The only team not to lose to Spain at the World Cup? Cape Verde.

And now Trump needs to kiss the feet of Pedro Sanchez as he hands Spain the trophy, per FIFA rules.

⭐️ ⭐️

Viva España!

The Regulation of Shame Critical analysis of the EU's newly agreed Returns Regulation, by @izabellamajcher.bsky.social - eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-...

After six eventful and exciting years, happy to hand over the rotational lead of the @swp-europe.bsky.social to my great colleague Paweł Tokarski! Pawel is a great political economist with research on major challenges for the EU, and also a highly recommended follow here: @tokarski.bsky.social

Montenegro takes one step closer to EU membership. One month after their last meeting, the EU and Montenegro have provisionally closed accession negotiations on: 🔸competition policy 🔸customs union More info ➡️ link.europa.eu/mgmctY

The symbolic strategic awakening of Europe on this Bastille Day. The flags and soldiers of more than thirty European countries not least Ukraine 🇺🇦 but also our allies from Canada 🇨🇦 & Australia 🇦🇺. And one big flag was missing, that of the United States of America 🇺🇲.

Today MSs will vote on the Welsh supplementary budget. It’s a fascinating early window into how Plaid hope to manage negotiations as a relatively inexperienced minority govt and how Labour in particular will approach negotiations for their parliamentary backing… #senedd #devolution

@nvondarza.bsky.social's analysis makes following party dynamics and voting patterns in the European Parliament easy to follow. I have not seen anything similarly clear anywhere else.

At EU Analytics (with a slight delay) I took a look at the major EU votes in June 2026: After a May that looked like a return to the centre-dominated pattern of old, June 2026 underlined how fractured the EU political landscape has become, and how the far-right is defining policy:

🇫🇷🇵🇱 “France and Poland held their first nuclear steering group meeting in Paris on Friday, 10th July. They were accompanied by senior military personnel and officials from Defence and Foreign Ministries to discuss European security issues.” www.elysee.fr/en/emmanuel-...

At EU Analytics (with a slight delay) I took a look at the major EU votes in June 2026: After a May that looked like a return to the centre-dominated pattern of old, June 2026 underlined how fractured the EU political landscape has become, and how the far-right is defining policy:

Good to see not just EU-UK exchange on sanctions, but in this case even a coordinated joint sanctions package on Russia over its cyber attacks:

2005 scheiterte der Verfassungsvertrag, seither steckt die EU in der Dauerkrise. Krisen, heißt es oft, machten die Union und die Identifizierung der Bürger mit ihr stärker. Ob das stimmt, habe ich @theresakuhn.bsky.social von der Universität Amsterdam gefragt. www.diepresse.com/36042021/tru...

The essential @instituteforgovernment.org.uk take on the Starmer premiership. We look at his record across state reform, public services and more. But also at how he approached being prime minister, where he went wrong and why. Ultimately, a government characterised by missed opportunities.

'Verify your age' As kids, to run certain RAM intensive PC games, we needed to program starter disks to squeeze out as much free RAM on a DOS machine as possible.

I would guess the foreign office if not the chancellery may quitely welcome this, since they were quite a bit ahead of the rest of cabinet let alone their parliamentary majority on reevaluating the German stance towards Israel in the first few months of this government.

Based on @howtheyvote.eu, the @szde.bsky.social has done a data analysis on all the times far-right groups were decisive in this European Parliament - with unsurprisingly mostly the EPP, a bit of Renew plus the Greens and the Left on the Mercosur vote:

Who would have thought that QMV could become Berlin's convenient excuse for avoiding a more honest and just assessment of the Israeli government's actions? #DEinEU

There is no guarantee Le Pen will win the next French presidential elections, but she certainly looks like the favourite in polls at the moment.

Berlin has for a long long time championed qualified majority voting in EU foreign affairs to strengthen EU capacity to act. Besides everything else, this could be a big test whether Germany is willing to accept QMV on a foreign affairs issue if it is in the minority. In my view it should.

Always will be remembered as Dr. Alan Grant. I always love stories/movies with scientists as the heroes, and he was a special one. Rest In Peace, Sam Neill.

Hungary officially joins European Public Prosecutor's Office ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

2. If trends continue as they have between 2023-2026, from 2029 NATO allies will outspend the USA in % of GDP.   In 2030, the EU Member States in NATO will spend close to €1 trln per year. 2/3

If there was much doubt left, it is now settled - Andy Burnham will be the next UK Prime Minister.

🎉Etappensieg für #Unabhängigkeit: Das #EuropäischeParlament hat heute den #digitalenEuro bestätigt. Jetzt kommt es auf die richtige Ausgestaltung an. Die Verhandlungen im Trilog müssen zeigen, ob #Europa den Mut hat, Unabhängigkeit praktisch zu machen: einfach, kostenlos, alltagstauglich.

The perceptions of the NATO Ankara summit are really telling: Though Trump threatened: - Denmark over Greenland - Spain with a trade embargo - Europeans with withdrawal But somehow, European commentators have gotten used to these major threats.

The next crucial decision-making point in the EU Parliament is going to be the election of the EP President next January. @euractiv.com now reporting that the S&D and Renew are pushing for a 'coalition agreement' in exchange for supporting an - unprecedented - third Metsola term:

Thought provoking article. Note in particular the first paragraph where Stubb and Carney equate Finland's land border with Russia to Canada's land border with the US - two middle powers bordering aggressive imperial powers.

Chatham House experts and researchers are available to follow on Bluesky. Connect with our experts here and follow them for their analysis on key international events and major global trends. ⬇️ go.bsky.app/UKHXrog

Thought provoking article. Note in particular the first paragraph where Stubb and Carney equate Finland's land border with Russia to Canada's land border with the US - two middle powers bordering aggressive imperial powers.

Beleagured advocacy 'think tank' MCC Brussels has published an open letter of 52 MEPs to @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu complaining against MCC Brussels being taken off the EU's transparency register. What is interesting is the composition of this group of MEPs:

Ha ha! Discuss. Legislation www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw2/7/0...

Serbia’s EU membership bid hits the wall

"We, the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance, have gathered in Ankara to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our collective defence under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and to the transatlantic bond."

Trump has reduced the presidency and its power to shape the world through its wishes to such an extent that Spain's response to an announcement of a full trade embargo by the world's most powerful state is "We note that statement with calm and normality." elpais.com/espana/2026-...

"...what is really needed is a 'NATO without the US' summit to speak openly about what we now need to do in face of acute threats"

Of course it could be the case that the last six UK Prime Ministers have been uniquely inept at exactly the same time that European leaders have similarly been mostly inept, or people might stop being so insular and notice a wider trend.

Nothing says more about the asymmetry of power in the transatlantic relationship than that none of the European leaders will push back publicly on these outbursts from Trump.

I adore you Leon, Egyptologist here, they were built by a largely volunteer force (corvée labor) of 25,000. The builders were very well fed, paid in bread and beer, and received excellent medical care. There was no slavery whatsoever, it is a common misconception.

British politics has reached the silly season.

Another new European security configuration met today at the margins of the NATO summit - E5 (🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇹🇪🇸🇬🇧) plus EU 🇪🇺 plus Turkey 🇹🇷

If Nigel Farage drops out of the race as more and more allegations surface, will... the people of Clacton elect Count Bin face to the House of Commons? Are you even allowed to enter the UK Parliament masked by a bin?

EXC - The £5m gift to Nigel Farage by a cryptocurrency billionaire was reported to the National Crime Agency by bankers who were concerned it may have been laundered money, the Guardian can reveal. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Kemi Badenoch says the Tories will not stand against Nigel Farage in the Clacton by-election "We're not standing in a fake by-election" Labour has also said it won't stand against Nigel Farage in Clacton. As it stands, only Count Binface will run against Farage

🇭🇺⚖️🗳️The proposals to amend the Constitution of Hungary by TISZA have been tabled, and they go much beyond a rule of law restoration process, in places being more of a rule of law decapitation process. Translation by Deepl, so usual caveats apply (no, we Slavs don't understand Hungarian). Thread! 1/

The single, overaching aim of European (security) policy should be that the ramblings of Trump no longer matter. Only by fully taking responsibility for its own security can European take away this power and shrug off the recycling of threats.

My favourite quote: “The Ankara Summit should serve as Europe’s graduation ceremony: the moment the continent accepts full responsibility for its own security [at the Eastern flank and its Southern perimeter]. Europe cannot afford to be a single-flank power in a multi-front world.”

Nigel Farage to make the first populist salto of today, announcing to resign as MP only to fight the by-election again, to 'make the people of Clacton the judge' (amidst accusations of taking huge donations).