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The EU is afraid to pick on anyone its own size |
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That unelected officials of the European Commission today think they have the right to tell elected leaders where they should and should not go is alarming but not surprising. |
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EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas warned Balkan countries looking to join the European Union that Brussels doesn’t “want any candidate country” to attend Russia’s ‘Victory Day’ parade in Moscow next month. The message was “very clear”, she said.
Vice-President of the European Commission Kallas — who was appointed, not elected — was acting according to the traditional EU enlargement policy handbook, which consists of bullying smaller sovereign countries until they come back with the right answer. Governments that do not comply with Brussels diktats could see enlargement talks stall. Leaders keen to get their hands on juicy EU funds might have to wait for months or years. It’s an effective policy.
Some European leaders believe the EU should bring its moral indignation down on third countries well outside its jurisdiction.
French left-winger Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the eternal also-ran in presidential elections, gave US President Donald Trump the “gringo” treatment while visiting Canada, Anne-Laure Dufeal reports.
Trump’s world order vision is “toxic, deadly and suicidal”, Mélenchon said. The French would cross the Atlantic with “stick and stones” to defend the Canadians if necessary. Western leaders, including EC President Ursula von der Leyen, were “cowards” for not taking on Trump.
Kallas accused President Trump of “appeasing” Russia in February — no doubt at the behest of von der Leyen —although she has not dared to repeat the claim since the tariff wars began. The US, by contrast, is unafraid when it comes to criticising European policy on immigration, as Carl Deconinck reports.
Brussels bureaucrats are bullies in their own back yard, but they become shrinking violets once swimming in the big boys’ pool.
Brussels bureaucrats are bullies in their own backyard, but they become shrinking violets once swimming in the big boys’ pool.
The EU is a leading light in the field of women’s rights, gay rights, and the propagation of democracy but won’t say boo to a goose in the US, Middle East or China.
Like all bullies, Brussels is afraid to take on anyone its own size.
Justin Stares |
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Anne-Laure Dufeal |
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The leader of French left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has voiced support for Canadian independence, denouncing what he described as threats from the "Gringo" US President Donald Trump. |
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Kevin Myers |
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Mao Zedong gazed admiringly at page three of his special edition of The Peking People’s Daily Sun. Such exquisiteness, he thought: Pert, pink, pretty. He contrasted the picture in the Sun with the little Laotian nymphet on his lap. No comparison. He sighed heavily – such is life: full of sorrow and woe! |
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Commentary Of The Day |
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David H. Miles |
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In the early 1960s I had a stroke of luck. Through a Fulbright scholarship in mathematics, I was given the opportunity to study at the University of Freiburg. My interest in Germany was spurred by my father, an American and a German professor, who had studied in Germany in the late 1920s before Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. He had told me of Germany’s great traditions in science and mathematics, so I applied for a scholarship and received it. |
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'President Trump has a non-diplomatic negotiating style' |
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Serbian university students block the entrance to Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) |
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Claire Lemaire |
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EU procurement rules are too hard to implement and should be abandoned, conference-goers heard on April 14. The Europe Union’s defence market has been held back by “fragmentation, home bias in procurement and small production scales”, policy analysts warned. |
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Carl Deconinck |
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Belgian consumers affected by the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” emissions scandal will soon be able to start claiming compensation, marking a major step forward in a years-long legal battle. |
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Carl Deconinck |
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Costly investments in the now-bankrupt Swedish “green” battery manufacturer Northvolt have drawn mounting criticism, with accusations that some pension funds may have broken the law to funnel money into the company. |
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Anne-Luure Dufeal |
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French justice minister Gérald Darmanin said several French prisons had been hit in a wave of reportedly co-ordinated attacks. Prisons were hit in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, Valence and Nîmes, Luynes, Villepinte and Nanterre, according to local reports. |
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On this day, who became the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel? |
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For the answer, check back in the next Brussels Calling.
As for our previous question:
On this day, a German adventurer became king of a European island. Do you know where?
On April 15, 1736, Theodor Baron Neuhof became the king of Corsica island.
Neuhof was known for his relentless involvement in military, political, and financial schemes across Europe. After serving in the French and Bavarian armies, he traveled to England and Spain, where he engaged in diplomatic efforts on behalf of Sweden. Later, he became entangled in the speculative ventures of Scottish financier John Law.
Neuhof’s most audacious episode came in Genoa, where he persuaded Corsican prisoners that he could liberate their island from Genoese rule—if they made him king. With their support and assistance from merchants in Tunis, he landed in Corsica and was proclaimed King Theodore I in 1736. Initially successful against Genoese forces, his reign quickly unraveled following military defeat.
He fled the island later that year and made two failed attempts to reclaim his throne in 1738 and 1743. He died in London in 1756.
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Poland to produce guided missiles for rocket launchers following South Korea defence deal. The government wants to reclaim nearly all of Belfius's profits to fund defence. The Spanish government activates a $5 billion shield in guarantees for companies against Trump's tariffs. |
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