Good morning and welcome to The Capitals.

This is Nicoletta Ionta, with Eddy Wax. Got a tip, rumour or story idea? Drop us a line by email nicoletta.ionta@euractiv.com – or, for the more discreet, on Signal: @nicolettaionta98

European leaders are threatening to tighten sanctions after Russia’s latest deadly offensive damaged the EU’s delegation office in Ukraine's capital. Yet such vows repeat a familiar cycle: eighteen rounds of sanctions have so far left Moscow largely unfazed.

On Thursday morning, two missiles landed within 50 metres of the European mission’s building, just seconds apart. The blasts wrecked the British Council nearby and levelled a five-storey residential block.

The strikes coincided with meetings of EU defence and foreign ministers in Copenhagen. After talks kicked off with a late dinner last night, attention now turns to the bloc’s 19th sanctions package, which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described as “hard-biting.”

An internal memo, drafted before the attack and seen by Euractiv, outlines potential targets: Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, crucial to sustaining its crude exports and stricter controls on imports of Russian goods.

Officials in Brussels have also shown interest in Washington’s push for a joint front against Chinese and Indian entities, my colleague Alexandra Brzozowski writes in her story on Europe’s evolving sanctions debate. Beijing and New Delhi, the two largest consumers of Russian oil, have been a lifeline for Moscow during the war.

The US has already moved. This week, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods over the country’s continued reliance on Moscow crude. Whether Brussels dares to take similar steps, at the risk of fraying ties with key trading partners, remains to be seen. The Copenhagen meetings are informal, with no decisions expected until mid-September.

For Trump, who recently held peace talks in Alaska with Putin, the strike was a setback. The president “was not happy about this move,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. His envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, called the attack “egregious.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, dismissed Trump’s claim that he had arranged direct talks between Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. After the bombing, Merz said that such a meeting was “obviously not going to happen.”

The president, often quick to respond to perceived slights, has stayed silent on the latest strikes. It is not yet clear what his next move will be, though officials and allies are watching closely.

And so, the cycle continues: Europe debates, Washington postures, Moscow bombs. And the war rages on.

EU moves to lower tariffs on U.S. products

Brussels has formally proposed slashing tariffs on US industrial and agricultural products, in a move aimed at unlocking Washington’s pledge to lower levies on EU car exports.

Under the terms of the EU-US trade deal, the US will cut tariffs on EU car exports from 27.5% down to 15%, beginning on “the first day of the same month” that Europe proposes legislation scrapping duties on US goods. The stakes are high for the EU’s auto sector, already under pressure from a flood of cheap Chinese electric vehicles.

But Europe remains cautious. A senior Commission official suggested Brussels would suspend its legislative proposal, which must still be approved by member states and the European Parliament, if Washington doesn’t fulfil its side of the bargain. Brussels will be “vigilant” about ensuring that it gets the “relief that has been agreed to by the US,” the official added.

Several leading MEPs have suggested the Commission’s proposal might not be approved by Parliament, citing the asymmetry of the deal and threats by the White House of further levies even after the so-called “framework agreement” was reached.

Paris and Berlin talk ‘revival’

President Emmanuel Macron, under mounting pressure at home, will chair the 25th Franco-German Council of Ministers in Toulon alongside Chancellor Friedrich Merz today, seeking to showcase a “revival” of relations between Paris and Berlin.

The two sides are aligned on the EU’s “economic rearmament,” efforts to boost competitiveness, invest in AI and space, as well as support for Ukraine.

Yet, familiar irritants remain – from the EU’s trade agreement with Mercosur, backed by Berlin and opposed by Paris, to defence projects such as the Future Combat Air System, which continues to pit Dassault against Airbus.

About 20 ministers will take part in today's working groups, with Macron’s entourage promising "concrete projects." Yet looming over the summit is France’s domestic turmoil. PM François Bayrou faces a confidence vote on 8 September, raising the prospect of snap elections that could benefit the far-right National Rally.

Germany, already uneasy about France’s strained public finances, is watching closely. On European matters, the Germans drive a hard bargain, and just because they get on well with Macron doesn’t mean they’ll hand him any favours, analysts warn.

The E3 trigger UN ‘snapback’ sanctions on Iran

The UK, France and Germany have triggered the 30-day process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, scrapped under the 2015 deal. The move, announced in a letter to the UN Security Council on Thursday, follows unsuccessful attempts to secure concrete proposals from Tehran.

If no agreement is reached within 30 days, the so-called “snapback” mechanism will bring sanctions back into force. “This measure does not mark the end of diplomacy,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said. “We are determined to use this 30-day window to engage with Iran."

Swedes and Dutch urge EU sanctions on Israel

Sweden and the Netherlands' centre-right governments are pressing the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, to propose sanctions on Israeli ministers prompting settlement expansion and to consider suspending EU-Israel trade ties.

In a joint statement, the two countries’ foreign ministers said that “more needs to be done to ramp up pressure on the Israeli government to change its course and to meet its obligations according to international law."

The appeal comes as Dutch PM Dick Schoof’s cabinet weathered a no-confidence vote on Wednesday. Only six out of 148 MPs voting in favour. Far-right firebrand Geert Wilders’ MPs voted to keep Schoof in office until October’s election.

PARIS

Bayrou, France’s embattled PM, sparked outrage yesterday after he said he had not met with the opposition in August to try and avoid a political crisis because “they were on holiday.” With a confidence vote looming, his own break may soon become permanent.

BRUSSELS

At Université libre de Bruxelles, law students picked Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan as their 2025 class figure after a student vote triggered backlash in Belgium and France. Hassan, known for her Palestinian activism and controversial remarks on Hamas, drew 42% of votes. The university's faculty council upheld the decision, calling it democratic, as Hassan praised students for defying “media and political attacks.”

ROME

Stolen images of women – from influencers to politicians including PM Giorgia Meloni – have been spread online without consent, paired with offensive and sexist remarks. Equal Opportunities Minister Eugenia Roccella called it a “barbarity of the third millennium,” and pledged tougher measures.

MADRID

In Spain’s Senate, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska accused the opposition Popular Party of twisting the wildfire crisis into a weapon against PM Pedro Sánchez’s government. Condemning the “politicisation” of the tragedy, he stressed that regional authorities are chiefly responsible for coordinating firefighting efforts with Madrid.

WARSAW

Poland put its air defences on maximum readiness after Russia’s strikes on Kyiv, which foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said demonstrated Moscow’s determination to continue the war. Fighter jets returned safely to base, as Warsaw warned the threat underscored regional insecurity.

PRAGUE

The government here is demanding €205 million back from Agrofert, the conglomerate tied to opposition leader Andrej Babiš, citing illegal subsidies. The order comes weeks before elections, where Babiš is leading the polls; Agrofert has rejected the allegations.

VIENNA

A group of 26 top Austrian diplomats has called for sanctions on Israel over the war in Gaza, arguing that the country’s role as UN host confers special responsibility. Chancellor Karlheinz Stocker called on Hamas to release hostages but also described Israel’s strike on a hospital as "a clear violation of humanitarian law." Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said the country would maintain its current policy and oppose suspending the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel, despite the diplomats’ appeal.

NATO’s new target of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 may be headline-grabbing, but Bogdan Gogulan argues it misses the point.

In an op-ed for Euractiv, the NewSpace Capital boss argues Europe’s real weakness is a lack of innovation, and without redirecting more funds to startups and advanced technologies, the continent risks building a costly but obsolete military.

The EU’s argument over taxing nicotine pouches is putting lobbying practices under fresh scrutiny.

A Florida-registered outfit called Considerate Pouchers has contacted MEPs but is not on the bloc’s Transparency Register, leading some lawmakers to refuse meetings. NGOs have recorded more than 100 meetings between MEPs and the industry in recent months. Sweden, with its unusually low smoking rate, continues to resist the Commission’s proposed levies.

Informal meeting of defence and foreign ministers in Copenhagen

Ursula von der Leyen visits Latvia to meet PM Evika Siliņa and Finland to meet President Alexander Stubb

Franco-German Council of Ministers in Toulon

Contributors: Alexandra Brzozowski, Thomas Moller-Nielsen, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Laurent Geslin, Elisa Braun, Anupriya Datta, Jeremias Lin, Emma Piernay, Aneta Zachová, Inés Fernández-Pontes, Alessia Peretti, Anne-Sophie Gayet

Editors: Christina Zhao