The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has delivered the softest of pushbacks to US president Donald Trump last night, telling him off in abstract terms for the suggestion that the US could try to influence elections in various EU countries.
“It is not on us, when it comes to elections, to decide who the leader of the country will be, but on the people of this country … That’s the sovereignty of the voters, and this must be protected,” she told Politico.
I’m sure Trump is quaking in his boots.
As the talks on a potential peace deal on Ukraine continue today and into the weekend, the focus is on what involvement we will see from the US. Trump – and later his spokesperson Karoline Leavitt – insisted that the US would only join the Europeans for talks if they did not deem it a waste of time.
Let’s see what can be achieved before the Berlin summit, expected on Monday.
In the meantime, Europe continues discussing the contentious issue of frozen Russian assets, facing some opposition on both the idea of a permanent freeze (opposed by Hungary) and on using them for a reparations loan for Ukraine (opposed by Belgium).
The permanent freeze – meaning no more drama over rollovers every few months – is set to come into force today at 5pm, but Viktor Orbán is not happy. More on that shortly.
Meanwhile, after speaking with Germany’s Merz and von der Leyen last week, Belgium’s Bart de Wever is in London today for talks on security, migration, and – yes – frozen assets.
As co-chair of the Coalition of the Willing, Keir Starmer will no doubt try to convince him of the value of leveraging the frozen assets, likely with a promise that the UK could follow suit.
Lots for us to cover.
I will bring you all the key updates throughout the day.
It’s Friday, 12 December 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
