You're reading Thursday’s Rapporteur, your daily briefing on EU politics. This is Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels, with Eddy Wax.

Need-to-knows:

🟢 Moldova open to fast-tracked EU entry with interim membership rights

🟢 EU political groups clash in Ljubljana ahead of high-stakes Slovenian election

🟢 Parliament to convene to mark anniversary of Ukraine war

Moldova is open to fast-tracking its EU accession bid, even if that means joining initially without full membership rights.

In an interview with Eddy, Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi said Chișinău was willing to entertain “creative ideas” that could shorten the accession process, reflecting growing frustration with the EU’s traditional enlargement model.

“We are open to creative ideas,” Popșoi said. “The ultimate goal is, of course, to be a full-fledged member with equal rights with all the other members.”

With timelines stretching ever longer, Moldova appears ready to consider interim arrangements – including a possible probationary phase without veto power – if it would accelerate entry into the bloc.

The idea of a two-tier EU has circulated in Brussels for years but has gained urgency as leaders grapple with how to integrate Ukraine amid mounting geopolitical pressure, particularly if any eventual peace deal with Moscow were to reference or condition EU membership.

Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has pushed back, warning against the creation of “second-class” EU citizens. But analysts increasingly acknowledge that the existing accession model is no longer fit for purpose, a view increasingly shared inside the Commission.

Moldova’s application has stalled largely for political reasons. EU countries have chosen to advance Chișinău in lockstep with Kyiv, meaning Viktor Orbán’s veto of Ukraine has effectively dragged both countries to a standstill. Technical work continues at pace for the day the Hungarian blockage disappears.

Attention now turns to Hungary’s April election and Orbán’s future. Moldovan officials hope to start informal negotiations on the full gamut of reforms – the six so-called negotiating clusters – by then.

Popșoi stressed that demonstrating tangible progess before the country’s next presidential election in 2028 was crucial to sustaining public support.

“Any stalling and any time wasted increases the risk of us missing the target,” he said. “That would lead to incredible frustration and anxiety and would of course provide propaganda ammunition to the Kremlin.”

Slovenian election frenzy

MEPs from EPP, S&D and Renew have descended on Ljubljana as attention turns to Slovenia’s 22 March election, where polls suggest Prime Minister Robert Golob’s liberal-Socialist coalition could lose to the pro-Trump populist Janez Janša, the former PM seeking a comeback at the head of a right-wing bloc.

The knives are out. The Socialists have urged the EPP to expel Janša’s SDS party, describing it as a threat to democracy and the European project. Romana Tomc, a senior Slovenian EPP MEP, accused the S&D of staging a political attack “without offering a single substantive idea.” Janša’s four MEPs are a regular thorn in Manfred Weber’s side, voting against the group whip on key occasions, but he has remained loyal to Janša, who will address the MEPs this morning.

Commissioners Andrius Kubilius and Raffaele Fitto will also address the EPP at Ljubljana Castle. Fitto will be a fish out of water: he is a former EPP politician who defected to Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, now sitting with the ECR group.

Meanwhile, Marta Kos, the commissioner nominated by Golob, is back home meeting Renew lawmakers this morning. Golob invited all three commissioners and the three MEPs to a working breakfast – though Weber is not expected to attend and it’s unclear if Renew MEP Valérie Hayer will either.

EU-UAE trade talks lose momentum

Trade negotiations between the EU and the United Arab Emirates have slowed in recent weeks, three EU diplomats familiar with the talks told my colleague Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro and me.

Launched in April 2025, the talks revived the EU’s long-stalled push for a Gulf deal after years of failed efforts with the GCC. But political sensitivities and technical hurdles have weighed on progress, according to diplomats.

Enforcement of Russia sanctions has become a key sticking point, with the Commission pressing the UAE over concerns about circumvention. A recent change in the UAE’s chief negotiator has further slowed momentum, two diplomats said.

Energy remains sensitive, while negotiations over trade and sustainable development provisions – covering labour rights, human rights and climate commitments – continue to prove difficult. One senior official said the deal is likely to tilt in the EU’s favour but warned that meaningful compromises will be needed on both sides.

Parliament to convene on Ukraine loan

The European Parliament announced on Wednesday that it will hold an extraordinary plenary session in Brussels on 24 February to approve a €90 billion loan scheme for Ukraine.

Approved by EU ambassadors earlier in the day, the scheme sets out how Kyiv can use EU-backed funds to purchase non-European weapons. Countries had also wrangled over the “eligibility criteria,” reflecting the long-running Brussels debate over “European preference” in defence procurement.

Under the proposal, Ukraine could bypass the criteria for countries that have struck agreements granting their industries access to contracts financed by the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument – currently limited to Canada. US equipment would also be eligible if no alternatives are available. Read our full story here.

Russia sanctions delayed again

The Commission on Wednesday again postponed presenting its much-vaunted 20th sanctions package on Russia to EU envoys, the second delay this week, with no formal explanation.

Two EU diplomats told Rapporteur the delay might be due to the EU executive’s efforts to persuade the US to sign up to a maritime services ban. Diplomats now expect Brussels to unveil the measures on Friday, with approval by EU capitals targeted for 24 February, the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Macron envoy’s Moscow mission

Emmanuel Bonne, Emmanuel Macron’s adviser, travelled to Moscow on Tuesday for talks with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, according to L’Express. The visit reflects Macron’s effort to reopen channels with Vladimir Putin as momentum grows in Europe for appointing a special envoy for future Ukraine peace talks – an idea recently revived by Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.

Macron said contacts were already underway “at a technical level” and coordinated with Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russia and Ukraine continue bilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. EU leaders António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen may get a readout today during meetings with Macron in Paris, officially ahead of next week’s European Council focused on competitiveness.

Socialists harden – then soften – on US trade

Work on the EU-US trade deal is set to resume in the European Parliament, even though key details are yet to be hammered out.

The proposed agreement would scrap tariffs across a broad range of industrial and agricultural goods, but divisions persist over the conditions for reviving the talks. A suspension clause tied to renewed threats to territorial integrity is now on the table.

Socialists are pushing for tougher safeguards, including potential use of the EU’s anti-coercion instrument – often dubbed the bloc’s “trade bazooka.”

Still, their lead negotiator, Bernd Lange, signalled room for compromise. “We want to have it, that’s right – but not as a precondition,” he said. Parliament's negotiators will meet again on Tuesday in Strasbourg to try to break the deadlock ahead of a committee vote on 24 February.

KYIV 🇺🇦

US, Ukrainian and Russian envoys are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi today for a second day of peace talks, after an initial round on Wednesday concluded without public comment. Washington and Moscow also held separate bilateral discussions in Miami over the weekend, which US special envoy Steve Witkoff described as “productive and constructive.” The diplomacy comes as Russia continues to strike Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, forcing Kyiv to increase electricity imports from Europe and leaving an already battered power grid under growing strain.

– Aurélie Pugnet

BERLIN 🇩🇪

Friedrich Merz on Wednesday kicked off his Gulf tour seeking to diversify trade and energy ties as US policy uncertainty strains transatlantic links. Accompanied by business leaders, he will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Berlin wants alternative oil, gas and future hydrogen supplies, while raising human rights concerns and urging regional stability and respect for agreements on commerce and investment.

– Christina Zhao

ATHENS 🇬🇷

Greece’s coast guard failed to record an incident in which a patrol boat collided with a migrant vessel near Chios, leaving at least 15 people dead and several others injured. Although authorities had said video footage would be released, the onboard camera was never activated. Conflicting survivor accounts and the absence of visual evidence have drawn comparisons with previous cases, including the Pylos shipwreck. The conservative government backed the coast guard, prompting criticism from opposition parties.

– Sarantis Michalopoulos

WARSAW 🇵🇱

In a fresh clash with the government, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, the newly appointed speaker of the Sejm, called for an investigation into President Karol Nawrocki’s past ahead of Poland’s National Security Council. Czarzasty, a former member of the Communist Party, said he had nothing to hide. Nawrocki, meanwhile, faced scrutiny during the 2025 campaign over a disputed property deal and past associations, allegations he has dismissed as politically motivated.

– Aleksandra Krzysztoszek

ROME 🇮🇹

Giorgia Meloni hosted her Czech counterpart Andrej Babiš at Palazzo Chigi on Wednesday, with talks centred on EU competitiveness ahead of next week’s leaders’ retreat. The two agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation through a 2026-2030 action plan covering energy security, infrastructure and defence – part of Rome’s broader effort to build pragmatic industrial alliances across central Europe. “We agree that the European Union must immediately change its approach,” Babiš said, adding that he had invited Meloni to join a working group of like-minded countries focused on competitiveness.

– Nicoletta Ionta and Christina Zhao

MADRID 🇪🇸

Spain’s minority government is drifting further into transactional politics as Pedro Sánchez trades policy concessions for survival. A decree to regularise up to 500,000 undocumented migrants has soothed the far-left Podemos but reignited tensions with Catalan nationalists Junts over migration powers and fiscal autonomy. With regional financing disputes mounting and no budget in sight, Sánchez has bought time at the cost of coherence, leaving Madrid mired in legislative paralysis.

– Inés Fernández-Pontes

OSLO 🇳🇴

Marius Borg Høiby, a stepson of Norway’s crown prince, has gone on trial facing multiple charges, including four counts of rape, domestic violence and drug offences, deepening scrutiny of the royal household. On Tuesday, he denied taking photos or videos of one of the alleged assaults. The case has intensified pressure on the family, days after reports that his mother, Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, had past contacts with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The trial is scheduled to run for 26 more days.

– Jacob Wulff Wold

The head of the International Maritime Organization has urged Brussels to soften its stance on a global green shipping deal, warning that only a compromise acceptable to all sides, including Washington, can keep talks alive. The appeal exposes a split inside the EU, with climate officials resisting any reopening of the deal while shipping-heavy countries push for looser rules that could dilute both the IMO agreement and Europe’s own carbon regime.

In his latest op-ed, Euractiv columnist Simon Nixon argues that the release of millions of Jeffrey Epstein files has ricocheted across European capitals, ensnaring diplomats, royals and former ministers, and exposing a strikingly uneven political fallout. For Nixon, the deeper risk for Europe is strategic rather than salacious: the possibility that Epstein’s network functioned as a Russian kompromat operation.

Contributors: Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro, Laurent Geslin, Thomas Moller-Nielsen, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Jacob Wulff Wold, Charles Cohen

Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara, Charles Szumski