Germany and France are arguing over the EU's tariff agreement with the USA.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated after the leaders' negotiations at the EU summit in Brussels that Europe is ready to sign a trade agreement with the USA but is considering the possibility of any agreements failing. According to The Guardian, von der Leyen said she literally received an updated version of proposals from the USA regarding tariffs on Thursday. The President of the European Commission promised to defend the interests of the EU and emphasized that "all options remain on the table." According to media reports, the trade agreement with Trump has caused a dispute between the two most economically powerful states in the bloc - Germany and France. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, under pressure from German car manufacturers, is proposing a "quick and uncomplicated deal," agreeing to asymmetrical tariffs in favor of the USA. In contrast, President Emmanuel Macron considers concessions to Washington harmful for the EU's long-term competitiveness in the global market.
The European Council failed to unanimously adopt a statement in support of Ukraine at the meeting on June 26.
The document was signed by 26 out of 27 EU member countries.
This is stated in the communiqué, the text of which was published on the European Council's website.
Among other things, the document states that the European Union will continue to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support in the long term. In 2025, the European Union will provide Ukraine with 30.6 billion euros, of which 3.5 billion euros have already been disbursed under the Ukraine Support Mechanism, and 7 billion euros under the G7 ERA initiative, which will be repaid from unanticipated profits from immobilized Russian assets.
The document calls for an immediate ceasefire from Russia, the introduction of new sanctions against the Russian Federation and its shadow fleet, and support for Ukraine's progress towards the European Union.
EU states also highly appreciated the pace of reforms related to the accession process and welcomed the "significant progress." However, unanimous agreement from all 27 EU members is required for the formal opening of negotiations, and there is currently none. Therefore, the European Council plans to return to discussing this issue at the next summit.
MEPs initiated a vote of no confidence in Ursula von der Leyen.
A group of MEPs has submitted an initiative for a vote of no confidence against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, hoping that pressure within this procedure will force her to voluntarily resign. Euronews reports that if the proposal is accepted, it will lead to the resignation of the entire Commission and initiate a complex process for the appointment of 27 new European commissioners from member states.
Support appears unlikely: to pass the decision, the support of two-thirds of the Members of the European Parliament is required, which currently has 720 members. The reason for the vote of no confidence was a recent decision by the European Court, which criticized Ursula von der Leyen for a lack of transparency in the so-called Pfizergate case - in particular, for her refusal to publish text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during negotiations for vaccine procurement against COVID-19. Among other complaints are accusations of centralizing powers and neglecting the role of the European Parliament, particularly in the withdrawal of legislative initiatives such as environmental proposals, without proper consultations. The initiators hope to repeat the scenario of 1999, when the entire European Commission led by Jacques Santer resigned under pressure from accusations of fraud and lack of transparency, despite the fact that the vote of no confidence was not supported at that time.
Soviet-era armored vehicle stocks in the Russian Federation are approaching a critical point - ISW.
ISW refers to the results of satellite imagery analysis conducted by a certain unnamed source on social networks. "Satellite images of individual armored vehicle repair plants in the Russian Federation indicate that the RF continues to rely on the restoration of its Soviet-era armored vehicle stocks," the ISW report says. "The source... stated that most of the armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) that the RF is taking out of storage are no longer in good enough condition for immediate deployment to the front without restoration, as the RF could do at the beginning of the war," the report states. "The RF has maintained its offensive operations throughout the war using its stocks of Soviet-era armored vehicles to compensate for high losses, but this resource is limited and is approaching the point of diminishing availability. Russian forces are increasingly using motorcycles and buggies instead of armored vehicles along the front line in Ukraine due to high losses of Russian equipment at the end of 2023 and 2024," ISW experts note. The British International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) estimated in February 2025 that Russian forces lost over 3,700 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers in 2024 alone.
News in brief
The USA has signed a trade agreement with China and plans to conclude a similar agreement with India.
Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is stepping down.
YouTube introduces age restrictions. From July 22, live streaming on the platform will be allowed for teenagers aged 16 and older. Users aged 13 to 15 will be able to live stream from an adult's account, but the adult must be present.
The number of drug users in the world has increased - the cocaine market has grown the most.
A draft law has been registered on the website of the Verkhovna Rada that will allow the creation of private cemeteries and crematoria.