Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman seeks damages from Luxembourg on $15bn assets ft.com/content/627ae9… via @ft w max seddon

Five days before the NATO summit and two weeks before Sunak - or his successor? - is supposed to host 50 or so European heads of state for the EPC.

Messy.

From a underperforming single market to tackling China and investing in defence - here are the main flashpoints & best video clips from the Bruegel - Financial Times EU Elections Leaders' Debate, as Ursula von der Leyen set out her pitch for a second term in charge
ft.com/content/07e6bd…

Going live for the Financial Times— Bruegel Leaders’ debate in 15 mins - tune in to hear Ursula von der Leyen Nicolas Schmit, PES lead candidate Sandro Gozi and Anders Vistisen argue over the future of the EU economy!

Janet Yellen urges Europe to join US in crackdown on Chinese exports - hours after Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times that Brussels would take “a more differentiated, targeted approach [than the US]”

ft.com/content/a7a4c1… w Claire Jones

📢LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR THE LIVESTREAM!

Tune into the EU leadership debate on economic choices for Europe from 17:00 today where lead candidates will go head to head to tell us their #Choices4EU

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VDL tells FT she doesn't want a trade war with China

“Let’s say we share some of the concerns of our American counterparts. But our approach is different. The Americans have just applied blanket tariffs... but we want it to be fair and by the rules.”

ft.com/content/cdc0d3…

Today’s Financial Times Europe Express w Laura Dubois

Why von der Leyen doesn’t want to join the US in a China trade war

“We share some of the concerns of our American counterparts. [But] our approach is different. The Americans have just applied blanket tariffs”

ft.com/content/cdc0d3…

VDL pointed to the EU’s €800bn pandemic recovery fund, which linked reforms to cash.

Having a “combination of reform and investment . . . led to growth.”

“I’m open to that discussion because I see that the impact of our investment has been strong”

ft.com/content/8de559…

Speaking as a candidate for A second five-year term as Commission president, she says she “sees the advantages” in imposing conditions on hundreds of billions worth of cohesion funds and the bloc’s generous Common Agricultural Policy.

“We should learn lessons”

Ursula von der Leyen tells Financial Times that she sees making access to EU budget payments conditional on national economic reforms a potential way to improve sluggish competitiveness against global rivals, in what would be a big shift in Brussels spending policies ft.com/content/8de559…

European G7 members warm to US plan of leveraging cash pile from Russian frozen assets as a means to Trump-proof Ukraine aid

ft.com/content/077356… via @ft w Paola Tamma & James Politi

China retaliates against recent US and EU trade measures with new anti-dumping probe

ft.com/content/2f2b7a… via @ft Eleanor Olcott & Paola Tamma

Magisterial piece on Ramaphosa, South Africa's 'lost leader' facing the end game

A great pleasure to moderate the opening panel of the fantastic #lennartmericonference , with brilliant insights on Ukraine, Europe's security and Icelandic pop music from top speakers Kaja Kallas President of Iceland Věra Jourová & Michał Baranowski