Štefan Auer
@stefanauer_hku
Followers
8,945
Following
4,993
Media
2,277
Statuses
21,971
Professor of European Studies, School of Modern Languages and Cultures @HKuniversity , occasional bylines in @FT @Politico @prospect_uk @unherd Proud father of 4
Hong Kong
Joined February 2014
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Still There
• 135593 Tweets
Arath
• 119674 Tweets
PROTECT BINI AT ALL COST
• 77834 Tweets
写真・動画
• 67975 Tweets
Demokratie
• 48635 Tweets
BUMP
• 31614 Tweets
#แค่น้องชายbyDMDBOYS
• 27089 Tweets
JKIA
• 25640 Tweets
MCM MEW IN SEOUL
• 23195 Tweets
牛角半額
• 22641 Tweets
PrabowoJKW RUKUNkompak
• 22577 Tweets
Ergebnis
• 22441 Tweets
#احسمو_صفقه_موليرو
• 22206 Tweets
BekerjaBERSATU UntukNKRI
• 21839 Tweets
食べ放題
• 20637 Tweets
Melt Down
• 16362 Tweets
DANGEROUS NEXT DOOR
• 14834 Tweets
#DANGEROUS_OUT_NOW
• 14793 Tweets
ASSDMS
• 10451 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
‘Auer’s study of ‘European disunion’ represents one of the most thorough & interesting revisionist critiques of the European project & its concomitant academic discipline,European Studies.’ Very thankful to Hanns W. Maull for an amazing review in Survival
4
28
118
Once Russia is defeated, Ukraine will likely deepen its partnership with Poland to form a powerful bloc within European politics. Together, the two nations will have an authoritative voice in the wider democratic world.’
646
2K
15K
Dear
@dieworkwear
, should I wear a tie for my appearance on
@CNBC
tomorrow, or can I do without it? As an academic, I prefer a less formal appearance, but as your ardent follower, I am no longer sure what I prefer 🤷♂️Thanks 😊
119
32
6K
‘The French and German visions for peace imply Ukrainian territorial concessions.Such ideas are foolhardy and will not ensure security for Europe or Ukraine. A sovereign Europe must not be pursued at the expense of Ukrainian sovereignty’, I argue in
@FT
82
382
1K
@dieworkwear
@CNBC
Thanks 🙏 I greatly appreciate this. Can I tell my tailor that you didn’t criticise my jacket 😊 (it’s a very small operation, but exceedingly friendly).
8
1
2K
People advocating a negotiated settlement with Putin’s Russia might need to watch more Russian tv
Meanwhile in Russia: the host and his guest concur that Ukraine should be erased off the map and even the memory that it existed should be destroyed. The host says that Russia will always be an empire and being in a state of war is only natural for any empire of Russia's size.
912
3K
7K
46
434
1K
With friends like this, who needs enemies. Austria’s former foreign minister seems worse than Schröder (if that’s possible)
62
265
1K
‘If countries believe they cannot annex their neighbours without loosing access to their global reserves, that is a good thing.’ Robert Zoelick’s compelling argument in the FT in favour of transferring Russian reserves to Ukraine.
26
305
1K
‘Putin’s Russia is a bankrupt gas station run by a mafia that prefers to spend its time and money in London & New York. Offering any carrots to these war criminals would set the stage for a return to the appeasement & corruption that brought us to this deadly phase.’
@Kasparov63
“Ukraine’s sacrifice will be in vain if the West’s moral confusion gives Russia a chance to regroup.”
@Kasparov63
via
@WSJOpinion
21
250
807
5
177
672
“The EU’s dream of a geopolitical Union, built on cheap energy from Russia, affordable production from China, and free security from the US, went up in smoke – literally.” Spot on
@wprzybylski
.
@wprzybylski
for
@VisegradInsight
:
This war will not be negotiated away. Russia’s history and today’s facts speak for themselves. Therefore, we stand with you until your victory. Peace cannot be prescribed; it must be fought for. Godspeed!
6
44
137
22
197
634
Maybe the best, the angriest, the loudest and the most surreal outburst by Solovyov so far.
Feast your eyes on Vladimir Solovyov, the man of constant sorrow: he cries, he sighs, he lies. He encourages Russians to die for the Motherland and praises himself for his "choice" to give up his Italian villa (it was seized and he was sanctioned, so the choice was made for him).
998
2K
9K
53
81
562
Coming home like this 👆, my 7-year-old said I looked like a president, but his 3-year old brother burst into tears, saying that he didn’t like it at all 😆
4
1
490
I do find Sikorski’s appointment puzzling. Is it true that he actually supported Nord Stream 2? If yes, surety that alone should disqualify him from becoming the next Polish foreign minister 👇
1. Poniżej długi i smutny tłit na temat trwającej od 15 lat jednoznacznie prorosyjskiej postawy człowieka, co do którego praktycznie wiadomo już, że będzie nowym polskim ministrem spraw zagranicznych.
Wszystko udokumentowane linkami.
Chciałbym, żeby po przeczytaniu tego ktoś
199
2K
4K
48
112
434
Marina Weisband
@Afelia
made a number of excellent points yesterday on German 📺: ‘If Putin doesn’t need to fear any consequences for further escalation, that means that our international order has failed and we all have to live in fear’. A very good discussion at
#AnneWill
9
77
398
One of Germany’s most prolific writers and public intellectuals 👇urges the West to stop supporting Ukraine with weapons because even ‘the most unjust peace is better than the most just war’. So was für Schwachsinn 🤨
Wie viel Leid wollen wir noch hochskalieren, bis wir endlich Frieden schaffen? Der ungerechteste Frieden ist besser als der gerechteste Krieg. Bei
@nenacasc
habe ich gestern erklärt, warum ich
#offenerbrief
voll unterstütze:
#UkraineKrieg
1K
644
3K
172
108
372
“the discipline of political science has been almost completely colonized by mathematical models, data analysis, and numeric reasoning. … one wonders whether such dominance in the discipline crowds out more insightful ways to understand politics.”
16
124
385
The absurd image that captures Hong Kong today - children locked in a toy shop on Sunday afternoon to be protected against the police force.
16
253
365
‘The message to Europe from AUKUS is that the U.S. is serious about resisting Chinese hegemony in the Asia-Pacific. Europe can’t play China’s game of divide-and-conquer on economic and strategic issues without consequences for its U.S. relationship’. Spot on
@WSJ
28
143
343
‘The former German chancellor made her country hostage to Russian energy, badly misjudged Vladimir Putin, &contributed far too little to NATO’s defenses. Her successor has repudiated her legacy in a week’.
@WSJ
is right, we need to reconsider both Obama’s and Merkel’s reputation
32
131
335
More artwork is being displayed at HKU, by students invoking Martin Luther King: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
0
215
322
I am a prof at long last 😆 an early Christmas present 🎁 There are moments when I feel very lucky to have become an academic & now is definitely one of those. I owe immense gratitude to all my amazing colleagues & friends past and present. Academia (still) is an amazing place 🤩
83
10
310
5
108
289
‘“The Russians like to label everything Russian as Slavic, so that later they can label everything Slavic as “Russian,” the great Czech writer Karl Havlíček declared in 1844, trying to warn his compatriots against their silly and ignorant enthusiasm for Russia.’ Milan Kundera
4
92
336
“The EU occasionally still suffers from the old European disease, which is the tendency to make compromises with evil, to close one’s eyes to dictatorship, to practice a politics of appeasement or even accommodation, vis-à-vis totalitarian systems…” Václav Havel
Incredibly prescient Vaclav Havel, speaking in 2005. Asked how "new" member states could contribute as EU members, he answers that central Europe could "educate" those who have not lived under totalitarianism, and so would be all too willing to accommodate evil.
8
53
152
10
96
277
More than a year after
@JosepBorrellF
promised them, and it’s Poland rather than the EU sending jets to Ukraine 👇
18
71
266
An excellent thread. Mr Macron might want to consider some of these points
@EmmanuelMacron
Instead of doubling down with more force to crush the mutiny, Putin accepted humiliation instead. He was the rat trapped in the corner that so many Putinologists have told us to fear. But he didn't lash out & go crazy. He negotiated & with a traitor. 4/
59
810
8K
11
48
268
I am not sure how Hong Kong is to remain Asia's world city, while forcing its teachers ‘to warn primary and secondary students against ... “foreign interference”’.
25
153
252
‘Whether we like it or not, when Poles talk about domination, they fear not merely Russia but Germany too, particularly when Germany is seen as being too close to Russia’, or so I argue in
@POLITICOEurope
26
78
246
‘The difference between those who call for Ukrainian victory and those who restrict themselves to saying that Russia must not win is much more than a matter of nuance. It dictates crucial decisions about the kind of weaponry … for Ukraine’
@gideonrachman
5
80
241
‘Putin is … flirting with an important constituency in the west - cultural conservatives who are so disgusted by the alleged decadence of their own societies that they are attracted to Putin’s Russia’. Excellent by
@gideonrachman
28
96
248
The more despondent Solovyov sounds, the more hopeful I am for Ukraine. The interview with the professor channeling Heidegger is the most bizarre part for me. They talk about people awakening from their slumber as they face this existential challenge. Thanks
@JuliaDavisNews
Meanwhile in Russia: Vladimir Solovyov rejoiced that foreigners are signing up to join Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There were production glitches, plenty of gaslighting and poignant input from the bloodthirsty weatherman.
99
183
1K
7
35
239
@sumlenny
It’s what Hannah Arendt argued about the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 & Czechoslovakia in 1968, but it took decades for the USSR to collapse and both Hungary and Czechoslovakia to reclaim their sovereignty. A declining power can still cause a lot of damage & suffering
9
21
212
What a cool 😎 city Hong Kong is. And I just became a permanent resident 😊
26
5
219
The self harm that Merkel’s Germany inflicted on itself will prove more consequential to both Germany and Europe then whatever mess Boris Johnson will leave behind.
14
65
205
“Is the classroom a ‘safe space’ for debate and discussion? NO," the document sent to International Baccalaureate teachers states. "In theory, it should be a safe space to discuss anything. But in reality, it is not.”
4
172
197
Yes 👇 Russia underestimated Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict, about a year later the collective West underestimated Russia. If this doesn’t change, the consequences of this misjudgment are going to be catastrophic, particularly for Europe.
A quick guide to strategic failure:
-always underestimate your enemy
-never acknowledge the enemy's successes & never learn from them
-always assume the enemy shares your views on what you think is rational from his standpoint
-never listen to the views of friendly observers
15
28
152
2
88
198
It’s still rather astonishing how frankly the war is (sometimes) debated on Russian tv - even if all of this occurs within fairly narrow constraints. Remarkable footage courtesy
@JuliaDavisNews
👇
Darkness filled Vladimir Solovyov's studio, as one state TV pundit argued that at the rate Russia's invasion is proceeding, neither the panelists nor their Kremlin leadership will live long enough to see any successes.
227
591
3K
5
31
181
Next time a group of western intellectuals starts writing an open letter calling for a dialogue with Putin’s Russia, they might want to see this footage first 👇
7
63
177
“The virus started in China, of course, but narratives of how it went from epidemic to global pandemic often leave out a crucial element: the role of Europe.” An excellent article that puts Europe’s role in the pandemic into a global context. Thanks to
@70sBachchan
for sharing.
@adam_tooze
@MonnetEric
@kevinhorourke
@stefanauer_hku
Once China blocked flights from Hubei on Jan23rd, & cases popped up in countries w travel links (S Korea,Fra,Ger,US) then WHO declared PHEIC on 30th. From then failures to screen psngrs, shut travel from hubs, test widely for non travel cases were domestic
0
2
9
4
192
167
‘The US was not alone in arming & training the Ukrainian army after 2014, but it certainly played a leading role. Without that support, Kyiv would quite possibly now be Putingrad, the EU would be in crisis,with its pro-Russia & appeasement elements in the ascendant’
@alanbeattie
10
59
173
I am excited to see my forthcoming book advertised in the new
@HurstPublishers
catalogue: ‘a compelling critique of the European project, arguing that the EU has failed to establish supranational sovereignty, yet has still damaged national democracies’.
31
37
171
‘Let us defend the UN charter.’ An impressive speech 👇
GODDAMN!
Ecuador just absolutely obliterated Russia at the UNSC. It was so bad that Lavrov walked out 🔥🤌
Thank you Ecuador, for your principled stance & your defense of international law by calling out Russia for what it is. You are showing true leadership 👏🏼
#SlavaUkraini
626
5K
19K
10
48
169
Merkel’s “refusal to stop buying energy from Putin after he seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014—she instead worked to double gas imports from Russia—emboldened him to finish the job eight years later.” Excellent by
@bopanc
8
59
169
A year ago, Khodorkovsky predicted that Putin ‘could cause his own downfall through “serious political miscalculation resulting in defeat in a military conflict”’. I hope he will be proven right, but the devastation brought about along the way is horrible (as he acknowledged).
1
49
163
This can’t be emphasised enough. Orientalist predispositions of many people in the west stoped them from recognising the severity of the Covid19 danger early on, just as orientalist cliches now distort their understanding of what has worked to contain it. Excellent by
@zeynep
Yeah, it's funny. I keep hearing about how Asians are more "obedient" to explain their success in this pandemic, but in Hong Kong they *rebelled* against their government to fight COVID and succeeded. (Also Asian countries have big movements all the time!)
14
153
510
2
49
163
“If you treat the UK as a strategic adversary, don’t be surprised when the UK exploits the areas where it enjoys a competitive advantage. The EU has outmanoeuvred itself through lazy group-think.”
@spectator
’s take on the 🇦🇺 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 deal
13
36
151
‘Why are so few in the West calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a colonial war?’asks
@melkaylan
‘The self-justifying sense of mission, the dehumanisation of the other, the violent imposition of dependency - all are central attributes of the colonial impulse’.An important point👇
11
66
150
'Kundera’s essay is as timely as ever but in ways that both vindicate and challenge his key arguments. His suspicion of Russia has been validated. His frustration about the indifference of the West less so.' Or so I argue in
@TheWorldToday
12
75
157
Boris Johnson was accused of ignorance of the EU’s governing structures when he suggested to talk (also) to Merkel and Macron.
The EU has finalised a deal with China. In Brexit talks, the U.K. had to deal with the Commission. Xi in contrast gets to talk to the leaders. Of France and Germany. Evoking a sense that Berlin and Paris negotiate for Europe.
29
107
273
11
67
148
Weird to see fairly open discussions like this 👇
Meanwhile in Russia: even propagandists urge state media to stop lying to the people, because their deception was laid bare by Ukraine's counter-invasion of Kursk and other regions. This and more in my latest article, linked below ⤵️
81
690
2K
9
30
159
‘The backlash against Brussels is not confined to France. In different forms, it is cropping up all over the EU - from Warsaw to Budapest to the German constitutional court in Karlsruhe. The supremacy of EU law ... is increasingly under challenge’. Spot on
@gideonrachman
21
75
149
It’s really astonishing that some people on the left continue to view Russia as an ‘anti-imperialist’ force, while Russians themselves boast about their imperialist ambitions
@stefanauer_hku
Prigozhin: “We are in Africa to show that Russia has long arms”. (meaning: we can strike everyone wherever we want).
1
0
1
6
40
146
I agree: Merkel was celebrated as ‘the leader of the free world’ just at the time when she was pursuing policies that would damage Germany’s & European interests. I published articles about it in 2015 & 2019, but it was tricky to do so
The rest of Europe also needs to assess Merkel's litany of strategic errors and how hard it was to even debate these issues and challenge Berlin while she was in power. A fair chunk of the blame should go to influential Liberal commentators in Western Europe and North America:
52
246
984
5
53
148
“Poland has become the UK’s essential European ally. At the core of the …significance of British-Polish relations is Russia as the enduring threat to European security, and Ukraine as a crucial bulwark against the revanchist and kleptocratic regime in the Kremlin.” 👍
@RGWhitman
This was a great exercise with a fascinating set of contrition - and read my case for Poland as Britain’s closest ally.
1
7
30
5
34
142
Yes, Europe lacks capable leaders. But the problem is even more serious than that. The EU was not created for the kind of world we currently have: one without the US underpinning its security and with a revanchist Russia in the East. Europe’s demise will be gradual, then sudden.
I would ask though, who are the leaders in Europe today to respond to these challenges?
In terms of real security Europe face its greatest challenges in at least two if not more generations.
Scholtz? Macron? Sunak?
Tusk could do it. Kallas perhaps. Stubb, if he wins.
32
88
401
20
50
144
Morawiecki hat recht: "Diejenigen, die jahrelang die russischen Vorbereitungen finanzierten, Europa entwaffneten und schwächere Länder in eine Partnerschaft mit Russland zwangen, tragen eine Mitverantwortung am Krieg in der Ukraine."
Unser wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter
@b_sendhardt
kommentiert in diesem Artikel von
@DeutscheWelle
die gestrige
#Europarede
des polnischen Premierministers Mateusz
#Morawiecki
an der
@UniHeidelberg
.
3
3
4
14
52
139
It’s hard to believe this is for real 😳
Meanwhile in Russia: pundits told the viewers to avoid panic and hysteria, while they loudly argued about protecting Russian borders and panicked about what was yet to come. The lone voice of reason was hysterically shouted down.
254
556
3K
4
20
139
Everything you ever wanted to know about ‘European Disunion’ 👇My book is out at long last 🎉 Please dm me if interested in a review copy (and make sure to order a copy for the library 📚 if you can:))
@HurstPublishers
and
@OUPAcademic
I am excited to see my forthcoming book advertised in the new
@HurstPublishers
catalogue: ‘a compelling critique of the European project, arguing that the EU has failed to establish supranational sovereignty, yet has still damaged national democracies’.
31
37
171
22
40
139
“Russia is an imperial, expansionist state and the longer we tolerate it the worst will be the final confrontation.” I did not expect to ever be in such a perfect agreement with Slavoj Žižek. Leftists intellectuals of the world listen, you have nothing to lose but your stupidity
Zizek at his best — indeed, he has never been as direct, clear, and correct
1
11
44
8
66
143
“Europe will be renewed but along the lines of what
@GiorgiaMeloni
and her supporters have advocated for some time: rather than making Europe sovereign, member states will seek to reclaim their national sovereignty from Europe.” I argue in
@prospect_uk
9
45
140
Utterly bizarre. Lavrov: leave us alone, it’s just a conflict within our Slavic family 👇
Russland 🇷🇺 Außenminister
#Lavrov
fordert den Westen auf, sich aus dem Krieg in der Ukraine 🇺🇦 herauszuhalten.
Er sagt, es sei „ein alter Streit zwischen Slawen“ und „eine Familienfehde“.
123
65
239
33
33
134
“Some will insist that Putin’s actions are the west’s fault and above all its decision to extend Nato. The reverse is the case. Putin has reminded us why the countries that knew Russian rule best were desperate for Nato’s expansion. He has also demonstrated why it was necessary.”
6
51
137
I have my doubts that the negative responses to Macron’s strategic brilliance on China are limited to ‘Anglo-Saxon and English speaking media’, but perhaps my Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Czech, German and Slovak followers can enlighten us further.
I am a nobody but I think this is being blown out of proportion, perhaps because of an odd fixation with France that seems to permeate Anglo-Saxon and English speaking media.
10
1
20
33
16
139
A compelling letter to
@FT
arguing against the second referendum, a “people’s vote”, or whatever you want to call it - it’s a terrible idea.
@AndrewDuffEU
explains why:
42
57
134
“To say that Germany has made itself reliant on Russian gas doesn’t quite capture the enormity of what is going on. According to Habeck any sudden stop in Russian gas flows would trigger a domino effect:an economic crisis which he compares to the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Russia has a long history of using the cold to defeat Europe. Now Vladimir Putin has the option to turn off the gas sent to Europe – a strategy against which Germany appears to have no defence.
✍️ Wolfgang Münchau
7
14
37
18
59
133
A good thread, which also explains why Macron’s dreams about Europe’s strategic autonomy are doomed 👇
On the first question. Stubborness, partly. Macron was angry when
@BorisJohnson
went for what he was convinced were UK domestic, showing-off reasons. He said then that he would only go if there was something concrete to be gained 11/
23
44
492
8
28
130
The West - incl. Germany - should increase the support for Ukraine to maintain the momentum, argues the F.A.Z. Recht hat sie. ‘Es wäre an der Zeit, dass vor allem Deutschland nicht mehr nur sagt, was alles nicht gehe, sondern Entschiedenheit an den Tag legt.’
11
31
132
@bctallis
😂 I was just wondering what Mearsheimer, Roger Waters, Chomsky and the like are going to say: was Wagner bought by the US military industrial complex and NATO? 😂
7
11
129
“They genuinely believe that the war was provoked by the west to finish off Russia, and that once Russia is defeated China will be next,” Zhao Tong said. “Russia is China’s most important teammate in the fight with the U.S., so there is no room for abandoning Russia”.
@FT
22
78
130
“Why did the Germans who left Nazi Germany create a powerful anti-Nazi movement but the millions of Russians who have fled abroad have not created a strong anti-Putin movement outside Russia?” Asks
@peterpomeranzev
👇
Peter Pomerantsev was born in Kyiv, Soviet Ukraine in 1977 to a Russian-speaking Jewish family. His family moved to the West in 1978. Pomerantsev gets the war and the Russian mindset gets it.
Pomerantsev asks:
Why did the Germans who left Nazi Germany create a powerful
68
903
2K
20
55
130
Whatever you think about the state of democracy in Poland, such a drastic measure would not help the opposition led by Donald Tusk, whose past closeness to Merkel’s Germany (and an accommodating approach to Russia) is seen as a major liability. Only Russia would benefit.
Yes. The New York Times really published an opinion calling for US military aid to 🇵🇱 to be cut off.
Written by people tied to the 🇩🇪-backed Pl opposition and working in a 🇩🇪 think tank.
NB: there is no study where 🇵🇱 is not categorized as a democracy.
5
76
335
19
28
123
The problem is systemic. Member states don’t want to have powerful figures in Brussels, yet MS leaders are stupid enough to delegate major responsibilities to the EU bureaucracy for tasks which require political acumen & legitimacy that comes from democratic elections.
11
47
124
Many people in Hong Kong (myself incl) thought of the Coronavirus outbreak as presenting an existential threat to China’s regime, until it started to become clear that western democracies might mismanage it so badly that they will make the CCP look good. Sad.
When the
#corinavirus
abates as it will, necessary to look at narratives not just from political actors but social scientists on the way in which the response of China, US & EU was framed. Never framed as existential for US or China but was for EU-why?
47
56
238
13
38
119
Kundera’s 1967 reflections are frighteningly timely: most nations ‘take their own existence for granted -an obvious thing, a gift from God or from Nature, here perpetually’. Small nations don’t. Very pleased about
@FaberBooks
new edition,which I am reviewing for
@TheWorldToday
6
38
129
Will Germany ever have a Zeitenwende? How on Earth is to be explained that it took ten years to uncover this👇 and then not by German authorities but by investigative journalists 🤦🏻♂️
Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek was recruited by Russian intelligence at a meeting on a yacht in 2014, new reports have said
18
76
135
13
48
122
Whatever you think of Brexit, I do not think that the UK’s departure from the EU strengthened Putin’s position then, or now. What has emboldened Putin was the lack of resolve in West European capitals (including Brussels and London) in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
Here is a network of
@Conservatives
& Vote Leave links with Russia-they should not be allowed forget
13
61
102
10
21
117
A blast from the past. A year before communism collapsed in a country that no longer exists, I started a new life in freedom in another country that no longer exists: West Germany. Vielen Dank 😊
7
7
120
This is Merkel’s most pernicious legacy imho - the excessive German dependency on Russia, as explained by
@EuroBriefing
👇
"For as long as Germany imports Russian gas, oil and coal, it remains true that the most strategic alliance on the Eurasian continent is that between Germany and Russia."
6
26
90
6
38
120
“If Mr. Macron wants to reduce American public support for the war against Russia, he couldn’t have said it better. Without U.S. weapons and intelligence, Russia would long ago have rolled over Ukraine and perhaps one or more NATO border countries.” The WSJ isn’t impressed.
Timing matters, opines also F.A.Z. regarding Macron’s comments (und zurecht, glaube ich): “ein Politiker, der seit sechs Jahren im Amt ist, [sollte] wissen dass Bemerkungen wie diese nicht zu jeder Zeit angemessen sind“
2
12
30
8
42
115
"Membership for Ukraine would also reinforce complaints that the E.U.’s center is shifting to the east. Some capitals — you can probably guess which ones — are already uneasy about this prospect."
@carlbildt
17
41
118
Once again the EU has promised way more than it is likely to deliver👇repeating the past mistakes when its “ambiguous neighbourhood policies proved catastrophic” to Ukraine, as
@scicluna_nb
and I argue in the current issue of
@JCMS_EU
Senior EU officials tell me that in principle pol decision to open accession/membership negotiations with Kyiv is now no longer likely at Dec European Council - as PM Orban is demanding not only €bn but removal of
@vonderleyen
as COM Pres after EU elections next year 1/
50
232
470
8
34
115
“Heavy weapons are synonymous with tanks, and all NATO countries have so far ruled this out to not become targets themselves” - a new low from the German government regarding Ukraine. Habeck is basically lying in his attempt to hide Germany’s self imposed impotence re Russia. 👇
12
52
115
“only an average of 10 percent of the population feels guilt and shows empathy – Russian society is amoral. Of course, they don’t want war, but people behave submissively, passively and don’t want to engage in open conflict with the state.”
8
37
111
One of many reasons people in Central Europe tend to have a better grasp of a Russia 👇
4
19
102
“If European governments don’t manage to convey a sense of migration being under control to their electorates .., next June’s elections may see the European parliament shifted to the illiberal right.” True, but the only way to convey it is to bring migration under control imo
16
23
110
Whose voices are loudest when it comes to advocating ‘European sovereignty’? France’s and Germany’s. Which Nato members lag behind their spending commitments? FT today 👇
Europe doesn’t have enough air power to protect itself against Russia, FT reports 👇, echoing the concern of eg
@ElbridgeColby
. I anticipated the problem in my 2015
@IAJournal_CH
article about the return of geopolitics .
5
19
52
9
46
108