CLIMATE DEAL: EU environment ministers reached a tentative agreement early on Wednesday on a watered-down 2040 target, endorsing a 90% emissions cut from 1990 levels after 18 hours of talks. The compromise, which adds flexibilities sought by holdout countries, comes a day before the COP30 summit in Brazil and is expected to be formally approved this morning.
Welcome to Rapporteur, where money is the theme of today’s newsletter. This is Eddy Wax in London, with Nicoletta Ionta in Brussels.
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Need-to-knows:
- Ukraine: Could Norway underwrite the EU’s stalled reparations loan plan?
- Budget: Parliament set for showdown with Commission over €2 trillion proposal
- Brussels: Ex-Commissioner Didier Reynders charged with money laundering
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From the capital
No wonder EU countries are eyeing Russian assets rather than coughing up to meet Ukraine’s multibillion-euro needs.
EU finances are in such bad shape that the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday urged states to rethink their social contract to avoid “explosive” debt levels, as my colleague Thomas Møller-Nielsen reported.
But as our resident Norseman Jacob Wulff Wold tells me, up in oil-rich Norway, politicians are pressing the government to crack open the €1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund to support Ukraine and guarantee the EU’s stalled plan.
This would be music to the ears of the EU, whose makeshift €140 billion reparations loan using Russian assets has been stalled by Belgium, which wants financial guarantees from other EU states.
Five political parties – including three of the four supporting Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre – have called for Norway to underwrite the Ukraine loan. The country is sitting pretty on €109 billion made from gas price hikes triggered by Putin’s war in 2022-23. On Tuesday, Oslo announced another $7 billion for Ukraine’s defence in 2026.
So, Norway: saviour of Ukraine and a paralysed EU? Not so fast. Støre has requested a “full review” of Norway’s potential involvement. “We are paying close attention and are continuing our dialogue with EU colleagues,” the finance ministry told Jacob.
By the way, the push originated not in Oslo or Brussels but in Copenhagen. In February, Danish daily Politiken branded Norway’s Ukraine support as “pathetic.” It published an interview on 23 October with two Norwegian economists urging Oslo to use its wealth and triple-A credit rating to resolve the reparations loan impasse.
Ambassadors meet today to discuss Ukraine’s dire finances – but there are signs of reality biting as the reparations loan is still being worked out in Brussels. German media reported on Tuesday that Friedrich Merz’s government will put €3 billion in aid in 2026, though that’s a drop in the ocean compared with Kyiv’s needs.
EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said “bridging solutions” might be needed early next year to keep Ukraine afloat if the reparations loan remains stalled.
Ukraine, which plans to use the reparations loan to buy home-made weapons, got a warning about defence corruption in the Commission’s latest enlargement report, which flagged “instances of political interference” in the governance of its two procurement agencies.
Talking of seizing money
Former EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has been charged with money laundering and other potential offences, following questioning by a Belgian investigating judge last month, according to multiple media reports. Belgian authorities raided his home last December, shortly after his term as commissioner ended.
Serafin’s budget showdown
Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin faces a Parliament united against him today as he meets MEPs demanding changes to his €2 trillion proposal for EU spending between 2028 and 2034.
It’s the only formal meeting between the warring institutions ahead of next week’s rejection deadline – and will show whether compromise is still possible, or if MEPs are ready to go nuclear and reject the plan outright. The Parliament’s centre ground will be needed to reject or approve any future budget deal, but political manoeuvring is already rocking its platform.
The EPP sided with the far right in committee allocations, then excluded the Greens from leadership talks to ensure heavyweight German member Christian Ehler would oversee both the €175 billion Horizon research fund and the €234 billion competitiveness fund, to be formally approved today. That has enraged the ECR, which will stage a protest.
Abortion access vote
MEPs on Parliament’s women’s rights committee will vote on Wednesday on whether to back an EU fund enabling women to travel for abortions restricted in their home countries.
The proposal, from feminist campaign My Voice, My Choice, stems from a citizens’ initiative that gathered 1.2 million signatures across all 27 countries – enough to trigger a formal Commission response.The fund would be voluntary for member states and could help women in Malta access procedures abroad. Despite support from Slovenia and Finland, the plan is expected to face resistance in Parliament, where the centre-right EPP is the largest group.
One EPP lawmaker has threatened to block the measure, though several Scandinavian and Greek members may break ranks, a source close to the talks told my colleague Martina Monti. Socialists, Liberals, and Greens are expected to support it.
Ursula, you’ve been served
The Parliament’s legal affairs committee on Tuesday voted to take the Commission to the Court of Justice for scrapping the Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) law, my colleague Anupriya Datta reports.
The SEPs regulation was withdrawn from the Commission’s 2025 work programme despite Parliament adopting its position last year.
Under EP rules, President Roberta Metsola will now decide the next step – either launching a case before the Court or consulting political group leaders in the Conference of Presidents. Her office said only that she would act in line with the rules.
Tariff turbulence
MEPs largely backed trade chair Bernd Lange’s push to toughen the EU-US tariff deal but warned it still falls short of protecting Europe’s interests.
The Commission’s proposal, borne of the von der Leyen-Trump “Turnberry” accord, would scrap tariffs on hundreds of US goods while EU exports face a 15% baseline. Lange’s draft, centred on five “S’s” – steel, safeguard, standstill, suspension, and sunset – demands tougher terms, including keeping EU steel tariffs in place until Washington lifts its own.
The EPP opposed removing US steel products from the zero-tariff list, warning it could erode trust. Lawmakers also flagged risks for EU agriculture and a potential €4 billion hit to the bloc’s budget from lost tariff revenues. Amendments are due on 11 November, with a vote expected in early 2026.
The capitals
BRUSSELS 🇧🇪
Flights were suspended at Brussels Airport on Tuesday after suspected drone sightings, in the latest of a string of mysterious incursions over European airports and military installations. Traffic at Charleroi Airport was also halted as a precaution, while Belgian intelligence investigates possible links to recent drone sightings over the Kleine-Brogel base, which reportedly stores US nuclear weapons.
PARIS 🇫🇷
France’s parliament stumbled again on Monday, with MPs failing to wrap up debate on the 2026 finance bill before turning to the Social Security budget on Tuesday. If the impasse persists and lawmakers miss the legal deadline for adoption, the government may have to bypass parliament entirely and impose the budget by decree – an unprecedented move that would highlight the fragility of PM Sébastien Lecornu’s administration.
MADRID 🇪🇸
Spain’s Civil Guard has implicated Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Torres in an alleged pandemic-era kickback scheme linked to mask procurement contracts awarded while he was president of the Canary Islands between 2019 and 2023. Torres denied wrongdoing after the report’s release, saying it “reveals nothing” against him. The €12 million contract in question was tied to Koldo García, a former aide to ex-minister José Luis Ábalos.
ATHENS 🇬🇷
A long-running family feud on the island of Crete escalated into deadly violence, leaving two dead and two others injured after a gunfight over the weekend saw more than 2,000 rounds fired. The killings in the village of Vorizia have shocked Greece and raised concerns about the persistence of vendetta traditions on the island. Kyriakos Mitsotakis and opposition leader Nikos Androulakis have so far remained silent, fuelling criticism of official complacency.
WARSAW 🇵🇱
President Karol Nawrocki will visit Slovakia on Wednesday ahead of trips to the Czech Republic and Hungary for the Visegrád Group summit on 3 December in Esztergom. A presidential aide accused Donald Tusk’s government of neglecting regional partnerships, saying Nawrocki’s tour aims to “leverage historically effective cooperation.” In Bratislava, Nawrocki will meet President Peter Pellegrini to address divergent stances on Russia.
BRATISLAVA 🇸🇰
Leaders of four pro-European opposition parties – Progressive Slovakia, centre-right SaS, the Christian Democrats, and the Democrats – met on Tuesday for the first time since the divisive anti-LGBTI constitutional amendment passed in September with the Christian Democrats’ backing. Describing the meeting as “a good start,” the parties pledged to explore a joint manifesto aimed at unseating Robert Fico’s government in future elections.
BUCHAREST 🇷🇴
Romania’s ruling coalition has agreed to cut 10% of staff across all public institutions, national media reported. The measure, expected to affect about 13,000 local administration employees, is part of a broader plan to rein in spending led by the Ministry of Regional Development. Coalition leaders also discussed reducing the number of MPs by 10% by 2028 but postponed a decision on changes to magistrates’ retirement age.
Schuman roundabout
GONE BY MIDDAY: Italian journalist Gabriele Nunziati was fired days after asking EU Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho whether, if Russia must pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction, Israel should also fund Gaza’s rebuilding, according to media reports. Italian outlet Fanpage.it said the question went viral and sparked controversy, with Nunziati’s agency calling it “completely inappropriate and based on a mistaken premise.”
BOOST FOR PREGNANT MEPs: Parliament took a step on Wednesday towards allowing pregnant MEPs and new mothers to vote by proxy. The move was strongly pushed by Metsola.
STRANDED ASSET: Danish Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen was left stranded at Brussels Airport last night after a stray drone brought operations to a standstill.
Also on Euractiv
Ten years on: Is Europe really in the middle of another migration crisis?
A decade after the Syrian civil war and global instability sent an unprecedented number of…
5 minutes
A decade after Europe’s 2015 migrant crisis, irregular crossings have dropped 20% this year to 133,000 and asylum claims are down 23%, but migration remains a political flashpoint.
Syrians are beginning to return home after the war’s end, while Afghans, Bangladeshis, and Egyptians now make up most new arrivals. The EU’s 2026 migration pact aims to balance tighter borders with protection rules.
Agenda
📍 Kallas visits Cyprus ahead of the country’s upcoming EU Council presidency
📍 Šefčovič attends the EU-Gulf Council Business Forum in Kuwait
📍 Budget Committee hearing with Commissioner Serafin
📍 Coreper I and II meetings
Contributors: Jacob Wulff Wold, Elisa Braun, Thomas Møller-Nielsen, Nikolaus J. Kurmayer, Inés Fernández-Pontes, Magnus Lund Nielsen, Martina Monti, Laurent Geslin, Aleksandra Krzysztoszek, Natália Silenská
Editors: Christina Zhao, Sofia Mandilara
