Here’s the Spanish opposition leader calling for more EU deregulation, as Merz, Meloni do non stop asking von der Leyen to deliver. Only Trump wins, we Europeans lose and will soon find out
A new @POLITICOEurope investigation reveals that Czech MEP Alexandr Vondra (ECR) failed to disclose his chairmanship of The Prague Centre for Transatlantic Relations, a think-tank with links to the defence, automotive and fossil fuel industries.
Vondra is actively shaping EU defence, climate and transport policy. He is a shadow rapporteur on the CO2 standards for cars and vans, as well as on the Defence Omnibus and Military Mobility files. Despite these responsibilities, he declared no conflict of interest and tabled amendments that would benefit corporate interests.
Why does this matter?
This is the DEREGULATION playbook in action:
1. rolling back on existing standards of protection
2. doing so in the name of competitiveness
3. while failing to disclose industry ties.
EU's ethical and integrity rules are not fit for purpose: MEPs self-declare conflicts of interest, but in the absence of an independent verification body, there barely no sanctions for omissions.
Time to stop pretending that self-regulation in the European Parliament is sufficient when the stakes: defence policy, climate law, industrial standards, are this high.
A complaint drafted by Transparency International and supported by The Good Lobby LobbyControl & co was submitted to the EU Parliament
https://t.co/wwL97JKuH4
After years of institutional paralysis, the Authority for EU Political Parties has finally discovered its monitoring mandate. The target?
The @AfD - the @EPP 's biggest headache in Germany.
I've been trying to activate this mechanism since 2018. Funny how it works when the right people want it to.
Here's my account https://t.co/B78hXt0iLM
cc: @MaxGriera@davcarretta
Europe doesn't need to become America to succeed:
Supporters of deregulation want Europe to be more like the US. But that would serve only American interests.
My latest in @guardian today
https://t.co/grUFaIETNq
Europe rolls out the red carpet for AI data centres, as water‑and‑energy backlash spreads across America
Read my latest in @euobs
https://t.co/jkFTczTHpS
Italy threatens to sanction Ben-Gvir while blocking suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Dear @Antonio_Tajani, that’s a fig leaf!
Italy is protecting Israel’s trade immunity while performing outrage.
#Flotilla#Gaza
Le plan des conservateurs allemands pour démanteler la « bureaucratie européenne » cache une démarche bien plus profonde et dangereuse visant à renationaliser l’Union au pire moment de l’histoire de l’intégration
Analyse pour @Grand_Continent
https://t.co/BjAR8XUgG1
Parliaments exist to hold power to account, not to shield their own from prosecution.
Today’s EP vote protecting @ANiebler from @EUProsecutor’s investigation is a case study in how parliamentary immunity gets weaponised.
This is exactly what I warned about in the JURI immunity debate. https://t.co/vC4WfXrhlF
Parliamentary immunity exists to protect democracy, not politicians from accountability.
At EU level, the Niebler vote scheduled for tomorrow shows how this protection can be politicised in ways that damage public trust.
Immunity should protect elected representatives from political persecution, not become a barrier to transparency, scrutiny and the rule of law.
My interview to @tagesschau
https://t.co/0fxQpPk9V8
Roberta Metsola's 3rd mandate won't contain the far right, but it will legitimise it. Here's why:
The Socialists are entitled to name Metsola's successor, yet liberals and greens are pressing them to back Metsola's renewal on the premise that she can lock the EPP into governing with the centre, not the far right.
That premise is wrong.
1. Metsola can't discipline the @EPPGroup into staying with a centrist majority. Her party cut deals with the far right in the hemicycle and in the Conference of Presidents, on her watch.
2. She has no incentive to police EPP–far right dealmaking: her own survival depends on the EPP coalition holding together. Her openness to working with the far right was a signal, and she got rewarded for it.
3. A third mandate hands the EPP a legitimising narrative for what is, in practice, a continuation of their far-right entente.
So what @ValerieHayer@RenewEurope and @GreensEFA are really asking @IratxeGarper@TheProgressives is this:
surrender your legitimate claim to the presidency in exchange for a narrative of stability that masks a political reality already lost.
https://t.co/DmCTGNAZme
Spain boycotting Eurovision isn’t an easy call with the public but it’s a principled one, confirming Sánchez’s consistent progressive commitment.
#Eurovisión2026
It’s impossible to miss Trump’s readiness to give up on Taiwan upon Xi’s imposing demand
Trump’s self-inflicted weakness in world affairs leaves him with little leverage beyond concessions. And Taiwan now appears first in line to be thrown under the bus, but many others are in line…
The EU deregulation machine has found its next target: protected wildlife.
Under pressure from industry, member states want easier licenses to build industrial projects even if this entails killing species protected under EU law.
The Commission intends to “stress test” the Birds and Habitats Directives - Europe’s 50-year biodiversity backbone - reframed as red tape.
The Commission already wants to strip wolves of their strictly protected status, and now the logic is spreading species by species.
What comes after “simplification” risk becoming extinction.
https://t.co/SZqrFhVKrj
Happy Europe Day!
Europeans want a stronger Europe more than ever, as surveys show. And yet our leaders remain unable or unwilling to turn that public demand into action.
The platforms we use, the energy we consume, the weapons our militaries rely on, too often depend on someone else’s goodwill. A people that depends on others to keep the lights on, the internet running, and its borders secure is not fully free.
That is precisely why there has never been a better time to feel, think and act as Europeans.
Citizens already sense these dependencies in their daily lives and are ready to break free from them. It is their leaders who are frozen.
That gap between what Europeans want and what their leaders deliver is the defining political opportunity of our generation.
Who will seize it, if not us?
Europe caves in to Trump and fossil fuel companies’ demand (AGAIN):
The EU Commission is preparing unlimited exemptions from methane rules justified by the Hormuz crisis.
No matter IEA data says the opposite policy makes energy sense.
Fascinating split in EU politics over America 🇺🇸🇪🇺
Von der Leyen’s EPP pushes for immediate ratification of the US trade deal, even if only the far right backs it, to show Trump Europe is in line
Center-left & left: enough is enough.
The transatlantic fault line is now inside the Parliament itself. https://t.co/C8rYcs8pCo
The U.S. is unilaterally escalating trade pressure on the European Union with new tariffs, effectively sidelining the spirit of prior agreements and raising doubts about their durability. This move highlights how fragile the arrangement was and reinforces criticism that the EU conceded too much without securing reliable enforcement.