France to host US President Joe Biden for first state visit in June

US President Joe Biden will make his first state visit to France next Saturday (8 June) for a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy but also for talks with his host, Emmanuel Macron, on bilateral and global issues, including the war in Ukraine.

“The state visit will reflect the enduring and comprehensive relationship between the United States and France” to discuss “a wide range of global challenges and bilateral issues,” a White House press release stated.

“At a time when, 80 years after the liberation of Europe, war has returned on the continent, the two presidents will discuss the unfailing and long-term support to be given to Ukraine,” the Elysée said in a statement.

On 6 June, world leaders – including a range of EU leaders, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Prince William, and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy – will gather on the beaches of Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The commemorations’ organisers, “Mission Libération”, had announced in April they would extend an invitation to Russian authorities, but not to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued against him.

“Russia will be invited to be represented so that the importance of the commitment and sacrifices of the Soviet peoples and its contribution to the victory of 1945 can be honoured,” the organisers said at the time.

The Elysée confirmed late on Thursday (30 May) Russia had not been formally invited, claiming “the conditions are not met”.

After that, Biden and Macron are expected to discuss long-term aid to Ukraine as well as economic, space, and nuclear topics, and climate change, the Elysée said in the statement.

Speaking to the reporters earlier this week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Macron said new announcements would be made on military and financial support to Ukraine during the commemorations.

“Our close coordination on international crises will serve to prepare the next international events, including June’s G7 summit in Bari and the NATO summit in Washington in July,” said the Elysée statement on Biden’s visit.

Macron said on Tuesday (28 May) that the West’s red lines – not allowing Ukraine to target military installations inside Russia – should be abandoned and Kyiv should be able to attack specific Russian-based military sites used to launch missiles onto Ukrainian territory.

Washington is also actively weighing whether to lift a ban on the use of US-provided weapons for offensive strikes inside Russia, Washington Post reported on Thursday.

[Edited by Alexandra Brzozowski/ Zoran Radosavljevic]

Read more with Euractiv

Limited appetite among member states for EU trade sanctions on Israel

Amid growing calls for economic sanctions against Israel in view of the worsening humanitarian toll of its military operations in Gaza, EU trade ministers briefly discussed the issue on Thursday (30 May) but remained far from deciding on actual steps.