Dave Keating Profile picture
Oct 9 โ€ข 4 tweets โ€ข 2 min read
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช: a Balto-Finnic people separated by ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ, split by an iron curtain, now united by the ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ.
It is clear who is on the right side of history.

Brutal empires, be it ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ,๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งor๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท, rode roughshod over peoples aspirations. Nation-states birthed in 19th century were formed through myth & forced expulsions

๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ respects national feelings while making arbitrary borders irrelevant
For ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บto accuse ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บof colonialism is laughable.

The #RussianEmpire, unlike others, never had to decolonialise because it was a contiguous land empire that could later hide behind a supposed common ideology. But ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บhas never stopped being a colonial empire. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_iโ€ฆ
The EUโ€™s detractors who long for old days of imperial glory, be they in ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ,๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง,๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท or anywhere else, are looking backwards.

They accuse ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ of being what they themselves want, but with their own people dominating others. They abhor ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ because it stands in the way of that dream.

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More from @DaveKeating

Oct 11
Extraordinary speech by ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บForeign Affairs High Rep @JosepBorrellF saying out loud what member states have opposed him &predecessors saying since position was created in 2009

Capitals jealously guarding their power &information has hobbled ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บon world stage europa.eu/!d8dMvC Image
Immediately after they agreed to create an EU foreign affairs minister and ministry, to give Europe more voice & sovereignty, national capitals worked to undermine the position.

First they insisted it be given an unwieldy title (High Representative for Foreign Affairs). Then...
National governments purposefully 1st appointed a weak unknown novice, Catherine Ashton, whose tenure was an embarrassment

Since then they have done everything to keep High Rep in the dark &not give them robust mandates. Then they complain Europe isn't treated as a global player
Read 5 tweets
Oct 5
Iโ€™m in #Prague for tomorrowโ€™s 1st summit of the new #EuropeanPoliticalCommunity.

The 27 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ leaders will be joined by #Truss, #Erdogan, #Zelensky & others.

The big question: what the hell is this thing? The answer depends on what happens tomorrow in a battle between ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง&๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท. ๐Ÿงต1/9 Image
The idea is that this is a wider European bloc which will include countries not in the EU, either because theyโ€™re waiting to join, they donโ€™t want to join, or theyโ€™ve left (๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง).

But there are already such groupings, like the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and the OECD in Paris. Image
Whatโ€™s the point of the EPC then?

The idea is that, unlike CoE & OECD, this will be a forum for heads of state and government to meet and discuss major issues.

Such leader meetings donโ€™t happen in those other organisations. Image
Read 10 tweets
Sep 29
BREAK - Liz Truss *will* be attending the 1st summit of the #EuropeanPoliticalCommunity in Prague next week.

In fact, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง now fully on board to JOIN this European community and wants to host the 2nd meeting (!?!)

An astonishing u-turn.
A refresher: #EuropeanPoliticalCommunity is ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทPresident @EmmanuelMacron's idea for a forum larger than ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ where European issues can be discussed. An 'outer ring'

Many suspect it's meant as a halfway house to park aspiring members. And a former member.
worldpoliticsreview.com/treaty-politicโ€ฆ
This 1st EPC summit in Prague next Thursday, with ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ27 leaders plus invited ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ, will have to answer many questions.

The first: what the hell is the EPC? And how would it be different from the Council of Europe in Strasbourg? Nobody yet knows.
Read 5 tweets
Sep 29
Now confirmed: ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บCommission is *not* putting a proposal to cap gas prices on the table for tomorrow's emergency meeting of energy ministers.

In the working document circulated to capitals, the Commission warns that the idea, pushed by 15 countries, would do more harm than good.
The pro-cap countries, who between them would have a qualified majority for approval, are angry no proposal has emerged from the Commission (who must initiate legislation for it to be approved)
Wealthy countries that could afford the higher gas prices are opposed to the cap. There is fear the gas will just go elsewhere on global market to countries willing to pay more.

Note that countries with a current account surplus are the ones opposed. politico.eu/newsletter/bruโ€ฆ
Read 5 tweets
Sep 28
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บPresident @VonDerLeyen now announcing an 8th package of #RussiaSanctions

"Last week #Russia has escalated the war in #Ukraine to a new level. The sham referenda organized in the territories that ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ occupied, are an illegal attempt to grab land and change intl borders by force"
"We do not accept the sham referenda," says ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บPresident @VonDerLeyen, "or any type of annexation in Ukraine."

"And we are determined to make the Kremlin pay for this further escalation."
The new #RussiaSanctions include:

๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™‚๏ธ1300 more people & entities on targeted list
๐Ÿšš"Sweeping" ban on Russian imports worth โ‚ฌ7bn
๐Ÿ’พMore key technologies banned from export to Russia
๐Ÿ•ด๏ธBan on EU nationals on Russian company boards
๐Ÿ›ข๏ธPrice cap on Russian oil for 3rd countries
Read 6 tweets
Sep 28
Latest on the suspected Russian attack on Baltic Sea gas pipelines:

There is now a consensus that the ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐPM's assessment is correct, this was deliberate sabotage. The question is, how can ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ respond to a Russian attack in EU waters?
The first response is that European countries are this morning rushing to protect their energy infrastructure from Russian attack.

There is particular fear about floating LNG terminals, the lifelines to get non-Russian gas this winter.
The second response is that EU navies will have to be activated to protect maritime assets from Russian attacks.

The energy cold war just turned into an energy hot war, as Politico notes.
politico.eu/article/balticโ€ฆ
Read 10 tweets

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