Dave Keating
@davekeating.substack.com
🇺🇸🇪🇺American by birth, European by choice Buy my book: www.TheOwnedContinent.eu Read my Substack: https://DaveKeating.Substack.com/ Watch my reporting: www.DaveKeating.net
Despite asking for European solidarity when their territorial integrity was threatened, Denmark co-instigated a letter blaming Spain when Spanish territorial integrity was attacked last week. The EU's enemies took notice of the disunity. Watch full video: davekeating.substack.com/p/live-from-...
Join @davekeating.substack.com and I in 30 minutes to discuss the ongoing drama surrounding the Ceuta incursions, and why the EU is sticking its head in the sand after the weekend of short, poorly aimed knives.
Dave Keating@davekeating.substack.com · 8h agoI'm in Spain right now and the people I'm talking to are *furious* with the lack of EU solidarity. Few now believe the EU would defend them if they were attacked by Morocco. I'll be discussing the implications of this in a Substack Live with @julienhoez.eu today at 🇪🇺4pm 🇬🇧3pm 🇺🇸10am
Are we really surprised that the same 'partnership-preserving' Atlanticists who were defending Europe's surrender faced with a US president are now defending Europe's surrender faced with a Moroccan king? We shouldn't be, given that Moroccan king is backed by that same US president.
The king who outfoxed Pedro Sánchez
Morocco’s absolute ruler Mohammed VI turned Spain’s border into leverage over Madrid
ft.com
As the US government has given signals it would support a Moroccan invasion of Spanish territory to punish PM Sanchez, Rabat has been increasingly emboldened. Despite being an integral part of Spain, Ceuta & Melilla are not covered by NATO's article 5 because they're not in Europe or North America.
Spain sweats over its isolated territories in Africa
There are increasing doubts over who will have Madrid’s back if Morocco makes a move on the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
politico.eu
Italy, Germany and other countries that accused Spain of attracting migrants with its amnesty scheme have also quietly legalised the status of people who arrived irregularly in their own territory. ft.trib.al/XYObpMy
"Morocco is not named once in the Council readout, with this omission looking less like an information gap than a decision" writes @julienhoez.eu. It "reads like a choice to keep a fragile but necessary relationship out of the public record rather than a genuine gap in what ministers understood."
European leaders embarassed themselves over Ceuta
Sanchez' Spain swiftly dealt with the incursion of 60,000 Moroccan migrants sent to Ceuta as part of Morocco's hybrid warfare strategy, and after showing zero solidarity, anti-EU leaders backed down.
frenchdispatch.eu
Morocco's king, an ally of Trump, has scored a significant victory this week not just against Spain, but against the EU as a whole – as the union showed it would not stick together in the event of an attack by a neighbour. The EU's enemies took notice.
The king who outfoxed Pedro Sánchez
Morocco’s absolute ruler Mohammed VI turned Spain’s border into leverage over Madrid
ft.com
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez tells reporters after today's emergency meeting on the #Ceuta crisis: “The divisions that we have heard over the weekend were not welcome and they were exploited by foreign countries." “But what I heard this morning reassured me."
EU home affairs ministers have released this statement following their video conference. I imagine that for most people in Spain, this will be considered too little too late. www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/...
“Trump presumably assumed the BBC, like other entities he has brought suits against, would simply fold. But the BBC said no,” writes The Empty City
How the BBC turned the litigation table on Trump
The president now faces a dilemma about revealing his business records
prospectmagazine.co.uk
The US government is suddenly interested in soccer for the first time, and that is not a good thing for soccer.
Europe's centre-and-far-right leaders chose to use an attack on an EU member state as a chance for cheap political points rather than show solidarity. A stark contrast to how they reacted when migrants were used as weapons against Poland by Belarus/Russia.
Ceuta exposes Europe's chronic lack of unity
An EU member state was attacked, with migrants used as weapons in a seemingly orchestrated manoeuvre. Giorgia Meloni and other leaders across Europe chose to blame the country being attacked.
davekeating.substack.com
There's growing evidence the surge into Ceuta (🇪🇸PM Sanchez has called it an "attack") has, like in 2021, been orchestrated by the Moroccan government in retaliation for Sanchez visiting Algeria Yet it's Spain being criticised by European politicians, not Morocco. So much for solidarity.
About 60,000 migrants arrive in Ceuta in 24 hours, Spanish territory's leader says
The estimated number of arrivals is more than 70% of the population of the city, which is about 83,600.
bbc.com
The headline should be “Bari Weiss claims…” Welcome to media owned by MAGA.
Living in a neoliberal dystopian hellscape@breakify.bsky.social · 6d agoLiberals will always choose fascism over socialism.
Tony Blair's foolish decision to emulate the American target of sending half of citizens to four-year universities has driven up costs while degrading the value of degrees. This week Prime Minister Burnham announced he's ending that policy.
Burnham is right: less people should go to university
The American obsession with sending everyone toward liberal arts drove up the costs of degrees while degrading their value. Britain has been unwisely following the same road.
davekeating.substack.com
For the past 5 years after #Brexit, the rate Europeans pay to attend 🇬🇧universities has increased by up to £50,000 per year. Understandably, this has made the number of 🇪🇺citizens studying in🇺🇸 plummet - down to just 2% of students. As part of 🇬🇧 reset deal to reestablish cross-educational ties...🧵
EU pitches Brexit reset tuition fees compromise
Negotiations between London and Brussels are continuing ahead of a summit, which has yet to be rescheduled after Britain’s change of government.
politico.eu
Northern leaders are asking the EU to do more but with less resources. They're incompatible demands. If you believe the EU must be stronger, then you need to be willing to pay for it. But Brussels-bashing is the easiest lever to pull for unpopular politicians like Merz. My take:
Northern leaders want to cut an EU budget already on a shoestring
EU national leaders keep saying they want a union that “does more.” Then they show up in Brussels asking it to spend less.
davekeating.substack.com
PubAffairs EU Debates, News & Opinions 🇪🇺@pubaffairsbruxelles.eu · last yr.#EUbudget: Merz rules out company tax and joint borrowing in EU budget. EU “must basically make do with the money it has available,” German chancellor says, by Nette Nöstlinger | Politico
"No European studio could have funded The Odyssey‘s $250 million budget, so the tellings of European stories end up being American by default. Those with the gold not only make the rules; they tell the stories."
Who owns Homer? | Euractiv
Societies that outsource their self-narration lose a key layer of resilience
euractiv.com
This is how Brazil handles US attempts to interfere in their elections. Very different from the European approach.
Brazil Blocks Visit by U.S. Delegation Seeking to Question Election System
Brazilian authorities refused to grant visas to two senior U.S. officials out of concern they planned to sow doubt about the security of the country’s voting systems.
nytimes.com
Sunday long read: EU institutional names and job titles are long-winded and confusing by design - national leaders did not want anything that gives the appearance of a state. But this does a disservice to citizens because it masks what they really are.
The five name changes that would make the EU more honest
Sylvain Kahn's book "Europe: A State Unaware of Itself" describes all the ways European leaders have used confusing language to hide the fact that the EU is a federal state.
davekeating.substack.com
Checking in on what's been happening at CBS News since MAGA took it over.
Fired ‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent Says She Was Pushed to Report on Events ‘That Never Happened’ Under Bari Weiss’ Leadership at CBS News
Fired '60 Minutes' correspondent Cecilia Vega said the 'new administration' at CBS News -- indicating Bari Weiss -- asked her to report on events that 'never happened.'
variety.com
Renewables are now the world's largest source of electricity – and the main source of new supplies
Ten years later, sweaty and slurring, he's still promising a health care plan he's never delivered on. Instead, Americans got the highest health care costs ever and hospitals laying off staff or shutting down entirely. All thanks to Trump's health care sabotage & Medicaid cuts.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w agoTrump: "We will pass the great healthcare plan. It's called our great healthcare plan. That's the name of it."
My piece on why the US State Department's "Political Terrorism" event for foreign diplomats last week actually had a domestic audience in mind. There is a reason it came on the same day as President Trump's primetime address alleging election interference. davekeating.substack.com/p/american-d...
🇺🇸🇪🇺 I asked Virginia Governor @abigailspanberger.com if Europeans should worry more about Russian or U.S. meddling in upcoming elections. "As a proud American, the fact that the question is a relevant one is one that I find distressing." Full interview ➡️ f24.my/C4Vw
Trump's damp squib speech last week may have been overlooked because of its incoherence. But meanwhile, a State Department event about left-wing "political terrorism" on the same day clearly spelled out the plan of attack for the next months.
American democracy may die in four months
With a series of speeches, the Trump administration has laid the groundwork for refusing to accept the results of the midterms in November - and refusing to seat the winners.
davekeating.substack.com
I'll definitely be reading this book by Sylvain Kahn this summer. europemorningpost.substack.com/p/the-eu-a-s...
When talking of a federal EU, people often use the "United States of Europe" comparison. But this is looking in the wrong direction. A better comparison, and inspiration, would be the multilingual, multiethnic and multiconfessional union of India. My piece:
Europe should draw inspiration from the Indian union
The subcontinent was also once split into small states speaking different languages, but the Indian union has brought great success. As the EU and India strike a trade deal, there are wider lessons.
davekeating.substack.com
The 🇪🇺Commission has just announced a €890m fine against Google, one day before an expected announcement of new Trump tariffs against the EU. Could the fine antagonise the US president into levying fines above the agreed 15% baseline?
EU issues rash of anti-competition fines against US tech giants
The fines are not, as claimed by US politicians, about censorship. But despite the small size of the punishments, Brussels is now bracing for US government retaliation tomorrow.
davekeating.substack.com