Transatlantic security, freedom & democracy; Research Fellow @UniKentPolitics; formerly @IRIglobal & @Europarl_EN
Joined November 2013
- Tweets 11,153
- Following 1,623
- Followers 1,357
- Likes 8,643
737 Photos and videos
The same MS that are responsible for the post-Lisbon changes now complain about them. But:
1. EEAS is a pointless institution, the service worked better within the EC
2. The HRVP role is additional & near impossible - in a Union of 27MS it’s impossible to cover all positions
Jun 11
FT Exclusive: France, Germany and other European nations are discussing proposals for a radical overhaul of the EU’s 15-year-old diplomatic service, including stripping powers from the bloc’s chief diplomat. ft.trib.al/Hskd8cT
1
102
Igor Merheim-Eyre retweeted
Jun 11
A defence secretary has never resigned in this way. Fox, Heseltine, Profumo - all resigned over scandals. To resign because the PM would not pay enough to keep the country secure - unprecedented.
89
1,651
10,622
168,115
Given how the Labour government caved in, the Chinese didn’t even need spying cameras
Jun 8
🚨 NEW: A secret camera has been discovered in a ceiling panel in a sensitive Government building where the decision was made to approve the new Chinese embassy
[@theipaper]
46
Igor Merheim-Eyre retweeted
Jun 6
By now, 82 years ago, thousands of men had landed on the beaches of Normandy in a courageous operation of liberation.
Their extraordinary bravery freed us from the fear of tyranny and oppression.
We are forever in their debt.
151
241
1,802
63,346
Switching default search engines must be the most underwhelming tech sovereignty push in history.
EU Parliament to switch to French search engine from Google in tech sovereignty push reut.rs/43yp6wl reut.rs/43yp6wl
1
48
What utter tosh.
1. You don’t cut defence spending because of global instability, you boost it.
2. Higher spending isn’t unaffordable because of the Iran War, but because of conscious failures of the government to reign in welfare or ensure energy security
Jun 3
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer is considering cutting the planned £18bn increase in defence spending to £15bn over fears the Iran war makes it unaffordable
[@thetimes]
67
Word out on the street has it that the EU is set to join Pax Silica. What is this? Why does this matter?
Read my first ever Substack article to find out more:
kentishdispatches.substack.c…
41
Exactly. Innovation and competitiveness will be achieved through technological neutrality, not by the Commission telling companies what they should produce and consumers what they should buy.
If China dominates in EVs, let’s empower our strengths, not China’s.
We cannot destroy Europe's automotive industry to enrich China's. ⚠️
Banning combustion engines without a realistic alternative risks exporting jobs, investment and manufacturing capacity out of Europe.
The current proposal to revise the CO₂ standards is not the final destination, but it is a crucial first step towards correcting the mistakes of the last mandate.
"We need technological neutrality and support for European industry, not policies that keep feeding the Chinese monster," warns MEP @AlexandrVondra.
1
57
The King of the North already trying to settle in
Jun 1
Some frustration amongst Downing Street security this morning.
Someone has tried to order Burger King to No10 five times already today, all using different names.
Each delivery driver turned away at the gates. Much confusion.
62
We all know Labour will eventually have to U-turn in on this. The fact that they are dragging their feet only harms the British economy.
May 31
Wes Streeting has urged Labour to ramp up oil drilling in the North Sea to boost the economy.
Here are some of the arguments he's laid out👇
telegraph.co.uk/politics/202…
37
The CCP is using the economic security language of the EU to justify tighter controls Chinese investments.
But let’s not fall for this, it’s not the same: the EU is trying to de-risk & protect key sectors, the PRC is trying to further control investments to coerce 3rd countries
Jun 1
Notably, the regulation also outlines countermeasures targeting unfair foreign business practices. Should foreign entities or individuals undermine China’s sovereignty and development interests, arbitrarily cut business ties with Chinese firms or impose discriminatory restrictions on Chinese outbound investors, relevant central authorities may impose restrictive measures. These include curbing their China-related import and export and investment activities, barring Chinese parties from striking deals with them, and limiting entry, work and residence rights of their relevant staff.
5
557
Imagine the protests and outrage from activists and Irish politicians if this alumina was exported to Israel….
So much for Ireland’s neutrality…and double-standards
May 31
Every day, ships leave this russian owned factory in Ireland straight for St Petersburg carrying thousands of tonnes of raw alumina for the war machine.
There’s corruption everywhere. Locals tell me politicians are bought by oligarchs.
Ireland is no longer militarily neutral.
31
Cancelling this event is kowtowing to extremists.
It’s they who should have been cancelled instead of a celebration of Jewish culture and heritage.
The only consolation is that Jews & Jewish culture have survived and flourished for thousands of years. Their enemies haven’t.
May 27
Worth reading before speculating britishmuseum.org/about-us/p…
1
66
Why not also consider banning the ‘European Left’?
Communism is fundamentally against freedom and democracy and, like their far-right chums, ‘The Left’ have sold out to our enemies in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran.
May 28
EXCLUSIVE: The far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations party — home of Alternative for Germany — could be outlawed for failing to uphold EU values.
politico.eu/article/eu-watch…
2
2
6
750
Economically illiterate Labour MPs and wannabe leaders bang on about inequality.
But wealth creators are not the problem, the factors neatly outlined by Kemi below are.
May 28
Labour entered government and
⬇️hiked employers National Insurance
⬇️hiked the minimum wage
⬇️loaded new regulations on businesses
The result? Employers stopped hiring young people.
@Conservatives will listen to business, back more apprenticeships and reduce tax and red tape.
28
This is a good piece from @RichardGCorbett although, like much of this debate, it rests on many Ifs.
I’d only add that I don’t see major pitfalls for the UK rejoining with much of the old opt-outs in place given MS dynamics in many of these areas. MFF would be a different issue.
Rejoining the EU quickly is not impossible :
internationalbusinessnews.co…
30
The PM is likely to face a leadership challenge, there is political uncertainty, and no vision for what the UK actually wants to achieve out of the reset.
Holding a UK-EU Summit at this stage makes no sense and would likely achieve very little.
May 27
The lack of a date for the next U.K.-EU summit is starting to raise eyebrows — and questions about the state of the Brexit reset.
🔗 politico.eu/article/keir-sta…
70
Igor Merheim-Eyre retweeted
May 25
“America’s outperformance began decades ago, but in the 2020s it has become vast. And it is likely to last. The latest IMF forecasts show American growth besting the rest all the way to 2030 and beyond….”
Do not bet on 🇺🇸 decline!
May 24
The Economist on the U.S. economy’s consistent growth outperformance relative to other advanced countries:
“America’s outperformance began decades ago, but in the 2020s it has become vast. And it is likely to last. The latest IMF forecasts show American growth besting the rest all the way to 2030 and beyond….
Many of America’s advantages are hard to emulate. The country’s continental scale, single language, natural-resource wealth and the fiscal space that comes from issuing the world’s safe asset give it a unique economic advantage over Europe…
But America also shows just how much other rich countries are failing to live up to their economic potential.”
#economy @EconUS @TheEconomist
2
2
15
1,453
Such V4 formats have existed for well over two/three decades and have been used regularly when there was willingness and interest from V4 leaders
May 20
Thanks, @magyarpeterMP, for validating the main ideas of my latest book 😉
1
113
The only thing Merkel built is the Far Right’s popularity
3
48