Martin Selmayr’s latest scheme for ending his effective exile in Rome, where he is EU ambassador to the Holy See, and returning to Brussels seems to have come apart. 

Senior European Commissioners and Parliament leaders will meet this afternoon to try to hammer out a deal over disputed parts of the EU’s €1.8 trillion long-term budget.

Ursula von der Leyen’s fragile governing coalition has been fraying for months. Now, a rupture within her own European People’s Party threatens to derail today’s EU budget talks. Brussels Playbook has more 👇

European negotiators were personally targeted by their American counterparts during a brutal negotiation over green shipping rules, European Commission officials told POLITICO.  This highly unusual gambit left diplomats shaken after the meeting. 

🦇 It’s spooky season in the Berlaymont ... and from international trade talks to old rivalries, there’s no end of skeletons in the closet that could come out to haunt Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team. Brussels Playbook unpacks it all 👇  www.politico.eu/newsletter/b...

The European Union warned Belarus to put a stop to a wave of balloons entering its airspace, though stopped short of blaming the country’s authoritarian government after objections from Hungary.

A major overhaul of the EU’s executive branch has staffers worried for their livelihoods, as the bloc sets its sights on delivering value for money and doing more for less.

The EU is ratcheting up pressure on governments reluctant to agree on funding for war-ravaged Ukraine — telling them if they don’t force Russia to foot the bill, they’ll have to do it themselves.

The EU must impose new trade restrictions on Belarus to degrade its military industries and deprive it of the ability to wage hybrid war, Lithuania's foreign minister warned.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis insisted today before an EU leaders' summit that the bloc must play a bigger role in finding tens of billions of euros for countries to pay for increased military spending.

Divisive German civil servant Martin Selmayr should return to Brussels for the sake of the EU, a senior minister declared today — sparking an immediate rebuke from his own government.

Martin Selmayr, one of the EU’s most effective and feared political operators of recent times, has held talks over a job that would see him return to Brussels ― triggering criticism and dread among diplomats.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin should be blocked from taking part in high-stakes negotiations designed to freeze the war in Ukraine, one of Europe’s top diplomats warned after US President Donald Trump touted Hungary as a host country.

The European Union will press US President Donald Trump to ensure that his ceasefire agreement does not undermine the future of a Palestinian state, according to a draft plan.

An EU plan to sanction Israel’s government ministers and cut back on trade ties has been put on ice as a leading group of member countries believes it’s no longer necessary in light of the US-brokered peace agreement to end the war in Gaza.

Slovakia will oppose efforts to bolster support for Ukraine and slash the flow of funds filling Russia’s war chest, the country’s leader declared today.

Leaders of EU countries will tell the bloc's institutions to speed up the next phase of their deregulation agenda at a meeting later this month, according to a leaked document obtained by POLITICO.

The EU has signaled it won't give in to pressure from Washington to tear up its green rules in order to firm up a deal on tariffs, the bloc’s top trade official has told member countries.

The provocations of Vladimir Putin and the semi-detachment of Donald Trump are forcing the EU to radically transform itself. This week's summit of European leaders will offer the starkest evidence yet the bloc as it once was is no more.

Moldova’s pro-Western government is set to secure a renewed majority after an election in which the campaign was marred by reports of widespread Russian interference. But the victory presents a new challenge for the EU. Brussels Playbook has more 👇

🚨 BREAKING: The pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is firmly in the lead of Moldova’s election, with around half of votes counted so far and PAS-sympathetic constituencies still to tally. Full story: www.politico.eu/article/poll...

Moldovans voted today in a landmark parliamentary election that could determine whether the country stays on course to join the European Union, amid widespread warnings of interference by Russia.

Voters and officials were rushed out of the Moldovan embassy today in central Brussels after reports were received of a bomb in the building, which proved to be false.

Various European leaders have tried to position themselves as Donald Trump’s confidante. But only one has been silently successful. For the US President, Ursula von der Leyen is Europe’s hotline. Brussels Playbook has more 👇

Estonia is calling on its Western allies to show unity in the face of growing aggression, the Baltic nation’s foreign minister said today after three Russian fighter jets entered its airspace.

The EU is planning more sanctions on China. Will it be enough for Donald Trump to persuade Donald Trump to finally press Russia to end the war in Ukraine?

If Donald Trump is going to slap sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, there are a few things he’d like his European allies to do first. Some are easier than others.

Quit stressing about climate change — it'll all be fine. That was the message from two of US President Donald Trump's top government appointees during a trip to Brussels last week.

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has called on the EU’s remaining buyers of Russian fossil fuels to drop their campaign against the bloc’s efforts to end dependency on Moscow and buy from America instead.

A coalition of European leaders has convinced US President Donald Trump that Russia is not interested in ending its war in Ukraine and must be forced to the negotiating table. Now they have to persuade an unpredictable White House to agree on how to make that happen.

The EU can continue to count nuclear power, and in some cases fossil gas, as “environmentally sustainable,” after the bloc's top court ruled the European Commission was not breaching its obligations to tackle climate change.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's crusade against red tape has reached her own institution. The question is, how far will it go?

🍿 In just a few minutes Commission President will start her State of the Union Speech! Follow @politico.eu's LIVE BLOG here: www.politico.eu/article/ursu... With ace colleagues @l-guillot.bsky.social @maxgriera.bsky.social and @gabrielgavin.bsky.social reporting on the ground from Strasbourg ⭐

The EU’s most prominent hard-right pressure group has received millions of euros in financial support from sources linked to Hungary’s populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, new financial disclosures show.

A creeping barrage of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure has knocked out a major share of the country’s crude refining capacity in recent weeks, triggering domestic shortages and leaving the Kremlin’s most important strategic industry teetering on the brink.

The leaders of France, Germany and Poland are converging today on tiny Moldova to urge voters to keep turning away from Russia and support their country’s pro-EU government.

The EU is drafting new measures designed to squeeze Russia’s ailing war economy. But, having already committed to a phaseout of oil and gas imports, the bloc is increasingly aware it is Washington, not Brussels, that is best placed to turn the screws.

European leaders don’t believe Vladimir Putin is sincere about a peace deal — so their strategy is to humor and praise Donald Trump until he finally reaches the same conclusion and realizes he will need to get tougher on the Kremlin.

Zelenskyy has arrived in Washington ahead of a potentially momentous showdown with Trump later today — and this time, he’s not alone. But will the presence of other European leaders in the Oval Office actually help? Brussels Playbook unpacks it all 👇

Ukraine is ready to talk about territorial changes as part of a peace agreement to end Russia’s invasion, but Kyiv won’t give up land that Moscow’s forces do not occupy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is taking top European leaders with him to Washington for crunch talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday.

Russia has no intention of backing down from its brutal war in Ukraine, the EU’s top diplomat said today, just hours after American President Donald Trump insisted he could be close to brokering a truce.

US President Donald Trump began a flurry of diplomatic outreach to Western partners following his high-stakes talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska, as capitals weigh up what might come next from Washington’s bid to end the war in Ukraine.

European leaders can now breathe a little easier after receiving assurances from US President Trump that he’s not going to realize their worst nightmares and sell out Ukraine at a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

Russia is ramping up efforts to influence Moldovans living abroad across Europe to try to sway critical elections next month, the EU candidate country’s security chief has warned.

There's a widening fear on the EU’s eastern fringe that Donald Trump will offer Vladimir Putin huge concessions and economic deals to end his war. It’s the sledgehammer that could smash the West’s economic firewall around Russia — and take American energy with it.

After a nail-biting weekend of high diplomacy on the sidelines of Trump’s golfing trip to Scotland, the EU and the US finally managed to agree on a landmark trade deal. But the bloc has a busy week ahead as it scrambles to lock in the agreement. Brussels Playbook explains 👇

British PM Keir Starmer said he would convene an "emergency call" with France and Germany today to discuss the situation in Gaza, after Emmanuel Macron announced last night he would recognize Palestine as a state. More in Brussels Playbook 👇

France will establish formal diplomatic relations with Palestine, President Emmanuel Macron said today.

For years, lobbying in the EU has played second fiddle to that done in national capitals. But now businesses are realizing they have to be seen and heard in Brussels — and consultants are staking their claim to the spoils. Read more in EU Influence 👇