Pope offers to hold talks with Russia after meeting Zelenskyy – Europe live

A top European court ruled Russia committed a string of human rights violations in backing anti-Kyiv separatists in eastern Ukraine from 2014, the downing of the MH17 flight that year and invading Ukraine in 2022, AFP reported.

The European court of human rights, part of the Council of Europe rights body, is tasked with implementing the European human rights convention in signatory countries.

A panel of 17 judges found Russia violated the convention through “extrajudicial killing of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel” outside of combat, “torture”, “forced labour”, “unlawful and arbitrary detention of civilians” as well as looting.

The judges also ruled that Russia had violated the European rights convention through “the transfer to Russia and, in many cases, the adoption there of Ukrainian children”.

The largely symbolic ruling comes after the Council of Europe excluded Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow dropped out of the European rights convention in September that year.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said Russia had no intention of compling with the decision of the court, whose rulings it considered to be “null and void”.

Elsewhere, Poland said it was going to report Elon Musk’s xAI to the European Commission after its chatbot Grok made offensive comments about Polish politicians, including prime minister Donald Tusk.

Poland’s digitisation minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski, told RMF FM radio that the government will ask Brussels to investigate the chatbot’s offensive comments about its politicians, Reuters reported.

“I have the impression that we are entering a higher level of hate speech, which is driven by algorithms, and that turning a blind eye or ignoring this today… is a mistake that may cost humanity in the future.

The Ministry of Digitisation will react in accordance with current regulations, we will report the violation to the European Commission to investigate and possibly impose a fine on X.

Freedom of speech belongs to humans, not to artificial intelligence.“

Reuters noted that a Turkish court earlier blocked access to some content from Grok after authorities said the chatbot generated responses insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and religious values.

Let’s go back to Ukraine for the latest updates there, with local prosecutors saying that eight civilians were killed in Russian drone and bombing attacks in the war-scarred Donetsk region in the east of the country, as reported by AFP.

The confirmation comes shortly after the Kremlin dismissed US president Donald Trump’s overnight criticism of Vladimir Putin, saying “we are quite calm about this.”

“Let’s just say that Trump in general has quite a harsh rhetorical style in terms of the phrases he uses,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov said that Trump had come to an understanding that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would not be easy to resolve.

In comments reported by Reuters, he said:

“We also heard a very important statement by Trump that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict turned out to be much more difficult than he thought from the very beginning.”

During its midday briefing, the EU was also asked about the case of Palestinian man who worked for the EU in Gaza but after the closure of his office was left in Cairo without a job or residency rights.

Mohammed Baraka, who served at the EU border assistance mission at Rafah in southern Gaza and was evacuated to Egypt when the war broke out, has accused Brussels officials of “coldly” dismissing him from his job by email and “abandoning” a loyal employee.

EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El Anouni responded to the story by saying:

“What I can say, and this is also what has been reflected in the story that has been also published, is the following: that in view of the exceptional circumstances, the EU is providing Mr Baraka with a comprehensive financial severance package following the end of his contract.”

Pressed further, he insisted the EU was “assisting the person in question as much as we can,” and said the EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas will separately respond to his letter to the EU, first reported by the Guardian.

Elsewhere, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has just told the parliament that Greece will suspend processing asylum applications for migrants arriving on boat from north Africa.

In comments reported by Kathimerini, he said the government would adopt a “legal, but absolutely strict” policy on migration, working with the Libyan authorities to prevent the boats from leaving the Libyan coast.

The recent spike in migration flows, including what he described as the emergency situation on Crete, required an urgent response from the government, he argued.

“The road to Greece is closing … any migrants entering illegally will be arrested and detained,” Mitsotakis told parliament.

The suspension will initially apply for three months.

The European Commission was earlier asked about reports of over 500 migrants arriving in Greece from Libya and whether the commission had any notification of this move from Athens.

“We are aware of the arrivals, we are in close touch with the authorities, and we will continue our engagement with partner countries across the Mediterranean as we’ve done in the past,” EU spokesperson Markus Lammert responded.

EU ‘on standby for announcement’ on EU-US tariff deal

Lisa O’Carroll

in Brussels

The EU is on standby for an announcement on the EU-US deal as early as tonight with ambassadors meeting again this afternoon.

Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič spoke to commerce secretary Howard Lutnick today and will speak to Jamieson Greer this afternoon.

EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill added that the EU “does not expect a letter” from Donald Trump and that the agreement in principle will be seen as a way of opening fuller negotiations on “all the other trade issues”.

The EU also said a deal would restore the certainty desperately sought by member states and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We have consulted with our member states consistently and in detail, we have consulted with our industry consistently and in detail, we believe that has created a situation of strong EU cohesion, where we can speak and negotiate with our American counterparts with confidence.

That is what we will continue to do … to reach an agreement that avoids the worst pain of tariffs and give stability and predictability to businesses here in Europe, but also in the US.”

EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill has just confirmed that the bloc aims to reach a trade deal with the US before 1 August, “potentially even in the coming days.”

He said “EU teams have been working tirelessly at technical and political level to conclude an agreement in principle.”

“Reaching a deal now depends on the willingness to find an outcome that is acceptable to both sides,” he said.

Responding to a follow-up question from the Guardian’s Lisa O’Carroll, he added:

“When I say in the coming days, I mean, in the coming days. That’s what we’re pushing for. It requires two sides to get an agreement over the line, and we believe an agreement is possible,” he said.

He earlier said the EU was locked in “intensive negotiations” with the US, with trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič engaging with US counterparts, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Greer.

Following a similar decision by Germany yesterday, the European Union has also summoned the Chinese ambassador following an incident in which China’s military allegedly targeted a German aircraft with a laser during an EU security mission in the Red Sea, Reuters reported.

“The Chinese military’s use of a laser to target a German aircraft patrolling with EU Operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea is dangerous and unacceptable,” said Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy.

This act put personnel at risk and compromised the aircraft’s mission.

China has denied the accusation.

The Vatican has just confirmed that Pope Leo XIV will be meeting Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, their second in-person meeting.

The Ukrainian president is expected to travel for the meeting to Castel Gandolfo, a small Italian hill town about an hour’s drive from Rome, where Leo is taking two weeks of vacation, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just arrived in Rome, AFP reported, where he is expected to meet with Pope Leo XIV, the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, and US president Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg.

Zelenskyy is in Rome to take part in the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 starting tomorrow.

There is a bit more detail coming from France about the raid on the National Rally’s headquarters, with Paris prosecutor telling Reuters that it’s part of a probe related to the financing of party’s campaigns in the 2022 presidential and legislative, and the 2024 European parliament elections.

The investigation focused on “acceptance of election campaign loans exceeding limits,” including allegations of illegal loans, “aggravated laundering of fraud, forgery, and use of forged documents,” Reuters reported.

They added that “no individual or legal entity has been charged,” but said the investigation was ongoing.

We’re getting big news from France as the far-right National Rally’s president Jordan Bardella says the headquarters of the party led by Marine Le Pen have been raided by police this morning.

He said the police entered key offices of party leaders and seized files related the party’s latest election campaigns, although he noted the party did not know “the precise grievances that form the basis for this action.”

In a post on X, he said:

“Since 8:50 this morning, the headquarters of the National Rally – including the offices of its leaders – have been subject to a search conducted by about twenty financial brigade police officers, armed and wearing bulletproof vests, accompanied by two investigating judges.

All emails, documents, and accounting records of the leading opposition party are being seized, without us knowing at this stage the precise grievances that form the basis for this action.

We only know that all the files concerning the latest regional, presidential, legislative, and European campaigns – in other words, the entire electoral activity of the party – are now in the hands of the judiciary.

This operation, spectacular and unprecedented, is clearly part of a new harassment campaign. It is a serious attack on pluralism …

Never has an opposition party faced such relentless targeting under the Fifth Republic.

Von der Leyen is not the only politician facing legislators today, with German chancellor Friedrich Merz attending a parliamentary debate on the new budget.

In a wide-ranging speech in parliament, Merz pledged to continue supporting Ukraine “even against the pressure of the political left and the pro-Russian right in this house.”

In a stark warning to Russia, he worried that “the means of diplomacy have been exhausted,” adding:

“When a criminal regime openly questions another country’s right to exist with military force and sets out to destroy the political order of freedom on the entire European continent, the federal government I lead will do everything in its power to prevent this.”

Separately, he also said that the German army, Bundeswehr, “must quickly receive everything it needs to defend Germany,” with plans to fast-track legislation and accelerate its procurement procedures.

Reporting on his recent attendance at EU and Nato summits, he also insisted that Germany was “once again noticed … and above all … taken seriously around the world.”

But in her earlier speech, AfD leader Alice Weidel attacked Merz for posturing abroad while leaving domestic politics to the junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, and breaking electoral promises.

She also repeatedly attacked Merz for the CDU’s migration policies dating back to Angela Merkel, which she said resulted in breaching the social contract, claiming that new arrivals get more government handouts than native Germans. “Is that your idea of social justice?” she asked.

She said Merz’s new restrictions on migrations were “inadequate,” and expressed concerns about the growing number of naturalisations.

“The longer you keep running in the wrong direction, the harder it will be to reverse it,” she said.

But Merz rejected her criticism, saying that the number of asylum applications in the first half of 2025 fell by 43%, telling Weidel she was losing on the one issue that she built her career on.

“You live off the fact that you can constantly stir up sentiment in Germany with this issue,” he told her.

He said Germany would “achieve our goals” not by “discriminating against foreigners, but by ensuring our welfare state remains viable in the future.”

Addressing the recent controversy with Poland over border controls, the chancellor insisted they “must be maintained … until further notice,” but said it was a “temporary” move.

“We want to preserve the European single market, the Schengen area, we want open borders. … But we don’t want it [to be used] for illegal migration,” he stressed.

Merz also said he was “cautiously optimistic” about getting a deal on tariffs with the US “in the next few days or by the end of the month at the latest.”

Von der Leyen also spoke about the prospects for the EU-US tariff deal after last night’s comments by Trump that a US proposal should be ready within the next two days.

She said the US imposed tariffs were “unprecedented,” and insisted the bloc preferred “a negotiated solution” to avoid them in the future.

She said she had “a good exchange” with Trump in a bid to get an agreement over the line, as she said the EU was looking for “a reliable framework from which we can keep building our common trade.”

“The message is clear: we stick to our principles, we defend our interests, we continue to the work in good faith, and we get ready for all scenarios,” she said.

She added that EU officials were “working day and night to find a solution.”

Meanwhile, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has been speaking in the European parliament in the last hour.

Addressing Ukraine, she noted the largest drone attack of the war last night, and warned “we see very clearly, the war still rages on, and the threat from Russia remains.”

“We cannot rely on others to defend Europe. The defence of Europe is our responsibility,” she stressed.

She spoke of the plans to ramp up defence and military investment, including up to €800bn of investment and €150bn euros in loans for joint procurement.

“It’s good for security, but not only, but it is also good for creating good jobs here at home,” she said.

She warned that with Russia “rearming fast,” “the more we wait, the more European investment will go abroad, outside the EU.”

Meanwhile, Russia continues to deepen its ties with North Korea, with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visiting the country this weekend, AFP reported.

Russia’s security chief Sergei Shoigu has visited Pyongyang multiple times this year, including last month, when the two countries marked the one year anniversary of the signing of a sweeping military pact.

AFP noted that Pyongyang has become one of Moscow’s main allies during its more than three-year-long Ukraine offensive, sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk region.

Morning opening: Putin is not stopping

Jakub Krupa

Despite pointed criticism from US president Donald Trump, who said there was “a lot of bullshit is thrown at us” by Vladimir Putin, Russia continued its strikes on Ukraine overnight with the largest drone attack of the war.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this morning that Russia attempted to strike 741 targets with 728 drones and 13 missiles.

The attack was so intensive that neighbouring Poland scrambled its and allied aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.

He said:

“This is a telling attack – and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”

Zelenskyy argued that Russia’s continuing aggression is “yet another proof of the need of sanctions – biting sanctions against oil, which has been fueling Moscow’s war machine with money for over three years of the war.”

He added:

“Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes.

Everyone who wants peace must act.”

Separately, we will be looking at the second day of French president Emmanuel Macron’s state visit in Britain, the latest from Marseille as it battles dangerous wildfires, and updates on US-EU trade talks.

It’s Wednesday, 9 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.