I wrote a piece on the recent rise of the German Green Party – while the far-right AfD makes the headlines, people should also take a closer look at what is happening on the other side of the debate.

For @LSEEuroppblog (also, short thread)
blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/201… Now it’s true that, overall, AfD had bigger political impact than Greens on German political landscape over past years – not just bc of their electoral gains (see esp East Germany), but by shifting the overall debate and forcing other parties to adapt.

As the UK pores over the government's no-deal notices, let's have a look at how all of this is seen on the EU side.

Running thread (👇) on reactions & commentary from EU media, industry groups, politicians, etc. German centre-left @SZ sees today's no-deal publications as partly “a threat to make the EU accommodate London in the [Brexit] negotiations.”

Writes that Theresa May uses "fear as a weapon", also against opponents within her own party.
zeit.de/wirtschaft/201…

Some thoughts on the idea of establishing refugee “reception centres” / “disembarkation platforms” outside the EU's borders, which will be discussed at #EUCO later this week.

While the concept has some merits, its implementation is fraught with problems. [THREAD, 1/ ] The idea, in short, is to create centres outside the EU (e.g. Northern Africa, Balkans), where refugees can lodge their asylum claims & have them assessed by authorities. If asylum is granted, they can then travel on into EU safely. 2/

Quick thread on what is happening in Germany right now, where Merkel’s conservative bloc of CDU and CSU is in open conflict over migration policy. #CDUCSU 1/ It is no news that Merkel’s CDU and her Bavarian CSU-allies are divided over migration - this has been the case since at least 2015. Merkel’s desire for a liberal, multilateral approach doesn’t chime well with the CSU’s desire to pull an Orban (or at least Kurz) 2/

I did a quick explainer for @prospect_uk on how #Brexit may affect #VAT, both domestically and in relation to EU-UK trade. Quick thread on some of the key points: prospectmagazine.co.uk/economics-and-… 1/ The UK, like all other EU member states, currently is part of the common EU VAT area. While the EU does not prescribe exact VAT rates, it put in place certain guidelines, e.g. a minimum standard rate of 15%, or limits on granting of reduced rates and exemptions.