‘We’re the two superpowers’ – so, where is Europe?

Good morning. Angela Skujins penning this Thursday’s newsletter from the Belgian capital, wherever I tin accidental with quiescent assurance that everyone not enjoying the nationalist vacation has their eyes firmly fixed to what is happening astir 8,000 kilometres to the east.

Before US President Donald Trump departed the White House connected Tuesday for an astir 14-hour formation to the Chinese capital, helium outlined successful plain English the value of the visit. “We're the 2 superpowers,” helium said unabashedly.

“We're the strongest federation connected world successful presumption of military. China’s considered second,” Trump said.

After landing, some presidents expressed anticipation that the gathering – seen arsenic the astir consequential bilateral of 2026 – would carnivore effect regarding the Iran war, commercialized and Taiwan.

But Xi warned of however the gathering could beryllium perceived from the sidelines, and asked his counterpart whether the 2 countries tin transcend the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and "forge a caller exemplary for relations betwixt large powers.”

He was referring to the thought that erstwhile a rising powerfulness threatens to displace an established power, the effect is often war. “It’s an honour to beryllium with you. It’s an honour to beryllium your friend,” Trump countered.

As Stefan Grobe writes, Europe is watching each this from the periphery, wondering however the continent volition beryllium squeezed betwixt the superpowers, if astatine all.

Rare earths are the large sticking constituent here, with China maintaining a stranglehold of 17 uncommon world elements utilized for the accumulation of important technologies. The contented is that Beijing tin – and has – turned disconnected supplies similar a tap. Much similar Brussels, Washington covets these minerals.

The nightmare script for Europe is that Trump, who travelled to Beijing nether the darkest economical clouds of his governmental career, strikes a woody that leaves the bloc successful the dust. Experts can’t exclude this arsenic a imaginable outcome.

“Realistically, the Trump-Xi talks are becoming precise bilateral,” said Jonas Parello-Plessner, a visiting chap successful the Indo-Pacific programme of the German Marshall Fund (GMF). “And 1 happening is certain: Trump volition lone talk for himself.”

Member of the European Parliament Michael Bloss sits connected the delegation liable for Brussels-Beijing relations. He conscionable told Europe Today that Europe has to realise it is not sitting astatine the array during these talks which could interaction its aboriginal – and that the continent's endurance relies connected speaking with one, beardown voice.

"China is doing this disagreement and conquer policy," helium said, "but the question is, for us, however bash we get much autonomy and much sovereignty?"Watch.

The statement regarding reliance is besides heating up astatine home.

As Marta Pacheco reports, vigor ministers successful Cyprus connected Wednesday confronted Europe’s dependence connected China’s powerfulness retention dominance.

Chinese firms present power the immense bulk of Europe’s artillery vigor retention strategy market, accounting for much than 80% of the residential retention conception and astir 88% of lithium-ion artillery imports, according to planetary probe information steadfast Wood Mackenzie.

Analysts accidental Europe could trim its strategical dependence connected China successful cleanable vigor industries, but replacing Beijing crossed the full proviso concatenation is astir apt unrealistic wrong the adjacent decade.

"While determination has been a sizeable drop-off successful investments by Chinese vigor companies since the precocious 2010s, arsenic good arsenic greater scrutiny of Chinese overseas nonstop concern successful general, the bequest of Chinese engagement successful the vigor strategy persists," a insubstantial from the EU Institute for Security Studies states.

EU Commission to dispatch squad to Budapest arsenic it mulls Hungarian concern slope for EU cash

The European Commission is looking for ways to assistance Hungary unlock billions successful EU funding, dispatching a delegation to Budapest adjacent week arsenic the timepiece ticks.

Brussels has warned Budapest that receiving the afloat €10 cardinal successful betterment funds earlier an August deadline volition beryllium difficult, suggesting that it whitethorn person the afloat grants, but not the loans. Still, the Commission volition nonstop a squad of elder officials to marque a much elaborate appraisal with the now-in-office government.

As Sandor Zsiros and Luca Bertuzzi investigate, 1 of the options the Commission is exploring is utilizing the country's concern slope Exim Bank to transmission the funding, but Brussels besides worries that it volition suffer oversight of the process, which is seen arsenic imperative arsenic the basal origin for the blocked backing is the regularisation of law.

As it stands, Hungary volition lone person currency successful upfront payments if it manages to conscionable the criteria acceptable retired by the Commission, but clip is tight. Nonetheless, employing the Hungarian concern slope arsenic a conveyance for aboriginal projects would let disbursements to proceed adjacent if not each conditions are met upfront.

End 'barbaric' conversion practices now, Brussels tells EU countries

EU countries indispensable instrumentality swift enactment to extremity “barbaric” and “shameful” conversion practices targeting LGBTQI+ people, Hadja Lahbib, the European Commissioner for Equality, said successful effect to a citizens’ inaugural that gathered implicit 1 cardinal signatures.

As Jorge Liboreiro and I report, conversion practices encompass interventions, specified arsenic psychotherapy, medication, electroshock and exorcism, aimed astatine changing a person’s intersexual orientation, sex individuality oregon sex expression.

They often impact abuse, unit and humiliation. “It's a torture and it's carnal and intelligence harassment that could pb to heavy slump oregon suicide,” Lahbib told Euronews. A proposal volition beryllium formally presented adjacent year. This, however, falls abbreviated of the EU-wide prohibition that the citizens’ inaugural demanded the Commission propose.

Lahbib admitted a deficiency of unanimity among subordinate states. Article 19 of the EU treaties dictates unanimity to o.k. laws that tackle discrimination, including connected grounds of intersexual orientation. An equality directive has been stuck since 2008.

“We didn't privation to instrumentality decades of discussions similar we are doing with the Equal Treatment Directive,” Lahbib said.

“So we similar to physique connected goodwill, connected consciousness and connected the information that if we inactive judge that our national is simply a national of freedom, of expression, of equality, we request to prohibition this.”

Read more.

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We're besides keeping an oculus on

• ​European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius volition question to Zagreb, Croatia to finalise the country’s €1.7 cardinal EU defence loan.
• European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos volition conscionable with UK Minister of Europe and North America Stephen Doughty successful London, UK.

That’s it for today. Marta Pacheco and Jorge Liboreiro contributed to this newsletter.