Meet the MAGA ambos: Donald Trump’s ambassadors in Europe have certainly made a splash since taking up their posts a few months ago. In Belgium, France and Poland, they've courted controversy by poking at hot-button domestic issues, including antisemitism. But is there a coordinated MAGA strategy at work or simply a shortage of diplomatic experience and European politesse? Elisa Braun, Magnus Lund Nielsen and I picked up the phone to find out – and wrote this.

You’re reading Rapporteur on Wednesday 25 February. This is Eddy Wax, with Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels.

Need-to-knows:

🟢 Ursula von der Leyen rejects Ukraine's desired 2027 accession date

🟢 Enrico Letta on American ‘blackmail’

🟢 Metsola seeks to repair EU-UK relations

On the roundabout: The French have a new name for EU Inc.

24 February exposed the EU’s Ukraine strategy as overpromising and underdelivering.

The bloc’s leadership duo, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, arrived empty-handed in Kyiv trailed by three mute commissioners. No fresh sanctions package and no €90 billion loan ready to deploy.

Back in Brussels, Roberta Metsola confused enthusiastic supporters of Ukraine by signing the loan into law – but with Hungary continuing to block the measure, the move is largely symbolic as the money cannot be raised or transferred.

Promising to get Ukraine into the bloc, as von der Leyen and other leaders did in the wake of Russia’s invasion, was always a long-term gamble. It’s now rearing its head in the shape of mounting Ukrainian frustration that, for all its appeasement, the EU cannot get a grip on Hungary’s wanton veto.

An awkward disagreement between von der Leyen and Volodymyr Zelenskyy live on stage exposed the limits of the EU’s high expectation setting.

Zelenskyy pressed for a commitment that Ukraine could join the EU by 2027 – an extremely short timeline for an accession process that normally lasts years and, for some candidates, has dragged on for decades or stalled indefinitely.

Addressing him directly, von der Leyen ruled out fixed deadlines. “The date you set is your benchmark that you want to match,” she said. “From our side, dates by themselves are not possible.”

It was a clear rejection of Zelenskyy’s demand for a specific date, let alone one as ambitious as 2027. In part, von der Leyen’s hands are tied by governments. Several EU ministers made it clear on Tuesday they are squeamish about letting Ukraine cut corners in its accession bid. Corruption and judicial independence are still big worries.

Zelenskyy framed a firm entry date as the only way to ensure Putin doesn’t block EU accession for decades. But the domestic political calculus may be more immediate. If a ceasefire or peace deal were to materialise, he would need a tangible political gain to offset painful concessions, including perhaps territorial ones.

There is some talk in Brussels of a fast-tracked or partial accession.

“I think we should be imaginative,” Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told Nicoletta and me. Valdis Dombrovskis said last night the EU is exploring “non-standard” tactics to speed up the process. Marta Kos, though, has explicitly rejected the idea of a two-tier membership model, warning it would risk creating “second-class” EU citizens.

In a sobering assessment of the war’s trajectory, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba last night described the belief that Kyiv could win back all its territory as "euphoria that we got trapped in." Could the same one day be said for the hype about a speedy Ukraine accession to the EU?

EU oil ban accelerates

The European Commission is set to propose a legal ban on Russian oil on 15 April, according to a draft agenda seen by Nicoletta and Nikolaus J. Kurmayer. The bloc-wide prohibition, initially slated for 2025, has been moved to 15 April. Despite successive sanctions packages, the EU has continued to spend roughly €20 billion on Russian crude, largely because Hungary and Slovakia maintained purchases from the Kremlin.

EU-US trade deal was ‘blackmail’

The US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Trump’s tariffs should embolden Brussels to fight back against an American president who poses a “threat to Europe,” former Italian premier Enrico Letta told my colleague Thomas Møller-Nielsen and Nicoletta.

Letta said the so-called Turnberry Agreement had been accepted only because of Trump’s “blackmail” over defence commitments and support for Ukraine. “This deal is not the end of the story. It is ... clear that Trump will continue threatening Europe,” he said.

Read the full interview.

Metsola eyes a pragmatic UK reset

Parliament President Roberta Metsola is in the UK for talks with PM Keir Starmer and other top Brits on strengthening cooperation in security and elements of single market policy.

Earlier this month, Metsola called for a “new way of working together” across the Channel. Writing in the Telegraph during her visit, she said Ukraine was still standing because Europe and the UK acted as one. “This is not about reopening old debates. It is about dealing with the world as we find it,” she wrote.

“The idea is really to pass the message that it’s time to turn the page, ten years from the reset,” said an official close to Metsola. At the Munich Security Conference, Starmer argued the UK was not the same country that voted for Brexit in 2016. “The EU has got more pragmatic, which ironically is what the Brits wanted [when they were in the EU],” the official added.

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Tuesday the next EU-UK summit could be held in early July. UK Trade Secretary Peter Kyle is in Brussels today to sign a competition co-operation deal with the European Commission. He is reported to have expressed concern about a French-led push to bake a ‘Made in Europe’ preference into the EU’s industrial strategy, fearing it would freeze out Britain.

US attempted a massive data grab

The US pushed for sweeping access to Europeans’ sensitive data as part of negotiations linked to visa-free travel, a senior European Commission official told civil liberties committee lawmakers behind closed doors on Tuesday.

Washington initially sought direct, open-ended access to EU databases, according to Olivier Onidi, deputy head of the Commission’s home affairs department. Brussels pushed back, ruling out blanket access and insisting that any data-sharing be strictly limited to travel-related purposes.

A draft agreement, seen by Euractiv, now includes several safeguards for EU travellers. A debrief on the first round of talks is scheduled for early next month.

That will simplify things: Von der Leyen recently rebranded her proposed 28th regime for start-ups as “EU Inc.” Now the French are pitching a much snappier name, according to a paper obtained by Maximilian Henning: ‘Societas europeae simplicior.’ It’s Latin!

Holy Guest alert: EPP MEPs heading to Rome on 24-25 April are expected to receive an audience with His Holiness Pope Leo.

PARIS 🇫🇷

France’s interior ministry has referred to prosecutors a suspected case of “reconstitution of a dissolved group” involving the antifascist collective Jeune Garde, which was dissolved last June. Officials say affiliated structures have resurfaced in at least five regions. The move follows the death of nationalist activist Quentin Deranque in clashes in Lyon. Reconstituting a banned organisation carries a prison term of up to three years.

– Charles Szumski

BERLIN 🇩🇪

Friedrich Merz arrives in Beijing on Wednesday for his first China visit in office, urging “fair trade” while acknowledging Beijing’s great-power status and influence in Moscow. Berlin wants a tougher line in line with its de-risking strategy, even as German industry remains exposed. Critics argue China’s economic and political backing enables Russia’s war in Ukraine.

– Björn Stritzel

WARSAW 🇵🇱

Warsaw is drafting contingency plans in case President Karol Nawrocki vetoes legislation needed to implement the EU’s SAFE programme, under which Poland is set to receive €43.4 billion, the bloc’s largest national allocation. Government plenipotentiary Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka told Puls Biznesu a veto would make it “very difficult” to secure funding for police, border guards and infrastructure. Allies of Nawrocki argue the scheme undermines national sovereignty.

– Aleksandra Krzysztoszek

BRATISLAVA 🇸🇰

Slovakia’s liberal opposition SaS filed a criminal complaint against Robert Fico over his decision to suspend emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. The party alleges abuse of power and treason, accusing Fico of using energy deliveries as political leverage. Fico said supplies would not resume until Ukraine restores Russian oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline, casting the move as a response to disrupted energy flows.

– Natália Silenská

ATHENS 🇬🇷

Greece is preparing legislation to ban social media use for under-15s, using its existing “Kids Wallet” parental-control app to verify age, according to a source close to the talks. The plan, overseen by Kyriakos Mitsotakis and involving three ministries, would require platforms to integrate the system. Enforcement concerns persist, as use of the app is voluntary and children have bypassed checks.

– Sarantis Michalopoulos

COPENHAGEN 🇩🇰

Mette Frederiksen, buoyed by a poll surge after her clash with Trump over Greenland, is refocusing on domestic policy as election speculation builds. Her Social Democrats have edged up to 22%. A one-off payment for households and a rethink of retirement age signal a leftward tilt, while she maintains a hard line on migration.

– Lucas Harder Anderschou

MADRID 🇪🇸

Far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal on Tuesday criticised a “framework agreement” proposed by the centre-right Popular Party (PP) to steer future coalition talks, as tensions mount after Vox’s gains in regional elections. Abascal accused the PP of negotiating “as if with savages” and dismissed its calls to uphold national unity and the rule of law. The PP has urged Vox to support regional budgets in line with its electoral weight.

– Inés Fernández-Pontes

SKOPJE 🇲🇰

Former North Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi was arrested on Monday at the Kosovo border over his alleged role in a state lottery corruption case. Prosecutors accuse him of embezzling millions of euros; a court ordered 30 days of house arrest. Opposition parties questioned judicial independence. The EU has repeatedly raised rule-of-law concerns, while the US blacklisted Grubi in December 2024 over corruption and judicial interference.

– Bronwyn Jones

After one of the harshest winters, marked by temperatures below -20°C and intensified Russian “surgical” strikes on energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s grid is under mounting strain, with Kyiv’s Darnystka heating plant destroyed after repeated attacks. Warmer weather is now easing demand, offering fragile relief to a system officials say is increasingly worn down.

Contributors: Maximilian Henning, Elisa Braun, Thomas Møller-Nielsen, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Nikolaus Kurmayer

Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara, Charles Szumski