As Europe wakes up to Russia’s danger, it faces tough spending trade-offs

Good morning from Brussels,

Facing a new sense of urgency, EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss making military support to Ukraine more sustainable while ramping up their own defences.

Two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, several EU diplomats described the reality on the ground as ‘dire’.

Euractiv’s Alexandra Brzozowski takes a deeper look at the fault lines ahead of the summit as Europe prepares to switch into a ‘war economy’ mode.

Meanwhile, in a letter seen by Euractiv’ Angelo di Mambro, agriculture ministers from five EU countries called on the Commission to propose draft legislation to limit the import of grains from Russia and Belarus, citing unfair competition and moral obligations.

Last but not least, Euractiv has learnt that in recent days, the EU has been in backstage talks to send Turkey a ‘positive’ signal in the summit’s conclusions.

The EU’s auditing body has warned that the European Commission’s strategy of relying on member states to ensure the money of the pandemic recovery fund is properly spent is heightening the “risk of irregularity or even corruption”, Euractiv’s Thomas Moller-Nielsen reports.

Meanwhile, former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, in charge of the long-awaited Single Market Report, wants to propose a tool resembling tax credits used by the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), he said on Tuesday, writes Jonathan Packroff.

On the political front, EU liberals kicked off their campaign for June’s European election to a muted reception amid internal divisions that have forced the multi-party alliance to agree on a joint electoral programme of the lowest common denominators. Max Griera has the whole story.

Last but not least, Amalie Holmgaard Mersh reports that health organisations find EU Parliament’s compromise on pharma revision ‘a mixed bag’.

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PARIS

The joint EU election list formed by the French Socialist Party and leftist “Place Publique” led by Raphaël Glucksmann scored 13% in polls published on Wednesday and could be a cause for concern within Macron’s Renaissance camp that their core voter base is shifting to the left. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

Russian confrontation needs to be dealt with, says Swedish FM. Russia has significantly worsened Europe and Sweden’s security policy, and its confrontational approach must be dealt with, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström noted in his foreign policy statement to the Swedish parliament on the occasion of Sweden’s recent accession to NATO. Read more.

DUBLIN

Ireland’s Varadkar unexpectedly quits as PM. Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday he would step down as Ireland’s prime minister and the leader of the governing Fine Gael party in a surprise move he attributed to personal and political reasons. Read more.

LISBON

Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has asked Luís Montenegro, leader of the centre-right PSD (EPP), to form a government during an audience held on Thursday night, putting an end to eight years of Socialist rule. Read more.

Costa given farewell gift by European Council. Portugal’s outgoing Prime Minister António Costa (PS) will receive a statuette alluding to the European Council’s headquarters at his last EU summit in Brussels after eight years in power. Read more.

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MADRID

Spain’s VOX hopes to ‘restore the sovereignty of nations’ in EU bid. Spain’s far-right VOX party, now parliament’s third-largest force, will launch its EU election manifesto, under the slogan “Europe Alive 24”, at its annual party conference on 18-19 May, party sources confirmed on Wednesday. Read more.

WARSAW

Warsaw blames EU Commissioner Wojciechowski for farmers’ protests. Polish EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski is to blame for the problems that led to farmers’ protests in Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s office said in response to a letter the EU official sent to the prime minister, adding that he should “get on with his job”. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgaria investing over €295 million in key pipeline for Balkans. Bulgaria has decided to invest more than €295 million in the so-called ‘Vertical Corridor,’ a key initiative between seven Balkan countries’ gas transmission operators to reduce reliance on Russian gas. Read more.

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BUCHAREST| SOFIA

Bulgarians, Romanians will no longer need to show ID at internal EU air and sea borders. Bulgarians and Romanians will no longer be subject to checks when officially entering the Schengen Area at the EU’s internal air and sea borders from 31 March, although checks will still be carried out when crossing land borders. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

EU Commission concerned over Romania’s failure to implement recovery reforms. The European Commission issued a warning to Bucharest over the lag in implementing National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) measures, while Romanian minister Adrian Câciu emphasises the need for accelerated progress but applauds steps already taken. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]