Morning opening: EU parliament set to vote on tariff deal with US
Jakub Krupa
EU lawmakers are set to vote on the bloc’s tariff deal with US president Donald Trump today, after months of delays caused by uncertainty affecting transatlantic trade amid his repeated threats against Greenland and, more recently, Spain.
The parliament will vote on whether to cut EU tariffs on some US imports – as a first step towards implementing the 2025 deal – but with additional safeguards, AFP said.
Lawmakers leading on trade have added several provisions: making an EU tariff reduction automatically lapse in March 2028, and tying tariff cuts on steel and aluminium goods to similar reductions by the US side, it explained.
EU’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis argued this morning that the deal with the US “steadied our trade relationship at a time of profound upheaval” and provided “predictability for European companies and consumers when they needed it most.”
“The deal is a deal, and our credibility depends on keeping our word.”
But still many are not sure about the deal given the volatility on the US side under Trump.
“The only political value this agreement had to offer was stability and predictability, even if many say it’s an unfair deal. If it no longer even provides predictability, there’s no reason to support the deal, even if it has been improved,” said French MEP Pascal Canfin.
The vote is on around 11am local time (10am UK), with a policy debate on the proposal now under way.
Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on Denmark, as the outgoing prime minister Mette Frederiksen gets on with the task of finding a majority in the next Danish parliament, and on Brussels, where we are expecting to hear from Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte on his 2025 report.
Several European leaders are also meeting in Helsinki, where the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, hosts a meeting of JEF, the Joint Expeditionary Force, operating in Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region. UK’s Starmer and Norway’s Støre are among attendees, and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy will deliver a pre-recorded speech.
Lots for us to cover.
It’s Thursday, 26 March 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
More interventions against Russian shadow fleet expected in coming weeks and months, Dutch PM says
Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten is also here.
He celebrated his 39th birthday at last night’s pre-summit dinner with a sweet cake courtesy of Finland’s Alex Stubb.
He says that the most important challange for northern European countries is to deal with “hybrid and physical threats from Russia” which remain “the biggest threat to European security.”
Jetten also says that his government will “continue support our Ukrainian friends … for as long as the Russian aggression against Ukraine continues.”
He also insists that there should be “no easing [of] sanctions against the Russian Federation,” as they “continue hitting them very hard.”
He says the Netherlands will be working closely with the UK, Belgium, France and others on intercepting the Russian shadow fleet.
“I expect – in the weeks and months to come – more interventions [involving] the Russian shadow fleet,” he says.
Iceland’s Kristrún Mjöll Frostadóttir is also speaking, as she highlights Iceland’s defence stance focusing on being a “good ally” and host nation for US, Nato partners.
On the EU, she says there will be a referendum “at the end of the summer” on reopening the talks with the bloc, but admits “this is still a big question for the Icelandic public.”
The government’s proposal is to hold the vote on 29 August 2026, and the final accession deal, if reached, would then be put to another vote.
‘Politeness will not work with Russia,’ Estonia’s Michal says
Estonia’s Kristen Michal also highlights the need to continue supporting Ukraine.
He says “everybody is probably watching what is happening in the Middle East and with concern, that is understandable, but for our neighbourhood and region, that is happening in Ukraine is of utmost importance.”
He says Ukraine “needs our help, assistance, money, weaponry, and all that we can do.”
Michal says “we need to keep the pressure on Russia” as that is “the only way to stop Russia from being an aggressor state and coming to negotiations.”
“Because if you don’t take away the money from Russia, if you don’t pressure them, politeness will not work with Russia. It’s weakness for them,” he says.
Europe will keep asking US to play role in Ukraine talks, Norway’s Støre says
Norway’s Jonas Gahr Støre is up next.
He says the JEF format proves to be an important forum for northern European countries to discuss their shared challenges and deepen their cooperation on security.
“It’s Europe’s responsibility to strengthen the European pillar of Nato,” he says, as he insists “this is not due to the current American administration,” but “a historic responsibility that we [all] need to take.”
He also underlines the need to keep paying attention to Ukraine, as the country continues to be affected by Russian aggression.
“We support Ukraine and their right to defend themselves. But this has implications for European security. We cannot sit still and see that the military means will be used to change geography, change borders,” he says.
Støre says Europe will continue to “make it very clear to the Americans that we encourage them to play their role diplomatically,” even if there is little progress in formal talks with Russia.
“We need to increase the pressure on Russia,” he says.
Latvia’s Siliņa urges Europe to ramp up drone production
Latvia’s Evika Siliņa is the second to arrive and she stresses the need to talk about Ukraine after recent “very serious” attacks from Russia, adding that Europe “needs to discuss how we can develop our drone capabilities.”
“We need to decide that we need to manufacture … them more,” she says, adding that “without those capabilities, it’s impossible now … to win any war.”
She also talks about the need to press ahead with the next round of EU sanctions against Russia to “eliminate [its] financial resources” to fund the war against Ukraine, but obviously these continue to be blocked by Hungary.
‘What Russia is doing is very concerning,’ Sweden’s PM warns
First heads of states and government are now arriving at the Joint Expeditionary Force meeting in Helsinki, where they are expected to talk about Ukraine, Russia, the Baltic Sea, and broader regional cooperation.
Sweden’s Ulf Kristersson is the first to show up and speak to reporters.
He speaks about the need to act against the Russian shadow fleet, stressing that any responses needs to be in accordance with international law, but “it [still] gives us a lot of room for us to act.”
But he warns that the Baltic Sea “has probably never in modern times been more challenged” with attempts to cut undersea cables or “bad seamanship,” but it “has probably also never been as protected as it is right now” through Nato.
“What Russia is doing is very concerning,” he says.
He also notes that Russia is benefiting from a higher oil price as a result of the Middle East crisis.
Proposed safeguards needed to guarantee certainty from ‘relatively one-sided’ deal, senior lawmaker says
Senior German MEP Bernd Lange, who led the work on the trade deal at earlier stages, told lawmakers earlier that the additional safeguards were needed as the original agreement, as signed in Scotland last year, was merely an outline of what would normally be included in a trade deal.
He also warned that the deal was “relatively one-sided,” but “maybe if we can improve it, we can live with it.”
But he also expressed doubts about the volatility of the US position, with repeated threats of new tariffs.
“So there has been a certain amount to uncertainty, … and that is why we do need to create some certainty, to have an agreement with sensible rules and ones that we can define,” he said.
He said the parliament needed to make sure that “if there is a big change on the other side that is unacceptable, we can then come back to our tariffs.”
Morning opening: EU parliament set to vote on tariff deal with US
Jakub Krupa
EU lawmakers are set to vote on the bloc’s tariff deal with US president Donald Trump today, after months of delays caused by uncertainty affecting transatlantic trade amid his repeated threats against Greenland and, more recently, Spain.
The parliament will vote on whether to cut EU tariffs on some US imports – as a first step towards implementing the 2025 deal – but with additional safeguards, AFP said.
Lawmakers leading on trade have added several provisions: making an EU tariff reduction automatically lapse in March 2028, and tying tariff cuts on steel and aluminium goods to similar reductions by the US side, it explained.
EU’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis argued this morning that the deal with the US “steadied our trade relationship at a time of profound upheaval” and provided “predictability for European companies and consumers when they needed it most.”
“The deal is a deal, and our credibility depends on keeping our word.”
But still many are not sure about the deal given the volatility on the US side under Trump.
“The only political value this agreement had to offer was stability and predictability, even if many say it’s an unfair deal. If it no longer even provides predictability, there’s no reason to support the deal, even if it has been improved,” said French MEP Pascal Canfin.
The vote is on around 11am local time (10am UK), with a policy debate on the proposal now under way.
Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on Denmark, as the outgoing prime minister Mette Frederiksen gets on with the task of finding a majority in the next Danish parliament, and on Brussels, where we are expecting to hear from Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte on his 2025 report.
Several European leaders are also meeting in Helsinki, where the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, hosts a meeting of JEF, the Joint Expeditionary Force, operating in Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region. UK’s Starmer and Norway’s Støre are among attendees, and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy will deliver a pre-recorded speech.
Lots for us to cover.
It’s Thursday, 26 March 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
