Mark Carney’s speech to the European Parliament 🇨🇦🇪🇺 www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/spee... Couldn't we offer him an EU top job in 2029? After all he was already BoE governor! And, wow, he begins by quoting Faust II 👇
Valentin Kreilinger
@vkreilinger.bsky.social
Senior Researcher in Political Science, specialising in EU Politics and Institutions, at the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (SIEPS). 15+ years in Research and Policy Advice: kreilinger.eu
Yesterday, von der Leyen called for the urgent creation of a European Security Council. Today, @sieps.bsky.social has published a report by @rgwhitman.bsky.social with a concrete proposal through an incremental design: "The Case for a European Security Council" sieps.se/en/publicati...
Forging European Strategic Unity: The Case for a European Security Council
sieps.se
💥 The new interactive playground for EU-institutionalists is online on the @sieps.bsky.social website, as part of the new study "The Centre Is Holding: Coalitions and Majorities in a Fragmented European Parliament" by @simonhix.bsky.social, @gvonsydow.bsky.social and myself:
💥 The new interactive playground for EU-institutionalists is online on the @sieps.bsky.social website, as part of the new study "The Centre Is Holding: Coalitions and Majorities in a Fragmented European Parliament" by @simonhix.bsky.social, @gvonsydow.bsky.social and myself:
Actual inventor of #SOTEU was Conor, blogging as “The European Citizen” at the time, and then the bloggingportal.eu crew with the EU coms crew made it spread.
Whenever #SOTEU approaches, I feel old, like a political dinosaur, having watched and commented all SOTEUs since the first with Barroso. The early 2010s! A few people tweeting EU-institutional (@jonworth.eu, @ronpatz.bsky.social Julien Frisch, Dana Manescu, the late Kosmopolit), hashtag invented.
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Looks like the centre-left is on track for a (very narrow) victory at yesterday's Swedish general election. Read @matsengstrom.bsky.social for @ecfr.eu on what that could mean for 🇸🇪's place in Europe ⬇️
Mats Engström@matsengstrom.bsky.social · 6d agoStill a very tight race in Sweden but election experts say that the opposition led by Magdalena Andersson is most likely to win when all votes have been counted later this week. This is what it could imply for Europe. ecfr.eu/article/afte... @ecfr.eu @ecfrpower.bsky.social #val2026
All eyes now on Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Germany's Baltic Sea coast and its hinterland), where a popular SPD incumbent, Manuela Schwesig, is running as a bulwark against the AfD in the state election on September 20. "Die Frau gegen blau" = "The woman against blue [AfD]"
What strikes me most about several of these graphs is how successful the AfD has become in portraying it as the party of change, that gained mostly from mobilising non-voters and is regarded as more 'competent' on most issues by a majority of voters.
Valentin Kreilinger@vkreilinger.bsky.social · 2w agoAfter the shock: 23 figures 📊 on the Saxony-Anhalt result and voting behaviour from ZDF / Forschungsgruppe Wahlen and ARD / Infratest dimap👇 1/9
After the shock: 23 figures 📊 on the Saxony-Anhalt result and voting behaviour from ZDF / Forschungsgruppe Wahlen and ARD / Infratest dimap👇 1/9
Saxony-Anhalt 😱 The political centre reaches 35.4% (CDU+SPD+Greens), 37.7% incl. FDP. AfD (44.5%, +23.6) is very close to a majority of seats, doubles its result while the CDU vote share is cut in half (18.2%, -18,9). In 2018 Friedrich Merz promised that he would cut the AfD vote share in half.
Voter turnout in Saxony-Anhalt at 2:00 p.m.: 54.4% (2021: 27.1%)
Wahlrecht.de@wahlrecht.de · 2w agoLandtagswahl Sachsen-Anhalt #ltwst • Stichprobe der Landeswahlleiterin: #Wahlbeteiligung um 14 Uhr bei 54,4 % (!) Zum Vergleich (alle ohne Briefwähler!): 2021: 27,1 % 2016: 35,4 % 2011: 28,5 % 2006: 20,1 % 2002: 30,8 % ➤ Verlauf: wahlrecht.de/news/2026/la... #ltwlsa
La rentrée and Brussels' institutional awakening: All three major EU institutions are rethinking the institutions' functioning and set-up! The Commission is, according to the FT's @henryjfoy.ft.com, drafting a plan to break up the EEAS: www.ft.com/content/1e55... 1/8
EU accelerates plans to break up diplomatic service
France and Germany drive push for reform as pressure mounts on Brussels to find budget savings
ft.com
Seminar launch of @sieps.bsky.social anthology on European defence governance with @vkreilinger.bsky.social @nvondarza.bsky.social Calle Håkansson and @gvonsydow.bsky.social link to report ⬇️ 🤓 sieps.se/en/publicati...
Join us for the event "European Defence Governance: Who calls the shots?" in Stockholm on Thursday, 21 May 2026, from 13:15 to 15:30, with a great line-up of speakers (@nvondarza.bsky.social, @gvonsydow.bsky.social and many more) to launch our latest edited volume👇 sieps.se/en/seminars/...
European defence is a patchwork of various institutional and political circles. In this new @sieps.bsky.social anthology we explore the governance of today's European defence sieps.se/en/publicati... with @gvonsydow.bsky.social @vkreilinger.bsky.social @prieker.bsky.social @nvondarza.bsky.social
Who calls the shots? Institutional and political dynamics in European defence
sieps.se
On top of that, there is a brand-new Figure with European defence in one figure👇 The entire volume is Open Access on the SIEPS website: sieps.se/publikatione... 🇪🇺 🏰 🪖 ⚔️ 3/3
For a new volume edited by @vkreilinger.bsky.social and @gvonsydow.bsky.social, they asked 'who calls the shots' on European defence. My contribution digs into why the answer is still the Council and how the member states retain the intergovernmental prerogative:
Valentin Kreilinger@vkreilinger.bsky.social · 5mo ago🚨 In the EU, defence policy has moved to the top of the political agenda. But who calls the shots? This is what @gvonsydow.bsky.social and I were asking. We are absolutely pleased that four experts, including @nvondarza.bsky.social, have joined this endeavour: A small booklet on European defence 1/3
🚨 In the EU, defence policy has moved to the top of the political agenda. But who calls the shots? This is what @gvonsydow.bsky.social and I were asking. We are absolutely pleased that four experts, including @nvondarza.bsky.social, have joined this endeavour: A small booklet on European defence 1/3
The Council is close to signing off the €90bn loan for Ukraine. This Q&A (by Christian Bissinger, Jakob @lewander.bsky.social and me) tells you all you need to know about "EU Foreign Policy via Enhanced Cooperation": sieps.se/en/publicati...
EU Foreign Policy via Enhanced Cooperation
Questions and answers on the EU24 loan to Ukraine
sieps.se
Ukraine’s public finances are close to collapse, and the EU is unable to finalise the €90 billion loan. In a recent webinar, @dittebrasso.bsky.social, @ilketoygur.bsky.social and @vkreilinger.bsky.social discussed various ways forward. A recording is now available: sieps.se/en/seminars/...
It was a great pleasure to discuss overcoming unanimity in the EU with @dittebrasso.bsky.social, @ilketoygur.bsky.social and @lewander.bsky.social at the webinar "How can the EU support Ukraine – without being in agreement?" The recording is available on the SIEPS website: sieps.se/en/seminars/...
🇪🇺 🇺🇦 We will discuss one of the most thorny issues of the recent European Council meeting, "How can the EU support Ukraine – without being in agreement?", on Friday, 27 March, from 10:00 to 11:15👇 sieps.se/en/seminars/... 1/2
📣 Join us on Friday, 27 March, from 10:00 to 11:15, for a discussion on overcoming unanimity at the webinar "How can the EU support Ukraine – without being in agreement?" @sieps.bsky.social 👇
Join our @sieps.bsky.social webinar on Friday 27/3 with @dittebrasso.bsky.social, @ilketoygur.bsky.social, and @vkreilinger.bsky.social to discuss the EU's foreign and security policy predicament of trying to govern without agreeing sieps.se/en/seminars/...
How can the EU support Ukraine – without being in agreement?
sieps.se
Not a good look for the credibility of the EU. Additionally, conclusions on Ukraine at 26 without Hungary have been the norm for a while. This is the second time after December 2025 that Slovakia also did not sign the Ukraine conclusions, emphasizing the structural rift of now an EU-25 vs 2.
Jorge Liboreiro@jorgeliboreiro.bsky.social · 6mo agoEU leaders have adopted joint #EUCO conclusions on Ukraine without Hungary and Slovakia. This means the vetoes on the €90 billion loan for Ukraine and the 20th package of sanctions against Russia remain firmly in place.