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In today’s Substack video I react to the nothing burger that was the UK-EU summit in London yesterday, and talk about why it was the subject of vitriol that seemed to come out of a time machine from 2019. Some of the posts referenced in the video:

Happy Europe Day! In this Substack Live, Dave Keating from Gulf Stream Blues and Julien Hoez from The French Dispatch break down this week’s momentous events.

Previous posts mentioned in this episode:

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I’m at the European Parliament plenary today, and I’ve been speaking with MEPs about the shock news on Tuesday out of Berlin - when incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz was rejected in the first round of the Bundestag vote to appoint him. It is the first time in German history that has happened, and it means that 18 MPs in his own governing coalition voted against him. But because it was a secret ballot, we don’t know whether the dissenters came from the left wing in the SPD or the right wing in the CDU/CSU. In either case, MEPs here in Strasbourg are interpreting this as a signal that Merz will be too distracted with managing his slim-majority coalition at home to become the leader Europe needs right now to defend the continent from Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, this morning MEPs were abuzz with the news that Donald Trump is going to announce a trade deal with a “big country” this afternoon - and that country is reportedly the UK. This will have big implications for the EU-UK summit on 19 May, which I discuss in the video.

Finally, I also discuss today’s vote in Strasbourg to delay car CO2 targets - the latest move to water down the Fit for 55 package of climate laws passed during President von der Leyen’s first term. EU politicians have taken the signal from last June’s EU election, where the Greens and left were decimated and the right made major gains, that voters no longer care about climate change amid the security concerns the world currently faces.

As promised, here are the links which I reference in the video (in the order referenced).

Transport & Environment press release on EP vote to delay car CO2 targets

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The media, particularly in the United States, has a tendency to exaggerate the political importance of the papal conclaves. The three that have happened in my lifetime are a media fascination because of their rarity, intrigue and pomp. Nevertheless, at this critical flashpoint in human history, who is chosen as the next pope in the next days, weeks or m…

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The shock election victory for Canada’s Liberals can only be explained by one thing: anti-American sentiment. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has shown strength and candour in defending his citizens against American aggression, two things which have not been shown by leaders here in Europe. The lesson for European politicians is clear: embrace Trump…

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Happy Liberation Day. Today at 4pm US time (10pm our time) Donald Trump will declare a trade war on the world - with an expected double-digit flat tax on all imports. The world is preparing, With Japan, South Korea and China signing a pact to jointly respond in an announcement from these traditional enemies that shocked the world.

Yesterday President von…

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Dave Keating from Gulf Stream Blues and Julien Hoez from The French Dispatch discuss France’s '“I told you so” moment and ask whether there is fault on both sides.

Did arrogance from French politicians over the past decades make France an imperfect messenger for the argument that Europe should free itself from American dominance?

Gulf Stream Blues is a re…

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EU prime ministers and presidents are meeting for yet another summit in Brussels to deal with the collapse of the transatlantic alliance - their third in a month. On the table is the massive Rearm Europe plan put forward by President Ursula von der Leyen, which was fully spelled out in a white paper put forward yesterday. Controversially, the €150 billi…

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Join me for my next live video in the app

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As we close out the week, I wanted to give some analysis of the high-level meetings in Washington this week - and the high-level meeting that didn't happen after EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas was ghosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The intention behind the Trump administration’s strategy of freezing out the EU in favor of setting Europe…