🛡️ The European Commission unveils its new #DemocracyShield today – a plan to protect the EU from foreign interference and manipulation. But can the EU defend democracy without turning it into a security project? @carlosdolan.bsky.social weighs in. 🔗 www.epc.eu/publication/...

The U.S. has become a rogue state.

Crikey. That's a lot of pent-up political frustration. Not a good omen

Ireland, Presidential Election: With the majority of first preference votes counted, the number of spoiled ballots has hit a record high of over 200,000. At the last Presidential Election, it stood at just 18,438. ➤ europeelects.eu/ireland #Áras2025 #Ireland

I guess the headline should read "compulsive liar pardons compulsive liar" www.bbc.com/news/article...

Looks like pro-EU vote in Moldova has held up

The CJEU has fast-tracked this case in which the EU Commission is challenging Hungary's 'defence of sovereignty' law - the hearing is set for next Tuesday (Sep 16th)

Great episode from @theresthistory.bsky.social on the myths that sprang up around German WWI blood sacrifices. One detail omitted was that Hitler made a point of visiting Langemark cemetery in 1940, emphasising again the importance of the myth to nazi propaganda. podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/t...

When people talk about Latin American narco-gangs being multinational enterprises, they don't simply mean their activities extend across borders and continents. Brazil's PCC also has legal and accounting units. I wouldn't be surprised if a sustainability department is also in the works.

The jury is still out on whether Trump's policies are economic folly, as well as authoritarian nastiness. Seems to be a strong element of wishful thinking on the former. (H/t @adamtooze.bsky.social)

Notable: the EU commits to making adjustments to three laws that have raised "concerns" on the US side. - Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) - Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) - Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

Whacked on the BBC Glasto coverage to see what they were showing instead of Kneecap and caught Amy of Amyl & the Sniffers giving a pro Palestine speech... Beeb editors playing whack-a-mole

Bad case of 'whataboutism'

In China's own readout, it criticised "the serious human rights issues in EU countries" including, and I quote, "the regression of democracy and freedom" www.mfa.gov.cn/wjdt_674879/...

Yes, we got a tip when the $TRUMP whales (biggest buyers of his crypto) were going to show up Friday at the White House for their VIP tour and The NYT was there. We had a list with their names. So we knew who they were. But they did not want to chat. I still tried...

I was lucky enough to spend a couple of years reading MacIntyre for my MA. Like many, I was impressed by the historical sweep of his critique of liberalism. But also his impish sense of humour...1/

Belgium has asked the European Parliament to waive the immunity of five MEPs over the so-called #Huaweigate. - Salvatore De Meo (Italy, EPP) - Giusi Princi (Italy, EPP) - Fulvio Martusciello (Italy, EPP) - Daniel Attard (Malta, S&D) - Nikola Minchev (Bulgaria, Renew)

The attendees were selected based on who had spent the most on TRUMP and held their coins the longest between the announcement date and the deadline at 1:30 pm ET on Monday, May 12. The identities of the investors who vied for a place are concealed.

A dark turn in Hungary’s democracy erosion: disguised as a transparency measure to prevent sovereignty threats, the Bill on the Transparency of Public Life aims to starve and strangle civil society, independent media and any legal entity the government decides to target. helsinki.hu/en/operation...

Good, dogged journalism by @quentinaries.bsky.social and Roland Papp in the face of hapless stonewalling by Commission spokespersons. Hard to escape conclusion that EU is constantly on the backfoot when it comes to Orban's provocations.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Journalists ask @ec.europa.eu about the Starve&Strangle bill. @rlndpapp.bsky.social @quentinaries.bsky.social audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-2...

AG Pam Bondi sold over $1M in Trump Media stock on April 2 What else happened that day? Trump’s tariff policy went into effect & then the stock price went down Hmm... I’ll discuss tonight w Anderson Cooper @cnn.com at 8:30 pm ET

Three of us who oversaw emoluments enforcement for three presidents, Democratic and Republican, agree: Between the Qatari plane and the UAE crypto cash, this is far over the line Here's how to stop it @nytopinion.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/o...

Trump and his family have profited by $330m from their crypto business while promoting deregulation. Good reporting by @ericlipton.nytimes.com on what is a blatant act of corruption, even if by a peculiar twist of US governance the President is exempt from federal conflict of interest laws.

Trump is profiting off of the presidency His crypto grift is raking in millions while he slashes Medicaid & guts essential services I’ll discuss tonight with @ericlipton.nytimes.com on AC360 at 8pm ET - TN www.democracydefendersfund.org/prs/04.23.25-pr

My new home in Uruguay has much going for it - beautiful coastline, hospitable people, a thriving democracy. But it also has a dark side as regional financial hub with a patchy record of fighting financial crime. Reflections on how UY needs to step up the fight: www.linkedin.com/pulse/urugua...

Ireland's data protection watchdog finds its teeth. The question now is whether US companies will also feel its bite.

Ha! Excellent [Monty Burns finger-clasp]

Europeans are fleeing X en masse, according to a new report from Elon Musk’s social media platform.

Just in: Ukraine and the US sign minerals deal. - 50/50 management, so no US veto - No debt obligations = no repayment of aid - Respect for Ukraine's EU integration - Covers critical materials, oil and gas - Also related infrastructure and processing - Only new projects, existing projects excluded

At last!

If there's a more brazen act of corruption - selling access to political office for personal gain - then I've not seen it www.bbc.com/news/article...

H/t to Rest is History folks for highlighting this vintage gem which I'm embarrassed to say I'd never seen before. Star turns by an androgynous Marianne Faithfull and Keith as bewigged beak youtu.be/WOWvT5dPGJE?...

The thing about Europe: it's the actual land of the free now. Whatever problems Europe has - and it has plenty - it is looking pretty damn good by comparison these days. My Charlemagne this week www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

💥📈 In just six months, Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar’s TISZA party has surged to a 14-point lead over Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz, per the reliable 21 Research Center pollster—putting TISZA on the brink of a two-thirds majority in parliament. 🗳️🇭🇺 Next election is in April 2026.

The #EuropeanParliament is in denial about the roots of its corruption problems. It engages in pointless blame games while refusing to create an ethics culture that encourages speaking up and welcomes investigations of misconduct. My article for @euobserver.com euobserver.com/eu-political...

The Israeli entrepreneur Shalev Hulio gained notoriety for designing Pegasus, the spyware used by governments to hack journalists and dissidents. Today, he is selling a new AI cyber security tool to European states and corporations. His secret asset? Austria’s former leader Sebastian Kurz. [Thread]

📢 NEW COMMENTARY | How not to fix a corruption scandal Carl Dolan analyses deeper issues connected to the latest corruption scandal hitting the European Parliament following accusations that lawmakers have accepted bribes from Huawei @carlosdolan.bsky.social Read here 👇 www.epc.eu/en/Publicati...

The European Parliament has a strategy for dealing with its corruption problem. Blame lobbyists. Blame foreigners. Blame the rules. Blame anyone but MEPs and staff. epc.eu/en/Publicati...

How to institutionalise corruption, lesson #321 via @edwardluce.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/9f51...

JUST IN: Saying the Trump administration’s “grievous error” “shocks the conscience,” a federal judge has rejected their call to lift her order demanding the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The Belgian prosecutor has charged eight people with active corruption, money laundering and criminal organization in an investigation into Huawei’s lobbying activities in Europe, it said in a statement today.

Both these points are valid: OLAF has a unique mandate to investigate serious misconduct of MEPs but lacks the tools to be effective. The solution is to give it these tools!

While playing Risk recently, I realised why Trump's obsessed with Canada and Greenland. He thinks he gets 5 extra armies if he owns the whole continent

In all sincerity, that such obviously intelligent people could be so oblivious or ignorant of what is contained in their own code of conduct speaks volumes for the ethical culture inside the European Parliament

Major misjudgment here since the UN is probably the only organisation Trump dislikes more than the Zelensky government.

Gifts and corporate hospitality is one area where the European Parliament rules are more strict than Westminster. But MEPs often come from national political cultures - like the UK - where softening up MPs with these freebies is considered acceptable.

Among the many things that Napolean and I have in common, struggling to learn a foreign language is the one I most empathise with publicdomainreview.org/collection/n...

Really interesting from @jamesrball.com on the challenges to Five Eyes www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/united...

It simultaneously infringes on the Polish constitution, EU law and international law. Shocking even more, as the justice minister used to be a well known human rights activist, and the vice-minister of interior in charge of migration - a renowned migration scholar. www.bbc.com/news/article...