Patrick Donahue

European government editor at Bloomberg News, focusing on Germany. Previously on central & eastern Europe. Before that: on the trail of Angela M.

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Exclusive: Senior government officials have warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that spending on the war in Ukraine is on an unaffordable path, the most serious sign of internal division in Moscow since the full-scale invasion began https://t.co/PGvyH5oxDI

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Scoop: “Like a piggy bank for pet, protectionist projects” -- Trump’s top trade official criticized a German draft law that would force US streaming services to invest in the country’s film sector, calling the measures discriminatory and a violation of the EU’s trade deal https://t.co/SBfUppw2rv @jendeben @mcnienaber

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Exclusive: Germany’s far-right party is vetting public workers ahead of a planned purge of civil servants if it takes control in an eastern region holding an election later this year. See our scoop from @KowalczeKamil https://t.co/ti2721WJQb

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

5,000 US troops abruptly announced by Trump for Poland will be redeployed from Germany.
“He’s moving them over,” US Congressman Mike Rogers tells us.
https://t.co/OAzyWkhvBt

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Exclusive: Germany's governing coalition agreed to scale back subsides worth about €3 billion ($3.5 billion) to create fiscal space for tax relief for lower-income households, we're told https://t.co/kEkQulLKTj @KowalczeKamil

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Finding a way out of the slump: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition broke a deadlock on energy legislation and resolved to push through broader reform measures https://t.co/NP3IhAotXC

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz drew shouts and jeers at a labor union conference as he made a pitch for ambitious reforms, underscoring the difficulty he’ll face as he seeks to reverse his beleaguered government’s fortunes.
https://t.co/XHMwLO1GTm

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Exclusive: Germany’s vice chancellor @larsklingbeil called for closer cooperation between the EU and allies including Canada and the UK to guard against the whims of major powers like the US https://t.co/IzkBgdtAC8 @KowalczeKamil

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Exclusive: Germany’s top diplomat said the tension between Trump and Merz was a misunderstanding — and that Berlin supports the US aim to ensure Iran can’t obtain nuclear weapons https://t.co/zkQ47teh8K

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Tehran’s negotiators are proceeding “very skilfully — or indeed very skilfully not negotiating,” Merz said. The result is that an “entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, particularly by these so-called Revolutionary Guards.” https://t.co/uUXrK8ZDwZ

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Exclusive: Chancellor Merz is dispatching his economy minister, Katherina Reiche, to China next month as officials in Berlin grow increasingly concerned over a widening trade deficit https://t.co/uHhmpehmJV @jendeben @petrasorge

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

In Bulgaria, eighth time’s a charm

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Merz's new ordoliberal standard-bearer is becoming a problem. The chancellor is struggling to balance a party base aligned with Economy Minister Katherina Reiche's brand of business-friendly conservatism with the demands of his left-leaning coalition partner https://t.co/DDcMq2Lube @petrasorge @ArneDelfs @KowalczeKamil

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Huge hometown news: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which had been set to shut down in May, will keep publishing after all. A nonprofit journalism organization has stepped up to acquire the newspaper, which has survived for more than two centuries.
https://t.co/s4EdPZsMr5

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Exclusive: President Zelenskiy's new top aide oversaw some of Ukraine's most daring wartime missions. Power brokers in Kyiv wonder how far up the political ladder he might ascend... https://t.co/pmUTe1KTtz

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Reports from inside Iran: Airstrikes are hitting residential areas and industrial facilities. The country's Red Crescent Society, part of the international humanitarian network, said on March 30 that US-Israeli airstrikes had damaged or destroyed more than 90,000 homes, about half of them in Tehran. https://t.co/s9SfpinBJr @golnarM

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Some *personal news* on April 1 (though not a joke!). From this month I’ll be moving into a new role as Germany editor for @business's economy and government team. It’s a return to Berlin (of sorts – I haven’t physically left) after more than four years of helping to coordinate coverage in central and eastern Europe, above all the war in Ukraine. I’m looking forward to working with our team here to bring the cut and thrust of political Berlin to a global readership.

[Bojan Pancevski @bopanc]

🚨Jetzt bestellen: Das große Investigativbuch zur Nord-Stream-Sprengung.
»Ein echter Pageturner« – Peter Frankopan, Autor von Licht aus dem Osten
Basierend auf langjähriger Recherche und dem Zugang zu den Saboteuren, deren Vorgesetzten sowie hochrangigen Geheimdienstvertretern wie den Chefs von @CIA & BND rekonstruiert der preisgekrönte @WSJ-Autor erstmals die gesamte Operation.
»Absolut faszinierend, fesselnd wie ein Spionagethriller« – Simon Sebag Montefiore, Historiker & Autor von Stalin. Am Hof des roten Zaren
»So gewagt und fesselnd wie die Sabotage selbst« – Ivan Krastev, Politologe
»Eine Geschichte, die man nicht aus der Hand legen will« – Fiona Hill, ehemalige Russlandberaterin im Weißen Haus
»Nicht nur brillanter Journalismus, sondern liest sich wie ein internationaler Bestseller-Thriller« – Adm. James Stavridis, ehemaliger @NATO Befehlshaber https://t.co/ntA8CljNFW

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

Big tech, AI investment, drug ingredients, vast holdings of US securities. Officials in Berlin have started mapping vulnerabilities in US supply chains to identify points where Germany and its EU partners could apply pressure, sources say https://t.co/VAnuXLWNfq

[Patrick Donahue @patrickjdo]

CDU victory in Rhineland-Palatinate is quickly becoming Pyrrhic. Merz’s effort to reboot Germany’s economy hits a fresh challenge after SPD suffers a stinging defeat... https://t.co/CKuSrCoCFQ