Yesterday in true Franco-German fashion, the two countries celebrated 60 years of Elysée Treaty. If I haven't posted anything about it, it's because as a Franco-German myself, I'm truly disappointed with how the relation is going - for years now. Let me tell you why. /1 I've had enough of "dialogue formats" and "cultural encounters". The reality is: The political relationship is strained at best; citizens couldn't care less about their neighbours; there is little funding available for cooperation; less and less people learn the language. /2

After today's meeting marathon, interviews on the Scholz speech & email galore, I guess it's back to business in Brussels!
This GIF shows how it feels to work on EU politics at the moment, but I'm looking forward to working on a bunch of great projects in the coming months. 👇/1 Very much looking forward to welcoming @ThinkTank_Lab in Brussels next week - besides giving a short input on "how to EU policy analysis", my colleague @FilipeALampe is organising an event on #diversity in EU policymaking with @CnctingEurope that I think is hugely important. /2

As a think tanker, there is a fine balance between speaking truth to power (and, for instance, criticising the lack of ambition in view of the challenges we face) and understanding the position of decision-makers, including the need for compromises & other limiting factors. /1 Today was a good example: I was happy to read #Scholz's EU speech & finally have an outline of Germany's EU policy. I get that it could be much worse - the German government fully understands the need for a strong EU and that's a very good premise. /2

📖 New publication 📖
It's been almost 100 days since Russia invaded 🇺🇦. In this new paper, @IlkeToygur & I look back at the EU's "modus operandi". We advocate for a more ambitious EU, rather than one that will put unity above everything else./1
epc.eu/en/Publication… The last #EUCO summit was a wonderful example of how in the EU unity prevails over ambition. After weeks of blockage, we finally have an oil embargo, but only for 75% of Russian oil, and with a temporary exemption for pipeline oil./2

https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/1531391899218608133

After yesterday’s 1st round in the 🇫🇷 election, some takeaways on the campaign, results & what to expect next. A relatively long 🧵, as there is a lot to unpack. /1 First, on the results: 1st round shows Macron as frontrunner. But do not interpret this as a safe win for him in the 2nd round. 33% voted for far-right candidates, 26% for far-left, which brings “extreme” vote in France to over 50% in total. This is worrying. (@lemondefr) /2

Amid all the hustle and bustle, it's hard to keep track of what actually happened yesterday in Brussels. Here are some takeaways from the diplomatic showdown (NATO, G7, EUCO) including @POTUS attendance & @ZelenskyyUa speeches. A 🧵 /1 First, HR news: @CharlesMichel was re-elected EUCO President for another 2,5 years; @jensstoltenberg's mandate was extended by a year as NATO Secretary-General. /2 politico.eu/article/charle…

My two cents on the latest EU RoL. I expected to write about the report's content, but ended up doing a political analysis of where we stand - bc in the end, the report can be a brilliant analysis, beautifully written and very thorough, the question is what we do with it. /1 First, let me emphasise that this is a positive development. The European Commission recognises the relevance of Rule of Law, analysing the situation in all EU27. Glass half full, but it could have been different. It is a first step in the right direction. /2

There's been quite a few new development when it comes to Rule of Law in the EU lately. Here's an overview in no particular chronological order.

1) Leading academics are putting pressure on @vonderleyen to let her words in #SOTEU speech turn into action: verfassungsblog.de/before-its-too… 2) Orbán wants @VeraJourova to resign because she "insulted" Hungary in a @derspiegel interview (aka said there were some real issues with rule of law in Hungary). politico.eu/article/hungar…

A relatively niche but crucial area in which EU really need to create a common framework: TAXES. I have experienced first-hand how incredibly old-school and uncoordinated European tax regimes are - and how utterly contradictory it is with freedom of movement. A thread. /1 Everyone knows, there are no common tax rules in the EU (beware, it's nat. sovereignty!) This means that despite freedom of movement, it is difficult to understand under which tax regime one falls, e.g. when someone has different incomes from two different EU member states. /2

Back from holidays and lost in translation? Here's a quick overview of what happened in EU politics when you all where enjoying rosé on the Côte d'Azur, Italian pasta or simply walks in the countryside. COVID-19 is still going strong - local outbreaks & rising infection rates are worrisome. But incomprehensible and ever-changing rules for quarantine and testing are not helping either (#colourcodes). EU countries can do better than this.

Historical #EUCO meeting reconvening later this afternoon on Day 4. A few thoughts on those marathon negotiations. THREAD
1) Frugal4 are 5 w/ 🇫🇮 & 3 of them are Socialdemocrats. So much abt socdem’s EU attitude. Also once again shows the lack of coherence among European parties. 2) Conflicts between N-S (governance, size) & E-W (RoL) show the urgent need for EU reforms. National governments do *not* necessarily have European interests in mind. They need to sell their results to national electorates. This has harmful consequences for 🇪🇺 as whole.

Last week was busy in European politics. Here's what happened:
- 🇫🇷 got a new PM, until then an unknown "technicien": @JeanCASTEX. He should give #Macron a new push in the next 2 years before 2022 pres. elections. The rest of the new Cabinet will be announced today. /1 - Results of 🇫🇷 municipal elections show push for Green @EELV & left-wing groupings. Several big cities are now in new hands, such as Marseille, Strasbourg, Lyon. @LarEm lost - importance of alliances once again confirmed in France's fragmented party landscape. /2

A few thoughts about the 🇩🇪 Council Presidency starting today. The months ahead will be busy - and pretty interesting. /1 The expectations are high, maybe a little too high. And there is little time: #NextGenerationEU & #MFF are the priorities (phase 1), then comes #Brexit & 2021 budget (phase 2) & AOB - #migration, #China, #CoFoE (phase 3). /2

So after spending a few hours trying to get through the maze of publications on #NextGenerationEU & revised #MFF proposal (thanks @EU_Commission for this beautiful bureaucratic construction), here's my 2 cents on #democracy & #RoL support. /1 Revised #MFF proposal shows a slight increase in Justice, Rights & Values Programme from €641 mio (COM proposal 2018) to €761 mio. (2020 prices). No extra money from #NextGenerationEU. ec.europa.eu/info/sites/inf… /2

Recommended read on the issue of constitution pluralism & why CJEU judgements should not be overruled by nat. courts - it endangers the EU's legal foundations. The alternative option - using the political process - is often disregarded. Short thread /1 verfassungsblog.de/national-court… This debate shows how closely interlinked EU legal order is w/ EU institutional design & decision-making procedures. EU fragmentation & scope of compromise on policies also crucial in this debate. My 2 cents: competition was less of an issue at EU level, rule of law is. /2

New 🇫🇷🇩🇪 proposal for 🇪🇺 #COVID19 recovery published yesterday: This is an important & long-awaited step w/ several important proposals on #health, Recovery Fund, #GreenDeal & #Digital. This will help COM have political backing for ambitious proposal. /1 bundeskanzlerin.de/resource/blob/… Some first thoughts:🇫🇷🇩🇪understanding is necessary, but not sufficient for European Council compromise. And it won't be a walk in the park: Expect opposition from "Frugals" (e.g. 🇦🇹 opposed to an increased #MFF & wants loans.) But positive signs: 🇮🇹 &🇪🇸 on board. /2

Recommended op-ed in @POLITICOEurope by @DanielKelemen & @jakesoll on the EU's (aka Council's) #RoL inaction: "It is high time the EU gets its priorities straight. A Union that imposes austerity on democrats while it subsidizes autocrats sets itself on a road to perdition" /1 Particularly striking is the hypocrisy of nat. governments that claim that it is inappropriate for the EU to intervene on #RoL, which were the same that imposed austerity on the South.
This, in turn, poses 2 questions:
1) What are the intentions of MS for 🇪🇺 project? /2

In times of #COVID19, there's been a lot of talk about essential and non-essential workers as well as remote work. But the crisis should also make us question the meaning of #work. Here's a very insightful documentary on @ARTEfr arte.tv/fr/videos/0833… @etuc_ces @DPZ_Berlin /1 Some insights: Job markets cannot, by nature, be fair; There is always an imbalance between employers and employees in their range of choice; The capitalist system is inherently violent, as those with capital are not equal to those who can only sell their workforce. /2

#Merkel spoke about the EU's response to #COVID19 & the priorities of the German Council Presidency this weekend. There were a few surprises. Could this potentially mean shift in German European policy after years of stagnation? Short THREAD bundeskanzlerin.de/bkin-de/mediat… 1/ The focus on European solidarity and cohesion could not be clearer & is a shift from a rather silent Germany beforehand: "Germany cannot be strong if others are not doing well"; "Some countries fear to be weakened from this crisis, while Germany is relatively well-off".

There have been several calls for a "European Marshall Plan" to recover from #COVID19. Whereas this symbolic comparison emphasises the importance of common economic efforts & calls for more EU solidarity, I am not sure this analogy is helpful. A few thoughts (thread) 1/7 1) Historically, it's completely different: This time it's Europe helping itself, not the US helping to rebuild Europe by creating an export market in the context of the Cold War & in opposition to the Soviet Union. This is no "win-win" situation for the US & EU. 2/7

The state of emergency law in #Hungary went through Parliament yesterday. Why is it so worrying and what does it mean for the #EU? THREAD 1/8 New law contains the following:
- State of emergency w/o time limit
- Rule by decree
- Parliament suspended
- all elections suspended
- Spreading fake news + rumors: up to 5 yrs in prison
- Leaving quarantine: up to 8 yrs in prison (as stated by @balazscseko) 2/8