End of year reflections on EU climate policy: it’s really not looking good for the Green Deal. @jannikjansen.bsky.social and I wrote a short piece on why we're far from "staying the course" - and why that's a strategic mistake for Europe (1/12) tinyurl.com/jdc-green-deal

My letter in the Economist pushes back on its take on Europe and the second China shock. The Economist lays out the profound pressure China is putting on EU manufacturing, but then proceeds to advocate the EU give up and switch to services à la the UK. That feels thin. Pleased they published it.

Couldn't agree more. Would add that I don't think this will happen until there is one person inside Commission who thinks about this 24/7 and can take people/organisations to task when they're dragging their feet. We need somebody to own the issue/portfolio

1/ This year revealed how the EU's critical raw materials dependence has become an economic security vulnerability. ReSourceEU is the EU’s most serious attempt yet to remedy this. To end the year, I dive into what it does and whether it can shift the trajectory: www.delorscentre.eu/en/publicati...

Often I like the EU, sometimes it drives me mad (or was it the other way around)? www.politico.eu/article/merc...

The proposed "28th Regime" is hoped to remove bureaucratic, legal, and financial hurdles that hold back small, innovative EU companies. However, crucial questions remain wide open. In my new policy brief, I analyse the main options and relevant trade-offs. 1/🧵 www.delorscentre.eu/en/publicati...

EU D-Day for the Ukraine loan. In a new piece, Stephen and I analyse the legal risks (minimal), how liqiduity risks are covered and the guarantees would work, and how to plug holes on member-state defections. In short: it works and there is no alternative (TINA). www.cer.eu/insights/ukr...

📣 #NewPaper: In her new Policy Brief, our fellow @marleneschoerner.bsky.social discusses the proposed #28thRegime as an alternative to national legal frameworks and identifies crucial features to support innovative companies in the EU.👉 www.delorscentre.eu/en/publicati... #NewPaper #EU #CorporateLaw

Lots to criticise in yesterday’s cars package - but one point deserves credit. The COM plans to limit support for corporate cars to EVs and tie it to European preferences. Exactly what @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social, @sandertordoir.bsky.social, and I called for and a genuinely meaningful step forward

The Commission’s new Democracy Shield🛡️raised high expectations but proposes mostly additions to existing frameworks rather than attempt innovation. 👇In my new policy brief out today, I analyse the Commission’s newest democracy strategy. 1/🧵 www.delorscentre.eu/en/publicati...

EU clean tech is under pressure: in the US, the phaseout of green subsidies dampens EU exports and Trump's tariffs re-direct trade, while Chinese over-capacities create very tough price competition. Our new policy brief shows how these drivers interact - and what the EU should do in response (1/4)

‼️Last chance to register! Today at 2pm CET, we have the pleasure to host this fantastic group of experts for our online panel following the #PariserPlatzDialogue. Register by 12pm and find out how the #EU can become more resilient amid global power shifts. 👉 www.delorscentre.eu/en/events-at...

Great Bradsher piece on how the renminbis dramatic undervaluation is supercharging China‘s export explosion. Germanys trade deficit with China has surged more than 120% this year. But cutting red tape will surely restore Europes competitiveness! www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/b...

Find out what has been discussed at our public online panel next Wednesday (10 Dec) at 2 pm - register here: www.delorscentre.eu/en/events-at...

US national security strategy. Something sure is unrecognisable here, but it’s not Europe. www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

Good to see @europarl.europa.eu refer to principle of solidarity in its resolution on Hungary calling for triggering of Art. 7(2) TEU. With @dimitrispieker.bsky.social and Ulrich Karpenstein, we argued that new Art. 7 procedure should be initiated against HU based on breaches of solidarity in CFSP

White smoke from Berlin: the coalition has agreed to tie new car purchase incentives to European preference rules - and work to align them across the EU. A very smart move as @sandertordoir.bsky.social, @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social and I have argued here: www.delorscentre.eu/fileadmin/2_...

EPP Mercosur fast-track bid collapses at plenary

1/ What a Russian breaking of the ceasefire will look like, step by step. There are far better experts on this, but I was an Australian diplomat in Ukraine in 2014 so I've seen this play out up close. So join me, brothers and sisters, as we count down to a fullscale re-invasion.

Some cautionary words from Kozo Saiki from Japan's trade ministry, at the EU's trade policy day He says Tokyo prepared a subsidy programme for firms to process rare earths domestically but "very few applied" because they "can't compete with cheap products" from China

1/This week has seen a blitz of what looks like corruption sandals: Saudi development deals for US military tech, Pakistani payments to Trump insiders for tariff relief, Swiss gold bars for a trade deal. Far from a payoff, this is a reordering of internat'l system. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...

14) For Socialists, Renew, and Greens, this vote should mark the moment to insist decisively on a genuine and binding coalition agreement that sets clear red lines and joint positions on the Commission’s agenda. Otherwise, they are poised to remain little more than “opt-in” partners to the EPP.

7) How did we get to this point? This vote was neither a surprise nor a one-time accident. In about a dozen cases in this legislative period – procedural votes, amendments, resolutions – the EPP already forged majorities with the three far-right groups (ECR, Patriots, ESN).

Today’s Omnibus vote has rolled over an already perforated cordon sanitaire in the European Parliament. For the first time, the EPP sided with far-right groups on a file key to the Commission’s agenda. Make no mistake: this was no accident and it’s unclear whether the centrist coalition can recover🧵

Today´s vote on the Sustainability Omnibus was a watershed moment in the European Parliament, as the EPP sides with far-right political groups to scratch climate transition plans and civil liability under the CSDDD, and reduce the scope of companies covered under the CSRD. Thread:

Incredible how fast the EP has shifted. Recap many a uni essays debating whether Parliament could effectively hold the Commission and member states to ESG and rule-of-law goals. Now, the EPP is opening the avenue for those foundations to be undone.

The European Democracy Shield🛡️ is finally out today. Here is what it says (and what I think):🧵⬇️ commission.europa.eu/document/dow...

Die deutsche und europäische Automobilindustrie kriselt, gefühlt im Wochentakt kommen die Eilmeldungen über Stellenabbau bei Herstellern und Zulieferern. Wie ihr geholfen werden kann, habe ich mit @nilsredeker.bsky.social und @sandertordoir.bsky.social diskutiert: open.spotify.com/episode/15Nb...

EPP leader Manfred Weber just gave a very good keynote speech on the future of Europe in Berlin tonight, putting forward seven principles for a stronger EU. Quick thread:

It's been a rough year for European trade policy. The deal with the US, disputes with China and an overall sense of a worsening economic climate. My latest piece tries to draw out some lessons for Europe www.cer.eu/insights/thr...

The Commission is set to finally unveil the Democracy Shield 🛡️on 12 November! Here is what it will look like and what details will matter. 🧵

Woah what a cover from Handelsblatt. The China Trap. "Raw materials, semiconductors, export markets — out of convenience and short-sightedness, Germany made itself dependent on Beijing. Now the bill is coming due. But there are ways out." That note of optimism at the end is exactly right.

While the European Council in Brussels took the spotlight, this week's events in Strasbourg should set off alarm bells. The European Parliament slamming the brakes on the first “Omnibus” package isn’t just a hiccup – it’s a symptom of strain in the EU’s democratic engine. A thread 🧵

By every metric, the industry is in deep trouble — and none of it has anything to do with future emission rules or an engine ban a decade away. In fact, the future of cars is electric - not because of Brussels regulation, but because EVs will soon be much cheaper to make and run.

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Should other EU countries copy Germany's Industriestrompreis? Germany is set to introduce this controversial subsidy soon, which will lower electricity prices for industry. 🧵on whether it is a model to follow & what it means for other EU countries, based on data in new policy brief (1/23)

This Thursday, the European Parliament’s @imco.europarl.europa.eu will vote on the ‘transparency of third-country lobbying’ directive. The directive is intended to counter foreign interference by introducing mandatory national transparency registers for third-country lobbying. 1/

Today, the EU’s Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising enters into force. From now on, political ads – notably both online and offline – will have to carry a transparency label with key information about why people are seeing the ad, who paid for it and how much. 1/

Here we go again...

Was wondering what COM would use to replace lapsing steel safeguards. In theory, quotas can be WTO-legal, but only if non-discriminatory (historic import shares + consultations), also continuity of safeguards is pretty obvious: very open to be challenged.. what d'y'all think?

Driven by fear of the far right, the EU is losing its compass, whether on migration, climate or Gaza. By undermining its own principles, Europe weakens its global position and risks losing not just dignity but political agency. With @jannikjansen.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Europe cannot afford to treat its values as expendable. Each concession to the far right corrodes democracy at home and erodes its credibility abroad. By reducing principles to luxuries, Europe risks losing not just its dignity but political agency. New op-ed with @onethuthree.bsky.social

EU and Indonesia agree trade deal on.ft.com/4pFqsPE

Me when my paper's policy implications still haven't been implemented one year into into the peer review process.

A few quick impressions from @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu's State of the Union address: ec.europa.eu/commission/p... /

After a lil back-and-forth, COM decides to enforce legislation. Google has 60 days to set out plan to change activities COMP has deemed uncompetitive www.euractiv.com/section/tech...

On the WTO compatibility of the EU-US deal, some clear statements from @sabineweyand.bsky.social during the INTA hearing: 1) US+EU regard agreement as first step, for EU that means striving for WTO compatibility 2) US was not ready to sing up to a commitment to strive fore WTO compatibility /1

Political party discovers that higher tax rates lead to higher tax revenues.

🧵 Yesterday, the EU postponed a major antitrust fine against Google in its adtech case - reportedly after Šefčovič lobbied to avoid clashing with the fragile US trade deal and the promised cut in car tariffs.

The US government is once again ramping up its rhetoric on the EU’s Digital Services Act. It is now reportedly considering imposing sanctions on Commission staff responsible for implementing the DSA. This would be an unprecedented move. 🧵⬇️ www.ft.com/content/ff8d...