It is wild that the 🇺🇸 Vice President is calling senior Republican staffers, men in their 30s, "young boys" in order to excuse their leaked racist, sexist and Hitler-praising text messages. open.substack.com/pub/jill/p/t...

POLITICO prediction vs reality.

Christ this is grim, seeing it laid out this way. The far right is now the most popular party in the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland… Unprecedented

"We took the freedom of speech away," says the president

The EU: big on the small things, small on the big.

‘The Brussels bubble has found its voice. Unfortunately, it’s ChatGPT’s’. Brilliant, amusing, rant against AI slop in EU circles where dull, samey writing was already a problem.

Incredible insider account of Trump’s ignorance and petulance. But also of how effective his temper tantrums and bullying taxtics are. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

It’s refreshing to hear someone - Zach Polanski, new leader of the UK Green Party - actually making the case for migration as a good thing. Not a view you hear very often at the moment, even from those ostensibly on the centre left www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

exactly like the Chinese surveillance state

Further proof that Britain’s far-right Reform Party is full of Putin puppets.

“Trump and Putin – like-minded, amoral, authoritarian apex predators – are working together, or at least in parallel, to undercut European democracy, security, prosperity and progressive values. It looks like a concerted pincer movement. It feels like 1939.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is the real threat to free speech.

Question to the room: which social channels do you use for EU-related communications? X: Almost no one raises hand. BlueSky or Mastodon: Almost no one. LinkedIn: Almost everyone. #EUinfluencer

I KNEW IT!! it’s official, Dutch only makes sense if you’re drunk

Don't kill anyone. Don't spread hate. How about we all agree on that?

Europe sacrificing its sovereignty for US protection came with two risks, writes @davekeating.substack.com - "that the US would become disinterested, or that the US would become adversarial. We are now in a nightmare situation where the US has become both." open.substack.com/pub/davekeat...

“European federalists, rejoice! The European Union finally has a bona fide president. The only problem: He lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., aka the White House.” Spot-on op-ed lead by @nicholasvinocur.bsky.social

"Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu declared that 'all Gaza will be Jewish' and the Israeli government 'is racing ahead for Gaza to be wiped out'" In the Knesset on Tuesday "participants spoke of Gaza as an ideal site to relieve Israel’s housing crunch"

No. Next question.

Highway to Halle headline, surely?

An extraordinary front page from a newspaper not normally known for its leftwing sympathies. The tide is slowly, belatedly turning.

Far right conspiracist grifters form a far more globalized network than the WEF could ever dream of

Mythical Belgium: Ahead of national day I write about the seven awe-inspiring places that make me proud to live in this cool, quirky country. 🇧🇪

Do you know the words to the Belgian national anthem? Do you accelerate after you’ve passed speed cameras? And do you prefer ketchup or mayonnaise with your frites/fritjes? As Belgian national day approaches, find out how Belgian you are by taking my tongue-in-cheek test.

New drawing: Hire bike Notes on this cartoon: open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

"Les Engagés has appointed someone to lead University Hospital of Liège, and someone else to head the Spa-Francorchamps circuit while MR was given the choice over ONE." Pretty staggering how public posts in Belgium are divvied up according to political affiliation. And family ties in Bouchez's case.

A Brussels Times investigation reveals a public sector where systemic blurring of norms has led to potential budgetary fraud.

The UN is dying. Will anyone fight to save it? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I honestly can’t imagine hearing 14 homeless refugee girls (girls!) are coming to live in your town and thinking: let’s go and smash the home up and set fire to it before the girls get here. People are despicable sometimes - and the leaders who rile them up are worse www.dutchnews.nl/2025/07/prot...

Fourteen million deaths. Remember this next time a Republican says they’re “pro life” www.ft.com/content/945a...

Europe was promised a new golden age of the night train. Why are we still waiting? | Jon Worth

Today’s top story

POLITICO Europe remains the most influential news outlet and LinkedIn the most important social media platform in the Brussels bubble, according to Burson's 2025 EU Media Poll. Almost all media outlets saw a drop in influence, with social media platforms rising - with the exception of X.

This should terrify every European who believes in democracy and the rule of law. The US state department, whose soldiers occupy bases on European soil across the continent, is effectively calling on its "civilisational allies" (the far-right) in Europe to turf out centrist governments.

“International students contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, adding $43.8 billion per year and supporting 378,175 jobs.” 🤦‍♀️

“Low-income households in Britain are now 27 per cent poorer than their equivalents in France and a staggering 60 per cent poorer than those in Ireland.” 🔥 www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

‘Stealing wind’

Now this hits home: Trump is deporting Belgium's crown princess

Trump administration vowing to “root out the evils of anti-Americanism” on campuses. Chilling. And utterly depressing for someone who’s spent 18 years working with US students to broaden, not narrow, their horizons. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

“Instead of engaging with real issues, politicians compete in a theatre of outrage.” Excellent thread on the weaponisation of identity for political gain.

The US is now almost alone in climate change denial. Worse, the Trump administration is destroying even our capacity to understand it www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/c...

The 2 models of news reporting today: Model A: - 1st paragraph: Describe the latest news happening. - 2nd paragraph: Report the stupid thing Trump said about it. Model B: - 1st paragraph: Describe the latest stupid thing Trump said. - 2nd paragraph: Report what other people said about it.

We're looking for a new Comms Intern/Trainee here in #Brussels. Please share this widely: job-boards.greenhouse.io/humanrightsw...

Top tip for politicians: try standing up for the principles and vision of the future you actually believe in, forming policies based on that, and then convincing the public to vote for those principles, vision and policies. (I know, this’ll never catch on)

There’s many unpleasant things happening in the world but this remains one of the absolute worst. Millions of people sentenced to death to own the libs. 19thnews.org/2025/04/aids...

Australia / Canada The Trump effect is extraordinary

😶