Cleo Davies
Assistant Professor in Politics and International Relations at Forward College in Paris. Formerly with PAIS Warwick Uni on project ‘Living with the Neighbours: the UK, the EU and wider Europe' - UK in a Changing Europe.
- Can anyone help me: did Starmer attend‘ a gathering of EU leaders’ this week? @financialtimes.com Janan Ganesh starts his column yesterday with a reference to this meeting 👇 I remember Starmer attended the informal EU council in February 2025, which was the first time a UK PM attended since Brexit…
- Reposted by Cleo DaviesAmazing moment on French TV. A French judge explains how Trump sent people from the US Embassy basically trying to intimidate her during Le Pen's trial for embezzlement - something they've done to other judges around the world.
- Zahawi has been on a journey: 'There are some extremely unattractive figures campaigning to leave the EU, from George Galloway to Nigel Farage and it pains me to be dragged towards them on any issue' written in his op-ed on why he backed #leave 🇪🇺 in Feb 2016 conservativehome.com/2016/02/22/n...
- Our work on 🇫🇷-🇬🇧 bilateral relations reports 🇫🇷 has always taken view that Starmer would have to choose, that the strategy to ‘straddle both relationship with 🇪🇺 and Trump’s 🇺🇸’ would soon become untenable (🇫🇷 waiting to see) @thibaudharrois.bsky.social Read 👉 media.ukandeu.ac.uk/wp-content/u...
- Labour’s new foreign policy divide. Events are exposing tensions between “America-first realists” and “Europe-first realists”. 📫 Today’s Morning Call, with @georgeeaton.bsky.social
- Indeed 👌 opener! 👇
- Reposted by Cleo DaviesIt is very very rare for France to be outvoted - in public Council votes, it has been the least outvoted country every year. This is also because usually France strikes a compromise. Here my reading is that Macron wants to be seen to be outvoted to evade blame for Mercosur in France.
- This is 👌 overview on 🇪🇸 PM Sanchez stances on US and Trump. ‘Sánchez’s criticism of Trump may be less risky than it first appears – but he is still being bold in articulating what many other European leaders think, but dare not say.’ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Cleo DaviesOn the case for Starmer’s refusal to criticise Trump and the strategic paralysis it conceals. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- If ‘tariffs’ ended up being one of the key terms for the global political economy in 2025, I admit I did not have ‘imperialism’ being one of them for 2026
- Starmer speaking to Kuenssberg this morning on 🇬🇧 approach to 🇪🇺 = tautological formulation: ‘we made the sovereign decision [sic] as a gvt to align rules’ on food & agriculture ‘so that we can access the single market’. Going forward… 1/2 m.youtube.com/watch?v=qHU7...
- …🇬🇧 to make ‘sovereign decision’ to align on single market rules on sector by sector basis if in 🇬🇧’s national interest. Tautological language ‘sovereign decision’ of gvt to align 1st used by Thomas-Symonds in Lords in July 2025 as reply to Frost’s question on whether gvt is giving up sovereignty 🤷🏻♀️👇
- Mohamed Harbi: A great historian, whose work on Algerian nationalism I was very privileged to have discovered during my degree in history. An inspirational scholar who has shaped some of the great work on the recent history of Algeria-France relations www.lemonde.fr/disparitions...
- Others doing 👌 challenging author’s take on 🇬🇧 domestic politics & policy. But on ‘🇪🇺 “friends” wanting to punish us for leaving’ it’s a serious strategic failure of 🇬🇧 gvts & analysts not to have anticipated 🇪🇺 reaction to what 🇪🇺 perceived as an existential threat. Brexit not only about 🇬🇧 #realpolitik
- Apparently Brexit is a failure because it wasn’t done properly. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
- Our latest explainer @husseinkassim.bsky.social for @ukandeu.bsky.social (👇)can be read as a double bill with the one we did on 'How the 🇪🇺 manage and organise its relationship with the 🇬🇧 post-Brexit'. 👉 ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/h...
- "The optimism of the immediate aftermath of May may have given way to stoic realism, but relations between the EU and the UK are far better than they have been for the past decade." ✍️ @husseinkassim.bsky.social & @cleodavies.bsky.social on UK-EU relations since May ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...
- 👇 also covers the different types of instruments needed for each area of deeper 🇪🇺🇬🇧 cooperation + procedure for adopting these. Builds on @husseinkassim.bsky.social & my longstanding work on 🇬🇧🇪🇺 relations + regular meetings with parties involved. Disclaimer: published before 🇬🇧 agreement on Erasmus+
- Nearly 7 months have passed since the UK-EU Summit in May 🇬🇧🇪🇺 In this explainer, @husseinkassim.bsky.social and @cleodavies.bsky.social outline: 1️⃣ What was agreed at the summit 2️⃣ Who are the key negotiators 3️⃣ What has happened since 4️⃣ The key points of contention 🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...
- Reposted by Cleo DaviesThis is fair 👇 Probably the best status report written so far.
- Nearly 7 months have passed since the UK-EU Summit in May 🇬🇧🇪🇺 In this explainer, @husseinkassim.bsky.social and @cleodavies.bsky.social outline: 1️⃣ What was agreed at the summit 2️⃣ Who are the key negotiators 3️⃣ What has happened since 4️⃣ The key points of contention 🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...
- Echoes of past in today’s @financialtimes.com @andybounds.bsky.social on Starmer effort to keep 🇬🇧-🇪🇺 reset on track. 🇪🇺 negotiating stance will harden the more it perceives Starmer as weak domestically because 🇪🇺 will want to ´future proof’ any agreement. In turn, makes it harder for 🇬🇧 to agree
- One to follow👇
- Hi Bluesky. We’re Contemporary European Politics (CEP) a journal by Wiley & UACES, publishing cutting-edge research on the politics, governance & societies of Europe. Follow us for new articles, special issues, & insights shaping Europe’s future. #EuropeanPolitics #AcademicResearch #UACES #Wiley
- Surprising how little analysis there is outside of Spain on explaining the country's performance.
- Spain's coalition government agrees to bind the right to an abortion within the constitution. Just as the IMF upgrades Spain's economic performance for 2025 (+0.4 to 2.9%) and 2026. As basic liberal ideas and a successful economy sit well together. Still. elpais.com/espana/2025-...
- At this stage, the only other ones who would have said yes to the job were the socialists but Macron wouldn't go there. Shame for Lecornu who has done a solid job since 2017 in Macron's party in government. However his second term as PM ends, he will probably be burnt politically.
- And indeed, Macron has just re-appointed Lecornu as PM & asked him to form a gvt... A reminder Macron appointed Lecornu as PM on 9 September; the latter finally announced a govt on Sunday before resigning Monday morning. So France keeps same caretaker govt for now. 1/2 🧵
- Another scenario in immediate aftermath of 🇫🇷 PM quitting is: Macron does nothing. It took him two months to nominate Barnier after2024 elections, an unprecedented, though not strictly anticonstitutional,amount of time. He may think he can just leave this govt in place to manage things for months...
- Lecornu is very close and loyal to Macron, but Lecornu is saying tonight his gvt will have to represent renewal... Not sure anyone will believe that is plausible. Macron comes out even more weakened from this latest sequence.
- On polls mentioned in article in case of a parliamentary election: one must recall how very difficult if it is to make any projections because of the two round system and what French call 'le jeu des alliances' (party alliances) & voting instructions between rounds.
- How domestic deadlock brought Jupiterian Macron back to earth on.ft.com/3KHU92u | opinion
- Well well. The latest twist in the fallout of #Brexit for Gibraltar.
- Gibraltar suspends applications for residence after treaty news prompted flood of requests from Brits. www.chronicle.gi/new-residenc...
- Such a silly piece. Analysis (🤔) is shockingly shallow. And style/metaphors ridiculous: 'Europeans are attached to their cuddlier form of capitalism'... All pink and fluffy this side of the pond... 'job security was once Europe's comfort blanket. It now feels more like a straightjacket'. 🙄
- Another scenario in immediate aftermath of 🇫🇷 PM quitting is: Macron does nothing. It took him two months to nominate Barnier after2024 elections, an unprecedented, though not strictly anticonstitutional,amount of time. He may think he can just leave this govt in place to manage things for months...
