Closing summary
The European Union did not approve the 18th Russia sanctions package on Tuesday, the EU’s foreign chief Kaja Kallas said after a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels. She said she was “really sad” the sanctions did not get approved, but hopeful a deal will be reached on Wednesday, adding that the ball is in Slovakia’s court. Slovakia has been blocking the EU’s latest sanctions package until its concerns are addressed over a separate EU proposal to phase out imports of Russian gas by 1 January, 2028.
EU foreign ministers will discuss Russian frozen assets during an informal meeting at the end of August, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday after a meeting with the ministers in Brussels. “It’s important that everybody hears everybody’s arguments, and then we can also come up with compromises to address these sensitivities”, Kallas said.
Kallas also spoke briefly about Georgia – worrying that “the assault on democracy by the Georgian Dream is growing more severe” and saying that “Georgia’s democratic backsliding will come at cost” – and Moldova, stressing that the country is “a prime target of Moscow’s hybrid war” and warning that anyone attempting to destabilise the country will face EU sanctions. She later returns to Georgia, saying that suspending EU visa-free regime for Georgia could be on the table as the Georgian government needs to “ensure and uphold the protection of fundamental rights of all Georgian citizens.”
On the Middle East, Kallas says there are “positive signs” in the aftermath of last week’s humanitarian deal between the EU and Israel when it comes to Gaza, but “Israel needs to take more concrete steps to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground.” She added: “I also presented ministers an inventory of different measures that could be taken in relation to the review done in June. So we had a discussion on this, and these are choices that the member states have to make.”
Ukraine is waiting for further details of the “billions of dollars” worth of US military equipment promised by Donald Trump on Monday, amid confusion as to how many Patriot air defence systems will be sent to Kyiv. At a meeting at the White House with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, on Monday, Trump said an unnamed country was ready to immediately provide “17 Patriots” as he said a “very big deal” had been agreed for European allies to buy weapons from the United States and then ship them to Ukraine.
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has said secondary sanctions could hit countries like China, Brazil and India if Russia is not serious about peace talks to end its war on Ukraine. Speaking on the final day of his visit to Washington DC, Rutte also said Europe would “find the money” for Ukraine to continue defending itself from Russian aggression ahead of any peace talks.
Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson confirmed to Reuters that the country will contribute to efforts to boost arms supplies to Ukraine following US president Donald Trump’s decision to supply billions of dollars of weapons. “We welcome the American decision to make possible increased sanctions against Russia and to pave the way for the delivery of Patriots and other weapon systems to Ukraine,” Jonson said in an emailed comment to Reuters.
Marjorie Taylor Greene has criticized Donald Trump over his new pledge to send “billions of dollars” worth of weapons to Ukraine, accusing him of breaking a campaign promise by continuing the very aid that Republicans spent years blocking under Joe Biden. “MAGA did not vote for more weapons to Ukraine,” the Georgia congresswoman, one of Trump’s most staunch allies in Washington, wrote on X on Tuesday, referring to the “Make America great again” moniker adopted by Trump’s base of supporters. “MAGA voted for no more US involvement in foreign wars.”
Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal has just confirmed he filed his resignation from the post, a day after president Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked his deputy, Yulia Svyrydenko, to lead the government after a reshuffle. In a Telegram message posted alongside a picture of his hand-written resignation note, he said: “Thank you to our defenders who are holding the front and protecting Ukraine! Thank you to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the trust! Thank you to the entire team for their tireless work for our country! Glory to Ukraine!”
US president Donald Trump has allegedly encouraged Ukraine to consider strikes deeper into Russia, and asked Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he could target Moscow if given long-range weapons by the US. Quoting “people briefed on the discussions” and the leaders’ call on 4 July, the paper reported that Trump wanted Russians to “feel the pain” and asked Zelenskyy “can you hit Moscow? … can you hit St Petersburg too?”
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow was ready to negotiate with the US after Trump’s comments last night, but added it didn’t want to bow to any ultimatums, Reuters reported. Separately, the Kremlin said that Trump’s statements were “serious and required analysis.”
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has been turned into a giant car park with thousands of cars, vans, trucks and tractors bound for the US sitting idle as manufacturers try to avert the worst of Donald Trump’s tariffs. Figures released by the port show a 15.9% drop in the transport of new passenger cars and vans to the US in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, with a sharp decline emerging in May – one month after the US president announced his “liberation day” tariffs.
The EU’s Ombudsman on Tuesday demanded the European Commission explain why it fast-tracked proposals to curb sustainability laws, in response to a complaint by campaigners accusing Brussels of weakening the rules without consulting the public. In February, the Commission proposed legal changes that would exempt thousands of smaller European businesses from European Union sustainability reporting rules - a move designed to simplify regulation for industries struggling to compete with rivals in China and the US, where president Donald Trump is rolling back regulation, Reuters reported.
Ukraine is waiting for further details of the “billions of dollars” worth of US military equipment promised by Donald Trump on Monday, amid confusion as to how many Patriot air defence systems will be sent to Kyiv.
At a meeting at the White House with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, on Monday, Trump said an unnamed country was ready to immediately provide “17 Patriots” as he said a “very big deal” had been agreed for European allies to buy weapons from the United States and then ship them to Ukraine.
Ukraine is currently believed to have only six functioning Patriot air defence batteries, which can intercept fast-moving Russian cruise and ballistic missiles.
Maj Gen Vadym Skibitskyi, the deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the HUR, said it was unclear what the US president meant. “We don’t know exactly,” he said, adding that Ukraine was grateful for the assistance and had reacted “positively” to the White House’s announcement.
The general also confirmed that Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, had discussed the possibility of the US providing long-range Tomahawk missiles in a call earlier in July but no agreement had been reached.
Skibitskyi said Trump in his comments on Patriots could have been referring to interceptor missiles, launching stations or entire batteries comprising multiple launchers and radar and control systems, which cost more than a billion dollars each. “Seventeen is a huge number if we are talking about batteries. If it’s launchers, that’s possible,” he added.
Rutte: Secondary sanctions could hit China, Brazil and India 'very hard'
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has said secondary sanctions could hit countries like China, Brazil and India if Russia is not serious about peace talks to end its war on Ukraine.
Speaking on the final day of his visit to Washington DC, Rutte also said Europe would “find the money” for Ukraine to continue defending itself from Russian aggression ahead of any peace talks.
He said:
What happened yesterday was important. First of all that the US will now supply, massively, Ukraine with weapons out of [the] US; not just air defence, also missiles, also ammunition, paid for by the Europeans.
And, secondly, that president Trump said basically if Russia is not serious about peace talks, [then] in 50 days, he will slam secondary sanctions on countries like India, China and Brazil.
My encouragement to these three countries is ... you might want to take a look into this because this might hit you very hard. Please make a phone call to [Russian president] Vladimir Putin and tell him he needs to get serious about peace talks.
He added:
We will find the money in Europe to make sure Ukraine is in the best possible position as soon as these peace talks start.
The EU’s Ombudsman on Tuesday demanded the European Commission explain why it fast-tracked proposals to curb sustainability laws, in response to a complaint by campaigners accusing Brussels of weakening the rules without consulting the public.
In February, the Commission proposed legal changes that would exempt thousands of smaller European businesses from European Union sustainability reporting rules - a move designed to simplify regulation for industries struggling to compete with rivals in China and the US, where President Donald Trump is rolling back regulation, Reuters reported.
The EU’s Ombudsman has demanded the Commission explain why it did not conduct a full analysis of the impact of these proposals, consult the public on the changes, or assess whether the proposals were in line with Europe’s climate change commitments.
When proposing new EU laws, the Commission usually conducts an impact assessment to examine their effect.
It can skip this when a law is an urgent response to a crisis and did not carry out an assessment in the proposals to simplify the green reporting rules.
“Based on the material made available to date, the Commission does not seem to have adequately justified derogating from its rules in this case,” Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho said in a letter to the Commission, published on Tuesday.
“The Commission did not indicate any sudden or unexpected event that would justify the urgency,” she said.
EU foreign ministers will discuss Russian frozen assets during an informal meeting at the end of August, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday after a meeting with the ministers in Brussels.
“It’s important that everybody hears everybody’s arguments, and then we can also come up with compromises to address these sensitivities”, Kallas said.
Marjorie Taylor Greene has criticized Donald Trump over his new pledge to send “billions of dollars” worth of weapons to Ukraine, accusing him of breaking a campaign promise by continuing the very aid that Republicans spent years blocking under Joe Biden.
“MAGA did not vote for more weapons to Ukraine,” the Georgia congresswoman, one of Trump’s most staunch allies in Washington, wrote on X on Tuesday, referring to the “Make America great again” moniker adopted by Trump’s base of supporters. “MAGA voted for no more US involvement in foreign wars.”
Trump’s Oval Office announcement on Monday with the Nato chief, Mark Rutte, represented a pivot from his longstanding position of wanting to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict quickly, and a U-turn on the administration’s rhetoric towards European defence more broadly.
The president said the sales would include a “full complement” of weapons, including Patriot missiles.
“We will have some within days,” Trump said. Under the plan, he said European allies would swap existing Patriots for American-made systems and foot the bill by raising defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Updated
I’m handing the blog over to Tom Ambrose who will guide you through the rest of the afternoon.
Asked what she meant by saying that the US could share more of the burden on helping Ukraine with the new military deliveries, Kallas says:
“Well, if we pay for these weapons, it’s our support. it’s European support, and we are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine.
And therefore the call is that that everybody would do the same.
If you promise to give the weapons, but say that somebody else who is going to pay for it is not really given by you, is it?”
Separately, Kallas also spoke briefly about Georgia – worrying that “the assault on democracy by the Georgian Dream is growing more severe” and saying that “Georgia’s democratic backsliding will come at cost” – and Moldova, stressing that the country is “a prime target of Moscow’s hybrid war” and warning that anyone attempting to destabilise the country will face EU sanctions.
She later returns to Georgia, saying that suspending EU visa-free regime for Georgia could be on the table as the Georgian government needs to “ensure and uphold the protection of fundamental rights of all Georgian citizens.”
She says:
“They have been given a deadline until the end of August to comply with this.
Then the question is, how do we then react if these recommendations have not been fulfilled? And as we hear that, for example, seven opposition leaders out of eight have been put in jail, this is not really in accordance with the you know, the first point that I pointed out.”
She adds that the EU does not want to hurt Georgian people and take the visa-free movement away from them, but adds “it is also an issue of credibility for the EU.”
Updated
Kallas was also asked about Fico’s comments (15:56), addressing them in very general terms saying that “if you go into negotiations or worries you have, [and] your sensitivities are addressed, then it’s … important that you don’t present any anything on top of it.”
She says that further talks on technical level will continue on Wednesday, and suggests it’s important to adopt the package to “put the pressure on Russia,” but acknowledges that it’s difficult to navigate the process with 27 member states.
She declines to say if she sees Fico’s as reasonable.
On the Middle East, Kallas says there are “positive signs” in the aftermath of last week’s humanitarian deal between the EU and Israel when it comes to Gaza, but “Israel needs to take more concrete steps to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground.”
She added:
“I also presented ministers an inventory of different measures that could be taken in relation to the review done in June. So we had a discussion on this, and these are choices that the member states have to make.
We will keep these options on the table and stand ready to act if Israel does not live up to its pledges.
The aim is not to punish Israel. The aim is to really improve the situation in Gaza.”
Slovakia delays adoption of new sanctions package against Russia, EU foreign policy chief Kallas confirms
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is now briefing the media after today’s foreign affairs council in Brussels.
She begins by talking about Ukraine and Russia:
“Russia’s bombing campaign has reached record levels, and we see increasing use of banned chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine. All this shows that Russia does not want peace.”
She then confirms that Slovakia blocked the adoption of the 18th package of sanctions today as she says:
“I’m really sad that we didn’t reach this agreement today. I must say that we were really close to reassuring Slovakia. The commission has delivered what they asked for.
Now, the ball is in Slovakia’s court, and we must get this deal done. It has been already two months.
Sanctions are necessary to starve Russia of the means to wage this war, and the European Union will keep rising the cost, so stopping its aggression becomes the only path forward to Moscow.”
She adds that she welcomes Trump’s announcements last night, but says the EU “would like to see the US to share the burden”.
“America and Europe are working together, and if we are working together, this can put the pressure on Putin to negotiate seriously. The only way to get Putin to end this war is to force his hand,” she said.
Slovakia wants to postpone vote on 18th EU sanctions against Russia, PM Fico says
Slovak prime minister Robert Fico has just publicly responded to the earlier Reuters report on the European Commission’s reassurances for the country as officials seek to break the deadlock on the 18th package of sanctions against Russia.
Making the letter public on Facebook, Fico said the proposal was shared with leaders of other parties and rejected as insufficient, so the country will continue to delay the adoption of the latest round of sanctions on Russia.
In the letter, first reported by Reuters (14:08), European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said officials worked on “an ambitious and comprehensive work plan with Slovakia in recognition of the particular challenges stemming from national circumstances” and commited to “addressing the specific challenges for Slovakia.”
But Fico reiterated his opposition to “imbecile” proposal to ban Russian gas imports from 2028, but said he was ready to negotiate on further guarantees that would make the proposal work for Slovakia, saying “the best solution” would be to grant an exception to continue the existing gas delivery contract until its scheduled end in 2034.
While the gas proposal is unrelated to the sanctions package, Fico said he was linking the two to leverage Slovakia’s position in the talks, as sanctions required unanimity among the member states.
In the meantime, the Slovak representative at today’s foreign affairs council was told to request that the vote on the sanction package be delayed, he said.
Updated
Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days
In other news, we reported earlier today on a disturbing story of an Irish tourist jailed by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for months after overstaying US visit by three days.
From there, what should have been a minor incident became a nightmarish ordeal: he was detained by Ice in three different facilities, ultimately spending roughly 100 days behind bars with little understanding of why he was being held – or when he’d get out.
“Nobody is safe from the system if they get pulled into it,” said Thomas, in a recent interview from his home in Ireland, a few months after his release. Thomas asked to be identified by a nickname out of fear of facing further consequences with US immigration authorities.
Despite immediately agreeing to deportation when he was first arrested, Thomas remained in Ice detention after Donald Trump took office and dramatically ramped up immigration arrests.
Amid increased overcrowding in detention, Thomas was forced to spend part of his time in custody in a federal prison for criminal defendants, even though he was being held on an immigration violation.
Thomas was sent back to Ireland in March and was told he was banned from entering the US for 10 years.
Thomas’s ordeal follows a rise in reports of tourists and visitors with valid visas being detained by Ice, including from Australia, Germany, Canada and the UK. In April, an Irish woman who is a US green card holder was also detained by Ice for 17 days due to a nearly two-decade-old criminal record.
The arrests appear to be part of a broader crackdown by the Trump administration, which has pushed to deport students with alleged ties to pro-Palestinian protests; sent detainees to Guantánamo Bay and an El Salvador prison without presenting evidence of criminality; deported people to South Sudan, a war-torn country where the deportees had no ties; and escalated large-scale, militarized raids across the US.
Read Thomas’s story here:
Sweden to contribute to new Ukraine arms deal with US, defence minister says
Meanwhile, Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson confirmed to Reuters that the country will contribute to efforts to boost arms supplies to Ukraine following US president Donald Trump’s decision to supply billions of dollars of weapons.
“We welcome the American decision to make possible increased sanctions against Russia and to pave the way for the delivery of Patriots and other weapon systems to Ukraine,” Jonson said in an emailed comment to Reuters.
“Sweden will contribute,” he added, without offering further details.
Ukrainian PM Shmyhal resigns as part of Zelenskyy's government reshuffle
Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal has just confirmed he filed his resignation from the post, a day after president Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked his deputy, Yulia Svyrydenko, to lead the government after a reshuffle.
In a Telegram message posted alongside a picture of his hand-written resignation note, he said:
“Thank you to our defenders who are holding the front and protecting Ukraine!
Thank you to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the trust!
Thank you to the entire team for their tireless work for our country!
Glory to Ukraine!”
Updated
Thousands offered UK asylum in secret scheme after personal data of Afghans who helped British forces leaked by mistake
There is a major news story breaking in the UK about thousands of people being relocated to the UK as part of a secret £850m scheme set up after a personal data leak of Afghans who supported British forces.
PA news agency reported that a dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap) was released “in error” by a defence official in February 2022.
The breach resulted in the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024.
The scheme is understood to have cost about £400m so far, with a projected cost once completed of about £850m. Millions more is expected to be paid in legal costs and compensation.
You can follow live updates here:
EU offers Slovakia reassurances on Russian gas exit to unblock sanctions talks
Back to Brussels and the 18th package of EU sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported that the European Commission has told Slovak prime minister Robert Fico the EU will work to address his concerns over the bloc’s proposal to end Russian gas imports by 2028.
The commission will take steps including to clarify how an ’emergency break’ can be triggered if gas prices spike because of scarce supply during the Russian gas phase-out, said the letter, seen by Reuters, addressed to Fico and signed by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Slovakia has been blocking the EU’s new sanctions package against Russia, until its concerns are addressed over the separate EU proposal to phase out imports of Russian gas.
Thousands of vehicles sit idle at EU port as Trump’s tariffs leave their mark
in Brussels
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has been turned into a giant car park with thousands of cars, vans, trucks and tractors bound for the US sitting idle as manufacturers try to avert the worst of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Figures released by the port show a 15.9% drop in the transport of new passenger cars and vans to the US in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, with a sharp decline emerging in May – one month after the US president announced his “liberation day” tariffs.
Exports of trucks and what they call “high and heavy equipment” is down by almost a third at 31.5%.
This category includes tractors and construction vehicles, with the fall off in transatlantic movements perhaps reflecting the impact a 25% tariff would have on vehicles that can cost more than $100,000 (£74,430).
The port is one of the world’s largest car transport hubs, shipping more than 3m vehicles around the world in 2024.
“The outlook for the second half of the year remains uncertain. Much will depend on whether a trade agreement between the EU and the US can be reached by 1 August,” the port said in a statement.
European carmakers from Volkswagen to Volvo had been hoping that a deal would have been sealed last week after Trump’s original deadline for a tariff deal with the EU was due to expire.
Before Trump arrived in the White House they paid a 2.5% tariff on exports but since April they are being charged an extra 25%, adding tens of thousands of dollars to the price of a family-size car in the US.
Ports across Europe have been tested by Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, the port congestion caused by container shortages in 2024, with congestion a widespread issue across all northern ports, said Justin Atkin, the UK and Ireland port representative of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
Compared with Brexit, the tariff impact has been “more of an instant shock,” he said.
“With the pandemic, we had lockdown, then we were out of lockdown, then back into lockdown, and people got used to managing it after being unprepared. Whereas here … people have talked about tariffs in the build up [to Trump] but I don’t think anyone expected the level and the severity of the instantaneous action.”
The port couldn’t put a figure on the number of cars waiting to be transported but said it was in the thousands.
Speaking about the EU-US trade, let’s cross over to Lisa O’Carroll for her story on the real-life consequences of the continuing concerns about Trump’s tariffs.
EU continues talking to US on trade, technical teams on way to Washington
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič spoke with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick last night, and will speak with US trade representative Jamieson Greer later tonight, an EU spokesperson said.
EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill also confirmed that EU technical teams “are on their way to Washington DC as we speak” for further talks, but he refused to speculate about the outcome of the process.
He said:
“I will not going to go into any greater level of detail concerning the negotiations with the US, because, as we all are very well aware, we are in the most sensitive stage of those negotiations right now, working towards getting an agreement in principle over the line before the deadline set by the US of 1 August.”
Ukrainians hail 'Agent Melania Trumpenko' for challenging husband’s faith in Putin
in Kyiv and Artem Mazhulin
Ukrainians are celebrating Melania Trump on social media in a series of memes, after Donald Trump suggested the first lady played a part in his apparent change of heart over Russia.
Speaking at a meeting in the White House on Monday with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, Trump said his wife had played a key role in pointing out Vladimir Putin’s duplicity.
“My conversations with him [Putin] are always very pleasant. I say, isn’t that a very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night,” Trump said.
“I go home, I tell the first lady: I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said: Really? Another city was just hit.”
Slovenian-born Melania Trump, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia, has previously appeared to be a bigger supporter of Ukraine than the sceptical US president, who in February this year called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator.
Shortly after the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion, she appealed to her social media followers to donate to the Red Cross, saying it was “heartbreaking and horrific to see innocent people suffering”.
After Trump’s Oval Office comments on Monday, one social media user posted a photo of “Agent Melania Trumpenko” wearing a blazer with a Ukrainian trident insignia. Her face is half-shaded with a big hat, giving the impression she is working undercover inside the White House, to Kyiv’s benefit.
Updated
Trump's statements on deal with Nato, Ukraine 'serious, require analysis,' Kremlin says
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow was ready to negotiate with the US after Trump’s comments last night, but added it didn’t want to bow to any ultimatums, Reuters reported.
Separately, the Kremlin said that Trump’s statements were “serious and required analysis.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said president Vladimir Putin will comment on Trump’s proposals if he deems it necessary to do so.
Polish, Hungarian astronauts return to Earth as part of Axiom mission
Elsewhere, Polish and Hungarian astronauts returned from the International Space Station on Tuesday, after a Crew Dragon capsule carrying them alongside two crewmates landed safely back on Earth off the coast of California.
Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary spent 18 days aboard the ISS running research experiments in microgravity.
They were part of a private space mission organised by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, led by former Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson and with India’s Shubhanshu Shukla as the third crewmate.
“SpaceX copy, splashdown, and stable one. On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” they were told by mission control.
“Happy to be back,” replied Whitson.
Reuters noted that for India, Poland and Hungary, the launch marked the first human spaceflight in more than 40 years and the first mission ever to send astronauts from their government’s respective space programs to the ISS.
Updated
Trump asked Zelenskyy if Ukraine could strike Moscow, St Petersburg, FT reports
In the meantime, there’s a strong news line emerging from the Financial Times (£) reporting that US president Donald Trump has allegedly encouraged Ukraine to consider strikes deeper into Russia, and asked Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he could target Moscow if given long-range weapons by the US.
Quoting “people briefed on the discussions” and the leaders’ call on 4 July, the paper reported that Trump wanted Russians to “feel the pain” and asked Zelenskyy “can you hit Moscow? … can you hit St Petersburg too?”
The paper reported that Zelenskyy replied:
Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.
The FT said the reported exchange “marks a sharp departure from Trump’s previous stance on Russia’s war and his campaign promise to end US involvement in foreign conflicts.”
During last week’s interview with NBC, Trump pointedly spoke about “defensive weapons” for Ukraine to stop the attacks on Ukrainian cities.
(Usual caveats apply for such stories as we could not independently verify the FT’s report.)
Updated
Embattled French PM set to present outline of 2026 budget
France’s prime minister, François Bayrou, is due to present the main outlines of his proposed 2026 budget this afternoon, laying out just how he plans to cut a massive €40bn of government and social security spending next year.
The timing is far from accidental: MPs are on holiday and there will be no debate on the plans – which is probably just as well because when it comes in October, it will be heated and, in the view of many, could well topple Bayrou’s minority government.
“It’s very simple: we drop a few bombshells, MPs jump up and down for 24 hours, and then everyone leaves Paris,” an MP from president Emmanuel Macron’s camp told BFMTV. The government is giving itself, in effect, three month’s breathing space.
The objective, under heavy pressure from the European Commission and financial markets, is to reduce France’s ballooning deficit to 4.6% of GDP next year, which the centrist prime minister reportedly hopes to achieve by freezing or cutting specific budgets, taxing better-off retirees more, and reducing some public services.
Macron, however, added to the difficulty of an already unenviable task, calling on Sunday for a significant €3.5bn increase in defence spending to be found – without any additional borrowing.
Bayrou’s government does not have a majority in parliament and will need the support of both the far-right National Rally (RN) and the centre-left Socialist Party (PS) if it is to stand any chance of passing a budget bill in the autumn. Both have already promised not to lend it their support without significant concessions.
“Our red line will be anything that demands that the French people contribute more than the efforts they are already making morning, noon and night,” said Sébastien Chenu, a RN MP, on Tuesday. “Regardless of their category – workers, retirees, young people, civil servants – if he asks for more, we will say no.”
After setting out his stall this afternoon, Bayrou will make intensive use of the summer months to try to win over as many opposition MPs as possible with potential concessions – his only chance, many experts believe, of avoiding the fate of his predecessor Michel Barnier, who lost a no confidence vote on his proposed austerity budget after just three months in office.
And since we are on France, let’s go to Jon Henley in Paris to explain what’s going to happen in domestic French politics later today…
EU, US alignment on Russia means Putin has to face reality, French foreign minister says
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters that he hoped the new language from the US and more sanctions from the EU will force Russian president Vladimir Putin “to face the facts: he has gone too far and he is now at an impasse.”
He said he was hoping for more alignment between the US and the EU on sanctions, as he met with American senators last week in Rome to discuss their proposed bipartisan bill on Russia.
He urged other EU leaders to adopt the 18th sanctions package today to keep the momentum after Trump’s announcement last night in a bid to “apply very strong pressure on Vladimir Putin.”
'Put this agreement into action, stop killing people,' EU crisis commissioner says on Gaza and Israel
Arriving at the meeting with foreign ministers in Brussels, EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib criticised Israel for not implementing the deal on humanitarian aid struck with the EU last week quickly enough.
She said that five days on, “the situation is that this agreement is far from fully implemented.”
She said:
“So we have some progress. We have some positive developments. It’s true that we have trucks that are able to enter, but we don’t know exactly how many.
And what is clear is that the agreement is not fully implemented.
And so my request, my message to the authority, Israeli authorities, is very clear: put this agreement into action, now stop killing the people. We need humanitarian aid, food, water, fuel to reach the people in need.”
She then added:
“There are some openings. But as you know, last weekend, for instance, more than 100 people died, mainly children and women, while waiting for food and water distribution. This is the reality that we are facing on the ground.”
But she declines to talk about sanctions, as says that’s up to EU’s Kallas and ministers.
Crew rescued from Frontex's boat after incident near Lesbos
Five Portuguese crew and a Greek liaison officer on a Frontex boat have been rescued after their boat hit a rock while on search and rescue patrol near the island of Lesbos, a popular entry point for people trying to enter the EU without papers.
Frontex, the EU agency responsible for assisting countries in policing external borders, said:
“On Monday afternoon, a coastal patrol boat operated by the Portuguese Maritime Police, taking part in Frontex’s Joint Operation in Greece, sank off the coast of Lesvos during a search and rescue mission involving irregular migrants.”
“All were rescued safely and are in good physical condition,” it said.
Good to see Europe, US convergence on approach to Russia, Dutch foreign minister says
Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp also said the country was “looking into” the US-Nato deal announced by Trump “with a positive inclination.”
“The Netherlands already does a lot, including on air defence, from patriots missile systems, missile batteries, to F-16 … up to 1.4 billion in drone cooperation between the Netherlands and Ukraine, up to radar systems against incoming drones.
We will look into what we can do also in relation to Mr Trump’s announcements, and take it from there.”
Asked for a comment on Trump’s statement last night, he said:
I’m very glad that there’s convergence between Europe and the US on this matter.
But he added:
“I do believe that 50 days that Mr Trump has announced is rather long, that’s up to 2 September. I think that’s rather long. But I do appreciate that they really see that Putin is dragging his feet and that we need to ramp up the pressure on Russia.”
EU sanctions needed to 'take momentum' from Trump's decision forward, push Russia more, Danish minister says
Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen also talked to reporters on his arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
He said he wasn’t sure about getting a political agreement on the 18th package of sanctions today, “but if it’s not today, then I hope it will be tomorrow.”
He said it was important “to take the momentum created also by Trump’s new messages yesterday” to put more pressure on Russia and the use of sanctions.
“I have long been advocating for a more transatlantic approach. We should push the Russian economy much more so I think one of the key element in the sanction package is the lowering of the oil price gap.”
He said there is no consensus so far, with three countries pushing against.
“Whether it will be during the meeting today or later today or tomorrow, I can’t foresee for sure, but I’m very, very optimistic, and I think it’s now time … really, to push Putin too the negotiating table,” he said.
On the US-Nato deal, he confirmed Denmark would be prepared to participate in the deal, but “need others to partner up.”
He repeated that Trump’s new messaging was “very, very important.”
EU's Kallas welcomes US military deal with Nato, hopes new Russia sanctions will be adopted 'today or tomorrow'
Over in Brussels, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas set out her expectations for today’s meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
She said the news from the US was “really welcome” and she hoped the bloc would follow it up with striking a political agreement on the 18th package of sanctions against Russia “either today or tomorrow.”
We are very, very close.
On US military deal with Nato, she said:
“It is … good signs that we see from United States that they have also realised that Russia does not really want peace. So in order to have peace, we need to support Ukraine, and we need to put the pressure on Russia.”
She also said the ministers will talk about the Middle East and Gaza, stressing that “we have reached a common understanding with Israel to really improve the situation on the ground.”
“So we see some positive signs when it comes to border crossings open. We see some positive signs of them reconstructing the electricity lines, providing water, also more trucks of humanitarian aid coming in.
But of course, we need to see more in order to see real improvement for the people on the ground.”
She later said the situation was “very bad” and “catastrophic,” saying
The ministers will also talk about Iran and Georgia.
“There are all options on the table, including suspension of the visa fee regime and other elements that could make to the Georgian government to change the calculus.”
Brexit 'sloppy' but getting 'straightened out' by Starmer, Trump says
Trump was also asked about his views on Britain, saying the implementation of Brexit “has been on the sloppy side, but I think it’s getting straightened out.”
“I really like the prime minister a lot, even though he is a liberal,” he said of Keir Starmer.
He also said he was “looking forward” to his state visit in Britain in September, saying his focus was on having great time and showing respect to King Charles III.
Trump also said he believed the UK would support the US “if we had a war,” hailing the special relationship between the two countries.
“I’m not sure that a lot of the other countries would be [fighting for the US], which is unfair, because we pay far more than anybody else.”
He ends by saying he wants America to be a “great country, and it was a dead country one year ago,” and that’s it.
'Disappointed in him, but not done with him', Trump says of Putin as he offers his backing to Nato
On Putin, Trump said he thought he had a deal with him on Ukraine “four times.”
“I’m disappointed in him, but I’m not done with him, but I’m disappointed in him.
We had a deal done four times and then you go home and you see just attacked a nursing home in Kyiv. And so what the hell was that all about?”
Asked if he trusted him, he said:
I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you.
Trump also said he strongly supported Nato, saying that “Nato is now becoming the opposite of” being obsolete, as he once said.
He added it was “very unfair because the United States paid for almost 100% of it, but now they are paying their own bills.”
Asked if he believes in Nato’s fundamental Article 5 on collective defence, he said:
Yeah, I think collective defence is fine.
Trump also spoke on how his relationship with European leaders changed over the years, saying “it’s maybe not all luck; it’s like when you do it twice, it’s a big difference.”
“Over the years, they’ve gotten to know me.
This is not an easy crowd to break into. You understand, these are smart people heading up very, very successful generally, countries, you know, they’re all Germany and France, Spain and, you know, big countries.
And you know, I’ve gotten to know them, and I think they’ve come to respect my, respect me and my decision making.”
'Like to think about it as little as possible,' Trump tells BBC of assassination attempt last year
Trump spoke last night with the BBC’s Gary O’Donoghue in a longer phone interview, just broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
They just played the entire interview on air, so let me bring you the key quotes.
Asked about last year’s assassination attempt, he said:
Well, I like to think about it as little as possible.
Asked about his first reaction to the attack, he said:
“We had 55,000 people, and it was dead silence. And so, you know, I assumed that they expected the worst, yes, and so I had to let them know I was okay, which is what I did.”
Morning opening: ‘Disappointed, but not done’
US president Donald Trump said he was “disappointed, but not done” with Russian president Vladimir Putin, hours after he announced a military deal with Nato countries to arm Ukraine.
His announcement, alongside Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, was rather short on detail, but marked an important change in tone from Washington.
But Moscow does not seem to be particularly impressed, with former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev saying it simply “didn’t care” about his threats on arms or sanctions.
“Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences,” Medvedev wrote on X.
He added:
Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care.
We should hear more European reactions throughout the day as EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels for more talks on Ukraine, the Middle East, and other issues.
I will bring you all the latest.
It’s Tuesday, 15 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
