Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo, discussing “the urgent need for a just and lasting peace,” with the head of the Catholic church renewing his offer to hold peace talks between Russia and Ukraine at the Vatican (11:47, 14:47). Their meeting took place a day before the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, starting on Thursday (16:05).
At least eight people were killed in Russian drone and bombing attacks on Ukraine overnight, with the Kremlin playing down Donald Trump’s criticism of Vladimir Putin and his handling of the conflict (13:31).
German chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to continue supporting Ukraine despite domestic criticism from far-right and far-left parties, as he warned that Russia sought to “destroy the political order” in Europe (10:46).
In other news,
French president Emmanuel Macron and British prime minister Keir Starmer acknowledged “the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions” to tackle irregular migration across the English Channel (17:54). The declaration came on the second day of Macron’s state visit to Britain, alongside meetings on emerging technologies and culture (17:40).
Police have raided the headquarters of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) and seized documents as part of an investigation into alleged illegal campaign financing that was denounced by the party’s leader, Jordan Bardella, as “a harassment campaign” (10:52, 11:23, 16:53).
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said he bloc was hoping to “soon finalise our work” on a tariff deal with the US, praising “good progress” in talks with the Trump administration over the last week (15:11). The EU was understood to be on standby for an announcement as early as tonight (12:54, 13:00).
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the country’s parliament that Greece will suspend processing asylum applications for migrants arriving on boat from north Africa amid a surge in irregular migration from Libya (13:16).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
UK, France to pursue 'innovation solutions' to deter small boats
We just received a statement from 10 Downing Street, sheding a bit more light on what Starmer and Macron discussed in their bilateral talks earlier today.
In more newsy lines, it said “the leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.”
“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.
“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”
Macron highlights close ties with UK, 'critical' need to team up on AI
On Day 2 of his state visit to Britain, Emmanuel Macron met with UK prime minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street.
Starmer told the president:
It’s such a privilege and pleasure to welcome you here to Downing Street and the visit yesterday, the summit tomorrow and the meeting here today are so hugely symbolic of the closeness between our countries and our personal relationship and I’m so delighted to have you here, and I think you can see from last night, from today and tomorrow, just how much this means to everybody across the United Kingdom.
And I’m really proud of the fact that we have a strong history together as two countries …
Whether it’s on defence and security, whether it’s on Ukraine, whether it’s on trade and economy, business opportunities, capabilities, we think alike, we work together, and I feel this relationship is as strong as its ever been.
Responding, Macron said the partnership between the UK and France was “a gamechanger” for Europe and beyond.
But the pair also discussed trickier political topics, including the on-going issue of irregular migration across the English Channel.
Later, the French president visited Imperial College London, talking about the importance of Britain and France working together on emerging technologies, in particular AI.
The “UK and France are probably the two nations to be part of the race and leading the race in Europe” on AI, he said, warning that they “are lagging behind both the US and China.”
“And the big question for all of us is how to be part of the competition and indeed to de-risk our model and not to be dependent on US and or Chinese solutions”.
Macron added that “teaming up... is the best way to have a critical mass when we speak about our talents, our labs, our key players, or our financing capacities”.
This afternoon the two leaders are attending an event at the British Museum this afternoon, after they announced the Bayeux tapestry will return to the UK for the first time in more than 900 years as part of a landmark loan agreement between the two countries.
Later tonight, the Macrons will attend another event in London, and the visit will continue tomorrow.
Updated
Sticking with the French theme, let’s go across to Britain to see what the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is up to on the second day of his state visit there.
French warned of high-risk summer for wildfires as Marseille blaze contained
in Paris
More than 15,000 residents of Marseille confined to their homes have been allowed out after a wildfire on the outskirts of France’s second city was brought under control, but officials have warned the country faces an exceptionally high-risk summer.
Fanned by gale-force winds and kindled by parched vegetation, several fires have burned swathes of southern France in recent days, including Tuesday’s just north of the port city. The weather service has said the weeks ahead could be critical.
“The fire is receding, but with a blaze this severe, over this big an area, it’s clear there may be fresh flare-ups, flames can jump, embers can reignite,” the prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Georges-François Leclerc, said on Wednesday.
More than 700 firefighters and 220 emergency vehicles aided by helicopters and planes continued to battle the blaze, which has burned through 750 hectares of land and damaged more than 70 houses, including some inside the city.
No serious injuries were reported, but about 40 people, including firefighters and police, were treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries. Sixteen needed hospital treatment. More than 400 people were evacuated, including 70 residents of a retirement home in the suburb of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, where a car fire sparked the blaze.
Police raid headquarters of French far-right National Rally party
in Paris
Police have raided the headquarters of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) and seized documents as part of an investigation into alleged illegal campaign financing that was denounced by the party’s leader, Jordan Bardella, as “a harassment campaign”.
Police and investigating magistrates had seized “emails, documents and accounting” relating to “the last regional, presidential, parliamentary and European elections”, he said, calling the operation “a serious attack on pluralism and democratic choice”.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said the raid was part of an investigation launched in July last year that sought to establish whether campaigns in 2022 and 2024 were funded through “illegal loans from individuals to the party or to RN candidates”.
The raid came a day after EU financial prosecutors in Brussels said they had launched a separate investigation into the alleged misuse of €4.3m by the former far-right Identity & Democracy (ID) group in the European parliament, which included the RN.
It also represented a fresh setback for the party after its figurehead, Marine Le Pen, was convicted in March of embezzling EU funds and barred from running for office for five years, effectively scuppering her hopes of running in 2027 presidential elections.
We now have a big more background on the French police’s raid on the far-right National Rally party headquarters that I mentioned earlier (10:52).
Over to Jon Henley in Paris.
Italy puts forward €300m plan to help SMEs involved in Ukraine reconstruction
Italy plans to unveil a support scheme worth €300m for small and medium enterprises involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said.
The announcement comes a day before the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, starting tomorrow, which will be attended by over 4,000 delegated from 90 countries, including 50 heads of states, Tajani said.
EU hopes to 'soon finalise our work' on US tariffs deal, trade chief tells lawmakers
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has been speaking in the European parliament in the last ten minutes.
He told the lawmakers the bloc “has made good progress” in trade talks with the US as their negotiations “intensified considerably” in the last few days.
“We have made good progress on the text of the joint statement or agreement in principle, and I hope we can soon finalise our work.”
He added:
“I hope to reach a satisfactory results, potentially even in the coming days.
The agreement in principle we are striving to finalise is not the end, but rather the start of the new beginning.
It would provide a framework upon which we can continue to build defining the exact parameters of the later agreement.
In other words, I see it as a foundational framework that paves the way for future fully fledged EU US trade agreement.”
Pope Leo XIV meets Ukraine's Zelenskyy, offers to hold talks with Russia
And, as expected (11:47), we are now getting first pictures from the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome, where Pope Leo XIV welcomed the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, earlier today.
A statement from the Vatican just now said the pair “discussed the ongoing conflict and the urgent need for a just and lasting peace.”
“During the cordial conversation, the importance of dialogue as the preferred means of ending hostilities was reaffirmed.
The Holy Father expressed his sorrow for the victims and renewed his prayers and closeness to the Ukrainian people, encouraging every effort aimed at the release of prisoners and the search for shared solutions.”
The statement added that “the Holy Father reiterated the willingness to welcome representatives of Russia and Ukraine to the Vatican for negotiations.”
Russia has previously rejected this offer, with Russian foreign minister Sergiei Lavrov suggesting it would not be appropriate for two Orthodox Christian countries to hold talks there.
Updated
Top European court rules Russia committed abuses in Ukraine
A top European court ruled Russia committed a string of human rights violations in backing anti-Kyiv separatists in eastern Ukraine from 2014, the downing of the MH17 flight that year and invading Ukraine in 2022, AFP reported.
The European court of human rights, part of the Council of Europe rights body, is tasked with implementing the European human rights convention in signatory countries.
A panel of 17 judges found Russia violated the convention through “extrajudicial killing of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel” outside of combat, “torture”, “forced labour”, “unlawful and arbitrary detention of civilians” as well as looting.
The judges also ruled that Russia had violated the European rights convention through “the transfer to Russia and, in many cases, the adoption there of Ukrainian children”.
The largely symbolic ruling comes after the Council of Europe excluded Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow dropped out of the European rights convention in September that year.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said Russia had no intention of compling with the decision of the court, whose rulings it considered to be “null and void”.
Updated
Poland to report Musk's Grok to EU for offensive comments
Elsewhere, Poland said it was going to report Elon Musk’s xAI to the European Commission after its chatbot Grok made offensive comments about Polish politicians, including prime minister Donald Tusk.
Poland’s digitisation minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski, told RMF FM radio that the government will ask Brussels to investigate the chatbot’s offensive comments about its politicians, Reuters reported.
“I have the impression that we are entering a higher level of hate speech, which is driven by algorithms, and that turning a blind eye or ignoring this today... is a mistake that may cost humanity in the future.
The Ministry of Digitisation will react in accordance with current regulations, we will report the violation to the European Commission to investigate and possibly impose a fine on X.
Freedom of speech belongs to humans, not to artificial intelligence.“
Reuters noted that a Turkish court earlier blocked access to some content from Grok after authorities said the chatbot generated responses insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and religious values.
At least eight killed in Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine, prosecutors say
Let’s go back to Ukraine for the latest updates there, with local prosecutors saying that eight civilians were killed in Russian drone and bombing attacks in the war-scarred Donetsk region in the east of the country, as reported by AFP.
The confirmation comes shortly after the Kremlin dismissed US president Donald Trump’s overnight criticism of Vladimir Putin, saying “we are quite calm about this.”
“Let’s just say that Trump in general has quite a harsh rhetorical style in terms of the phrases he uses,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov said that Trump had come to an understanding that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would not be easy to resolve.
In comments reported by Reuters, he said:
“We also heard a very important statement by Trump that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict turned out to be much more difficult than he thought from the very beginning.”
EU says it is 'assisting' Palestinian man who worked for EU in Gaza, 'abandoned' in Cairo
During its midday briefing, the EU was also asked about the case of Palestinian man who worked for the EU in Gaza but after the closure of his office was left in Cairo without a job or residency rights.
Mohammed Baraka, who served at the EU border assistance mission at Rafah in southern Gaza and was evacuated to Egypt when the war broke out, has accused Brussels officials of “coldly” dismissing him from his job by email and “abandoning” a loyal employee.
EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El Anouni responded to the story by saying:
“What I can say, and this is also what has been reflected in the story that has been also published, is the following: that in view of the exceptional circumstances, the EU is providing Mr Baraka with a comprehensive financial severance package following the end of his contract.”
Pressed further, he insisted the EU was “assisting the person in question as much as we can,” and said the EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas will separately respond to his letter to the EU, first reported by the Guardian.
Greece to suspend processing asylum applications from north Africa for three months
Elsewhere, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has just told the parliament that Greece will suspend processing asylum applications for migrants arriving on boat from north Africa.
In comments reported by Kathimerini, he said the government would adopt a “legal, but absolutely strict” policy on migration, working with the Libyan authorities to prevent the boats from leaving the Libyan coast.
The recent spike in migration flows, including what he described as the emergency situation on Crete, required an urgent response from the government, he argued.
“The road to Greece is closing … any migrants entering illegally will be arrested and detained,” Mitsotakis told parliament.
The suspension will initially apply for three months.
The European Commission was earlier asked about reports of over 500 migrants arriving in Greece from Libya and whether the commission had any notification of this move from Athens.
“We are aware of the arrivals, we are in close touch with the authorities, and we will continue our engagement with partner countries across the Mediterranean as we’ve done in the past,” EU spokesperson Markus Lammert responded.
Updated
EU 'on standby for announcement' on EU-US tariff deal
in Brussels
The EU is on standby for an announcement on the EU-US deal as early as tonight with ambassadors meeting again this afternoon.
Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič spoke to commerce secretary Howard Lutnick yesterday and will speak to Jamieson Greer this afternoon.
EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill added that the EU “does not expect a letter” from Donald Trump and that the agreement in principle will be seen as a way of opening fuller negotiations on “all the other trade issues”.
The EU also said a deal would restore the certainty desperately sought by member states and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We have consulted with our member states consistently and in detail, we have consulted with our industry consistently and in detail, we believe that has created a situation of strong EU cohesion, where we can speak and negotiate with our American counterparts with confidence.
That is what we will continue to do … to reach an agreement that avoids the worst pain of tariffs and give stability and predictability to businesses here in Europe, but also in the US.”
Updated
EU aims to reach trade deal with US soon, potentially in coming days, spokesperson says
EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill has just confirmed that the bloc aims to reach a trade deal with the US before 1 August, “potentially even in the coming days.”
He said “EU teams have been working tirelessly at technical and political level to conclude an agreement in principle.”
“Reaching a deal now depends on the willingness to find an outcome that is acceptable to both sides,” he said.
Responding to a follow-up question from the Guardian’s Lisa O’Carroll, he added:
“When I say in the coming days, I mean, in the coming days. That’s what we’re pushing for. It requires two sides to get an agreement over the line, and we believe an agreement is possible,” he said.
He earlier said the EU was locked in “intensive negotiations” with the US, with trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič engaging with US counterparts, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Greer.
EU follows Germany, summons Chinese ambassador over laser incident
Following a similar decision by Germany yesterday, the European Union has also summoned the Chinese ambassador following an incident in which China’s military allegedly targeted a German aircraft with a laser during an EU security mission in the Red Sea, Reuters reported.
“The Chinese military’s use of a laser to target a German aircraft patrolling with EU Operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea is dangerous and unacceptable,” said Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy.
This act put personnel at risk and compromised the aircraft’s mission.
China has denied the accusation.
Vatican confirms Pope Leo's meeting with Ukraine's Zelenskyy
The Vatican has just confirmed that Pope Leo XIV will be meeting Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, their second in-person meeting.
The Ukrainian president is expected to travel for the meeting to Castel Gandolfo, a small Italian hill town about an hour’s drive from Rome, where Leo is taking two weeks of vacation, Reuters reported.
Zelenskyy arrives in Rome for meetings with Pope Leo, Italian president, summit on Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just arrived in Rome, AFP reported, where he is expected to meet with Pope Leo XIV, the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, and US president Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg.
Zelenskyy is in Rome to take part in the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 starting tomorrow.
Updated
National Rally HQ raid related to probe into campaign financing, Paris prosecutor says
There is a bit more detail coming from France about the raid on the National Rally’s headquarters, with Paris prosecutor telling Reuters that it’s part of a probe related to the financing of party’s campaigns in the 2022 presidential and legislative, and the 2024 European parliament elections.
The investigation focused on “acceptance of election campaign loans exceeding limits,” including allegations of illegal loans, “aggravated laundering of fraud, forgery, and use of forged documents,” Reuters reported.
They added that “no individual or legal entity has been charged,” but said the investigation was ongoing.
Updated
Police searching far-right National Rally's headquarters in Paris
We’re getting big news from France as the far-right National Rally’s president Jordan Bardella says the headquarters of the party led by Marine Le Pen have been raided by police this morning.
He said the police entered key offices of party leaders and seized files related the party’s latest election campaigns, although he noted the party did not know “the precise grievances that form the basis for this action.”
In a post on X, he said:
“Since 8:50 this morning, the headquarters of the National Rally – including the offices of its leaders – have been subject to a search conducted by about twenty financial brigade police officers, armed and wearing bulletproof vests, accompanied by two investigating judges.
All emails, documents, and accounting records of the leading opposition party are being seized, without us knowing at this stage the precise grievances that form the basis for this action.
We only know that all the files concerning the latest regional, presidential, legislative, and European campaigns - in other words, the entire electoral activity of the party - are now in the hands of the judiciary.
This operation, spectacular and unprecedented, is clearly part of a new harassment campaign. It is a serious attack on pluralism …
Never has an opposition party faced such relentless targeting under the Fifth Republic.
Updated
Germany will continue to support Ukraine despite opposition pressures, Merz says
Von der Leyen is not the only politician facing legislators today, with German chancellor Friedrich Merz attending a parliamentary debate on the new budget.
In a wide-ranging speech in parliament, Merz pledged to continue supporting Ukraine “even against the pressure of the political left and the pro-Russian right in this house.”
In a stark warning to Russia, he worried that “the means of diplomacy have been exhausted,” adding:
“When a criminal regime openly questions another country’s right to exist with military force and sets out to destroy the political order of freedom on the entire European continent, the federal government I lead will do everything in its power to prevent this.”
Separately, he also said that the German army, Bundeswehr, “must quickly receive everything it needs to defend Germany,” with plans to fast-track legislation and accelerate its procurement procedures.
Reporting on his recent attendance at EU and Nato summits, he also insisted that Germany was “once again noticed … and above all … taken seriously around the world.”
But in her earlier speech, AfD leader Alice Weidel attacked Merz for posturing abroad while leaving domestic politics to the junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, and breaking electoral promises.
She also repeatedly attacked Merz for the CDU’s migration policies dating back to Angela Merkel, which she said resulted in breaching the social contract, claiming that new arrivals get more government handouts than native Germans. “Is that your idea of social justice?” she asked.
She said Merz’s new restrictions on migrations were “inadequate,” and expressed concerns about the growing number of naturalisations.
“The longer you keep running in the wrong direction, the harder it will be to reverse it,” she said.
But Merz rejected her criticism, saying that the number of asylum applications in the first half of 2025 fell by 43%, telling Weidel she was losing on the one issue that she built her career on.
“You live off the fact that you can constantly stir up sentiment in Germany with this issue,” he told her.
He said Germany would “achieve our goals” not by “discriminating against foreigners, but by ensuring our welfare state remains viable in the future.”
Addressing the recent controversy with Poland over border controls, the chancellor insisted they “must be maintained … until further notice,” but said it was a “temporary” move.
“We want to preserve the European single market, the Schengen area, we want open borders. … But we don’t want it [to be used] for illegal migration,” he stressed.
Merz also said he was “cautiously optimistic” about getting a deal on tariffs with the US “in the next few days or by the end of the month at the latest.”
Updated
EU 'working day and night' to agree tariff deal with US, von der Leyen says
Von der Leyen also spoke about the prospects for the EU-US tariff deal after last night’s comments by Trump that a US proposal should be ready within the next two days.
She said the US imposed tariffs were “unprecedented,” and insisted the bloc preferred “a negotiated solution” to avoid them in the future.
She said she had “a good exchange” with Trump in a bid to get an agreement over the line, as she said the EU was looking for “a reliable framework from which we can keep building our common trade.”
“The message is clear: we stick to our principles, we defend our interests, we continue to the work in good faith, and we get ready for all scenarios,” she said.
She added that EU officials were “working day and night to find a solution.”
'We cannot rely on others to defend Europe,' EU's von der Leyen says
Meanwhile, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has been speaking in the European parliament in the last hour.
Addressing Ukraine, she noted the largest drone attack of the war last night, and warned “we see very clearly, the war still rages on, and the threat from Russia remains.”
“We cannot rely on others to defend Europe. The defence of Europe is our responsibility,” she stressed.
She spoke of the plans to ramp up defence and military investment, including up to €800bn of investment and €150bn euros in loans for joint procurement.
“It’s good for security, but not only, but it is also good for creating good jobs here at home,” she said.
She warned that with Russia “rearming fast,” “the more we wait, the more European investment will go abroad, outside the EU.”
Russia's Lavrov to visit North Korea this weekend
Meanwhile, Russia continues to deepen its ties with North Korea, with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visiting the country this weekend, AFP reported.
Russia’s security chief Sergei Shoigu has visited Pyongyang multiple times this year, including last month, when the two countries marked the one year anniversary of the signing of a sweeping military pact.
AFP noted that Pyongyang has become one of Moscow’s main allies during its more than three-year-long Ukraine offensive, sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk region.
Morning opening: Putin is not stopping
Despite pointed criticism from US president Donald Trump, who said there was “a lot of bullshit is thrown at us” by Vladimir Putin, Russia continued its strikes on Ukraine overnight with the largest drone attack of the war.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this morning that Russia attempted to strike 741 targets with 728 drones and 13 missiles.
The attack was so intensive that neighbouring Poland scrambled its and allied aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.
He said:
“This is a telling attack – and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”
Zelenskyy argued that Russia’s continuing aggression is “yet another proof of the need of sanctions – biting sanctions against oil, which has been fueling Moscow’s war machine with money for over three years of the war.”
He added:
“Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes.
Everyone who wants peace must act.”
Separately, we will be looking at the second day of French president Emmanuel Macron’s state visit in Britain, the latest from Marseille as it battles dangerous wildfires, and updates on US-EU trade talks.
It’s Wednesday, 9 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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