Kommunalwahlen, Endergebnisse: Frankreich ist mehrheitlich mitte-rechts in der Fläche, links in den Großstädten, und es gab Trostpreise für die Ränder und Renaissance. Die wichtigsten Ergebnisse und ihre Folgen: 🧵 www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeur...

🚨🚨 Unusual with such moral integrity for a European political leader: Spanish PM Pedro Sanches insists that #Spain won't temper criticism of #Trump's attacks on #Iran over fear of reprisals and commercial pressure. 👇 www.politico.eu/article/pedr...

🧵 Trump wanting to cut all trade ties with Spain over use of US military bases is getting attention and some say Merz should've piped up more strongly. For now, it's mostly rhetorical pressure ('waffle'), so the damage is limited. If it becomes any more concrete, the EU must decisively rebuke.

After months of wrangling and an epic list of delays, the Commission has finally released its Industrial Accelerator Act. This could turn into one of the EU’s most consequential industrial policy files in years - and the proposal is honestly not a bad place to start. Some quick thoughts:

This is the way. And I hope more EU leaders follow suit. It would be particuarly good for Merz to have a call with Sanchez today and affirm full German solidarity with Spain.

IAA (finally) out FDI conditions are lex China pure, covering investments >100m from countries with >40% global production share in i) batteries ii) EVs iii) solar iv) critical raw materials

Decision @ec.europa.eu to go ahead with provisional application #EU #Mercosur is the right one. Many in @europarl.europa.eu agree. We are in an exceptional situation where EP can only vote after ECJ. At the same time, international trade rules are constantly being violated by others. 1/2

So the Telegraph is taking this well

EU provisionally applies Mercosur, as set out in the Council decision last month: ec.europa.eu/commission/p... EP reactions will be interesting.

Incredibly helpful table from @andrewlautz.bsky.social

www.ft.com/content/d00d... No rest for the wicked, muted market reactions to ruling Don't get your hopes up too high for big tariff policy changes, Trump's lawyers will have prepared for this outcome but could mean increased uncertainty for businesses over the next weeks/months

The Industrial Accelerator Act, aimed to boost energy-intensive industries and clean tech, faces another delay. Meanwhile, energy-intensive industry continues to struggle. I looked into the data. First, overall poor performance espc. for the chemical industry - although a small recent uptick (1/3)

No I don’t think so either. My comment was more related to the fact that the EPP is only scutinizing non-EPP/non-ECR countries. Their targeting of Spain has different roots I think and is also not new, see e.g. the derailing of Riberas hearing for Commissioner by EPP MEPs

Tomorrow’s summit is a chance for EU leaders to stop chasing the wrong fixes — and finally sketch a response that matches the scale of Europe’s economic challenge. Here, lucasguttenberg.bsky.social, @sandertordoir.bsky.social and I lay out what that could look like. www.politico.eu/article/euro...

Commission to table prolongation of the suspension of retaliatory tariffs against the US for another 6 months. Current suspension expires on 7 Feb. EC also says it hasn't yet taken a decision on whether to provisionally apply the Mercosur pact borderlex.net/2026/01/23/e...

‼️🩸A bloodbath for the German auto trade with China in 2025: 📉70% drop in mid-sized saloon car exports 📉38% drop in large engine cars 📉39% fall in small ones 📉54% drop in small station wagons 📉23% for larger ones

You may have missed it amidst the chaos of the last few days, but there is a new high-level EU report in town: A Franco-German task force led by Jörg Kukies and Christian Noyer presented recommendations to tackle the scale-up financing gap. Here is what it says and why you should care about it.

Europeans after managing to prevent the collapse of NATO for another 1-2 weeks… #Europe #Rutte

Everyone is talking about the EU’s supposed trade bazooka -but understanding how it would actually work is a different matter. For those who want to dig into the details, Arthur has you covered with a brilliant thread.

I'm with you - actually I believe the comitology procedure makes it even more difficult to pass Council QMV vote Having said that, in an evolving conflict there cannot be fixed previously decided measures and it is illusory to think COM would move strongly against MS consortium in response measures

🧵 Trump’s Greenland brinkmanship puts the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument back on the table. Few cases fit economic coercion more cleanly. But the ACI is often misunderstood. It’s not a bazooka, but a slow-loading cannon, able to fire anything from heavy shells to hot air. Here’s how it works ⬇️

@onethuthree.bsky.social @aleichthammer.bsky.social @delorsberlin.bsky.social

"The world until recently believed that US-China decoupling was on the way. It turns out that most countries are now scrambling to de-risk from America." My column. as.ft.com/r/83099001-d...

Nothing exposes the hollowness of the free speech rhetoric like defending AI-generated child sexual abuse material under such www.politico.eu/article/us-s...

a true G

New: EU Commission has issued guidance for Chinese EV exporters on what is acceptable in price undertaking offers. Comes after VW Anhui made a deal of its own to escape tariffs Includes minimum import price, sales channels, cross-compensation and future investments in the EU

Halle-freaking-lujah Now hoping this momentum can be doubled down on with a swift conclusion of the India FTA and that the budget moves needed don’t foreshadow further cuts to the flexibility of the next MFF www.politico.eu/article/eu-c...

EU citizens - especially those in Greenland - deserve a clear answer to the question of how EU leaders would react to attempts of the US to annex Greenland. Will there be a clear political and economic response? Or is it also going to be a "complex situation" to be "closely monitored"?

Required reading for those European capitals that are still in denial. As a recent Rhodium note cited by the FT stresses, a weak renminbi, persistent deflation and excess capacity in China will erode the bite of conventional trade defence tools. New thinking is needed www.ft.com/content/079f...

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