Host: Car tariffs torn up, troops pulled out of Germany, and a question no bill-payer wants to hear. This is Europa Daily.

Host: Donald Trump has ripped up part of the tariff deal he struck with EU leaders at his Scottish golf course last summer. Late on Friday — a bank holiday across much of Europe — he announced that tariffs on cars and lorries imported into the US from the EU would jump from fifteen percent to twenty-five percent, effective next week. Trump accused Brussels of dragging its feet on ratification and of non-compliance with the agreement's terms. The EU's trade chair called the move 'unacceptable.' The timing was pointed: blindsiding European capitals when most officials were off for May Day. The European car industry is one of the continent's most deeply integrated manufacturing sectors. A single vehicle can cross multiple borders during production — components made in one country, engines assembled in another, final vehicles rolling off lines in a third. Germany's BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen have the most obvious US exposure, but Stellantis plants in Italy and Spain are also in the blast radius, as are Jaguar Land Rover in the UK and parts suppliers scattered across central Europe. The tariff increase doesn't just hit the country of final assembly. It ripples through supply chains that stretch across the continent. The industry was already navigating the shift to electric vehicles and weakening demand. This adds a significant new cost on top. How the EU responds collectively will be closely watched — Brussels must hold together export-heavy northern members and southern states that Trump is simultaneously pressuring on other fronts.

Host: And those other fronts are military. The Pentagon confirmed on Friday that it is withdrawing five thousand of the thirty-six thousand four hundred US personnel stationed in Germany. The trigger: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggesting that Washington was being 'humiliated' by Iran. Trump said a further 'determination' on the US military presence in Germany would be made 'over the next short period of time.' Simultaneously, Trump threatened Italy and Spain for refusing to support US naval operations in the Strait of Hormuz, calling European countries 'absolutely horrible' for their stance. US bases in Germany are not just a bilateral arrangement. They are seen as a key part of NATO's defences and are vital for the projection of US power in other parts of the world. A drawdown reshapes the security picture not only for Germany but for the alliance as a whole. Trump is using military presence as leverage across multiple European capitals at once — and the pressure is landing on defence budgets that were already under strain.

Host: To Ukraine, where drones struck Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse on Friday for the fourth time in sixteen days. Ukraine's SBU security service said the attacks hit the seaport and refinery that make Tuapse an important hub for Russian oil exports. The refinery has been set ablaze at least twice since mid-April, halting production and throwing up dense black clouds over the town. Oil slicks have fouled the coastline of what is normally a popular resort. Russian authorities say they have cleared more than thirteen thousand cubic metres of fuel oil and contaminated soil so far. Meanwhile, Russia launched nearly four hundred and ten drones at Ukraine in a daytime attack. Ten people were injured in the western city of Ternopil — roughly a hundred and fifty to two hundred kilometres from the Polish border. Damage was reported to schools, nurseries, homes and infrastructure across central and southern Ukraine. President Zelenskyy announced plans for sweeping army reforms this summer to address infantry shortages and the discharge of the longest-serving soldiers, four years into the war. He promised higher pay for infantry and said key details would be finalised in May, with reforms beginning in June. Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov described the changes as a 'systemic' transformation. Manpower shortages have become more pressing as enthusiasm for service has waned amid reports of poor training and heavy-handed draft officers.

Host: Finally — a year on from Europe's largest power outage, which left tens of millions of people in Spain and Portugal without trains, metros, traffic lights, cash machines, phone connections and internet access, a provocative question from the boss of Britain's biggest energy supplier. Greg Jackson, chief executive of Octopus Energy, has argued against costly investments in the UK's power grid that he says are inflating household bills. His suggestion: some customers would accept an occasional electricity blackout in exchange for much lower bills. It is a striking argument to make in the shadow of the Iberian blackout, which demonstrated just how much modern life depends on uninterrupted power. European electricity grids are physically linked through interconnectors — the cables running between Britain and France, France and Spain, the Nordic systems and the Baltics. Investment decisions in one country's grid affect how much power it can import from or export to its neighbours. The question of how much grid reliability costs, and who pays for it, is the same question being asked in different national accents right across the continent.

Host: That's Europa Daily. Markets reopen after the bank holiday — and so does the argument. We'll be back with you next episode.

Sources

• The Guardian Europe: Ukraine war briefing: Russian oil hub of Tuapse hit for fourth time as environmental disaster mounts
• The Guardian Europe: Why does the US have military bases in Germany?
• The Guardian Europe: US withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany after Merz says US ‘humiliated’ by Iran
• DW World: US to withdraw thousands of troops from Germany
• BBC Europe: Trump says he will hike tariffs on EU cars to 25%
• The Guardian Europe: Trump tears up part of EU tariff deal to raise import duties on cars and lorries
• Sky News World: EU hits back at 'unacceptable' Donald Trump over plans to increase tariffs
• DW World: Ukraine plans army pay hikes, phased discharge — Zelenskyy
• DW World: Trump to raise tariffs on cars, trucks from EU to 25%
• The Guardian Europe: Octopus Energy boss: some people would accept blackouts if bills cut