Presented by Planet
Brussels Playbook
By SARAH WHEATON
with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH
HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton with you for this Tuesday edition of Brussels Playbook, where we’re celebrating at least one happy resolution of the Brussels region’s protracted governing negotiations. The beloved pop-up outdoor bars, known as guinguettes, were threatened by the impasse, but Bruzz reports they’ll return to the city’s parks this summer, with or without a government.
Suzanne Lynch will return to this space for Wednesday’s edition.
DRIVING THE DAY: ‘RETURN HUBS’ Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
DEPORTATIONS PLAN OUT TODAY: Kicking unwelcome immigrants out of the EU is the official goal of a Commission proposal set to be unveiled today.
The unofficial goal: Holding off the far right.
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Talking to the people: Commission President von der Leyen and her team have debuted a flurry of major initiatives over the past few weeks …
The Clean Industrial Deal was for business …
Rearm Europe was all geopolitics (and also for business) …
… and now, at the 100-day mark of her second term, von der Leyen is responding to the perceived demands of regular people. Specifically, the growing number of regular people voting for populist firebrands. Anti-migrant messaging has been doing wonders for parties in Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, etc.
“A common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the Union,” as the deportation regulation is officially described, has a stark statistic as a core motivation. Four out of five people who’ve been ordered to leave the EU haven’t done so, according to the Commission.
That’s “not acceptable,” Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said Monday, walking reporters through his thinking ahead of formal sign-off expected when the College of Commissioners meets today. Thus, he said, the proposal aims “to give the people the feeling back that we have control over what is happening in Europe.”
Aligning ejections: Dating to the early 2000s, the EU’s existing Return Directive is “no longer fit for purpose,” Brunner said. Not only is it old, but as a directive, it’s prone to be applied inconsistently across the bloc. So the Commission is set to propose a system of mutual recognition while also requiring people facing deportation to stay put — making it harder for someone to dodge a deportation order by hopping a border.
Boosting security: Mindful of headlines about violent acts carried out by people who aren’t meant to be in the EU, the Commission wants to launch security checks earlier in the deportation process — and enforce stricter rules on those deemed risky. “Those who are forcibly returned will be issued with an entry ban,” von der Leyen promised at her Sunday press conference.
DEPORTATION CENTERS COULD SPLIT THE CENTER: Brunner is a member of von der Leyen’s European People’s Party. Though his last gig was as Austria’s finance minister, it’s no accident he got the migration portfolio: centrist politicians in Vienna just narrowly held off the far-right Freedom Party from joining the government. “If we, as the democratic center parties, do not address it [migration], we will lose the trust of the citizens altogether,” Brunner said. “And that is somewhat existential.”
“Return hubs” — there’s the rub: The Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats said in a press release that they want to work with other pro-EU lawmakers for a deportation approach that’s “effective, sustainable and dignified.” But the center-left group said so-called return hubs, or deportation centers in non-EU countries, “cannot be part of that approach.”
Albania, Rwanda loom large: “It would be a mistake for the EU to look to the now-canceled U.K.-Rwanda scheme or the Italy-Albania deal for inspiration,” said Birgit Sippel, the S&D’s top MEP on the home affairs committee, calling those efforts to deport migrants “legally questionable” and financially wasteful. That’s after von der Leyen specifically cited the Italy-Albania plan as a model to be studied in a letter to EU leaders last year.
“Return hubs” are part of the Commission proposal, Brunner said Monday, calling them “something new” while specifically rejecting comparisons to the Albania and Rwanda approaches. Countries would have to meet a series of requirements before sending people to deportation centers, he added, including an enforceable decision that someone must be deported. (Under Italy’s deal with Tirana, in contrast, migrants could be sent to the Albania center before their asylum claims have been processed.)
Today’s debate: Assuming Brunner’s fellow commissioners sign on to the plan at their meeting early in the afternoon, he and Commission EVP Henna Virkkunen will take questions from reporters on the proposal, then MEPs will have their turn to grill the migration commissioner.
Future discussion: Today’s deportation regulation deals mainly with the internal elements of migration. The element focusing on external relations — a revision of the so-called safe third countries concept — is due in June, but Brunner said to expect his plan well before then.
ALSO COMING TODAY: The Commission’s Critical Medicines Act proposal, the first big health file of the year and the inaugural test for Hungarian Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi. My Health Pro colleagues nabbed a copy of the draft, which shows plans to boost EU-based drug production through state aid tweaks and public procurement changes. More for subscribers in Morning Health Care.
EPP CONGRESS CIRCUS Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
WEBER’S WRENCHING CHOICE: The European People’s Party’s big moment in the Spanish sun looks set to be washed out by a fiasco of its own making as leaders scramble to move the annual party conference from Valencia to Madrid with just weeks to go.
Flooding the zone … It was supposed to be a display of dominance in a city and region the EPP snatched away from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party only two years ago, and a display of unity that would likely see EPP leader Manfred Weber elected to another term.
… in the worst way: Instead, party congress risks being inundated by protests over the People’s Party’s botched handling of devastating floods last year that left 224 dead.
Neck deep: Last November, both Sánchez and Spain’s King Felipe VI were pelted with mud while visiting the communities affected. Since then, fury has centered on the regional president, the PP’s Carlos Mazón. People attending numerous mass demonstrations have demanded the government’s resignation, while the constant protests have led Mazón to avoid public appearances.
And getting deeper: On Monday, the region’s former interior minister and a top emergency management official were named as suspects in an investigation into the administration’s failure to give the population adequate warning of the impending disaster. The judge overseeing the investigation said Mazón had only escaped similar treatment because of a technicality.
Avoiding embarrassment? Possibly priceless. Moving the event so late will be costly, with questions lingering over who will cover the cancelation fees for the host venue, the hotels, the catering and various other contracts. An EPP official said the party is not allowed to pay these expenses with EU funds. That could leave the Spanish affiliate to foot the bill. Read the full article here from Max Griera, Aitor Hernández-Morales and yours truly.
Flashback: Playbook can’t claim to know Commission EVP Teresa Ribera on a personal level. But we have to imagine the Spanish Socialist is getting some satisfaction from this turn of events after the EPP threatened her Commission confirmation as it sought to hold her responsible for the flood deaths.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
RENOVATIONS HIT HEMICYCLE, MICKEY MOUSE CAFÉ: The European Parliament’s central Spaak building in Brussels will shut down at the beginning of 2027, according to the Parliament’s 2026 budget viewed by Max Griera.
Pardon our dust: Bringing the building up to modern safety and green standards will cost around half a billion euros and take years.
Finally, a raison d’être for Strasbourg? With the Brussels hemicycle room under construction, Playbook figures this is finally a good excuse for lawmakers to hold all their plenaries at the French seat, non? But Max set us straight: The insistent Belgians have pushed hard to keep their share of plenaries.
The Belgian solution: Divide MEPs in two groups, sitting in different rooms, connected via videolink, as decided by the Parliament’s leadership on Monday, according to an internal note circulated by the secretary-general. The problem with that, officials note, is that some MEPs will be in the main room with the Parliament president while others are relegated to a second-tier venue.
A house divided: Plus, holding votes when MEPs are split up will be complicated, if not impossible, since they often vote via a show of hands.
Deadline: The Parliament’s administration has committed to finishing up work in the hemicycle by 2030 — in time to celebrate Belgium’s 200th anniversary.
NEW PARLIAMENT OFFICES IN ALBANIA, MOLDOVA: Parliament VPs rubber-stamped on Monday a plan to open European Parliament bases in Tirana and Chișinău. The “antenna offices” are meant to promote the EU and help countries with the accession process. Siegfried Mureșan, the chair of the delegation for relations with Moldova, praised the office there as a way “to counter the disinformation spread by Russians.”
UKRAINE TALKS Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Dozens of Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow in the early hours of this morning in the biggest attack on the Russian capital in months, per multiple media reports. AP has a write-up.
RUBIO — CONCESSIONS “ONLY WAY” TO BRING PEACE: Ukraine will have to make significant concessions to Moscow (which is likely to mean giving up territory seized by Russia since 2014) to bring an end to the war that has devastated the country in the past three years, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last night as he headed to Saudi Arabia for talks that could open the door to a cease-fire.
Ukrainians have “suffered greatly, and it’s hard in the aftermath of something like that to even talk about concessions,” Rubio told reporters. “But that’s the only way this is going to end to prevent more suffering.” Seb Starcevic wrote it up.
Laying the ground: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said overnight he had a “good meeting” with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah ahead of the U.S.-Ukraine negotiations due to take place in the Red Sea port city today. “A significant part of the discussion was dedicated to the formats of security guarantees,” the Ukrainian leader said. Reuters has more on their meeting.
Talks today: Zelenskyy himself won’t take part in today’s meeting with Trump’s team. Instead, Kyiv will be represented by Zelenskyy’s chief aide Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
In Moscow this week: Meanwhile, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff could travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, per Bloomberg. Axios’ Barak Ravid reports the meeting is likely to take place on Thursday.
Meanwhile, “coalition of the willing” meets today: Military chiefs from 30 NATO and non-NATO countries, including the U.K., Turkey, Canada and Australia, are meeting in Paris today to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to deliver an address.
Back to Rubio — olive branch to Poland: Talking to reporters en route to today’s talks in Saudi Arabia, Rubio addressed the extraordinary social media quarrel between him and Elon Musk and Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski about Ukraine’s use of Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system. After sniping on X on Sunday that Poland should be more grateful for U.S. support, Rubio praised Warsaw as a “great NATO ally,” adding: “They’re a great example for the rest of Europe. I was simply responding to a post by the foreign minister which is just inaccurate.”
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SPENDING SPREE Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
A TALE OF 2 CITIES’ DEFENSE SPENDING DISPUTES: Key capitals are struggling to boost their budgets for weapons, especially if it’s at the expense of cherished domestic priorities.
In Berlin: Green leaders are threatening to kill incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s paradigm-shifting deal to exempt defense spending from the country’s fearsome debt brake. The Greens, who came fourth in last month’s election, seem intent on either stopping Merz in what would be a stunning act of political retribution — or, as is more likely, using their new and unexpected leverage to force the conservative leader to accede to many of the policies he’s long railed against. Read more by James Angelos, Chris Lunday and Nette Nöstlinger.
In Paris: No new taxes, French President Emmanuel Macron has promised in his push for new defense spending. But Macron hasn’t clarified where the money will, in fact, come from. His comments triggered fears among opposition parties and unions that social spending will be hit. Victor Goury-Laffont, Laura Kayali and Sarah Paillou consider the possibilities.
MISSPENT FUNDS FAILURE: As the EU prepares to pump huge amounts of money into defense, an audit of pandemic recovery funds doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. A European Court of Auditors report published Monday flagged serious concerns with French and Czech audit and control systems for the massive Covid stimulus program.
Too hard basket: As my colleague Aude van den Hove reports, the audit found some countries don’t even attempt to recover misspent funds apart from in cases of fraud, corruption or conflict of interest, and that if they do, the money is kept at national level. More for subscribers to the Fair Play newsletter.
IN OTHER NEWS Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
HAPPENING TODAY 1 — GREENLAND ELECTION: ICYMI, here’s our curtain-raiser.
HAPPENING TODAY 2 — PORTUGAL CRUNCH DAY: Portugal’s Prime Minister Luís Montenegro faces a confidence vote in the parliament today to determine if his minority government still has sufficient support to remain in power.
TIME TO BRING TURKEY BACK INTO THE NATO FOLD, RUTTE RECKONS: With the transatlantic relationship under strain, NATO boss Mark Rutte has urged the EU and Turkey to rebuild ties, the FT reports, citing officials briefed on his remarks.
PROFILES IN ESPIONAGE:EU Observer and several other news organizations teamed up for an investigation into the 20 “diplomats” expelled two years ago after Belgian security services accused them of being spies.
HIGH FLYERS: In response to a parliamentary question from the previous legislature, the European Commission said it spent €5.9 million between 2020 and 2023 on chartered private aircraft and private air taxi services for its official business.
U-TURN AHEAD: The EU’s vision of ending sales of greenhouse-gas-spewing cars by 2035 is under fire, report my colleagues Jordyn Dahl, Giorgio Leali and Oliver Noyan.
KOREA DEAL: The European Commission and South Korea agreed a digital trade deal on Monday.
POPE OUT OF THE WOODS: Pope Francis is no longer in imminent danger from pneumonia and other infections, the Vatican said Monday, but he’ll remain in hospital for now. New York Times has more.
RIP: Prince Frederik of Luxembourg, who suffered from a rare genetic disorder, died aged 22. More from CNN.
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AGENDA Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
— Weekly European Commission College meeting. Press conferences on the new common approach to returns and critical medicines follow. Watch.
— Economic and Financial Affairs Council. Arrivals and doorsteps from 8 a.m. … press conference around 2:45 p.m.Full agenda. Watch.
— Informal meeting of research ministers in Warsaw. Press conference expected at 3:45 p.m.
— European Parliament plenary session continues in Strasbourg. Debate on the EUCO conclusions at 9 a.m., with European Council President António Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen … celebration of International Women’s Day at noon with Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya … debate on a roadmap for women’s rights at 1:30 p.m., followed by the presentation of proposals for a critical medicines act and a common approach on returns, then a debate on the white paper on the future of European defense. Full agenda. Watch.
— 21st European Remembrance Day for Victims of Terrorism in Strasbourg. Welcome remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron at 10:10 a.m. … tree ceremony with Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner. Parliament President Roberta Metsola to deliver remarks. Watch.
— Roberta Metsola receives Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at 11:30 a.m. … receives Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset at 2:30 p.m.
— Military chiefs from 30 European and NATO countries, including the U.K. and Turkey, meet in Paris to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron to address them.
— NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visits KFOR, the NATO-led mission in Kosovo … meets Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani. Joint press conference with Rutte and Osmani at 2:45 p.m. Full agenda. Watch.
— Commission President von der Leyen is in Strasbourg; receives Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout, co-chairs of the Greens/EFA group in the EP.
— High Representative Kaja Kallas is in New York, U.S.; participates in the U.N. Security Council briefing session on EU-U.N. cooperation … press stakeout at 6 p.m. Watch.
— EESC President Oliver Röpke meets U.N. Under-Secretary-General Guy Ryder in New York.
BRUSSELS CORNER Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
BRUSSELS WEATHER: High of 9C and back to raining.
STRASBOURG WEATHER: High of 15C, cloudy.
CONGRATS, JOURNO: Xavier Counasse succeeds Christophe Berti as editor-in-chief of French-language Belgian daily Le Soir.
PETITION TO FORM GOVERNMENT IN BRUSSELS: More than 400 NGOs have signed a petition demanding that Brussels lawmakers resolve a deadlock that has left the city with no government for almost nine months. The stalled negotiations have threatened funding for public projects, such as metro line 3, and local organizations, and the signatories argue that “too many egos and vetoes” are to blame. “We call on our policymakers to unblock Brussels and work as hard for our city as the Brussels civil society does day in and day out,” the petition says.
POLICE MERGER PLANS: Plans to merge the six Brussels police zones into a single department will be presented before the summer, in the hope of implementing them early next year, Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said on Monday.
What about the mayors? Brussels’ mayors have long opposed the idea of a centralized police force. But Quintin told De Standaard he has talked to 17 of the 19 mayors and is confident their opposition can be overcome. “The merger is a federal matter,” he said. “It’s part of the coalition agreement. I’ll make it happen. Period. In good consultation if possible, but by force if necessary.”
Digital ID card: The minister also announced that, from next year, people can request a digital identity card in addition to a physical one. The digital card will function in the same way.
BELGIAN PHOTOJOURNALIST ARRESTED: Ghent-based freelance journalist Simon Clément was arrested in northeast India last week for allegedly illegally crossing the Myanmar border, VRT reported.
TRAVEL UPDATE: Tram 35 from Esplanade is temporarily running only to Docks Bruxsel. In September, once construction works are completed, it will be extended to Schaerbeek station.
BIRTHDAYS: MEP Massimiliano Salini; former MEPs Nico Semsrott, Edina Tóth, József Nagy, Marc Tarabella and Andrejs Mamikins; Simone Mohrs of the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities; media mogul Rupert Murdoch turns 94; European Parliament’s Dirk Berger. Lithuania’s Independence Restoration Day.
THANKS TO: THANKS TO: Max Griera, Aitor Hernández-Morales, Aude van den Hove, Tomasso Lecca and Mari Eccles; Playbook editor Alex Spence, reporter Ketrin Jochecová and producer Catherine Bouris.
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