TALIBAN LEVELS OF TRANSPARENCY: Just 22 days after Euractiv revealed that the European Commission planned to invite the Taliban to Brussels for migration talks, the institution has finally admitted the meeting will take place.
On 21 April, after we published this exclusive, EU spokesperson Markus Lammert said from the podium: “I cannot confirm that a meeting with the de facto authorities from Afghanistan is scheduled to take place in Brussels at this time or that an invitation has been sent.” So what prompted the sudden outbreak of candour?
You’re reading Rapporteur on Tuesday 12 May. This is Eddy Wax, with Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels.
Need-to-knows:
🟢 Albania pitches new enlargement model
🟢 Ribera helps out farmers before election
🟢 One commissioner blames another over Israeli settlements
On the roundabout: What are EU leaders smoking?
From the capital
Whatever happened to the EU’s big enlargement revamp? Cue tumbleweeds.
“Everybody’s waiting for the communication, but it hasn’t gone out,” Ferit Hoxha, Albania’s foreign minister, told me in an exclusive interview on Monday.
Hoxha, a career diplomat who served as Tirana’s ambassador to the EU until March, knows as well as anyone that expanding the bloc has once again become a geopolitical priority. But confusion reigns over what – if anything – Brussels intends to do about it.
European governments have shot down the Commission’s idea of fast-tracking countries into the club, with Ukraine top of mind. Hoxha put it bluntly, saying the “reverse enlargement” plan of membership first, reforms later, is “dead.”
Now, as the enlargement-phobic far-right prepares for elections next year in France, Poland and Spain, Brussels is dusting off an old trick: repackaging an existing policy proposal as something new.
According to the EU’s budget commissioner, the longstanding policy of ‘gradual integration’ – allowing wannabe members access to perks and programmes before full membership – amounts to a major shift.
“The idea is to offer benefits of membership in specific areas of integration even before the formal accession negotiation process is completed,” Piotr Serafin told journalists on Monday, adding it has “quite broad support.”
It might fool some, but no, no, no, it’s not new. Albania, which hopes to join the EU by 2030 and is widely seen as best-in-class alongside Montenegro, wants answers about what Brussels is actually proposing.
“Many people speak about ‘gradual integration,’” Hoxha told me. “I don’t know what it means. Because nobody has explained how it works.”
“The only thing that I know, that we discuss, that we’re doing … with (Enlargement Commissioner) Marta Kos and all the member states is the merit-based process, under the official methodology,” he said.
Still, Hoxha has his own pitch for what meaningful gradual integration could look like. “Can we do more? Can we participate in meetings? Can we be part of different structures?”
For every chapter of negotiations unlocked – Albania has cracked open 33 so far – the country could gain observer status in that policy area. “This would make the process more comprehensive, more involving, and this would absolutely (prepare) the candidate countries for membership,” he said.
“Let’s do something (so) that those who are more advanced, who deserve it and meet the criteria, join the European Union – but the others are not left in limbo.”
So why has the Berlaymont avoided proposing deeper reforms? “Everybody’s waiting a bit for Ukraine,” Hoxha posited.
The EU may be holding back in case it is eventually forced into politically “painful concessions” – like promising Kyiv a membership date – as part of a future peace deal settlement with Russia, he suggested.
“We’re not asking for that because we’re not in a war situation,” Hoxha said. “But we are very vigilant that whatever concessions are done for any (other country) should apply to our country as well.”
Exclusive: Italy-Albania deal will expire
Italy’s controversial five-year migration deal with Albania, signed in 2023, will not be renewed once it expires, Ferit Hoxha also told Rapporteur. That’s because Albania expects to be an EU member by then. Read our full interview.
Ribera’s sauce andalouse
Spain’s leader Pedro Sánchez faces a major electoral test this Sunday when Andalusia goes to the polls. It was curious, then, to read only yesterday that Teresa Ribera, his pick for commissioner, announced she approved a €1.5 billion national state aid scheme for farmers in Extremadura and … Andalusia.
Ribera’s socialist allies in the European Parliament celebrated it as a victory for Spain’s influence in Brussels on rural policy. With six days to go before the vote, MEP Lina Gálvez didn’t miss the chance to slam Juanma Moreno, Andalusia’s centre-right incumbent president, for being “incapable of lobbying for Andalusian interests in Europe.”
Commissioners, however, are supposed to act solely in the European interest.
“The key point is the timing,” said one EPP source, arguing the proximity to the elections in Andalusia clearly demonstrates “intention” by Ribera. So could this be perceived as election interference?
“I would certainly not think so,” said Commission spokesperson Ricardo Cardoso. “The Commission takes its decisions on the basis of the facts and the law.”
Still, Ribera’s track record suggests she understands the political value of making – or not making – an announcement at an opportune moment.
EU vs EU on Israeli settlements
EU foreign ministers agreed fresh sanctions on violent settlers on Monday. But the agreement, long blocked by Hungary, exposed a deeper rift within the Commission over next steps. Kaja Kallas publicly blamed her commissioner colleague Maroš Šefčovič for not formally proposing a ban on trade with settlements.
Countries including France, Sweden, Belgium and Ireland want the EU to ban trade with illegal settlements, but they lack a majority – according to Kallas herself. “There was a call by many member states to take this forward,” she later told a press conference.
Kallas suggested she’d support putting such a proposal to ministers, but pointed out that it would have to come from Šefčovič, the trade commissioner, not from her.
“I asked (for) this, but the proposal is not there, and I can’t draft it,” she said.
EU reopens Syria channel
EU countries on Monday formally restored the full application of the EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement, the clearest sign yet that Brussels is moving towards normalising ties with Damascus after more than a decade of isolation.
The decision, announced after the first high-level EU-Syria meeting, rolls back parts of the sanctions regime introduced in 2011 over human rights abuses under Bashar al-Assad. EU foreign ministers also agreed to lift restrictive measures on Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab and Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra.
Concerns over Kurdish rights persist, however, following renewed tensions in northeast Syria over Kurdish-language education. Kaja Kallas said she would raise minority rights concerns, including access to education in their native languages.
Cruise virus tests EU crisis machine
While WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took the public lead during the hantavirus outbreak aboard a Dutch cruise ship stranded off the Canary Islands, Brussels has been quietly coordinating Europe’s response behind the scenes.
The Commission activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism at Spain’s request, organising several repatriation flights and convening daily health security talks with G7 partners, while the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control deployed experts to support Spanish authorities and warned further cases across Europe remain possible because of the virus’ long incubation period. Read the full story by Euractiv’s Thomas Mangin.
Romania pitches its own drone wall
Romanian Defence Minister Radu-Dinel Miruță told my colleague Pietro Guastamacchia that the EU should consider a joint response to drone threats along its eastern flank, even as governments weigh the risks of intercepting drones near civilian areas.
Miruță said he would raise the issue at today’s defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
Romania, which shares one of the EU’s longest borders with Ukraine, has repeatedly reported Russian drones straying into its territory during attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. But Bucharest wants Brussels to treat the issue as a European, rather than purely national, problem. “This threat is not only for Romania,” Miruță said.
It sounds curiously like the EU’s Drone Wall plan, which seems not to have got very far off the ground.
Schuman roundabout
HIGH ON THE AGENDA: EU leaders are set to discuss illicit drugs and trafficking at the next European Council meeting and may give guidance on implementing the bloc’s drugs strategy, according to a draft agenda seen by Rapporteur.
‘CHARLEMAGNE CLUB’: A far-right debating club in the European Parliament has caused a stir by advertising an event tonight titled: “Towards a far-right majority in the European Parliament.” Speakers include the EPP’s Branko Grims, ESN’s Rene Aust, ECR’s Charlie Weimers and the Patriots’ António Tânger Corrêa.
The advert alone drew criticism from the S&D group, prompting Weimers to accuse the Socialists of hypocrisy for working with the far left. Austrian liberal Helmut Brandstätter asked: “Where does the EPP draw the line when it comes to collaborating with the far right?”
STRIKE: There’s a national strike in Belgium today affecting public transport. More info.
The capitals
BUDAPEST 🇭🇺
Péter Magyar’s new government faced its first nepotism controversy before even taking office after his designated justice minister and brother-in-law Márton Melléthei-Barna abruptly resigned. The incident exposed the dense web of family and institutional ties surrounding Hungary’s new political elite, testing Magyar’s pledge to dismantle the patronage networks built under Viktor Orbán. Critics warned the appointment risked undermining planned judicial reforms. Read the full story.
– Mátyás Varga
LONDON 🇬🇧
Keir Starmer vowed to fight for his premiership after more than 60 Labour MPs urged him to quit following heavy local election losses. Four junior aides resigned, while critics, including the home secretary, pushed for a timetable to replace him. Starmer admitted voters’ frustration, promised a more radical agenda on growth and Europe, and warned Labour risked plunging Britain down a “very dark path” if it failed to deliver.
– Christina Zhao
MADRID 🇪🇸
Spain’s National Court has dismissed all charges against former Catalan President Jordi Pujol, 95, citing advanced cognitive impairment. Prosecutors had accused Pujol and his seven children of running a criminal organisation that allegedly laundered millions of euros in bribes during and after his two decades in power. Charges remain against his children, with prosecutors seeking up to 29 years in prison for his eldest son.
– Inés Fernández-Pontes
ATHENS 🇬🇷
Greece’s Supreme Judicial Council has renewed the mandates of the three prosecutors serving in the Greek branch of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for two years, rather than the five-year term approved by the College of European Prosecutors. The court said the prosecutors should remain in place until their current case files are completed. An EPPO spokesperson told Euractiv the office would “analyse the decision and determine the appropriate next steps.”
– Sarantis Michalopoulos
BELGRADE 🇷🇸
Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said on Monday that no EU Growth Plan payments had been made to Serbia since the adoption of controversial judicial and prosecution laws, but denied the Commission had formally frozen the funds. The clarification followed earlier remarks by Kos suggesting payments had been halted over concerns about judicial backsliding, fuelling questions over Brussels’ approach to rule-of-law conditionality in Serbia’s accession process.
– Bronwyn Jones
WARSAW 🇵🇱
Poland is seeking explanations from the US over the arrival of former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki said on Monday, expressing hope the case will not damage bilateral ties. Ziobro, who faces 26 criminal charges in Poland, including abuse of power and organised crime allegations, confirmed he is in the US after receiving asylum in Hungary. Warsaw said it would seek his extradition.
– Charles Szumski
PRISTINA 🇽🇰
Kaja Kallas said repeated elections in Kosovo were delaying the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue after a planned high-level meeting was postponed ahead of Kosovo’s 7 June snap poll. Kallas said both sides had agreed to the talks, but she was now working separately with Belgrade and Pristina on implementing existing agreements. Kosovo acting Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca said the instability was hampering implementation of the EU Growth Plan.
– Bronwyn Jones
Also on Euractiv
Trump arrives in Beijing with no cards to play
Few presidential visits to China have been as freighted with political vulnerability as Donald Trump’s…
5 minutes
Alicia García Herrero, a senior fellow at Bruegel, argues that Donald Trump arrives in Beijing politically weakened after alienating allies, fracturing the transatlantic front on China and signalling a willingness to trade away US technological leverage for short-term political wins. In an op-ed for Euractiv, she warns that any transactional Trump-Xi détente would leave Europe facing intensified Chinese competition and a harsher commercial landscape.
Contributors: Claudie Moreau, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Pietro Guastamacchia, Vince Chadwick, Victoria Becker, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Thomas Møller-Nielsen, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro, Angelo di Mambro, Björn Stritzel
Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara, Charles Szumski
