Macron’s talking shop is wearing out its welcome

CIAO THERE. Gerardo Fortuna back with you as Europe gears up for a huge couple of days. Plenty on the line, little time to waste. Let’s dive in.

— Could Pedro Sánchez’s empty seat at two EU summits cost Spain the ECB presidency? 

— The European Parliament hears some awkward truths.

On today’s Brussels Playbook Podcast: Zoya and Katie weigh up who could speak for the EU in Ukraine peace talks.

**A message from TikTok: Did you know TikTok advertising generated €31 billion in economic output across the EU in 2025? New research shows the platform helped businesses grow, supporting €13 billion in additional economic output for small and medium-sized businesses and helping millions of businesses reach customers across borders.**

EUROPE’S MOST HATED SUMMIT? More than 50 leaders and their delegations will descend on Dublin today for the latest European Political Community summit — but some have soured on the forum and hope it’ll die when France gets a new president next year, diplomats and officials told Playbook’s Sebastian Starcevic.  

Recall: The EPC was French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative, launched following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But while the gathering attracts a cast of political heavyweights — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and British PM Andy Burnham are among those attending this time — some have come to see it as a talking shop, as our somewhat depressing report from last year’s summit in Copenhagen laid bare. 

Kill it with fire: A European diplomat told my colleague Jacopo Barigazzi that leaders are weary of the gathering, which is one reason capitals weren’t ecstatic about Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to form a European Security Council (which would add yet another forum to the calendar). Another diplomat told me they hope the EPC won’t survive Macron’s departure from office after the French presidential runoff in May.

Not so fast: The Elysée disputes the criticism, with one official arguing the EPC has become a diplomatic cornerstone and will be here to stay in the post-Macron era, our man in Paris Giorgio Leali tells us. And an EU official told Sebastian the EPC has proven its worth as a forum for important discussions. Summits are scheduled through the end of 2028, with meetings in Switzerland, Greece, Azerbaijan and Latvia.

Fabrice Leggeri, an MEP with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, pushed back on speculation that the far-right front-runner would kill the forum if she becomes president: The EPC is not “automatically a waste of time,” he said, even if there are plenty of “boring, useless, endless meetings” at EU level.

What’s on the menu today: Macron wants to launch an initiative to define the key principles for the future of European security, Giorgio reports. Ukraine will remain at the heart of the talks, an EU official told us, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attending. 

There will be opening remarks from Zelenskyy, European Council President António Costa and the Irish leader Micheál Martin, another EU official said. A diplomat briefed on the agenda told us the joint plenary session will focus on Ukraine and European security, before leaders split into roundtables with two themes: 1. competitiveness, AI, digital and energy transitions and bringing down energy prices; and 2. defending European democracy. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Macron will also co-chair a meeting of the coalition against drug trafficking. And leaders will issue a joint declaration on migration, two European diplomats told Sebastian. They’ll close out the day with a dinner at the National Gallery of Ireland. 

Not on the menu: Enlargement. The EPC was never conceived as a venue for discussing EU membership, and the topic has mostly stayed off its formal agenda despite a push from Turkey and others in recent years, a senior diplomat from an enlargement candidate country told Sebastian — though they predicted it will come up on the margins. 

Who won’t be there: Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, both facing political turmoil at home, will skip Dublin. So will Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who is a couple weeks out from an election.  

This week’s main event is tomorrow’s informal European Council, when leaders will grapple with who should speak for Europe in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia and hold their first major discussion on AI. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will also hold bilateral talks with several leaders — including Macron — as soon as today to advance discussions over the EU’s seven-year, €2 trillion budget.

TODAY IN MOSCOW: Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are heading to Russia to ask Vladimir Putin to allow European representatives to join future Ukraine peace talks. The Americans will then head to Dublin to meet Zelenskyy to push the agenda forward, Tim Ross reports.

Ouch: “If Europe could identify one person to speak on their behalf, that would be a bigger achievement than getting the Russians to include them in the negotiation,” Kushner said yesterday. Tim’s analysis of the Abu Dhabi talks is well worth your time.

LAGARDE FOR THE ELYSÉE? Departing ECB chief Christine Lagarde would attract as much support in France’s presidential contest as center-right hopeful Edouard Philippe if she were to run, according to a poll commissioned by POLITICO.

SHAKE-UP AT NVIDIA: The tech giant is preparing to remove its CEO Jensen Huang after he had two affairs, including with a businesswoman suspected of spying for Beijing, the WSJ reported last night.

A NEW FRONT FOR HYBRID ATTACKS? Hundreds of schools in Italy, the U.K. and Ireland have been disrupted by bomb threats.

WE NEED AN EMERGENCY PLAN: Finland and Estonia want an EU-wide system to respond to serious AI incidents, according to a letter seen by POLITICO’s Pieter Haeck. It comes ahead of Friday’s first EU leaders’ summit dedicated to AI.

HAVE MADRID’S ECB HOPES TAKEN A HIT? Pedro Sánchez’s absence from the European stage this month could deal a blow to his country’s ambition to install Pablo Hernández de Cos at the head of the European Central Bank, three EU diplomats told Playbook’s Gregorio Sorgi.

De Cos is competing against former Dutch central banker Klaas Knot to succeed Christine Lagarde as president of the ECB. Sánchez and his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten are lobbying fellow leaders to back their candidates, but the diplomats think Sánchez’s focus on the election campaign at home could weaken Hernández de Cos’ leadership bid.  

Sánchez still hasn’t decided whether he’ll attend the European Council summit in Brussels on Nov. 26-27, where leaders are expected to designate the new ECB president — just two days before the Spanish election. As we said above, Sánchez is planning to skip tomorrow’s gathering in Dublin, where leaders will broach the ECB race on the sidelines. (It’ll be one of the topics Merz and Macron talk about in their bilateral, alongside the EU budget, according to an Elysée official.)

“He won’t be in the room when the ECB leadership will be decided,” said one EU diplomat granted anonymity to speak about the confidential process.

Spain’s Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo has dismissed those concerns, telling reporters this week that “we need to decouple the timetable for the ECB presidency [and other top jobs] from the Spanish elections.” A Spanish government official said the ECB leadership “has been under negotiation for weeks. Whether or not Sánchez is in Dublin this week would have no impact.” 

Package deal: Leaders will have to carefully balance which countries get which ECB roles because other jobs on the executive board are coming up for grabs soon, Gregorio points out. Germany’s Isabel Schnabel and Ireland’s Philip Lane, the chief economist, are both leaving.

So leaders might not like the European Political Community — and some say it might not last much longer — but how much do you know about it? Set up in 2022 based on a proposal by Emmanuel Macron, the EPC is a forum to discuss and coordinate on issues such as security, energy and migration. Its members are all the EU countries plus the main EU institutions and around 20 others, including the U.K., Turkey and Ukraine. There are two meetings a year, one in an EU capital, one in a non-EU capital.

TALK TO PLAYBOOK: WhatsApp us on +32 491 050629 and listen from 7 a.m. to hear if we give you a shout-out.

UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS: Senior MEPs have warned European Parliament President Roberta Metsola about dwindling committee attendance and worsening behavior by MEPs, which they say could deter European Commission officials and outside experts from appearing before lawmakers, Max Griera writes.

Conference of Committee Chairs head Bernd Lange told Metsola in a letter seen by Playbook that attendance has been “gradually diminishing” since Covid-19, and “this low attendance risks diminishing the relevance and quality of the debates … and has the potential to negatively affect the overall engagement with the committee’s interlocutors.”

Lange also warned that some MEPs’ conduct is getting worse, which “can at times descend into behaviors that are not conducive to our institution’s dignity.”

Not the whole story: The letter was originally sent in July. When POLITICO requested a copy through official channels via a freedom of information access request, we received a redacted version. Blacked out was Lange’s acknowledgment that Metsola had “rightly pointed out” the same problems at an earlier meeting with committee chairs.

Why? Parliament Secretary-General Alessandro Chiocchetti, a close ally of Metsola, claimed disclosure could “seriously affect, prolong, or complicate” internal discussions, expose them to “external pressure and undue influence,” and jeopardize the Parliament’s ability to reach “the most impartial and appropriate decision.” Yet those same concerns, and Metsola’s role in raising them, were already recorded in the publicly available minutes of an earlier meeting.

The administration’s resistance to giving access to documents is a long-standing issue. “The Parliament rarely takes into consideration public interest and often misuses exceptions with document requests, especially if they are related to MEPs,” said Transparency International chief Nick Aiossa. Parliament says it followed the transparency regulation.  

One issue is looming particularly large in Spain in the run-up to the general election: affordable housing. Lucia Mackenzie and Aitor Hernández-Morales have the full story on just how bad the crisis is, and where the Spanish stats sit in relation to the rest of Europe.

RUSSIA’S GRAVE SECRET: A Russian man was sentenced to 14 years in prison in September for photographing soldiers’ graves — but the Kremlin is finding it increasingly difficult to suppress the true toll of its war in Ukraine, Daria Zakharova writes.

NATO BY ZOOM? With allies reluctant to commit to a 2027 NATO summit in Tirana, Albania says it could delay the gathering by a year — or even host it online. 

OFFICIALLY OPEN: Even Finnish President Alexander Stubb jumped on the meme about his country’s embassy in Canberra (read this by our colleagues Down Under if you’ve got no idea what that means), posting a selfie with Anthony Albanese at COP31 yesterday. “I have confirmed to the Prime Minister of Australia that the Finnish Embassy in Canberra is open,” Stubb wrote, possibly killing the joke forever.

TAKING AIM AT TIKTOK: Pedro Sánchez’s government is moving to block the platform over allegations that it failed to tackle child sexual abuse material.

GAME OVER? Europe’s gaming industry says the EU’s Digital Fairness Act could “cripple” the sector by cracking down on in-game spending.

CHEMISTRY LESSON: China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Ling Ji meets EU trade chief Ditte Juul Jørgensen in Brussels today, with chemicals topping the agenda. Morning Trade has more for Pro subscribers.

WEATHER: Sunny intervals. High of 9C. 

MORE GUN VIOLENCE: Two people were injured in a shooting on the Chaussée d’Anvers in Brussels yesterday evening. Neither is in life-threatening condition. BRUZZ has more details.

FORTUNA FAVORS THE BREW: Several readers have asked whether your Playbook author has changed careers after spotting a new café bearing his surname. Naturally, I had to investigate. Fortuna, at Rue de la Brasserie 71, near Flagey, serves specialty coffee in partnership with Brussels roaster Articule Café. I went for a (delicious) cortado made with the house’s Brazilian blend, though there’s also a Costa Rican option for those who like their coffee on the acidic side. The place is tiny — I counted 10 seats at most, plus outdoor tables for sunnier days — but it’s cozy and stylish. And if you’re tempted to take home a cup bearing my name, there’s good news: You can actually buy one.   BRUSSELS GOES MAD: Fashionistas and design lovers, this one’s for you. The third edition of MAD Parcours takes over central Brussels today, with studios, boutiques, galleries and showrooms opening their doors from noon to 9 p.m. Expect fashion, jewelry, ceramics and collectible design along free, walkable routes.   ART ABOUT ART: The Brussels Art Film Festival celebrates its 25th birthday with 38 documentaries about artists and the creative process, running through Sunday across venues including Bozar, CINEMATEK and Palace. Tonight’s Playbook pick: “Dentro” at Bozar Studio at 7:30 p.m., following a theater company born inside a high-security Italian prison that went on to win a Venice Biennale Golden Lion. The filmmakers will be there, too. 

Berlin: Friedrich Merz isn’t sold on the push for a single European negotiator for Ukraine peace talks, preferring to stick with the E3 plus Italy.

Paris: Our polling on Christine Lagarde’s presidential prospects is another blow to Edouard Philippe, whose support has been sliding for weeks.

Madrid: Spain is pushing candidates for several major international jobs — including at the ECB, ILO and WHO — but risks coming away with none by spreading itself too thin.

London: Andy Burnham is doing a three-country diplomatic dash today, but it’s voters at home he’s trying hardest to sell on climate action and his EU reset.

Read more from our Playbook family: Washington … Ottawa … Canberra.  

— European Political Community meeting in Dublin, bringing together leaders from across the continent for talks on security and other shared challenges. The summit will be co-chaired by European Council President António Costa and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte are among those attending. Arrivals from 11 a.m., opening plenary at 12:30 p.m. and press conference around 6:45 p.m. Watch live.

— Research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva and Australian Industry and Science Minister Tim Ayres sign the EU–Australia Horizon Europe Association Agreement in Brussels.

— Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos opens the EU–Ukraine Investment Conference at  11:45 a.m. in Warsaw. She’ll meet Ukrainian Economy and Environment Minister Oleksandr Kravchenko and Estonian Economy and Industry Minister Liina Vahtras. 

— Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius meets Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and Enterprises Minister Adolfo Urso in Rome and visits the Space Smart Factory and AVIO.

— Technology Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen delivers a keynote speech on European digital sovereignty at an event organized by the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe; delivers a keynote at the Conference of Ministers for European Affairs of Germany’s federal states; and meets Ayres.

— Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque attends a European Parliament debate on sanctions against Russia (watch live), receives Belgian National Bank Governor Pierre Wunsch and holds an online meeting with ECB Director-General Patrick Amis.

— Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis takes part in the International Monetary Fund’s Regional Economic Outlook for Europe event in Brussels.

— Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera delivers the opening speech at the annual high-level forum on state aid in Brussels.

— Preparedness and Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib visits Greenland, where she meets Housing, Infrastructure and Emergency Preparedness Minister Iddimanngiiu Jensen Bianco and Denmark’s Resilience and Preparedness Minister Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen. 

MEP Charlie Weimers; Danish MP and former MEP Anders Primdahl Vistisen; former MEPs Mary Honeyball and Simona Baldassarre; Reset’s Cornelius Hirsch; Pergame Avocats’ Stanislas de Margerie; Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer; journalist Luca Spinelli; Times Radio’s Jo Coburn; Laurence Norman from the Wall Street Journal.

Playbook is brought to you by POLITICO’s EU Politics team: Gerardo Fortuna, Nicholas Vinocur, Gabriel Gavin, Zoya Sheftalovich, Max Griera, Mari Eccles, Hanne Cokelaere, Lucia Mackenzie, Gregorio Sorgi and Sebastian Starcevic. And: reporters Milena Wälde and Daria Zakharova, editors Alex Spence and James Panichi, and producers Dean Southwell and Hugh Kapernaros.

**A message from TikTok: Did you know TikTok advertising generated €31 billion in economic output across the EU in 2025? The platform helped businesses grow, acting as a discovery engine for opportunity across the European economy new independent research shows. The impact goes well beyond the app. Advertising on TikTok helped generate €13 billion in additional economic output for small and medium-sized businesses, while more than 6.5 million EU businesses used TikTok to reach customers across borders. Discovery on TikTok helps small businesses connect with new customers, creators reach new audiences, and useful ideas and skills travel between countries. These connections can translate into real-world growth, from increased sales for local businesses to new opportunities for entrepreneurs and creators. Across the EU, TikTok is turning online discovery into economic activity, helping businesses grow and connecting people and products across borders.**

SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | Brussels Playbook Capitals | London Playbook | London Playbook PM | Playbook Paris | Berlin Playbook | Madrid Playbook | Sunday Crunch | EU Influence | London Influence | D.C. Playbook | D.C. Influence | Decoded | Canada Playbook | POLITICO Forecast | Canberra Playbook | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters