Dave Keating
@DaveKeating
🇺🇸🇪🇺American-European journalist ➡️Find me on Substack: https://davekeating.substack.com/
European leaders yesterday signed up to a monumental (and probably unrealistic) military spending target demanded by Trump. Yet at #EUCO today, a discussion on how to do it is expected to be brief because "they already talked about it at NATO". EU defence efforts have stalled.
At 🇪🇺🇨🇳 summit in Beijing, President Xi Jinping calls China & EU "2 big guys” on the world stage who must both “make correct strategic choices that meet the expectations of the people and stand the test of history" Translation: he's telling Europe not to let 🇺🇸 boss them around.
The EU has just imposed an 18th round of sanctions against Russia, capping the price of Russian oil and banning a "shadow fleet" of ships skirting sanctions. It follows weeks of the sanctions being vetoed by Russia-friendly Slovakia PM Robert Rico.
Can you imagine a world in which European leaders could talk as bluntly about the threat from the US as they do about the threat from China?
Dear Premier Li, Europe believes in the power of free trade to drive prosperity. But it has to be fair. So we need to address market access, overcapacity and export control. Rebalancing is also in the interest of stronger 🇪🇺🇨🇳 relations ↓
Catch my hot takes on Brussels, My Love this weekend along with @kbolongaro and @TomiHuhtanen!
American democracy is in serious trouble. If the president of a well-functioning democracy went on air and accused his predecessor of treason, we would all be shocked. Unthinkable and unprecedented in the stable democracies in Europe and very concerning.
The killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible. I spoke again with @gideonsaar to recall our understanding on aid flow and made clear that IDF must stop killing people at distribution points. All options remain on the table if Israel doesn’t deliver on its pledges
You wake up each morning and wonder which country in the Middle East has 🇮🇱 bombed today. i24news.tv/en/news/israel…
In his National Day address, Belgian King Philippe decries the situation in Gaza as "a shame for all humanity". rtbf.be/article/la-sit…
This is only the beginning. It is clear the direction that American corporate media is heading. nytimes.com/2025/07/18/us/…
The expectations for the EU-China summit are literally on the floor. Here's what Brussels aims for: "For the EU, the deliverable is a substantive, open and direct conversation between the two of us on every aspect of our relationship," says a senior official.
Joe Biden claimed the IRA was "literally the largest climate bill in the history of the world,” and Europeans accepted that false narrative. But it wasn't real climate action, it was tax rebates that are now gone. Europe needs to catch up to that reality davekeating.substack.com/p/america-is-n…
I am currently in @Eurostar customer service hell over a truly insane policy. It seems Thalys has absorbed Eurostar's notorious fare transparency and customer service problems with the takeover. It's no wonder people are still flying Brussels/Paris to London instead of the train
Reporter: Do you have plans or are you considering firing Powell? What is your justification? Trump: I was surprised he was appointed— surprised frankly that Biden put him in and extended him. We’re not planning on doing anything
Why does America have bases in Europe, but not vice versa? Are Europeans okay with this?
Very
Very concerned by the Israeli strikes on Damascus today. Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity need to be respected. I call on all parties to refrain from violence and to de-escalate.
Former French EU Commissioner says Brussels should stop treating the negotiations with the US as "technical" discussions led by "technicians" (i.e. Sefcovic) and step up their political game before August 1
Droits de douane américains à 30%: "Une nécessité absolue" de les éviter, pour Thierry Breton, ex-commissaire européen au marché intérieur