Europe

EU ambassadors try third time to agree delay of methane rules for oil and gas imports; Commission faced pressure from US gas lobby and Trump administration.

The European Commission praised Moldova as the best performer on EU-accession reforms despite Russian sabotage, with enlargement commissioner Marta Kos saying it is on track for 2030.

Eurozone governments have until Friday to nominate candidates to succeed Christine Lagarde as ECB president, with Spain’s Pablo Hernández de Cos and the Netherlands’ Klaas Knot leading the race.

The EU has replaced ‘associate membership’ with ‘ever closer association’ in its draft communique with Canada, following German objections. Both sides stress their close partnership amid shared trade threats.

Culture, media and journalist workers protested in Brussels against a proposed 30% cut to the EU’s AgoraEU programme, warning that the sectors are already on their knees.

MEPs and Estonia urge the EU to impose visa bans and asset freezes on corrupt foreign officials by adding corruption to its human rights sanctions list.

The EU is adding a new €2 charge on parcels from outside the bloc, targeting low-value imports from retailers like Shein and Temu.

An EU-Canada summit in Montreal is overshadowed by a surprise proposal to make Canada an ‘associate member’ of the EU, which several member states oppose and Canada itself has not embraced.

MEP Javier Moreno Sánchez has dismissed the row over calling Canada an ‘associate member’ of the EU, saying he doesn’t care about the legal basis and wants a de facto partnership ahead of the Montréal summit.

The EU Commission has proposed giving Frontex 17,000 officers for deportations while narrowing human-rights monitoring, in an overhaul presented on Tuesday.