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).
Merz: 'We must achieve independence from the USA'
First off, an important update following last night’s live video reaction to the German election exit polls. I mentioned the final results could totally change the situation based on tiny percentage point movements, and that is indeed what happened. Overnight the result of the far-left BSW and the liberal FDP parties dipped below 5%, meaning they will n…
Beware Americans bearing gifts
In historical memory, the Iron Curtain is often simplified as a divide between two economic systems: Capitalism and Communism. The truth is that this was a military division - the armistice line between the United States and the Soviet Union based on their zones of occupation following World War II. One side came from the East, one side came from the We…
Live from Barcelona: the Trump effect - what lessons for Europe from Canada's election?
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…
Two-thirds of Brits want Starmer to drop his Brexit red lines
British Chancellor Rachel Reeves sat in on a Council meeting of EU finance ministers on Monday - a highly symbolic move given that these are meetings the UK chancellor used to attend regularly as an EU member. She gave the same warm words that her prime minister
Von der Leyen's bonfire of the climate laws
The European Commission is expected to today adopt its controversial Omnibus proposal and Clean Industrial Deal strategy, both of which will dilute climate legislation adopted during the first term of President Ursula von der Leyen as part of her EU Green Deal. In ordinary times, this would be a big news event. But you’re unlikely to hear about it today from the main national news media because it feels so overshadowed by the larger threat to Europe’s very existence posed by this month’s
Transport & Environment press release on EP vote to delay car CO2 targets
