Cristina Lobillo Borrero has landed at the center of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's energy policy team, taking up the role of senior adviser for the clean transition as the EU struggles to lower household energy costs, strengthen industrial competitiveness, and cut reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Lobillo's appointment places her alongside Spain's new Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera — but the two bring very different political backgrounds. While Ribera represents Spain's Socialist-led government, Lobillo's career origins lie with the center-right Partido Popular, having worked with PP heavyweight Miguel Arias Cañete in José María Aznar's government and later as his chief of staff when he became EU energy and climate commissioner. A European People's Party lawmaker told reporters von der Leyen brought in Lobillo as a "counterweight" to Ribera, establishing a direct line to Spain's center-right at the heart of the Commission.
Technical Expertise Over Politics
Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said the president's cabinet is made up of a selection of the most experienced officials in their respective fields and that Lobillo was picked as "one of the most respected and senior energy officials" in the Commission. People who have worked with her described her as professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. Ribera herself said, "We have different profiles," and added that Lobillo has "a long and solid technical career in the European Commission. I trust her," saying the two have always had a very good relationship.
A second MEP said Lobillo "is not there to undermine Ribera or anything of the sort; she acts following Ursula's lead." Three Commission officials said Lobillo proved particularly valuable to von der Leyen during the energy crisis and the scramble to ditch Russian gas, when she led a special task force to decouple from Russian fossil fuels. Two officials said she became especially close to von der Leyen's chief of staff Bjoern Seibert during that period, effectively becoming the key official giving them the technical background on energy.
A Future Power Player?
One official said, "She is there to implement the energetic priorities of the president," and added that "with how vertical the Commission is, being in the direct line of command of von der Leyen, that makes her the most influential Spanish official in Brussels." Lobillo has no formal ties with Spain's PP, but her political origins and connections mean the EU's center-right is eyeing her as a potential key power player if the PP takes charge in Madrid next year, with the EPP lawmaker saying she is potential ministerial material back home. The first MEP said, "If she has to defend a Spanish position, people know her and trust her at the Commission, the same in Council and Parliament."
EU and Trump's Board of Peace Cross Paths
Elsewhere in Brussels, the EU isn't joining Donald Trump's Board of Peace, but Brussels and the board's top officials keep turning up at each other's events. Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica will attend a high-level Board of Peace briefing in New York, and the board's High Representative Nickolay Mladenov will attend an EU delegation event showcasing two European waste and water projects for Gaza. Šuica said, "We need to work together with all actors — internationally, regionally and on the ground — to create the conditions for sustainable recovery, peace and stability. This is just the beginning." Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and peace envoy, has been invited to the EU event, and some board projects could overlap with the EU's Team Gaza initiatives.
Norway Pushes for Earlier EU Influence
Norway wants to start lobbying Brussels earlier to better protect its own interests, with Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide saying, "We are making changes that make it possible to start promoting Norwegian positions and interests earlier – that is where the real room for action lies," and Trade and Industry Minister Cecilie Myrseth saying, "We will now be earlier and more active in the development of European policy, particularly in the area of industrial policy." Anne Line Kaxrud, deputy head of international affairs at the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, said the business community had long called for concrete measures to ensure a more proactive administration of the EEA agreement. Oda Helen Sletnes, a senior adviser at the consultancy Kreab and a former Norwegian ambassador, said Norway's ability to influence EU policy remains limited because its many agreements with the EU don't permit participation in the EU's decision-making bodies and that only EU membership can change that.
U.S. Targets German Drug Pricing
The U.S. is investigating Germany's system for pricing new medicines, with Donald Trump threatening additional tariffs unless European prices go up. Germany is the first EU country to come under specific U.S. pressure to raise drug prices. Berlin rejects claims that its drug pricing system is an unfair trade practice.
Trump's UNGA Speech and European Reactions
Donald Trump used his UNGA speech to cast himself as a peacemaker, while also saying he was willing to "annihilate" Iran and rejecting the idea of a global body to oversee artificial intelligence, which he called "super intelligence." Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez, after skipping a UNGA reception with Donald Trump, called Trump's address to the assembly "ideological … not backed and supported by facts and data," according to a preview clip posted to social media overnight. Canadian PM Mark Carney committed $100 million in assistance for Palestine before meeting U.K. PM Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a two-state solution.
European Sanctions and Political Warnings
EU capitals struck a deal to remove billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the bloc's Russia sanctions list after a high-stakes diplomatic play by France. Romania's potential next prime minister, European People's Party MEP Siegfried Mureșan, warned that the country's political deadlock risks handing power to the far right.
Brussels Playbook Expands
POLITICO announced Brussels Playbook Capitals, a new weekday afternoon briefing, at its inaugural Brussels Playbook Live event. France's Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad warned about the consequences of slashing the EU's Global Europe budget, saying, "Look at the consequences of the cuts of USAID. I think it's been detrimental, including, by the way, to U.S. interests." Renew lawmaker Barry Andrews said, "Drastic cuts would be a betrayal of everything the EU stands for in the world and only mimic the short-sighted ideology behind President Trump's USAID cuts, which have already had a devastating impact."
Ukraine's deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Vsevolod Chentsov, announced that Kyiv is open to a grain truce with Russia. Canada's EU envoy Jonathan Wilkinson said Ottawa and Brussels will announce a comprehensive set of partnerships within the coming year, though the shape of the future relationship is still up for discussion. Finnish EPP lawmaker Mika Aaltola said his party won't rule out voting with the far right to deliver its policy agenda and that the EU is weighing closer economic cooperation with the U.K.
Jonathan Martin, POLITICO's U.S. politics bureau chief, told attendees that getting the White House onside isn't about ideology but popularity. Frank Furedi resigned as boss of the right-wing think tank MCC Brussels last month and is launching Freedom and Sovereignty Initiative Europe, which describes itself as "a fully independent think tank that will draw on the experience of the key members of MCC Brussels."
Why This Matters:
Lobillo's appointment reflects the complex political balancing act inside the European Commission as von der Leyen navigates both the energy transition and the internal politics of member states. Her role signals the Commission's recognition that energy policy can't be separated from industrial competitiveness or household costs — issues that define electoral politics across Europe. The fact that Spain now has two senior figures with divergent political backgrounds in Brussels underscores how the Commission must manage not just policy but coalition-building across the political spectrum. Norway's push for earlier EU influence highlights the democratic deficit faced by non-member states tied to EU rules but excluded from decision-making — a tension that won't be resolved without deeper institutional reform. The warnings from Haddad and Andrews about cuts to the EU's Global Europe budget reflect a broader concern that Europe is retreating from international solidarity at precisely the moment when climate, migration, and conflict demand coordinated action. Whether the EU can maintain its global commitments while managing domestic political pressures will shape its credibility for years to come.