Share this page!

Dave Keating Profile picture
Twitter logo
12 Jul, 5 tweets, 4 min read
#Malta's decision to start banning all unvaccinated travellers (even EU citizens) violates the spirit, if not the letter, of EU travel pass legislation.

Will the EC say such suspensions of Schengen free movement are no longer justifiable because the certificate is now available?
#DeltaVariant cases in key 🇪🇺 countries - 🇵🇹🇪🇸🇨🇾🇲🇹 among them - are rising rapidly following 🇬🇧 rise.

But tourism industry is warning governments not to overreact. Hospitalisations and deaths are not rising at anywhere near the same pace, because most Europeans are vaccinated. ImageImageImage
The charts showing the rapid rise in Covid cases in Europe as the #DeltaVariant spreads are legitimately alarming.

The big question is whether Europe's high rate of vaccination (the highest of any continent) will protect against hospitalisations and deaths even as cases rise.
Looking at the 2 European countries which have had the most severe early experience of #DeltaVariant running rampant - Russia & UK - we can see difference vaccination makes.

On cases, UK (50% fully vaccinated) looks terrifying. But on deaths, you see Russia (12%) is far worse. ImageImage
The European Commission announced this afternoon that it is pushing back against #Malta for banning unvaccinated EU citizens from entering, and is informing Valletta today.

Malta can be taken to court for violating EU free movement law.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Dave Keating

Dave Keating Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @DaveKeating

Dave Keating Profile picture
14 Jul
The EPP, the largest and most powerful political group in the EU, has declared that the Polish government is putting the country on the road to "Polexit" with its dismantling of the rule of law.

Today the country refused to implement rulings of the ECJ.
eppgroup.eu/newsroom/news/…
The ECJ ruled last year that Poland’s Disciplinary Chamber must suspend the politically-motivated cases it is pursuing against judges.

The decision "shows blatant disregard for the EU’s highest court" Amnesty International said today. amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
What happens if a member state refuses to abide by ECJ rulings (relevant now for 🇵🇱&🇭🇺) has never been confronted. It is a treaty violation, but does it result in expulsion?

No, there is still no codified way to expel a member state (just like in 🇺🇸).
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
Read 4 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
14 Jul
President @vonderleyen unveiling #FitFor55 climate package now.

It is the largest single batch of legislation to stop climate change proposed by any government anywhere, designed to update EU laws to meet the new 2030 emissions reduction target of 55% (raised from 40%). Image
That EU 2030 target was raised in December, motivated partly by the #FridaysForFuture climate protests.

But for the past 6 months there have been many questions about how the new target will be met.

Today we're getting answers.
energymonitor.ai/policy/eu-emis…
Other major economies are also setting more ambitious 2030 emissions reduction targets.

But today the EU becomes the first to spell out how to reach the goal with detailed policy proposals.
energymonitor.ai/policy/green-d…
Read 14 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
14 Jul
There's been a lot of recent takes that the EU is a failure if it can't enforce a 'union of values' on all its constituent states.

But it's worth pointing out that this is a problem encountered by every federation of states with degrees of sovereignty. apnews.com/article/joe-bi…
Just like President Von der Leyen, President Biden has very limited ability to counter the erosion of democratic rights in US states when it comes to areas that are a state competence.

Like Brussels, Washington has some limited tools. But Texas can mostly do what it wants here.
VDL & Biden can condemn with a moral argument. They can look for ways to deter the member state behaviour through condemnation, or through withholding funding.

But in a federation, ability to directly intervene is limited. EU & US very different, but face similar problems here.
Read 6 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
12 Jul
Breaking: EC spokesman signals pushback against #Malta's entry ban on unvaccinated EU citizens.

"It's true member states can put in place restrictions to protect public health. However any such measure that restricts free movement needs to be proportionate & non-discriminatory" Image
"A vaccine certificate cannot be a precondition for the exercise of free movement. This is 1 of the main principles of the EU digital Covid certificate regulation"

"We have concerns that these measures could discriminate against those persons who are not fully vaccinated" #Malta
A reminder: Just like in US, EU member states cannot close their borders with one another.

Unlike in US, there's exceptions for emergencies but they must be justifiable. Idea of certificate (vax, PCR test & antibodies) was once available these closures are no longer acceptable.
Read 4 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
8 Jul
Hi @TVietor08, loved the @PodSaveAmerica 4th July podcast on debunking narratives.

But I disagree that the US is exceptional because "Our constitution, our system of government, is unique in that we have this capacity to amend it and fix it over time."
crooked.com/podcast/baby-y…
The idea that the US is a young, agile democracy and the nation states of Europe are old and inflexible is itself an American narrative that needs debunking.

Because the precise opposite is true.
The nation states of Europe are almost all younger than the US. Their constitutions are more recent. And they are constantly amending and reinventing things to adjust to modern realities - something the US is now incapable of doing.
Read 8 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
2 Jul
As predicted, #Slovenia's Orban ally PM Janez Janša used his 1st meeting with commissioners to expound on his world view rather than outlining EU presidency plans.

Because of what he said in that meeting, VP Timmermans refused to join him in presser after
politico.eu/article/rule-o…
“I simply could not be on the same podium with PM Janša after his unacceptable attack on and defamation of two judges and two S&D MEPs" Timmermans said.

By contrast, Von der Leyen was reportedly muted in her pushback against Janša. She is in his same EPP political group.
But in presser VDL reminded Janša that 🇸🇮 “has an important role to play on current rule of law files" because at this crucial moment of recovery financing "trust is our most valuable asset"

In other words don't try to delay these files until French presidency starts in 6 months
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @DaveKeating has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @DaveKeating!

Read all threads by @DaveKeating

:(