Philippe Legrain
@plegrain.bsky.social
Senior visiting fellow at LSE's European Institute; Founder, Open Political Economy Network (OPEN) think tank. Author of 5 books, commentator, researcher, dog owner
I write a Substack at https://philippelegrain.substack.com/
I write a Substack at https://philippelegrain.substack.com/
Pinned
Europe must stand with Ukraine, or they will fall together
"EU leaders are quick to tweet that they 'stand with Ukraine'. But talk is cheap. Unless they are willing to follow words with action, Putin will rightly conclude that they are all mouth and no trouse...
www.brusselstimes.com
#EU leaders are quick to tweet that they #StandWithUkraine But talk is cheap. Unless they're willing to follow words with action, Putin will rightly conclude that they are 'all mouth and no trousers'.
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
Superb @mortenmorland.bsky.social 🤣
December 17, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Superb @mortenmorland.bsky.social 🤣
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Good piece by @plegrain.bsky.social - thanks for mentioning my "bad bank" proposal for the blocked Russian reserves.
#EU leaders are quick to tweet that they #StandWithUkraine But talk is cheap. Unless they're willing to follow words with action, Putin will rightly conclude that they are 'all mouth and no trousers'.
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
Europe must stand with Ukraine, or they will fall together
"EU leaders are quick to tweet that they 'stand with Ukraine'. But talk is cheap. Unless they are willing to follow words with action, Putin will rightly conclude that they are all mouth and no trouse...
www.brusselstimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Good piece by @plegrain.bsky.social - thanks for mentioning my "bad bank" proposal for the blocked Russian reserves.
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’ that Donald Trump wants to trade for peace
Known as the Donbas, the region has become the fulcrum of fraught US-led diplomacy to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.
A bit of history, the recent past & present in my
@financialtimes.com piece today
www.ft.com/content/ec49...
Known as the Donbas, the region has become the fulcrum of fraught US-led diplomacy to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.
A bit of history, the recent past & present in my
@financialtimes.com piece today
www.ft.com/content/ec49...
Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’ that Donald Trump wants to trade for peace
Known as the Donbas, the region has become the fulcrum of fraught US-led diplomacy to end Russia’s full-scale invasion
www.ft.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’ that Donald Trump wants to trade for peace
Known as the Donbas, the region has become the fulcrum of fraught US-led diplomacy to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.
A bit of history, the recent past & present in my
@financialtimes.com piece today
www.ft.com/content/ec49...
Known as the Donbas, the region has become the fulcrum of fraught US-led diplomacy to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.
A bit of history, the recent past & present in my
@financialtimes.com piece today
www.ft.com/content/ec49...
#EU leaders are quick to tweet that they #StandWithUkraine But talk is cheap. Unless they're willing to follow words with action, Putin will rightly conclude that they are 'all mouth and no trousers'.
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
Europe must stand with Ukraine, or they will fall together
"EU leaders are quick to tweet that they 'stand with Ukraine'. But talk is cheap. Unless they are willing to follow words with action, Putin will rightly conclude that they are all mouth and no trouse...
www.brusselstimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:59 AM
#EU leaders are quick to tweet that they #StandWithUkraine But talk is cheap. Unless they're willing to follow words with action, Putin will rightly conclude that they are 'all mouth and no trousers'.
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
Trump & #Putin negotiating on #Ukraine without consulting Europeans
#EU capitulating to #Trump on trade
EU factories choked by #China's rare-earth curbs
Now global decisions dictated by hard-power realities not technocratic rules, once-mighty EU is puny.
www.brusselstimes.com/column/18342...
#EU capitulating to #Trump on trade
EU factories choked by #China's rare-earth curbs
Now global decisions dictated by hard-power realities not technocratic rules, once-mighty EU is puny.
www.brusselstimes.com/column/18342...
Why the EU isn’t a superpower yet
The EU has four big weaknesses that prevent it standing up to superpowers such as the US and China.
www.brusselstimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
July 16, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
I see it's now fine for Conservative MPs to lie not just about the facts, but about their own party's stated policy.
Most "foreigners" on benefits have entitlement via the EU Settlement Scheme and withdrawing those rights would breach the Withdrawal Agreement (and is not Conservative policy)
Most "foreigners" on benefits have entitlement via the EU Settlement Scheme and withdrawing those rights would breach the Withdrawal Agreement (and is not Conservative policy)
July 16, 2025 at 6:20 PM
I see it's now fine for Conservative MPs to lie not just about the facts, but about their own party's stated policy.
Most "foreigners" on benefits have entitlement via the EU Settlement Scheme and withdrawing those rights would breach the Withdrawal Agreement (and is not Conservative policy)
Most "foreigners" on benefits have entitlement via the EU Settlement Scheme and withdrawing those rights would breach the Withdrawal Agreement (and is not Conservative policy)
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
I ran an experiment, simultaneously posting articles on Bluesky and X, and then testing to see how many people actually clicked and read them. The numbers on Bluesky are higher, both because the X algorithm downranks journalism, and because Bluesky attracts readers, not just shitposters.
June 9, 2025 at 4:37 PM
I ran an experiment, simultaneously posting articles on Bluesky and X, and then testing to see how many people actually clicked and read them. The numbers on Bluesky are higher, both because the X algorithm downranks journalism, and because Bluesky attracts readers, not just shitposters.
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Trump on Ukraine's attack on russian airbases and russia’s attack on Ukrainian cities:
“They gave Putin a reason to go and bomb the hell out of them… When I saw it, I said, here we go, now it’s going to be a strike…”
(Russia has been bombing Ukraine nonstop for over 3 years.)
“They gave Putin a reason to go and bomb the hell out of them… When I saw it, I said, here we go, now it’s going to be a strike…”
(Russia has been bombing Ukraine nonstop for over 3 years.)
June 7, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Trump on Ukraine's attack on russian airbases and russia’s attack on Ukrainian cities:
“They gave Putin a reason to go and bomb the hell out of them… When I saw it, I said, here we go, now it’s going to be a strike…”
(Russia has been bombing Ukraine nonstop for over 3 years.)
“They gave Putin a reason to go and bomb the hell out of them… When I saw it, I said, here we go, now it’s going to be a strike…”
(Russia has been bombing Ukraine nonstop for over 3 years.)
Later this month, #NATO is set to agree targets for higher #defence spending, by some future date.
But Europe needs to rearm massively, right now.
The threat from Putin is imminent, as is the risk that Trump abandons #Europe, or betrays it. 🧵
philippelegrain.substack.com/p/europe-nee...
But Europe needs to rearm massively, right now.
The threat from Putin is imminent, as is the risk that Trump abandons #Europe, or betrays it. 🧵
philippelegrain.substack.com/p/europe-nee...
Europe needs to rearm much faster
How to overcome the three constraints: fiscal rules, financial borrowing power and political feasibility
philippelegrain.substack.com
June 6, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Later this month, #NATO is set to agree targets for higher #defence spending, by some future date.
But Europe needs to rearm massively, right now.
The threat from Putin is imminent, as is the risk that Trump abandons #Europe, or betrays it. 🧵
philippelegrain.substack.com/p/europe-nee...
But Europe needs to rearm massively, right now.
The threat from Putin is imminent, as is the risk that Trump abandons #Europe, or betrays it. 🧵
philippelegrain.substack.com/p/europe-nee...
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Merz getting out of Washington with Trump too distracted to target Brussels, Berlin or Kyiv with stupid shit is a win for Germany
All the preparation Merz Put into the meeting with Trump today, and nothing he said will have stuck, with Trump and Musk now entering full blown war.
June 5, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Merz getting out of Washington with Trump too distracted to target Brussels, Berlin or Kyiv with stupid shit is a win for Germany
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Elon Musk is going to end up getting deported.
June 5, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Elon Musk is going to end up getting deported.
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
The EU has an extensive sanctions regime against Russia - but it is constantly under threat of a veto from Hungary and Slovakia as it requires unanimity to be extended .In my latest piece I argue that the EU can overcome this by accusing Russia of economic coercion 1/n) www.cer.eu/insights/cas...
The case for using the Anti-Coercion Instrument against Russia
The EU sanctions regime against Russia is threatened by a Hungarian veto. The Anti-Coercion Instrument would allow the EU to bypass Budapest.
www.cer.eu
June 5, 2025 at 11:15 AM
The EU has an extensive sanctions regime against Russia - but it is constantly under threat of a veto from Hungary and Slovakia as it requires unanimity to be extended .In my latest piece I argue that the EU can overcome this by accusing Russia of economic coercion 1/n) www.cer.eu/insights/cas...
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Yes, this was very powerful. This woman facing deportation after living 20 years in a Missouri town told me about cleaning an older man's house for free when his wife was sick. She spoke powerfully about her relationships with Trump voters. Now she's in jail and facing removal:
While monsters like Mike Johnson cosplay Christian prayer while gleefully destroying lives, this lady, who Trump is deporting, cleaned a stranger's house for free because he was melting down. She apparently didn't get the memo that Christianity is now the religion of hate. #DeportMikeJohnson
Hey postliberal religious conservatives: This woman jailed and getting deported after living in a Missouri town for 20 years converted to Catholicism, delivers a powerful communitarian message, and speaks with deep gratitude toward the Trump voters backing her cause.
newrepublic.com/article/1959...
newrepublic.com/article/1959...
June 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Yes, this was very powerful. This woman facing deportation after living 20 years in a Missouri town told me about cleaning an older man's house for free when his wife was sick. She spoke powerfully about her relationships with Trump voters. Now she's in jail and facing removal:
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Poles seem to have forgotten that their country once disappeared from the map of Europe; that their national security depends on competent, responsible government, @sierakowski.bsky.social writes.
Poland’s War Against Itself | by Sławomir Sierakowski - Project Syndicate
Sławomir Sierakowski considers the implications of the right-wing presidential candidate’s narrow victory.
www.project-syndicate.org
June 3, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Poles seem to have forgotten that their country once disappeared from the map of Europe; that their national security depends on competent, responsible government, @sierakowski.bsky.social writes.
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
This is getting somewhat lost. The night before Ukraine's drone raid, Russia conducted what was the largest drone attack on Ukraine in the war to date—and, I guess, ever—with 472 Shahed-type attack drones. Broke last week's record by 100 drones.
kyivindependent.com/russia-shatt...
kyivindependent.com/russia-shatt...
Russia shatters drone record, launches 472 UAVs at Ukraine night before Kyiv's strike on Russian airfields
The mass aerial attack breaks Russia's previous record, set just last week on May 26, by over 100 drones.
kyivindependent.com
June 2, 2025 at 4:11 AM
This is getting somewhat lost. The night before Ukraine's drone raid, Russia conducted what was the largest drone attack on Ukraine in the war to date—and, I guess, ever—with 472 Shahed-type attack drones. Broke last week's record by 100 drones.
kyivindependent.com/russia-shatt...
kyivindependent.com/russia-shatt...
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Not the most reassuring message from Scott Bessent on the risks of a US default: “We are on the warning track and we will never hit the wall”
on.ft.com/4ju6see
on.ft.com/4ju6see
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent insists US will ‘never default’ on its debt
Trump administration official seeks to assuage growing investor concern over the country’s public finances
on.ft.com
June 2, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Not the most reassuring message from Scott Bessent on the risks of a US default: “We are on the warning track and we will never hit the wall”
on.ft.com/4ju6see
on.ft.com/4ju6see
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
I wrote this about AI. We hear a lot about the importance of the "human touch" in the age of of machine intelligence. But the depressing truth is a lot of people just love AI slop.
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
Let’s be real, some people prefer the artificial
Biggest shock about AI is not the dire poetry it produces, but that many favour it precisely for the ways it isn’t human
www.thetimes.com
May 27, 2025 at 7:23 PM
I wrote this about AI. We hear a lot about the importance of the "human touch" in the age of of machine intelligence. But the depressing truth is a lot of people just love AI slop.
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
It's all so farcical. Nobody could seriously believe that there's some plan here which goes step 1: cancel all foreign student visas at Harvard, step 2: ?????, step 3: increase replication rates in biology. The lie is so transparent as to be insulting.
Government seizure and evisceration of our private universities will do zero to improve replicability in science—who value vastly exceeds “commercial adoption”—or to create Conservative faculty, or to guard civil rights for ANY Americans.
But it will centralize power for himself.
But it will centralize power for himself.
May 25, 2025 at 12:07 PM
It's all so farcical. Nobody could seriously believe that there's some plan here which goes step 1: cancel all foreign student visas at Harvard, step 2: ?????, step 3: increase replication rates in biology. The lie is so transparent as to be insulting.
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
One issue is that the Eu is offering a first class top of the line FTA. No tariff barriers. But Trump is not interested in traditional FTAs. He wants discriminatory, sectoral deals and purchases. /1
- Trump's demands also appear to reflect deep US frustration with EU's professional, calm and bureaucratic approach to negotiations
- The EU's steady approach clashes with Trump's willingness to quickly ink sexy-looking deals even if they mean nothing (see: UK-US trade "deal", aka a joke) [3/10]
- The EU's steady approach clashes with Trump's willingness to quickly ink sexy-looking deals even if they mean nothing (see: UK-US trade "deal", aka a joke) [3/10]
May 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
One issue is that the Eu is offering a first class top of the line FTA. No tariff barriers. But Trump is not interested in traditional FTAs. He wants discriminatory, sectoral deals and purchases. /1
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Trump’s attack on Harvard won’t make America great again- a personal FT oped from @jasonfurman.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/da83...
May 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Trump’s attack on Harvard won’t make America great again- a personal FT oped from @jasonfurman.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/da83...
The #EU should stay calm and ignore the blowhard's bullying. If #Trump wants to inflict pain on Americans by taxing those who buy EU products, let him suffer the consequences. He'll eventually back down #TradeWar
Trump says he is hitting EU with 50% tariff as trade talks are ‘going nowhere’
Trump says he is hitting EU with 50% tariff as trade talks are ‘going nowhere’
President says EU imports to US will be subject to levy from 1 June as markets slump in reaction to ‘major escalation’
*
Business live – latest updates
Donald Trump has said he will impose a 50% tariff on all EU imports to the US from 1 June after saying trade talks between the two trading blocs were “going nowhere”.
In a surprise announcement, the US president posted on his Truth Social platform that his long-running battle to secure concessions from the EU had run aground. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
May 23, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Philippe Legrain
Tuesday's @thetimes.com cartoon times.newsprints.co.uk/morten-morla...
May 19, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Tuesday's @thetimes.com cartoon times.newsprints.co.uk/morten-morla...