Andrew Watt
General Director, European Trade Union Institute
@etui.bsky.social
Formerly www.imk-boeckler.de
EU economic governance, comparative political economy, European integration, socio-ecological transition, wage bargaining
Deutschland-Versteher
Vietnam
- Buy European clauses in public procurement and state subsidy regines certainly raise issues. But I agree with Sandor. Their blanket rejection from first principles is naive and misguided in a world characterised by strategic players and discrepancies between short and long run interests.
- The Epstein revelations are shocking and this shameful past requires proper investigation. But let that not distract us from crimes being committed today and the harm and suffering they will cause in the near future! These are of a whole different order of magnitude and could still be prevented.
- As cuts in international aid continue worldwide, a new study projects 22.6 million people will die by 2030, including 5.4 million children under the age of five. ➡️ l.euronews.com/saqz
- A welcome and important development in Portugal 👇. More broadly, in EU countries and at EU level, the democratic forces need to engage with each other pragmatically to craft policy solutions that deliver for citizens. Gridlock (France) and delay (EP vote on Mercosur) just benefit the far-right.
- 🚨🚨Striking but welcome development in Portugese politics: To stop the explosive growth of the ultranationalist #Chega party, Portugal’s leading conservatives are doing the previously unthinkable: endorsing the center-left candidate for president. 🧵 www.politico.eu/article/port...
- He's a pilot with real flying exoerience. Where he may clash with orthodoxy is on taking off and, more troublingly, landing.
- We'll take our stand for this land And the stranger in our midst. We'll remember the names of those who died On the streets of Minneapolis The Boss on 🎯& on 🔥
- giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Good work @financialtimes.com shows Trump's ICE attacks on migrants are not just racist and murderous, they are also very costly to taxpayers & so profitable for contractors. $22bn works out at $64 for every US man, woman & child, just for contracted services.
- If Trump and his henchmen's disparaging comments about Europe have done something useful, it is to focus European minds on the need to speed up EU decision-making. This is an old debate. It cannot be a simple 2-speed Europe, with two separate country blocks. 1/2
- Notably, Poland, while clearly an important MS and critical for some initiatives, is not in the €, which for many issues is a natural core group. OTOH France and Germany are opposed on many important questions. In short, we need "variable geometry", which brings with it its own problems. 2/2
- An article that will doubtless repay detailed study. The authors provide empirical evidence for the intuitive view that support for the EU depends in part on whether, at a given point in time, the EU is pursuing policies closer or further from voters' (left-right) political preferences.
- NEW PAPER ALERT! My paper, with @bjornhoyland.bsky.social , on how “policy loss” shapes support for the EU has just been published in @cpsjournal.bsky.social. Check it out! 1/
- More evidence that the pro-worker talk of right-wing governments is just that, talk. How one year of ‘America First’ left workers behind - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
- Reposted by Andrew Watt❗#JobAlert: upcoming deadline The ETUI is looking for a Database Administrator to play a central role in managing the Institute’s #data-related activities. Don't miss the opportunity to be part of a dynamic research environment! 🔗 Apply by 31 January: etui.org/4Z5 @andrewwatteu.bsky.social
- Swapping EU standards (in which Britain had a voice) for US standards (in which it does not) is not what Brexiters and Lexiters meant by "taking back control", I warrant.
- Mark Carney's Davos speech is rightly getting attention. A much-needed voice of sanity, decency and a commitment to important values coupled with political pragmatism.
- Europe's Anti Coercion Instrument involves a multi-stage process before actual measures are imposed. If it is not even activated in the face of the most brazenly coercive use of trade policy against the EU in living memory, the instrument, and with it the EU as a whole, loses credibility.
- Reposted by Andrew Watt[Not loaded yet]
- Trump threatening Europe with higher tariffs to get his way over Greenland is a predictable consequence of the EU & UK's failure to stand up to his bullying last summer. But over sovereignty there will be no such compromise. The self-harming tariffs will come, unless the Supreme Court stops them 1/2
- www.theguardian.com/environment/.... It is clear that the Paris "limit" of 1.5C will be breached, ten years earlier than scientists feared back in 2015. Global emissions are only just levelling out. And we (humans) are fighting over ... Greenland. 🤦
- Jaw-dropping. The Trump administration is weaponising the Department of Justice to intimidate the Fed chair through the threat of criminal proceedings. Hard to imagine markets simply shrugging off such a blatant attack on central bank independence.
- Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG... www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
- Don't worry. Be hyggelig.
- NYT: are there any limits on your ability to use American military might? Trump. Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me. Regrets about referring to Trump as a Mad King I have none. messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/rend...
- We are seeking an experienced database administrator to coordinate all the data-related activities at the Institute. Deadline for applications is 16th January!
- 🚨 #JobAlert reminder 💻 Don’t miss this opportunity! The ETUI is looking for a Database Administrator to play a key role in the Institute’s #data-driven activities. 🌐 In this role, you will manage, secure & optimise the ETUI’s core data assets. 🔗 etui.org/4Z5 @andrewwatteu.bsky.social
- One in five cars sold in Germany last year was battery-electric. Sounds good, but it is much too low to shift the stock of automobiles on the road running on fossil fuels (just 4%). 4 in 5 new sales still have a petrol/diesel engine. (1 in 8 of these is a plug-in hybrid, on which views differ).
- Dear followers, I wish you all a good 2026! I am (re)starting a blog on Substack. I will cover similar themes to the posts here, but without the character limits, allowing a more in-depth analysis and commentary. Do consider signing up for the (free) email alerts: open.substack.com/pub/andrewwa...
- Interesting piece on the history of US exploitation of Venezuelan oil by @gabrielzucman.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/gzucman/... (I'd be cautious about the Saudi Arabia comparison at the end.) Oil certainly drives Trump. But whether Big Oil wants in under current conditions is uncertain.
