@gi-coi.bsky.social
EMEA Economic data news editor @bloomberg.com, city enthusiast and garden-variety millennial
Could Europe survive without US military support? Yes.
Would it be cheap? Hell no.
Would it be a quick fix? Also no.
But with Donald Trump threatening to pull US troops out of the Continent unless European allies contribute more to NATO, there might be no other choice.
Read it all on @politico.eu
SCOOP: 💧 @politico.eu got a draft of the EU's Water Resilience Strategy, due June 4th.
It includes plans for EU rules on water reuse and marine ecosystems, plus a juicy point on targets 👀
Read up on this, and much more 👇
pro.politico.eu/news/198717
The Conservatives' dangerous dance with the far right is mainstreaming the populist agenda in European politics.
And it's putting civil society groups at risk.
Read more on @politico.eu:
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
POV: You're an EU trade official compiling a list of tariffs against the US and your goal is to inflict the most pain on pro-Trump states.
Here's what you come up with:
🌿 soybeans
🚬 cigarettes
🛻 trucks
🍦 ... ice cream?
More on @politico.eu with Paroma Soni and @camgijs.bsky.social
Is it the end of the global trade order as we know it?
Yesterday evening, Donald Trump dumped the EU in the worst category of America’s trade partners Wednesday, hitting the bloc with a 20 percent tariff on all imports.
www.politico.eu/article/dona...
If you, too, want to make up your own reciprocal tariffs to charge friends, family and foreign countries, all you need is simple maths and a calculator.
Yes, that's precisely how the Trump administration has just upended world trade.
with Jakob Weizman on @politico.eu
NOOOOO!
31.03.2025 08:39 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Dispatch from Willebroek, where Belgium Scrap Terminal recycles millions of tons of scrap metal each year — and sells over 90% of outside of 🇪🇺
But in Brussels, a plan to save the steel industry could wreck their business.
Full story here, with @gi-coi.bsky.social:
www.politico.eu/article/savi...
"The temporary cycle paths installed during Milan's lockdown have blossomed into over 100km of new bike lanes, and smart working schemes have become standard in the countless businesses based in the capital of Lombardy."
Milan 5 years after lockdown, via @aitorehm.bsky.social @gi-coi.bsky.social
Bottom line: For Donald Trump, this could turn out to be the deal of the century — or could leave him with a bunch of loss-making mines no American company will ever want to invest in.
Read it all on @politico.eu
Problem No. 4: Several of Ukraine's most promising mineral prospects — including lithium and rare earths used in the defense and electronics industry — are either under Russian occupation or on the front lines.
It's not easy to build a mine in a warzone, as it turns out.
Problem No. 3: The technology to extract and process some of these minerals — like the "rare earths" Trump is fixated on — is advanced and expensive.
China currently processes 90% of rare earths worldwide and it's the only country with enough know-how and infrastructure to do it on a large scale.
Problem No. 2: Extracting minerals takes time and costs money, especially in a country whose basic infrastructure (think roads, factories, power plants) has been decimated by the war.
Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction costs are estimated at $524B — a sum many private investors would balk at.
Problem No. 1: Assessments of Ukraine's reserves of critical raw materials are largely based on often incomplete Soviet-era assessments from the 1960s-1980s.
It means we don't know how extensive Ukraine's mineral riches actually are, and how hard it would be to make the mines viable.
Donald Trump views himself as the ultimate dealmaker.
But his much-touted mineral agreement with Ukraine — which would give the US access to Kyiv's extensive raw material reserves — could end up yielding much less than he bargained for.
www.politico.eu/article/dona...
Merz’s dream coalition hinges on the implosion of his smaller rivals:
The fewer parties are left standing in Germany’s election, the stronger his grip on power.
@hannecl.bsky.social and I did the math to figure out which parties could crash and burn to his benefit.
Amazing art by Natália Delgado🎨
Germany’s electoral landscape is looking a little messy these days.
While the centre-right looks set to regain its dominant position, several smaller parties are fighting for the role of kingmaker, or simply to stay on the electoral map…
Map of the Terra dei Fuochi area in Campania, Italy.
Italy violated citizens' right to life by failing to deal with large-scale illegal waste dumping in Campania's Terra dei Fuochi, the European Court of Human Rights ruled today.
With @elenagiordano.bsky.social and @mariannegros.bsky.social on @politico.eu
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia to EU countries in the first 15 days of each year. 2025 was the highest volume with 837.3K tons, exceeding the previous record in 2024.
The cutoff of Russian gas via Ukraine on January 1 hasn't done much to curb Europe's appetite.
According to our analysis, EU countries are still importing LNG from Russia at record volumes.
Story with @gabrielgavin.bsky.social on @politico.eu
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/eu-d...
A map of countries' progress towards meeting the EU's e-waste collection goal. Only Latvia, Slovakia and Bulgaria met the target in 2022.
New Year's resolution, EU edition: Recycle more electronic waste. Much, much more.
@mariannegros.bsky.social and I walk you through the looming sustainability targets for 2025 and how close EU countries are to meeting them on @politico.eu
www.politico.eu/article/eu-g...
...Think recycling targets and money spent on biodiversity projects.
This affects you too – did you know that as of last week, you can't throw out old socks or shoes in the bin anymore.
data visualisation by @gi-coi.bsky.social
The EU's current climate strategy risks triggering a huge backlash. But instead of slowing the green transition, Brussels should speed it up — and make it affordable, ex-crisis chief Janez Lenarčič told me in an interview before leaving office.
Read: www.politico.eu/article/euro...
1. He strong-armed Macron into becoming prime minister It wasn’t supposed to be him. On Friday, Macron was poised to appoint someone else when Bayrou put his foot down. Outgoing Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu and former Industry Minister Roland Lescure were being considered as possible replacements for Barnier, according to two people familiar with talks. Both Lecornu and Lescure are staunch loyalists who would have been completely dependent on Macron, and therefore more pliable. On Friday morning, Macron invited Bayrou to the Elysée Palace to inform him of his decision. Bayrou, however, wanted the top job himself, and threatened to stop supporting the president if he were not appointed.
May you always go through life with the confidence of François Bayrou.
@victorglaf.bsky.social and Clea Calcutt tell you all you need to know about France's new prime minister: www.politico.eu/article/fran...
Syria's gross domestic product in dollars. GDP fell from $67.5 billion in 2011 to $9 billion in 2021, an 87% drop.
Bashar Assad's regime in Syria fell Sunday, after 25 years of rule and 13 years of civil war.
It took about a day for EU countries to decide it's time to send millions of Syrian refugees home — to an impoverished, devastated country.
More on that on @politico.eu www.politico.eu/article/syri...
Potential impact of U.S. tariffs on gross domestic product in the US, China, BRICS countries and the EU27.
Do Donald Trump's threats to wage a trade war against China amount to economic suicide? The data suggests this might be the case.
But Europe should worry too. @camgijs.bsky.social and @bmoens.bsky.social explain why on @politico.eu:
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Bar chart showing defense spending as a share of gross domestic product in European NATO members in 2024. Poland is the top spender (4.12% of GDP), while Romania ranks ninth (2.25%).
Cǎlin Georgescu doesn't hate NATO — but he isn't exactly its No. 1 fan, either.
Allies worry about what his election as Romania's president might mean for the alliance and its deterrence capabilities in the East.
Story with @laukaya.bsky.social on @politico.eu
www.politico.eu/article/roma...
For Italian speakers looking to understand what's happening in Romania: @lucamisculin.bsky.social discussed my story on Romania's structural issues for @ilpost.it (and a lot of other interesting topics from Syria to Luxembourg's confusing tourist boom)
(I think I've peaked)
We're heading into the second of three closely watched election weekends for Romania, and parties outside the political mainstream look poised to make big gains.
On @politico.eu I look into the reasons why Romanian voters are tired of the status quo, from inequalities to widespread corruption.
