Bert de Wilde

Parties to conflicts cannot deprive people of food or water

🍛 🚰 In armed conflicts, food and water, which are basic for survival, can't be denied or blocked.

Without exception. #IHL

This G7 Summit will decide if the West still exists With Trump as a volatile factor who openly flirts with Russia, the future of the G7 is at stake.

"What happens in Kananaskis could be a tipping point. The question is simple: does the West still exist as a political entity – or are we witnessing the end of a beautiful idea?" writes @sbeverts.bsky.social as #G7 leaders meet in Canada. ow.ly/orFg50W9Wt0

War against forever chemicals highlights tension between EU’s green plans and struggling industrial sector
• European Chemicals Agency has opened 60-day consultation to clamp down on toxic TFA
• EU industrial firms, notably from chemicals sector, will lobby hard against any potential restrictions

Rise to the challengers: Europe’s populist parties and its foreign policy future An array of populist parties are challenging Europe’s foreign policy mainstream. To secure European sovereignty, its politicians need to adapt—which means preparing for a variety of future diplomatic…

This policy brief projects its analysis onto the next four years. It advances several conceivable (but speculative) scenarios depicting the challengers’ influence on European foreign policy.

Getting ready to fly to Brussels for this very timely event organized by @egmontinstitute.bsky.social

Doves and hawks: Foreign policy in the second Trump age Mark Leonard welcomes Dan Caldwell and Curt Mills to talk Trump’s foreign policy—and the key influences shaping it…

In this episode, Mark Leonard engages in a discussion with Dan Caldwell, a former senior adviser at the Department of Defense, and Curt Mills, the executive editor of the American Conservative, to explore the factors shaping Donald Trump's approach to international relations.

It remains completely unclear, at least to me, how deregulation or lower energy prices (not the key input for them) are going to save Germanys core engineering sectors that have long driven productivity and innovation.

Moving a lot of it to China isn’t a solution either - obviously.

A graphic with bold white text on a dark background that reads: "How digital is Europe?" Below the main text is a hashtag: "#DigitalEU". The design includes abstract yellow and blue outlined shapes in the corners.

A bar chart titled "Digital Infrastructure" showing the percentage of target achieved toward 2030 targets for various digital indicators in the EU. The indicators and their percentages are: Overall 5G coverage 94% (target 100%), 5G coverage in 3.4-3.8 GHz 67.7% (target 100%), Fibre to the Premises 69.2% (target 100%), Fixed Very High Capacity Network 82.5% (target 100%), Semiconductors 53% (target 20% of world production value), Edge nodes 23% (target 10,000), Quantum computing 67% (target 3 quantum computers). The chart uses red bars for the latest available values and light pink shading for recent year-on-year differences. At the bottom, it notes that 3.4-3.8 GHz 5G coverage is not a KPI but an important indicator. Hashtag at the bottom: #DigitalEU.

A bar chart titled "Digital Transformation of Businesses" showing the percentage of target achieved toward 2030 EU targets. The indicators and their percentages are: SMEs digital intensity 81% (target 90% SMEs), Cloud take-up 52% (target 75% enterprises), Data analytics take-up 44% (target 75% enterprises), AI take-up 18% (target 75% enterprises), and Unicorns 57% (target 500, double the 2022 baseline). The chart uses purple bars for latest available values and lighter purple for the difference between the most recent two consecutive years. A note mentions that the former Big Data indicator is now replaced by Data analytics take-up, so progress figures aren’t fully comparable. At the bottom is the hashtag: #DigitalEU.

A bar chart titled "Digital Skills" displaying the percentage of target achieved toward 2030 targets in the EU. The indicators and percentages shown are: Basic digital skills at 70% (target 80% of individuals) and ICT specialists at 52% (target 20 million employed). The chart uses teal bars to represent the latest available values, with lighter teal shading indicating the difference between the values of the two most recent consecutive years. At the bottom is the hashtag: #DigitalEU.

Just over half of Europeans have basic digital skills, while the availability of ICT specialists is low.

The State of the Digital Decade 2025 report shows the EU’s progress towards digital transformation by 2030. More action is needed.

Read more: europa.eu/!YtTBPB

Investeer in verbinding ↘️

Switzerland seeks closer EU ties in response to Trump shock Swiss president to attend informal EU finance ministers’ meeting for the first time, alongside British chancellor

A first also for @jzettelmeyer.bsky.social and me @bruegel.bsky.social : presenting to #ecofin with UK, Norway and Switzerland in the room.

Switzerland seeks closer EU ties in response to Trump shock - on.ft.com/4jgikkI via @FT

US Bonds Have Never Lost Out This Much to German Bunds in a Rout US Treasuries are on track for their worst weekly selloff in decades compared with German bunds, illustrating the extent to which President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have undermined faith in the ...

Quite the sight to behold. Bunds are the new key safe asset.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

More EU debt issuance would be the best response to Trump’s tariffs The European Union should think strategically and seize the opportunity to fill the void created by Trump

It may seem counterintuitive to issue more debt during a crisis. But in a world where US economic policy is unpredictable, safe asset diversification suddenly has value. And the EU’s best response to US tariffs is to issue more debt.

My OpED at @bruegel.bsky.social

www.bruegel.org/first-glance...

Meer weten over wat ik zoal doe? Lees hieronder 👇

Morgen in #buitenhof: minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Caspar Veldkamp over de toekomst van de NAVO; hoogleraar duurzaam bankieren Sandra Phlippen over Trumps handelsheffingen; Caroline Darian over strijden tegen seksueel geweld, fotograaf Ilvy Njiokiktjien met de #nieuwsfoto
bit.ly/buitenhof-6-...

Spencer Hakimian on X: "World renowned left wing socialist, Ronald Reagan, on why tariffs are bad. But don’t worry. He’s probably just suffering from TDS. 🫵🤡 https://t.co/O7s8C4MWig" / X World renowned left wing socialist, Ronald Reagan, on why tariffs are bad. But don’t worry. He’s probably just suffering from TDS. 🫵🤡 https://t.co/O7s8C4MWig

Tarrifs x.com/spencerhakim...

vassiligolod o Der dreijährige Tymofij ist das jüngste Todesopfer des russischen Raketenangriffs auf Krywyj Rih. Drei Jahre - so alt wie der große russische Krieg gegen die Ukraine. Tymofij hat in seinem Leben keinen Frieden erlebt. Die genozidale Kriegsführung Russlands muss gestoppt werden. Foto: Ein dreijähriger Junge schaut fragend in die Kamera.

These are the names of the 9 children whose lives russia took in yesterday's attack

Their blood is on russia's hands

Tymofii, age 3

Arina, age 7

Herman, age 9

Danylo, age 15

Alina, age 15

Kostyantyn, age 16

Mykyta, age 15

Nikita, age 17

Radyslav, age 7

Nine kids. Killed

Source: U24GOVUA

Topical webinar @cepr.org - How to design "Buy European" policies. April 15, 4pm CET

Speakers:
- Martijn Snoep
- Dietmar Harhoff
- Ufuk Akcigit
- Giancarlo Spagnolo
- Beth Baltzan
- Moritz Schularick
Moderation: Cristina Caffarra Tomasso Valletti and me

Register 👇

cepr.org/events/desig...

Register and join us next week👇

Sumy after the Russian strike 💔

74 people injured, including 13 children.

Sumy right now‼️

Sumy 💔

Germany’s Bundestag votes resoundingly to open spending taps for defence, infrastructure & Ukraine. With 513 “yes” votes the constitutional change easily passes 2/3 majority (489) needed.

A big boost for Merz - but package must now clear the Bundesrat.

Adresse aux Français. Le Président Emmanuel Macron s'est adressé aux Français ce mercredi 5 mars à 20h depuis le Palais de l'Élysée.

Merci Monsieur le President. Vous avez parler au nom de tous les Européens 🇪🇺

www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-mac...

Today, King Willem-Alexander & Queen Máxima visited the JRCC to see this cooperation in action and strengthen ties for the future.

Security and crisis response are at the heart of this state visit. 2/2

Strong partnerships in times of crisis 🇳🇱🤝🇨🇾

The Netherlands & Cyprus work together to evacuate people from conflict zones. The Joint Rescue Cooperation Center (JRCC) in Cyprus plays a vital role in this effort. 1/2

Statement marking 10 years since the death of Boris Nemtsov Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden today issued the following statement:

Ten years after his tragic death, his legacy lives on in the voices of the people who continue to fight for a democratic Russia and oppose the illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.

Joint statement:

www.government.nl/documents/di...

Today we commemorate Boris Nemtsov, a prominent Russian politician, anti-corruption activist and opposition leader, who was brutally gunned down near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015. 1/2

Ukraine is not alone.

Germany together with our European allies stands united alongside #Ukraine - and against the Russian aggression. Ukraine can build on unwavering support from Germany, Europe and beyond. Their defence of democracy & their quest for peace & security is ours.

Dear Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.