monday, Kaja Kallas said Aspides would continue to operate in the Red Sea while coordinating with a nascent Franco-British effort to protect maritime traffic through Hormuz.
Using the same tools across different missions raises practical questions about command structures and mandates, an EU diplomat told Pietro Guastamacchia. “That’s why this is a difficult discussion,” the diplomat said. Read the full story.
Here are three new stories from Euractiv:
Shuman roundabout
FOOD COURT: Senior MPs mulled over a tasty suggestion at a meeting last night, holding an initial discussion on plans to revamp the European Parliament’s canteen in Brussels. Although no decision was made, one idea was to redesign the canteen to resemble a food court, with multiple vendors selling their wares in one place.
Capitals
BUDAPEST ππΊ
Hungary’s parliament has approved retroactive term limits that would prevent Viktor Orban from returning as prime minister, marking one of the most significant upheavals of the constitutional order built during his 16 years of uninterrupted rule. The amendment also dismantles the Fidesz-era establishment network that controls universities and other state assets, as the government reaffirmed its rejection of the EU’s migration pact. Read the full story.
– Matthias Varga
STOCKHOLM πΈπͺ
Sweden’s parliament on Monday approved controversial legislation requiring some public agencies to share information about undocumented migrants with police and migration authorities. The so-called “snitch law” applies to bodies including the Tax Agency, the Employment Service and the Social Security Agency. Health services, schools and social services are exempt, but critics warn that safeguards are insufficient and the law could erode trust in public institutions.
– Charles Szumski
Sofia π§π¬ | EVERYTHING π²π°
Two diplomatic vehicles belonging to Bulgaria’s embassy in Skopje were set on fire on Monday after an unidentified assailant doused one with an accelerant outside the mission’s entrance, causing the fire to spread to the second. A Bulgarian consul extinguished the flames and there were no injuries. North Macedonian police later identified a 44-year-old suspect. The incident increases tensions as Bulgaria continues to block North Macedonia’s path to EU membership.
– Konstantin Karadjov
ATHENS π¬π·
Alexandros Yiotopoulos, widely regarded as the mastermind of Greece’s notorious far-left terrorist group November 17 (17N), will return to prison after the country’s top court on Monday overturned a ruling that had led to his release at the end of May. The decision followed call from the US state Department for Athens to intervene. The first assassination of November 17 was that of Richard Welch, the CIA station chief in Athens.
– Sarantis Mikalopoulos
Prague π¨πΏ
The Czech government has approved plans to scrap license fee funding for public broadcasters and replace it with direct funding from the state budget, a move critics say risks undermining media independence. Under the proposal, Czech television and Czech radio will receive about 15% less funding than under the current system. Andrej BabiΕ‘ defended the reform as a cost-saving measure, while media experts warned it could run afoul of the EU’s European Media Freedom Act.
– Aneta ZachovΓ‘
BRATISLAVA πΈπ°
Slovakia and India on Monday signed agreements to deepen cooperation in defence, higher education and digitalisation during Narendra Modi’s visit to Bratislava – the first by an Indian prime minister in modern Slovak history. Modi also invited Robert Fico to India. Fico said he was ready to make the trip, describing it as another step in strengthening ties as bilateral trade has grown fivefold over the past five years.
– Natalia Silenska
PODGORICA π²πͺ
President Jakov Milatovic will address the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, outlining Montenegro’s progress towards EU membership following the temporary closure of two negotiating chapters on Monday. He is also expected to present Podgorica’s plans for ending accession talks. On Wednesday, MEPs will vote on a report assessing the country’s progress on its path to joining the bloc.
– Bronwyn Jones
Contributors: Victoria Becker, Pietro Guastamacchia, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro, Magnus Lund Nielsen
The editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara, Charles Szumski
