Agreement in disagreement. European leaders only agree on one thing about the proposal they have on the table for the next European multiannual budgets (2028-2034): they don't please anyone.

Pedro Sánchez is already used to swimming against the current in the European Union. He was one of the first leaders to raise his voice against Benjamin Netanyahu and, later, against Donald Trump. He also refused to accept the major rearmament demanded by NATO and, among other things, is the voice that has shown itself most openly opposed to the hardening of migration policies. And now, he adds another battle in which he finds himself increasingly alone: at a time when the community club intends to toughen its tone against China, Sánchez defends it as a "potential ally". "Europe needs friends", he defended at the entrance to the meeting of European leaders.

The United States administration has once again attacked European allies from Brussels. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday a new review of the deployment of American troops in Europe and threatened to stop paying its NATO dues until all allies fulfill their defense spending commitments. Spain, for example, has refused to commit to reaching 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, as demanded by the White House. "Some countries have not yet shown a credible path to meeting commitments made in The Hague. Too much talk," lamented the American leader.

The relationship that the European Union should maintain with China has divided member states in recent years, but now all agree in qualifying the trade deficit between the European bloc and the Asian giant "unsustainable", according to various diplomatic sources. For this reason, more and more European governments are advocating for an escalation of tone against Beijing, and want to request at the leaders' summit this Thursday and Friday in Brussels that the European Commission put forward measures to limit Chinese imports.

The European Union is in a hurry regarding migration and, at an unusual speed, the European Parliament has definitively ratified the regulation that will allow the installation of centers outside the community territory to deport immigrants, as the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has attempted in Albaniathe Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to Albania

Donald Trump's threats to withdraw US military capabilities from Europe were serious. The Pentagon has reported that it intends to reduce its presence on the European continent for the rest of NATO allies, and European countries are preparing and organizing to replace and fill the defense gaps that the North American power will leave, according to diplomatic sources from the Atlantic Alliance. In fact, many European allies have already put on the table what capabilities they can contribute and how they can contribute to Europe's security.

The official discourse of the European Union calls for a common defense, greater military autonomy, and less dependence on Donald Trump's United States. At this point, however, the reality is that the most pressing issue is unresolved. As community leaders admit in hushed tones, European allies still lack sufficient war industrial capacity to stop buying weapons from the North American power, a deficiency that has become evident again with the failure of the production of a latest-generation Franco-German fighter jet, which was also to have Spanish participation. the failure of the production of a fighter jet of Franco-German origin of the latest generation, which was also to have Spanish participation.

Before the last European elections on June 9, 2024, Ursula von der Leyen was already hinting during the election campaign about the new role that the far-right would play in the European Union. In order to secure the renewal of her mandate at the head of the European Commission, she repeatedly stated that not all far-right parties are the same and opened herself up to negotiations with formations like that of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. Although she ultimately did not need their support, the relationship between conservatives and the far-right changed entirely. Without a sanitary cordon and with great electoral results, the far-right has consolidated itself in state governments and in the Eurochamber, and they are no longer just honking horns, but have also adopted a central and powerful role in the European Union.

The European Union has agreed to oblige airlines to show the prices of flights they offer with a carry-on suitcase included. And in case the consumer does not want to bring one, it will be deducted from the final bill. In this way, the European bloc wants to improve transparency and facilitate price comparison, and prevent consumers from finding themselves being charged a substantial amount of money to add a carry-on suitcase. As for backpacks or handbags that fit under the front seat – with a maximum size of 40x30x15 cm – they will continue to be free.

The same day that the European Union's major migratory reform enters into force, the community border control agency, Frontex, has published a report in which it assures that the arrival of irregular new arrivals has fallen by 40% during the first five months of this year, to 39,000 entries. The only migratory route that is growing is the one that culminates on the Iberian Peninsula: it increases by 40%, although it remains in absolute figures below routes such as the central Mediterranean or the eastern Mediterranean. "Algeria continues to be the main country of origin, and the Balearic Islands continue to be the most frequented destination," points out the Frontex report.

There is now a date for the final ruling of the European justice on the amnesty law. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) announced this Thursday that on July 16 it will rule on the preliminary rulings submitted by the Court of Auditors for the application of the amnesty in the case of expenses related to the referendum of October 1, 2017, and the National Court for the case of Operation Judes against the CDRs. The verdict from Luxembourg will be key to the judicial future of dozens of pro-independence leaders and activists, such as the leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, and that of Esquerra, Oriol Junqueras.

The migration reform is one of the main laws that was approved in the European Union in the previous legislature. From when the European Commission presented the first proposal until the member states and the European Parliament gave their approval, more than two years passed, but it has only entered into force this Friday. It is a very electorally attractive legislative dossier, especially for the far-right, and highly sensitive, which has been criticized by a multitude of non-profit organizations. We break down the most important points for you.

This Friday, the European Union's major migration reform comes into effect. It aims to reduce the entry of newcomers into EU territory and, among other measures, tightens policies on asylum applications, increases border controls, and accelerates and intensifies deportation processes. We discuss this with the head of migration and asylum in the European Union for the NGO Amnesty International, Olivia Sundberg.

If the papal trip to Spain had an underlying message, it is the one that took place this Thursday at the Arguineguín dock, in Gran Canaria. There, next to two migrant survivors of the crossings from Africa, Leo XIV threw a bouquet of flowers into the sea in memory of the thousands of people who die every year in the Atlantic trying to reach the archipelago. According to data from the NGO Caminando Fronteras, 635 people have already died since the beginning of the year. In this scenario, the pontiff's words were very forceful on the very day the so-called Migration Pact in the European Union comes into force: "Human dignity has no passport and does not lose value when crossing a border – he recalled–. What remains of our humanity?", he asked.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to make a move to try to curb the rise in inflation caused by the war in the Middle East initiated by the United States and Israel. The rate of price increase in the eurozone has been moving away from Frankfurt's goal of keeping it at 2% annually for months, and finally, the financial institution has decided to act to prevent this percentage from growing further and has raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, to 2.25%.

New blow from European justice against the migratory policies of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued an opinion this Thursday against the creation of Italian centers outside of EU territory to deport newly arrived migrants living irregularly in Italy.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has been holding its fire for months. It did not want to make a misstep and prematurely use the main tool at its disposal to curb inflation caused by the war in Iran initiated by the United States and Israel. However, the price increase remains upward and is moving further and further away from the goal of keeping it at an annual rate of 2%. For this reason, experts and markets anticipate that the body led by Christine Lagarde has already loaded its ammunition and will raise interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, to 2.25%, at this Thursday's meeting.

The animosity and distrust of Europeans towards Donald Trump's United States continue to grow. Following the US president's threats to raise tariffs on the European Union, abandon NATO, invade Greenland, and start a war in the Middle East, at least a quarter of European citizens consider the North American power as "a rival or an adversary," according to a survey by the think tank European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) published this Wednesday.

The European Commission has announced that it is giving Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, five working days to open access to competing companies in the sector and allow other artificial intelligence (AI) assistants to provide services on this messaging application. In this way, the Community executive says in a statement released this Tuesday that it will prevent the US technology company from committing "irreparable harm" to competition in a rapidly expanding sector. "There is a risk of harming competition at a key moment for the development of this market, where smaller players and new competitors can challenge large established companies," the Community executive points out.

The European Union is getting to work after Viktor Orbán's departure as Prime Minister of Hungary. The European bloc was able to approve the twentieth sanctions package because Budapest lifted the veto and, just a few weeks later, Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission has already presented the twenty-first. In this set of restrictions, Brussels proposes to prohibit entry to any person who has worked in the Russian army since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, an increase in export bans to Russia of key elements for the manufacture of drones and defense equipment and, among others, more control over ships of the so-called ghost fleet, which distribute Russian fossil fuels hidden from the authorities of the EU member states.