Louis Drounau

Patriots for Europe group rejoices over Babiš victory Members of the far-right European Parliament group are ecstatic over the big win by the populist tycoon in Czech elections.

Mainstream parties' inability to accept and commit to the drastic changes required by the times we live in means that institutions fail to deliver for European citizens. It should then be no surprise that they turn to populist parties, left and right. #eureform
www.politico.eu/article/patr...

Our European Party Funding Observatory is a unique platform providing transparency on #europeanparties and their funding. Such platforms are commonplace at the national level, but absent at the EU level, so we stepped in and built one. Now we need your support! 💪 Check out our project and chip in!

European Party Funding Observatory European political parties represent us. But what do we know about them? How are they financed? Our observatory provides long-needed transparency on the funding and spending of European parties, inclu...

The single best way to strengthen our union is to build a real European democracy, so that citizens may decide what the EU should do and where it should go. These projects cannot be made on a national basis. And this starts by helping citizens know their parties!👇
www.betterplace.org/en/projects/...

Von der Leyen and Costa psychodrama sees them struggle in Copenhagen With the EU working out how to confront the threat from Russia, Brussels’ most senior officials had a couple of ideas. Neither of them found approval at Wednesday’s summit.

European defense, capital markets union, single market, European champions, truly European elections, democratic deficit: let's be clear, these are not "European" or "Brussels'" failures, these are national governments blocking advances at every turn.
#eureform
www.politico.eu/article/eu-u...

Small design suggestion, @nvondarza.bsky.social: for the bar charts showing votes by political group in the European Parliament, maybe arrange them left-to-right by political positioning, rather than by size.
Feels like this would give a better sense of the centre v. far-right/left dynamics.

Objectively, it is not acceptable that a political movement such as @volteuropa.org that exists with the same name and policies across the EU, with national branches and individual members, is still barred from registering as a European party. Here's looking at you @press.consilium.europa.eu.

One might not agree with the ideas being brought to the table, but a political system's ability to bring forth new parties is essential.
An important step forward for #eudemocracy would now be to lower the requirements to register as #europeanparties.

Aide to far-right German MEP convicted of spying for China Jian Guo spied for Beijing while working for AfD lawmaker Maximilian Krah, now a member in the German parliament.

And to think that China wasted a perfectly good spy for documents they could have easily gotten with a mere subscription to @contexte.com...
www.politico.eu/article/far-...

... the EU will find its own specific institutions and methods, but this is the necessary baseline. This is what @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu should have called for.
#eureform #eudemocracy 7/7

... seeking to form a majority coalition. This is the way federal systems function, and this is the way the EU can combine #democracy, efficient decision-making, and respect for States' differences. This is the essence of "unity in diversity". And like any other federation,... 6/7

... European political parties, not national ones (and therefore not merely with a few candidates on #transnationallists). Only thus will elections take place on proposals that concern all Europeans, and not on national platforms. Following elections, #europeanparties should be the ones... 5/7

...Two necessary reforms for #eudemocracy are the reform of #europeanparties, which should be central to the European political system, and the reform of European elections, which should no longer be a national but a European matter. EU citizens should vote for EU representatives belonging to... 4/7

... When asking whether we "want to be paralysed by our divisions", she asked for unity between member states and institutions.
But #democracy is not about unity, it is not about all agreeing, it is about being able to manage our disagreements and not remaining stuck when we disagree. ... 3/7

... qualified majority voting for foreign policy in the @consilium.europa.eu, and name-checking the right of initiative for the @europarl.europa.eu.
When saying that "we" should "decide what kind of democracy we want to live in", @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu did not provide a vision. ... 2/7

Given the unprecedented threats facing the EU, there was surprisingly little on democracy in the #SOTEU. Ursula @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu rightfully called for "a new Europe" and a "moment of independence", but proposed nothing concrete beyond "closing loopholes", ... 1/7

Es ist höchste Zeit, dass #Österreich seine ihm aufgezwungene #Neutralität endlich überwindet, um sich voll und ganz solidarisch innerhalb der EU einzubringen, ohne Ausnahmeregelungen und Ausreden. Wir brauchen jetzt in Europa absoluten Zusammenhalt und Solidarität, sonst sind wir ...
1/7

Don't get me wrong, it is great to finally hear somehow drop the f-word for Europe, but then let's back this up with truly federalist proposals based on best practices from existing multi-level systems. #eureform #ToFedEU

And why call for the direct election of the President of the Commission and not, as parliamentary system have it, call for their election by parliament? Is this working so well in France? And no words on the make-up of the Council? No problem there?
#eudemocracy #eureform

Finally coming around to listening to the State of the European Union address &debate. Interesting to hear @valeriehayer.bsky.social call for a "more federal Europe". But then why oh why call for transnational lists instead of a truly federal electoral system? Why not call for real #europeanparties?

European Party Funding Observatory European political parties represent us. But what do we know about them? How are they financed? Our observatory provides long-needed transparency on the funding and spending of European parties, inclu...

On Monday, we celebrated Democracy Day. Unfortunately, at the EU level, democracy falls short of our standards. We need a strong Parliament, a real legislative upper house, a government chosen by citizens, and real and empowered #europeanparties.
Support us! 👇
www.betterplace.org/en/projects/...

Brussels green-lights German spending spree | Euractiv The Commission welcomed Berlin’s decision to boost military expenditure and create a €500 billion infrastructure fund

Great! Let every member state have its own separate defense programme, instead of consolidating our investment, research, procurement and capabilities. Looking forward to seeing Malta or Luxembourg build strong and independent military capacities as well. /s #ToFedEU
www.euractiv.com/news/brussel...

La Chine interdit à ses entreprises d’acheter des puces à l’américain Nvidia Pékin accuse le fabricant de processeurs d’avoir enfreint les règles de concurrence chinoises.

One of the saddest thing in today's world is seeing greed and short-termism undermine democracies' efficiency, allowing some authoritarian regimes to become more efficient, productive, and technologically successful. We owe it to democracy to do better.
www.lemonde.fr/economie/art...

According to the ECJ, it is not against EU law for #europeanparties to mislead/lie to citizens, at least about themselves. This makes it even more important for the @appf-eu.eudemocracy.eu to ensure user-friendly access to the information it holds. In the meantime, the EPFO is here for you.
epfo.eu

Europe’s far right launches legal battle against EU over withheld funding Patriots accuse EU of sabotaging its access to public cash — and it’s just scored its first victory.

Great to read about #europeanparties, @politico.eu, but it would be so much better not to start with the name of the political group in the European Parliament...
Things are already confusing enough as they are. Much appreciated.
www.politico.eu/article/euro...

Schleswig-Holstein leading the way for #digitalsovereignty by moving from US Big Tech dependence to open-source solutions.
www.euractiv.com/news/the-ger...

The way forward for the European car industry is not to reverse course and maintain an outdated technology, but indeed to catch up with those who took the lead. Like China has done for decades, we need to require joint-ventures for Chinese companies working in Europe & mandate technology transfers.

Manfred Weber 'promises' to reverse EU's combustion engine ban | Euractiv "The ideological mistakes of the last legislative period must be corrected", says European People's Party chief

Alternative title: "Manfred Weber gives up on European innovation".
www.euractiv.com/news/manfred...

EU’s chief prosecutor goes head-to-head with Brussels elite over corruption fight In its fight against fraud and corruption, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has locked horns with EU institutions and powerful political figures. Under Laura Codruța Kövesi, its uncompro...

www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

Literally what happens every time any party decides to win over far-right voters by implementing far-right policies.

European Parliament wants back €4M it says far-right group misspent Public prosecutor has launched an investigation but Patriots deny wrongdoing and say “we have very good lawyers.”

The far-right Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament breached spending rules to the tune of at least €4.3 million, according to a confidential report obtained by us. Lawmakers are exploring how to claw back the money.