A Putin reset for Europe, too?

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The leaders of the two biggest euro economies head into a European Union summit today with a question for their colleagues: If the U.S. president meets Vladimir Putin, shouldn't we as well? What France and Germany propose is a reset in a relationship that isn't working. Putin's behavior is as brazen as ever, from his steadfast support of the strongman leader of Belarus to the imprisonment of critic Alexey Navalny — and in the latest bit of mischief Russia said it fired warning shots at a U.K. warship in Ukrainian waters. Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron compared notes with U.S. President Joe Biden at recent summits in the U.K. and Brussels — before Biden had his nearly three-hour chat with Putin in Geneva on June 16 — and are thinking a pragmatic rather than punitive approach is called for. Countries with living memories of Soviet times and borders close to Russia balk at what they see as rewarding Putin for bad behavior. Tensions between the 27 governments in the EU don't stop there. The tourist-dependent south is chafing at the north's cautiousness in re-opening travel during the pandemic. Over in the east, the democratic backsliding continues. The EU's executive body has threatened Hungary's Viktor Orban with legal action over a new anti-LGBTQ law. The prime minister faces elections next year and in the past, he's been deft in knowing how far to push the limits with Brussels. His track record is one of defiance. Yesterday on the soccer pitch, Hungary came close to beating Germany in a European championship match. One can only imagine Orban's glee coming to Brussels, had the opposing team not drawn in the closing minutes of the game. Orban is also a long-term admirer of Putin. He's one leader at least who may not need much persuading from Merkel and Macron to engage with the Kremlin. — Flavia Krause-Jackson

Putin and Biden prior to their summit. Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Check out all our biggest stories on the Bloomberg Politics web page here and tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net.

Global Headlines

Reaching out | U.S. senators negotiating a bipartisan infrastructure plan with the White House meet Biden today to present their $559 billion compromise package. The group is trying to finalize a deal that could win enough votes from both parties before Congress goes on a two-week break from tomorrow. Xinjiang sanctions | The U.S. is set to bar some solar products made in China's Xinjiang region, sources say, as the Biden administration seeks to counter alleged human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslims. China responded that it would protect its companies and accused Washington of trying to impoverish Xinjiang, which produces roughly half the global supply of polysilicon, a material critical for solar panels and semiconductors. The removal of details of the genetic makeup of some early coronavirus samples in Wuhan from an American database at the request of Chinese researchers adds to concerns over secrecy surrounding the outbreak. Gearing up | U.S. negotiators are ready to resume talks as soon as next week with other world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, a source says. After consulting with Israeli officials, Biden's envoys are now waiting for Iran, which recently elected a hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, to complete a review of the process so far. The talks could be impacted by the expiry today of a monitoring pact between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Protesters in Thailand have returned to the streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha's government as the parliament discusses the amendment of the constitution and changes to the electoral system. Stepping down | Brazil's environment minister, Ricardo Salles, quit amid a federal police probe into alleged irregularities in timber exports. The planned replacement, Joaquim Alvaro Pereira Leite, was lauded by the agricultural caucus and criticized by conservationists who said he would continue President Jair Bolsonaro's policies of "environmental destruction." Bidding adieu | Hong Kong activists staged a midnight vigil to say farewell to the city's biggest pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, the latest casualty of Beijing's campaign to curb dissent in the former British colony. The paper owned by jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai had unearthed the hidden wealth of Chinese Communist Party leaders and exposed the unethical practices of officials in the financial hub. Supporters outside the headquarters of the Apple Daily yesterday. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg What to Watch U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to Paris for meetings with the French president and foreign minister, plus OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. China sued Australia over anti-dumping measures on some Chinese goods, further ratcheting up tensions between the two nations. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega defended recent arrests of government opposition figures and criticized U.S. interference in the nation's affairs in his first public appearance in more than a month. And finally ... Suddenly, it was clear the Ever Given was going to crash in the Suez Canal — the essential link between East and West. Although no footage of the incident has been made public, the final few seconds would have unfolded with the horrible slowness of a collapsing building — a gigantic object surrendering to invisible forces. According to a person familiar with the voyage data recorder's audio, at that moment Captain Krishnan Kanthavel screamed "Shit!" Read our inside account of the shipping accident that broke global trade. A tug during the refloating operation. Photographer: Samuel Mohsen/dpa/Zuma Press

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