Eric B.

Journalist, based in Brussels, covering EU politics. Dt. Europapolitik, relations franco-allemandes, political science.

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

For @vonderleyen and her German friends, it's impossible to break with Trump and his buddys. The transatlantic community in Europe will always stick to the US. By the way, the #EU leaders already started to obey Trump's orders. Rearmament, trade, Green Deal, Migration: von der Leyen delivers on Trump's agenda.

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

Der erste Post-Orban-Gipfel der EU hat gezeigt, daß das Narrativ von Geschlossenheit und Stärke nicht stimmt. Statt sich wie seine Amtsvorgängerin Merkel um tragfähige Kompromisse zu bemühen, schert Kanzler Merz bei allen wichtigen Fragen aus https://t.co/PIkvYschkn

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@hesika Nein. Die Kommentierung (und Ausrichtung) der deutschen Politik übernimmt ab sofort die Ukraine. Merz behauptet ja sogar, die Ukraine dürfe sich den EU-Vermittler aussuchen, der irgendwann (vermutlich nach dem Endsieg) mit Moskau spricht. Geht's noch?

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

Wie schön, dass der deutsche Steuerzahler vom ukrainischen Botschafter erfährt, dass "Deutschland liefert" - und natürlich auch zahlt. So was kannte man bisher nur aus Kolonien und Protektoraten

[Oleksii MAKEIEV 🇺🇦 @Makeiev]

Deutschland liefert.

Weitere 400 Mio. $ zum Schutz des ukrainischen Himmels:
200 Mio. für Flugabwehrmunition über PURL und 200 Mio. für PAC-3-Abfangraketen für PATRIOT-Systeme.

Jede abgefangene Rakete rettet Leben.

Danke für die verlässliche Partnerschaft.

#DankeDeutschland

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@Brad_Setser Anyone who listened to Merz at the #EUCO knows he did not talk like a "currency hawk"

[Jostein Hauge @haugejostein]

The Iranian football team is only allowed to arrive in the US 24 hours before their matches and required to leave shortly after — despite all their matches being played in the US.

Imagine if this had happened to a North American or European team. There would be outrage. But in this situation, FIFA simply shrugs.

FIFA is a pathetic excuse for an international football organisation.

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

Die Ukraine feiert Nazi-Kollaborateure - und der Spiegel wundert sich, dass die Polen sauer reagieren. Wie wäre es denn, Selenskyjs gefährliche Geschichtspolitik zu thematisieren? Bandera, Melnyk & Co. werden von S. systematisch rehabilitiert

[DER SPIEGEL @derspiegel]

Im Streit zwischen Polen und der Ukraine um Weltkriegsgeschichte sendet Selenskyj einen Orden zurück, der ihn am Tag zuvor entzogen wurde. Aus Protest tun es ihm führende Politiker seines Landes gleich. https://t.co/EmZlnJ8jSY

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

Next dimension of the proxy war. The UK did not honor the Budapest agreement to protect Ukraine, but it doesn't want to miss the opportunity to hit Russia

[Financial Times @FT]

UK unveils prototype missiles for Ukraine with no US components https://t.co/PuMK2bBgck

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@yarotrof Obviously you do not get the semantical and historical implications of the German text

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

Jahrelang wurde uns erzählt, ohne Orban wäre alles gut in der EU. Nun ist er weg, und nichts ist gut. Im Gegenteil: Beim letzten EU-Gipfel (dem ersten ohne Orban) gab es Streit über Russland, die Ukraine, China und das EU-Budget. Immer mittendrin: Merz!
https://t.co/PIkvYschkn

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@ArmandoMema No, his name wasn't mentioned at the EU summit. Costa is in pole position now, as he is member of the EU bubble and comes from a small country. But the most probable outcome is that the 27 can't agree on anybody and keep on preparing for war with Russia, with Merz in the "lead"

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@ChristopherJM @HenryJFoy To my knowledge, the majority approved Costa's move. By the way, he seems to be the only one in the EU bubble everybody can agree on. The E3 may be more important, but they have not even nominated an envoy. When Starmer is gone, it will be even more difficult 🤣

[Iuliia Mendel @IuliiaMendel]

Zelenskyy continues to threaten Belarus. This time, he accused it not only of hosting four signal repeaters that help adjust Russian drone strikes on Ukraine, but also of increasing gasoline supplies to Russia by a factor of 13. (Notably, Zelenskyy has never criticized the EU or Emmanuel Macron for purchasing hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Russian LNG in recent years.)
"Belarus has time to dismantle this equipment," Zelenskyy declared. The day before, he had given Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko one week to remove the repeaters guiding Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, warning that otherwise Ukraine would do it itself.
All of this risks expanding the front line at a time when Ukraine lacks both the manpower and the resources to handle a wider conflict.
Furthermore, Lukashenko had proposed a meeting, but Zelenskyy rejected the offer outright. Instead, he brought a Belarusian opposition figure to Ukraine. Zelenskyy consistently dismisses any back-channel communication that is not a public performance, preferring to "project strength" through vague and provocative threats. So far, this approach is fueling the war and driving up the number of casualties and refugees.

[Ivan Katchanovski @I_Katchanovski]

Guardian: "Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, advised Donald Trump not to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, having called the Ukrainian president a “little fu...”, a “special-needs child” and “Mr Bean on crack”, according to a new book by New York Times reporters."

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@vonderburchard Bin kein Bohlen-Fan - aber gut, daß es auch mal warnende Stimmen gibt. Merkel hat verstanden, daß die EU mehr in Diplomatie investieren muß. Merz hat es immer noch nicht begriffen. Wie er mit Costa umspringt, zeugt von deutscher Arroganz - und von sicherheitspolitischer Ignoranz

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@DaveKeating Good point, but it has nothing to do with an owned continent. Germany was first to agree the absurd 5% goal for Nato - because it wants to "lead" in Europe. Now, Germany is the first country that wants to cut to proposed EU budget below 1,2%. But France and others do not agree

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@NathalieTocci @McFaul Now, Merz and Macron are kissing the ring. They give everything to Trump and pay for the Iran war, if only he keeps sending weapons to Ukraine. Which we are going to pay, too, of course. This is no free world, but a mad world

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@JohnnyRamone91 @jrraviot Excellente analyse, merci

[Stuart Dowell @StuartDowell_]

Zelensky has responded with an escalation, not a climbdown.

He starts by trying to cheapen the Order of the White Eagle itself, pointing out that Catherine II, Mussolini and Gerhard Schröder were not stripped of it.

He then widens the insult from himself personally to the Ukrainian army and people, directly contradicting Nawrocki’s claim yesterday that the move was aimed only at him.

And he gives Poland very little on the historical grievance. The line about “innocent victims of the 20th century” is the familiar Ukrainian formula, not a meaningful concession on Volhynia or the UPA.

The one practical effect is that by sending the order back himself, Zelensky takes Tusk out of the immediate trap of deciding whether to countersign Nawrocki’s move.

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

Selenskyj droht Belarus mit Angriff

Die Drohung kam gleich nach dem EU-Gipfel in Brüssel. Offenbar haben die EUropäer Selenskyj nicht ins Gewissen geredet und ihm rote Linien aufgezeigt – er eskaliert immer weiter! https://t.co/PIkvYschkn

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@carlbildt The EU is more devided than ever. Even Ukraine has become a devising issue, as you could see at #EUCO. And this time, it wasn't Orban's fault! 😁

[Eric B. @LostinEU]

@DaveKeating Merz is convinced that the Turnberry deal is good and that Trump will respect the safeguards 😁 @berndlange