Good morning. Angela Skujins with your Thursday newsletter, where dollar signs are beaming from all corners of the bloc. But before we get into the money weeds, it is a mammoth day for international football fans.
Blow the whistle. The 2026 FIFA World Cup — a competition billed unlike any other, as it is split between three countries — kicks off on June 11 with its first opening ceremony in Mexico City.
A star-studded performance is expected from Colombian popstar Shakira, before the tournament’s first fixture between Mexico and South Africa gets underway. From there, the action spreads across Canada and the United States as football’s biggest tournament takes off.
But like everything on that side of the Atlantic, it is marred in controversy. Expensive ticket prices have been widely panned, Somali referee Omar Artan was rejected from entering the US, and social unrest in Mexico City due to teacher strikes threatens to topple the opening ceremony.
European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef just told Europe Today that he has "world cup fever" and there are many in the Berlaymont who will be watching Europe's 16 teams participate.
"I hope this world cup is remembered for a pure football excitement, for the joy and passion it brings," he added. "Of course around big sporting events you have controversy, and of course there are issues that merit attention, but my hope is that for the time being we focus on the sport of football and the joy of it." Watch.
It’s also game day for EU finance policy nerds.
Show me the money. European Council President António Costa has flagged that next week’s European Council (EUCO) summit in Brussels will focus on competitiveness. In an invitation letter sent to the 27 EU heads of state, he said “global macroeconomic imbalances” will be in the meeting’s line of sight.
“Europe must do its economic homework — but, at the same time, fair competition at the global level requires a level playing field,” the letter continues.
Feeding into next week’s EUCO crunch-talks will be the Cyprus presidency’s proposal for the next long-term EU budget. It’s the moment when the be-all, end-all money skirmish really kicks off.
Opening the nego-box. As my colleague Jorge Liboreiro reports, Cyprus believes the closed-door discussions are matured enough to put specific numbers, rather than a range of figures, on each of the three main headings.
This includes the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), which spans the jealously guarded agriculture and cohesion funds; the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), which includes strategic priorities such as innovation, defence and clean tech; and Global Europe (GE), which includes foreign policy, humanitarian aid and accession.
The nego-box, as we call it in Brussels, is expected to contain a modest cut of around 2% to the original Commission proposal, which was worth almost €2 trillion.
The 2% is considered a delicate compromise between a group of member states that wanted to preserve (or even increase) the €2 trillion headline and the frugals (or “modernisers”, as they have rebranded themselves) that pushed for hardline reductions.
There will be cuts across the board, Jorge hears, but they won’t be equal in size. Needless to say, however, everybody will hate the proposal.
The red lines are still too entrenched. Money is always explosive. And yet, the goal is to have a final agreement on the budget by the end of the year to prevent discussions from spilling over into 2027, which will see crucial elections in France, Poland, Spain and Italy. This December promises to bring, as diplomats say, “blood on the walls”. Isn’t red just perfect for Christmas?
Energy crisis bites. Over to Frankfurt, the European Central Bank is set to raise interest rates because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The last time the institution raised interest rates was in 2023, because of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
As my colleague Eleanora Vasques dispatches from a train on her way to the German finance hub, the effects of the Middle East conflict starting in February 2026 reverberated across Europe almost immediately. With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, still partially closed, the price of oil and gas rocketed, with a strong impact on European importers.
The decision came as a way to tackle rising inflation. However, the rise in interest rates will have an impact on economic growth, already slowing down according to economic indicators.
Finance ministers from the eurozone are also meeting in Luxembourg. Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis just told Europe editor Maria Tadeo on Europe Todaythat Europe is not in a “worst-case scenario” financially-speaking. He did concede, however, the bloc is in a “challenging” environment compounded by inflation going upwards and growth downwards.
The Commission is monitoring the situation, with discussions today in Luxembourg aimed at finding a solution, he said.
In other news: Albania’s resort scandal rages on. Officials from the European Commission have been inundated with thousands of angry emails from campaign groups asking the EU to “uphold Albania’s environmental commitments.”
The campaigners are asking the EU executive to pressure the Albanian government to pause any construction process. And to ensure that the country aligns with the EU standards before any prior acessession steps. This is according to an email seen by Euronews, as reported by my colleague Luca Bertuzzi.
In fact, Albania found itself in an odd spot after a Commission spokesperson issued a warning on Tuesday concerning a €1.4 billion real-estate project linked to US President Donald Trump’s family, which Tirana perceived as a hasty judgment.
The issue was raised during the College of Commissioners meeting on Thursday, where there was a consensus that there was no point in bashing Prime Minister Edi Rama, as it was better to offer a way out of this political conundrum (and memes).
Meanwhile, the Commission’s annual report on Albania’s accession progress is set to be voted on by MEPs gathered in plenary session next week, where some last-minute amendments pointing to the scandal are to be expected.
Five EU countries push tougher safeguards for future members to avoid Orbán repeat
The European Union should be equipped with additional tools to respond more swiftly to new member states that violate fundamental rights and democratic principles, five countries have said as EU enlargement gains renewed urgency.
A joint proposal by Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, seen by Euronews, recommends that the accession treaties of the bloc's future members be beefed up with various safeguard clauses to crack down on legal breaches and impose swift penalties, such as suspension of funds and voting rights.
Newcomers should also have their veto power restricted for an undefined period to prevent sudden blockages in high-priority decisions, the document says. Foreign policy is one of the areas where the EU requires unanimity at all times.
Enlargement, a diplomat said, "should not go to the detriment of our capacity to act".
Read more of Jorge’s story here.
More from our newsrooms
'We have already given enough': Bulgaria's PM says weapons supplies to Ukraine will end
Bulgaria will no longer provide weapons from its army stocks to Ukraine, the country's prime minister Rumen Radev said on Wednesday, calling for "the pursuit of a diplomatic solution" to end the war. Gavin Blackburn has the scoop.
Trust in France's institutions 'at stake' after girl's killing, Emmanuel Macron says
President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he feared for trust in France's institutions after a botched investigation into the main suspect in an 11-year-old girl's likely murder triggered public outrage. Gavin and Christina Molle have the details.
A turning point: Why Germany’s military capabilities are underestimated
Many people believe that Germans are not prepared for defence. In a guest opinion piece for Euronews, military sociologist Timo Graf uses recent survey data to show why this view underestimates German society’s capacity for defence.
We're also keeping an eye on
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will receive the Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre in Brussels, Belgium.
- European Commissioner for Justice and Rule of Law Michael McGrath meets with civil society organisations in Zagreb, Croatia.
That’s it for today. Jorge Liboreiro, Luca Bertuzzi and Eleanora Vasques contributed to this newsletter.