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In today’s news from The Capitals:
PARIS
During a meeting held today with representatives of industries most affected by the tariff measures announced by Donald Trump, President Emmanuel Macron urged French manufacturers to suspend „upcoming investments or those announced in recent weeks” in the United States. Read more.
France singles out digital services for EU’s tariff response. Services will be part of the EU’s tariff response, the French government’s spokesperson said on Thursday, name-dropping Big Tech. Read more.
WESTERN EUROPE
BERLIN
Berlin seeks to detach from US as an energy supplier. With US President Trump’s suggestion European LNG customers could buy their way out of tariffs not materialising, they are now reconsidering their energy sourcing – facing tough decisions while weaning themselves off old supply sources. Read more.
NORDICS & BALTICS
STOCKHOLM
Sweden’s Volvo increases car production in the US after tariffs. Volvo Cars is increasing production of vehicles at its US factory in South Carolina, according to CEO Håkan Samuelsson in an interview with Bloomberg after Trump hit the EU with a 20% duty.
„We will need to increase the number of cars we build in the US and probably move another model to that plant,” Samuelsson said, adding that the company needs to start building its cars where it sells them.
According to him, Trump’s tariffs entail a regionalisation process which calls to „follow Darwin’s law” and adapt faster than the competition. „Even if you can’t do it overnight, it’s important to do it quickly.”
Volvo opened its factory in South Carolina in 2018, where it already produces the EX90 and Polestar 3 models.
(Charles Szumski | Euractiv)
EUROPE’S SOUTH
ROME
Money heist: Why Italy’s health-care system is on life support. Italy’s public health system has become increasingly reliant on temporary, freelance medical professionals, but what was originally intended as a quick fix has trapped the country in a costly spiral, exacerbating the very problems it was intended to solve. Read more.
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MADRID
Spain’s Sánchez announces multi-billion dollar plan to soften US tariff blow. Europe will not stand “idly by” and will react with “proportionality, unity and strength” to the new tariffs announced by Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference at his government’s headquarters in Madrid, Sánchez unveiled a € 14.1 billion trade response and plan aimed at mitigating the negative impacts of Trump’s trade war.
Protecting the economy. The plan will be “a shield to protect the Spanish economy”. “If the (trade) storm is unleashed, Spain will have a double umbrella: the European umbrella and the Spanish umbrella,” the Spanish prime minister added
Sánchez also commented on Trump’s tariff policy.
The “supposed reciprocity (of the tariffs) is just an excuse to punish countries, apply sterile protectionism and collect money to try to mitigate the deficit that is causing a more than questionable fiscal policy. Therefore, nobody is going to benefit from this,” he added.
(Fernando Heller | Euractiv.es)
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LISBON
Portugal: Douro wine exporters see cancelled orders even before tariffs hit. The president of the Association of Port Wine Companies (AEVP) said on Thursday that wine orders for the US market have been suspended or cancelled before announcing new 20% tariffs to the European Union.
„There are several orders that have been suspended or cancelled awaiting clarification of the situation regarding the tariffs,” said António Filipe, referring to AEVP member companies.
He specified that this situation occurred after President Donald Trump threatened to apply 200% of the duties to drinks such as wine from the European Union in mid-March. “So that the shipments wouldn’t be caught in transit, and unexpectedly have to pay taxes on entry (into the United States) that hadn’t yet been decided. So we have several cancelled and several suspended orders waiting for clarification,” said António Filipe.
António Filipe said that the new tariffs „have a huge impact” on the wine business and that they were still trying to understand and calculate the impact on the end consumer, but estimated that it would be „greater than 20%”.
In his opinion, these new tariffs could have a short-term consequence: a drop in consumption because the product is more expensive. Still, he added that it could also have a „structural effect” of „abandoning consumers” „The American market is the world’s largest wine market and has the highest purchasing power. You can’t find another market to replace it,” he said.
The US market is in the „top five”, i.e. the top five export markets for wines produced in the Douro Demarcated Region, in terms of quantity and value. In 2024, around €36 million worth of Port was exported to the USA, translating into an increase of 6.5% compared to the previous year. The North American market accounted for a turnover of around €5.6 million in terms of Denomination of Controlled Origin (DOC) Douro wines.
(Paula Lima – edited by Pedro Sousa Carvalho | Lusa.pt)
EASTERN EUROPE
BUDAPEST
Hungary announces withdrawal from International Criminal Court. Hungary announced that it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) shortly after the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest for a visit, despite being wanted under an ICC arrest warrant. Read more.
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WARSAW
Duda slams anti-hate-speech law, cites ‘leftist movements’ Polish president Andrzej Duda criticised the amendment to the Criminal Code, penalising hate speech on the basis of gender, age, sexual orientation or disability. “The leftist, progressive, and liberal movements that so loudly preach tolerance and diversity are the first to suppress free speech,” he told the Catholic pro-PiS Trwam broadcaster.
Under the previously binding provisions of the Polish Penal Code, the list of criteria for hate crimes included national, ethnic, racial, and religious affiliation, as well as lack of religious belief. By adopting the amendment in early March, the Sejm added age, gender, disability, and sexual orientation to the list. The Senate, the upper parliamentary chamber, adopted the law later the same month.
Significant restriction of freedom of speech. The president argued that the law constitutes “a significant restriction of freedom of speech” and an attempt to “push us into the liberal-leftist framework of using a certain kind of newspeak.” The leftist camps “are the first to ration language, to define it strictly according to their own preferences, and at the same time to punish any deviation from what they consider the only proper political correctness in language and the only permissible political orthodoxy in speech,” he said.
“Nothing could be further from the truth – I will never agree with this,” the president added, suggesting that he may refuse to sign the law.
(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)
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PRAGUE
Czechia urges coordinated EU action to tackle livestock disease. Central European countries are joining forces to demand a coordinated EU response to the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious livestock disease, Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný said.
Slovakia and Hungary are currently facing outbreaks, while Czechia and Poland are disease-free but have increased controls and adopted preventive protocols.
“The situation calls for EU-wide coordination,” Výborný said. According to the Czech minister, the goal is to push the EU for swift, collective action to contain the disease and support member states trying to prevent a wider outbreak.
(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
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BRATISLAVA
Slovakia: junior coalition partner calls on Fico to “dismiss” Šefčovič over US tariffs. The junior coalition party, the Slovak National Party (SNS/NI), has called on PM Robert Fico (Smer-SD/NI) to dismiss Slovak EU Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič. Read more.
Slovakia pledges to protect Hungary’s voting rights. Estonia, alongside several MEPs and, apparently, the new German government have advocated for suspending Hungary’s EU voting rights over its Pride march ban, but Slovakia’s government under PM Robert Fico (Smer-SD/NI) is likely to stand in the way.
Plenty of EU member states have voiced concern over the situation in Hungary, where Viktor Orbán’s government has long embraced what it calls an „illiberal democracy.” Momentum has been building among these countries to potentially take action against Budapest.
The next hearing on Hungary under Article 7 is scheduled for 27 May. However, for voting rights of the country to be suspended, all other member states must first unanimously agree that it has committed a serious and persistent breach of EU values. As Euractiv.cz pointed out, Slovakia appears to be one of the countries that would firmly oppose such a measure against Hungary. This stance was reinforced by MEP Ľuboš Blaha (Smer-SD/NI).
“Slovaks stand with Hungarians. If liberal extremists try to take away Hungary’s voting rights, Slovakia will block it in the European Council,” he declared in the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Blaha, known for his aggressive rhetoric, is not alone in this position as Slovak PM Fico – an ally of Orbán – has echoed similar sentiments. On 17 March, Fico stated without any context that Slovakia would never support any EU sanctions against Hungary for its sovereign positions.
His remarks were likely a response to Estonia’s foreign minister, who back then suggested that Hungary’s voting rights in the Council should be suspended due to its actions against European common interests.
(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian government survives first no-confidence vote. The Bulgarian government has survived the first no-confidence vote, organised by pro-Russian parties over the country’s military and political support for Ukraine.
The motion to dismiss the government was proposed by the pro-Russian parties Vazrazhdane (Revival party, The Sovereignists group) and Velichie (Greatness), which were supported by the populist MECH (Sword). The three parties’ proposition gathered only 54 votes in the 240-seat parliament. After the vote, Vazrazhdane announced that it would immediately submit a new no-confidence vote, citing corruption in the executive branch.
The pro-Russian party is trying to block the Bulgarian parliament while legislation is being prepared for joining the eurozone and receiving grants from the EU Recovery Plan. The leader of the radical pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party, Kostadin Kostadinov, expressed on Thursday his satisfaction with the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, as they hit the EU and would return it to its roots as an „economic” union.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
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BUCHAREST
Romanian soldiers on parental leave found working as mercenaries in Congo. The Romanian Ministry of Defence has discovered, following an investigation, that hundreds of reservist soldiers signed contracts with private security companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo after being transferred to the reserves. Read more.
AGENDA:
- EU: First EU-Central Asia summit takes place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan; Agenda highlights include common security challenges, enhancing economic, trade & investment ties, energy, and more;
- High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas attends NATO Foreign Affairs ministers meeting;
- Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera takes part in Enforcers’ Roundtable within Antitrust Law Section at American Bar Association meeting, in Washington DC, United States;
- Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius meets with Polish defence industry representatives, in Warsaw, Poland;
- Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen participates in Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council ministerial meeting and Green Energy Advisory Council ministerial meeting, in Baku, Azerbaijan;
- Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner participates in Europa Forum Lech;
- Parliament’s Plenary debates on Action Plan on Rare Diseases, and more; Votes on establishing an EU talent pool, energy-intensive industries, situation in Belarus, and more.
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(Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara)
