Meloni's tightrope walk: Italian PM Giorgia Meloni 'has a once in a lifetime opportunity to leave a mark,' Matteo Albania tells Gabriele Rosana. bit.ly/3Vw94hK

Some great reporting in the latest print edition from Julia Kaiser Gabriele Rosana Raluca Besliu and more!

Powerful Jude Marfil Evan's head was shaved by order of Russian prison authorities, The Wall Street Journal staffers are shaving theirs in solidarity. Evan is a journalist and journalism is not a crime. #IStandwithEvan #IStandWithEvan

'The Greens were the kingmaker in this election,' Sophia Russack from CEPS ThinkTank says after Ursula von der Leyen reelected president of European Commission. In total, 401 MEPs supported her bid for a second term - 41 more than she needed. bit.ly/4bUKL3b

Our Welcome MEP Class of 2024 drinks reception in Brussels takes place today! We look forward to greeting the new class of MEPs and their offices whilst enjoying exclusive entertainment by The Schuman Show 🎭 In partnership with AESGP

Feel free to send a short pitch to William Noah Glucroft + myself by 9th August.

“The sacred cause of this country is larger than any one of us.”   Joe Biden has stayed true to these words again and again over a lifetime of service to the American people. Thank you, President Biden.

The best front page ever.

“I want to know - who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs?’”

'For many proponents of Ukrainian membership, the mere act of admitting the country would suffice to deter Russia from invading ever again,' writes Carnegie Endowment's Stephen Wertheim. But 'that is wishful thinking,' he argues in a new op-ed. bit.ly/4dMQslc

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The centre-left German government is reintroducing border checks at *all* its land borders with 9 🇪🇺Schengen countries. The drastic move, likely in response to the far-right's win in Eastern🇩🇪 last month, could cause a domino effect with major economic implications for the EU.

Check out The Parliament's new hub on all things NATO -- including in-depth features, news analyses and op-eds that explore Europe’s role in the transatlantic alliance, amid rising Russian aggression and shifting US engagement. theparliamentmagazine.eu/nato-at-75.htm

great reporting and analysis from Gabriele Rosana, as always.

Check out William Noah Glucroft's timely Q+A with Bruegel's Niclas Poitiers on Draghi's new report.

Based on this letter, I think we can all agree that the EU has lost its chance to have an exceptional ✨ Commissioner for Drama ✨ in the next College.

Let's get down to brass tacks. Some of these portfolios are important. Others are not. Italy's Fitto, despite getting the meaningless EVP designation, did not get an important portfolio. He got a nonsense one. Here, IMHO, are the meaty portfolios that will be important:

Thank Gabriele Rosana for poring over Ursula von der Leyen mission letters so you don’t have to!

Center-right EPP has 11 (40%) of the seats in 🇪🇺Council. Those seats represent 25% of EU population. But the EPP has 15 (56%) of the seats in Von der Leyen's new 🇪🇺Commission college🤔 It's amazing how EPP continues to dominate the EU while controlling no large country in it.

With PiS ally Andrzej Duda still president, PM Donald Tusk faces a tough challenge to restoring democratic norms in Poland. @wojciechkosc reports that the next battle may be over Duda's successor. bit.ly/4e9DWwH