@codendahl.bsky.social
European economics editor @TheEconomist. London via Berlin, Stockholm and Cologne. Have no plans to write a book.
The stakes of the election could not be higher: if OrbΓ‘n wins, #Hungary will continue its slide into autocracy domestically and will keep blocking joint action at the EU level. ππΊ πͺπΊ
@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @zecsaky.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/MtJXrKQ
Poland: a wild start.
Thinking of the poverty in Poland in the late '80s, its transformation feels like a miracle β a miracle that wouldnβt have been possible without integration with Western Europe.
In another era, Germany would be certain the US would shield a refinery supplying *90%* of greater Berlin's petrol needs from sanctions. But this is the Trump era - Gov is reviewing nationalisation (expropriation of Rosneft) as back-up plan - My dispatch: www.ft.com/content/9515...
28.01.2026 09:42 β π 6 π 6 π¬ 3 π 1
A seemingly tranquil black-&-white Berlin photo: a 18th-century orphanage (L), a bridge that would soon be replaced by a new one, river lidos on both sides of the bridge + a by now vanished district.
1888 view down the now non-existent WaisenbrΓΌcke (Orphans' Bridge). Photo F.A. Schwartz.
An NHS, but for pets. The National Pet Service.
Surely the most popular policy imaginable?
Out of the 2159 Jews who lived in my Zayde's village
before the war, 20 survived. The Germans, with assistance from Lithuanian police, shot 2000 people in two days. The rest were sent to ghettos, or hid in the forest. My Zayde hid, and I get to be here today. I can't forget, I hope you won't either.
The Russian shadow fleet: highly recommend this long(ish) read.
economist.com/finance-and-...
New piece out this morning:
27.01.2026 17:47 β π 13 π 5 π¬ 0 π 0
βοΈ Good news! Renewables keep pushing fossil fuels out of the EU electricity mix.
In 2025, wind and solar power was 291 TWh higher than in 2021. The fossil fuel share went down by 257 TWh.
You can explore the data in our Bruegel European Clean Tech Tracker: european-clean-tech-tracker.bruegel.org
The extent to which many Americans think Britain is a devastated and zombie-filled hellscape cannot be overestimated.
27.01.2026 20:25 β π 398 π 47 π¬ 66 π 42
Europeans should strive to slow down the erosion of the transatlantic allianceβbut they must also prepare for the day when NATO is no more
27.01.2026 19:00 β π 12 π 5 π¬ 1 π 0
We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing "the" labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant. 9,742 L7 19.4K 43.8K δΈͺ AP The Associated Press @AP Replying to @APStylebook The use of "the French" in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense. An updated tweet is upcoming. 12:18 AM β’ Jan 27, 2023 β’ 382.8K Views
Happy 3 year anniversary to this post
27.01.2026 18:14 β π 8198 π 1908 π¬ 132 π 109Google Gemini did its best to help
27.01.2026 20:09 β π 41 π 7 π¬ 2 π 0In her Trudeau era
27.01.2026 15:27 β π 21 π 2 π¬ 1 π 0Boah jetzt spann uns doch nicht so auf die Folter, was ist das Ergebnis!?
(GlΓΌckwunsch!)
The fact that this is still uncertain is testament to the insane bravery of Ukraine's army.
You are right of course that the Zeitenwende took too long.
π°π· Trumpβs tariff threat barely registered in Korean markets
Despite Trump saying heβd raise tariffs on South Korea to 25% over delays to a trade deal, the Kospi hit a record high and logged its biggest daily gain in three weeks
Markets seem increasingly unfazed by the rhetoric
Took a while, but if you look at German defence expenditure, it is working. Unlike the Draghi report.
27.01.2026 12:08 β π 13 π 0 π¬ 2 π 0What is a gas car?
27.01.2026 11:57 β π 21 π 2 π¬ 6 π 0
The cost-of-living crisis is so bad, the Saudis have run out of money. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
27.01.2026 11:53 β π 31 π 5 π¬ 5 π 4Stark.
27.01.2026 10:09 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
At the table or on the menu? Europe wakes up to a world without order
Leaders appear to have finally accepted the old order is dead β the question now is how they respond
A long read from me on last week's group therapy in Davos
After the TACO - thoughts on the economic consequences of Trump's Greenland climbdown, assuming that is what it was...
25.01.2026 20:20 β π 13 π 4 π¬ 1 π 2To increase defense capabilities, a large german state (NRW) lifts all construction permit requirements for military construction and eases landmark protections.
25.01.2026 14:16 β π 27 π 5 π¬ 1 π 0Please. This is absurd. Europe can certainly deter Russia and defend itself if its focused and determined. Perpetuating a sense of European helplessness may help Rutte bureaucratically but its 1. wrong 2. prevents action. 3. willfully blind: the US ain't coming to defend Europe.
26.01.2026 19:49 β π 871 π 285 π¬ 62 π 16
UK, Germany grid operators to develop power link between offshore wind farms reut.rs/4rkEl5P
26.01.2026 21:00 β π 70 π 13 π¬ 0 π 3
I put together our latest Carrie Bradshaw Index, measuring how affordable it is to rent alone in major European cities from Brussels to Budapest. If a relocation is on the cards, there are some surprising results π
www.economist.com/graphic-deta... @economist.com
Donald Trump deserves some of the credit. Without his adventurism, his predilection for tariffs and his habit of alienating allies, the two big democracies might not have found the courage to strike a deal
26.01.2026 17:20 β π 59 π 7 π¬ 4 π 2Love how London and #Stockholm are right next to each other. The first a free-market wild west for tenants, the second an over-regulated half-Soviet rental market.
I have lived in both. Stockholm is *a lot* worse.
