I discussed the EU-#Mercosur Partnership Agreement on RTÉ Radio 1 Irish radio. My key points: - The deal is balanced & positive - V good for Irish exporters - All farming sectors = fully protected Many thanks Francie Gorman for a good debate! rte.ie/radio/radio1/c…

Brexit is Brexit, as they used to say. Five years on it looks fairly disastrous. 🇬🇧

Very good meeting with new EU Commissioner for Defence Kubilius. We need to boost defence production swiftly, attract more private funds, and take away regulations hindering military growth. This is all urgent to reinforce our support to Ukraine and our military capabilities!

Snelheid is geboden! Door de toenemende (Russische) dreiging moet onze militaire slagkracht snel omhoog. Daarvoor moet de defensie-industrie fors opschalen. Dus geen tijd voor lange discussies. Wél de vraag van Europese landen bundelen, samen orders plaatsen en snel produceren!

Between 2021 and 2024, EU member states’ total defence expenditure rose by more than 30%. In 2024, it reached an estimated €326 billion, about 1.9% of EU GDP. More facts and figures ⤵️ europa.eu/!nWjPPg #EgmontRetreat

🚨 Event alert: On Fri. 14 February 2025, we're organising a key note and roundtable on "Europe and the Global Battle of the Narratives" in The Hague, generously funded by Leiden University Europe Hub. More info and the link to register here: universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2025…

C'mon folks, let's go all the way down the rabbit hole here: Say hello to the "two-planet solution": Load all the people from #Gaza up on SpaceX rockets & have them colonize Mars. From the 🔴 planet to the 🍉 planet. I don't even know what I'm looking at here anymore...

EU defence industry problems: EU Member States are not procuring European defence products (<50%), too much fragmentation, not enough production capacity, lack of interoperability and need to meet NATO standards…⬇️ A thread 🧵1/8 andriuskubilius.lt/en/european-un…

We kunnen ons geen wanhoop veroorloven. Dit is het ultieme signaal dat Europa haar eigen veiligheid moet versterken. We moeten dit moment benutten als katalysator voor een robuust Europees defensiebeleid en meer en blijvende steun voor Oekraïne. nu.nl/spanningen-oek…

A reminder of who has actually provided the most support to Ukraine - and it isn’t the US

Remember how Benjamin Franklin *disrespected* the cherished Palace of Versailles by meeting French King Louis XVI wearing a beaver hat? Did he not own a wig??

Breaking news: Brussels has proposed buying weapons collectively on behalf of EU member states, in what would be a major shift in decision-making power in response to Donald Trump’s policies. on.ft.com/4bMd85e

Of course! After all, the reference to “screwing the United States” in Article 3(5) TEU has its roots in the 1950 Schuman declaration: “Les États-Unis ne seront pas entubés d'un coup … ils seront entubés par des réalisations concrètes créant d'abord une méchanceté de fait.”

Who made this? Top marks.

These 🇪🇺 stocks can go much higher

Heldere oproep van de provincies vandaag: Zorg voor rust in de regio & schrap de bureaucratische taaltoets voor bestaande opleidingen! GroenLinks-PvdA steunt deze oproep en roept de Minister van Onderwijs op om dat ook te doen.

America’s “bipolar moment”