💥 Trump threatened to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine in order to pressure European Nato allies to join a “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Nato’s Rutte warned capitals Trump was “rather hysterical” about their refusal w @lauramdubois.ft.com as.ft.com/r/d508debe-f...

The final piece in our Hungary series came out this morning: Budapest recovered and handed over less than a fifth of the funds flagged by Brussels for potential fraud between 2015 and 2024 @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/8973...

And our latest: by @lauramdubois.ft.com and Marton Dunai: how Hungary sidesteps attempts to get suspect cash back www.ft.com/content/8973...

FT investigation finds 13 associates of Hungary’s premier won large share of state works after he took power. Read more here: ft.trib.al/WNoEKXc

💥 Brussels has requested that the EU’s anti-fraud agency investigate Lord Peter Mandelson’s actions while he was serving the British trade commissioner between 2004 and 2008.  Scoop w @pickardje.bsky.social & @lauramdubois.ft.com @financialtimes.com as.ft.com/r/0542a0fa-4...

Two very big things here: 1) since sanctioning of Rosneft and Lukoil, the largest exporter of Russian crude is an entity called "Redwood Global". It SO HAPPENS that they share an e-mail server with a group of Azeri traders who EU sanctions officials believe are pals with the chief exec of Rosneft.

one of the world's largest smuggling networks has accidentally exposed itself because of a stupid e-mail configuration blunder, which has revealed around 50 apparently unconnected companies are all sharing back-office functions: www.ft.com/content/4310...

FT Exclusive: An IT blunder has revealed an apparent smuggling ring that has moved at least $90bn of Russian oil and is playing a central role in funding the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. ft.trib.al/cmcaLCc

A story from last year that’s more salient than ever by @lauramdubois.ft.com, Davjd Djambazov and me ::: Europe builds for war as arms factories expand at triple speed : www.ft.com/content/ce61...

Years ago, Denmark's migration minister Rasmus Stoklund was “considered a racist and a controversial figure”, he says. Today, Copenhagen's hard-line stance has become mainstream, and migration figures have dropped. But at what cost, and are these policies effective? www.ft.com/content/0bc9...

Great piece by @maxseddon.bsky.social @lauramdubois.ft.com @henryjfoy.ft.com laying out the risks of retaliation from Russia if the EU manages to pull off its frozen assets plan -- TBD at a summit today. www.ft.com/content/616d...

We tracked down Russia's central bank assets around Europe - and found that France is holding €18bn mostly at commercial banks and has been shielding them from plans to use the funds for Ukraine. @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/fe30...

For this story, we used AI to read more than 13,000 documents to identify which MEPs declared a conflict of interest. While dozens have side jobs overlapping with their parliamentary duties, only eight declared a conflict of interest. With @jonathanvincent.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/0466...

Great work by @lauramdubois.ft.com breaking out just how much European MEPs earn in their side jobs — side jobs that often overlap with policy areas they work on in parliament. on.ft.com/4okX8MT

Opposition to the move from capitals that don’t want to reward the oligarch or endorse Russian court rulings could stymie efforts to pass the EU’s next package of sanctions against Moscow Scoop with @lauramdubois.ft.com & @mjruehl.bsky.social on.ft.com/4o7M3i9

EU capitals are discussing a proposal to lift sanctions on assets linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in order to compensate Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International for damages it had to pay in Russia. With @mjruehl.bsky.social @henryjfoy.ft.com on.ft.com/3WmgCo8

Law enforcement found €2.7mn in cash at a customs broker's office, plus €300k at his house. EPPO believes the seized euro are profits linked to Chinese organised crime groups shipping goods into Europe without paying required duties and taxes. www.ft.com/content/2210...

The EU has styled itself as a world leader in climate change policies and human rights. As we report in this morning’s Europe Express with @lauramdubois.ft.com & @andybounds.bsky.social, Brussels is not living up its own standards on both on.ft.com/4mpUPq9

Brussels is preparing ways to use Russia’s frozen assets to back €170bn of “reparation loans” to Ukraine, using cash balances from the matured assets. With @paolatamma.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/4585...

Belgium is open to discuss riskier ways to maximise profits arising from Russian immobilised assets, provided the EU shares the legal risks, its foreign minister told @lauramdubois.ft.com and me - an option just suggested by Ursula von der Leyen in her SOTEU. on.ft.com/4m5yFt9

This piece on the massive scale of European rearmament based on satellite images is so good that some readers think we’re doing the GRU’s work for it. on.ft.com/46OwOFn

The two types of reader: those who like the story and those who think we are providing material assistance to the enemy on.ft.com/46OwOFn

We wanted to know if the money that the EU has put into rearmament is turning into production capacity — and the answer is: yes. Industry is rearming.

Resharing a story we worked on for several months, taking a closer look at the state of Europe’s defence industry. Our analysis of satellite and radar images shows that Europe’s rearmament is already well under way. With @chriscook.news and colleagues on.ft.com/46OwOFn

Three years ago, the EU criticised the UK's Rwanda asylum scheme as inhumane and said it broke international law. Now, it's resuscitating those plans. Sending asylum-seekers outside the bloc “has so much traction now”, Danish migration minister Kaare Dybvad told me. www.ft.com/content/e38a...

How NOT to prepare and present a budget proposal to ensure buy in from colleagues and eventually EU countries — who will have to foot the bill. With @henryjfoy.ft.com and @bmoens.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/c88e...

“We take note — with a degree of surprise — of the reported intention of France to sign a bilateral readmission arrangement,” says the letter sent by Spain, Italy & three other Mediterranean countries to @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu’s chief of staff and seen by @lauramdubois.ft.com on.ft.com/4l0D5BQ

💥 EU to present 18th Russian sanctions package this afternoon, including measures targeting Nord Stream, lowering the oil price cap, and giving Belgium legal safeguards over the €190bn in frozen Moscow assets held in the country on.ft.com/3HySGKk w @lauramdubois.ft.com

Trump’s planned cybersecurity cuts have been a wake-up call to the EU - which, like the rest of the world, has been relying on the US for patching vulnerabilities. Now, the EU wants to step up, says its cyber chief. @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/4mVwsSR

Israel’s Gaza aid plan could lead to ‘war crime’, UN agency chief says https://www.ft.com/content/8f080842-1d45-4c37-8612-bc6e3c7967b1

London's claims that the EU-UK deal paves the way for Brits to use e-gates at airports is not entirely true. They would have been able to anyway under the bloc's new electronic border system, expected to start in autumn. Full story with @pickardje.bsky.social here: on.ft.com/44Nab30

London claimed a deal to let Brits use EU electronic passport gates was a major win from this week's EU-UK Brexit "reset" summit. That's not true - UK citizens would have got that benefit regardless Great story from @lauramdubois.ft.com & @pickardje.bsky.social on.ft.com/4363cRz

„The aid plan which is being proposed is a tool which facilitates the forced displacement of the people,” Philippe Lazzarini said. “And ultimately we know that in [the] context of war, forced displacement of people may constitute [a] war crime.” With @jamesshotter.bsky.social on.ft.com/4jm8GN2

After the ECJ ruled Malta's "golden passport" scheme is unlawful, @joshspero.ft.com and I spoke to the man who developed it. "Globally, it doesn’t matter at all,” said Christian Kälin about the ruling. @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/7bc6...

#Pfizergate: the court ruled in favour of @nytimes.com saying EU commission did not explain why it could not find medsages von der Leyen exchanged with Pfizer CEO 👏 @matinastevis.bsky.social & @alexfanta.bsky.social for keeping EU commission accountable. ✍️ by @lauramdubois.ft.com shorturl.at/FJoak

BREAKING - Pfizergate ruling sees win for transparency - Judges rule that the Commission should not have misled @matinastevis.bsky.social about the existence of Ursula von der Leyen's text messages. More details forthcoming.

The EU's general court ruled against the European Commission in the landmark case about the disclosure of texts between president Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer’s CEO during the Covid-19 vaccine negotiations. An important win for @nytimes.com and other journalists. www.ft.com/content/e928...

“He smelled — excuse me — like shit. And he said ‘there are millions of flies in the evidence room.’” My dispatch from Belgium's justice palace on the country's embattled legal system: @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/0b72...

Full story here on ECJ ruling set to force Malta to withdraw its cash-for-citizenship scheme that the EU’s top court says is not compatible with the bloc’s rules @lauramdubois.ft.com @financialtimes.com enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/b13e4...

BOOM - EU court rules AGAINST Malta's "golden passports" scheme "Such ‘commercialisation’ of citizenship is incompatible with the basic concept of Union citizenship as defined by the Treaties... Malta has infringed EU law" Deep dive on this from @lauramdubois.ft.com here www.ft.com/content/b6ac...

It's official: Malta's "golden passports" scheme violates EU law, the European Court of Justice ruled today. "This essentially amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction,” said the judges. Full story here: www.ft.com/content/a028... @financialtimes.com

Albert Avdolyan has been sanctioned by the EU but can partially circumvent the bloc’s travel ban thanks to his Maltese passport. He’s one of 16 people who bought Maltese passports despite being politically exposed, or who were later sanctioned or convicted of crimes. on.ft.com/4jCHgmP

Hungary would hurt EU taxpayers by lifting Russia sanctions, warns Estonia—Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna told the Financial Times that blocking the renewal of EU sanctions — a threat Orbán has repeatedly made… www.ft.com/content/42df... @lauramdubois.ft.com @financial-times.bsky.social

Why Putin’s offer to Trump is a fake concession designed to lure Washington into forcing an unfair peace on Ukraine Plus, @bmoens.bsky.social on boosting EU tech players without harming US rivals All in today’s Europe Express briefing w @lauramdubois.ft.com on.ft.com/3EzEkrO

I visited FN Herstal's, Belgium's most important small arms producer, where machine gun parts are still filed down by hand for precision. It's a case study of how Europe is struggling to ramp up its production after 30 years of peacetime @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/ba37...

Belgium’s FN Herstal makes machine guns that Nato armies use to defend Europe. But as demand for weapons soars, it has a problem: the main parts of its guns are hand-made. A brilliant dispatch by @lauramdubois.ft.com on a company that sums up Europe’s struggle to rapidly rearm on.ft.com/4jCvzMG

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Austria is moving to tighten asylum laws by blocking relatives of refugees from joining them in the country — a policy shift that would be a first in the EU and could set a precedent for other member states considering stricter immigration policies. W/ @lauramdubois.ft.com on.ft.com/4jkg0ZC

Belgium's new defence minister Theo Francken has called for greater consolidation in the EU defence sector, with the formation up to four “really big” arms companies to “improve quality” and “lower costs" @financialtimes.com with @henryjfoy.ft.com @bmoens.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/1b60...