"It's a moving target," said a European diplomat a few days ago, referring to the objective the European Union (EU) is pursuing in its trade negotiations with the United States. Until now, though, one thing seemed certain: the July 9 deadline, by which Washington had promised to raise its customs duties if no agreement was reached with Brussels. But over the weekend, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed the deadline back to August 1, giving more time to the Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of the 27 member states.

"We're working towards July 9 as the point where we want to have an agreement in principle at a minimum with the US," said Olof Gill, one of the Commission's spokespersons, on Monday, July 7, also noting "progress" in the ongoing discussions across the Atlantic.

Furthermore, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump, who do not have a close relationship, spoke by phone on July 6. The pair had a "good exchange," the Commission said. In recent days, von der Leyen has also spoken more frequently with European heads of state and government, starting with France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz, suggesting she believed the talks have entered the final stretch.

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