Hello and welcome to EURACTIV's EU Tweets of the Week
Music masterminds duo is ended,
Europe’s vaccine policy needs to be mended
and Farewell Mr Barnier, you were totally splendid.
This week we are supported by Ceemet,
the European employers’ organisation representing
metal, engineering and technology-based industries.
More about them later on.
Is there anything that falls into the category of
"technically French but really, in essence, German"
as much as Daft Punk?
Asked Ishaan Tharoor.
To which Dimitar Bechev retorted:
The European Union
Fair point Dimitar.
Lewis Crofts was reeling that there was been
no EU Commission press release on the break-up of Daft Punk.
But Craig Winneker reckoned the spokesperson’s service was
planning a Daft Punk tribute at the Midday Briefing.
Cue Le Chou:
Daft Punk Quit Music Biz, Hired As Commission Spokesbots
Well they are a bit more human, after all,
snarked American EU Dude
Asked about the flailing vaccine rollout strategy,
the spokesperson vowed to try
harder, better, faster,
stronger quipped Martini Seltzermayr.
And speaking of…
A year ago, EU leaders met for the first time
to negotiate the budget and
only around 100 COVID19 cases had been confirmed in Europe.
Countries were fighting over a few million euros.
Five months and thousands of cases later,
they ended up topping it up with a €750bn recovery fund.
Ahead of this week’s Council
Belgian PM Alexander de Croo delivered a letter
to Council President, Charles Michel,
with the clear message that vaccine production
in the EU needs to get boosted.
With no time to waste.
The letter signals the growing risk of COVID19 becoming endemic
and how to bolster our defence mechanism.
EU officials say it will be "key" to our ability
to adapt to the mutations of the virus.
That's why EU leaders are holding videoconferences every month.
C'mon Europe, shift yer arse, said a frustrated Bruno Waterfield.
Same message, fewer words!
We're still on track for a scenario
where German media pundits absolutely lose it
because Romania, Poland and Lithuania
wrap up their vaccination programmes before Germany does,
mused Alexander Clarkson.
I am running out of words to describe what is happening.
There are three groups of countries.
Those wealthy enough to vaccinate citizens,
those who cannot afford it
– and the European Union, said Bruno Macaes.
This week we are supported by Ceemet,
the European employers’ organisation representing
metal, engineering and technology-based industries.
Read more about minimum wages
and collective bargaining systems online.
Finally this week...
just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water …
Brexit!
Or more correctly Michel Barnier
who seemed very pleased to be at his very last COREPER meeting
on #Brexit and EU-UK relations.
Barnier will leave his Brexit job at the end of the month.
And will leave a hole in the heart
of BBC correspondent Adam Fleming that will be hard to fill.
My favourite Brexit Coreper was
when we waited outside for 7 hours
while the cabinet deliberated in London,
then his team had to leave with loads of cardboard boxes
and pretend they weren’t filled
with copies of the Withdrawal Agreement, he reminisced.
Ewan Macphee preferred that time
Barnier went out looking for a level playing field.
“You bow to no one Mr Barnier,” said MEP Assistant.
Indeed!
And that's it for this week,
join me again next Friday
for more snarks and larks in the Brussels Bubble Twittersphere.