Outrageous plan to unblock EU funds for Orbán to prevent his veto. Tomorrow, while presenting my rule of law report on Hungary, I will demand from the Commission to keep funding frozen. And to the Member States to take away Orban’s vetoright. Now! www.ft.com/content/0965...

Of all the stupid things that this regime has done, this is right up near the top. Postdoctoral researchers come to the US on H-1B visas. This will further destroy the US science enterprise. Stupid stupid stupid.

🚨 BREAKING: Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will recognize a Palestinian state. Full story: www.politico.eu/article/uk-r...

Citing the decision of the US president, Hungarian FM Péter Szijjártó has called on the EU to add the #Antifa movement to its list of terrorist organizations. In a letter to @kajakallas.bsky.social he asked the EU to impose restrictive measures against individuals and groups linked to Antifa

"I never imagined I would see fear spread so far and fast in the US." This from the writer who gave us definitive accounts of East Germany and other late state socialist societies in the 1980s.

EU plans to unlock €550mn for Hungary in bid to secure Russia sanctions deal on.ft.com/3IphV2r

Europe’s first transgender minister, Petra De Sutter, said she will bail out of a trade mission to the United States next month over President Donald Trump’s policies targeting LGBTQ+ people.

“The lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims. I believe its purpose is to stifle independent journalism, to deter the kind of fact-based reporting that the Times and other institutions are known for. It will not have that effect”, she said. ✊

Speaking of Orban's mafia state, its propaganda mouthpiece in BXL has decided to attack professors in past/current receipt of EU Jean Monnet funding in manner reminiscent of Brexit-era attacks. Here is their evidence of bias in my case & source to back up claim: "Laurent Pech, X x.com". Impressive

‼️On 23 September, the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) will discuss and vote on the request from Hungarian authorities to lift the immunity of Péter Magyar, leader of the Hungarian opposition and leading opponent of Orbán. Magyar is member of @eppgroup.bsky.social

Hungary’s defence ministry has said it will not request additional NATO deployments under “Eastern Sentry,” the alliance’s new air initiative launched after Russian drones entered Polish airspace

I have been visiting the EU quarter in Brussels for almost a quarter of a century. It has been remodeled countless times, completely or partially destroying Schuman Square and/or the surrounding streets. A total waste of money.

At a congress in Amsterdam next month, the Party of European Socialists (PES) will permanently exclude Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party, three people familiar with the matter told @euractiv.com

The lawsuit criticised Craig and Buettner for their portrayal of Trump’s role in the success of his reality television show The Apprentice. The filing said the show “represented the cultural magnitude of President Trump’s singular brilliance, which captured the zeitgeist of our time”. 🙈

Not only do French pensioners receive larger cheques from the government than their counterparts anywhere else in the west, they start getting them several years earlier. The result is a situation in which over-65s now have higher average incomes than the working age population, FT reports 2/1

At least 15 people including journalists and teachers have been fired or suspended for criticising Charlie Kirk online, Reuters reports. Free speech for us, not for you. #NorthKoreaShit

Our Group is happy and proud to nominate the Budapest Pride for this year's #SakharovPrize 🏳️‍🌈 The people who have managed to organise Budapest Pride year after year, despite threats and bullying by the Orban Government, deserve the EU highest human rights award 💚

Brussels hopes to persuade the US that it can achieve similar pressure through tougher sanctions on Russian energy producers and bringing forward a 2027 deadline for its member states to stop buying Russian’s oil and gas. That would require Trump to put pressure on Hungary and Slovakia.

⚖️ In today’s judgment, the #ECJ set aside the Commission’s approval of Hungary’s aid for the Paks II nuclear project (Case C-59/23 P Austria v Commission). Why? 🎥 💬 President Lenaerts explains with subtitles in all EU languages 👉 curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/p1...

Peter Mandelson sacked as UK ambassador to the US over Epstein links on.ft.com/4m7fvDh

“We are absolutely not prepared for that . . . and now they are at our door.”

EU leaders reportedly asked Trump to get Orbán to drop his Ukraine EU-block. He made the call. Orbán didn’t budge — but the ask alone shows how Trump’s become a de facto powerbroker in Europe 🤴

On 11 September, the Court of Justice of the EU will issue its judgment on the Hungarian state aid for the Paks II nuclear project, built with Russian involvement 👇

“If the Europeans drew a line and said: ‘We’re not going to buy more Russian gas, we’re not going to buy Russian oil’. Would that have a positive influence on the US leaning in more aggressively [on sanctions] as well? Absolutely,” Chris Wright, US energy secretary said in an interview.

👓A little weekend reading. Enjoy!

🫡 “Thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation president. It’s a very refreshing change. We’re very excited to see what you’re doing to make all of our companies and our entire country so successful,” Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI said at the White House dinner.

Every time a sovereign state or a sovereign wealth fund makes a decision the Trump administration dislikes, Washington threatens sanctions. Now it's Norway's turn. Tariff hikes have become a tool of political pressure. Unbelievable.

52% of EU citizens are in favour of Ukraine's accession, while 41% are opposed, according to a special Eurobarometer on enlargement. Support is highest in Nordic countries and opposition is strongest in Hungary and the Czech Republic.

European Council President António Costa appeared to concede the war in Ukraine was a factor in the EU's accepting its much-criticized trade deal with the United States, in a major break from the official line taken by the EU executive.

It is too early to review the regulation on the #ruleoflaw conditionality, co-rapporteurs state in the joint meeting of EP BUDG and CONT on their draft report on the implementation of the regulation. So far only #Hungary has been put under the conditionality regime with the risk to lose €6,3 bln

That's how it looks. Otherwise, they hate each other like the plague 🤬

Scoop - Ursula von der Leyen's jet was hit by a suspected Russian GPS interference attack while attempting to land in Bulgaria yesterday, officials told the FT, forcing the pilot to ultimately land using paper maps. on.ft.com/4oZFHST @financialtimes.com

FT Exclusive: Donald Trump suggested inviting China to supply peacekeepers to monitor a neutral zone along Ukraine's front line as part of a peace settlement with Russia, according to four people briefed on the discussions. on.ft.com/4g9Wzm3

“Endorsed by 26 member states”

Breaking: Orbán’s daughter and her billionaire husband and their kids have just relocated to the US — months before the elections. Totally normal. Just studying. Nothing to see here. 🚶🚶‍♂️ Telex.hu

When Trump speaks about Ukraine, he does not use strategic concepts. He uses real estate vocabulary: in Ukraine, Russia occupies “prime territory”, miles of valuable “oceanfront land” in a country rich in “rare earths” whose president would be well advised to “make a deal”.

In the next few days @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu will visit EU’s frontline states with Ukraine. I would be surprised if she did not promise support to these countries. And can you guess which is the only frontline state that will be left out of the visit (and any potential support)? 🤔

The EU Delegation to Ukraine in Kyiv was hit by Russian airstrikes on Thursday, according to a senior EU official

🏳️‍🌈 Erste Bank placed this year’s Budapest Pride alongside key moments in European history in a bold AI-generated ad. Now, at the request of its Hungarian branch, those scenes are being removed — deemed "not equally meaningful" to all Hungarians. The video is below 👇

The updates (from cabinet members) ranged from enthusiastic — Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the labor secretary, implored the president to come to her agency to look at his own “big, beautiful” face on a banner — to servile, and they went on for hours.

The plan would involve 💣a demilitarised zone, possibly patrolled by neutral peacekeeping troops 💣A robust border behind that would be defended by 🇺🇦 troops armed by Nato 💣A European-led deterrence force would be stationed deeper in Ukraine as a third line of defence, with US assets supporting it

💥 US offers to provide European-led Ukraine peace force with intelligence & surveillance capacities, command & control assets & air defence components in major shift for Trump & big win for Nato, officials briefed on negotiations with Washington tell me & @christopherjm.ft.com on.ft.com/4mKuhko

US President Donald Trump has threatened to "impose substantial additional tariffs" and stop selling tech and chips to countries with digital rules he deems discriminatory to American companies, putting the EU's Digital Services Act in the line of fire.

Trump Pentagon hire Elbridge Colby, who wants to slash US support for Ukraine, has blocked Ukraine’s ability to defend itself four times since he took office, according to the WSJ.

Intervision, the Soviet-era alternative to Eurovision, was held between 1965 and 1980 in communist Czechoslovakia. 🟥⭐️Intervíziós Dalfesztivál

The possible venues for an UKR-RUS summit which will not happen any time soon: ♦️Budapest (preferred by Washington, openly opposed by Tusk) ♦️Geneva (preferred by Macron) ♦️Rome (preferred by Moscow) ♦️Vienna & Doha (in the mix) @politico.eu reports

The slightest sign from the US that it is back in the business of defending Europe and some electorates will decide that rearmament isn’t so urgent. Rich democracies struggle to do painful reform except in a crisis. Trump keeps Europe short of that. When a situation “could be worse”, it already is.

And this is the poster that will welcome Zelensky in Budapest? (The poster, which is plastered all over the country, shows Orbán's number one opponent, Péter Magyar, and Zelensky, who look like two peas in a pod. The message? They are both warmongers and are controlled by the EU.)

PM Orbán, who can't stop bragging about his close relationship with President Trump, somehow forgot to tell the public about this phone call. To date, he hasn't posted or said anything about it. Yet, I'd be interested to hear his response...

‼️US President Donald Trump called Viktor Orban on Monday following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders to discuss why the Hungarian prime minister was blocking Ukraine’s accession talks with the European Union, bloomberg.com reports