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On today\u2019s Brussels Playbook Podcast:\u00a0Zoya and Ian look at the EU country asking Brussels to safeguard its elections \u2014 and the football defeat that sparked a political row.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CIAO\u00a0THERE.\u00a0Gerardo\u00a0Fortuna back with you this Thursday. I may have been (firmly) banned from April Fools\u2019 antics yesterday, but the Commission\u2019s comms team had no such constraint. LinkedIn gave us a limp\u00a0new EU flag reveal<\/a>\u00a0(no one really bought it) and a slightly smarter\u00a0stunt<\/a> about the name \u201cBrussels sprouts\u201d receiving EU-sanctioned protections \u2014 a few may have fallen for that one. <\/p>\n Anyway,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0dive in.<\/p>\n **A message from Amazon: Organisations across Europe are growing with the AWS Cloud.\u202fFor ONCE, in Madrid, that meant deploying applications that improve accessibility, navigation, and usability of digital services for people with visual impairments. With the AWS Cloud, ONCE can enable practical accessibility tools for its community.\u202fHear from more AWS customers across Europe.<\/a>**<\/p>\n DRIVING THE DAY\u00a0 RISE AND SHINE:\u00a0U.S. President Donald Trump used his much-anticipated televised address to argue that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was no longer his problem.\u00a0The 19-minute speech<\/a>\u00a0offered some bellicose rhetoric and a suggestion the U.S. was \u201cvery close\u201d to reaching its military objective. There were also a few barbs directed at his allies \u2014 although there was little he hadn\u2019t said before. The underlying message to the rest of the world remains this: If you need oil from the Middle East, go and get it yourselves.<\/p>\n Not over yet: \u201cBecause of the action we have taken, we are on the cusp of ending Iran\u2019s sinister threat to America and the world,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd when we do, and when it\u2019s all over, the United States will be safer, stronger, more prosperous and greater than it has ever been before.\u201d<\/p>\n Walk in the park: \u201cSo, to those countries that can\u2019t get fuel, many of which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran \u2026 I have a suggestion,\u201d the president said. \u201cNumber 1, buy oil from the United States of America \u2026 And Number 2, build up some delayed courage [and] go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves \u2026 the hard part is done. It should be easy.\u201d <\/p>\n The same headaches: The speech didn\u2019t change the situation on the ground and the EU is today waking up to the same conceptual problems it went to bed with. And there\u2019s no sign Iran\u2019s blockade is about to come to an end. <\/p>\n Hormuz on the line: It\u2019s a scenario that will loom large over today\u2019s talks, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas joining a call with a list of 35 countries<\/a> \u2014 organized by the United Kingdom with France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands dialing in. Kallas will explore a \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, according to an EU diplomat. What\u2019s not on the table: European countries joining the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.<\/p>\n Transatlantic crisis:\u00a0As Playbook\u2019s Nicholas\u00a0Vinocur\u00a0tells us, the call\u00a0comes as Trump ramped up his threats Monday to abandon NATO over allies\u2019 refusal to send their warships into the Strait, whose blockage by Iran has set off a global energy crisis.<\/p>\n Strait can-do:\u00a0That said, the European Union is now broadly supportive of efforts to open the Strait, short of joining the war, said the diplomat cited above. <\/p>\n Stubb-therapy:\u00a0In a bid to defuse what looked like a ballooning transatlantic crisis, Finnish President Alexander Stubb held a call with Trump Wednesday, which he described as \u201cconstructive.\u201d\u00a0A senior official informed of the call said Stubb had impressed on Trump that Europe was making big strides to bolster NATO\u2019s European pillar, pointing to an upcoming NATO summit in Turkey as a time to highlight the European efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Closing ranks:\u00a0For all the tension, Trump\u2019s pressure may be having an unintended effect: uniting European allies against him, as colleagues Tim Ross and Eva Hartog note in their analysis<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Been here before:\u00a0An EU diplomat and two senior national officials told Playbook that Europeans weren\u2019t deeply alarmed by Trump\u2019s comments to the Telegraph, in which he called NATO a \u201cpaper tiger\u201d<\/a>. \u201cNowhere do Trump or Rubio say: \u2018We\u2019re going to leave tomorrow\u2019 \u2026\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0not the first time\u00a0[Trump] has made this sort of comment,\u201d said an EU diplomat.\u00a0<\/p>\n Look over there:\u00a0Speaking to Playbook, French MEP Nathalie Loiseau sees a different logic: Trump, she argues, is deflecting from the fallout of the Iran war, choosing to hit European allies instead of targeting Israel or Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cry for help:\u00a0A senior government official added that the increasingly inflamed rhetoric from the Trump Administration reflected the fact that the White House is \u201cin a difficult place now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mixed signals:\u00a0Even staunch U.S. allies are struggling to work out what\u2019s expected of them. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno\u00a0Pevkur\u00a0said Tallinn would be ready to help secure Hormuz \u2014 but only with clarity on what\u2019s required<\/a>. \u201cIn three days, we\u2019ve had three different messages,\u201d he noted: NATO should act with the U.S., the U.S.\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0need allies, or allies should act alone.<\/p>\n TOLD YOU SO \u2014\u00a0SOUTHERN EDITION: The EU\u2019s favorite phrase \u201cI told you so\u201d is doing the rounds again. Eastern Europe warned about the threats posed by Russia, France warned about Trump and \u2026 now the South is warning about strategic blind spots. Defence Director at the Cyprus Ministry of Defence Panayiotis Hadjipavlis told a small group of journalists that the EU can\u2019t stay \u201cmonothematic\u201d on Ukraine while the Middle East burns.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course we support Ukraine \u2014 it\u2019s one of the priorities of our presidency,\u201d Hadjipavlis said. But Cyprus, long pushing for a \u201c360-degree approach,\u201d now feels vindicated: \u201cWhat is happening in the Middle East \u2026 actually confirms our position.\u201d<\/p>\n FRENCH TROLLING: In more evidence that Trump is taking his allies\u2019 reluctance to join the fight personally, he used an earlier press conference<\/a> to ridicule French President Emmanuel Macron and the now infamous incident<\/a> in which his wife, Brigitte, appears to shove his face before getting off a plane. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports <\/a>that Trump threatened to stop weapons flowing to Ukraine if Europe refused to join the U.S-Israel military operation in Iran. <\/p>\n HUNGARY ELECTIONS\u00a0 BATTLE OF THE OBSERVERS: There\u2019s a new twist in Europe\u2019s elections of the year: Rival groups are now competing to\u00a0monitor\u00a0Hungary\u2019s April 12 vote.<\/p>\n OSCE under fire: Our man on the ground, Max Griera, reports<\/a> that the traditional mission led by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a regional security organization, has come under fire, accused by government voices of foreign interference<\/a>. The attacks focus on Daria\u00a0Boyarskaya, involved in coordinating the mission.<\/p>\n Cue the rival observers:\u00a0Allies of Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n are launching their own monitoring effort: the Liberty Coalition for a Free and Fair Election. It\u2019s co-led by Anna Wellisz, of the Dutch-based Edmund Burke Foundation, a conservative organization, and Polish lawyer\u00a0Jerzy Kwa\u015bniewski<\/a>,\u00a0of the Ordo\u00a0Iuris\u00a0Institute.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s at stake:\u00a0Competing observer missions could muddy the waters on election day, with dueling narratives over whether the vote was free and fair. This could increase the likelihood of a contested result.\u00a0<\/p>\n Careful what you wish for:\u00a0Orb\u00e1n\u00a0remains\u00a0Brussels\u2019 bane \u2014 but his challenger P\u00e9ter Magyar is still something of an unknown quantity<\/a>. On Ukraine,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0walking a fine line: not hostile to\u00a0Kyiv, but not offering overt support that could hurt him at the ballot box. \u00a0<\/p>\n UKRAINE LOAN ON ICE: \u00a0EU ambassadors had a smooth first discussion on the financial plan to back the \u20ac90 billion loan to fund Ukraine\u2019s war effort, as previewed yesterday<\/a>. The Cypriot EU presidency is pushing technical work forward so things are ready if Hungary lifts its veto. For now, though, EU ambassadors\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0revisit the file until that groundwork is done.<\/p>\n Unless Plan A \u2026\u00a0Kallas again floated using Russian frozen assets to finance the loan, to sidestep Budapest\u2019s veto of joint borrowing. A Commission spokesperson hinted that route could bypass the EU\u2019s long-term budget \u2014 and\u00a0with it,\u00a0Hungary\u2019s opposition (although the spokesperson stopped short of confirming this would actually happen). Watch this space.\u00a0<\/p>\n OFFICIALS TO LEAVE SIGNAL\u00a0 FAREWELL, GROUP CHAT:\u00a0There are those who foolishly think setting up yet another working group chat is\u00a0a good idea. But when your bosses or colleagues drag you into one and\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0no escape \u2014\u00a0in fact, your only hope might be a hack attack. Enter stage left a group of EU officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shut it\u00a0down!\u00a0My colleague Zoya\u00a0Sheftalovich\u00a0found out<\/a> that some of the EU\u2019s most senior staff were in a group chat, according to three officials with knowledge of the issue. Then the European Commission ordered them to end it over fears the chat could be a hacking target, two of them told us.<\/p>\n Paranoid Android:\u00a0Zoya reports that the chat mostly involved Commission department chiefs and deputies wishing each other\u00a0happy\u00a0birthday \u2014 hardly top-secret material.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no evidence the\u00a0group\u00a0chat itself was compromised, but officials said the shutdown order reflected growing concern about messaging apps inside the institutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n ICYMI:\u00a0The development comes as the EU grapples with a string of spying concerns, with the Commission saying\u00a0last week\u00a0<\/a>it was investigating a cyberattack on its websites, while a private telephone\u00a0conversation between a POLITICO<\/a>\u00a0reporter and an EU official was intercepted and published online.\u00a0<\/p>\n Signal still the go-to:\u00a0Signal has long been seen in the Brussels bubble as the safest\u00a0option. EU Council press officers migrated there years ago, ditching WhatsApp \u2014 although it never fully caught on.\u00a0Many sources drifted back to WhatsApp, including rotating EU presidencies that continue to set up group chats on the Meta platform.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Targeted apps:\u00a0The Commission\u2019s official guidance still\u00a0advises staff to\u00a0avoid WhatsApp and use Signal instead, which cybersecurity experts consider more secure. WhatsApp users have been targeted \u2014 although two officials said attempted hacks were more frequent on Signal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Phishing for eurocrats:\u00a0Three Commission officials confirmed that members of commissioners\u2019 cabinets and other senior bureaucrats received messages asking them to enter their Signal PIN codes, later identified as phishing attempts.<\/p>\n FITTO\u2019S MISADVENTURE\u00a0 CLASHING VIEWS ON A CLASH:\u00a0We flagged yesterday<\/a>\u00a0that Executive Vice President Raffaele\u00a0Fitto\u00a0would visit the Belgian city of Charleroi, in what was billed by his team as a routine stop. It\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0quite turn out that way: The visit ended in protests targeting both\u00a0Fitto\u00a0and Wallonia\u2019s Minister-President Adrien\u00a0Dolimont\u00a0\u2014 although what exactly happened depends on who you ask.\u00a0<\/p>\n There were protests:\u00a0Fitto\u00a0had been invited to\u00a0CampusUCharleroi to\u00a0showcase\u00a0EU-funded projects (worth \u20ac23 million). Instead, a protest by professors, students and activists escalated, with Belgian media\u00a0describing scenes that turned violent<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Using the f-word.\u00a0A spokesperson for the Wallonian chief\u00a0painted a picture of a large anti-fascist rally involving around 100 people, which blocked access to the campus for nearly an\u00a0hour. The target of the protest was Fitto over his links to Italy\u2019s right-wing Brothers of Italy. \u201cHe was there as a European Commissioner, not as a representative of any extreme right party,\u201d the spokesperson said, adding the term \u201cfascist\u201d is used lightly in Wallonia.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just unpleasant:\u00a0An EU official downplayed the episode, saying there were around 20 protesters and Fitto\u00a0knew what to expect. Yet the official described the situation as \u201cunpleasant,\u201d with posters of\u00a0Fitto\u00a0and\u00a0Dolimont\u00a0hung upside\u00a0down and\u00a0attempts to block the commissioner from speaking. At one point,\u00a0Fitto\u00a0pushed back: \u201cYou call yourselves anti-fascists \u2014\u00a0but I am the first anti-fascist!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Relocated:\u00a0Both sides agree on one thing: The visit\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0go to plan. Whether or not he managed to speak,\u00a0Fitto\u00a0ended up being escorted out, with the planned bilateral\u00a0relocated\u00a0to Charleroi Airport\u00a0Brussels South Charleroi Airport before his flight. Not your average Commission field trip.<\/p>\n **POLITICO & beBartlet are excited to unveil the results of the European Pulse Poll next week at the European Pulse Forum in Barcelona: a survey of Europeans in six different countries to understand how they feel about the most pressing issues facing the EU and a series of panels to discuss the outcome. Register to watch online<\/a> on April 10.**<\/p>\n COSTLIER FLIGHTS AND DELAYS\u00a0 COME FLY WITH ME (WHILE YOU CAN):\u00a0Heading off for Easter? Enjoy it while it lasts. Airfares are\u00a0on the rise<\/a>, jet fuel costs are spiking<\/a>\u00a0\u2026 and May is now shaping up as the start of a potential supply crunch that could ground flights, thanks to the war in the Middle East.\u00a0<\/p>\n From denial to reality:\u00a0After weeks of calming\u00a0markets with\u00a0talk of hedging, EU airlines are facing a harder truth: Europe\u2019s aviation sector runs on Gulf crude. The system can absorb shocks \u2014 but only for a few months before cracks start to show. More from our aviation reporter Tommaso Lecca<\/a>.<\/p>\n If Ryanair sneezes\u2026:\u00a0The budget airline\u2019s Chief Executive Michael O\u2019Leary warned<\/a> Wednesday that up to 25 percent of Ryanair\u2019s jet fuel supply \u201cmight be at risk.\u201d If the war drags on, disruptions could start hitting Europe as early as May.\u00a0<\/p>\n When it rains:\u00a0The crisis\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0fully landed \u2014 but travel is already getting messier. Foreign passengers are waiting up to two hours to enter the Schengen area at peak times, according to\u00a0airport and airline groups<\/a>, with fingers pointed at the new Entry-Exit System.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mug shooting tourists:\u00a0The biometric system \u2014 replacing passport stamps \u2014 is due to be\u00a0fully operational<\/a>\u00a0by April 10. But forcing non-EU travelers through\u00a0fingerprint\u00a0and facial scans is proving tricky. EU officials\u2019 favorite hub,\u00a0Brussels Airport,\u00a0complained\u00a0<\/a>that\u00a0nearly 600\u00a0passengers missed their flights in the four days leading up to March 30 alone, due to long lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brussels blinks:\u00a0The Commission had\u00a0brushed off<\/a>\u00a0disruption concerns. Now, Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner tells POLITICO\u00a0the executive is\u00a0\u201caware\u201d delays may occur in some member states, while insisting safeguards are in place to keep traffic moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019ll smooth out (eventually):\u00a0\u201cAll non-EU citizens have to be registered upon\u00a0first\u00a0entry, meaning that processes will get better and better,\u201d Brunner said. Most countries, he insists, are seeing no major delays. And, yes, suspending the system\u00a0remains\u00a0an option \u201cespecially during peak travel periods like Easter or summer holidays.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n By the numbers:\u00a0Around 45 million registrations so far, according to the Commission\u2019s DG HOME.\u00a0Roughly 24,000\u00a0entry refusals linked to fraudulent documents and 6,000 cases flagged as security risks, including links to terrorist groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n AGENDA\u00a0 \u2014\u00a0Crisis Management Commissioner\u00a0Hadja Lahbib\u00a0is in Japan to\u00a0visit the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in Fukushima and\u00a0to meet\u00a0the local Governor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0French President\u00a0Emmanuel Macron\u00a0meets\u00a0South Korean President\u00a0Lee Jae Myung\u00a0overnight April 2-3 Brussels time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n BRUSSELS CORNER\u00a0 WEATHER:\u00a0Overcast,\u00a0possible rain. High of 11C.<\/p>\n ITALIAN CHANGES: There has been a reshuffle involving Italy\u2019s Brussels spokespersons (both of them). At the Permanent Representation to the EU, Giulia Massotti heads to Cairo \u2014 best of luck for her next posting \u2014 and is replaced by Angela Loi, formerly Antici on simplification. Like her predecessor, she\u2019ll cover both Coreper I and II.<\/p>\n Over at Italy\u2019s NATO representation, Dario Sabbioni takes over as spokesperson, while maintaining his coordinating role at the EU delegation. <\/p>\n TERROR PLAN\u00a0CONVICTION:\u00a0A\u00a012-year old\u00a0boy in the Netherlands has been\u00a0found guilty of\u00a0planning terrorist attacks on the Flemish parliament and a military base in the Netherlands.\u00a0A court\u00a0in the city of\u00a0Leeuwarden\u00a0ruled that\u00a0the boy\u00a0had been\u00a0motivated by violent right-wing extremism\u00a0and\u00a0had\u00a0aimed to start a\u00a0\u201crace war\u201d\u00a0leading to the establishment of a\u00a0\u201cwhite ethnostate,\u201d\u00a0VRT reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n BRUSSELS 20K SOLD OUT:\u00a0The next edition of the popular 20-kilometer race through Brussels,\u00a0scheduled for\u00a0May 31, sold out within\u00a0an\u00a0hour on Wednesday,\u00a0La Libre writes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n BRUSSELS AIRBNBS\u00a0INCORRECTLY REGISTERED:\u00a0More than\u00a0nine\u00a0out of\u00a010\u00a0Airbnb rentals in Brussels\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0properly registered, according to a\u00a0BRUZZ investigation<\/a>.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0despite\u00a0the tough fines for those\u00a0failing to register,\u00a0ranging from\u00a0a\u00a0\u20ac1,000\u00a0to taxes on the equivalent of a full year of bookings.\u00a0<\/p>\n HONORARY DOCTORATE FOR ALBANESE:\u00a0The Belgian universities of Ghent, Antwerp and the Free University of Brussels are\u00a0today\u00a0jointly awarding an honorary doctorate to the U.N.\u2019s investigator for Palestinian territories,\u00a0Francesca Albanese<\/a>,\u00a0news agency Belga write<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n BIRTHDAYS:\u00a0MEP\u00a0Anna\u00a0St\u00fcrgkh;\u00a0former MEP\u00a0Linn\u00e9a Engstr\u00f6m;\u00a0Maylis\u00a0Ro\u00dfberg,\u00a0President of\u00a0the\u00a0European Free Alliance Youth;\u00a0Maundy Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n THANKS TO:\u00a0 Jacopo Barigazzi, Seb Starcevic. Playbook editor\u00a0James Panichi;\u00a0reporters\u00a0Hanne\u00a0Cokelaere\u00a0and\u00a0Ferdinand\u00a0Knapp;\u00a0and producer\u00a0Dean Southwell.<\/p>\n **A message from Amazon: From advancing accessibility to enabling digital innovation, ONCE is using technology to help remove barriers for people who are blind or visually impaired. As a leading Spanish social organisation, ONCE works to promote inclusion, independence, and equal access through innovative services and solutions. ONCE uses the AWS Cloud to support digital initiatives that apply cloud and AI technologies to improve accessibility experiences, including tools that transform visual content into enriched audio formats. By leveraging the AWS Cloud, ONCE can experiment, innovate, and deploy solutions securely and at scale. ONCE is one of many European social organisations using the AWS Cloud technology to innovate responsibly, strengthen digital capabilities, and extend their impact across Europe. Learn more about how organisations across Europe are innovating with the AWS Cloud at\u202fAWS.eu.<\/a>**<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook<\/a> | London Playbook<\/a> | London Playbook PM<\/a> | Playbook Paris<\/a> | Berlin Playbook<\/a> | POLITICO Confidential<\/a> | Sunday Crunch<\/a> | EU Influence<\/a> | London Influence<\/a> | Berlin Bulletin<\/a> | D.C. Playbook<\/a> | D.C. Influence<\/a> | Canada Playbook<\/a> | POLITICO Forecast<\/a> | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/brusspod0204.jpg\")
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