At the January 2016 meeting with Putin, his spy chiefs and senior ministers “agreed a Trump White House would help secure Moscow’s strategic objectives, among them ‘social turmoil’ in the US and a weakening of the American president’s negotiating position” theguardian.com/world/2021/jul…
“Russia’s 3 spy agencies were ordered to find practical ways to support Trump, in a decree appearing to bear Putin’s signature.”

“A report prepared by Putin’s expert department recommended Moscow use “all possible force” to ensure a Trump victory.”
“There is a brief psychological assessment of #Trump, who is described as an ‘impulsive, mentally unstable and unbalanced individual who suffers from an inferiority complex’”

“There is also apparent confirmation that the Kremlin possesses kompromat on the future president”
The election of Trump “would help bring about Russia’s favoured “theoretical political scenario’.”

“A Trump win ‘will definitely lead to the destabilisation of the US’s sociopolitical system’ and see hidden discontent burst into the open, it predicts.”

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More from @DaveKeating

18 Jul
Dominic Cummings, @BorisJohnson’s chief advisor until November, says the PM told him when it comes to #COVID19 restrictions he “doesn’t believe in any of this”.

“I wish I’d been the mayor in Jaws and kept the beaches open” Cummings claims Johnson said.
The revelation comes as Johnson is refusing to self-isolate after one of his ministers tested positive, as members of the public are required to do.

Tomorrow is “Freedom Day” in the UK, when Johnson has instructed the country to completely reopen.
news.sky.com/story/pm-and-s…
Well, that was quick.

After massive public backlash about one rule did the British elites and another foe the rest of society, they’ve u-turned and announced Johnson *will* self-isolate.
Read 4 tweets
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
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%).
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
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
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
12 Jul
#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.
Read 5 tweets

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