Good news! Where social media pushes people to polarisation and sensationalism, AI’s LLM may nudge them to expert views and moderation. Let’s hope the business model of AI which drives algorithmic design will allow this positive trend to hold. Democracy needs it to.

📚 Steven Everts, chief at the European Union's @euiss.bsky.social, is absolutely right, but particularly with his words describing Ukraine's historic President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, "he’s a man who grows in crises. A man who meets the moment" ➡

Great move by Zelensky to visit Saudi Arabia. First international leader to do so. Showing yet again he’s a man who grows in crises. A man who meets the moment. Ukraine ready to help those who also offer their support in return.

Not our war… but our problem. Director @sbeverts.bsky.social on the impact of the Middle East conflict on Europe & what to do next on maritime security and energy.

The war on Iran is a diversion and a "giant gift to Putin". Director @sbeverts.bsky.social on @france24.com. 📺 Watch the full interview: www.youtube.com/watch?v=frob...

Aid to Ukraine from 2022-2026 was a rounding error. We used more in the first two weeks of the Iran war than we provided in the 4 years of aid to Ukraine.

Not our war, but it is our problem Good to speak @france24.com on Europe’s stake and choices on the escalating war in the Middle East.

The NL is sending the whole A team to meet Trump in mid-April: The King, the Queen, PM Jetten and FM Berendsen. Strength in numbers?

Normally this would be a G7 statement. But these are extra ordinary times. Here the US is out and... the NL (!) is in:

“I could do anything I want with it” says Trump when musing about “taking” Cuba…

The BRICS lack mortar:

Iran: "Europeans have an interest in helping Trump find an off ramp. They need to put a coalition together & bring pressure to bear on the US and others to move us in that direction." Director @sbeverts.bsky.social on Brussels My Love podcast. www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

It’s not Europe’s war but the chaos across the Middle East is directly affecting our interests. Good to discuss with @meabhmcmahon.bsky.social @euronews.com what Europe’s policy options are:

Europe pays twice: First directly through higher energy prices. Second, through the lifeline this gives to Putin whose economy was on the ropes. We may a third or fourth time if there are attacks on EU soil and migratory flows. Not our war, but indeed also our problem.

The sheer strategic stupidity of bailing Russia out of its economic hole by launching a war that entirely foreseeably spikes the oil price - and then having no minesweepers in place to deal with the foreseeable fallout. Rank incompetence.

China is often seen as an unstoppable economic power. But the reality is more complex: China is powerful, yet increasingly fragile. This fragility creates both risks and opportunities for Europe. A thread 🧵⤵️ (1/11)

📃 A good brief by Giuseppe Spatafora @gspataf95.bsky.social on the difficult relationship between NATO and the European Union. 📝 On the Madeleine Albright 3D reference, that content [PDF] can be here: 📁 www.jstor.org/content/pdf/...

Proud to take part in the EU Ambassadors Conference this week and contribute to key policy debates. Great exchanges with @sbeverts.bsky.social on navigating EU–China relations, and with @joristeer.bsky.social on strengthening economic security in times of conflict.

To every poltician pushing back on electrification and decarbonisation we should say: Why do you want to make Europe dependent on others? Why do you want Europeans to pay higher bills?

The EU should deploy its Anti-Coercion Instrument to rebalance trade relations with China, according to a new report by the European Union Institute for Security Studies. "After all, a temporary trade war with China would be painful, but worth it if it helped prevent the EU's deindustrialisation."

'We can’t let everything be decided by 27 Member States. Europe still clings to the constraint of unanimity. But in today’s world, acting at speed & scale is essential.' @sbeverts.bsky.social in @fd.nl on the power of smaller groups to move Europe forward. fd.nl/politiek/158...

Many people think China is all powerful and there is little Europe can do to shape its choices. New @euiss.bsky.social report argues that's analytically wrong and politically defeatist. We should use reverse dependencies and leverage based diplomacy to protect European interests. How? 👀↘️

Goed om met @fd.nl te praten over hoe Europa zich wèl staande kan houden in wereld van macht en dwang. ↘️

I paesi europei si muovono individualmente ma quello che manca è un concreto piano diplomatico. Oggi nel @mm-corriere-bot.bsky.social alcune proposte. ↘️

Macron’s plan to expand nuclear arsenal & deepen cooperation with Europeans moves toward 'Europeanising' deterrence. But it won’t solve Europe's deterrence gap: stronger conventional forces & clearer escalation strategies are essential. @lscazzieri.bsky.social ➡️ www.iss.europa.eu/publications...

If this fails, Europe should make a major offer for move Anthropic here: fiscal incentives, visas and the kind of guardrails the Pentagon resists. It’s maybe one of the only ways for Europe to regain a place in the AI race that’s totally dominated now by US and Chinese players. Time to be smart.

Interesting to me is the idea of supporting drone interceptor production. As @maxbergmann.bsky.social pointed out, the EU's Ammunition production program (ASAP) was, after a slow start, highly successful. That idea came from Kallas when she was still Estonian PM.

Europe shouldn’t just call for de-escalation with Iran - it should act, argues @sbeverts.bsky.social. Instead of debating the legality of US/Israel actions, Europeans should focus on what unites them: trade, & work on safeguarding freedom of navigation. fd.nl/politiek/158...

‘Probeer met elkaar én met Aziatische landen de vrije zeevaart te waarborgen.’ Sprak met @fd.nl over eat Europa nu moet doen in Midden Oosten. Inzetten op diplomatie en vrije zeevaart. ⤵️

Air defence interceptors are fast becoming the scarcest defence asset on the planet. Europe has 4 years to ramp up production of SAMP/T or Patriots (in Europe). We didn’t am that’s a huge problem - fo Ukraine and ourselves. Now we need an urgent crash programme to do so. And we can. ↘️

As an Everts myself, I hope the government agrees that sending frigate Evertsen to the Gulf….

Europe’s strategic autonomy: often proclaimed but still far from reality. The path forward is clear write @sbeverts.bsky.social & Matteo Signorini ⤵️ • think & act in terms of power • make a success of Europe’s rearmament • design decision-making rules that work under disagreement

"The political map of the Middle East is being redrawn. Europe must bridge the gap between reciting principles and exerting influence. You don’t win a match from the sidelines", writes Director Steven Everts. ow.ly/Iyp650Yo5ma

New NL PM Rob Jetten is telling it like it is. Unanimity too often leads to paralysis. Impossible to sell to the public that we are still stuck on the 90bn loan for Ukraine.

In the last 4 years we have fired close to 60,000 Iranian brand drones into Ukraine. During that time Fidias smiled & said, "so sad but not my problem, cut a deal". Half a dozen hit Cyprus & he wets himself without seeing that the events are connected.

#Iran war: a snapshot of the consequences across the world - and what Europe should do as the US and Israel are redrawing the map of the Middle East. ow.ly/Iyp650Yo5ma

Oorlog in het Midden Oosten en in Europa gaat het weer vooral over wat we ervan vinden en niet over wat we gaan doen. Maar de wedstrijd wordt niet van de zijlijn gewonnen. Hier mijn stuk in @nrc.nl met drie concrete dingen die Europa nu kan doen. ⤵️

Oorlog in het Midden Oosten en in Europa gaat het weer vooral over wat we ervan vinden en niet over wat we gaan doen. Maar de wedstrijd wordt niet van de zijlijn gewonnen. Hier mijn stuk in @nrc.nl met drie concrete dingen die Europa nu kan doen. ⤵️

Very significant: "France said in-depth talks had already been conducted with Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, and Sweden, and they were willing to move ahead with deeper co-operation."

Het Midden Oosten staat in brand. Zoals wel vaker in Europa gaat het vooral over wat we ervan vinden, en minder over wat we gaan doen. Europa moet de brug slaan van het oplepelen van principes naar het uitoefenen van invloed. De wedstrijd wordt niet vanaf de zijlijn gewonnen. In @nrc.nl

📖 Recently came across a very interesting January 2026 interview with the @euiss.bsky.social's director, Dr. @sbeverts.bsky.social that's *well* worth the read. "If Europe wants to remain free in this new order, it will have to do so from its own strength. Only the strong are free."

eurocrats be like

As US-Iran tensions mount, a major diplomatic row erupts with the NL. Iran unilaterally seizes and opens diplomatic pouch/luggage in breach of Vienna convention. Fasten your seatbelts.

As Russia's war against Ukraine enters its 5th year, Europe must align its policy tools behind a coherent strategy for a just & lasting peace. The EU must keep empowering Ukraine, 'unpower' Moscow's war machine & step up diplomatically, argues @ditrych.bsky.social. www.iss.europa.eu/publications...

Europe has more cards to play than its leaders often realise. What’s needed is detailed mapping of the chokeholds we have. And above all a willingness to use them - as US, China and others do too. Great piece citing critical thinking tank work on this incl @joristeer.bsky.social

France, De Gaulle and whether one can trust the US. On the difference between being right and being vindicated: ↘️

Europeans buy ~60% of their weapons from the US. Pentagon wants to keep the game as it is - and make sure the US captures a similar share of Europe’s fast-growing defence spending. Why would European publics support our - necessary - rearmament if the bulk of that money flows to the US not here?

Lees Huxley.

Een Russische groepering had in 2025 toegang tot 'chataccounts' van 'meerdere Nederlandse overheidsmedewerkers', stellen AIVD en MIVD. 'Hierbij is niet alleen toegang verkregen tot de gecompromitteerde accounts, maar zijn deze accounts zelfs overgenomen.' www.aivd.nl/documenten/2...

Another day, another example of the US throwing its weight around. Now climate change and renewables no longer listed as priority for the IEA . US manages to skew agendas at the threat of walking away. How long until others say 'that's enough'?