On today’s Brussels Playbook Podcast: Host Zoya Sheftalovich and senior European politics editor Ian Wishart talk about what’s at stake as the European Parliament gears up for a reshuffle … and where to get the best coffee in Brussels.
GOOD TUESDAY MORNING. This is Nick Vinocur.
JUST IN — COSTA HEADS TO NORWAY: European Council President António Costa will travel to Norway for an official visit Thursday, Playbook’s Gabriel Gavin reports. He’ll meet Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and visit a medical center at Oslo University Hospital where Ukrainians evacuated from the war are being treated. Costa and Støre will hold a joint press conference at 1:15 p.m. The visit comes against a background of talks about closer integration between Oslo and Brussels.
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DRIVING THE DAY 
EU EDGES INTO TRUMP’S GAZA PEACE MEETING: The European Union is sending a top official to the first formal meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Washington this week, the European Commission confirmed Monday — but that doesn’t mean the bloc is joining the board as a formal member.
Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica is set to participate as a non-member at the Thursday meeting, where the American president intends to announce $5 billion in pledges to help rebuild Gaza. That likely means Šuica won’t have a formal speaking slot, although the commissioner may be able to speak during the Q&A session reserved for non-members, per an EU official aware of the trip preparations.
Why it matters: Šuica’s attendance is remarkable given the reluctance of the EU and most capitals to have anything to do with the Board of Peace. Only Bulgaria and Hungary have formally signed up, with Italy and Romania voicing interest in attending as observers. But Germany and France have said no to Trump’s invitations, as have Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Slovakia and other European countries.
The problem, these critics say, is that Trump’s initiative has no basis in international law and undermines the authority of the United Nations in Gaza. Behind closed doors, EU diplomats also point to the fact that there are no term limits on Trump chairing the board and that he’s entitled to name his own successor.
But but but … for all their reservations about Trump’s initiative, those EU critics also don’t want to be cut out of conversations about Gaza’s future and the wider region. “We’re not a fan of the Board of Peace,” said one EU official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a diplomatically sensitive topic. “It’s hardly a body with peaceful members and [is] at odds with the U.N., yet we want to support Gaza’s reconstruction and retain a say over how funds are used.”
The EU has a vested interest in keeping a seat at the table … It’s currently the Palestinian Authority’s largest benefactor. Šuica may use her speaking time to plead for the authority to be included in any post-conflict security arrangement, perhaps via a role for the police officers who have been trained with EU funding. However, given Brussels’ preferred partner has been left out of top-level decision-making in the new structure, its impact at this first formal meeting looks set to be limited. A spokesperson for Šuica had no immediate comment.
PARLIAMENT POWER STRUGGLE
LET THE BATTLE BEGIN: More than a year out from a planned midterm reshuffle that will see the European Parliament’s leadership posts reallocated in early 2027, the plotting and maneuvering have already begun. My colleague Max Griera has a typically sharp take this morning on the key flashpoints:
1. The fight for the presidency: It’s no secret that Parliament President Roberta Metsola would like a third term, which would make her the assembly’s longest-serving president. But that puts Metsola and her European People’s Party (EPP) on a collision course with the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the Parliament’s second-biggest group, which claims it should get the presidency as part of a power-sharing arrangement signed at the beginning of the term. The two groups’ relationship is already at an all-time low.
2. Will the far right secure leadership positions? The Parliament’s centrist groups have traditionally sidelined far-right factions, but that unwritten rule no longer necessarily applies when it comes to passing legislation. EPP leader Manfred Weber insists that granting far-right parties key leadership positions remains his red line — but center-left lawmakers fear that may not hold. Meanwhile, two lawsuits brought by the Patriots for Europe group before the EU Court of Justice could compel the mainstream groups to grant leadership roles to the far right.
3. Plots to dethrone group leaders: All political group chairs are up for midterm reelection. The EPP, S&D, Patriots, European Conservatives and Reformists and Europe of Sovereign Nations are unlikely to change leaders … but expect internal battles in Renew Europe, the Greens and The Left.
4. Lawmakers on the move: Lukas Sieper, from the German Party of Progress, announced last week that he will be joining Renew Europe, pending confirmation by members of his party. He was joined on Monday by Elisabetta Gualmini, who is defecting from the Italian Social Democrats. It kicks off what is set to be a year of backroom bargaining, with all the groups seeking more MEPs to attract greater funding, more speaking time and increased prominence in meetings and debates.
5. A new political group close to Russia: Cypriot YouTuber-turned-politician Fidias Panayiotou — who stirred controversy last May when he attended Russia’s “Victory Day” celebrations along with some German and Slovak MEPs — is planning to start a new group with MEPs from Slovakia’s Smer party. Although they currently lack the 23 MEPs from seven different countries required to start a new group, the midterm reshuffle could make it possible. They are “pretty close” to reaching the needed number of lawmakers, an official with knowledge of the talks told POLITICO.
RUSSIA SANCTIONS
RACE TO FINALIZE NEW SANCTIONS: The EU is nearing the finish line on its 20th package of sanctions targeting Russia, with a final deal expected to be struck after two more meetings of ambassadors in the Coreper II format, three diplomats told Koen Verhelst and Playbook.
Reminder: Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas has been pushing hard to get the sanctions package ready for the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The short timeline means ambassadors are now likely to meet again on Wednesday and possibly Friday, the diplomats said.
Key detail: Kallas is also trying to coordinate with the U.K. to give the sanctions maximum impact, our London-based colleague Esther Webber writes in to report. The aim is to align on sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet and a ban on maritime services that service the ships transporting Russian oil and gas.
Good to know: Ambassadors heard Monday from sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan, who has been working with third countries to close loopholes that allow Russia to keep its oil-transporting ships on the high seas. O’Sullivan is soon headed to Kyrgyzstan, Koen reports.
Usual suspects: Two other diplomats told Koen and Gregorio Sorgi that Hungary is pushing to delist top Russian sports officials — which could delay the package.
BEYOND BREXIT
HOW TO BRING U.K. ARTISTS BACK INTO THE EU? That’s what a delegation of six lawmakers from the European Parliament’s Culture Committee will try to understand during a visit to London that runs until Wednesday, Max Griera reports.
Brexit shattered British artists’ access to the coveted EU single market. The main victims aren’t superstars like Ed Sheeran but emerging indie bands. Sandro Gozi, the liberal MEP who chairs the Parliament’s delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, said the lawmakers want to use the visit to better understand the obstacles these artists face, including visas and customs, and how to overcome them.
Talks about creative industries are part of the EU and U.K.’s ongoing discussions about a post-Brexit reset, following the U.K.’s decision to rejoin the Horizon research and innovation program in 2023 and the Erasmus+ education scheme in December. Gozi said the lawmakers are keen to learn about the U.K.’s plans for implementing the latter by 2027, including the budget and who will hold responsibilities in the government.
Repairing Brexit: Gozi praised the U.K. government’s decision to rejoin Erasmus+ — for which it is expected to pay £570 million to take part in 2027 — as “courageous” at a time when migration is highly politically charged. But he said Britain rejoining is necessary to “repair the incredible damage that Brexit has done, especially to youth.”
The EU’s Culture Commissioner Glenn Micallef told POLITICO: “The European Commission has never closed the door to the United Kingdom, not on culture and not on youth. Creative Europe and Erasmus+ remain open and we stand ready to work together whenever the U.K. chooses to engage. Cultural and youth exchanges strengthen both sides, and that spirit of cooperation remains firmly in place.”
More talks coming: Lawmakers from both sides will meet in Brussels on March 16-17 for the seventh EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly to discuss trade, economic security and defense cooperation.
Another Brexit snag: The FT reports that the U.K. has “quietly shelved” plans to build a frictionless post-Brexit trade border after spending £110 million on a contract.
IN OTHER NEWS
BELGIUM PROTESTS ANTISEMITISM CLAIMS: Belgium’s foreign ministry has summoned the American ambassador over his “unacceptable” social media posts accusing the country of antisemitism, POLITICO’s Ketrin Jochecová reports.
FENDING OFF THE FAR RIGHT: Emmanuel Macron is racing to put guard rails around a potential far-right president of France, accelerating key appointments and putting loyalists in top positions to prevent the National Rally from executing its populist agenda. My colleagues in Paris have the inside story.
GROK PROBE: The Irish Data Protection Commission has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk’s X over the alleged use of its AI bot Grok to spread potentially harmful and sexualized non-consensual images, including of children, the watchdog said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has disabled AI features on the work devices of lawmakers and their staff because of security concerns, POLITICO’s Ellen O’Regan and Max Griera reported.
DIGITAL PARIAH: Nicolas Guillou, the International Criminal Court judge sanctioned by the Trump administration after issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is in Brussels Tuesday to discuss his case with the European Commission. Guillou says the sanctions have deprived him of access to essential services and made him a kind of digital pariah. “It has a fear-inducing effect, that’s what they’re after,” he told my colleague Marion Solletty.
BIG SIX READOUT: Monday’s Playbook noted that the EU’s six largest economies, whose finance ministers have started meeting regularly, haven’t put out any position papers or put their thinking into words. That changed after their gathering on the sidelines of the Eurogroup meeting Monday.
Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil lauded action on how to move faster on the Savings and Investments Union (the successor to the ill-fated Capital Markets Union) and improving the resilience of supply chains for critical raw materials. The next “E6” meeting, planned for March 9-10, will focus on strengthening the international role of the euro and making defense investments more efficient.
But Dublin isn’t a fan: Ireland sounded the alarm over the E6 Monday, warning that smaller countries’ interests could be bulldozed. “I am conscious, and I say this very respectfully, a lot of the countries in that E6 will have different views on some fundamental issues,” Irish Finance Minister Simon Harris said.
AGENDA
— Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting. Commissioners Raffaele Fitto, Valdis Dombrovskis and Maria Luís Albuquerque attending. Press conference at 1 p.m. Watch.
— European Council President António Costa meets the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Joint Committee at 2 p.m. … and Culture Commissioner Glenn Micallef at 3 p.m.
— Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius meets Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė in Vilnius.
— Rule of Law Commissioner Michael McGrath meets Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spajić in Podgorica.
— Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen visits storm-affected agricultural sites in Portugal … meets Portuguese Agriculture Minister José Manuel Fernandes in Lisbon.
BRUSSELS CORNER
WEATHER: Rain with sunny intervals. High 7C.
THE NEW REGIONAL GOVERNMENT’S FIRST CHALLENGE? That would be Brussels South station, which has made headlines for all the wrong reasons, from its less-than-pristine state to theft and drug trafficking, Hanne Cokelaere reports. “A train station is a gateway to the city,” Brussels’ brand new Minister-President Boris Dilliès told RTBF Monday, adding that the safety of Brussels residents will be a key issue for the new government.
First political backlash: The new leader has already come under fire for his poor knowledge of Dutch — a highly sensitive issue in Belgium’s political system, which carefully balances the interests of different language groups. Dilliès acknowledged to RTBF that someone in his position must speak French and Dutch and said he’d put “a series of mechanisms” in place to hone his language skills. But in the short time between accepting the job and facing the media, he said, “I hadn’t had the time to immerse myself.”
COST OF LIVING SQUEEZE: Bouche, the coffee shop favored by Commission spokespeople and diplomats, bumped up its prices on Monday, citing the rising cost of coffee beans, rents and staff wages. A latte is now €5.20 and a tea €4.80, Gabriel Gavin writes in to report. Luckily most of its clientele have healthy expense accounts.
BABY NEWS: Fabrice Jacobsen, the indefatigable Danish perm rep spokesperson, and his wife Tilde have just welcomed a baby into the world — their third. Velkomst!
SCHUMAN SHOW DATE CHANGE: The EU’s favorite comedy, the Schuman Show, is back next week … but the performance on Thursday Feb. 26 has been canceled. A new date has been added: Tuesday Feb. 24. If you had already bought a ticket for Thursday’s show, check your email for details on exchanges/refunds. More information here.
BIRTHDAYS: Former MEPs Annie Schreijer-Pierik and Josefa Andrés Barea; Europol chief Catherine De Bolle. Independence Day in Kosovo.
THANKS TO: Playbook reporters Ferdinand Knapp and Hanne Cokelaere, editors Alex Spence and James Panichi, and producer Dean Southwell.
**A message from Neste: Join us in redefining how the world moves. Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel are available today, with production capacity in Europe increasing for tomorrow. Let’s fuel change. Learn more at neste.com/change.**
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