🇪🇺🏳️🌈⚖️🇭🇺 A legal earthquake - CJEU finds Hungary to have violated EU law on multiple counts with its anti-LGBT+ legislation (as expected) but also for the first time in history, in an EU law-reshaping precedent, finds Hungary to violate Art 2 TEU in a self-standing manner.
This is the dumbest fight and more evidence of NATO’s brain death. After all, NATO’s done such an amazing job not coordinating defense procurement.
Clearly NATO just wants to use the summit to promise arms deals to Trump.
By which I mean that it's not a comparison I'd make to anyone who's suffered or been persecuted by the Govt. in Hungary, not that I'd be worried about offending Fidesz. Realised upon rereading that I did not make that clear.
Totally agree, very poor analysis. I was also very struck that they seemed to equate the SNP to Fidesz without even a pause for thought or caveat. It's so wildly off-base and honestly a bit offensive - and I don't just mean to the SNP.
Ach this format is hardly the best for these sorts of discussions anyways.
I'm not saying that, which is why I said 'even without Offord's claims' at the end of that last post. I'm pointing out that what he said, whether or not it's true, accords in large part with what Labour themselves have been saying.
Overall, I just find it a bit galling that some are saying John Swinney and the SNP are the villains here when we are the only ones here who are neither a) Reform or b) briefing newspapers that we might be open to nudging and winking at them, even without Offord's claims
I don't see that it is necessarily on a different level. 'Let's work together to keep out SNP' is what Offord alleged, no? Is that really so far from the 'well if the arithmetic gives us a unionist majority for Sarwar, who are we to refuse Reform' that Labour have been gently floating for weeks?
Labour doth protest too much about this evening's revelation of Sarwar sidling up to Offord. It's believable because they have clearly been briefing that they planned to do exactly that.
Wait, what? Scottish Labour were, themselves, briefing that they'd do such a deal around 9 days ago!
Not to mention that Sarwar himself was pretty equivocal on the issue here.
In any case, my point is that this is not something that has come totally out of the blue for the first time tonight from Offord alone, no?
news.stv.tv/politics/i-w...
Yes for sure. But didn't Offord just claim that Sarwar said they should 'work together'? I didn't necessarily interpret that as meaning a formal pre-election alliance, but that's hardly a better look.
And this story was based on Labour sources apparently, no?
It does seem unusual, but isn't the broader context here that news stories about Labour being willing to work with Reform in whatever fashion to keep the SNP out have been around for weeks, and not generally coming from Reform sources, per the journalists writing those stories?
A small irony for those who followed Orbáns path that now Manfred Weber is celebrating Orbán's loss as a 'historic day for Europe' - while Weber for a long time played an important role in keeping Orbán/Fidesz in the EPP until 2021.
Orban called. Tisza have won
Margin too big for him to attempt to rig the vote
Important day for Hungary - and Europe
🇪🇺🇭🇺💪🏾
Incredible numbers: turnout at the Hungarian elections hit almost 38% at 11 in the morning. Something big is happening.
Agriculture being one example of a broader impact. It doesn't seem totally outrageous to me that a Government responsible for a broad range of policy areas is asking to be more fully looped into meetings about an event that will have a huge impact on many of those policy areas.
Surely the key word there is "impact"? Foreign policy can have an impact on every aspect of government, including powers held by the Scottish Govenment. This article uses the specific example of agriculture, but presumably it goes well beyond that.
Bold text on graph paper promoting childcare from 9 months to end of primary school, surrounded by school-related doodles like globe, calculator, and books.
Parents across Scotland have told us they need more support. The working day does not stop at 3pm.
A re-elected SNP Government will extend childcare from 9 months old to the end of primary school, 52 weeks a year.
Make it #BothVotesSNP on May 7 for a Scottish Government on your side. #SNP26
We are entering the next stage of the strategic breal-up between Europe and the US:
So that's a Green win in Gorton & Denton, with 40.6%.
Reform second on 28.7%.
Labour third on 25.4%.
Not even particularly close.
🇵🇱⚖️President Nawrocki vetoes the law reforming the National Council of Judiciary, dispelling any hopes the Polish government had of reforming the rule of law through new legislation. Major, but expected, defeat for the new MoJ Waldemark Żurek and his plans. 1/
Like Gideon says.
Good column on all the pain that’s still forthcoming in the transatlantic relationship.
Long NHS waits in Scotland are coming down - today’s statistics show they have fallen for 7 months in a row.
At the same time, we are performing more operations.
There is still more to do, but this is real progress for patients and a huge credit to our NHS staff. 👏
Please. This is absurd. Europe can certainly deter Russia and defend itself if its focused and determined. Perpetuating a sense of European helplessness may help Rutte bureaucratically but its 1. wrong 2. prevents action. 3. willfully blind: the US ain't coming to defend Europe.
This is absurd in so many ways.
I was told that the EU’s anti-coercion instrument is being discreetly prepared for use against the US. A vote to trigger it would take place if Trump follows through on his tariff threat over Greenland. We’re entering uncharted waters
Meloni will be important to watch for EU unity. Italy is (together with Germany, Ireland+ the NL) amongst the most economically exposed to US trade, Meloni is instinctively atlanticist and Italy did not participate in Greenland deployment, and thus is 'exempted' from Trump's punitive tariffs
Europe and Canada are being forced to do the job that Republican enablers of Trump have failed to do - set limits for an unhinged president who is doing severe damage to US interests. The Rubios, McConnells & Grahams own this. They are the reason China & Russia are winning. This will be their legacy
