Nicolai von Ondarza
LightNews LightNews
nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza
@nvondarza.bsky.social
13K followers 980 following 2.9K posts

Political scientist with a passion for EU affairs, Geek with a passion for technology. Head of Europe Division at @SWP-Berlin.org. Associate Fellow @chathamhouse.bsky.social Europe Programme. All views are personal. Journey before Destination. .. more

Videos
Political science 80%
Economics 10%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · Sep 22
As @manuelmueller.foederalist.eu highlighted, @beckermax.bsky.social, @johannaflach.bsky.social and I wanted to dig deeper into how far-right parties are already shaping EU politics.

Here is our analysis for @swp-berlin.org:
manuelmueller.foederalist.eu Manuel Müller @manuelmueller.foederalist.eu · Sep 22
Before #EP2024, I predicted the far right to gain power in EU institutions "not through sweeping victory, but creeping normalisation":
fiia.fi/en/publicati...

Now, @beckermax.bsky.social et al. have analysed the "creeping integration of far-right parties in Europe".

I wish I'd been more wrong.
The Creeping Integration of Far-right Parties in Europe
Where Far-right Parties Are Integrated into the EU System and Where They Are Not
www.swp-berlin.org

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

zeit.de
DIE ZEIT @zeit.de · 10h
Im Europäischen Parlament stimmen die Konservativen mit rechts außen. Die Stabilität, auf der die Union basiert, wird so aufgegeben. Die politische Mitte zerlegt sich.
EVP: In der EU ist die Brandmauer bereits gefallen
Im Europäischen Parlament stimmen die Konservativen mit rechts außen. Die Stabilität, auf der die Union basiert, wird so aufgegeben. Die politische Mitte zerlegt sich.
www.zeit.de

Reposted by Steve Peers, Nicolai von Ondarza

pernillerudlin.bsky.social
Pernille Rudlin @pernillerudlin.bsky.social · 10h
Seeing quite a bit of this recently - Europe benefitting from Japanese business "de-China-ing" - Mitsubishi Materials plans to a build smelter in Europe that will handle recycled circuit boards, an effort to shield itself from China-related supply disruptions. asia.nikkei.com/business/mat...
Mitsubishi Materials bets on recycling copper in Europe to curb China risk
Japanese company's smelting business suffers profit slump
asia.nikkei.com

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 11h
Oh No! Eine Ära endet - dir alles Gute, nur der ARD wird etwas fehlen!

Reposted by Steve Peers, Holger Hestermeyer, Nicolai von Ondarza

annettedittert.bsky.social
Annette Dittert @annettedittert.bsky.social · 11h
So, my dear German followers...some News "in eigener Sache"!
Und bitte nicht schreien, 😚....ich bleibe in London !
dwdl.de Medienmagazin DWDL @dwdl.de · 12h
Annette Dittert war für die ARD als Korrespondentin in verschiedenen Ländern, über viele Jahre geprägt hat sie aber vor allem die Berichterstattung aus Großbritannien. Nun verabschiedet sie sich von der ARD, aber nicht aus London
London-Korrespondentin Annette Dittert sagt der ARD Goodbye
Annette Dittert war für die ARD als Korrespondentin in verschiedenen Ländern, über viele Jahre geprägt hat sie aber vor allem die Berichterstattung aus Großbritannien. Nun verabschiedet sie sich von der ARD, aber nicht aus London
dlvr.it

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 11h
As my 13y old son recently said to me - 'Dad, were you really born in the 1980s? Damn, you're old' 😱

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

dwdl.de
Medienmagazin DWDL @dwdl.de · 12h
Annette Dittert war für die ARD als Korrespondentin in verschiedenen Ländern, über viele Jahre geprägt hat sie aber vor allem die Berichterstattung aus Großbritannien. Nun verabschiedet sie sich von der ARD, aber nicht aus London
London-Korrespondentin Annette Dittert sagt der ARD Goodbye
Annette Dittert war für die ARD als Korrespondentin in verschiedenen Ländern, über viele Jahre geprägt hat sie aber vor allem die Berichterstattung aus Großbritannien. Nun verabschiedet sie sich von der ARD, aber nicht aus London
dlvr.it

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 15h
It is getting hard to track the advances of the far-right in the EP, they are coming so fast - here is the approval of a report by a 'Patriot for Europe' MEP on an EU institutional questions, the role of National Parliaments, getting a majority from the centre-right to the far-right:
afco.europarl.europa.eu Constitutional Affairs Committee @afco.europarl.europa.eu · 15h
📢Give national parliaments a stronger role in EU law-making, MEPs say

- Clearer definition & application of subsidiarity and proportionality
- Proposals for better involvement of national parliaments

ℹ️Read more: link.europa.eu/cvrKBR

📝Rapp: Marieke Ehlers (PfE 🇳🇱)

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

afco.europarl.europa.eu
Constitutional Affairs Committee @afco.europarl.europa.eu · 15h
📢Give national parliaments a stronger role in EU law-making, MEPs say

- Clearer definition & application of subsidiarity and proportionality
- Proposals for better involvement of national parliaments

ℹ️Read more: link.europa.eu/cvrKBR

📝Rapp: Marieke Ehlers (PfE 🇳🇱)

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 15h
I think it is also not clocked in that not all AI created images look shiny. Quite easy with the right prompts to make less shiny images, which sometimes look more convincing, like this one of the trech bros, a meeting that never happened:

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 17h
Also advertising. This took me less than a minute, and there are AI agents now where you can create influencer personas and spew out these kind of images with products in all kinds of environments etc.

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

tokarski.bsky.social
Paweł Tokarski @tokarski.bsky.social · 18h
The sanctioning of a French ICC judge is a reminder of how exposed Europe remains to U.S. technological and financial infrastructure. Dependence on American firms is a geopolitical vulnerability

#EU #US

www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
La vie de Nicolas Guillou, juge français de la CPI sous sanctions des Etats-Unis : « Vous êtes interdit bancaire sur une bonne partie de la planète »
Six juges et trois procureurs de la Cour pénale internationale ont été placés sous sanctions par l’administration Trump. Dans un entretien au « Monde », le magistrat raconte le poids de ces mesures su...
www.lemonde.fr

Reposted by Holger Nehring, Nicolai von Ondarza

johnspringford.bsky.social
John Springford @johnspringford.bsky.social · 18h
The most interesting OBR paper yesterday was the one that didn't leak - the justification for their productivity downgrade. There's a very important assumption in it that could make or break the government.

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 1d
🚨Two more instances of centre-right to far-right majority today in the EP:
howtheyvote.eu HowTheyVote.eu @howtheyvote.eu · 1d
We got the second day of substantive votes for this week 👀

❗Two more instances of the EPP building a majority with the (far-)right today.
A blue tinted picture of the European Parliaments plenary chamber in Straßbourg. Text overlay reads: Now available - European Parliament Vote Results. Bubble indicating "Wednesday, Nov 26th".

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

howtheyvote.eu
HowTheyVote.eu @howtheyvote.eu · 1d
We got the second day of substantive votes for this week 👀

❗Two more instances of the EPP building a majority with the (far-)right today.
A blue tinted picture of the European Parliaments plenary chamber in Straßbourg. Text overlay reads: Now available - European Parliament Vote Results. Bubble indicating "Wednesday, Nov 26th".

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

jeberle.bsky.social
Jakub Eberle @jeberle.bsky.social · 1d
Is lack of a common definition of #digitalsovereignty the core of EU's issues with projects like Gaia-X, per @politico.eu? Not really. Let's not obsess about definitions and pay attention to power relations behind them (as argued in an article we published recently). www.politico.eu/article/anat...

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

joerglau.bsky.social
Joerg Lau @joerglau.bsky.social · 1d
US- vs. Russia these days, it's no longer a superpower rivalry. It is not about differing values or ideologies ("democracy vs. autocracy").
It's dealmaking between an oligarchy built by ex-spies and an oligarchy run by real estate investors and tech bros.

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

lydiawachs.bsky.social
Lydia Wachs @lydiawachs.bsky.social · 1d
📖Happy to have contributed a chapter on #Russia and incentives for #nuclear diplomacy to a new @springernature.com volume titled “Nuclear Negotiations,” edited by Isak Svensson and Ulrika Möller.

📘Highly recommend checking out the full volume!

🔗 link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 1d
Fully agree, the principle of limiting the size of the Ukrainian army as such is already a big encoranchment into its sovereignty, especially if it comes without corresponding limits for Russia.

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

guardianheather.bsky.social
Heather Stewart @guardianheather.bsky.social · 1d
Full OBR doc is up here: Reeves must be FUMING obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 1d
This is also a wierd discussion for the Western European powersto have. At a limit of 800.000, Ukraine would still have bigger armed forces than France, Germany and the UK combined, and even not much less if you add in Italy and Spain.
andrewramsaygray.bsky.social Andrew Gray @andrewramsaygray.bsky.social · 1d
Worth looking closely at what European leaders say on Ukrainian army limits.

Von der Leyen today: "There can be no limitations on Ukraine's armed forces that would leave the country vulnerable to future attacks."

Not quite a flat 'no limts', leaves open for discussion how high a cap might be. 1/2

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

pascallth.bsky.social
Pascal @pascallth.bsky.social · 1d
Matches the sentiment in this German polling, with 66% saying Ukraine shouldn't accept the current terms of the deal

Only AfD voters are in favour

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

mkozlowska.bsky.social
Marta Kozłowska @mkozlowska.bsky.social · 1d
The Polish government annlunced that they will honour the ECJ ruling and implement recognition of same-sex marriages certificates from abroad.

Obviously, the PiS-supported president is very much against, but he has no say in the matter.

notesfrompoland.com/2025/11/26/p...

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

andrewramsaygray.bsky.social
Andrew Gray @andrewramsaygray.bsky.social · 1d
Worth looking closely at what European leaders say on Ukrainian army limits.

Von der Leyen today: "There can be no limitations on Ukraine's armed forces that would leave the country vulnerable to future attacks."

Not quite a flat 'no limts', leaves open for discussion how high a cap might be. 1/2

Reposted by Jussi T. Eronen, Nicolai von Ondarza

sophiepedder.bsky.social
Sophie Pedder @sophiepedder.bsky.social · 1d
Don’t say you weren’t warned.
New poll suggests Jordan Bardella would win second round of 🇫🇷 presidential election against any other of four tested candidates ⬇️

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 1d
To be fair, the blame for this failure of the centre-right and centre-left falls on both sides - with the EPP more and more using this alternative, and the S&D (and to a lesser extent Renew) not stretching far for compromise.

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 1d
Another day, same story in the European Parliament - talks between the centrists parties collapse, and the centre-right to far-right forms the majority, today expectedly on the deforestation regulation.

At least on the simplification/deregulation agenda, it now seems to be the de facto EP majority:

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

fjmurau.bsky.social
Nils Markwardt @fjmurau.bsky.social · 1d
Was man sich ja auch fragt: Kommt der Leak von Trump-Leuten, die die Ukraine nicht unter den Bus werfen wollen? Oder kommt er von Putin-Leuten, die Witkoff vorführen und einen Deal verhindern wollen. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Witkoff Discusses Ukraine Plans With Key Putin Aide: Transcript
The following is a transcript of an Oct. 14 phone call lasting just over 5 minutes between Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, and Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s most senio...
www.bloomberg.com

Reposted by Nicolai von Ondarza

chathamhouse.org
Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · 1d
'There is no peace process. This is not negotiations over peace: it is the transmission of surrender demands from Russia with the active facilitation of the United States.'

Read @keirgiles.bsky.social analysis on the Trump administration's proposed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine⤵️
Trump pressures Ukraine to accept peace deal: Early analysis from Chatham House experts
Chatham House analysts give their initial analysis after Zelenskyy was pressured by Trump to accept a White House plan to end the war with Russia.
www.chathamhouse.org

Reposted by François Heisbourg, Nicolai von Ondarza

fsteiner.bsky.social
Falk Steiner @fsteiner.bsky.social · 2d
This is just terrible: a US official advising the Russians how to play Trump.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Witkoff Discusses Ukraine Plans With Key Putin Aide: Transcript
The following is a transcript of an Oct. 14 phone call lasting just over 5 minutes between Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, and Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s most senio...
www.bloomberg.com

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 2d
Another pattern Germany shares currently with the UK - little democratic patience as Merz is already less popular than Scholz a few months into the government, just as Starmer was almost immediately amongst the most unpopular prime ministers.
de.whln.eu Deutschland Wählt / Österreich Wählt @de.whln.eu · 2d
Sind Sie mit der bisherigen Arbeit von Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz zufrieden? | Umfrage Forsa/RTL, n-tv

Ja: 23% (-2)
Nein: 75% (+2)
Weiß nicht: 2%

Änderungen zur letzten Umfrage vom 18. November 2025
#btw29