The Good Lobby

After years of institutional paralysis, the Authority for EU Political Parties has finally discovered its monitoring mandate. The target? The @AfD - the @EPP 's biggest headache in Germany. I've been trying to activate this mechanism since 2018. Funny how it works when the right people want it to. Here's my account substack.com/home/post/p-19… cc: @MaxGriera @davcarretta

Europe doesn't need to become America to succeed: Supporters of deregulation want Europe to be more like the US. But that would serve only American interests. My latest in @guardian today theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Europe rolls out the red carpet for AI data centres, as water‑and‑energy backlash spreads across America Read my latest in @euobs euobserver.com/217320/europe-…

Italy threatens to sanction Ben-Gvir while blocking suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Dear @Antonio_Tajani, that’s a fig leaf! Italy is protecting Israel’s trade immunity while performing outrage. #Flotilla #Gaza

Le plan des conservateurs allemands pour démanteler la « bureaucratie européenne » cache une démarche bien plus profonde et dangereuse visant à renationaliser l’Union au pire moment de l’histoire de l’intégration Analyse pour @Grand_Continent legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2026/05/20/…

RT @alemannoEU: Depressing to see Europe honouring the architects of its own decline: Angela Merkel, despite deepening dependence on Russi…

Parliaments exist to hold power to account, not to shield their own from prosecution. Today’s EP vote protecting @ANiebler from @EUProsecutor’s investigation is a case study in how parliamentary immunity gets weaponised. This is exactly what I warned about in the JURI immunity debate. thegoodlobby.eu/mep-nieblers-i…

Parliamentary immunity exists to protect democracy, not politicians from accountability. At EU level, the Niebler vote scheduled for tomorrow shows how this protection can be politicised in ways that damage public trust. Immunity should protect elected representatives from political persecution, not become a barrier to transparency, scrutiny and the rule of law. My interview to @tagesschau tagesschau.de/ausland/europa…

Roberta Metsola's 3rd mandate won't contain the far right, but it will legitimise it. Here's why: The Socialists are entitled to name Metsola's successor, yet liberals and greens are pressing them to back Metsola's renewal on the premise that she can lock the EPP into governing with the centre, not the far right. That premise is wrong. 1. Metsola can't discipline the @EPPGroup into staying with a centrist majority. Her party cut deals with the far right in the hemicycle and in the Conference of Presidents, on her watch. 2. She has no incentive to police EPP–far right dealmaking: her own survival depends on the EPP coalition holding together. Her openness to working with the far right was a signal, and she got rewarded for it. 3. A third mandate hands the EPP a legitimising narrative for what is, in practice, a continuation of their far-right entente. So what @ValerieHayer @RenewEurope and @GreensEFA are really asking @IratxeGarper @TheProgressives is this: surrender your legitimate claim to the presidency in exchange for a narrative of stability that masks a political reality already lost. socialistsanddemocrats.eu/newsroom/sds-w…

If there’s a government adopting a “politically convenient” stance on Israel is Germany, not Spain. Enjoy #Eurovisión2026!

Spain boycotting Eurovision isn’t an easy call with the public but it’s a principled one, confirming Sánchez’s consistent progressive commitment. #Eurovisión2026

It’s impossible to miss Trump’s readiness to give up on Taiwan upon Xi’s imposing demand Trump’s self-inflicted weakness in world affairs leaves him with little leverage beyond concessions. And Taiwan now appears first in line to be thrown under the bus, but many others are in line…

I’m speechless vis-à-vis EU inaction before Israel in the West Bank - says Luxembourg Foreign Affairs

The EU deregulation machine has found its next target: protected wildlife. Under pressure from industry, member states want easier licenses to build industrial projects even if this entails killing species protected under EU law. The Commission intends to “stress test” the Birds and Habitats Directives - Europe’s 50-year biodiversity backbone - reframed as red tape. The Commission already wants to strip wolves of their strictly protected status, and now the logic is spreading species by species. What comes after “simplification” risk becoming extinction. politico.eu/article/eu-cou…

Happy Europe Day! Europeans want a stronger Europe more than ever, as surveys show. And yet our leaders remain unable or unwilling to turn that public demand into action. The platforms we use, the energy we consume, the weapons our militaries rely on, too often depend on someone else’s goodwill. A people that depends on others to keep the lights on, the internet running, and its borders secure is not fully free. That is precisely why there has never been a better time to feel, think and act as Europeans. Citizens already sense these dependencies in their daily lives and are ready to break free from them. It is their leaders who are frozen. That gap between what Europeans want and what their leaders deliver is the defining political opportunity of our generation. Who will seize it, if not us?

Europe caves in to Trump and fossil fuel companies’ demand (AGAIN): The EU Commission is preparing unlimited exemptions from methane rules justified by the Hormuz crisis. No matter IEA data says the opposite policy makes energy sense.

Fascinating split in EU politics over America 🇺🇸🇪🇺 Von der Leyen’s EPP pushes for immediate ratification of the US trade deal, even if only the far right backs it, to show Trump Europe is in line Center-left & left: enough is enough. The transatlantic fault line is now inside the Parliament itself. euractiv.com/news/weber-thr…

The U.S. is unilaterally escalating trade pressure on the European Union with new tariffs, effectively sidelining the spirit of prior agreements and raising doubts about their durability. This move highlights how fragile the arrangement was and reinforces criticism that the EU conceded too much without securing reliable enforcement.

Nearly 60 MEPs call for a comprehensive ban on EU trade with Israel's illegal settlements, after @kajakallas agreed to look into the matter with EU Commission last week. Led and supported by many centrist MEPs, incl. some from centre-right EPP. hildevautmans.eu/wp-content/upl…

“Deregulating Better Regulation” Read my preliminary analysis of the 2026 Better Regulation Communication laying down how the EU intends to design, implement and enforce EU law from now onwards verfassungsblog.de/deregulating-b…