1. 🇪🇺VDL’S STATE OF THE UNION: ALL TALK, NO ACTION

Von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg this week, outlining a broad agenda that included a continued commitment to the EU’s unrealistic climate targets. “But there is no doubt: Europe can, must and will stay the course on its climate targets,” she told the chamber, a signal that the green agenda remains central to her second-term priorities, despite Europeans’ “greenlash.”

Not everyone in Brussels is convinced the Commission can execute on “a Europe we can be so proud of.” Charles Michel, former head of the EU Council who served alongside VDL throughout her first term, offered a pointed critique of her record. He noted that the Commission has launched roughly 400 initiatives while delivering on very few of them, asking simply: “Where are the deliveries? Where is the improvement?”

Michel also raised concerns about the regulatory burden facing European businesses, arguing that over-regulation is undermining competitiveness and pushing investment out of the bloc. For entrepreneurs already navigating a dense landscape of EU mandates, his assessment adds weight to a growing debate about whether Brussels is producing policy or just producing paperwork.

2. 🇫🇷 FRANCE PUSHES ANOTHER TAX ON US TECH DESPITE WARNINGS FROM MEMBER STATES

In the latest blow to American companies operating in Europe, France is now leading the charge for a new EU tax on US tech giants’ online ad revenue as part of a push to raise €66 billion a year for the European Union’s next budget.

In contrast to France, EU countries like Ireland, Romania, and Luxembourg have been far more reluctant to pile additional taxes onto American companies. Ireland’s Department of Enterprise split with France on the tax, pointing out that “An EU digital tax would be ‘deeply harmful’ to Ireland, given that firms like Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft provide thousands of high-value jobs and significant tax revenue while anchoring Ireland’s status as a global tech hub.” Ireland further cited fears that such a move would risk stoking tensions with the US, something Romania is also keen to avoid.

As these comments from EU member states illustrate, President Trump’s forceful, yet calculated approach to European overreach with tariff threats, sustained diplomatic pressure, and direct demands for fair treatment of US businesses has already led several EU countries to question whether saddling US companies with more taxes is worth the risk of retaliation from Washington.

If France wants to raise €66 billion a year for the EU’s next budget, it should explore other solutions that don’t require shaking down American businesses to close a budget gap of their own making.

🚨 EU’S CLIMATE RAMPAGE CONTINUES, AND BUSINESSES ARE FOOTING THE BILL

The EU is set to arrive at COP31 in Antalya this November, pushing for concrete action over climate pledges, according to draft Council conclusions seen by Euronews. The document calls for delivery on fossil fuel phase-outs, tripling renewable capacity, and slashing methane emissions by 2030. Every bullet point adds another layer of mandates on top of the Green Deal agenda already crushing businesses.

What’s not on Brussels’ agenda is any reckoning with the cost of its own policies. Europeans spent another brutal summer dying in the heat, in no small part because regulatory overreach has made reliable, affordable energy and air conditioning increasingly out of reach.

The message to Europeans and businesses is clear: this is just the beginning.