BRUSSELS — Donald Trump should not get involved in European democracy, Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday, days after the U.S. president launched a stinging attack on Europe. “It is not on us, when it comes to elections, to decide who the leader of the country will be, but on the people of this country … That’s the sovereignty of the voters, and this must be protected,” the European Commission president said in an interview at the POLITICO 28 gala event in Brussels. “Nobody else is supposed to interfere, without any question,” the Commission chief added in response to a question about the U.S. National Security Strategy, which was published last week and caused uproar in Europe. The strategy claims Europe is facing “civilizational erasure” within the next 20 years, a narrative that has resonated well with Europe’s far-right leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as well as in Russia. The document also bashes European efforts to rein in far-right parties, calling such moves political censorship, and speaks of “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.” Von der Leyen said this is one of the reasons why the EU proposed the Democracy Shield, meant to step up the fight against foreign interference online, including in elections. The Commission chief said she has always had “a very good working relationship” with U.S. presidents, and ” this is also the case today.” However, she stressed that Europe should focus on itself rather than making comparisons with others. “From the bottom of my heart, I’m a convinced transatlanticist. But what is so important? [What’s] important is that … we take pride in being the European Union, that we look at our strength and that we deal with the challenges that we do have,” she said. “Ofa course, our relationship to the United States has changed. Why? Because we are changing. And this is so important that we keep in mind: what is our position? What is our strength? Let’s work on these. Let’s take pride in that. Let’s stand up for a unified Europe. This is our task … [to] look at ourselves and be proud of ourselves,” von der Leyen said, to applause from the crowd. The U.S. president denounced Europe as a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” people in an interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns that aired Tuesday in a special episode of The Conversation podcast. “I think they’re weak,” Trump said, referring to the continent’s presidents and prime ministers, adding, “I think they don’t know what to do. Europe doesn’t know what to do.”  POLITICO on Thursday named Trump the most powerful person shaping European politics, placing him at the top of the annual P28 list. The list highlights who is expected to have the most sway over Europe’s political direction in the coming year, based on input from POLITICO’s newsroom and the power players POLITICO’s journalists speak with.

BRUSSELS — More than 80 percent of Europe’s companies will be freed from environmental-reporting obligations after EU institutions reached a deal on a proposal to cut green rules on Monday.   The deal is a major legislative victory for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her push cut red tape for business, one of the defining missions of her second term in office. However, that victory came at a political cost: The file pushed the coalition that got her re-elected to the brink of collapse and led her own political family, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), to team up with the far right to get the deal over the line. The new law, the first of many so-called omnibus simplification bills, will massively reduce the scope of corporate sustainability disclosure rules introduced in the last political term. The aim of the red tape cuts is to boost the competitiveness of European businesses and drive economic growth. The deal concludes a year of intense negotiations between EU decision-makers, investors, businesses and civil society, who argued over how much to reduce reporting obligations for companies on the environmental impacts of their business and supply chains — all while the effects of climate change in Europe were getting worse. “This is an important step towards our common goal to create a more favourable business environment to help our companies grow and innovate,” said Marie Bjerre, Danish minister for European affairs. Denmark, which holds the presidency of the Council of the EU until the end of the year, led the negotiations on behalf of EU governments. Marie Bjerre, Den|mark’s Minister for European affairs, who said the agreement was an important step for a more favourable business environment. | Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images Proposed by the Commission last February, the omnibus is designed to address businesses’ concerns that the paperwork needed to comply with EU laws is costly and unfair. Many companies have been blaming Europe’s overzealous green lawmaking and the restrictions it places on doing business in the region for low economic growth and job losses, preventing them from competing with U.S. and Chinese rivals.   But Green and civil society groups — and some businesses too — argued this backtracking would put environmental and human health at risk. That disagreement reverberated through Brussels, disturbing the balance of power in Parliament as the EPP broke the so-called cordon sanitaire — an unwritten rule that forbids mainstream parties from collaborating with the far right — to pass major cuts to green rules. It set a precedent for future lawmaking in Europe as the bloc grapples with the at-times conflicting priorities of boosting economic growth and advancing on its green transition. The word “omnibus” has since become a mainstay of the Brussels bubble vernacular with the Commission putting forward at least 10 more simplification bills on topics like data protection, finance, chemical use, agriculture and defense. LESS PAPERWORK   The deal struck by negotiators from the European Parliament, EU Council and the Commission includes changes to two key pieces of legislation in the EU’s arsenal of green rules: The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).  The rules originally required businesses large and small to collect and publish data on their greenhouse gas emissions, how much water they use, the impact of rising temperatures on working conditions, chemical leakages and whether their suppliers — which are often spread across the globe — respect human rights and labor laws.    Now the reporting rules will only apply to companies with more than 1,000 employees and €450 million in net turnover, while only the largest companies — with 5,000 employees and at least €1.5 billion in net turnover — are covered by supply chain due diligence obligations. They also don’t have to adopt transition plans, with details on how they intend to adapt their business model to reach targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.   Importantly the decision-makers got rid of an EU-level legal framework that allowed civilians to hold businesses accountable for the impact of their supply chains on human rights or local ecosystems. MEPs have another say on whether the deal goes through or not, with a final vote on the file slated for Dec. 16. It means that lawmakers have a chance to reject what the co-legislators have agreed to if they consider it to be too far from their original position.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will on Monday evening meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa in Brussels. The leaders are set to meet at around 8 p.m. at Rutte’s official residence. “I won’t go into what may be discussed in detail in this meeting later today but it’s clearly to be seen against the background of the ongoing discussions on peace for Ukraine,” Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said Monday. The topic of reparation loans will likely be raised, according to Pinho, who mentioned von der Leyen’s meeting on Friday with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which was described as “a good meeting” and “a good exchange of views.” “Discussions [will] continue in regard to reparations loans up until the European Council next week, where the aim is to have a final decision and a clear outcome for a solution to support the financing of Ukraine’s need in 2026 and 2027,” Pinho said. The high-stakes European Council summit will begin next Thursday and will focus on efforts to persuade Belgium to approve the use of Russian frozen assets to help the war effort in Ukraine.

Authorities detained three suspects and raided the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the College of Europe as part of a probe into suspected fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats. The searches — conducted at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and approved by the investigating judge and Belgium’s Federal Police — were conducted at the EEAS in Brussels, in buildings of the College of Europe in Bruges and at private homes, according to a statement from the EPPO. Belgian authorities are investigating the European Union Diplomatic Academy, a training program for junior diplomats across EU countries. The raids were first reported by Euractiv. The EPPO said it has “strong suspicions” that rules around “fair competition” were breached when “confidential information related to the ongoing procurement was shared with one of the candidates participating in the tender.” This article is being updated.

STRASBOURG — The United Arab Emirates embarked on a lobbying blitz in Strasbourg this week as the European Parliament prepared to vote on a resolution condemning ongoing atrocities in the Sudanese civil war.   The Emirati delegation held meetings with key MEPs to insist that the UAE is playing a constructive role in Sudan, despite accusations that Abu Dhabi actively backs the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious militia implicated in ethnic massacres and sexual violence.  Parliament lawmakers ultimately passed a resolution Thursday afternoon that decried Sudan’s devastating civil war, but without mentioning the UAE’s alleged interference in the conflict.   Human rights NGOs, independent media and Sudanese officials have said Abu Dhabi has fueled the conflict by transferring weapons to the RSF as it battles the Sudanese Armed Forces, which are supported by Egypt, for control of the country.  The UAE denies supporting the RSF or interfering in Sudan’s war. A UAE government spokesperson told POLITICO there is zero evidence of interference and rejected any link to the paramilitary group.  The Parliament text — backed by a broad coalition including the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), the center-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists, the far-right Patriots, the liberals of Renew and the Greens — condemns the two-year conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and plunged 25 million into extreme hunger.   According to three Parliament officials familiar with negotiations between the political factions, language that criticized the UAE’s alleged role in Sudan proposed by the Socialists, Renew and Greens proved to be a red line for the EPP — which was, in turn, supported by groups to its right.   SUPPORTIVE SIGNAL  The resolution drew an unusually assertive diplomatic operation from the Gulf.   Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s envoy for Europe, traveled to Strasbourg with an entourage to meet with MEPs and argue that Abu Dhabi is working toward peace in Sudan rather than exacerbating the conflict.   Two officials familiar with the talks told POLITICO that Emirati representatives denied any link to the RSF, while insisting they only wanted peace in Sudan and to be a key mediator for the country.  Abu Dhabi’s delegation was provided a private room inside the European Parliament, next to the hemicycle, to conduct its meetings.   “When foreign dignitaries come to Parliament and ask for a room, we give it to them. Not everyone asks, but if they do and if a room is available, we do,” Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s spokesperson Juri Laas told POLITICO.  Despite the absence of a direct reference to the UAE’s alleged support for the RSF, the Socialists, Renew and the Greens ultimately agreed to support the resolution.   Three people involved in the process said the groups were satisfied with the language negotiated with the EPP and wanted to send a strong signal of support to Sudan.  The Parliament’s resolution eventually condemned the RSF’s “atrocities” in Sudan and says ethnically motivated killings, rape, sexual enslavement and the starvation of civilians could potentially constitute “acts of genocide.”  The text calls for sanctions on the militias involved in the civil war, plus penalties for “financiers and external enablers,” but without naming any other parties to the conflict.  POLITICO reviewed an unofficial document circulated by the UAE ahead of the vote, rejecting allegations that it provided material, funding or political backing to the RSF.  Marit Maij, one of the lead negotiators for the S&D, confirmed she met with the Abu Dhabi delegation “at the request of the UAE” inside the Parliament in Strasbourg.   “We discussed the horrific situation in Sudan,” she said. “During the conversation, I stated that we have information that the Emirates are fueling the war by supporting the RSF.”  The Greens’ negotiator on the file, MEP Nela Riehl, said “there’s nothing in the text that we oppose” but lamented that “things [are] missing,” including a clear mention of the UAE.  The resolution does name-check the UAE as a key party in mediation efforts to achieve peace, along the U.S., Egypt and Saudi Arabia.   SENSITIVE MOMENT  The Emirati lobbying push comes at a sensitive moment in EU-UAE relations.   Brussels is pursuing closer economic ties with the Gulf state and is deep into ambitious free-trade negotiations — which one senior Emirati official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive discussions, said are progressing at lightning speed.  The UAE downplayed the significance of Nusseibeh’s Strasbourg trip.   A government spokesperson told POLITICO it was part of a routine tour through France, the U.K. and Slovakia “to discuss bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, including key regional developments.”  Gamaal El Attar, executive director of the Belgian human rights organization IFRD — which itself lobbied heavily on the resolution — characterized the UAE’s efforts as “damage control,” accusing Abu Dhabi of “heavy counter-lobbying” to avoid being singled out.  The Emirati foreign ministry said in a statement it “welcomed the European Parliament’s timely resolution” and praised the fact that it “endorsed the work of the Quad,” the regional grouping the UAE belongs to alongside the U.S., Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which has sought an end to the war. 

BRUSSELS — European Parliament members this week rubbished the EU executive’s Democracy Shield plan, an initiative aimed at bolstering the bloc’s defenses against Russian sabotage, election meddling and cyber and disinformation campaigns. The Commission’s plan “feels more like a European neighborhood watch group chat,” Kim van Sparrentak, a Dutch member of the Greens group, told a committee meeting on Monday evening. On Tuesday, EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath faced the brunt of that censure before the full Parliament plenary, as centrist and left-leaning lawmakers panned the plan for its weaknesses and far-right members warned that Brussels is rolling out a propaganda machine of its own. “We want to see more reform, more drive and more actions,” Swedish center-right lawmaker Tomas Tobé, who leads the Parliament’s report on the matter, told McGrath. The European Democracy Shield was unveiled Nov. 12 as a response to Russia’s escalating meddling in the bloc. In past months, Europe has been awash in hybrid threats. Security services linked railway disruptions in Poland and the Baltics to Russian-linked saboteurs, while unexplained drone flyovers have crippled public services in Belgium and probed critical infrastructure sites across the Nordics. At the same time, pro-Kremlin influence campaigns have promoted deepfake videos and fabricated scandals and divisive narratives ahead of elections in Moldova, Slovakia and across the EU, often using local intermediaries to mask their origins.   Together these tactics inform a pressure campaign that European security officials say is designed to exhaust institutions, undermine trust and stretch Europe’s defenses.  The Democracy Shield was a key pledge President Ursula von der Leyen made last year. But the actual strategy presented this month lacks teeth and concrete actions, and badly fails to meet the challenge, opponents said. While “full of new ways to exchange information,” the strategy presents “no other truly new or effective proposals to actually take action,” said van Sparrentak, the Dutch Greens lawmaker.  EU RESPONSE A WORK IN PROGRESS Much of the Shield’s text consists of calls to support existing initiatives or proposed new ones to come later down the line.   One of the pillars of the initiative, a Democratic Resilience Center that would pool information on hybrid warfare and interference, was announced by von der Leyen in September but became a major sticking point during the drafting of the Shield before its Nov. 12 unveiling.  The final proposal for the Center lacks teeth, critics said. Instead of an independent agency, as the Parliament had wanted, it will be a forum for exchanging information, two Commission officials told POLITICO.  The Center needs “a clear legal basis” and should be “independent” with “proper funding,” Tobé said Tuesday.   Austrian liberal Helmut Brandstätter said in a comment to POLITICO that “some aspects of the center are already embedded in the EEAS [the EU’s diplomatic service] and other institutions. Instead of duplicating them, we should strive to consolidate and streamline our tools.” EU countries also have to opt into participating in the center, creating a risk that national authorities neglect its work.  RIGHT BLASTS EU ‘CENSORSHIP’  For right-wing and far-right forces, the Shield reflects what they see as EU censorship and meddling by Brussels in European national politics.   “The stated goals of the Democracy Shield look good on paper but we all know that behind these noble goals, what you actually want is to build a political machinery without an electoral mandate,” said Csaba Dömötör, a Hungarian MEP from the far-right Patriots group.   “You cannot appropriate the powers and competence of sovereign countries and create a tool which is going to allow you to have an influence on the decisions of elections” in individual EU countries, said Polish hard-right MEP Beata Szydło.   Those arguments echo some of the criticisms by the United States’ MAGA movement of European social media regulation, which figures like Vice President JD Vance have previously compared to Soviet-era censorship laws.  The Democracy Shield strategy includes attempts to support European media organizations and fact-checking to stem the flood of disinformation around political issues. Romanian right-wing MEP Claudiu-Richard Târziu said her country’s 2024 presidential elections had been cancelled due to “an alleged foreign intervention” that remained unproven.  “This Democracy Shield should not create a mechanism whereby other member states could go through what Romania experienced in 2024 — this is an attack against democracy — and eventually the voters will have zero confidence,” he said.  In a closing statement on Tuesday at the plenary, Commissioner McGrath defended the Democracy Shield from its hard-right critics but did not respond to more specific criticisms of the proposal.  “To those who question the Shield and who say it’s about censorship. What I say to you is that I and my colleagues in the European Commission will be the very first people to defend your right to level robust debate in a public forum,” he said.

Tech tycoon Elon Musk on Wednesday threw a jab at European democracy — and the president of the European Commission. “If democracy is the foundation of freedom, surely your position as leader of the EU should be elected directly by the people?” Musk wrote in a post on social media platform X, which he owns, to Ursula von der Leyen. In another post, the Tesla and SpaceX chief added that the “leader of the EU” should be “elected by the people” of the bloc, “not appointed by a committee.” Musk was reacting to von der Leyen’s unveiling of the European Democracy Shield, a new strategy to step up the fight against foreign interference online, including in elections. “Democracy is the foundation of our freedom. Democracy is the foundation of our prosperity. Democracy is the foundation of our security,” von der Leyen wrote on social media. The German politician had pitched the Democracy Shield idea in a campaign speech at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit last year as she sought another term as Commission president ahead of the 2024 European election. The Commission president — head of the EU’s executive, though not literally the “leader of the EU” — is proposed and voted on by the European Council, comprising the EU’s 27 heads of state and government, for a five-year term. The proposed candidate also has to win a vote among members of the European Parliament. After getting the required backing last year, von der Leyen survived three motions of no confidence by factions in the Parliament in July and October this year. The centerpiece of the Democracy Shield strategy is the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, which draws on expertise across current and aspiring EU member countries to counter disinformation. Other elements include guidance on how to use AI in elections or on using influencers to help people understand EU rules, such as regulations on online content or political advertising. Musk, who played a brief but prominent role earlier this year as U.S. President Donald Trump’s adviser after supporting him vigorously throughout the 2024 election campaign, has often used his platform to amplify controversial views on democracy, free speech and political leadership around the world.

Donald Trump may sometimes think of himself as the “president of Europe” due to his huge influence over policy in Brussels, but even he wouldn’t have expected to see himself appear on ballots in the city. But a far-right Belgian francophone party, which is named after the U.S. president via a roundabout acronym, was recently launched by a former chairman of the Belgian National Front, local outlet BRUZZ reported Monday.  “Donald Trump is the ultimate symbol of populism. He immediately embodies what we stand for,” Salvatore Nicotra, TRUMP’s founder, told the website. TRUMP — which stands for “Tous Réunis pour l’Union des Mouvements Populistes” (All United for the Union of Populist Movements) — is a successor to far-right Wallonian parties Chez Nous and the Belgian National Front (NF). Unlike Flanders’ Vlaams Belang, Belgium’s largest far-right party, TRUMP does not advocate separatism, Nicotra noted, and aims to run both at the federal level and in the 2029 European Parliament election. “We are a right-wing populist party with a social slant,” he said. Nicotra, who served as a municipal councilor in the Saint-Gilles district of Brussels from 1994 to 2000, has not ruled out running in the Belgian capital or in municipal elections as well. Other founders, all former members of the NF, include Emanuele Licari, a former Vlaams Belang member who was dropped from its list after the party said he had been openly glorifying fascism. The party’s official launch event will take place on Nov. 30.

BRUSSELS — Belgian authorities will hold a meeting of the national security council Thursday morning in the wake of Brussels Airport being shut down late Tuesday following a drone incursion, Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s office announced today. De Wever will convene the heads of all services — police, military and intelligence — as well as public prosecutors, to discuss recent drone activity and possible counter-measures.   Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said today that the drone incident “was not the work of amateurs,” and Belgium is investigating whether it can call on neighboring countries for assistance.  Drones were spotted earlier this month over several Belgian military bases. Francken said the drones were believed to be attempting to spy on fighter jets and ammunition depots. The drone incursion caused 28 flight cancellations on Tuesday evening; another 54 flights were canceled at Brussels Airport today, affecting 22 departing and 32 arriving flights. 

LEIDEN, the Netherlands — Waking up bleary eyed this Thursday morning and wondering who won the Dutch election? Well, it’s a stunner.  Here’s our brief explainer on the progressive liberal party that surged in recent weeks to match Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) on the back of a charismatic young leader.  START FROM THE BEGINNING, PLEASE, WHO WON THE DUTCH ELECTION? The liberal-progressive D66 party — short for Democrats 66; founded in 1966, natch — is on track to win 26 seats in the Netherlands’ 150-strong parliament, according to a preliminary forecast. That puts them equal with the hotly tipped Wilders and his PVV, which just two years ago scored a huge election win, and ahead of other mainstream conservative, socialist and liberal parties. OK, D66 THEN, WHAT DO THEY STAND FOR? D66 is a pro-European party that tends to draw in urbanite, high-income voters.  While the party’s pitch in its early days was to have prime ministers and mayors directly elected, in 2025 it focused its campaign on solutions to the Netherlands’ housing crisis, notably with a plan to build new cities. It also picked a hopeful slogan: “It is possible,” evoking former U.S. President Barack Obama’s “Yes We Can” optimism. The party campaigned on pledges to focus on “affordable, green energy from our own soil” to keep energy prices down, while securing the “healthiest generation ever” by prioritizing the prevention of illness. It also wants greener residential areas and an emphasis on better education. D66 beefed up its stance on migration, advocating for a system that would have people lodge asylum applications outside Europe, with leader Rob Jetten warily noting the collapse of two successive Dutch governments over asylum policy. The party also pushed to reclaim the red-white-and-blue tricolor flag as something for mainstream Dutch voters to be proud of after angry farmers turned it upside down in protests and Wilders clutched it for populist-nationalist reasons.  At D66’s election night party in Leiden, their leader told reporters the flags are a way to wave goodbye to recent years “where it sometimes seemed like our country can’t be proud anymore. We’re an amazing country and we can make it even better,” he said. SO WHO IS THE LEADER AND WHAT’S HIS DEAL? Once dubbed “Robot Jetten” because of the clunky manner he answered questions, Jetten is now in pole position to become the future prime minister of the Netherlands. Despite the unfavorable early nickname, the 38-year-old — who is openly gay — has since become a charming and media-savvy poster-boy for D66’s positive and progressive-liberal platform. “I’ve become a lot grayer and a lot more experienced,” Jetten joked on election night.  He was in line to head the party back in 2018, but stepped aside in favor of veteran diplomat Sigrid Kaag; a move that won him plaudits among party members.  Jetten took the baton from Kaag in 2023 after her hopes of becoming the Netherlands’ first female prime minister were dashed in the previous election. IS JETTEN REALLY GOING TO BE THE NEXT DUTCH PRIME MINISTER? If the final results confirm the election night projections, he’s certainly in prime position.  But the real work starts next.  Jetten will have to form a coalition and, to get the numbers for a majority, may need to carry out the unenviable task of convincing the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and left-wing GreenLeft-Labor to team up after bitterly campaigning against one another.  The challenge isn’t lost on Jetten. With around 26 seats, D66 is “a small large party, when compared with Dutch history,” he said on election night. “So we’ll have to cooperate with many parties.” Jetten is also well aware of the challenge that has doomed recent Dutch governments. Migration was once more in the spotlight in the run-up to the election “and it is my ambition that in four years’ time, this will no longer need to be an issue,” Jetten told reporters on election night. BACK TO THE PARTY, HAVE THEY BEEN IN GOVERNMENT BEFORE? Many times, including most recently in the third and fourth governments helmed by longtime liberal leader Mark Rutte. Jetten himself was a climate and energy minister in Rutte’s fourth and final government, in which D66 was the second-largest party.  Before that, D66 has joined coalitions on and off since the early 1970s. HAVE I HEARD OF ANY OF THE PARTY BIGWIGS? You likely have: Diplomat and former Foreign Affairs and Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag led D66 from 2020 until 2023, before returning to the United Nations as the organization’s senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza.  The EU’s Special Representative for Human Rights Kajsa Ollongren previously filled roles as defense and internal affairs minister for the party.  And then there are the party’s former European lawmakers: Both Marietje Schaake and Sophie in ‘t Veld — who left D66 in 2023 — are well-known names in the Brussels bubble. WHAT’S THEIR POSITION IN BRUSSELS? D66, which is part of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, takes a decidedly more pro-EU stance than we’re used to hearing in the Netherlands, from supporting the implementation of a European migration pact to advocating for the creation of European armed forces.  But despite its pro-European stance, D66 has never filled a major EU post — like, for example, a Dutch commissioner — with most party heavyweights focused on domestic politics instead.  Max Griera contributed to this report.