Silvio Berlusconi’s political leadership of Italy pursued a similar agenda in the mid 1990s (anti-elitism combined with populist appeal and selective rent seeking). It led to a long-lasting cultural, political, social, economic and legal transformations that are still unfolding

As the Trump administration widens its ideological campaign beyond the US, European companies asked to comply with Donald Trump’s anti-diversity order Isn’t this a new Non Tariff Barriers to US market? ⁦WTO⁩ ⁦Valdis Dombrovskis⁩ on.ft.com/4iTwiJs

The motion of censure against von der Leyen isn’t about whether her Commission survives - it will -, but what Europe she’ll lead. This motion goes to the heart of what the European Parliament has always been about: to hold the EU Commission democratically accountable, and offers

Wow. Who would have said that a motion of censure brought by the far right would have given Europeans the richest democratic debate since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty. Grateful to the far-right groups to table this #vonderLeyen #VonDerLeyenMUSSWEG

To fend off the multiple criticisms of her leadership, President Ursula von der Leyen dismissed the motion of censure against her as brought by 'extremist' political forces. Yet those are the same political parties—Meloni's ECR Group (who spearheaded the motion but split), Orban's

To brush off the censure motion against Ursula von der Leyen as a 'far-right plot' is not only intellectually lazy but also politically dishonest. As in the past, this vote offers a rare opportunity to test whether European democracy has matured to the point where accountability takes

The normalization of the far-right on steroids: German far right’s strategy for seizing power: Foment US-style polarization politico.eu/article/german…

On July 10, European Parliament will vote on whether to dismiss European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen. Although the motion is unlikely to succeed, it could have profound consequences for the EU’s credibility, argues Alberto Alemanno. bit.ly/45T7RIm

As predicted, the von der Leyen's confidence vote made its first victim: Meloni’s Conservatives in Parliament are split with the Italian leadership questioned, as up to 50 MEPs of ECR's 79 members could end up backing the #motion #vonderleyn euronews.com/my-europe/2025…

“By the next state of the union [speech in September] Ursula von der Leyen will have to publicly commit to one, not two parliamentary majorities”. But it might happen earlier depending on tomorrow’s vote on the motion My take to The Parliament Magazine Federica Di Sario theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/d…

Oh, yes: this is the beginning not the end of Von der Leyen’s political problem - writes Nicholas Vinocur ✍️ but of her own (party) making politico.eu/article/ursula…

As expected, Ursula von der Leyen survives the motion of censure as centrist parties vote all against (at least this time). But NO, this motion hasn’t strengthened her political leadership. Expect greater scrutiny by both political parties and public opinion in the next 4

The fact that the EU Parliament only exceptionally files a motion of censure said more about the quality of its politics than about the executive’s performance My latest for Verfassungsblog paraphrasing Fernand DEHOUSSE in 1963 verfassungsblog.de/von-der-leyen-… Franklin DEHOUSSE Nicholas Vinocur ✍️

Wherever you look at - be it EU-US trade or EU-Israel -, the EU deliberately fails to project its power to make itself relevant and respected. This isn't a bug, but a self-imposed outcome

How to reconcile EU leaders’ strong condemnation of Israel’s attacks on Gaza civilians with EU inaction? Europeans expect the EU to stop its complicity Kaja Kallas Ursula von der Leyen Josep Borrell Fontelles

I wish Ursula von der Leyen had called Viktor Orban and Robert Fico before calling Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express her "strong concerns" and demand "explanations" over a new law that weakens the independence of two of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies. euronews.com/my-europe/2025…

The EU has supinely accepted the trade terms imposed by Trump thus doubling down on its transatlantic dependence, from defense to energy. This is a self-inflicted damage and lost opportunity for the EU to leverage on its unique market power and set a precedent for other world’s

Today’s EU-US deal seems to vindicate my prediction a year ago: theguardian.com/commentisfree/… #TrumpTariffs #vonderLeyen #EUCO

Many argue that the EU rushed into this 'deal' to appease Trump while preserving transatlantic ties and creating space for future carve-outs. Yet if this were truly a time-buying strategy, we would expect simultaneous European moves toward strategic autonomy – accelerated

The Great European Surrender By avoiding confrontation, the EU has effectively abandoned its quest for strategic autonomy - largely due to its Member States’ hesitation and mundane domestic interests. A massive historical missed opportunity for Europeans. My latest for