But first: Brace yourselves because temperatures are set to creep up again in the coming days across many parts of Europe. As my colleague Marta Pacheco reports, it’s forcing officials in Brussels to rethink the bloc’s climate policies, with a pivot from mitigation to adaptation.
Meet me in Cork: Today, the College of European Commissioners, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, will meet their Irish government counterparts in Cork, my colleague Jorge Liboreiro reports from the ground. It’s the traditional visit that marks the start of a new rotating presidency. Cork, it must be noted, is the hometown of Taoiseach, Micheál Martin.
High on the agenda will be the next EU budget, which the Irish presidency is tasked with finalising before the end of the year. Speaking to reporters, Martin predicted the negotiations would be “extremely difficult” and require “significant” concessions from all sides.
Autumn ‘nego-box’ expected: Designing a seven-year budget, he said, means “reconciling the irreconcilable”. Ireland will present a revised nego-box in October, with special focus on the so-called own resources, the EU-wide taxes that are meant to complement national contributions. Everybody agrees that so-called own resources are necessary to fill the gap, yet nobody can say which ones fit best.
