Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a new draft law to parliament, seeking to guarantee the independence and necessary powers of the country’s two anti-corruption authorities as he scrambled to respond to growing criticism of the reform passed earlier this week (13:52, 15:32).
The move comes after another evening of protests across Ukraine and his consultation with European leaders, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (12:56), German chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK prime minister Keir Starmer (17:21).
Elsewhere,
The EU and the US were “within reach” of a tariff deal that would place 15% tariffs on most imports from the bloc (11:56, 12:18), with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick boasting the EU “really, really, really wants to make a deal” (16:07).
But Ireland said it had won key concessions in EU countermeasures that could be adopted in the talks with the US fail (12:47), safeguarding its key interests.
The EU also had difficult discussions with China, warning the relations between the two were at an “inflection point” (11:43, 14:41, 14:45).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Zelenskyy's new bill 'restores powers, guarantees independence,' affected anti-corruption agencies say
The two Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities affected by the controversial reform – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sap) – said the proposed new draft law “restores all procedural powers and guarantees of independence” for both of them.
In a joint statement issued on their Telegram channel, they said they were both involved in the preparation of the text, and urged the parliament “to adopt the president’s initiative … in its entirety as soon as possible.”
“This will prevent threats to criminal proceedings brought by the Nabu and the Sapo,” they said.
