What von der Leyen’s EPP is demanding after its EU election win

Good morning. The political horse-trading over the EU’s top positions begins for real tomorrow as Ursula von der Leyen, seeking a second term as European Commission president, meets the bloc’s three most powerful leaders for the first time since last weekend’s election.

Our parliament team hears what her party wants in exchange for their largest share of the vote, and our economy finance team explains the new thinking on tapping Russian immobilised assets.

How will the elections change the EU? Join me and colleagues in Paris, Rome and elsewhere for a subscriber exclusive webinar today at 1pm and put your questions to our panel. Register for your subscriber pass now.

Points mean prizes

A stronger European Commission president, barricading the EU’s external borders, and taking over the agriculture portfolio. These are among the items on the wish list of the European People’s party (EPP), the victor of the EU elections, write Alice Hancock and Andy Bounds.

Context: The EPP won the largest share of the vote in the European parliament which will start sitting in mid-July. The centre-right group increased its number of seats by 10 to 186, with party officials expecting more will be added to its ranks in the coming days, as national parties decide which European political groups to join.

“We are the kingmaker,” EPP group chair lead Manfred Weber told the FT yesterday, after a meeting with leaders of the Socialists and Democrats, and the liberal Renew group. “To either left or right, there is no alternative option than to work with EPP”.

That would mean meeting key promises in the EPP’s manifesto, for example raising the number of Frontex officers to 30,000 to police the bloc’s external borders, and more “physical infrastructure” to halt migration.

But it would also mean a rethinking of the bloc’s landmark Green Deal climate policies. Weber promised that there would be “no step back” from its ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions by mid-century, before adding: “We have to be pragmatic in the implementation.”

That could include reviewing an effective ban on combustion car engines from 2035 and giving polluting industries more leeway in the bloc’s emissions trading scheme.

On what jobs the EPP wants to secure, Weber was clear: “I would strengthen Ursula von der Leyen’s role as commission president.”

He added the EPP has “certain expectations” regarding the new commission. “I would not accept that the commissioner for agriculture goes to another party,” Weber said.

But before von der Leyen can choose her new commissioners, she needs to be appointed by EU leaders and then approved by the European parliament.

“From our side it’s clear,” Weber said. “We presented our candidate beforehand. We won the elections with our programme . . . now I simply ask the other democratic parties to accept this and to create stability for the next five years.”

Chart du jour: Crash test

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Brussels is expected to announce tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles today after a surge in imports allegedly supported by unfair subsidies.

Defrosting

As G7 leaders begin to arrive in Puglia tonight, one topic on the agenda is agreeing further financial aid for Kyiv. But the EU is struggling to agree with a planned US-backed loan, and has instead come up with an alternative proposal to mobilise up to $50bn for Kyiv, writes Paola Tamma.

Context: The US proposed to issue a loan to Ukraine to be repaid from profits arising from Russian frozen assets, largely held in the EU. Given EU sanctions guaranteeing those profits need to be renewed every six months, the US plan would require the EU to indefinitely extend them, a change that would require unanimity. That’s something the EU isn’t prepared to do.

“To pay back the loans you would need the immobilised assets to remain immobilised . . . that’s not something that we can guarantee forever,” said an EU official.

Instead, EU officials are discussing an alternative scheme whereby each G7 member would issue a bilateral loan to Ukraine, reaching a combined amount of $50bn. The EU would be responsible for the largest portion of that — yet to be calculated — and would guarantee it with “headroom” from the EU budget, that is, the difference between what EU countries committed to pay and planned expenditure.

EU officials believe this circumvents, both the requirement for approval from national parliaments, as well as a unanimous decision by the 27 member states.

“The solution will be EU-centred because the Russian assets are immobilised in Europe,” said the EU official. “The model we are working on might not require unanimity when it comes to contracting a loan.”

What to watch today

1. Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg meets Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest.

2. European Commission to present implementation report on the EU’s new asylum and migration pact.

Now read these

• Jordan Bardella: Just who exactly is the 28-year-old Marine Le Pen protégé and potential far-right French prime minister?

• Freeze and seize: A G7 loan to Ukraine secured against immobilised Russian assets should be followed by full seizure, top lawmakers say in a letter to the FT.

• Alleged war crimes: Ukrainian children abducted in the beginning of the war have been listed on Russian adoption sites, an FT investigation has found.