Brussels Edition: NATO prep

Alliance members have been wrangling over a summit statement ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Welcome to the Brussels Edition. I’m Suzanne Lynch, Bloomberg’s Brussels bureau chief, bringing you the latest from the EU each weekday. Make sure you’re signed up. With just four days until the NATO summit in Ankara, allies have been struggling to coalesce around some of the key details of a planned joint statement, our team reports. Diplomats at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels have been working overtime, despite officials initially having appeared to have agreed on the text of a short communique they hope to endorse at the July 7-8 gathering hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Fresh from talks this week with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Baltic leaders to the German capital today as preparations for the summit move into high gear. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, left, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a news conference in Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg Merz pushed back against comments posted yesterday by NATO skeptic Donald Trump, in which he suggested the relatively small amount Germany has been spending on its military compared with the US was “ridiculous.” Trump’s social-media outburst came after the resignation this week of the top US commander for Europe and Africa — the latest Biden-era appointee to depart — sent another signal that the president is determined to scale back the US defense commitment to the continent. “Germany is doubling its defense budget within the period of four years,” Merz told reporters. “So we don’t need to hide from anyone.” Disagreement on the summit declaration spans a range of issues, sources tell us. Poland wants the alliance to finance the eastward extension of NATO’s Cold War pipeline network, which connects military facilities in western Europe. Turkey is also competing for attention and funding for its own pipeline plans as part of NATO’s $28 billion infrastructure overhaul to enhance the alliance’s fuel security. Separately, Italy has sought to water down the statement’s pledge to give Ukraine military aid through the end of next year, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned today that Poland should be cautious in pledging further financial aid to the government in Kyiv. A draft of the statement said allies would offer Ukraine €70 billion in 2026 and 2027, we report. However, that doesn’t include any new commitments, instead representing NATO’s previous €40 billion annual pledge plus €30 billion each year from an EU loan. The Latest ECB President Christine Lagarde declined to rule out leaving her current position early to participate in French politics, telling Les Echos “it’s possible” and that she believes “a European voice needs to be heard in the French presidential debate.” The ECB is in a comfortable situation after last month’s interest-rate increase as the falling oil price eases price pressures in the euro zone, Governing Council member and Bank of France Governor Emmanuel Moulin told Bloomberg. Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu resigned after just eight months in office as a corruption scandal involving a state-owned air traffic management company rocks the tiny nation wedged between Ukraine and Romania. The video-game industry is bracing for a wave of European regulations that could limit kids’ access to some video games, potentially crimping sales across the globe. Money managers in Europe won’t have to report ESG data on all the assets they hold, under revised disclosure requirements made public today. The UK is pushing to participate in some EU meetings as the two sides try to reset a post-Brexit relationship, causing friction between British officials and their former colleagues in the bloc’s administration. Seen and Heard on Bloomberg French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said he will push for a spending package for next year that achieves a further improvement in public finances and gets the deficit under 5% of GDP. Lescure told Bloomberg TV he intends to present a budget bill by September and he expects parliament “most likely” will approve it. “I want 5% and I hope we will reach 5%,” he said. “And I want to make sure that next year we have a budget that brings us below 5%.” Chart of the Day The Danish krone is trading at all-time lows against the euro, fueling speculation the central bank has shifted its strategy for defending its peg. Nationalbanken has historically intervened in the market when the krone dropped below 7.47 per euro, but has recently allowed it to decline beyond that level. Last week, it reached an all-time low of 7.4758 per euro, and is currently trading around 7.4746. Denmark has kept a currency peg since 1982 — first to the German mark and then to the euro from 1999. Coming up Visit of EU College of Commissioners to Cork, Ireland continues today EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica visits Cairo, Egypt this weekend Les Rencontres Économiques conference continues in Aix-en-Provence tomorrow Final Thought Europe is on high alert for wildfires after record-breaking heat waves and scant rainfall turned forests and fields into tinderboxes, with forecasters warning that more extreme conditions are on the way. More than 2,000 firefighters are battling to contain blazes that have ravaged homes and campsites in southern France, forcing thousands to evacuate. Fire crews made progress overnight on one of the largest outbreaks, which has burned more than 12 square kilometers in the Mediterranean departments of Hérault, Aude and Bouches-du-Rhône. A firefighter truck on burnt woodland following a wildfire in Fontjoncouse, Aude, France, on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg Like the Brussels Edition? Don’t keep it to yourself. Colleagues and friends can sign up here. How are we doing? We want to hear what you think about this newsletter. Let our Brussels bureau chief know. We’re improving your newsletter experience and we’d love your feedback. If something looks off, help us fine-tune your experience by reporting it here. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg’s Brussels Edition newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, sign up here to get it in your inbox. Unsubscribe Bloomberg.com Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022 |