For 1st time, rich countries have agreed to pay poor countries for damages caused by climate change - a contentious deal 30 years in the making.
But, they could not agree on details of the fund. Decisions on who pays and who receives put off to next year.
Live now: 🇪🇺VP @TimmermansEU tells #COP27 plenary: "The world will not thank us when they hear only excuses tomorrow"
"Friends are only friends if they only tell you thinks you might want to hear" says the Dutchman.
"What we have in front of us is not enough of a step forward"
The #COP27 deal has not obliged "major emitters [like 🇨🇳] to increase and accelerate their emissions cuts" says Timmermans.
"It does not bring a higher degree of confidence that we will achieve the agreements made under #ParisAgreement and in Glasgow last year"
Timmermans says #COP27 agreement has left big gaps between current ambition and what sciences says is necessary.
"As you know, the EU tried to bridge these gaps" by for instance trying to get a phaseout of fossil fuels. 80 countries supported 🇪🇺plan. But it was rejected.
Crucially, Timmermans says today's deal doesn't "block the path to 1.5C" and that's why 🇪🇺 signed up to it and didn't walk away.
But the deal's #MitigationWorkProgram "puts unnecessary barriers in the way and allows parties to hide from their responsibilities."
"Too many parties are not ready to make more progress today in the fight against the #ClimateCrisis. There were too many attempts to even roll back what we agreed in Glasgow."
Timmermans says 🇪🇺 did not sign this #COP27 deal gladly.
"We're faced with a moral dilemma, because this deal is not enough on mitigation. But do we walk away and thereby kill a fund that vulnerable countries have fought so hard for for decades?"
This was a blunt, angry speech by 🇪🇺VP Timmermans reflecting the disappointment many feel with this #COP27 result.
"I urge you to acknowledge when you walk out of this room that we have all fallen short."
"We've lost speed since Glasgow, we've wasted a lot of time."
Good news & bad news for climate campaigners at the conclusion of #COP27:
👍On one hand, developed 🌎 accepted a #LossAndDamage 'climate reparations' fund after 30 years of resisting.
👎On the other, developing 🌍 refused to increase emissions reductions or ditch fossil fuels.
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Breaking: The European Commission is opening an 'excessive deficit procedure' against France for the first time.
This should have happened long ago, but France's power in Brussels for years made the Commission look away.
How will this impact the 🇫🇷legislative election?
Procedure also started for 🇮🇹🇵🇱🇧🇪🇭🇺🇲🇹🇸🇰
Romania currently the only country already under the excessive deficit procedure. Commission announces it will stay there.
The rules are meant to prevent a repeat of the 💶debt crisis, making countries tighten fiscal policy or face fines.
🇫🇷 had the 2nd-highest deficit (5.5%) in🇪🇺 in 2023, after 🇮🇹
For years EU officials openly acknowledged that France was getting special treatment, with 🇪🇺President Juncker famously explaining why France wasn't being put under the procedure by saying: "Parce que c'est la France"
The problem with the first option is you need to take the metro between train stations in Paris to switch, whereas in Lyon it's the same station
But...
🇪🇸Renfe & 🇫🇷SNCF don't have a ticketing agreement, so there's no way to get the preferred option as a combined ticket.
It doesn't show up on either website (Renfe won't even let you choose Brussels as a destination). Even 3rd party sites like SNCB Intl & Trainline can't show it
Tonight is the first semi-final for #Eurovision2023 in 🇬🇧Liverpool.
It's happening on the 25th anniversary of the 1998 contest hosted in 🇬🇧Birmingham, a transformative year that marks the boundary between the 'old' and 'new' Eurovision.
In 1998 Dana International became the first trans (and 1st openly LGBT) person to win the ESC.
Following the '98 contest it was decided to make two major rule changes: countries no longer had to sing in their national language and they weren't required to use an orchestra.
Those changes transformed what had become a stale archaic-looking contest in '90s into the explosion of spectacle in 2000s - helped also by the entry of enthusiastic Eastern European countries unable to participate during Communism.
The bookies have 🇸🇪Sweden as the favourite to win, followed by 🇫🇮Finland and 🇫🇷France.
But Sweden's odds have gotten worse since rehearsals started.
The singer, #Loreen, already won for 🇸🇪 in 2012 with Euphoria, a global hit hitting number one on the charts in 21 countries.
Among fans, I keep hearing "I predict Sweden will win but I don't want it to win". People like the song but think a 🇸🇪win is too predictable. 🇸🇪has dominated the contest for 2 decades.
If 🇸🇪win again they'll match Ireland's record for most wins - 7.
As the 🇬🇧#Coronation takes place in London, here's some fun facts about monarchies around the world.
I find Americans have the mistaken impression that Europe has many monarchies. In fact, excluding microstates, there are just 8 - and only 3 have been there more than 200 years.
There are actually more monarchies in Asia than in Europe.
The world has 16 kings, and only one queen (🇩🇰). Then there are 4 princes, 3 sultans, 2 emirs, 1 pope and 1 emperor (🇯🇵).
There are 4 types of monarchies remaining in Europe:
🇬🇧British
🇸🇪🇩🇰🇳🇴Scandinavian
🇳🇱🇧🇪🇱🇺Low Countries
🇪🇸Iberian
🇻🇦🇱🇮🇦🇩🇲🇨Microstates
This map shows when other European monarchies ended (most give the year of national independence from a imperial monarchy)