Henrique Laitenberger

None of us should put pressure on Zelenskyy when it comes to territorial concessions. We should all put pressure on Russia to stop its aggression. Appeasement never was a road to a just and lasting peace.

We will never forget the horror of the Hamas attacks on 7 October and the pain they caused to innocent victims, their families and the entire people of Israel, two years ago.

We honour their memory by working tirelessly for peace.

Regardless of any genuine and heartfelt empathy for the innocent people in Gaza -
anyone marching today to cheer Hamas and celebrate the anniversary of 7 October 2023 is, to put it simply, the scum of the earth.

Es erreichen uns Bilder aus Sinsheim, wo Effzeh-Fans mit Saïd El-Mala einen hart erarbeiten Auswärtssieg feiern:

#TSGKOE

Reform are now coming after people with permanent residency. It'll be citizens next. No one is safe from authoritarian governments.

NB for all the (justifiable) criticism of Starmer right now, we also have a Conservative leader who won't criticise even those who think she isn't English or should be deported.

Failures of our two main parties to deal with the moment are leaving a huge hole to be exploited.

It is utterly baffling that the UK Government refuses to see that silence and appeasement only embolden the extremists that are actively laying the axe on Britain's democracy, rule of law, and open society. They sense the weakness and will not stop, contrary to what Downing Street hopes.

It's especially dismaying since many Germans with the most passionate takes on this issue only appear to have a superficial understanding of what kind of ideology Kirk was promoting - otherwise they'd know that if he was German, he would have been a clear case for the Verfassungsschutz.

This is by no means an original take, but with every added day of mayhem, I catch myself trying to recall what it was like when the primary sources of information for societies were not platforms powered by opaque, manipulative algorithms that confront you with extreme content 24/7.

For now, von der Leyen has signalled that she has a clear vision that she will fight for, whatever it takes (to coin a phrase). The question is: will MEPs, EU leaders, and world events let her achieve it? Or will this SOTEU be a damp squib, highlighting the failure of her Presidency?

This was especially surprising since the EU-US deal is key to VDL's strategy and highlights her Achilles's heel: to turn her vision into reality, she needs time and a more predictable economic environment. A collapse of the tariff agreement will make her task far more difficult to accomplish.

VDL's defence of the Trump Tariff Deal was arguably one of the weakest moments in her speech, despite the high stakes that she faced. It is no surprise that none of the EP group leaders positively acknowledged the rationale she presented to the house, staying either silent on or denouncing it.

Geopolitically, this means an emancipation from the US, full confrontation and total disengagement from Russia, and heightened vigilance over Chinese market access. Security is trumping economics - with one notable exception: the controversial EU-US tariff agreement 🇺🇸🌐🇪🇺

This vision is to be achieved by:

🪖 Large armament schemes
🦾 Support for key industries
👨‍💻 Boosting Critical Digital Tech
♻️ Promoting EU Clean Tech
🇪🇺 "Buy European" schemes
⛓️‍💥 End to national market barriers
⚡ Energy independence
📵 Action on social media algos
🗞️ More protection of free press

More than anything though, this SOTEU was a clear marker of what VDL pictures as her legacy: a self-reliant EU thanks to strong defence capacity, leadership on digital and green tech, and robust democracies. That is her second Presidency's mission and the standard by which she wants to be judged.

This speech has bought VDL time to ward off challenges from the left and shift the focus on Manfred Weber - all eyes are now on him: will he follow her lead or defy her and distance the EPP Group from her own President? A lot will hinge on the Bavarian's decision, to say the very least.

Politically, this SOTEU was a clear attempt to reunite her centrist coalition - be it on Gaza or the Green Deal. It succeeded in pacifying S&D, Renew, and the Greens, but it will have caused severe dissatisfaction among the EPP. Weber's refusal to directly comment on the speech highlighted that.

"This has to be Europe's Independence Moment" - channelling her inner Thomas J. Whitmore, Ursula von der Leyen has probably delivered the defining #SOTEU of her Presidency.

More combative than ever about Europe's need to stand united, she set out the stall for the rest of her tenure.

She did explicitly speak about the need to speed up the enlargement process for Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkans, calling it an urgently needed "reunification", though? Or is your criticism that she did not offer detail on how to achieve this?

Brexit stoked the belief among the UK Right that pursuing a maximalist agenda is a path to victory. The surrender of much of the UK political establishment to Brexit delusions encouraged the UK Far Right to move more quickly to seize control of the Conservatives and impose their agenda on Britain

Whoever writes that "all wars end with negotiations" should be refuted by an decent foreign affairs journal, because it is not true in modern times.
1. World War I ended with revolution in Russia in1917 and Germany in 1918. /1

Half of me wants Germany to win because I'm German. Half of me wants Germany to win because, as a point of principle, I object to the idea of a national team winning two trophies in a row.

La Mano Española de Dios 2.0 #ESPGER

Titann-Kathrin Berger #GERESP

While it did usher in a liberal democracy eventually, the aims of the Portuguese armed forces movement were decidedly socialist (though the pluralist wing ultimately prevailed over the authoritarian one). The new constitution even declared socialism as the aim of the state. So your point stands!

For the first time in ages, I have ample time to post and I intend to use that window of opportunity unwisely by jumping on this bandwagon.

Go ahead, make your day.

Trump is working on regime change in Europe — fact, not conspiracy theory On 27 May, an official document, The Need for Civilizational Allies in Europe, calling for regime change in European countries was published, written by a senior adviser for the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the US State Department, writes Caroline de Gruyter.

Trump is working on regime change in Europe — fact, not conspiracy theory

Why the EU Literally Cannot Afford A Weakened Climate Target The effects of climate change are becoming more and more evident: every year, new temperature records are being registered and extreme weather events are becoming part of the everyday reality of Europ...

Commission will present its proposal for an EU intermediary climate target for 2040.
Technology Industries of Finland is supporting a 90 % emissions reduction target. Union can offer global leadership to protect the planet – all while bolstering its own competitiveness, says @toenlaiten.bsky.social

Also, before The Internet™ comes after me, I also want to stress that my discomfort with the meal deal definitely came entirely from overexposure. After a brief hiatus, I happily resumed moderate consumption.

(In my defence, I should also mention here that I did not have a proper kitchen at my catered halls of residence.)