What are you up to on June 20th? Well, if you're in New York City, the F.T. is hosting its weekend festival. See big names like John Lithgow and a live taping of the FT's unhedged podcast with Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong. If this sounds like a good time, take a peek at our show notes. We'll have a link there where you can register.

Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Thursday, June 11th,

and this is your FT News briefing. The EU's foreign service might look pretty different soon,

and rising inflation is pressuring the White House to strike a deal with Iran. Plus, we'll take a look at Australia's unorthodox plan to fix its housing crisis.

I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day.

France and Germany are talking about a radical overhaul of the EU's foreign service.

That's according to five senior officials briefed on the discussions.

It would involve taking powers away from the bloc's chief diplomat, Kyakalas, and her agency.

And as a result, the European Commission and member states would have more control over the bloc's diplomacy.

The EU has faced a ton of diplomatic challenges in the past few years, from the conflicts in

Ukraine and Iran to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war, and some have questioned whether the

EU's diplomatic agency is up to the task. The officials said several countries have argued that

there is too much overlap, plus a lack

of coordination between the agency, individual countries' foreign ministries, and the European

Commission.

The U.S. and Iran have been exchanging fire for the past couple of days. This is happening as the two countries try to extend a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Iran will have to, quote, pay the price for taking too long to negotiate.

On top of the shaky ceasefire, Trump is also facing domestic political pressure to get a deal done.

Government data out yesterday showed inflation jumped to 4.2% last month.

So what does this all tell us about the state of negotiations?

The FTs Washington Bureau Chief James Pallidi is here to answer that.

Hi, James.

...