John-Henry Lembrant

Ardent Europhile, aspiring polemicist, and an amorphous lump of biological waste.

[Shashank Joshi @shashj]

Maybe Ukraine can parry Russian ballistic missiles by firing these “huge teams of diplomats” towards the sky?

[John-Henry Lembrant @JohnLembrant]

Wtf

[ChrisO_wiki @ChrisO_wiki]

A frankly insane story about how a Trump-linked American drilling company is setting up equipment in Greenland to make exploratory borehole, *despite* being denied permission by the Greenlandic government. So much for sovereignty, I guess. https://t.co/L6vrd4qpV5

[Dave Keating @DaveKeating]

We are in a very weird situation here.

Spain says it has been attacked and is asking EU partners for solidarity. But solidarity against what?

The government won't say, for fear of provoking their neighbour. And they don't want their EU partners to say either.

[John-Henry Lembrant @JohnLembrant]

VdL should include politicians in her social media ban. This embarrassing mess could have all been avoided if people sat down and had a cup of tea and thought things through, instead of acting like some online addict needing their hot take fix.

[Eddy Wax ✍️ @EddyWax]

The way the Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi opened his speech at the EU crisis meeting on Ceuta today says it all...

"I would like first and foremost to express Italy’s sincere solidarity with the Spanish government. At the same time..."

[John-Henry Lembrant @JohnLembrant]

It's honestly very impressive. It's control over the narrative that Starmer never had. Most people would come off as cynical opportunists after doing what he did, but not Burnham. He's a Machiavellian wearing a smile and an exotic accent, and it works for him, so far.

[John-Henry Lembrant @JohnLembrant]

Fascinating that Burnham has already managed to create this image of himself, despite just having lead a coup and sending every loyal Starmerite to the chopping block less than two weeks ago. He's shown himself to wield elbows able to cut leaves, yet is praised for his morals.

[Joakim 🌹🇳🇴🇪🇺 @joakial_]

I like Andy Burnham. He comes across as a genuinely good person who wants to make a real difference in people’s everyday lives.

[Maria Tadeo @mariatad]

No France and no Portugal. We’re told the letter was mostly coordinated by Italy and the Danish. Funnily enough, the language is softer than the individual statements on Spain, irritated by “lack of solidarity”. Madrid and Rome in open clash. Macron doesn’t endorse letter. Focus on Commission response next.

[UEFA @UEFA]

UEFA welcomes FIFA’s withdrawal of plans to sell a stake in the World CuUEFA welcomes FIFA’s withdrawal of plans to sell a stake in the World CuUEFA welcomes FIFA’s withdrawal of plans to sell a stake in the World CuUEFA welcomes FIFA’s withdrawal of plans to sell a stake in the World Cup

[Gerardo Fortuna @gerardofortuna]

Seems not all hybrid attacks are treated the same in Europe. Imagine hundred of drones flying over Vilnius. Would you expect a response like: "Our country has invested heavily in counter-drone capabilities. Lithuania needs to do the same if it wants to keep its airspace open"?

[John-Henry Lembrant @JohnLembrant]

Good on Sánchez. Fellow member states deserve a bit of shaming after yesterday. Hope he exploits this moment fully.

[Jorge Liboreiro @JorgeLiboreiro]

Pedro Sánchez has sent a letter to the EU institutions complaining about the reaction of some member states to the migratory crisis in Ceuta.

“In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction.”

🧵

[John-Henry Lembrant @JohnLembrant]

@jima00 It was more posturing than policy, showing a government capable of acting fast and hard, without actually doing all that much at all. And it backfired on them. People will remember how quickly they turned on a fellow European country, even though they didn't really do much at all

[John-Henry Lembrant @JohnLembrant]

@jima00 That is different. Serious doubt the Finish minister had anchored her threat of closing schengen to Spain with the rest of her government and party. Similarly, Meloni was improvising. Her closing the border was nothing more than ordering some border guards to check passports.

[Jorge Liboreiro @JorgeLiboreiro]

Italy has clarified that the border checks at airports will not affect EU citizens or disrupt the travel season.

They will be carried out randomly.

As is often the case, the reintroduction of checks is but a headline-grabbing political signal.

[Valérie Hayer @ValerieHayer]

La situation à Ceuta, enclave espagnole à la frontière entre l'Europe et le Maroc, est intolérable.

Face à une crise migratoire, il n'y a qu'une réponse sérieuse : protéger nos frontières, faire respecter le droit européen, lutter sans relâche contre les trafiquants d'êtres humains et renforcer la coopération avec nos partenaires. L'Union européenne doit être aux côtés de l'Espagne, en apportant un soutien opérationnel immédiat, notamment par le déploiement de Frontex pour renforcer la protection de la frontière extérieure de l'Union.

Le moment est à la solidarité européenne, pas aux polémiques destinées à flatter les électorats nationaux.

J'entends Giorgia Meloni donner des leçons. Pourtant, lorsque l'Italie faisait face à une pression migratoire, elle-même a demandé et obtenu la solidarité européenne. Son gouvernement a aussi procédé à des régularisations lorsque son économie en avait besoin. On ne peut pas réclamer l'Europe quand on est en difficulté et l'attaquer lorsqu'un autre État membre traverse une crise.

Les citoyens attendent des solutions, pas des slogans. Une frontière bien gérée, c'est moins de passeurs qui exploitent la détresse humaine, moins de chaos aux frontières et plus de sécurité pour tous.

Le Pacte européen sur la migration et l'asile existe. Il prévoit des frontières extérieures mieux protégées, des procédures harmonisées dans toute l'Union. Il est temps de le mettre pleinement en œuvre, avec responsabilité, fermeté et solidarité.

[Bruno Maçães @MacaesBruno]

Betting Denmark will ask for help soon on Greenland. And hope Spain will be less petty

[Léon Chaland 🇪🇺 @LeonChaland]

The invasion of Ceuta is an attack not only on Spain, but on Europe as a whole.

National leaders who fail to understand this, and attack Spain instead of defending it, have no place in office.

Europeans stand with Spain. We expect our leaders to do whatever is necessary to protect our borders.

[Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 @andrii_sybiha]

We have detected an intensive Russian propaganda campaign across Europe using pictures from Ceuta to sow destabilization.

There have been more than 1,500 publications on outlets identified by analysts as a pro-Russian network, led by Pravda and RT. Pravda Spanish has posted almost 300 of them. Every language edition of RT has pushed more than 25 news items on the issue.

For years, Moscow has used migration and other sensitive topics to stoke fear and destabilize European countries.

This is not about the situation itself, but about the way Russia tries to exploit any topic that can benefit its agenda. The only way to protect the public from this interference is to cut it off.

All Russian propaganda resources should be completely banned in every European country that takes its national security seriously.