You are reading the Reporter on Wednesday 24 June. This is it Eddy Wax in Brussels, with Nikoletta Ionta.
Need to know:
🢢 The Taliban want Europe to accept their diplomats
🢢 W-who? Merz brings E5 to Berlin
🢢 Spain and Italy are facing early elections
Schuman roundabout: What’s Irish for Schadenfreude?
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From the capital
After months of political wrangling and fierce opposition from MEPs, human rights groups and even Malala Yousafzai, a five-member Taliban delegation landed in Brussels on Tuesday for a high-level visit.
With special visas, they attended a series of meetings with EU officials and representatives from 15 capitals, sending a clear message: if Europe wants to expel the Afghans, it will have to deal with the Taliban.
The controversial trip has attracted intense Review since this first newsletter FOUND plans for it in April. The commission portrayed the talks as a technical exercise focused on returning Afghans to Europe who have been convicted of crimes.
However, behind closed doors, the Taliban revealed their own demands. According to people familiar with the discussions, the delegation printed European officials to restore consular services to Afghans across the continent and, ultimately, accept Taliban-appointed diplomats in Afghan embassies.
Their message was “if you want returns, no problem, but you’ll have to accept our staff,” a source told Nicoletta.
The delegation was led by Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the Taliban’s foreign ministry chief of communications and one of the movement’s main international interlocutors.
In a statement shared with the Reporter, Balkhi said the discussions focused on steps to “resume wide-ranging consular services for Afghans in the EU area”. “We hope to build a positive momentum to protect the consular rights of Afghans living abroad,” he added.
The push reflects a broader Taliban strategy to expand its diplomatic footprint in Europe.
Nearly five years after the group returned to power, most Afghan embassies across the continent remain staffed by diplomats appointed under the former republic. Germany is the only EU country to accept Taliban-appointed diplomats and has already resumed deportations to Afghanistan.
Just being invited to Brussels was a diplomatic breakthrough for the Taliban. The visit marked another step in her long-running effort to return power at home to legitimacy abroad.
W-who?
Who should represent Europe in the upcoming peace talks between Ukraine and Russia? The leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Poland will join Friedrich Merz in Berlin today for what many see as a test of the format. No one expects the EU itself to take the lead.
The so-called E5 summit comes ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Turkey and amid expectations among diplomats and officials that ceasefire talks between Kiev and Moscow could begin within weeks.
A senior EU diplomat said Euractiv that the E3 – Britain, France and Germany – would be the natural grouping to lead the European effort.
“When it comes to core security interests, the relevant actors are the states capable of providing these guarantees. The E3 has more capabilities than others,” the diplomat said, referring to military capabilities including British and French nuclear deterrence.
Read the full piece by Bruno Waterfield and team.
Spain and Italy retreat to elections
Pedro Sánchez is under increasing pressure in Spain after the conviction of one of his closest allies in a corruption case that could become a turning point for his government. The sentencing this week of former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos to 24 years in prison for running a bribery ring has intensified scrutiny of wider legal proceedings involving figures close to Prime Minister Inés Fernández-Pontes. writes in her confession.
In Italy, Bloomberg reported that Giorgia Meloni is considering holding elections scheduled for 2027 to limit the political cost of her declining approval ratings. The vote, which must take place before the end of 2027, could be held in April and Meloni is said to have discussed the possibility with Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s president.
Spain is set for elections in 2027 no matter what. Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, described it as a “wild election year” last week, with France, Poland and Finland also heading to the polls.
“V4 is back”
The Visegrad Quartet announced the revival of their alliance at a summit in Hungary on Tuesday, pledging closer cooperation on migration, industrial competitiveness and the EU’s next long-term budget.
Péter Magyar blamed Viktor Orban for the group’s recent woes, while Donald Tusk hailed Budapest’s diplomatic re-engagement. The leaders of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also reaffirmed their opposition to the EU’s migration pact. Read the full story of Mátyás Varga.
Here are three new stories from Euractiv:
Shuman roundabout
WHAT IS IRISH TO SCHADENFREUDE? The contrast is stark. This week Britain marks ten years since the Brexit referendum; Meanwhile, Ireland is preparing to take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council for six months.
Micheál Martin, the Irish Prime Minister, noted that Brexit only made Ireland fall more deeply in love with the EU, in a press release. conference with Roberta Metsola in Ireland on Tuesday, where both emphasized Ireland’s enthusiasm for Europe.
“Ireland has the highest pro-European sentiment of any European member state, helped enormously by what happened with Brexit, even strengthened it, because we could see first-hand how that was affecting the UK,” he said.
Martin warned there are still tough yards ahead. “We need to communicate better about some of the advantages of the European Union that we take for granted. But the Irish understand it, when it comes to Europe, in terms of its economic impact,” he added.
Capitals
WARSAW 🇵🇱
Donald Tusk on Tuesday vowed not to light tensions with Ukrainearguing that Poland’s strategic interests depend on close ties with Kiev, despite a growing row over its wartime history. He warned against politicians on both sides exploiting anti-Ukrainian or anti-Polish sentiment for domestic gain and pointed to more than 200 agreements expected at this week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk as evidence of the importance of future cooperation.
– Charles Szumski
Rome 🇮🇹
France and Italy are set to sign a roadmap for defense cooperation 2026-2031 at Thursday’s Franco-Italian summit in Antibes, as Paris and Rome seek to restore relations after years of tensions between Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni. The summit will focus on strengthening existing cooperation, including the SAMP/T NG air defense system, military mobility and a common strategy for security challenges across the Mediterranean and on Europe’s southern flank. Read the full story.
– Pietro Guastamacchia
HELSINKI 🇫🇮
Finland’s centre-right ruling coalition deepened divisions on Tuesday during an emergency press conference on contested changes to state aid criteria proposed by Social Affairs Minister Wille Rydman. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the plans would be redrawn, while Finance Minister Riikka Purra accused a coalition partner of undermining the government, highlighting growing tensions within the four-party alliance.
– Charles Szumski
PODGORICA 🇲🇪
China has approved 13 million euros in new donations to Montenegro, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the “Summer Davos” of the World Economic Forum in Dalian. Spajić, whose country is the leading candidate for EU membership in the Western Balkans, said the talks also covered infrastructure, green transition, education, science, tourism and global developments.
– Bronwyn Jones
PARIS 🇫🇷
France’s National Assembly will consider a comprehensive bill on gender-based and sexual violence in September and October, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday, following public outrage over the Lyhanna case. The package contains 78 cross-party measures. Lecornu said some provisions will be introduced by decree from July, describing violence against women and children as a systemic issue that requires a broader response than just the police and justice.
– Charles Szumski
BRATISLAVA 🇸🇰
Slovak opposition parties and fiscal experts disputed Robert Fico’s claim that the country does not face any serious public finance problems. The Council for Budget Responsibility said comparisons with more indebted EU countries were misleading, noting that Slovakia’s debt is growing faster than many EU states and that it faces one of the bloc’s weakest long-term fiscal prospects despite three government consolidation packages in as many years.
– Natalia Silenska
MADRID 🇪🇸
Government spokeswoman Elma Saiz on Tuesday defended Pedro Sánchez against calls for him to resign after former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos was sentenced to 24 years in prison for a pandemic-era scheme. Saiz said the government had taken political responsibility “from the beginning” and that the ruling Socialists had unequivocally condemned Ábalo’s behavior despite mounting pressure from coalition partners and the opposition.
– Inés Fernández-Pontes
Contributors: Maximilian Henning, Florent Servia, Anupriya Datta, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Thomas Moller-Nielsen, Elisa Braun, Sarantis Michalopoulos, Bruno Waterfield
The editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara, Charles Szumski
