Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.
EU leaders will meet next week to determine who gets the key leadership roles atop the 27-member bloc. But a surge by Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing political group in this month’s European elections is upending the way things are typically resolved. Although the centrist parties won by a big margin, they are being compelled to accelerate talks on appointing the presidents of the European Commission and Council, as well as its top diplomat, in order to stave off contenders from the anti-immigrant Conservatives and Reformists group. While an agreement on the likes of Ursula von der Leyen getting another term as commission president is basically a done deal, Meloni is far from happy, setting the stage for a battle in the weeks and months to come.