Crypto News: Brussels Edition: Zelenskiy's challenge to Trump

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

"If Trump knows how to finish this war, he should tell us today." In a nearly hour-long interview with Bloomberg Television in Kyiv yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy lamented the delays in weapons deliveries from Western allies and said he was "potentially ready" to meet with Donald Trump to hear his team's proposals. The former US president, who is riding high as Democrats panic over Joe Biden's debate performance, has boasted he'll end the war by the time he'd be inaugurated in January. Zelenskiy also said Ukraine is in talks to send Azeri natural gas to the EU. It's "one of the proposals" currently being discussed to replace Russian supplies, which are still transiting Ukraine and into the bloc despite more than two years of war.

— Max Ramsay

France Decides | The bid from Emmanuel Macron's centrist group and a left-wing alliance to keep Marine Le Pen's far-right party from securing a parliamentary majority has gained steam. National Rally's opponents collectively pulled 223 candidates out of their races to avoid splitting the opposition. France votes in the second round of its legislative election on Sunday, with a final bond sale ahead of that set to gauge investor angst.

Decision Day | Labour leader Keir Starmer said he doesn't see the UK rejoining the EU single markets or customs union in his lifetime. Brits head to the polls today, with Europe watching for possible implications on EU-UK relations if Starmer can push Rishi Sunak out of Downing Street. Here's our hour-by-hour guide to the results and a primer on what to watch for from the Bloomberg UK Politics podcast.

Next Round | The commission today will publish the preliminary tariffs announced last month on EVs imported from China — slightly tweaked, as we reported previously. EU officials told member states yesterday that Beijing continued to question the bloc's case, while capitals will express an initial non-binding opinion in a consulting vote by mid-July. Ahead of this, Chinese EVs are holding on to their share of Europe's slumping market.

'Frustrated Transition' | The EU's business lobby has warned the bloc's higher energy prices relative to the US and China are likely to persist even if it reaches net-zero without major hiccups. "Securing energy at competitive prices will be central to preserving Europe's industrial base," said BusinessEurope Director General Markus Beyrer.

Debt Warning | France and Italy, the EU's most indebted countries, were urged by the bloc's advisory watchdog to rein in spending largess and shrink deficits judged by officials to be far too expansive. The European Fiscal Board said the pair — along with Belgium, Greece and Spain — are deemed as "high risk in the medium term" and must try harder to repair their public finances.

Legacy Preserving | Italy celebrated the EU's approval yesterday of Lufthansa's €325 million investment in ITA Airways after it accepted a slate of concessions to preserve fair competition on key routes. ITA's predecessor, Alitalia, was a drain on Rome's resources for decades.

Serious Spending | German lawmakers approved orders for weapons and equipment for the military worth more than €6 billion. It adds to the ruling coalition's drive to reverse years of neglect of the country's armed forces. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the latest approvals take the total for this year to almost €27 billion.

Cruise Control | Amsterdam will slash the number of cruise ships permitted to moor in its harbor by almost half before banning them entirely in 2035. Some 190 ships currently dock annually at its passenger terminal, close to the center of the city. The ban will come into force following the opening of an out-of-town terminal.

Cold Tourism | From wildfires to extreme heat, global warming has created new threats to Europe's top summer destinations, giving rise to the trend of "coolcationing." That could further bolster Scandinavia's travel and tourism industry, which added an estimated $124 billion to the regional economy in 2023, up 6% from 2022.

Europe is already facing some of the fallout from rising consumption and availability of illegal drugs, in particular cocaine, with a wave of drug-related violence spurring an action plan from the EU. But the public health fallout could still be to come, the director of the EU's revamped drugs agency, Alexis Goosdeel, told us. He warned of a potential "time bomb" in the coming two to three years, which could put pressure on member states' health-care budgets.

All times CET

11:15 a.m. EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis interviewed on Bloomberg TV on topics including EU tariffs on Chinese EVs. Watch here
Energy commissioner Kadri Simson in Argentina, meets with energy companies
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in EPP group's "study days" in Cascais, Portugal

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