🚨🚨Very welcome new French landmark legislation was approved yesterday introducing the concept of consent in the legal definition of #rape following the shocking #GisèlePelicot trial last year. 🧵 www.politico.eu/article/fran...

World Travel and Tourism Council quits UK for EU due to Brexit. 'The benefits of a European head office include lower operational costs, EU single market access and recruitment flexibility of a multilingual talent pool'. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Everything you wanted to know about the Dutch elections but were afraid to ask or couldn't find in English

Huge thanks to @edwinhayward.com for taking part in this month’s Bremainers Ask feature An author/political commentator Edwin’s book Slaying Brexit Unicorns, debunks many of the myths surrounding Brexit Read his excellent answers to our Q’s on Labour, Brexit, Reform & more @suewilson91.bsky.social

🚨🚨Important @politico.eu opinion piece by @alanderminna.bsky.social & @josephdeweck.bsky.social suggesting- based on recent polling- that there is quite strong support among EU citizens for more European integration, notably in terms of security and defence:

Quote: Brexit means more than Brexit. Those who voted Leave in 2016 have distinctive views on a range of so-called cultural issues. They are especially concerned about immigration, they are doubtful about many equalities policies, and they are more inclined to be sceptical about climate change.

Tbh there's a great argument to be made for re-opening dozens of railway lines shut in the 60s and 70s. Many were shut due to the assumption that cars were the future and railways would die out. Now we know that we need extensive public transport both for sustainability & income inequality reasons.

When 37 intelligence officials are saying one thing about Russia and Tulsi Gabbard is saying another, who are you going to trust

"Diplomats and governments on NATO’s eastern flank warn that Russia is trying to use peace talks to obtain a strategic advantage it hasn't been able to win on the battlefield despite three-and-a-half years of bloody fighting that cost it over a million casualties."

The discussion about security guarantees is based on a misunderstanding of what Putin has said or means. But that doesn't mean it can't be useful. If the European countries run with it now, it can be very difficult for Russia to get out of it later.

Nothing appears to have actually changed with regard to Ukraine in the last seven days, but numerous world leaders flew to the US to flatter the President. Such is this Trump Presidency.

I really resent that I have to waste valuable lifetime following the incoherent ramblings of a major earthly leader while the people who elect him only give a hoot about politics once every 4 years and otherwise go on with their (soon not so merry) lives. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

I höst beslutar ScandFibre Logistics (SFL) vilket eller vilka företag som får utföra transporterna av papper och förpackningsmaterial under de kommande fem åren. Risken är stor att många transporter förs över från tåg till lastbil. #järnvägar LÄS ARTIKELN: jarnvagar.nu/gods-fran-ta...

Reminder that Putin has never said he wants a trilateral meeting, had never said he would respect Ukrainian sovereignty, and has never said he wants to end the war. Not to be a downer, but the discussion of security guarantees is premature.

Interesting, and according to expectations: Leaving the EU creates also barriers to service trade - and of course many services are linked to goods trade. Equally logical is that this is not compensated by increased trade with the rest of the world - there was nothing holding UK back while in EU.

What happened when an Oxford Uni AI/Media specialist, Alex Connock turned to ChatGPT to deliver a term-long master’s course for his students? He was impressed BUT before doing so he prompted ChatGPT to absorb everything he’s ever said or written about his subject theconversation.com/i-got-an-ai-...

Negating formidable defensive lines by “negotiations” is an old dictator tactic. Hitler used it in Czechoslovakia, Stalin tried to use it in Finland, Putin tries to use it in Ukraine.

A sick question from a Kremlin-coddling stooge & utter coward. The Ukrainian troops I met on the front were fighting — were willing to give their lives — to protect their children, families, & friends. Their homes, nation, & freedom. Not being ‘sent to their deaths’ for ‘maps.’

Jeg har talt med @information.dk om resultatet af topmødet i Alaska og perspektiverne for en fredsaftale. Denne passage opsummerer vist min hovedpointe: "Det mest slående ved Alaska-topmødet er ifølge Anders Puck Nielsen »den totale inkompetence og naivitet fra amerikansk side«."

It just occurred to me that of all the state leaders meeting in the White House, Zelensky represents the country with the largest army. Sure, the US and others have more expensive equipment, but it's still food for thought.

It's a bit ridiculous to watch the Western press excited about Trump's message about security guarantees for Ukraine without reporting that the Russians simultaneously deny having made such a concession.

The Labour Party continues to disappoint. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

BREAKING: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posted following a call with President Trump “Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace”

A kiss behind the parasol, unseen and unknown — to all but the happy sun. 🌞 An artist well worth a follow: @les-illus-d-alex.bsky.social

The meaning we need to unpack is that if the democracies of Europe allow Trump to take the lead in negotiating with Putin, the results will be very bad for Ukraine and all Europe. Europe needs to seize control of the situation, and that means accelerating investment in defence and in Ukraine.

Sadly there's already *been* a quiet UK coup, that made Brexit happen and has turned what should've been a Labour government into the same old Tories, or worse. We do need massive constitutional change. Complacency is Britain's disease.

Quote: We welcome President Trump's statement that the US is prepared to give security guarantees. The Coalition of the Willing is ready to play an active role. No limitations should be placed on Ukraine's armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries.

I disagree. The Russian war economy most certainly cannot keep doing this forever. Meanwhile, European defense production is still expanding rapidly. It will become increasingly difficult for Putin to maintain the pressure on the frontline.

Severe ME is lying in darkness, wondering how you can be this ill without being dead - while the world forgets you exist. From the outside, it's a body that looks still, a room that's dark and quiet - but underneath, there is a patient dealing with a storm. (Exact numbers are hard to assess.)

This is very interesting: the FT uses radar satellite data to show that Europe is building for war, with arms factories expanding at triple speed. Cost curves should start to come down with scale, and the holy grail: more joint procurement and standardisation. www.ft.com/content/ce61...

Am Freitag treffen in Alaska ein Präsident und ein Diktator aufeinander. Trump ist gewählter Präsident der USA (mit autokratischem Mindset), Putin ist Russlands Machthaber. Dass Putin von vielen Medien weiterhin als „Präsident“ bezeichnet wird, ist ein Problem. Thread. 1/10

The upcoming rerun of the Munich accords is such an extreme embarrassment for the US. One hopes there is a Churchill in the background who will be ready to salvage the situation and stand up against the tyrant in the Kremlin.

Friends, I've noticed a larger than usual number of bots&trolls here in recent days. The reason for that is obvious - Russian propaganda is investing a lot of resources into the information space this week.The stakes are high Are you noticing more bots here (on other social media platforms)as well?

A couple of points: 1. Eastern Ukraine is not Trump’s to bargain away. 2. This 1-on-1 meeting is already a huge win for Putin. By sidelining Zelenskyy, Putin has reinforced his narrative about the illegitimacy of #Ukraine as a sovereign state. www.wsj.com/world/putin-...

We are approaching arguably the geopolitically defining moment of the war. Trump has admitted he is cooking up a plan with Ukraine ceding territory to Russia. Ukraine will want to reject…and then European states will have to step up and be counted.

"We’re seeing opinion polling suggesting that the most outdated, regressive, conservative attitudes towards women and their bodies are most likely to be held by the youngest cohort of men surveyed."

People start to put two and two together:

”Politiskt delirium” var ordet. Trump är bara en mobbare o alla förlorar. Hökmark skriver som det är: hokmark.eu/europa-maste...

Important to state, there is no 90/180 problem. It's working for the people it's supposed to be working for, ensuring a smooth border and reducing illegal working and overstaying. Most importantly, it keeps our internal borders open. 1

Moving from (southernmost) Sweden to (northernmost) Germany for work offered some, but in fact very few, cultural shocks. Scandinavia and Germany do most of the time tick in the same way. Most, although not all, of what's explained here applies to Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden as well.

Put a price tag on those weapons, and you’ll get the US debt to Ukraine.

NOW the trillion dollar question is whether China will share their findings with russia’s defense industry & whether the European defense industry will be smart enough to learn its lessons — or whether China will leap ahead a decade or more in terms of industrial efficiency and ability to innovate.

People in UK should stop with this nonsense. There wil not be a returns agreement with France or EU. We in Europe know that UK is only interested in off-loading its own responsibility. It is a hard no-go. Please all stop with this incredible bullsh*t. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Excellent article explaining why both slides agree on fully implementing the Windsor Framework. What it omits is the role of goods imported from third countries... 🧵 1/3

While the slight degree of UK divergence from EU SPS regs is an issue as mentioned, the EU also doesn't trust the UK's post-Brexit import controls, so the concern is as much about food from third countries entering the Single Market via Northern Ireland. 2/3

Moreover, as the EU is no longer obliged to check goods marked *for transit* to the UK, it doesn't do so, which ironically creates a bigger loophole as so much third country produce enters the UK via the EU. IMHO The proposed Common Food Area won't work unless it also solve this. 3/3

⚡️Ukraine must accept Moscow's demands or 'surrender,' Russia’s ambassador to UK says. Russia's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andrei Kelin, said Russia is continuing its offensive and sees no need to stop hostilities, publicly acknowledging Moscow's disregard for U.S.-backed ceasefire efforts.

An artist well worth a follow: @les-illus-d-alex.bsky.social

Exactly this 💯. The problem is that people like Farage, Braverman, Rabb, and Badenoch want human rights to be a privilege which only some enjoy. Such rights are then no longer universal and fundamental, nor rights really. The UK is not capable of protecting/entrenching human rights against repeal.