EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič arrived in Beijing for a two-day visit with a blunt mandate: rebalance a trade relationship that has become increasingly lopsided over the past decade. The timing isn't accidental. The trip comes days before the October EU summit, where leaders will want something to show for it.
Pressure on Europe is coming from several directions at once. Euronews described ties with China, the US and the UK as being tested simultaneously, a rare convergence that leaves little room for drift.
The Trade Imbalance
Šefčovič's mission is framed around restoring balance, and that word matters. Year after year, the relationship has tilted further in one direction; that's not a partnership of equals. Jorge Liboreiro, reporting on the trip, set out the high stakes for Euronews. The commissioner has two days in Beijing to make the case for change. The summit clock is ticking behind him.
What the Commission can realistically extract remains an open question. The source material doesn't spell out specific demands or concessions, but the direction of travel is plain: Brussels wants a fairer footing with its second-largest trading partner, not a continuation of the status quo.
Washington's Message
While Šefčovič headed east, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Athens for the sixth round of the US–Greece Strategic Dialogue. Security, defence and energy topped the agenda. Speaking the previous night, Rubio said Europe needed to awaken from its "long slumber."
That's a pointed phrase from Europe's chief security partner. Fay Doulgkeri reported from Athens on the talks. Rubio's choice of venue was also telling: a front-line NATO member in the eastern Mediterranean, where defence and energy security aren't abstractions.
Pressure at Home and Across the Channel
The domestic picture offers little relief. In France, students were preparing for another major day on the streets after trade unions joined demonstrations that drew more than 250,000 people across the country on Tuesday. Estelle Nilsson-Julien reported from Paris.
Across the Channel, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would weigh a "range of options" for the future relationship with the EU, including the possibility of rejoining the bloc. Mared Gwyn put the question to UK Minister for European Relations Hamish Falconer. Brussels will watch the reaction to that language closely.
Brussels and Its Own Pay Packets
The programme also turned to the European Parliament's own house. Belgian MEP Marc Botenga, of The Left, spoke about a proposal to halve MEPs' net salaries from €8,800 to €4,400. Critics called it a populist move to grab the public's attention.
Whatever its merits, the proposal shows how sensitive questions of public money and institutional credibility have become, even as Europe's leaders try to focus on trade, security and diplomacy.
Why This Matters: Europe is being asked to act on trade, defence and its own institutional credibility in the same week. A trade relationship with China that has grown lopsided over a decade is a competitiveness problem, and the commissioner's two days in Beijing will test whether Brussels can negotiate from strength. Rubio's "long slumber" remark signals that Washington expects Europe to carry more of its own security weight. With the October summit days away, national governments will judge whether the EU can deliver concrete results rather than statements, and whether it keeps its focus on the core tasks where European action genuinely adds value.