Marine Le Pen has pushed her chips to the middle of the table.

By announcing her 2027 presidential bid just hours after an appeals court upheld her conviction over the misuse of European Parliament funds, the far-right National Rally leader is hoping she can keep control of the race despite the legal uncertainty hanging over her campaign.

By taking her case to the Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, Le Pen is betting that her appeal will buy her time to campaign, while accepting the risk that a final ruling could derail her candidacy at the worst possible moment.

If the Court of Cassation rules against her, she could be forced into a late rethink of her strategy.

For Le Pen, 57, the announcement marks her fourth presidential bid and the latest chapter in the Le Pen family’s decades-long pursuit of power in France.

She is set to remain the National Rally’s central figure, promising to campaign “without a bracelet” and dismissing the proceedings against her as a judicial “witch hunt.”

The Court of Cassation is expected to rule swiftly. If it upholds the appeals court ruling, Le Pen could find herself campaigning under an electronic monitoring order during the final stretch of the race.

“I was happy that the court returned to the French people their freedom to vote and restored my eligibility,” Le Pen told French television on Tuesday. “The French people will have the final say.”

Over the past decade, Le Pen has transformed her father Jean-Marie Le Pen’s once-marginal National Front into a movement capable of competing for power and reshaping French politics, as my colleague Elisa Braun writes in this profile.

Le Pen also said Jordan Bardella would serve as prime minister if she wins. But if the courts ultimately block her path to the Élysée Palace, the 30-year-old party president could be thrust into leading the campaign with little notice.

Bardella has spent years preparing to succeed Le Pen, offering the National Rally a younger, more polished public face, albeit one with less political experience.

A Bardella campaign cannot be ruled out. For now, however, Le Pen made clear she intends to remain the main player in the contest.

Trump unleashed

Donald Trump arrived at the NATO summit in Turkey spoiling for a fight. The US president revived his push to take control of Greenland, prompting an immediate rebuke from Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen ("Greenland is not for sale"), while also taking swipes at some of Washington's closest European allies, my defence colleague Pietro Guastamacchia tells me.

Italy's Giorgia Meloni was singled out again over what Trump described as her lack of support for the US operation in Iran. Germany's Friedrich Merz and France's Emmanuel Macron also came under fire.

After a day of public criticism, Trump had to break pide with the same leaders over Turkish flatbread, Trabzon butter and honey. At President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's table, he was seated alongside Meloni, Merz, Macron and UK PM Keir Starmer.

All eyes on revenues

EU ambassadors are set to dive into one of the most contentious issues in the budget talks today: how to pay for the bloc’s proposed €2 trillion spending pot for 2028-2034.

New EU taxes may not exactly be a crowd-pleaser among EU governments, but fresh revenue streams are becoming increasingly difficult to avoid in the discussions.

National governments remain unable to agree on any of the Commission’s five proposed sources of income, known as “own resources,” including tobacco taxes and e-waste charges, while the European Parliament is pushing additional ideas.

Alternatives being floated include levies on sugar and airline tickets, my colleague Victoria Becker reports. The pressure is now on Ireland’s Council presidency to move the debate forward and produce a revised compromise text by mid-October.

Cash for NATO’s ambitions

Countries with strained public finances, including those struggling to meet NATO’s new defence spending targets, could seek financing from a planned multilateral defence bank spearheaded by Luxembourg and Canada, Luxembourg PM Luc Frieden told my colleague Pietro.

Frieden said the institution would operate as a multilateral lender open to NATO members and partner countries, providing financing to governments, defence companies and commercial banks. Supporters say it would complement existing financing tools as allies ramp up defence spending over the coming decade. Read the full interview.

Greek Pegasus hacking scandal

Parliament will debate today fresh revelations that former MEP Stelios Kouloglou was targeted with Pegasus spyware during the last parliamentary mandate while serving on a committee scrutinising the use of surveillance software.

Kouloglou told my colleagues Claudie Moreau and Sarantis Michalopoulos that he suspects the Greek government could be involved in hacking his device, although he said he has no “smoking gun.” The Pegasus scandal has once again stirred political turmoil in Greece. Read the full story.

Here are three new stories from Euractiv:

• NATO projects 11% jump in European defence spending

• Interview: Albanian dissident urges EU to look beyond Rama

• EU stands firm on new border checks despite travel chaos

END OF THE MIDDAY ERA? A 2026 survey of Brussels journalists, presented at an internal Council meeting, suggests the Commission’s Midday press briefing is losing its hold on the Brussels press corps.

While other Brussels press activities have gained in relevance, the once-essential briefing has slipped. Its perceived importance fell from 52% in 2021 to 44% in 2026 among journalists surveyed, according to data reviewed by Rapporteur. Full results are expected to be published soon.

LEAVE THE COSTUMES AT HOME: Content creators attending EUCO or other Council meetings under a new framework introduced on 1 July must dress at least business casual. A code of conduct seen by Rapporteur states that “disguises” are strictly off the menu. Smurf costumes, for now, remain the exclusive preserve of Belgian diplomats.

BERLIN 🇩🇪

Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil's (SPD) draft budget has drawn criticism from credit rating agencies over its reliance on borrowing. The government plans to take on €204 billion in new debt next year, with cumulative borrowing projected to exceed €1 trillion by 2030. Scope warned the borrowing could undermine growth and public finances if it substitutes for existing spending or if investment is delayed, while S&P said Germany risks a credit downgrade if the fiscal programme fails to lift economic growth.

– Björn Stritzel

MADRID 🇪🇸

Spain is expected to come under renewed pressure at the NATO summit in Ankara over its refusal to commit to the alliance's 5% defence spending target, despite increasing military expenditure and meeting capability goals. Pedro Sánchez insists Spain can fulfil NATO commitments while spending about 2.1% of GDP on defence. The stance, alongside Madrid's refusal to allow US bases to be used for operations in Iran, risks friction with Washington. Read the full story.

– Charles Cohen

BELGRADE 🇷🇸

Serbia’s parliament is expected to vote on multiple EU-linked reforms as reports suggest some EU states are pushing back against opening Cluster 3 in the country’s accession talks. Serbian EU Integration Minister Nemanja Starović said opening the cluster was long overdue and would help curb anti-EU sentiment. President Aleksandar Vučić questioned the bloc’s commitment to enlargement, while EU rapporteur Tonino Picula urged the European Commission to suspend Growth Plan funding, describing the situation in Serbia as “extremely bad.”

– Bronwyn Jones

DUBLIN 🇮🇪

Ireland's lower house of parliament on Tuesday approved legislation to ban imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, advancing one of Europe's most far-reaching trade measures over Israel's occupation. The bill, which now moves to the upper house, covers goods from settlements outside Israel's internationally recognised borders. The government said it was drafted in line with the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion.

– Christina Zhao

TALLINN 🇪🇪

Estonia has signed a drone cooperation agreement with Ukraine, alongside similar deals with Denmark and the Netherlands, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced at the NATO summit in Ankara. The agreements see Kyiv provide drone technology blueprints in exchange for royalties, investments and military hardware, as Ukraine expands defence partnerships built on its battlefield drone expertise.

– David Mac Dougall

PRISTINA 🇽🇰

European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo Riho Terras urged the country’s political leaders to form functioning institutions during a visit to Pristina, warning another “lost year” would undermine its EU ambitions. Terras told Euractiv that fully functional institutions are a prerequisite for Kosovo to advance towards candidate status and called on both the governing party and the opposition to “take steps towards each other.”

– Bronwyn Jones

Contributors: Elisa Braun, Pietro Guastamacchia, Victoria Becker, Claudie Moreau, Sarantis Michalopoulos

Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara