Its is time to call the Reset a failure: Two years wasted and not even an SPS/Youth mobility deal. What a sorry spectacle. With this failure, the end of Starmers Prime Ministers term is close - whether Burnham replaced him or not. If you don’t deliver what your voters want, you deserve the sack.

This shows the abject failure of US as well: Even with their help Russia is losing.

“Mere minutes after DOGE members had accessed the agency’s data, there appeared to be login attempts from an IP address in Russia” www.wired.com/story/he-ble...

Watch the US gov stirring up hostility and division:

I’d venture this has nothing to do with Russia and everything to do with the administration’s displeasure with and disdain for Germany. Saying it’s cos of Putin is just bonus trolling. Lesson is the same either way: America is not a serious ally anymore.

This is *such* a consistent feature of living in the UK - the actual day to day experience of people in this country is so much nicer than what the press or our leadership cadre would have you think - it is remarkable in a somewhat destabilising fashion just how stark the difference is.

An interesting ‘gem’ in this CNN article. Remember the 300 billion fund for Iran that the US proposed? As expected, the US would not invest “The US would not invest in the fund..” (1/2) edition.cnn.com/2026/06/03/p...

This is useful info for Europe, in the sense that the Canadians are ‘closest to the fire’ and know what is going on. This is another datapoint showing that the old alliance has ended. What remains is finding the best way to sever ties as quickly and painlessly as possible.

European parties and society should be ready to declare this funding as toxic as the JD Vance support for Orban. The US is actively siding with Russia to try to undermine the EU and Europe as a whole.

Ukraine to start EU accession negotiations as Hungary lifts veto after agreement on minority rights www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

Good idea to think up reasons for the latest Trump tariffs of 10% on Europe: Trump actually likes Europe, and therefore sees the need for Europe to detatch itself from an unreliable US. More tariffs = less trade = more detachment

Whether the UK voted for or against the EU entry-exit system is irrelevant: Firstly, the EES is a sovereign choice of EU. Secondly, the UK has a similar system. And thirdly, if the opinion of UK ever becomes relevant - in the case of Rejoin - the UK will adopt the EU system.

Vrij reizen is het fundament van de Europese Unie. Dat deze symbool politiek uit Wilders I door kabinet Jetten wordt doorgezet is kortzichtig en populistisch. In een wereld met steeds meer autocraten die Europa onder druk zetten moeten we juist onze vrijheden versterken. Weg met die grenscontroles

If Labour does not ruthlessly root out those that want to harm UK, the loss in 2029 will be self-inflicted.

True. It is really bad.

Excellent:

The thought that asking for as little exemptions as possible would actually good for UK has not popped up. Deaf and blind in their own small world.

Renewable energy nowadays is one big good news show:

As for the idea that its democracy was stronger, the UK was always an easy target, with no proper constitution, no tradition of référendums, a crazy voting system, a biased press, and so forth. It wasn't case of "How could it happen here?" More how it hadn't happened earlier. 6

This is good and how it should be. The EU should use its regulatory powers to support this, thus enhance our strategic autonomy, while creating growth and jobs in EU.

In itself it is reasonable that US and Israel pay reparations for the illegal war they started. In practice these funds will likely never exist.

Apologies for another quote post of same, but its useful to highlight the essentials: According to Blair, the EU's technology regulations harm growth (they don't), are something which UK can avoid (it can't) and can be influenced by UK at the same time (they cannot). Incoherent. Folly. (1/2)

Great research - another data point on how Musk with X is aiming to manipulate public discourse by outrageously enhancing the most radical voices. And a good reminder why the political & media bubble in the UK and across the EU need to move away from X and not treat it as a representative forum.

Failure is an orphan

Two thoughtful contributions (see post 1 but also 2). The new technologies like AI do require a new spiritual, ethical and political framework - not just for catholics.

The title sounds a bit 'gun-ho', but the substance is there: EU should enact some real (balanced, targeted, sensible, etc.) defending against the impact of the China export machine on EU. www.ft.com/content/9876...

There is no deal yet. This is like the Iran-US 'deal': unilateraly announcing that a deal is done is not how it works, especially since it is EU that is in control of EU borders, and thus decides on requirements.

What a nice tool. If I put net migration at zero for the Netherlands, the population would shrink from 18 million now to 11 million 2100 (but we live an average of 90 years :))

A Single Market for goods is a silly idea that should have been buried a long time ago. Good that it is now being confirmed by EU MS ministers as well. The UK should ask itself: if you have no idea and don’t listen, what good will a summit do? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Why I have issues with neutrality in the EU…

Any UK gov that refuses to tackle Brexit, withers and does poorly, as they have nothing to offer but a UK sliding to irrelevance. Why do Brexiters keep writing such bad articles denying the obvious?

I checked it myself - its really there. Just two remarks: - For sure you do now want to be the "backward-facing" part of the trade-union movement - how wonderful that in the robot-factories there still are 'major opportunities' in areas requiring traditional skills What gibberish. How embarrassing

Excellent article on the folly of deregulation. Benefits are nonexistent to minimal, while the drawbacks are huge. Who wants the old bottle caps back? Roaming charges? Certainly not ordinary Europeans.

This can only happen if the net result of including UK would actually strengthen EU economies (first) and industries (second) It does not do if EU money helps to build cars in UK by satellites of EU companies - even if UK contributes.

Besides the AI- gibberish and the pain-to-the-people nonsense, the most striking point is how tone-deaf this is: Abandon net zero? With the Strait closed? Closer to Trump?? Want to give him Scotland or so? He is right that UK is on a slow decline, but there are real solutions to that (1/2)

Good to postpone the EU-UK summit. There is no need for it if the substance is nearly nil. Non-painful reasons to postpone: agenda trouble, late replies and just general silence would be enough. UK Labour won’t say anything - as always.

Interesting that the idea of another EU referendum is regularly discussed on broascast media as something that would cause division and thus a bad idea. But plans to deport literally millions of people are discussed as administrative questions.

The Brexit omerta is certainly ending, with now more voices in the UK openly arguing at least for a revision of the hard Brexit redlines, if not outright rejoin, here the @economist.com. (Though of course this is mainly an UK-internal debate for now).

Having some queues for max 2.5 hours, which dissolved the same day is not really a big problem. The advantages of the EES - an EU wide system that more accurately checks overstays and can easily be automated are clear. Good that EES is now implemented.

Look at the nice video: Schengen rocks 😄

Another positive move from EU:

A difficulty is that both US and Iran are unreliable, and that they don’t trust each other - with reason. Any acceptable deal needs thus to be double fail-proof (be able to withstand sabotage from both) Having the madman in Israel on the loose also does not help.

If you're still trying to figure it out after a decade that might be a clue....

The political difference EU membership makes in 2026 is the difference between Hungary and Turkey

There were 2-hour queues which - according to Dutch media - dissolved in the afternoon after France simplified the procedures temporarily. So it wasn’t that bad: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Back to the future A single market in goods was Thorneycroft’s big alternative to EEC in 1956 It failed then and will fail again - not least because the UK is a services economy that needs a single market in services (which needs FOM) www.ft.com/content/b13e...

This idea - a s’single market for goods’ has been rebuffed so many times we lost count… May pitched it already. It is annoying when the UK simply does not listen. Do we have to shout? Speak slowly? “THE..FOUR…FREEDOMS..ARE…INDIVISIBLE…” DOOO YOUUU UNDERSTAAAAND?”

"Europe is stronger when Britain leads." is not only arrogant, but also factually wrong. Before the Pax Europaea the various big European nations - France, Germany and England - constantly vied for power and waged endless wars on each other for 1000 years. Europe was far weaker back then.

Politicians endlessly blame immigration for their own failures. So, when immigration is reduced, their ‘success’ isn’t recognised. No one’s life has particularly improved. Because no one’s life was ever going to improve by reducing immigration. Because our problems were never caused by immigration.

Another tell that shows that Europe is - in the practical sense - already at war with Russia: