Politico EU

KYIV — Moscow was going through a whirlwind of emotions Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump finally brought the hammer down on top Russian oil giants.

Trump’s sanctions triggered a wave of reactions from President Vladimir Putin’s allies, who suggested, in turn, that: the measures were evidence the White House is a warmonger not a peacemaker; the sanctions don’t hurt anyway, honest; and don’t forget about the sweet, sweet economic deals discussed on the Washington-Moscow leaders’ call last week.

The deniers included foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova — a top Kremlin propagandist — who said the sanctions on energy majors Rosneft and Lukoil were no big deal.

“As for us, we won’t face any particular difficulties,” Zakharova said, avoiding any mention of Trump. “In connection with the aforementioned decision by the U.S. Treasury, our country has developed a strong immunity to Western restrictions and will continue the steady development of its economic potential, inclu..

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said he was insulted by a vote in the Israeli Knesset over the annexation of the West Bank, adding his name to the list of senior White House officials airing their grievances with Israel as they look to build on a fragile ceasefire with Hamas.

“The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy,” Vance said at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. “And if people want to take symbolic votes, they can do that. But we certainly weren’t happy about it.”

Vance, who spent two days meeting with officials in Israel this week, told reporters that President Donald Trump would not allow Israel to take over the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told POLITICO in a statement that the Knesset vote was “a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord” and that it did not have the support of the ruling Likud party.

“The Likud party and t..

Divisive German civil servant Martin Selmayr should return to Brussels for the sake of the EU, a senior minister declared Wednesday — sparking an immediate rebuke from his own government.

Germany’s EU Affairs Minister Gunther Krichbaum told POLITICO he would “very much welcome” Selmayr returning to the fray in a senior role. The veteran political operator is considering taking a job working for Brussels’ top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, despite opposition from powerful factions in the European Commission and in national capitals.

“If we already have civil servants who are playing at Champions League level, we should deploy them in the right place,” said Krichbaum. “That’s also in Germany’s interest, and it would be good for Kaja Kallas if she had him as support.”

However, that is not the feeling elsewhere in Berlin.

A German government official told POLITICO that “this is not a position agreed by the German government. We will not endorse Mr. Selmayr.”

Selmayr was chief of staff to for..

Czechia’s likely next prime minister Andrej Babiš may act as a “puppet” of Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán at the European leaders’ table, harming the country’s standing on the world stage, said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.

Babiš, a populist tycoon who was reelected earlier this month but has yet to form a government, stated after his victory that he would not be seeking confrontation with the European Union.

But for Lipavský, who’s part of Czechia’s outgoing government, the likely incoming prime minister is set to follow in the footsteps of his political ally Orbán, who is at odds with Brussels and the EU mainstream on everything from the rule of law to support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Babiš “will not behave like [an]Orbán figure,” Lipavský said in an interview with POLITICO ahead of a gathering of European leaders on Thursday. “He will behave like Orbán’s puppet. That’s a big difference. To behave like Orbán and be someone’s puppet. And he will be all about [be..

LONDON — Jonathan Powell gives Britain’s prime minister his street cred on the world stage. Keir Starmer — and European leaders too — might do well to keep him in their gang.

As the world tries to both keep the fragile Gaza ceasefire on track and resolve the long-running war in Ukraine, Starmer’s top foreign policy aide — also the country’s national security adviser — is taking flak.

Jonathan Powell, a veteran of Tony Blair’s government, is feeling the political heat over the collapse of a high-profile Chinese espionage trial.

Starmer’s Westminster opponents say Powell has questions to answer about a crucial government meeting held before prosecutors dropped charges against two alleged Chinese spies operating in Westminster. They have cited a lack of government evidence that Beijing posed a threat to national security.

No. 10 has repeatedly insisted the meeting was about handling Britain’s wider relationship with China, not the trial evidence. Colleagues fiercely defend Powell, ..

BRUSSELS — Intelligence agencies across Europe are burying decades of distrust and starting to build a shared intelligence operation to counter Russian aggression — a move accelerated by the new American capriciousness in supporting its traditional allies.

In the past year, many national capitals have embedded intelligence officials in their Brussels representation offices. The European Union’s in-house intelligence unit has started briefing top-level officials. And the bloc is toying with the idea to build up stronger, CIA-style powers — long considered unthinkable.

The push for deeper intelligence cooperation accelerated sharply after the Trump administration abruptly halted the sharing of battlefield intelligence with Kyiv last March.

Donald Trump “deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for bringing the services of Europe together,” said one Western intelligence official, who was granted anonymity to disclose details of how they cooperated with American counterparts.

POLITICO spoke with ..

The UK government is “deeply concerned” about clashes and the return of violence in Gaza, despite Donald Trump’s peace deal being in place since last week.

On Sunday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote on X that the “escalation” in Gaza is “deeply concerning.”

Israel’s military said it had struck multiple targets in Gaza on Sunday, using aircraft and artillery, after it said that Hamas militants had shot at Israeli soldiers.

The strikes killed at least 26 people, according to Reuters.

Cooper, Britain’s top diplomat, said that the ceasefire “must hold and humanitarian aid must get through to those in need.”

She urged that “all parties” uphold the ceasefire agreement to “avoid any further bloodshed.”

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Sunday night, US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire in Gaza was still in effect, despite the deadly strikes.

Trump was unable to say if the Israeli strikes were justified: “I’d have to get back to you on that.”

The Hamas-run governmen..

U.S. President Donald Trump returned to discussing Kyiv giving up territory to Russia in Friday’s meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but ultimately agreed “try to end this on the current line,” according to a person familiar with the matter.

Zelenskyy had gone to the White House hoping to convince Trump to agree to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles for its fight against the Russian invasion, but left unhappy with the summit’s outcome, according to a second person with knowledge of the meeting who was granted anonymity to discuss it.

Trump, who spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for two hours on Thursday, said after Friday’s meeting with Zelenskyy: “I think President Putin wants to end the war.”

But during the talks with Zelenskyy, according to the person familiar with the matter quoted above, the “Americans said that Putin wants to keep fighting, and he has a strong war machine.”

“Then [U.S. special envoy Steve] Witkoff entered the conversation..

Tens of thousands of protestors marched in dozens of Italian cities Monday while strikes brought trains and highway transport to a halt after unions called a nationwide walkout in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is under pressure to recognize Palestinian statehood after the U.K., Australia, Canada and Portugal did so, following growing international condemnation of Israel’s attack on Gaza.

The protesters also want the Italian government to suspend commercial and military cooperation agreements with Israel, and to protect a flotilla of 60 boats crossing the Mediterranean carrying aid to Gaza.

Meloni has said the government in Rome will recognize Palestinian statehood only when conditions make it practically possible, and her government has been one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in the EU.

The strike was organized after dockworkers in Genoa vowed to support the Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes prominent activist Greta Thun..

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Die UN-Generalversammlung startet – ohne Friedrich Merz. Während Kanzler und Koalition in Berlin mit Haushalt und Richterwahl beschäftigt sind, verschärft sich der Nahostkonflikt: Großbritannien, Kanada, Australien sowie Portugal haben Palästina als Staat anerkannt, weitere westliche Länder wollen folgen. Deutschland steht plötzlich isoliert – zwischen transatlantischer Treue und europäischem Druck.

Im 200-Sekunden-Interview erklärt Johannes Volkmann (CDU) die Position der Union zwischen Zweistaatenlösung und dem Wunsch europäisch geeint zu sprechen.

Hans von der Burchard berichtet vor seiner Abreise nach New York über die Abwesenheit von Merz dort – und warum es für Deutschland bei der Vollversammlung um Palästina geht, aber auch die Frage was aus dem nichts-ständigen Sitz im Sicherheitsrat wird.

Und: Feedback aus Jerusalem – und ein Voting zur nächsten Folge der Machthaber-Reihe.

Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gib..