Czech president to unveil Ukraine reconstruction plan
According to the presidential office, it is designed to help international partners align their contributions for maximum impact.
The Rome summit brings together governments, international organisations, and private investors to discuss how best to mobilise capital and expertise. Core themes include human capital development, decentralised reconstruction, and institutional capacity-building.
Czechia has presented itself as a key player in Ukraine's recovery and points to a growing number of projects already underway, including in energy, water management, healthcare, and critical infrastructure restoration.
In March, Prague's foreign ministry announced that Czech companies would receive €188 million in EU funds to support reconstruction projects, including the modernisation of six Ukrainian hospitals.
In parallel, Czechia's international ammunition initiative has already secured over 1.5 million artillery shells for Ukraine, with deliveries continuing.
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Euractiv
3 hours ago
- Euractiv
Europe loses patience with Israel
Eddy Wax Jul 29, 2025 07:10 10 min. read News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Welcome to the Capitals by Eddy Wax, with Nicoletta Ionta. Feedback is welcome. Were you forwarded this newsletter by a friend? Sign up here. In today's edition: - EU edges toward Israel sanctions - A rough landing for the US-EU deal - China rips MEPs over Taiwan - Steel safeguards to hit EFTA states - Last day to claim defence money In the capital For more than two years, most EU countries stood by Israel's side as it waged war on Hamas in Gaza – even as civilian casualties soared. Now, with harrowing images of starvation and devastation circulating globally, Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government is rapidly losing friends. In what could become the EU's first formal sanctions against Israel since 7 October, commissioners yesterday backed a proposal to exclude Israeli companies from a portion of the bloc's Horizon Europe research programme, specifically the part that funds defence and dual-use technologies, including military startups. The measure reflects a loss of patience among EU capitals over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. This afternoon, ambassadors in Brussels will discuss the proposal, which still requires approval by a qualified majority, meaning 55% of member states representing two-thirds of the bloc's population. While Israel's foreign ministry has vowed to fight the move, claiming it 'only serves to strengthen Hamas,' even some of its closest allies are shifting. Dutch PM Dick Schoof said the Netherlands would back the proposal if Israel is found to be in breach of the programme's rules. The turnaround in Brussels has been swift. Just two weeks ago, the Commission was promoting a new aid deal with Israel, and member states had not coalesced around any of the sanction options floated by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. But on Monday, Commissioner Dubravka Šuica conceded that the agreement had only been 'partially implemented,' blaming the failure on unsafe conditions for distribution. The EU now expects that "Israel will cooperate to ensure humanitarian aid delivery," she added. Germany will start airlifting aid into the Gaza Strip to help improve the dire humanitarian situation, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Monday, while also refusing to rule out the introduction of sanctions against Israel. Even Germany, Israel's staunchest ally in Europe, is hardening its position. This week, Chancellor Friedrich Merz pointedly did not rule out suspending the EU-Israel trade agreement after a Gaza-focused security cabinet meeting. He confirmed that France, the UK, and Germany are weighing a joint foreign ministers' trip to Israel. Diplomatic heat is also rising outside Europe. France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting a United Nations conference in New York, aimed at driving political momentum behind the "two-state solution" that Israel firmly opposes. Ten EU countries already recognise Palestinian statehood – with Spain, Ireland and Slovenia doing so during the ongoing war. France recently said it will follow in September, issuing a stinging rebuke to Israel, even if it carries little practical weight. The US State Department dismissed the conference as a 'stunt that will further embolden Hamas.' Israel is also not participating. Ahead of the gathering, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that the first elections since 2006 will be held in the coming year, and called on Hamas to disarm – declaring that a future Palestinian state would be demilitarised. In the European Parliament, attention is shifting to the West Bank. After Israel's Knesset passed a non-binding resolution supporting annexation, 58 MEPs sent a letter to EU leadership urging 'meaningful actions' in response. Read more about Europe's shifting stance on Gaza from our Berlin correspondent Nick Alipour. A rough landing for the EU-US trade deal No one is celebrating the framework agreement between the EU and US. French PM François Bayrou called it "submission," Spain's Pedro Sánchez offered only faint praise, and Merz warned the deal would cause considerable damage to Germany's economy. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, who flew to Washington 10 times to negotiate the agreement, hinted that keeping the US aligned on Ukraine was part of the calculus. And right on cue, Donald Trump stood beside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday and declared that Russia had just "10 or 12 days" to end the war. In an interview with The Capitals, former EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said the bloc had made a 'mistake' by failing to strike back in earlier trade talks – particularly when Trump imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminium. 'It should not have withdrawn the retaliatory tariffs from the fifth of April," she said. Malmström argued the EU had failed to absorb key lessons from Trump's first term, when she and former Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker struck a mini-deal to ease tensions. 'We should have learned from the personality of President Trump: he respects strength, he despises weakness, and we should have been tougher from the beginning.' Still, she acknowledged the Commission was under heavy pressure from key industries in Germany and Italy to avoid a full-blown trade war. Asymmetry locked in Bernd Lange, the European Parliament's top trade MEP, didn't mince words. He called the deal 'asymmetry set in stone' and insisted the legislature must get a say before it proceeds through the system. For now, no one is quite sure what form the agreement will even take. Details continued to trickle out on Monday. Pharmaceuticals will remain tariff-free for now, though a US probe into dependency on EU drug imports could upend that. Brussels has agreed to ease access for some US agricultural products like nuts, soybeans and bison meat, and to extend the 'lobster deal' from 2020. But EU agri-food exports are still subject to Trump's 15% tariff wall, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro reports. Catch up on what the deal means for energy, defence and tech in Euractiv's full breakdown. Also read former EU trade negotiator John Clark's brutal takedown of the deal. China rips MEPs over Taiwan trip Beijing has condemned last week's visit to Taiwan by a group of MEPs as a 'serious violation of the one-China principle' and 'blatant interference in China's internal affairs.' The trip, led by French centrist Nathalie Loiseau, included meetings with Taiwanese officials and civil society leaders – and coincided with the EU's China summit. 'China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the European Parliament and the Taiwan authorities,' a spokesperson for China's EU mission said. 'We urge the European Parliament, as a core institution of the EU, to honour the EU's political commitments to China and immediately correct its wrongdoings.' Beijing has long dissuaded other countries from recognising Taiwan as an independent state, by way of threats and coercion. While it considers the island a rebellious province, Taiwan operates as a self-governing democracy. Keep your friends close... The Commission has notified four European Free Trade Association countries – Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein – that it plans to impose tariffs on ferroalloys from 19 August to protect the EU steel industry, the organisation confirmed to Euractiv, following reports in Norway. It's a diplomatic slap for the nations, especially Norway, that have scrambled to stay out of the EU-US trade crossfire. 'Norway is inside our single market and Norway will stay and remain inside our single market. This is crystal clear," von der Leyen had said in April, during a Brussels visit by Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre. Last day to claim defence money Today is the deadline for countries to signal their interest in tapping into the €150 billion SAFE programme – the largest EU-backed loan facility ever offered for arms purchases. Governments are also expected to submit ballpark figures for how much they want. About 20 countries have already expressed interest in €100 billion of the fund, EU defence chief Andrius Kubilius told Euractiv last week. Poland alone is seeking as much as €25 billion and wants to work on joint projects with Ukraine. Read more. The Capitals BERLIN | Germany faces a projected €172 billion budget shortfall for the 2027-2029 period, local media reported, citing government sources. The gap has widened by about €28 billion in recent weeks, driven by rising interest payments, economic stagnation, and internal compromises over costly tax relief plans. The Cabinet is expected to pass the government's draft budget for 2026 on Wednesday. PARIS | Prime Minister François Bayrou slammed the new EU-US trade deal as a 'dark day' for Europe, accusing Brussels of bowing to US pressure. Read more. ROME | The city council here has taken down a series of AI-generated billboards from Matteo Salvini's League party that promoted a controversial security bill, citing ethnic stereotypes and breaches of advertising standards. The posters depicted migrants, Roma people, and youth with dreadlocks. Salvini's party denounced the removal as 'communist censorship.' MADRID | Spain will send thousands of kilos of food to Gaza by air, PM Pedro Sánchez announced Monday, in response to the urgent humanitarian crisis. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares added that 12 tons of aid will depart on 1 August, with trucks also awaiting approval to cross into the territory through Israel. WARSAW | A new CBOS poll shows that 68% of Poles knew that the country held the EU Council presidency in the first half of 2025, but just 28% believed it delivered results. While views varied along party lines, support for EU membership remained strong, with 81% backing Poland's place in the bloc despite doubts about its influence while at the helm. PRAGUE | Moldova has deported Czech MEP Ondřej Dostál over security concerns linked to a pro-Russian opposition conference. Dostál has criticised the move as politically motivated. Authorities also blocked other far-right figures from entering, citing ties to the criminal network of fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and alleged Russian destabilisation efforts. Read more. BUDAPEST | Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán mocked the EU-US trade deal as 'Trump eating von der Leyen for breakfast,' slamming the 15% levy. He also said the EU's $750 billion energy pledge and $600 billion in investments showed a weak hand at the negotiating table. Read more. BRATISLAVA | Slovakia plans to build a €15 billion nuclear power plant with US firm Westinghouse without a public tender, citing efficiency concerns and regional precedent. The EU Commission is reviewing the move, which has drawn domestic criticism. Read more.
Euractiv
4 hours ago
- Euractiv
EPP says von der Leyen not mandated to pledge EU pharma investment in US
MEPs from across the political spectrum have accused European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of giving in to US pharma interests and overstepping her mandate after striking a trade deal with President Donald Trump. The Commission announced on Monday that pharmaceutical products will not be subject to tariffs for now, though a maximum rate of 15% could apply depending on the outcome of a US investigation into reliance on EU pharmaceutical imports. Yet even MEPs from von der Leyen's own political group, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), remain unconvinced and are demanding answers. 'To be honest, I don't see how this qualifies as an agreement. For a true agreement, both sides must gain something - here, only one side does,' EPP lawmaker Tomislav Sokol told Euractiv . He also warned that von der Leyen's approach could embolden US President Donald Trump, saying it may encourage him 'to not stop here.' His French colleague Laurent Castillo was even more critical, calling the deal 'a real capitulation.' 'Once again, Brussels is negotiating on its knees and weakening European nations,' he said. Castillo is calling on the Commission to publish the full annexes related to health products so the European Parliament can conduct an impact assessment. Greek EPP MEP Dimitris Tsiodras also called for more transparency around 'the exact content and implementation of the agreement' and echoed Castillo's call for a detailed impact analysis. 'The differing statements made by Presidents von der Leyen and Trump regarding the imposition of 15% tariffs on certain medicines - as well as the absence of a concrete timeline - understandably raise questions,' Tsiodras told Euractiv. Beyond tariffs, the Commission is also facing scrutiny over its €600 billion of proposed EU investments in the US, which were announced as part of the deal. 'I don't see what these investments are supposed to represent, since the Commission has no mandate to speak on behalf of private companies or to influence their investment decisions,' said Sokol. Castillo shared this concern, warning that the agreement 'raises serious concerns about our health and industrial sovereignty.' Reactions from Socialists and Liberals The criticism is not limited to the EPP. Lawmakers from the liberal Renew and socialist S&D groups in the European Parliament also voiced concern. 'It looks unbalanced and doesn't give the impression that we got what we wanted,' said Renew MEP Stine Bosse, who had hoped for more clarity for the industry, especially given Trump's mixed signals on pharma in recent months. Some Socialists have taken a more measured view. Some S&D MEPs noted that a 15% tariff, if imposed, would still be 'lower than the 50%' previously floated by the US. But Greek S&D MEP Nikos Papandreou called the US investment win a political defeat for the EU, even if 'economically, it's better than what it could have been.'
Euractiv
5 hours ago
- Euractiv
Europe's Gaza offensive
BERLIN – More than a century ago, Theodor Herzl – the founding father of Zionism – was among the star journalists at the Vienna daily Neue Freie Presse. Herzl's coverage of the Dreyfus affair in 1895 as the paper's Paris correspondent convinced him of the necessity of a Jewish state. Even though the Neue Freie Presse (re-established after the Second World War as Die Presse) refused to publish his Zionist treatises, it proudly honoured Herzl as 'one of our greats' when he died in 1904. Last week, however, the traditionally conservative, Israel-friendly paper ran an op-ed urging Vienna to join 11 other EU countries in recognising Palestinian statehood – a move the author argued could help bring Israel's nearly two-year war in Gaza to an end. 'If Austria's goal is to achieve peace in the Middle East, then it should set an important step by recognising a Palestinian state,' the column argued. The surprising declaration from Herzl's journalistic home was perhaps the most poignant sign of a wider mood swing in recent weeks as even pro-Israeli Europeans have become uneasy about Israel's handling of the war in Gaza. Public outrage in Europe over the rapes, murders and other atrocities committed against Israelis at the hands of Hamas terrorists on 7 October 2023 has faded. Amid a relentless barrage of reports of a rising death toll in Gaza and shocking photographs of starving Palestinians – including many children – politicians across Europe, especially those in countries with large Muslim populations, have come under intense pressure to act. That shift could have profound implications for the Jewish state's long-term relationship with Europe as even politicians considered mainstream on the continent embrace once-fringe positions, such as halting all arms deliveries to Israel. Marking what would be the first concrete European sanction of Israel since the start of the war, the EU Commission proposed on Monday to exclude Israeli entities from receiving funding via Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship research and innovation programme. That move comes as another pillar of Euro-Israeli cooperation – the EU-Israel Association Agreement – faces intense scrutiny. There have always been pockets of anti-Israel fervour in Europe, in places like Spain, Ireland and even tiny Slovenia. But this latest vibe shift is both broader and deeper, reflecting in part the dramatic demographic changes Europe has undergone in recent decades amid an acceleration of migration from the Muslim world. In the UK, for example, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party faced heavy backlash from Muslim communities after its initial pro-Israel messaging – a reaction that senior party officials admitted may have cost the party decisive votes in two by-elections last year. French President Emmanuel Macron moved from arguing that a Palestinian state should come at the end of a peace process to promising to unilaterally endorse one, and ultimately set a concrete date for that last week: the next UN General Assembly in September. France is also currently co-hosting a three-day UN conference on implementing a two-state solution. Macron's move followed the publication of an international declaration endorsed by about 20 EU countries last week decrying the suffering of civilians in Gazans . The signatories core message: 'The war in Gaza must end now.' The countries behind the initiative did not just include the usual suspects – Spain, Ireland, Belgium – known for their affinity for the Palestinian cause. Stalwart allies of Israel – including the Netherlands, Poland, and even Austria's conservative government joined their ranks. (Austria's defection was perhaps the most surprising considering that the governing centre-right People's Party began flying the Israeli flag from the roof of the chancellor's office as a sign of solidarity long before 7 October.) German angst Germany continues to refrain from such public displays of discord with the Israeli government. That doesn't mean Chancellor Friedrich Merz isn't feeling the pressure. Across Germany, which has one of Europe's largest Muslim populations, the crisis in Gaza is an explosive issue. In a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, Merz stressed his 'great concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza', according to an official readout . Germany continues to regard recognition of Palestinian statehood as a final step towards a two-state solution, the government said – at least for now. After a special meeting of the country's most senior ministers on Monday, the German chancellor no longer ruled out that Berlin could support sanctions against Israel. According to YouGov's net favourability index, Germany remains the most pro-Israel country in Western Europe. Yet sentiment is shifting: net favourability towards Israel has dropped to –44% – the lowest level since records began. More Germans now report sympathising with Palestinians than with Israelis. Even Germany's diplomatic corps is showing signs of dissent. German media reported last week that 130 diplomats in the foreign office had formed an internal network urging Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to consider sanctions and adopt a firmer line towards Israel. Aid for trade Much of the current ire is directed at Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid – and at reports of civilians being killed while waiting in line for food. Israel largely shut down the UN's aid-distribution networks in Gaza in recent months due to concerns that much of the food was ending up in Hamas' hands. As the international backlash over its response to the crisis in Gaza reached fever pitch in recent days, Netanyahu's government agreed to a 'humanitarian pause' to allow more aid trucks to enter the area. Europe's main leverage against Israel is trade. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, accounting for about one third of its global trade. Notably, Germany alone also accounts for a third of its major weapons imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). So far, only five European countries have suspended at least some arms export licences. Among the few exceptions is the UK. Starmer's government cancelled some licences and imposed sanctions on Israeli ministers. But trade data shows Britain continues to export thousands of military items to Israel despite the official suspension. A number of other European countries, led by Spain, have been pushing for sanctions against Israel, arguing that it has violated the human rights commitments set out in the EU–Israel Association Agreement, a deal to deepen trade and political ties, signed in 2000. Israel managed to avoid trade sanctions in recent weeks by committing to allow more aid into Gaza. But the lack of substantial progress has renewed calls for suspension. The EU's chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, cast doubt on the deal's viability last week, warning that 'the killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible'. 'All options remain on the table if Israel doesn't deliver on its pledges,' she wrote on X. *Laurent Geslin contributed reporting. (mk)
