'It Would Be a Disaster': Juncker Warns against Far-Right Rule in Europe

Oct 9, 2025 | Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker tells Andrew Marr “life would be easier without Brexit.”

Juncker gives his view on the EU’s new steel tariffs, the future of UK–EU relations under Keir Starmer and explains why he believes Nigel Farage “wouldn’t be the best Prime Minister.”

He also warns against the rise of the far-right, saying that these movements are not in line with 'European traditions'.

British Steel 'Will Never Be the Same' after EU Imposes 50% Tariffs | UK Steel Director General

Oct 7, 2025 | "We are certainly talking about thousands of jobs in the steel industry."

The EU proposing to hit the UK with 50 per cent tariffs on steel means "the UK government needs to act very, very quickly", says director general of UK Steel, Gareth Stace.


Brexit: The gift that keeps on giving! — © Mark Alexander

Britain’s Place Is with Europe, Not America

MARK ALEXANDER: What is going on in America right now is nothing less than a SHITSHOW!

To think that we have given up our membership of the European Union to align ourselves with that chaotic, catastrophic, autocratic, tyrannical SHITSHOW truly beggars belief!

We can thank Cameron for calling that STUPID, COWARDLY referendum, that self-serving DICKHEAD otherwise known as Nigel Fags, and that clown extraordinaire, BoJo for the ensuing loss of prosperity!

If Keir Starmer really wants to inject life into his failing government, he needs to recognise that this country is crying out for the recognition of the GRAVE mistake we Brits have made in voting for the losers’ Brexit. He needs to assure the people that he will do all he possibly can to reverse the ridiculous decision to leave the European Union.

If Starmer adopted such a strategy, Starmer’s task ahead would be difficult; but the difficulties would not be insurmountable.

We Brits are Europeans. We are not Americans. In fact, we have LITTLE in common with Americans other than language and the desire to make money. But our values are certainly European. Our Royal Family is European, too; and so many Brits worship the Royal Family.

If the people of this country want to retain their SOVEREIGNTY, then we, as a nation, need to re-join the European Union as soon as is humanly possible. Long live the United Kingdom! Long live the European Union!

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

No Prospect of UK Rejoining EU in My Lifetime, Says Starmer’s Reset Negotiator

THE GUARDIN: Comments by Nick Thomas-Symonds underline view in top government circles despite thaw in relations with Brussels

Britain will not rejoin the EU in the foreseeable future, according to the minister who has piloted Keir Starmer’s recent reset of European relations.

Nick Thomas-Symonds said he could not see the country re-entering the bloc in his lifetime, despite the thaw in continental relations that he has helped bring about.

Asked whether he could conceive of Brexit being reversed within such a timescale, Thomas-Symonds told the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast: “I can’t. What I can say is that the work I have been doing with the democratic mandate from the 2024 general election is building a closer, more constructive relationship.”

He added: “What I’m about now, having reset the relationship, is building this new strategic partnership.” » | Kiran Stacey Policy editor | Friday, September 12, 2025

Who is this joker? He talks a load of bollocks! Clearly, he has no understanding of geopolitics or economics? To come to such a ridiculous and erroneous conclusion is tantamount to showing the world that he is totally and utterly clueless. — © Mark Alexander

Are We Joining the EU Step-by-step?

Sept 3, 2025

We British are Europeans! We need to rejoin the European Union at the earliest possbible convenience. / Wir Briten sind Europäer! Wir müssen der Europäischen Union so bald wie möglich wieder beitreten. / Nous, les Britanniques, sommes des Européens ! Nous devons rejoindre l’Union européenne le plus rapidement possible. — © Mark Alexander

EU Willing to Rework Brexit Deal, Says Top German in Brussels

THE TELEGRAPH: War over Britain’s departure is ‘definitely’ over, says Manfred Weber, leader of largest group in European Parliament

The EU is willing to negotiate a better, mutually beneficial trade deal with Britain, one of Brussels’ most powerful conservatives has said.

Manfred Weber is president of the influential centre-Right European People’s Party (EPP), which counts 13 prime ministers among its membership, including Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor.

Mr Weber, the centre-Right Bavarian MEP who leads the largest group in the European Parliament, was once a fierce critic of Brexit. However, he told The Telegraph the EU’s Brexit war with Britain was over, in a sign that Sir Keir Starmer could push for a renegotiation of the reset deal agreed in May.

The Government will be cautious about any concessions the EU could seek after the bloc previously cautioned Britain against any “cherry-picking” – attempting to gain the benefits of single market membership without the obligations.

In the reset deal, Sir Keir agreed to follow EU rules, aligning with European food standards and submitting to the European Court of Justice in exchange for the freedom to export goods with fewer customs checks. » | James Crisp, European Editor, in Berlin | Sunday, August 31, 2025

How Europe Learned to Speak So Trump Would Listen

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The leaders of Germany, France, Britain and other supporters of Ukraine have come together in exceptional ways to help sway the U.S. president.

By midday Saturday in Europe, a question was bouncing between the government offices and vacation villas of the continent’s most influential leaders. The Ukrainian president was headed to the White House for a crucial meeting with President Trump. Mr. Trump was allowing him to bring backup. But who should go?

It was the sort of dilemma that once might have erupted into public disputes between Germany, France and Britain, the continent’s largest powers. This time, it didn’t.

The leaders of those countries decided they would all accompany Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, to Washington, for a summit with Mr. Trump about peace talks with Russia. So would the leaders of Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO.

They flew in on separate planes. But with Mr. Trump, they spoke in one voice.

“We were well prepared and well coordinated,” Friedrich Merz, the chancellor of Germany, told reporters after he and his counterparts met Mr. Trump at the White House. “We also represented the same viewpoints. I think that really pleased the American president.”

Mr. Trump’s persistent and sometimes volatile effort to bring a diplomatic end to the war between Ukraine and Russia has forged stronger bonds among European leaders. It has strengthened the unity that emerged earlier this year amid Mr. Trump’s tariff threats and his wavering on what have been decades-long security guarantees that America has provided to Europe. » | Jim Tankersley | Reporting from Berlin | Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Leer en español.

The EU Is a Colossus. So Why Is It Cowering before Trump Like a Mouse?

THE GUARDIAN: With its woeful trade deal, Europe prostrated itself before the president. We need a leader who will tell him where to shove it

Who remembers the spate of “introduction videos” that emerged during the first Trump administration – a series of tongue-in-cheek clips about European countries to introduce them to Donald Trump? The viral video trend was sparked by the Dutch comedian Arjen Lubach, who ended his segment on the Netherlands with: “We totally understand it’s going to be America first, but can we just say the Netherlands second?” It seems that Europe’s leaders remember the videos all too well; that they internalised the caustic message a little bit too much.

Afraid of rocking the boat during its trade negotiations with Trump, the EU decided to pre-emptively sink itself. Instead of strategic autonomy, it will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on American weapons; in place of future climate goals, it will pour hundreds of billions into US natural gas; instead of a mutual tariff reduction, it will take a huge unilateral hit to EU exporters; instead of self-respect, humiliating prostration.

The new trade “deal” announced by Trump and Ursula von der Leyen last month left a five-year-old’s worth of whys to ponder. Why does the EU, a colossus, think it is a mouse? Why is it content to merely nibble at the edges of power? Will it ever respect itself as much as China, which met Trump tariff for tariff until he backed off? Why don’t its politicians understand that voters want leaders who will defend them, and that, as for Canada’s Mark Carney and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, there are actually electoral rewards to be reaped by doing so without reserve? Why, even after Brexit, do they ignore the lesson that these same voters prioritise identity and emotion over cold economic rationality? » | Alexander Hurst | Wednesday, August 6, 2025

It’s High Time that the European Union Grow a Spine

MARK ALEXANDER: The trade deal reached by the European Union with the USA, with Donald Trump, shows us how weak the European Union actually is. When it comes to the European Union, it’s a question of… Yes, Sir! Of course, Sir! How high should I jump to please you, Sir? How pathetic! Grow a pair, for Christ’s sake!

The European Union is a market of 450 million people. That means to say 450 million potential consumers, It is a far bigger market that the USA is. The population of the USA is a mere 340 million. The sooner that the EU realises its potential purchasing power, the sooner the EU will realise its economic and political potential. For heaven’s sake, the European Union should get its act together! Soon!

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

Trump Says EU and Mexico Face 30% Tariff from August

BBC: President Donald Trump has announced that the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% tariff on imports to the US from 1 August.

He warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate.

The announcement was made in two letters posted on Trump's Truth Social website. Similar letters were sent this week to several other countries.

The 27-member EU - America's biggest trading partner - said earlier this week it hoped to agree a deal with Washington before 1 August.

In the letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump wrote: "We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers."

"Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal," the letter added. » | BBC | Saturday, July 12, 2025

Trump Threatens 17% Tariffs on Food and Farm Produce Exports from Europe

THE GUARDIAN: EU says it ‘favours a negotiated solution’ but is prepared for potential trade war with retaliatory duties

Donald Trump threatened to impose 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe during talks in Washington this week, it has emerged.

Such tariffs would hit everything from Belgian chocolate to Kerrygold butter from Ireland and olive oil from Italy, Spain and France, all big sellers in the US.

First reported in the Financial Times, sources confirmed that the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was given the warning on Thursday when he met the US treasure secretary, Scott Bessent, trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

EU ambassadors were briefed on the threat on Friday. » | Lisa O'Carroll | Friday, July 4, 2025

Michael Lambert: How Brexit Has Wrecked the UK Economy

Jun 28, 2025 | Last week saw the 9th anniversary of the referendum in which the UK voted to leave the EU. Since Brexit, the UK has struggled economically and faces several major challenges.

Jonathan 'Johnny' Reynolds is the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry charged with spearheading the UK's push for growth. Reynolds who was previously a trainee solicitor and then an assistant to MP James Purnell has no previous business experience. Despite this, he boasts of three major trade deals with, India, the EU, and the USA. It is estimated that these three deals will add less than 1% to the UK GDP in about ten years’ time. Leaving the EU has cost the UK at least 4% of GDP.

Since growth in the UK is very slow owing to the overall economic conditions, and since it is now almost impossible for small and medium sized businesses to sell to the EU given the onerous post-Brexit paperwork and expense involved, it is difficult to see where growth can be found.

Since leaving the EU, the UK has suffered from a shortage of workers in many sectors of the economy, including the NHS, care, hospitality, construction, food processing, and agriculture.

Whilst some EU workers were initially replaced by those from countries such as Nigeria, Bangladesh, and India in response to calls from Nigel Farage, the government has now introduced minimum salary requirements of almost £40,000 per annum for anyone seeking work in the UK. The result is likely to be much more severe shortages.

The government plans to train up British citizens to do the work formally done by foreign workers. Inward investment, often amounting to foreign companies buying UK infrastructure and businesses has dried up, although it is expected that major US asset managers will soon start buying up and renting back UK housing stock.

I Grew Up on American Food. Trust Me, It’s the Last Thing Europe Needs

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: The EU is under pressure to strike a trade deal with Trump, but an influx of mass-produced, low-quality food must be off the table

ll over European media, the take seems to be similar – that the EU is “under pressure” to conclude some sort of deal with the US in order to avoid Donald Trump’s 9 July deadline for the unilateral imposition of broad tariffs. What might be on the table in the attempt to secure that? In early May, the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was already suggesting that a deal to increase purchases from the US could include agricultural products – a possibility that seems to remain even though Šefčovič later clarified that the EU was not contemplating changing its health or safety standards.

Since I have failed to Abba (“Always be boldly acronyming”) and don’t have anything as good as Taco (“Trump always chickens out”) – coined by the Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong – at the ready, I’ll simply reach for the easy line: opening the door even slightly to more US food imports into the EU would leave a bad taste in all our mouths. Trump’s hostage-taking approach to trade should not be rewarded, certainly not with something that hits as close to home as food does. » | Alexander Hurst | Friday, June 20, 2025

Michael Lambert: Keir Starmer's Current Path Might Just Lead to a Nigel Farage Victory

Mar 22, 2025

President of European Central Bank Responds to Trump’s Claim that the EU Was Designed to “Screw” US

May 18, 2025

Menaced by Trump, Canada Prepares to Join E.U. Military Industry Buildup

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Canada’s draft deal to participate in Europe’s defense industry will bring contracts to Canadian manufacturers and help lessen dependence on the United States.

Canada is in advanced talks with the European Union to join the bloc’s new project to expand its military industry, a move that would allow Canada to be part of building European fighter jets and other military equipment at its own industrial facilities.

The budding defense cooperation between Canada and the European Union, which is racing to shore up its industry to lower reliance on the United States, would boost Canada’s military manufacturers and offer the country a new market at a time when its relationship with the United States has become frayed.

Shaken by a crisis in the two nations’ longstanding alliance since President Trump’s election, Canada has started moving closer to Europe. The military industry collaboration with the European Union highlights how traditional U.S. allies are deepening their ties without U.S. participation to insulate themselves from Mr. Trump’s unpredictable moves.

Canada’s new leader, Prime Minister Mark Carney, this week made Paris and London the destinations of his first overseas trip since taking office on Friday, calling Canada “the most European of non-European countries.” » | Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Reporting from Ottawa | Wednesday, March 19, 2025

What If Canada Joined the European Union?

Mar 18, 2025 | Could Canada really join the European Union? With trade tensions and implied threats from Trump and the US, might Canada-European Union relations need a fundamental shift?

Canada, Europe Planning Defense 'without US at the Centre' for First Time since WWII • FRANCE 24

Mar 17, 2025 | Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday warned his country must reduce its reliance on the United States and would turn towards its "reliable" European allies instead on his first trip abroad. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to Scott Lucas, Professor of US and International Politics at the Clinton Institute at University College Dublin. He says that for the first time since WWII Canada and Europe are planning for defense 'without assuming the US is at the center of it'.

THE NEW YORK TIMES:

‘Most European Non-European Country’: Canada Turns to Allies as Trump Threatens: Days after becoming prime minister, Mark Carney visited Paris and London to highlight deep European friendships as his country fights back against President Trump’s tariffs and annexation talk. »

EU Retaliates Against Trump's New Metal Tariffs | Full Remarks

Mar 12, 2025 | The European Union launched countermeasures on Wednesday against new US metals tariffs, with plans to impose its own duties on €26 billion ($28.3 billion) worth of American goods. The announcement came hours after the US administration imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in a massive escalation of the trade war between two longstanding allies. The EU will immediately begin consultations with member states, with adoption of the tariffs expected in mid-April. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's trade chief, Maros Sefcovic gave a press briefing setting out the full scope of their response at a press briefing in Strasbourg

‘Watershed Moment’: EU Leaders Agree Plan for Huge Rise in Defence Spending

THE GUARDIAN: Leaders endorse von der Leyen proposal but show of unity over Ukraine is marred by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán

European leaders holding emergency talks in Brussels have agreed on a massive increase to defence spending, amid a drive to shore up support for Ukraine after Donald Trump halted US military aid and intelligence sharing.

But the show of unity was marred by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, failing to endorse an EU statement on Ukraine pushing back against Trump’s Russia-friendly negotiating stance.

The 26 other EU leaders, including Orbán’s ally Robert Fico, the Slovakian prime minister, “firmly supported” the statement. “There can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine,” said the draft statement, a response to Trump’s attempt to sideline Europe and Kyiv.

Earlier in the day, arriving at the summit, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had originally been scheduled to join by video link, said: “We are very thankful that we are not alone.” » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Thursday, March 6, 2025