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It’s another what-happened-in-the-US-overnight kind of morning today, with US President Donald Trump announcing an executive order banning travel into the US from 12 countries and restricting seven others.
“We will not let what happened in Europe happen to America,” Trump said from the Oval Office, after referring to terror attacks carried out by “foreign visa overstayers”.
In today’s edition:
Transport ministers are fighting over late flight compensation.
We had lunch with Thierry Breton.
Friedrich Merz heads to the Oval Office.
Exclusive polling shows how popular Ursula von der Leyen is.
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À la carte
How political turbulence could affect you: Your ability to claim compensation for a delayed flight is up in the air today when EU transport ministers meet on passengers’ rights.
Landing zone: Under current rules you can make a claim if your flight is delayed by more than three hours. But Poland – currently chairing EU meetings – wants to raise this threshold, meaning fewer delayed flights will merit compensation. We’ve seen a compromise, circulated yesterday, to increase the wait time before compensation to four hours for short flights, and six for long ones, with a special three-hour threshold for extremely short trips.
The Poles’ argument is that this will encourage airlines to stop simply cancelling flights, which is cheaper for them. “Passengers prefer to make it to their destination with a delay rather than get the compensation and have their flight cancelled,” argued an EU diplomat.
Will it fly? Berlin and Madrid are blocking because they want to keep the three-hour rule. Consumer groups like BEUC agree. But diplomats said Italy and countries with strong low-cost airlines, such as Ireland, are in favour of raising the threshold.
Less money for you: The changes could hit your hip pocket too. Berlin wants a flat-rate claim fee of €300, and the high end of the Polish compromise would only get you €500 – less than the maximum of €600 you can currently claim back.
Sky’s the limit: Just 65% of flights arrived on time in 2024 and delays could be six times worse in 2035.
Quoted
“Maybe we should create our own political group” – Cypriot influencer-MEP Fidias to Fernand Kartheiser, who was kicked out of the ECR group Wednesday. Both recently visited Moscow.
EU-US
Merz to meet Trump: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has talked a big game about his ability to deal with US President Donald Trump. Today he gets the chance to prove it when the pair meet at the White House. Europe needs a US rethink on tariffs and more pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. And, according to Merz, Trump needs a chance to talk about himself. Read more.
Lunch with Thierry Breton
France’s former heavyweight European commissioner personally convened nine journalists for lunch at the Sofitel in Brussels on Wednesday. Since he resigned last September, after clashing with Ursula von der Leyen, he’s become a star of the French TV circuit, holding forth on geopolitics, US trade, and tech policy. So what’s his latest take?
On US trade talks: “I’m not here to give the slightest piece of advice,” Breton said – before proceeding to argue that the EU’s posture toward the US should be more assertive. He said he was surprised that the EU paused its first volley of tariff countermeasures in April. Von der Leyen has not held a proper face-to-face meeting with Trump since his return to office and has said she would only travel to the White House to conclude a deal.
On von der Leyen’s leadership: “We know very well that Donald Trump favors bilateral relations above all but then it’s up to the [EU] institutions to assert themselves,” Breton said. Turning to the leadership shown by von der Leyen – whom he accused of “questionable governance” in his resignation letter – he suggested she should be as present at the White House as other European and world leaders.
The Frenchman said it’s all very well for EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič to be handling technical meetings, but that the Oval Office is the place to be, and the Commission president is the only one with a mandate for the broader political wrangling with Trump’s myriad demands.
On his resignation: “The political role of the commissioners was being erased to the point where I had to resign.”
On Mark Rutte: “I remember Mr. Rutte, who I appreciate in a personal capacity … he didn’t want to move past 1.2% of [national spending on defence when he was Dutch PM] … Now he’s lecturing all those who’ve not done it.”
Parliament
From prison to Parliament … and back? Italian Left group MEP Ilaria Salis will see her immunity put to a vote in the Parliament’s legal affairs committee on 24 June, multiple sources confirmed. Salis, elected in 2024 after spending over a year in a Hungarian prison, gained immunity from charges tied to an alleged attack on neo-Nazis in Budapest. Hungary requested her immunity be lifted in October. A final decision rests with the full Parliament.
Salis said that reports suggest that the rapporteur on her case – Spanish EPP lawmaker Adrián Vázquez Lázara – intends to support Hungary’s push to lift her immunity. “If this is true, I would certainly be exposed to ruthless political persecution,” Salis said.
Tariffs in Paris
EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič met US counterpart Ambassador Jamieson Greer yesterday in Paris, following Trump’s shock 50% tariff hike on EU steel and aluminium that came into effect on the same day.
The 50% tariff came as a “surprise” to the EU, Šefčovič told journalists. “I can tell you that when the first tariffs were imposed on steel, aluminium, and derivatives, it was very clear from my discussions with our counterparts that we were not the real US problem when it comes to those products.”
The goal is to find an “amicable solution” and strike a deal before 9 July with Šefčovič saying he remains optimistic because of the progress made.
A US readout quoted Greer saying the “very constructive” meeting “indicates a willingness by the EU to work with us to find a concrete way forward to achieve reciprocal trade”.
Exclusive poll
It’s not a popularity contest. OK, it is.
A new Euroscope poll, conducted for Euractiv, ranks Europe’s top political figures. Some 5,107 adults were surveyed across the bloc in the second half of May.
Also on Euractiv
EU states finally reached a common position on data and market protection periods for new drug producers, paving the way for a first trilogue with the Parliament on 17 June. Read more.
The Commission and European Central Bank announced that Bulgaria has met the requirements to join the euro area, paving the way for it to become the 21st member on 1 January 2026. Read more.
Around the bloc
In Hungary, Viktor Orbán’s ruling party delayed a vote on legislation that would let the government ban organisations with foreign funding.
The European Commission formally reprimanded Austria for breaching the EU’s budget rules, compounding the woes of the conservative-led government as it tries to reverse years of economic decline. Read more.
A controversial security decree passed the Italian Senate. PM Giorgia Meloni says the new law is about protecting citizens and law enforcement, but international observers say it risks violating international human rights standards. Read more.
Brazil’s President Lula is in Paris to meet Emmanuel Macron today. Though likely to see eye-to-eye on Gaza, the pair are further apart when it comes to relations with Moscow and the Mercosur trade deal, which France opposes.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made tougher borders a key pillar of his February election win. But our correspondent on Germany’s Eastern border finds the supposed crackdown looks a lot more like window-dressing. Read more.
Entre nous
Jens vs. Jens: Ursula von der Leyen’s comms chief Jens Flosdorff quickly deleted a message he apparently forwarded by mistake to a WhatsApp group of over 400 journalists Wednesday. It said “WTF???” and included a crying/laughing face emoji. The message contained a link to a Spiegel story about the appointment of Olaf Scholz’s former foreign policy adviser Jens Plötner as state secretary for armaments in the German government.
We hear that António Costa is hoping for a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Canada this month.
Circular economy: The first phase of works on the Schuman roundabout went over budget, threatening to derail the design plans, RTBF reports.
Seen something amusing, interesting, or downright strange in Brussels? Send tips.
On our radar
The EU Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council convenes to discuss regulations on air passenger rights, the roadworthiness package, the European Maritime Safety Agency, joint actions in response to jamming and spoofing threats to satellite navigation systems, and more.
EU Industry Days 2025 (5–6 June), taking place in Rzeszów, Poland, are Europe’s flagship annual event for key industrial policy discussions. Agenda highlights include competitiveness, decarbonisation, reducing dependencies, and more.
NATO Defence Ministers meet in Brussels. Remarks are expected from the NATO Secretary General and the US Secretary of Defense. Meetings of the NATO–Ukraine Council and the Nuclear Planning Group are also scheduled during the event.
UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn, with the online participation of UK Minister for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas-Symonds, meets with Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to mark the benefits for Northern Ireland under the recent UK–EU trade agreement.
The Brussels Economic Security Forum Summit 2025 features panels on economic statecraft, techonology as a driver of geopolitics, and multipolarity re-examined. Maroš Šefčovič, fresh from trade talks with his US counterpart Jamieson Greer, delivers opening remarks on safeguarding EU economic interests without retreating from open markets. Also participating: UK Trade Secretary David Reynolds and ministers from Canada and Japan.
Reporters: Nikolaus J. Kurmayer, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Thomas Moller-Nielsen, Miriam Sáenz de Tejada, Alessia Peretti, Nick Alipour.
Editors: Vince Chadwick and Sofia Mandilara.
Top image: Shane LaGesse.