🧵 In the trade world, this week was a rather hectic one. The Turnberry outcome underline the fact that negotiations with Trump are not one-off events but an ongoing process. A fact that undermines the idea that this week has brought stability.

Just a few weeks to go before the EU dives into what will likely be a bruising battle over its next budget. @romyha.bsky.social, @eulaliarubio.bsky.social, @lindnerjs.bsky.social l and I took a closer look at the Commission’s proposal. We think successful negotiations now hinge on four things:

Not all absorption difficulties in cohesion policy are due to lacking administrative capacity: EU funds also face surprising non-demand from potential beneficiaries. My research shows that tackling unawareness, administrative burden and financial attractiveness could boost demand. More details here:

We're happy to kick off today's hybrid discussion with Claudia Buch and Verena Ross, asking how the Savings and Investments Union can help financing Europe's future - opened by @hertieschool.bsky.social President @corneliawoll.bsky.social and moderated by JDC Co-Director @lindnerjs.bsky.social. #SIU

Excited to start as EU Fiscal and Investment Policy Fellow at the @delorsberlin.bsky.social ! From #MFF negotiations to new #EU #competitiveness priorities - I‘ll be working on the big budget questions facing Europe. Grateful to stay with the fantastic JDC team - now on the think tank side.

📆 Europe’s savings could fuel its future, but they aren’t flowing where they’re needed most. We need a real Savings and Investment Union. But how do we get there? Join us next Tuesday at 4:30pm CET at the @hertieschool.bsky.social or online on Zoom to discuss 👉 www.delorscentre.eu/en/events-at...

Teil der geschlossenen Runde waren unter anderem @hertieschool.bsky.social Präsidentin @corneliawoll.bsky.social und JDC Co-Direktor @lindnerjs.bsky.social. Das Buch ist am 22. April 2025 auf französisch erschienen, weitere Informationen gibt es hier: www.vie-publique.fr/catalogue/29...

" #Delors und #Kohl waren Visionäre. Beide waren Patrioten, die ihrem Land verpflichtet, aber zugleich wahre Europäer waren." So eröffnete Michael Borchard das heutige Kolloquium zur Vorstellung des Buches "Jacques Delors - Les paradoxes d'un homme d'État européen" in Berlin.

Thrilled to have @romyha.bsky.social on board as the newest member of our think tank team! She’ll be covering all things EU budget, fiscal policy, and investment. Strongly recommend hitting that follow button!

You know I once had an actual job that involved making finance dad jokes?

Yesterday, Ursula von der Leyen lost her ‚Pfizergate‘ case over the non-disclosure of text messages with the Pfizer CEO during the pandemic before the Court of Justice. 1/🧵 curia.europa.eu/juris/docume...

Aus europapolitischer Sicht sind die Zurückweisungen an den Grenzen nicht nur ein Problem, weil die Regierung damit europäische Nachbarn vor den Kopf stößt. Sondern auch weil sie den Vorrang des Europarechts, einen Grundpfeiler der EU, in Frage stellt. Kurzer Thread:

🧵 In my new policy brief, I argue that Chinese overcapacities threaten economically vital, employment-intensive, and strategic EU industries. Trump may worsen the trend, but the threat exists regardless of what Washington decides on any given day: www.delorscentre.eu/en/publicat...

Next week, European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera joins us at the @delorsberlin.bsky.social to talk EU industrial policy, competitiveness, and decarbonization. If there was ever a moment to have this debate in Berlin, it’s now. Don't miss it! www.delorscentre.eu/en/events-at...

Es gibt zwar keine Regierung zu Ostern wie mal von Merz angekündigt, dafür aber unsere Analyse, was der Koalitionsvertrag europapolitisch zu bieten hat - ob bei Wirtschaft, Klima, Migration oder EU-Reformen. Mit @jannikjansen.bsky.social & @lindnerjs.bsky.social: www.delorscentre.eu/en/publicati...

Here we go: France is already signaling it won’t stick to EU fiscal rules because of the trade war. And with the Commission already bending over backwards to invent flexibility for defense spending, it’s going to be a real challenge to push back on this one. 1/2 www.politico.eu/article/fran...

Important and interesting work on EU regional cohesion policies and how they need to be reformed.

Yesterday, the Commission proposed piling a whole heap of new goals—from competitiveness to defense—onto the EU’s regional policy. Since that’s pretty much the opposite of what @valentinlang.bsky.social, @danbischof.bsky.social, and I argued in a recent paper, a quick recap of our main points:

Elon Musk uses X as his personal megaphone to spread disinformation and amplify far-right political actors across Europe. In a new policy brief, I explore what the EU can do about this: 🧵 1/ www.delorscentre.eu/de/publikati...

A few impressions from today's workshop on the #Schuldenbremse & European fiscal integration at @dgap.org, co-organised by the Jacques Delors Centre. Many thanks to the keynote speakers Franziska Brantner, Jörg Kukies and Nathanael Liminski, all other contributors as well as the #DGAP team!

"[Die neue Bundesregierung] muss bereit sein, in den Verhandlungen über die Banken- und die Kapitalmarktunion auch bisherige rote Linien zu überspringen“, betont unser Co-Direktor @lindnerjs.bsky.social im heutigen @sz-dossier.de Platz der Republik 👉 www.sz-dossier.de/newsletters/... #SIU

🇭🇺 Die EU kann die Sabotagepolitik von Viktor #Orbán nicht länger weglächeln, schreibt Thu Nguyen (@onethuthree.bsky.social) in einem Gastbeitrag auf @zeit.de. Selbst ein Entzug des Stimmrechts darf kein Tabu mehr sein. Drei Ideen, um mit dem Problem #Ungarn umzugehen 👉 www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2...

Ich durfte heute im @zeit.de Nachrichten-Podcast „Was jetzt?“ darüber sprechen, wie die EU endlich ihr Orbán-Problem lösen muss: www.zeit.de/politik/2025...

After the wake-up calls by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi, the European Commission's Communication on the Savings and Investments Union is a massive letdown. Where's the big bang Europe needs to tackle its challenges head-on? #SIU commission.europa.eu/news/savings...

Busy day for COM, with defence package (ec.europa.eu/commission/p...), Savings and Investment Union strategy (ec.europa.eu/commission/p...) and now the Steel and Metal Action Plan presented - one of multiple sector plans, which are the work horses for implementing the Clean Industrial Deal. So far,

The Commission has pulled back the curtain on its plan to let member states ramp up defense spending within the EU fiscal rules. It’s a fix—which is good—but it’s also a quick and pretty rough one. And it could come back to bite the EU on multiple fronts. Quick thoughts:

The EU Commission just unveiled its ReArm Europe Plan, including a new loan-based instrument "Security Action for Europe" (SAFE) of €150 billion. Interestingly, with SAFE, the Commission seems to try and combine two pandemic-era EU instruments into one: SURE and RRF. Quick thread:

A strong message of optimism on Europe's ability to move forward together - by the #Eurogroup President and Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe at our event today. Many thanks for sharing your insights and coming to JDC/Hertie School @delorsberlin.bsky.social @hertieschool.bsky.social

Union und SPD wollen die Strom-Netzentgelte auf Staatskosten allgemein senken - eine teure Maßnahme, die die wirklichen Probleme der Industrie nicht löst. M.E. muss die GroKo Erleichterungen gezielter gewähren, stärkere Dekarbonisierungsanreize setzen und die EU von Anfang mitdenken. 🧵

Brilliant piece by @sandertordoir.bsky.social! Europe’s industrial prowess is a huge asset for both productivity and defense—but only if the EU ensures its upcoming industrial policy push leads to real joint strategies. Here are two quick thoughts on how to make that happen:

To help Germany finally snap out its macroeconomic hibernation, the planned changers to the debt brake must help plug the country’s huge investments needs. Early results in the coalition talks now show that there’s a real risk that the incoming government could still squander this. 1/X

I think this is about as good and balanced an outcome as one could hope for right now. The next step is nailing down the specifics of a real structural reform.

One takeaway from DE's massive budget announcements yesterday: it’s now clear that EU fiscal rules will have to be adapted to the reality of structurally higher spending needs. It's either that or we keep pulling national escape clauses until the rulebook is little more than an empty shell.

The Trump administration is putting Europe’s unity to a test. Everyone seems to agree that preserving it will be key - but what does it mean? For @sieps.bsky.social, I was asked to reflect on the concept of ‘unity’ in an essay now out: sieps.se/en/publicati...

The EU’s security landscape has shifted—radically and for good. The real yardstick for any solution now —be it fiscal rule reforms or common borrowing—isn’t whether it buys a few months of breathing room. It’s whether it helps the EU adapt to this new reality in a lasting way.

After the disturbing scenes at the White House last night: this is the hour of Europe. We have to act together! All three Jacques Delors institutes/centre have made this point strongly in our recent text: www.delorscentre.eu/en/about/new... 🇺🇦🇪🇺

The EU’s Clean Industrial Deal is out. While the communication is mostly a grab bag of announcements for future legislative proposals, it still marks a real shift in how the EU approaches industrial policy—and, for the most part, a positive one. Three key takeaways: ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Two additional remarks on risks ahead: 1) CDU/SPD only viable coalition. If coalition talks fail or SPD members vote against agreement, there is no alternative 2) CDU/SPD/Greens are 6 seats short of 2/3 maj. for debt brake reform or special fund to ramp up defence spending. Might become major issue

A timely analysis - by @nilsredeker.bsky.social and @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social - on how to allow for a ramping up national defence spending while keeping credible EU fiscal rules

Important contribution by my colleagues Philipp Jäger and Nils Redeker in view of the upcoming clean industrial deal plans - see the paper and the thread below

Some early leaks on the Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal are making the rounds. There’s plenty of the usual Brussels prose, and we’ll have to wait until next week to judge the full package—but for now, three things seem to be heading in the right direction.

"Building such a defensive and dissuasive strategy is now an existential issue. It needs to rest on 4 pillars: a clear, bold objective, the means to deliver it, decisions at the EU level, and a decisive stance against those within the Union who decline to follow." www.delorscentre.eu/en/about/new...

Eine neu Erfahrung - unser Podcast auch mit Kamera. Hat Spaß gemacht! Wer die Folge noch nicht gehört hat, kann sie jetzt auch anschauen.

Empfehlung zum Hören über das Wochenende: @onethuthree.bsky.social und ich sprechen über die Bundestagswahl und Europa.

Neue Podcastaufnahme mit @lindnerjs.bsky.social zur Bundestagswahl und Europa - mit einem Update: ab diesem Jahr gibt es EU to go nicht nur aufs Ohr sondern auch fürs Auge. Stay tuned!

„Die EU ist regulativer Riese und ein budgetärer Zwerg. Ich würde davor warnen, die Effizienzgewinne zu überschätzen und damit die Frage nach der Förderhöhe zu überdecken“, so @lindnerjs.bsky.social im heutigen @tspbackground.bsky.social zum #EU-Haushalt 👉 background.tagesspiegel.de/energie-und-...

🧵 Dancing in a storm of tariff announcements: Following Trump's initial focus on Canada, Mexico, and China, the EU is posed to be next. None of this is surprising. That doesn't mean the EU is ready for it - let's unpack what has happened, is likely to happen, and what that means for Europe.

Great to be teaching again (first session of the "Economic and Financial Governance of the EU"). Always impressed by the Hertie students @hertieschool.bsky.social Looking forward to the next sessions.

I agree - two noteworthy messages in today’s Communication: (i) a warning to MS - this time it needs to be different and (ii) COM will push the idea of RRF-style national plans and the streamlining of investment instruments. Leaders will have their first orientation debate at the summit in March...

1/ CDU ("Ja zu einem starken Europa"): starker Fokus auf Subsidiarität und Wirtschaft. Europa nur dort, wo es Mehrwert für alle schafft, "entbehrliche Aufgaben" sollen entfallen Wichtige Themen: Wirtschaft, Handlungsfähigkeit, EU-Erweiterung