I’m not claiming it didn’t happen but an investigation was not conclusive enough to establish this beyond any reasonable doubt. Not quite that overwhelming.

What does seem clear, however, is that these allegations regardless of their veracity seem to have been (ab)used by Israel and the US to get rid of the one person trying to hold Israel accountable for its actions.

What is certainly clear is that no European or EU leader could be bothered to stand up for the ICC and demand indisputable clarity of Khan’s conduct.

The whole thing is muddy and disturbing. I am not saying Khan’s removal wasn’t the right decision, but the way that decision was ultimately made is incredibly problematic and likely will have wider consequences.

First of all, there were multiple issues with Platner beyond the allegations. He also kept changing his story which made him unreliable.

He also was not removed, people called on him to step down but he made the call. He could have refused - it would not have made him friends but it was within his right to remain the candidate.

More importantly, he did not have arrest warrants out for some of the worst people in global politics that are somehow revered by much of the rest of the world. He also did not work for an institution grounded in international law others are seeking to dismantle.
Not quite at the same scale as someone running for US senate, let alone the numbers of the people of Maine vs the people of 125 independent countries.

Let’s not pull Platner into this. Quite a different situation.

True, but with 82 out of 125 voting for his removal it feels fair to say that at least some European countries voted in favour. This being closed-door is problematic in its own right but that’s another story.

My more general point is the utter failure of our leaders to defend the ICC as an institution and stand up for its people (even those without misconduct allegations). Let alone they won’t insist proper procedure is followed. On paper that may have been the case but in reality it appears to have been quite something else.

Assuming both you and your partner ‘read’ as male the world will presume you’re a gay couple. That’s not necessarily true, you’d become a same-sex couple and ‘gay’ is more a way of describing an individual’s sexual orientation. Whether or not that’s yours too is for you to decide.

It’s easy to say you shouldn’t care about how people see and/or label you but we live in a society and people judge and draw conclusions. We are all sensitive to this to at least some extent. There’s no shame in that and I hope your partner can also understand that while they become their true self this also changes your relationship and the way you see yourself. I hope you can talk about this together in honesty and with love.

If you find you’re struggling I would highly recommend you speak to a therapist who knows their stuff or find a support group. You’re not the first one to walk this path and it may prove valuable to connect with others who understand this first hand.

Your partner deserves all the love and support but so do you.

As a side note, I am wholly assuming good intentions here so no worries but using ‘biological’ is not typically seen as a positive phrasing in this context. I would use ‘assigned female at birth’ (AFAB) or ‘identified previously as female’, though I would also check with my partner as they may have their own lingo.

It is infuriating as is but it also is part of the reason why so many people are struggling with the EU currently.

We recognise the good but it just does not live up to its own values and treats equal situations differently - there’s just no defending this and it’s well out of line with the people. Let alone the fact that we continue to fall neatly in line with the US, no matter what harm it does to us.

I think for me as well, if you check the flip side of the G notes I also love that the people show a fair bit of diversity. There’s a figure in a wheelchair (50), some people of colour and two sets of people who could well be same-sex couples (or siblings, or friends - imagine your own adventure, 100/200). None of the other designs have this.

Fun* fact: Politico is the main news source for EU politicians, leaders and eurocrats. While you can make a tepid argument that their news coverage is ok their opinion pieces are biased, not exactly pro-EU and clearly informed by the Anglospheric view of things.

*not really

It seems you have a better grasp of Sanchez but to me he comes across as sincere when it comes to everything EU, and he has been fairly consistent for years. The China thing may be the exception, I know it baffled me when I read about the closer ties Sanchez was seeking.

I wrote it wrong, sort of. I know there have been some verdicts from the courts already but I also meant any verdict that Sanchez may face. As far as I know there’s no active case against him (yet), but then again when both your brother and wife are in hot water…

Sanchez has said he plans to run for re-election in 2027, curious to see if that still holds in a few months.

I was willing to give Sanchez some benefit of the doubt given that most if not all of the allegations came from the far right who have a habit of inventing theories or blowing things well out of proportion.
That may still be true but it seems fair to say that Sanchez et al were up to some very shady stuff. If they’re found guilty by an independent court than that’s that.

It’s extremely disappointing. I can’t really speak to Spanish politics but on the EU level Sanchez has been pretty much the sole voice pushing back against the US and in favour of further integration including a united EU defence force.

Nihilism and misanthropy are weird terms to use here.

Good they took the network down but these are telling misnomers.

Yes, but only if you hold firm.

VDL et al have a history of doing the exact opposite, no matter how many times this has proven a failed strategy. Somehow they even seem surprised he responds this way, again and again.

Let’s hope they’ve learned but so far there’s been little reason to think they have (frankly the fine was already reduced by billions under what the DMA allows, most likely out of fear).

It’s fine to disagree but don’t make it like I said something I didn’t.

When it comes to defence we are still spending the vast majority of our money on US weaponry rather than investing it into our own economies and helping our companies scale up. There’s a balance but the tilt is quite wrong at the moment and has been for decades. There’s no genuine effort into any kind of shared defence continent-wide (just ask Commissioner Kubilius).
The US is ordering ASML to stop exports to China and we are willing to even engage with the US over this instead of just giving them the finger. ASML has an extremely powerful position.

Everything we do is done with such fear of the US and to the degradation of Europe, even the steps towards our own independence are constantly cast in this light.

I am not further engaging in this conversation given that you twice chose to read words I never wrote.

I never said anything about cold turkeys.

But given that it indeed takes several years to transition an existing system urgency is needed. Every day we wait or half-heartedly do something it only takes longer and only creates more risk and long-term harm.

As for hardship - we’re not exactly a poor continent. There’s a whole lot we can do to support people and even (small) companies were it needed.

A year ago or so I would have tepidly accepted this as an argument but there’s nothing that shows any sense of urgency. It’s not that there’s nothing happening but it’s nowhere near the level it should and there’s still a sense of just waiting until he’s gone. Except he was already gone and came back, which was completely predictable and he didn’t fall from the sky to begin with.
The US had to be in a place where this was possible to begin with. The Democratic party offers zero genuine opposition safe for a few individuals but the establishment does everything it can to keep them out of power. No matter who takes office next, it’s unlikely things will change for the better and even if so every four years the situation can go 180 again. The US is not just not a reliable partner, they’ve become an adversary and to some extent they always have been. We were just refusing to see it.

When it comes to defence and technology there’s no coordinated effort to change things around. Trade is moving but slowly. The EU has the ability to crash the US economy tomorrow but we won’t even use that fact as leverage.

Sycophancy, real or pretend, does not work. In the history of humanity sycophancy has never improved the situation and often made things worse. Appeasing a bully is the absolute worst strategy. And there’s no need - we hold a tremendous amount of power but we refuse to believe in our own strength.

We really need to take the fight to our own leaders.

Trump et al are despicable and a force of evil, but if Europe would actually stand up for itself, harnesses the power it already has and brought some urgency to our actual sovereignty this would not be happening.

And we, all of Europe, urgently need to wake up to the reality that this isn’t some blip. This is the US with its mask off. Sure, it may be a few degrees worse than it used to be but the US has never been a genuine ally. People really need to stop hitting the snooze button.

It is ridiculous and embarrassing that we allow this to happen to us and that we spent literal decades not stepping up our game.

It’s funny in a weird way how this is now voluntarily for companies and the US tech giants have jumped on it while European companies reject it.

There may be a few exceptions either side, but by and large…

We need to fight CC2 in each and every way, and I presume the final battle will be in the courts, but it seems we also have to fight the functioning of Parliament now. While the way this extension passed may have been technically legal it was wholly unethical, void of decency and completely against the spirit of the EU.

Not sure how Denmark is not a full member of the EU - having opt-outs doesn’t change your membership status.

That said, the timing of Denmark chairing the Council of the EU last year couldn’t have been much worse (not unlike Ireland while there’s a lot happening in digital sovereignty currently).

I find the A series a little boring, feels like so many banknotes that already exist and what quite annoys me is that some have pictures and others paintings of people. I would strongly prefer them to be the same (and ideally painted in that case).

Well, hindsight proves it. I would argue foresight already showed it.

There were other ways to do this, especially coordinated and supportive of the EU countries hit the hardest.