How can this remotely be acceptable?

The ship is sinking. The Captain’s lackey said it was about the depth, drowning and death.

Does he really get paid money to come out with that? We should play a game where everyone has to come up with three things the govt has to do for each letter of the alphabet. I’ll start - Action, Aggression and Artfulness, Bravery, Balance and Breadth, Caution, Cleverness and Creativity.

UK gov is polling dismally, and the UK economy is flatlining. Without getting closer to Europe nothing will improve. So McSweeney is free to come up with as much nonsense as he wants, because 1) it does not matter anyway, and 2) he still gets paid.

"Europe in 2026, under siege from two sides". Very good that this is being understood. Stories of global dominance, interest spheres, etc mask the plain fact that we in Europe are in an existential fight for our own survival.

"NATO is already dead":

Nearly six in 10 (58%) people who would vote in a second referendum said they would cast their ballot to return to the EU. The finding in a Deltapoll survey for The Mirror comes ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Brexit vote this year www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Stories like this keep popping up. Apparently the UK wants to get closer to EU. This is a good thing. We as EU can now patiently explain - again - what is needed for that. Until then the UK, unfortunately, has to keep floundering.

I would push back a little against zero efforts - there were definitely some real initiatives - but I think it is now fair and necessary to argue that the strategy of sycophancy to Trump is actively hindering European leaders from going more forcefully for an independent and strong Europe.

There should be a standard policy not to consult nor to include Hungary in any of these statements.

Excellent thread on the balance between morals (upholding international law) versus realism - which boils down to 'only raw power matters'.

At some point the 'realignment' in British politics is going to come under severe pressure on the issue of national security and global conflict. It is not possible to be patriotic/nationalist and also pro-Trump/pro-Putin.

There may be similarities with the Iraq war: Saddam Hussain was a horrible dictator, but toppling his regime was in hindsight not the right course.

Very good and positive news on the non-exemption of UK to the EU CBAM measure. CBAM is meant to protect EU producers that need to follow stringent EU environmental limits from more dirty foreign products. Surely this works only if it is enforced. (1/x)

If Trump is able to justify attacking Venezuela by labeling them a narco-state, he can wriggle the US out under any security guarantee to Ukraine as soon as it is expedient. 'Security guarantees' provided by unreliables are figments of imagination, evaporating at the first sign of trouble.

It's New Year, so time to look back and forward. These are 10 things I think we need to recognise in 2026. It’s a response to what I think are profoundly damaging mistaken assumptions I’ve heard and read from practitioners, journalists, and analysts in 2025. Warning: very long🧵

Some very interesting polling results in this @grandcontinent.bsky.social survey of 9 EU countries (Thread) legrandcontinent.eu/fr/eurobazoo...

Quite clear that the decision to ban private fireworks in the Netherlands - starting in 2026 - was a good idea.

The gammons and reformorons will have hated this!! 😂😂 Brilliant pyrotechnic and light show to ring in the new year. Well done Sadiq Khan and crew!

It's official: Bulgaria is in the euro-zone. An excerpt from an atypically emotional NYE address by the Central Bank governor: "Thank you, friends. We are home. This is not a protocol. It is a feeling. In this sense, the euro is not just an economic solution... www.bnb.bg/AboutUs/Pres...

The takeaway is not that journalists make absurd predictions. This was a blunt, but reasonable headline in 1996. It's that outcomes that seem highly unlikely/wildly optimistic do happen occasionally due to agency. Bulgarians and Europeans took forks in the road over the yrs that made today reality.

I was sceptical before, given the complete lack of evidence and the absurdly convenient timing, but I'm fully on board now that the Russian government has drawn some lines on a map.

Tomorrow, Bulgaria joins the euro area. This milestone reflects years of hard work and commitment. Now it means simpler payments, easier travel and so many new opportunities for Bulgarian businesses. Поздравления, България! You can be proud of what you achieved.

Nice thread showing how isolated UK politics is. All the information is there, but UK pols simply ignore it. And nobody - save the FT in a tweet - will hold them to account.

The lessons from the Tory demise is that this is precisely what will happen: As long as Starmer does not crash the economy like Truss or let MPs lie for him and then expose them (like Johnson) he will be fine, and Labour will slowly drift to oblivion in a few years.

This would have come out eventually (that the attack was a hoax) I guess Russia did this to justify yet again not doing anything in the ‘peace process’ - and make Trump look like a fool.

Why am I not surprised?

The Trump Admin has repeatedly demonstrated to allies around the globe that US security guarantees mean nothing as long as Trump is president. He won’t even agree to abide by the NATO charter, so how can he be trusted to honor any Ukraine deal.

Stronger ties. Bigger markets. 2025 has been a breakthrough year for European trade. The EU expanded its global reach, broke down barriers, and delivered real results for businesses and citizens. Europe owns the moment with secure supply chains, stable markets, and more opportunities ahead ↓

Who saw that coming?

For all the UK campaigning on mobility, what have they achieved? Frankly, Europe has done virtually all the running, incl. pushing for youth mobility, while the constraints of UK administration and the economy have done the rest. 1

Call it “mutual” and suddenly people get it.

This talk about a customs union with EU does not seem to go away any time soon, so it may be good to say something from the EU perspective. TL;DR: UK can better focus on other ways to get closer to EU (1/x)

In English: “Putin sends thousands over thousands of Russians to death and yet still cannot fully control Pokrovsk and has lost Kupyansk again. But murder peaceful families in Kyiv with drones in residential buildings, he can do that. War criminal.”

My guess is that other UK foreigner-unfriendly policies such as high visa costs and the NHS surcharge also play a role It is thus sensible not to go to a UK: UK is closed for business.

Sad and predictable but also interesting and revealing to see the angry reaction from the populist right to the King's Speech. They're reading it as a call for tolerance of diversity, approval for multi-faith, multi-cultural UK, and supportive of Ukraine. Which I think it was & intentionally so. 1/3

The UK is uniquely vulnerable to MAGA-style fascism, especially because of its timid media and government.

It would be good to know what the UK gov thinks of this US ban on UK citizens.

Well said @ec.europa.eu “The EU is an open, rules-based single market, with the sovereign right to regulate economic activity in line with our democratic values and international commitments” www.ft.com/content/c4e7...

Let us see when Europe wakes up and understands the alliance is over. Will it be the bombing of Paris that will do it or the nuking of Berlin?

Good news: the EU will not let itself be undercut by an UK that does not sign up to Level Playing Field conditions on the free trading of electricity. Also good that a financial contribution of UK is named as condition, as well as UK adhering to EU State Aid rules.

Have become quite critical of Macron lately. But for the EU's sole nuclear power this is an important response.

Some 53% of UK exporters told the [BCC] that the trade deal with Europe was unsatisfactory — a 13 percentage point increase from 2024. “By contrast, just 16% of nearly 900 exporters surveyed in October said the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement… was working well.” www.ft.com/content/b3d3...

Excellent news The European Commission and Japan have successfully concluded negotiations on Japan's association to Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship €93.5 billion research and innovation funding programme. The agreement, expected to be signed in 2026

Good to see* that the UK is willing to do a live experiment with depopulation. Let us see how long the UK will stay 'closed for business'. *for those of us that live in EU.

The latest Brexiters fashion: They acknowledge Brexit damage, note how good it would be to be in EU again, but they rule it out for....<whatever> Any reason is good enough for them: here is is practicalities and electoral However, never is the actual question answered: What is the right choice?

Ever so often the froth of Brexiter delirium washes ashore:

The EU never gets praise even when it acts. There is so much constant EU negging that commentators struggle to praise when it delivers. The EU did what it needed to do. Take the win. Last night was a big step for Ukraine and the European project. First, the EU got the money for Ukraine 1/

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.