EU ministers seek face-saving outcome for Ukraine peace summit

EU foreign affairs ministers will today discuss how to find a face-saving outcome for the Ukraine peace summit on June 15-16 in Switzerland.

US President Joe Biden is planning to skip the gathering for a Hollywood fundraiser, while China and Brazil are planning a rival initiative. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is imploring leaders to attend, but Moscow is actively trying to undermine participation of key powers. Brazil and India are floating the idea of sending more junior officials, and only a senior civil servant may attend from Beijing, we’re told. For the EU, the important issue is how to progress from next month’s conference to a possible meeting in Saudi Arabia in the autumn with the participation of Russia, officials said, Bloomberg reports.

What’s Happening

Backing Reformers | The EU called for additional support for the Palestinian Authority as it presented a reform plan to improve the situation in the territories. “We have to do more,” said top EU diplomat Josep Borrell. Foreign affairs ministers meeting in Brussels today will discuss the crisis as Israel flouted an International Court of Justice ruling and pushed deeper into Rafah.

Frozen Assets | Ukraine was satisfied after G-7 finance ministers gathering in Stresa, Italy, made progress on plans to frontload windfall profits from Russian frozen assets, an initiative that leaders are planning to conclude at their summit next month.

Trade Risk: The ministerial gathering also served to send warnings over China’s economic practices. France’s Bruno Le Maire told us that a glut of cheap Chinese exports threatens the entire global economy, risking further trade tensions with Beijing. Chinese industries, meanwhile, are reportedly planning to push for an anti-dumping investigation into pork imports from the EU.

Getting Closer: Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni expects a warmer EU-UK relationship under a new government that could be led by the Labour party after the July 4 elections. Although the Windsor accord struck with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives was “very good,” “we are very happy” if closer ties are possible, Gentiloni told us in Stresa.

Around Europe

Power Duo | French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday began a three-day visit to Germany, where support for Ukraine and trade tensions with China will be high on the agenda. Chancellor Olaf Scholz highlighted as a priority their joint efforts to progress on the EU’s elusive project of building a capital markets union.

Gaining Ground: France’s far-right National Rally is extending its lead in European elections scheduled for June 9, with 33% of voters backing Marine Le Pen, compared to 15.5% preferring Macron, according to an opinion poll. The government’s popularity could be further dented as it announced plans to cut jobless benefits to rein in public debt.

Baltic Repeat: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda was elected to a second, five-year term yesterday, as voters in the Baltic nation backed continuity in foreign policy and a hard line on the threat of Russian aggression. Nauseda won 76% of the vote in a runoff after ballots from 90% of the districts were counted, and his rival Ingrida Simonyte, Lithuania’s prime minister, conceded defeat.

Attacking Civilians: Russia struck a home-improvement store in Kharkiv, killing 11 people and wounding dozens more, when more than 200 people were believed to have been inside, according to President Zelenskiy. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called for lifting some of the restrictions imposed on weapons donated to Ukraine to allow them to strike military targets in Russia.

Spending More: Giorgia Meloni blamed the country’s “sky-high” debt for the traditional instability of Italian governments as she campaigns for premiers having a stronger mandate. “When you have, on average, a political horizon of about a year and a half, you can’t start a strategy, you can’t invest,” she said. “What you can do is spend.”