EU Commission Full Briefing 12/03/2026 - EU-US Tariffs, Slovenia Vote, SAFE, Russia, Energy

Описание: The European Commission’s Midday Press Briefing of 12 March 2026 focused on EU-US trade tensions, election integrity in Slovenia, pending SAFE defence plans, the Venice Biennale controversy over Russia’s participation, energy security, and several foreign affairs files.
This is an edited (transformative) version created to improve accessibility. Edits that add transformative value include cutting repetition, silences, and stutters; restructuring the content by theme and topic; adding on-screen context; and enhancing video and audio quality. This edited version does not distort the meaning or message of the original video.

On trade, the Commission reacted to the United States opening Section 301 investigations linked to structural excess capacity. Brussels said it continues to operate on the basis of the EU-US joint statement, expects Washington to honour its commitments, and would respond firmly and proportionately to any breach of those commitments.

On Slovenia’s election campaign, the Commission said a DSA roundtable had been organised by the Slovenian authorities and confirmed that the rapid response system under the Code of Conduct on Disinformation was activated earlier this month. The exchange also touched on the wider set of tools available to support democratic resilience and help member states address manipulation risks around elections.

There were also updates on SAFE, with the Commission saying work continues on the remaining plans, including Hungary, France and the Czech Republic. For the plans already approved, member states are expected to move toward funding agreements, with disbursements anticipated in spring.

Another major topic was the 2026 Venice Biennale. The Commission strongly condemned the decision to allow Russia to participate and said an ongoing €2 million EU-supported project with the Fondazione Biennale could be suspended or terminated if there were a breach of grant conditions.

Other questions covered President von der Leyen’s call with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulidis, the closing of the Cyprus investor citizenship infringement case after repeal of the legal basis, EU coordination with Azerbaijan on the evacuation of EU citizens leaving Iran, the Commission’s reaction to Senegal’s new law on same-sex relations, and the EU position on Lebanon, Hezbollah and regional escalation.

The briefing also included an update on Georgia and sanctions circumvention. The Commission said commitments had been received from Georgian authorities and SOCAR regarding the port of Kulevi and the cessation of re-exports of Russian oil. On energy, the Commission said no immediate oil or gas security-of-supply concerns emerged from coordination meetings, although gas prices remain a concern and member states were discussing possible oil stock releases with the IEA.

Later questions dealt with the Druzhba pipeline, contacts with Ukraine and member states, the urgency of financing for Ukraine, and the status of Greece’s agricultural paying agency accreditation process.

The briefing featured contributions from Commission spokespersons Paula Pinho, Olof Gill, Ricardo Cardoso, Anouar El Anouni, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, Markus Lammert, Siobhan McGarry, Thomas Regnier, and Balazs Ujvari.

Chapters
00:00 Opening and questions
00:29 EU-US trade and Section 301
07:27 Slovenia election disinformation
15:00 SAFE plans and approvals
16:09 Venice Biennale and Russia
26:14 Cyprus call and citizenship
30:36 EU evacuations via Azerbaijan
37:06 Lebanon aid and escalation
43:10 Georgia port and sanctions
45:33 Oil, gas and IEA response
50:03 Druzhba and Ukraine
58:42 Greece CAP agency update
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Uploaded by James Tamim, EU Digital Policy analyst.

© European Union, 2026
Edits applied by the European Digital Policy Initiative (transformative value add): repetition, silences, and stutters removed; content restructured by theme so questions and answers stay together and topics remain organised (some sections may be reordered to separate topics more clearly); on-screen context and detailed descriptions added (topic labels, chapters, captions) to make long briefings easier to follow; and video/audio quality enhanced (cropping, splicing the correct audio-language tracks, voice isolation, and colour correction).