Good morning. I’m Mared Gwyn, back holding the newsletter pen this Thursday morning.
Just in: Top EU trade lawmaker Bernd Lange has told Europe Today that it is “crystal clear” that the US is breaching the terms of the EU-US trade deal agreed on a Scottish golf course last summer.
“Contrary to our goal to reach stability and predictability with the deal in Scotland, totally the opposite,” Lange said, adding that “for us, it’s crystal clear that the US is really breaking the deal.”
“Now we have the normal tariffs plus ten or perhaps fifteen percent above. This means a lot of products are tariffed at 50% or above,” he explained. “We need clarification from the US in written form saying we stick to the Scotland deal.”
The European Parliament hit the brakes on the EU-US trade deal on Monday after President Donald Trump threatened further 15% global levies in response to the Supreme Court ruling that the methods he used to impose his Liberation Day tariffs were illegal.
Several other global countries are also deferring their trade agreements with the US in response.
“The breach is really on the side of the US, and this has to be stopped, otherwise we have uncertainty,” Lange, who chairs the European Parliament’s committee on international trade, added. He also said the Parliament will attempt to buy time to bring the US on board before contemplating any counter-measures. Watch.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz continues his visit to China today, where he aims to re-balance the lopsided trading relationship with Beijing while urging President Xi to use his clout to help end the war in Ukraine.
Merz is one of several European leaders to have travelled to China in recent weeks seeking a diplomatic reset amid the fallout from Trump’s tariffs. But China’s ballooning trade surplus, industrial over-capacity and restrictions on rare earths exports to Europe remain major obstacles to the rapprochement.
“In view of the uncertainties caused by customs policy that we see around the world (…) we can now set a different example in our bilateral relations, through the reliability and security of the economic relations between our two countries,” Merz said addressing Chinese premier Li Qiang on Wednesday. Evelyn Dom has more.
Also today, the US and Iran are expected to hold a third round of indirect talks in Geneva, aimed at striking a settlement on the Iranian nuclear and missile programmes. The talks are considered pivotal in order to avoid a military escalation, after an unprecedented US military build-up in the Middle East.
The US delegation, which includes US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will also hold talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Geneva, ahead of a further round of trilateral talks with Russia expected next week, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said yesterday.
“We expect this meeting to create an opportunity to move talks to the leaders’ level,” Zelensksyy explained last night. “President Trump supports this sequence of steps. This is the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues.”
EU asks Ukraine to repair Druzhba pipeline as Croatia offers alternative route
The European Commission has asked Ukraine to accelerate repair works on the Druzhba oil pipeline to defuse the ongoing feud with Hungary and Slovakia, my colleague Jorge Liboreiro writes in to report.
Reminder: The pipeline was severely damaged on 27 January by an attack attributed to Russia. Last week, both Hungary and Slovakia, which receive Russian crude through Druzhba thanks to an open-ended sanctions exemption, accused Ukraine over the interruption of supplies and responded by refusing to green-light fresh sanctions on Russia. Budapest took it furtherby also vetoing a €90 billion emergency loan to Ukraine.
At the same time, the Adria pipeline, also known as JANAF, which begins in Croatia and connects several Central European countries, has emerged as the most viable alternative to ensure that Hungary and Slovakia continue to receive oil supplies.
“As a strategic energy hub of the European Union and the only secure crude oil supply route for Central Europe, JANAF is prepared to meet the full annual needs of refineries in Slovakia and Hungary,” the operator saidon Wednesday.
A similar conclusion was reached in Brussels after a meeting of technical experts from all member states specifically convened to address the dispute over Druzhba, with a Commission spokesperson saying that there is “no immediate risk to the EU’s security of supply.”
Yet Budapest remains defiant. On Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he would deploy soldiers to protect oil infrastructure and establish a no-drone zone near the border with Ukraine.
Jorge has the details.
Left-wing MEPs push European Commission to finance abortions across borders
Over one hundred Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) penned a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, asking for a European-funded pathway that ensures real and effective access to abortions, my colleague Vincenzo Genovese eports.
The letter aims to lobby the Commission to back a citizens’ initiative named “My Voice, My Choice”, signed by over 1.1 million Europeans calling for improved access to safe abortion.
The initiative calls for financial support for all Europeans to be able to safely terminate pregnancies wherever they are in the EU, including those forced to travel from their home countries, claiming that the lack of access to abortion in some EU member states puts women at risk of physical harm and mental stress and leads them to seek unsafe abortions.
EU institutions are obliged to assess any initiative that gets the support of at least 1 million people across at least seven EU countries.
Vincenzo has the details.
British charm offensive on ‘Made in Europe’ under way as London seeks closer EU ties
After its failure to strike a deal to tap into the EU’s defence for loan scheme, the UK is now on a charm offensive to secure “Made in Europe” access for its industry, my colleagues Peggy Corlin and Alice Tidey write. UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle continues his visit to Brussels on Thursday to press the case for UK involvement in the European preference scheme the Commission is drafting, as speculation circulates that it will be limited to EU countries only.
“We have a shared challenge on the continent of Europe about economic security,” Kyle told journalists after meeting Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera on Wednesday, adding that “the continent of Europe should come together” to build “resilience” at a time of increasing worldwide economic tensions.
The UK fears Brussels’ push to favour “Made in Europe” products will shut it out of EU public procurement and state aid, escalating post-Brexit trade tensions. London argues that the EU and UK economies are too deeply intertwined to withstand a strict EU-only European Preference.
But France is leading a push to limit eligibility to members of the European Economic Area – including Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland – as well as countries with reciprocal procurement agreements with the EU.
Peggy and Alice have more.
More from our newsrooms
Four years after Russia’s invasion: How have electricity and gas prices changed across Europe? Residential electricity and gas prices in the EU remain above the levels seen before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Compared to the highly volatile years of the energy crisis, prices have largely stabilised as of 2026. Servet Yanatmahas more.
Fake Euronews videos used in large Milan Olympics disinformation campaign. Videos circulating on X and Telegram in February have used Euronews’ graphics to spread false claims about Ukrainian refugees and athletes during the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Tamsin Paternoster and Estelle Nilsson-Julien have the story.
Spain to ban the sale of energy drinks to children under the age of 16. The Spanish government is moving ahead with a ban on energy drinks for minors, based on data that warns of the risks of caffeine in adolescents, Cristian Caraballo reports.
We’re also keeping an eye on
- European Commission to announce its final decision on a citizens’ initiative on safe abortion.
- European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde speaks to the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee.
- European Council President António Costa meets the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to deliver a speech at the Eastern Border Regions High-Level Conference.
- European Commission to hold “orientation debate” on the so-called 28th regime, a proposal to streamline rules for businesses across Europe.
That’s it for today. Jorge Liboreiro, Alice Tidey, Peggy Corlin, Vincenzo Genovese and Eleonora Vasques contributed to this newsletter. Remember to sign up to receive Europe Today in your inbox every weekday morning at 08.30.
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