Weather 
But first: Brace yourselves because temperatures are set to creep up again in the coming days across many parts of Europe. As my colleague Marta Pacheco reports, it’s forcing officials in Brussels to rethink the bloc’s climate policies, with a pivot from mitigation to adaptation.
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Meet me in Cork: Today, the College of European Commissioners, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, will meet their Irish government counterparts in Cork, my colleague Jorge Liboreiro reports from the ground. It’s the traditional visit that marks the start of a new rotating presidency. Cork, it must be noted, is the hometown of Taoiseach, Micheál Martin.
High on the agenda will be the next EU budget, which the Irish presidency is tasked with finalising before the end of the year. Speaking to reporters, Martin predicted the negotiations would be “extremely difficult” and require “significant” concessions from all sides.
Autumn ‘nego-box’ expected: Designing a seven-year budget, he said, means “reconciling the irreconcilable”. Ireland will present a revised nego-box in October, with special focus on the so-called own resources, the EU-wide taxes that are meant to complement national contributions. Everybody agrees that so-called own resources are necessary to fill the gap, yet nobody can say which ones fit best.
Also high on the agenda: alumina: The scandal of Irish-made alumina sales to Russia continues making (damaging) headlines, Jorge tells me. Martin said factors such as local jobs, the environment and supply chain should be taken into account before making a final decision. The Taoiseach promised to share the findings of an internal investigation with the Commission and work together to “develop an approach” to tackle the “core issue”. He spoke about possible “next steps” but fell short of committing to sanctions, which is the central request coming from Kyiv.
Jorge breaks down the latest on the alumina scandal.
What else is hot today in Cork? Enlargement, competitiveness, security, rising trade tensions with China and the latest tariff threat from Donald Trump. Also: restrictions with the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, something that Dublin has been pushing for years but that still lacks a qualified majority (and an actual proposal) to become a reality. Keep an eye out for the von der Leyen-Martin joint press conference later today.
Also happening today: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is set to meet his Polish counterpart Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Warsaw to discuss Polish-Ukrainian relations amid an unprecedented diplomatic escalation between the neighbouring countries.
Kyiv’s decision to rename a Ukrainian military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – a unit which fought for Ukraine’s independence during World War II seen as controversial in Poland, where it is primarily remembered for the Volyn tragedy in which tens of thousands of Polish civilians were killed – has sparked backlash in Warsaw.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s Order of the White Eagle on June 19 with several senior Ukrainian officials, including Sybiha, returning Polish state honours in protest. Sikorski later called Nawrocki’s decision to strip Zelenskyy of the title an “inappropriate” response “because it humiliated the president of Ukraine personally.”
Trump raises stakes before Ankara: As focus turns to the highly-anticipated NATO summit taking place in the Turkish capital of Ankara next week, US President Donald Trump has already turned up the heat, saying on Thursday it is “ridiculous” for the US to continue its “one-sided” relationship with NATO.
“Raging” Trump: Kurt Volker, the former US ambassador to NATO during Trump’s first administration, told my colleague Shona Murray on Thursday that Trump’s constant gripe with America’s European and Canadian allies isn’t always best placed.
“Donald Trump is always raging about something. And he’s unhappy about European contributions, European defence spending, Iran, whatever it might be,” Volker told Europe Today.
“But this is not going to be a blow up of a NATO summit,” he predicted, just before Trump came out repeating his well-known grievances with his allies. “He has a good relationship with Erdogan, and he doesn’t want to rain on Erdogan’s parade.”
Since becoming president for the second time, Trump has been scathing at allies for not spending enough on defence, often describing Europe as “free riders” on US military investment. His relationship with NATO countries hit rock bottom after the US and Israel launched an offensive into Iran and some states initially refused access to military bases for use as part of the war.
“The administration right now likes to say that Europe wasn’t there for us,” Volker told Shona. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration. We had to ask and then you could have used them. And we didn’t tell anybody we were going to attack Iran. And then we complained that no one was attacking with us.” Catch Shona’s full interview with Kurt Volker on this morning’s episode of Europe Today, our flagship morning show.
Shona will be on the ground for us in Ankara next week for the NATO summit on 7-8 July.
Zelenskyy: If partners had delivered on time, more lives could have been saved
As the search and rescue operation continued in Kyiv all day long on Thursday after Russia’s massive attack on Ukraine’s capital left 30 dead, Ukraine’s President Voloydmyr Zelenskyy urged allies to deliver the promised air defence systems to protect civilians.
Speaking to journalists at the site of a Russian strike in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district, Zelenskyy said that this Russian attack once again exposed Ukraine’s continuing shortage of interceptors.
“If our partners had delivered what they promised on time, I think we could have saved more homes and, frankly, more lives,” the Ukrainian President said.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine would need at least 140 Patriot missiles to intercept an attack involving around 70 ballistic missiles, arguing that Kyiv was not asking for additional commitments but for previously agreed military assistance to be delivered.
Our Ukraine correspondent Sasha Vakulina has the details.
Interviews with Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO and Alexander De Croo, United Nations Development Programme Administrator
More from our newsrooms
How the Entry-Exit System is becoming a nightmare for Europe’s summer travellers. The Entry-Exit System is becoming an issue for Europe’s summer travellers: as queues grow longer and passengers get more frustrated, airlines are calling for the option to suspend the checks in July and August. But the Commission holds the line, for now. Vincenzo Genovese has more.
EU institutions pile on pressure for ‘ambitious’ budget with new resources. Representatives of EU institutions took the stage at a flagship conference in Brussels to push European governments to agree to an ambitious long-term budget, with the European Commissioner for Budget Piotr Serafin taking the opportunity to push back against so-called “frugal” countries, Eleonora Vasques and Luca Bertuzzi report.
Leaked EU document confirms Hungarian spy ring, renews pressure on Commissioner Várhelyi. A leaked European Commission document indicates that Hungary operated a diplomatic intelligence network targeting EU staff from 2012 to 2018, reviving scrutiny of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi and calls for his resignation. Sandor Zsiros hasthe details.
We’re also keeping an eye on
- European Council President António Costa is in Aix-en-Provence, France to participate in the “Rencontres Économiques” economic forum. Joins European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde for a stage talk.
- European Commissioner for the Economy Valdis Dombrovskis continues his visit to Turkey.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joins her top team of Commissioners in Cork, Ireland, as the country kicks off its six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
That’s it for today. We’ll be back on Monday. Sasha Vakulina, Shona Murray, Jorge Liboreiro, Marta Pacheco and Vincenzo Genovese contributed to this newsletter.
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