Henry Foy

💥 The UK, Canada and Japan have collectively pledged just €1bn in budget support to Ukraine for 2027, according to an EU analysis seen by @paolatamma.bsky.social & I, down from €10bn this year as.ft.com/r/9336a961-2...

EU to provide more funding to Ukraine after Trump pivot, on fears Kyiv could run out of cash in 2027 💶EU leaders request options to fill 2/3rds of €70bn gap for budget & weapons 🏦Borrowing against EU budget or fresh debt being considered 🚫Hungary & Slovakia demand opt-out as.ft.com/r/285568fe-0...

Very telling. Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen, after denying that the EU is cowed by Trump and is seeking to de-escalate the Zelenskyy issues with the White House, is asked by @oleryborg.bsky.social if Europe can still trust the US and... pauses for an age www.dr.dk/nyheder/poli...

France & Germany are willing to include the UK car sector in the EU’s “Made in Europe” public procurement scheme - if London aligns its China tariffs with the bloc, according to a draft of the agreement seen by @iancjohnston.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/801f9628-d... @financialtimes.com

Germany’s Friedrich Merz vows to fight on as defiant chancellor tells the FT he is determined to drive through unpopular reforms and prevent the far-right from gaining power. "We are the firewall" as.ft.com/r/3e2f3fc3-3...

💥 The Trump administration has threatened European capitals that it could stop paid-for weapons shipments to Ukraine if Kyiv does not halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, officials told @christopherjm.ft.com and me @financialtimes.com as.ft.com/r/bc5bd7e2-3...

Donald Trump and US Big Tech CEOs like to dismiss Brussels as a useless, irrelevant & incompetent regulator But, as @lauramdubois.ft.com reveals in this brilliant investigation, Americans are spending far more time & money lobbying EU institutions than European rivals... as.ft.com/r/ce01e257-7...

Moscow reminding Paris, Luxembourg and the EU’s 25 other capitals of the reason for Brussels to sanction the billionaires whose businesses generate the economic output to fund the war…

France got its deal, convincing Latvia to drop its veto in exchange for a promise of closer co-operation on air defence and access to Paris’ nuclear deterrence umbrella Two of Russia’s richest and most prominent oligarchs freed from EU sanctions w @paolatamma.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/eb23edc6-8...

The most important story you will read today: Why the unwinding of the world's most important carry trade could spark the next financial crisis - and why Trump cares so much about the yen right now... by the brilliant @urbandirt.bsky.social & @davidkeo.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/0793237a-e...

Whatever the outcome of France & Luxembourg’s campaign to blackmail their EU allies into removing sanctions on Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, one thing is clear: the bloc’s Russia sanctions regime is now fatally undermined “It’s utterly disgraceful… This is the end” as.ft.com/r/eb7457a9-6...

youtu.be/glOPV-g0j9I?... with guest @henryjfoy.ft.com, Brussels bureau chief of @financialtimes.com

"Some may conclude the multilateral system has failed... But the need for it is very much alive. The postwar world is long gone but the underlying logic that justified multilateral co-operation is more evident than ever" Lula, Costa, Carney & Ruto in @financialtimes.com as.ft.com/r/3f9ef5b5-b...

“We’re trying to actually play down the name issue. We’d rather people focus on the substance,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s ambassador-designate to the EU, of the “associate member” label. “We haven’t landed on what the name of it should be.” as.ft.com/r/4cbbc612-f...

Good FT take on Canada-EU by @henryjfoy.ft.com and @andybounds.bsky.social. Announcing "associate membership" has a lovely feel, but the reality is likely to be a slog. Germans *on the record* already saying they don't like the term "associate" anything. www.ft.com/content/7b1a...

Why von der Leyen’s audacious “associate member” gambit for Canada will struggle to go from rhetoric to reality “We cannot decide on something that does not exist,” quipped one EU diplomat. “It’s classic VDL,” noted a second. “Promise first, get approval later.” as.ft.com/r/e63a43fd-6...

Ursula von der Leyen has endorsed Mark Carney’s pitch for Canada to become an “associate member” of the EU, in a bold proposal to deepen ties under pressure from the US and China. Bold because 1) that status doesn't exist and 2) EU capitals don't support such a move as.ft.com/r/a6a004b5-9...

The EPC is dead, long live the ESC!

🇨🇦-🇪🇺 At last week’s meeting of EU ambassadors to prepare for Carney’s visit, one acerbically remarked that the bloc was “not a ‘middle power’” and the much smaller Canada should not expect any special treatment, said people briefed on the exchange w @andybounds.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/b225a50b-a...

Scoop: France is lobbying EU countries to lift sanctions on Uzbek-Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov as part of a prisoner release with Azerbaijan, according to people familiar with the matter. w/ FT's @maxseddon.bsky.social @henryjfoy.ft.com @paolatamma.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/b016...

💥 Eurozone capitals are negotiating one of the biggest leadership reshuffles in the ECB’s 28-year history, with a “grand package” over its three top roles expected to be agreed by the end of December. "There are a lot of big economic jobs we need to make a decision on.” as.ft.com/r/1136393a-2...

Brussels is back! @maxbergmann.bsky.social + @ottosvendsen.bsky.social discuss Iceland's EU accession vote, Elbridge Colby's visit to NATO, and Ratcliffe's surprise Moscow trip. Plus, @henryjfoy.ft.com maps out the EU's packed fall agenda. Listen to The #Eurofile: www.csis.org/podcasts/eur...

This, The Eurofile, is one of the best podcasts for the grand view on matters European politics. And this particular episode is excellent with @henryjfoy.ft.com from the FT. Congrats to @maxbergmann.bsky.social https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-eurofile/id1664471780?i=1000787716185

Iceland's 'No' vote didn't just kill the island nation's nascent hopes of a reborn EU accession path. It also severely wounded Brussels' new-found confidence that it has clout as a defence and security anchor - and not just an economic heavyweight. as.ft.com/r/fbf75ad1-0...

An EU sanctions exemption for Russian LNG was carved out by Greece for one of its shipping billionaires. But another stands to benefit from the loophole by maintaining Kremlin gas contracts worth hundreds of millions of euros: France’s Total w @iancjohnston.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/2ec2f7ff-e...

“This could be the last ‘package’ of sanctions” said one official, referring to measures agreed on Thursday after weeks of Greek obstruction. “It’s now very clear that this approach does not work any more” EU considers overhaul of sanctions policy after Greek LNG tragedy as.ft.com/r/d11df6ea-8...

A Canadian woman of Chinese origin who was interning at Nato’s military headquarters in Belgium has been arrested on charges of spying. Arrest is the latest in a long line of espionage attempts in Belgium which hosts Nato civilian and military HQs and the EU as.ft.com/r/44db3c09-c...

EU heads for deal on new Russia sanctions package after Greece is offered a compromise to be allowed to continue carrying Russian LNG into 2027, according to three diplomats briefed on the negotiations. Athens had vetoed the package without an LNG carve-out as.ft.com/r/a9380ca3-d...

Bad take, has very little to do with Orban/Magyar. Even with Viktor around the table the Greeks would be the ones holding up this package. It’s about be left with only the sacred cows to sanction.

As EU ambassadors begin a crunch debate on the next round of Russia sanctions, with billions of euros worth of LNG exports and oil revenues hanging in the balance, the @financialtimes.com editorial board lays out the crude truth Background here: as.ft.com/r/3ac50792-e...

France & Germany go public with demand to reform the EU's diplomatic service... and set ambitious end-2026 deadline for options “With the geopolitical developments we are facing, Germany & France emphasise the need to reform the EU’s internal set-up for external action" as.ft.com/r/284f4a6a-7...

EU approaching “peak sanctions” as France, Germany, Greece & others demand measures against Russia be cut to protect their companies “Around the table, the moral imperative is functioning less and less” said one diplomat w @alicemhancock.bsky.social & @chriscook.news as.ft.com/r/b8082481-c...

⛴️ Athens blocks EU sanctions against Moscow to protect Greek billionaire shipping tycoon that built fleet to serve Putin’s Arctic gas projects w @alicemhancock.bsky.social & @chriscook.news as.ft.com/r/793a4480-5...

💥 Top scoop from @bmoens.bsky.social - Brussels has drawn up fresh Google fines and the threat of periodic penalties - to be publicised next week - as the EU’s Big Tech enforcement increases as.ft.com/r/d2deedaa-3...

💥 Ukraine will use a €60bn weapons loan from the EU to buy Chinese dual-use components, despite Brussels condemning Beijing as “the key enabler” of Russia’s war against Kyiv. @financialtimes.com scoop with @paolatamma.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/6eb1a8db-d...

This means we are looking for a new Europe Express editor! Do you want to join the FT and the best team in Brussels? Apply here: job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/financialtim...