Today in the EU EURACTIV

The work of the new EU legislature unofficially kicks off in Brussels as per the post-election choreography. 
Freshly elected members of the European Parliament are now confronted with the choice to join existing political groups or form new ones. Groups have less than a month, until July 15th, to recruit newcomers and get re-grouped for the first European Parliament’s plenary.  
In this episode, host Giada Santana and politics reporter Max Griera review the latest moves in Brussels’ high-stakes game of musical chairs.  

Members of the EU now have to respect legally binding targets, regarding national efforts to restore degraded land and sea ecosystems, compiling with the newly endorsed Nature Restoration Law. 
It was highly politically controversial, with the text risking failing to be approved multiple times in the past few months. Austrian Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler, even voting in favour, sparked a national political crisis.  
In this episode, host Giada Santana and Agrifood reporter Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro analyse how the Nature Restoration Law became such a controversial issue and the latest developments in the trade war tensions between the EU and China.  
Additional reporting by Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro.

Today, the heads of state and government of the 27 European Union member states will meet at an informal European Council dinner, and one of the topics on the agenda will be who will take the EU top jobs.
The meeting comes at a crucial time, just after the European Parliament Elections which have shaken up the balance of power and will see new, and old faces vying for key positions in the bloc's various institutions.
In this episode, host Giada Santana and politics hub editor Aurelie Pugnet discuss the power games that could take place over the dinner table.

The European Commission announced new trade tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles on Wednesday (12 June), in the hope of opening negotiations with China. So far, the anticipated decision has only managed to irk Beijing's ire. Will Europe’s move trigger an expensive domino effect for its industrial market? 
In this episode, host Giada Santana and economy and transport reporter Jonathan Packroff analyse the costs and likely outcomes of the EU-China's head-to-head.  

Farmers and the agricultural sector were one of the key issues in the political debate before the European elections. With the vote now behind us, we’re looking into what the new parliamentary composition means for the sector in this mandate. Who will sit on the Agri committee and will the electoral promises to farmers be kept? 
To shed some light on what will happen with the agri sector, I’m joined by our agrifood reporter Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro.

Despite a series of recent scandals, Germany's far-right AfD party achieved its best national result in history in the European elections on Sunday (9 June).  
However, the internal situation doesn’t look as rosy: AfD's lead candidate Maximilian Krah, implicated in various scandals, will not be included in its EU delegation, as the party hopes this could improve its chances of joining the far-right ID group. But where will we see AfD positioning itself, and how will it impact national and EU politics? 
To understand what is happening with AfD we invited in the studio Kjeld Neubert, Euractiv’s politics reporter in Berlin.