As Europe’s south is burning and the continent is already bracing for what’s prone to be an extended and laborious winter, I made a decision to begin the summer season interval on a lighter word. Immediately I performed with phrases, impressed by Billy Joel’s monster hit “We didn’t begin the fireplace”, which he wrote again in 1989.
The sense of doom and gloom has hardly modified however – as is barely pure – my references are barely extra up to date and extra “European”.
Please indulge, be happy to enhance it, add your personal strains – and sing alongside!
/ / /
Robert Shuman, Berlin Wall, Widespread market, Berlaymont,
Aldo Moro, Polish Pope, Johnny Halliday
Gainsbourg, revolution, music contest on Eurovision
Winds of change, Scorpions, Yugoslav wars
Helmut Kohl and Mitterrand, Channel tunnel, Eurostar
Maastricht standards, horsemeat from Romania,
Polish plumber, Schengen, pedophiles in Belgium
Gerhard Schroeder Gazprom, Putin is our good friend
EU didn’t begin the fireplace
It was all the time burning, for the reason that world’s been turning
EU didn’t begin the fireplace
No, we didn’t gentle it, however we tried to struggle it
Varoufakis, bailout, eurozone in meltdown
Franco-German engine, Merkel in command
Structure, referendum, Brexit conundrum
Lampedusa, relocation, migrant quotas, border fence
Ryanair low fares, airport strikes, Yellow vests
Irish border, Greta Thunberg, local weather change,
Pfizer bought vaccines, England stored the identical queen
Novichok in London, lockdown social gathering blues
Charles Michel in Georgia, renaming Macedonia,
NATO summit, energy play, Zelenskyy, CIA,
Crowdfunded Bayraktar, dancing ABBA avatars,
Wildfires, heatwave, what else do I’ve to say?
EU didn’t begin the fireplace It was all the time burning, for the reason that world’s been turning
EU didn’t begin the fireplace
No, we didn’t gentle it, however we tried to struggle it
(To be repeated)
The Roundup
Mario Draghi, the central banker turned Italian prime minister, received plaudits for his calm management as Italy emerged from the coronavirus disaster however suffered the identical destiny as a lot of his predecessors, introduced down by fractious inside politics.
The European Fee has launched its pointers on learn how to allocate fossil gasoline in occasions of scarcity, giving vital leeway to EU nations – leaving German trade fastidiously optimistic.
An EU proposal calling on member states to chop their gasoline use by 15% to organize for potential cuts to provides of Russian gasoline is dealing with resistance from governments, casting doubt on whether or not they are going to approve the emergency plan subsequent week.
Portugal has already come out: It’s “completely in opposition to” the EU proposal for member states to chop gasoline utilization till March as a result of it will hamper electrical energy manufacturing by gas-fired vegetation when the nation faces an excessive drought, Vitality Secretary Joao Galamba stated on Thursday.
Hungarian Overseas Minister Péter Szijjártó travelled to Moscow on Thursday to debate buying extra Russian gasoline on behalf of his nation, the ruling Fidesz social gathering stated.
If you happen to haven’t learn it but, do try our weekly Well being Transient – Chasing COVID variants (once more) – for a wholesome dose of related coverage information.
Look out for…
- Committee on Petitions delegation in Washington, D.C. by Friday
- Casual assembly of competitiveness ministers (Analysis) in Prague by Friday
- European Fee Vice-President Věra Jourová meets with President of Czech Senate in Prague on Friday.
- Funds Commissioner Johannes Hahn in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia to current NextGenerationEU funding technique by Saturday.
Views are the writer’s.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
