Summary

• Hezbollah chief rejects outcome of Lebanon-Israel talks, insisting that a truce must encompass whole country.
• WSJ reports that the White House intends to maintain a ceasefire with Iran unless American troops are killed; oil drops also after Trump states on TS 
• Trump lashes out after House War Powers votes passes Wednesday evening, attacking especially four Republicans who voted in favor.
• Trump downplayed Iran’s attacks on US bases in Kuwait & Bahrain, saying “they were slightly provoked…so they were reciprocating.”

*  *  *

Hezbollah Rejects Outcome of Lebanon-Israel Talks: Secretary General

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem in new speech rejects the Washington-mediated conclusion to direct Lebanon-Israel talks:

Naim Qassem has warned that Israeli areas across the border will remain under threat as long as the Lebanese people and villages come under attack from the Israeli army.

He also rejected attempts to tie the group’s deployment to wider political arrangements, saying the group refuses any link between Hezbollah’s presence and a ceasefire, or Israel’s withdrawal.

Some highlights from Qassem’s address:

• ‘The revolution in Iran was launched from an Islamic background on the principles of resisting injustice and occupation, and it announced that it is neither Eastern nor Western”
• ‘The West and America will not accept Iran as a model of righteousness and justice; rather, they want it to be subordinate to their interests and their tyranny.”
• ‘Thanks to Iran for helping us to regain our land and our right to confront the Israeli-American aggression despite its major confrontations”; describes direct negotiations as “absurd and humiliating” for Lebanon.
• As long as Israel is in Lebanon, resistance will continue.
• Northern Israel will remain at risk as long as Lebanese villages are being bombed.
• “We are only concerned with ending the comprehensive aggression—with a ceasefire and the withdrawal of “Israel””
• As long as the occupation exists, the resistance will continue.
• “We have not given any commitment to anyone not to resist the aggression and respond to it. And as long as the aggression continues, we will confront it with all the power we have.”
• “The main objective must be the withdrawal from Lebanese territories so that the army spreads in the south of the Litani River and the liberation of the detainees”
• “We do not accept any link between the existence of the resistance, the cessation of aggression and the withdrawal of “Israel”

Iran’s foreign ministry is also still insisting that the broader US-Iran ceasefire must incorporate Lebanon.

Oil Prices Fall As Trump to Maintain Iran Ceasefire Unless American Troops Are Killed

President Trump in an early Thursday morning Truth Social post has said the United States is “in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War” – while blasting the Republicans who voted the night prior to limit war powers “GRANDSTANDERS” and “unpatriotic”.

Even though Iran is denying that any direct negotiations are taking place, following a big flare-up this week in new tit-for-tat fighting which involved Iran sending more missiles and drones on Gulf states, especially Kuwait, the reference to ‘final negotiations’ was possibly enough to get oil prices to react, with a drop in crude. There was also a report that the White House intends to maintain a ceasefire with Iran unless American troops are killed.

Trump’s new apparent strategy to just wait things out with no new planned military attacks has been featured in The Wall Street Journal as follows:

President Trump has told aides privately that he would consider ending the ceasefire with Iran if Tehran kills American troops, U.S. officials said, insisting that the weekslong pause in airstrikes remains intact despite a steady stream of violent skirmishes.

The president’s reluctance to reignite the war suggests he might be willing to withstand smaller flare-ups for weeks—or even months—to avoid a broader conflict in the Middle East.

And Rubio appeared to second this in fielding questions about this week’s violence:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the tit-for-tat attacks as purely defensive in nature and not a renewed outbreak of full-scale war. 

“They are happening in response to an Iranian action,” Rubio said in a House hearing Wednesday. “If they don’t shoot at those ships, we don’t shoot, but we have to respond.”

More evidence of Trump’s apparently high tolerance for what he deems a violation of ceasefire:

Trump on Iran:

In that part of the world, a ceasefire is when you are shooting in a more moderate manner. pic.twitter.com/0mLQXf9mW8

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 3, 2026

House War Powers Vote Wed. Evening

As for the House vote, it was seen as a rare direct rebuke of Trump and the fact that this war – which the American public was promised would be a ‘short’ military action of possibly a few ‘days’ or ‘weeks’ – is now approaching 100 days, and the war powers passed 215-208, with the four Republicans joining all Democrats in voting yes being Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Warren Davidson of Ohio.

Pushing Lebanon Truce Toward Goal Line

In Lebanon, there is some remotely positive news, with Lebanon ‌and Israel ​saying had ⁠agreed ​to implement ⁠a ceasefire during talks in Washington and overseen by the US; however, once again the deal is contingent on Hezbollah agreeing to the ceasefire.

“That cease-fire is conditional on Hezbollah also stopping fighting, but in theory, the news helps to take out a key sticking point in the U.S.-Iran talks that was holding up a deal. So that’s seen oil prices reverse a run of three [days of] consecutive gains,” Deutsche Bank analyst Henry Allen stated in a research note.

Trump rages at House’s successful War Powers vote, which could portend a political shake-up going into this Fall’s midterm elections:

Some More Latest Developments

via Al Jazeera:

• Hezbollah boss warns north Israel won’t be safe if Lebanon bombed
• Several people have been wounded in an Israeli drone attack on a vehicle after Israel and Lebanon officials agreed to halt the war during a series of meetings in Washington, DC.
• Before the truce announcement, Hezbollah said it launched a “salvo of rockets” at Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon’s Qantara, and fired drones at troops near the strategic Beaufort Castle.
• The US House of Representatives passed a resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s powers to attack Iran without congressional authorisation in a vote of 215 to 208.
• Overnight Israeli air strikes on an apartment block in Gaza City killed at least nine Palestinians with four children among the dead.
• Iran’s foreign policy a ‘consensus’ process but supreme leader gets final say

By Ethan Howland of UtilityDive

Constellation Energy’s plans to restart the Crane nuclear power plant – formerly, and better known as Three Mile Island Unit 1 – were boosted Monday when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a waiver for the company from PJM Interconnection rules. FERC approved Constellation’s waiver request over the objections of PJM’s independent market monitor.

Under the decision, Constellation will be able to transfer 760 MW of Capacity Interconnection Rights, or CIRs, from its Eddystone power plant near Philadelphia to the Crane unit. The transfer will increase the amount of electricity the nuclear unit can deliver to the grid.

Constellation planned to retire two Eddystone units on May 31, 2025, but the Department of Energy has ordered the company to them to keep running under what the DOE has described as an emergency energy shortage.

Under the DOE’s orders, the Eddystone units are not considered capacity resources, making their CIRs free to be transferred, according to Baltimore-based Constellation.

Constellation’s $1.6 billion plan to restart the 835-MW Crane nuclear unit hit a snag when PJM determined that transmission upgrades were needed to safely deliver all the unit’s power to the grid.

Those upgrades — including 765-kV and 500-kV projects — aren’t expected to be finished until December 2030 and could be delayed even longer, preventing full deliveries from the nuclear unit, which could restart in the second half of 2027, Constellation said in its March 31 waiver request at FERC.

Constellation’s request met FERC’s criteria for granting waivers, including that it solves a concrete problem, according to the agency.

“The requested waiver will allow for the transfer of CIRs between the Eddystone units and Crane, which may reduce or eliminate the number of Contingent Facilities for Crane and thereby potentially increase Crane’s interim deliverability and enable Crane to be fully operational before December 31, 2030,” FERC said.

Also, granting the waiver will not have undesirable consequences, such as harming third parties, FERC said.

“Rather, the requested waiver will provide a more efficient use of CIRs due to the Eddystone units’ current inability to use their CIRs as a result of DOE orders requiring them to operate as energy-only resources,” FERC said.

Constellation has a 20-year deal to sell all the energy, capacity and clean energy attributes from the nuclear unit to Microsoft for data centers across PJM’s Mid-Atlantic and Midwest footprint.

In its waiver request, Constellation said that reaching full deliverability status was especially important for the Crane unit. If run for extended periods below their rated power output, the equipment in nuclear units face risk of elevated vibration and wear, which can pose reliability problems, according to the independent power producer.

The 2008 financial crisis marked a structural shift in central bank behaviour

Back in January, UBS showed that most of last year’s increase in gold prices was driven by US policy shocks boosting private demand.

Running in parallel, however, has been a more gradual but persistent rise in official sector gold holdings. A common narrative, one which was started largely on this website, is that this shift began with the Russia–Ukraine conflict, when the freezing of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves heightened incentives for countries to diversify into assets such as gold. (Russia, for example, confirmed in 2021 that its gold reserves are fully held domestically.)

While that is true, UBS chief economist Arendy Kapteyn notes that the true turning point in official sector gold demand came well before 2022. The increase in official sector gold holdings began around the global financial crisis in 2008, not in 2022 (roughly 85% of the increase occurred between August 2008 and February 2022, and about 15% since then).

While sanctions risk has clearly accelerated and reinforced the trend – Russia also stepped up purchases after Crimea in 2014 – but it is likely not the root cause. As highlighted in this IMF paper, the GFC led emerging markets to reassess the safety of advanced-economy assets, given stresses in banking systems and sovereign balance sheets, making gold an attractive hedge.

At the same time, rapid reserve accumulation in the 2000s left many countries heavily exposed to a narrow set of “safe” assets, raising both concentration and correlation risks. In addition, post GFC policies (QE and ultra-low yields) sharply reduced the opportunity cost of holding gold.

What is perhaps most notable is how concentrated – across a universe of roughly 200 countries – the buying has been. Between 2008 and 2022, just six countries — Russia, China, Turkey, India, Poland, and Kazakhstan — accounted for almost the entire increase in official gold holdings. But since 2022, a slightly different group — China, Poland, India, Iraq, Czechia, and Qatar — has driven essentially all net purchases.

See here and here for more detail, for pro subs.

By now, readers have a clear understanding that the Gulf-driven energy shock is on course to collide with a potential super El Niño weather event, creating what could be a dangerous second-order shock to food supply chains around the world.

The concern is that extreme heat and disrupted rainfall patterns could hit top agricultural growing belts, dent harvest output, and amplify existing supply stress. Even before those weather-driven impacts fully materialize, global food prices are already rising, suggesting that fertilizer and elevated diesel prices are beginning to be transmitted through the broader food supply chain.

Our Tuesday note on Thailand white rice, a regional Asian benchmark, surging 20% in May, the largest monthly increase in data going back to 2008, is another warning signal that the price action in the grain feeding half the world has entered a new upward impulse.

The troubling move in rice prices, including a 15% surge in Chicago rice futures last month, indicates that food-inflation pressures are already materializing. The concern is that these pressures could materially worsen once El Niño-driven weather disruptions begin affecting key growing regions.

UBS analysts led by Leigha Miyata published a note titled “Food Inflation & El Niño Evidence Check,” confirming what we have been tracking for months: the Middle East-driven fertilizer shock is now moving through the global food supply chain just as El Niño risks rise, creating the potential for an inflation surge across Asia later this year into 2027.

Miyata noted that El Niño odds currently stand around 82% for May to June and 96% for December into early 2027, raising the risk of hotter, drier conditions across South and Southeast Asia that could pressure harvests.

Via Miyata …

El Niño likelihood raised to 82%; expect Asia to be hotter and have less rain:

The El Niño is likely to emerge soon (82% chance in May-July 2026) and continue through Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27 (96% chance in Dec 2026-Feb 2027, NOAA). Historical patterns show higher temperatures in Indonesia and northern Australia (Figure 1). Temperatures are normally lower in South Korea and Japan, though a “super El Niño” could reverse this, bringing intense heat and rainfall. Precipitation is lower in South and Southeast Asia, posing risks to harvests (Figure 2). Other El Niño impacts include higher power demand, lower supply, and increased disease risk (see p3).

Fertilizer Prices – Urea prices correcting, now +23% since the Iran conflict started:

Though nitrogen supply remains tight, we have seen diverging trends in the last few weeks on the product level. Ammonia pricing has been stable to higher, UAN pricing has been stable, while urea pricing has seen downward corrections, $190/MT (~23%) lower than its peak level in April. Overall the UBS chemicals team see this pointing to the market having moved past peak seasonal tightness, with 2Q likely marking the high point. We believe structurally tight supply from restricted trade flows and constrained production will continue to support the pricing outlook for 2H26/2027 above the cost curve however, and note that physical market flows have yet to improve (full report).

Gov’t measures have been helpful, but inflation is rising across Asia:

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 130.7 points in April 2026, up 1.6% from March, marking a third consecutive rise but at a slower pace. Gains in vegetable oils, meat, and cereals were partly offset by declines in sugar and dairy. The index was 2.0% higher year-on-year but remained 18.4% below its March 2022 peak. Inflation across all major Asian economies is increasing with the exception of Indonesia and Japan, and corn futures for 2026/2027 are up ~4%/5% since the Iran conflict started. UBS economists explain that inflation was likely lower in many Asian economies due to quick policy-action post Iran conflict, but that inflation will likely rise going forward (full report). In the Philippines, the level of inflation has shot up from 2.3%/3.9% in Feb/Mar to 7.1% in Apr. In Thailand, deflation in Feb/Mar has shifted to 2.9% inflation in April (Figure 5). For Japan, there are no clear signs yet of strong inflationary pressure from Middle East tensions. However, we expect national CPI for May to pick up slightly to 1.5% from 1.4% in April, suggesting April was likely the trough. Food inflation in Japan decelerated from 4.6% YoY in April to 4.1% YoY in May, though on a MoM basis, food inflation rose 0.3% (full report).

Packaging and freight costs are up; El Niño in 2026-27, fertilizer impact in 2027:

Plastic packaging prices in Japan are reported to be up 20 to 30%. This together with transport costs are expected to raise food prices, but this is not yet visible in the data for Japan. If El Niño materializes, we may see drought impact the harvests in Sep 2026- and Apr 2027- in South and Southeast Asia. Higher fertilizer costs may also affect harvests from April 2027 onwards.

UBS views on El Niño impacts

1. Agri-business: Tightening global balances and large speculative shorts mean an El Niño-driven disruption to India’s monsoon could reduce sugar production by ~3–8mn tons YoY and trigger price spikes.

2. Agriculture & Inflation (India): El Niño-driven weak monsoon risks (forecast ~92% of normal rainfall) could lift food inflation, though only ~21% of CPI is directly impacted, limiting first-round effects but raising second-round risks if shocks persist.

3. Health Care (Brazil): El Niño-driven changes in mosquito patterns could increase dengue cases, with prior events (2023/24) coinciding with record infections (~6.6mn cases).

4. Thermal coal / Power demand: A potential “super El Niño” could drive extreme heat across Asia, boosting electricity demand (especially for cooling) and increasing coal demand and imports, tightening seaborne markets.

5. Hydropower / Power supply: El Niño-related rainfall shifts could reduce hydro generation in LatAm and Africa, further supporting demand for thermal coal.

6. Insurance / Reinsurance: El Niño conditions are associated with below-average hurricane activity, which could improve insurers’ near-term book value but pressure pricing due to increased capital supply. In Australia, El Niño years tend to have lower catastrophe losses, though drought and bushfire risks rise.

Figure 6: Real GDP growth %y/y: pre- and post-Iran conflict

Figure 7: Asia’s inflation likely to pick up on base effects

Figure 12: Energy/fertilizer shock impact chain

Figure 13: Thailand and India are likely to be negatively impacted in APAC. All importers, including Japan will face higher prices

Related:

• We Are 6 Months From Global Food Shortages Because Farmers Are Facing A Quadruple Whammy Crisis

• Everyone Talks About The Cost Of Gasoline… Soon Everyone Will Be Talking About The Cost Of Food

Last month, ZeroHedge Debates held a roundtable to ask, “How bad will the food inflation mess get?”

Professional subscribers can read the full “Food Inflation & El Niño Evidence Check” here at our new Marketdesk.ai port.

Europe’s most influential powers of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom are trying to again jump-start Ukraine war peace talks, collectively operating as the E3 group.

They seek to implement a new framework aimed at engaging Russian President Vladimir Putin in direct negotiations to end the war. Reuters on Wednesday reports that “A window for dialogue is slowly opening between Russia and Europe on Ukraine, ​although it is likely to be months before talks can ‌begin, a German government official said at a briefing on Wednesday.”

It seems this window of opportunity is based to some degree on perceptions that the war tide and momentum is finally shifting in Ukraine’s favor, given the increasing effectiveness of Ukraine’s devastating cross-border drone attacks of late.

European leaders apparently view the current battlefield and political dynamics as having strengthened Kiev’s bargaining position, creating what they believe is the optimal moment to press Moscow for talks.

Zelensky himself is suddenly talking about directly engaging Putin this week, saying that he’s ‘ready’ to go to the table:

🇺🇦🇷🇺Zelensky just went nuclear on the wait-and-see game:

“I’m ready for direct negotiations with Putin RIGHT NOW! Not sitting in line while the world finishes every other war first.”pic.twitter.com/yLEkLAc9zD

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 3, 2026

The groundwork was reportedly laid in late May, when Zelenskyy sat down for a high-stakes meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The leaders have sought to revamp the entire Western negotiation strategy, presenting a fiercely united European front, at a moment the Trump administration is seen as on the sidelines, or even perhaps ambivalent and apathetic to the question of Ukraine peace.

The EU has been pushing back against external influence on selecting negotiators for peace talks, and apparently trying to wrest any potential peace framework from Washington influence. It was the US leading the way on this, but nothing has happened especially since the Iran war took prominence in the US administration’s thinking.

Europe’s traditional power brokers are desperate to prove they still hold the leverage to dictate the terms of their own backyard security. Whether Putin feels any compelling reason to play ball with the E3 framework remains an entirely different question of course.

But according to more from Reuters, “The German official said recent fighting indicates it is likely to take months, rather than weeks, to reach a point where ​talks could begin, and ​that it was ⁠key to ensure they were conducted in full agreement with Ukraine.”

So for now it seems the battlefield will continue to determine who has the leverage or not, as each continues inflicting more and more pain on the other. Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities have only grown more deadly and expansive. The same cam be said for Ukraine’s cross-border drone attacks on Russian territory, which on Wednesday wreaked havoc on St. Petersburg.

Via Remix News,

Amnesty International’s reaction to the murder of Henry Nowak has prompted outrage, with the organization having nothing to say about the atrocious and inhumane actions of the police during the incident, but sharply condemning the “political commentary” in the wake of Nowak’s death.

“At a time when hate crimes are rising, and violence and fear are becoming a daily reality for people of colour and migrants, calls for ‘cold, hard rage’ are completely reckless. Henry Nowak’s murder is an awful tragedy and his family have said “we do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension”. The very least politicians can do is respect that,” wrote Amnesty International.

Not everyone is happy about Amnesty International’s remarks on the case, which has up until now, said nothing about the manner in which the police handcuffed a dying Nowak as he bled out from eight stab wounds.

Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers wrote on X, “Amnesty has been morally bankrupt for a long time. A pure left-wing organization.”

Amnesty är moraliskt bankrutt sedan länge. En ren vänsterorganisation. https://t.co/6W2UaEgNdW

— Charlie Weimers MEP 🇸🇪 (@weimers) June 3, 2026

He was responding to a comment from Lauren Chen, who wrote:

“Incredible statement from Amnesty International UK on Henry Nowak: Not a single word of conveying outrage or horror over the brutal murder, or of how police left him to die without dignity. Instead, their statement is about policing the political commentary around the case. I kid you not. What a grotesque betrayal of any moral purpose.These NGOs aren’t just useless – they actively despise you. They are hostile to everything you value and everything you hold dear.”

Amnesty International, however, is known for its pro-migration and left-wing stances and has a long history of funding from the Open Society Foundation of George Soros. Nevertheless, the organization is often critical of police conduct, which makes it all the more remarkable that the organization has nothing to say about the police’s actions in this case.

🇬🇧 The distressing bodycam footage of Henry Nowak’s final minutes has been released by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Henry was stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, with an 8-inch blade he said he carried as part of his Sikh faith, while walking home alone in December last year in… pic.twitter.com/mIM1BgGdkj

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 1, 2026

The Southampton officers in the case disregarded Nowak’s pleas for help while immediately taking the claims of Vickrum Digwa, who said Nowak made racist comments to him, at face value. Notably, Nowak told the police multiple times that he had been stabbed and warned them: “I can’t breathe.” When he told the officer he had been stabbed, the officer replied, “I don’t think you have, mate.”

At the same time, the murder weapon was given to his mother, and police later found it at the family home along with more than 20 other weapons. His mother is due to be sentenced for removing the murder weapon from the crime scene.

The Nowak case has many parallels with the George Floyd case, where Police Officer Derek Chauvin was controversially convicted for murdering Floyd after placing him in handcuffs and kneeling on his back while Floyd said, “I can’t breathe.” Although the left weaponized the case, sparking mass riots the resulted in billions of damage across the United States, Amnesty International never condemned the left’s political rhetoric in the Floyd case. The Soros-funded organization also never condemned the mass riots, which left stores and homes burned out across major American cities.

If anything, Amnesty International’s “political commentary” around the case only served to inflame tensions and put vulnerable communities under further threat.

This double standard has not been lost on English protesters, who gathered in the streets and chanted “I can’t breathe,” at police officers in Southhampton yesterday, before unrest broke out. Notably, no shops were burned and no businesses harmed during the small-scale unrest — a far cry from the mass riots following Floyd’s death.

JUST IN: 🇬🇧

Thousands of English protesters chant, “i can’t breathe,” in front of the Southampton police station.

They are protesting the treatment of Henry Nowak by British police, who handcuffed the youth as he lay dying from multiple stab wounds.pic.twitter.com/kXg35Rnw1R

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 2, 2026

The murder of Nowak had sparked anger across Britain, but parties on the right, in particular, have been the most critical. Amnesty International appears unhappy that political commentators are pointing out the racial double-standard at work, including the police immediately taking the side of the murderer because he cried, “racist.”

Meanwhile, the leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, is making headlines for his call to return the death penalty for killers like Digwa.

A Restore Britain Government would give the British people a referendum on removing men like Digwa from society for good.

The ultimate deterrent.

The death penalty. pic.twitter.com/yaXWeOnKXa

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) June 2, 2026

His proposal has now received backing from Elon Musk.

It is this or death https://t.co/zCDJXO9gW1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2026

All of this explains Amnesty’s position and why that organization will never try to hold the police accountable for their actions in the Nowak murder case.

Read more here…

Up to 1.3 million jobs across the EU are at risk because of the ongoing war in the Middle East, European Commissioner for jobs Roxana Mînzatu said on Wednesday.

“Due to the war in the Middle East, up to 1.3 million jobs are at risk, particularly in energy-intensive industries,” Mînzatu said at a press conference.

“Let me also underline that increased energy costs will have a particular negative impact on lower-income households in Europe, which is why we recommend that all member states take targeted measures so that they can support vulnerable groups,” the Commissioner added.

According to the report, the EU automotive sector could face ​the biggest layoffs of up to 600,000. Construction, metals, chemicals, transport could lose 56,000 jobs. Some 85,000 jobs in battery projects could be at risk ​and 58,852 ​jobs ⁠in solar manufacturing. Another 4,500 jobs could go in the ​steel sector because of low-carbon ​measures.

In a stagflationary double whammy, Low-income ⁠households could spend an additional 1.4% of income on transport fuel.

As Euronews reports, the warning came during the presentation of the 2026 Spring Semester Package, a bi-annual publication by the EU executive that provides guidance to the 27 member states on the bloc’s economic priorities.

The conflict has already had tangible effects on the European economy, with energy prices surging as a result. According to the latest European economic forecasts published in May, the war has slowed European growth while pushing inflation higher. Yesterday we learned that Euro Area inflation topped 3% for the first time since 2023, cementing an ECB rate hike next week.

Economic data on growth and inflation vary sharply across the EU, a disparity the Commission considers a threat to competitiveness.
Key priorities

The package dedicates significant space to employment, focusing on the promotion of quality jobs and how EU countries can tackle persistent shortages of skilled workers in strategically important sectors.

“Improving educational outcomes and better aligning people’s skills with labor market needs remain key priorities, also to address labour and skills shortages which are particularly acute in strategic sectors such as cybersecurity, quantum, artificial intelligence and semiconductors,” the Semester Package states.

At the press conference, Mînzatu said that 77% of European companies report that skill shortages remain a significant barrier to investment. She identified poor working conditions as the main driver of those shortages.

“We cannot attract talent, we cannot reduce shortages, we cannot improve people’s earnings without making sure we have good working conditions,” the Commissioner said.

Since the beginning of this mandate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has made competitiveness one of the Commission’s highest priorities as geopolitical uncertainties mount.

The latest Semester Package reflects this, focusing on how Europe can strengthen its position on the global stage.

In particular, the bloc wants to reduce economic barriers in the single market, create a more business-friendly environment for companies and capital, and minimise strategic dependencies – especially on China and the US.

To that end, the Commission is pushing member states towards a more robust industrial policy, greater investment in capital markets, and a simplification agenda that would, among other things, reduce administrative burdens both in the private and public sector.

In parallel, the Commission is working to accelerate economic reforms at the EU level, though progress relies heavily on the willingness of member states to act – a longstanding coordination challenge.

Via The Cradle

Iranian Parliament Speaker and special representative for China affairs, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, held the first joint meeting with key economic officials on Wednesday to align Tehran’s economic strategy toward Beijing.

The session in Tehran included the ministers of economy, oil, and industry, alongside the central bank governor and the head of the Plan and Budget Organization.

The assembly focused on establishing a unified government approach to elevate bilateral relations and coordinate the administration’s economic priorities. During the proceedings, officials evaluated China’s economic conduct amid the US-Israeli war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to the US and Israel.

Participants agreed to submit formal proposals to Ghalibaf to resolve outstanding challenges and deepen cooperation. 

This coordination effort supports a developing strategy to position China as Iran’s “principal strategic partner” while expanding collaboration on regional and international issues.

Roughly 30 China-linked vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz in a single day in mid-May under the supervision of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy. 

These transits follow a “management protocol” established after Iran restricted the waterway to US and Israeli-linked vessels in February. 

While the strait remains largely closed, passage is permitted for commercial ships that comply with Iranian naval procedures and utilize designated corridors 

In parallel, since the ‘illegal’ US blockade on Iranian ports was implemented in April, Iran has tripled its rail exports of oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to China in an effort to bypass the economic stranglehold. 

Iran’s special representative for China affairs @mb_ghalibaf held a joint meeting with the ministers of economy and oil, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the head of the Plan and Budget Organization, and the Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade. pic.twitter.com/0qHZlb2zIm

— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) June 3, 2026

Freight trains on the 10,400-kilometer corridor now depart every three to four days, a significant increase from the previous weekly schedule, and halve traditional sea transit times to roughly 15 days.

Despite this, rail capacity remains a modest alternative to maritime shipping; one train carries 60,000 to 70,000 barrels of oil, while large tankers can transport upwards of 2 million barrels.