Isabelle Ioannides
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isabelleioannides.bsky.social
Isabelle Ioannides
@isabelleioannides.bsky.social

EU affairs and international relations geek - all things security, peace and crisis management, EU enlargement, impact evaluation/policy learning. Balkans & Med aficionado. Strictly my views.

Political science 71%
Sociology 15%
Pinned
What is new in the Growth Plan? What incentives does it provide for the #WesternBalkans to undertake required reforms? How can the Growth Plan help curb corruption? What if #EUenlargement to the Western Balkans doesn't happen? Listen to my interview on ERT here:
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🤯

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

The Trump administration pushed out a university president – its latest bid to close the American mind | Robert Reich
The Trump administration pushed out a university president – its latest bid to close the American mind | Robert Reich
Demanding that the University of Virginia’s president resign is taken from the Viktor Orbán playbook of authoritarianism
www.theguardian.com

What a thrill to present the inaugural lecture on "#EU #enlargement in a Changing World: Strengthening #Europe's Unity & Resilience" to bright young professionals from the #Visegrad countries, #WB6 & Eastern trio, at the Visegrad Summer School, in Krakow. All that thx to Villa Decius Association! 🙏

WR Mead @gmfus.bsky.social's Brussels Forum says that #Cyprus likely to become a "frontline state" in a world where the #EU is unable to fill the #European space that #Trump has left behind, and that #Turkey (as other powers) is trying to move into.

#geopolitics101

It's always something to venture into the streets behind the Brussels South train station (#Bruxelles midi). How can the so-called capital of #Europe let this neighbourhood in such a mess? It's the first thing a foreigner sees of #Brussels!

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

Excited to see our @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social research report on the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

What are the Growth Plan's premises, esp. its economic underpinnings? What risks and benefits? Can the Growth Plan revitalise EU enlargement?

www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...
The European Union Growth Plan for the Western Balkans: A reality test for EU enlargement
The EU's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans represents a major shift and opportunity for the region's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
www.atlanticcouncil.org

Please join us!

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

📍 If you are in Brussels next Tuesday, do not miss the launch of #IDEES Magazine's latest issue dedicated to the Western Balkans.

A discussion on geopolitics, enlargement and illiberalism with @isabelleioannides.bsky.social, Berta López Domènech (EPC) & myself.

🔗 Register here lnkd.in/emc-fe8G

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

💥 On May 20th I will be in Brussels for the launch of the latest #IDEES Magazine, an issue dedicated to the Balkans.

Join @isabelleioannides.bsky.social, Berta López Domènech & myself for a discussion on all things EU-WB. And take home a copy of the magazine!

🔗 Register here lnkd.in/emc-fe8G

Has the #EU-#UK TCA facilitated #trade? My latest briefing assesses the TCA's implementation over the past two years. Despite continuing challenges, the TCA can be an opportunity for deepening EU-UK relations at a time of geoeconomic disruptions.
www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en...
EU-UK trade flows: Continuities, changes and trends | Think Tank | European Parliament
EU-UK trade flows: Continuities, changes and trends
www.europarl.europa.eu

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

Looking to apply for a postdoc on corruption, authoritarianism, EU (non) enlargement and other fun topics… and you want to do it while sipping your favourite beverage by the seaside?

Come work with me in Rijeka 🇭🇷 uniri.hr/en/vijesti/m...
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Rijeka 2025. | UNIRI
The University of Rijeka (UNIRI), a modern European University, is looking for motivated postdoctoral researchers (Postdocs) for the Marie-Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA PF)…
uniri.hr

J'ai eu l'occasion, grâce au journal @lesoir.be, de voir en avant-première le film de Régis Wargnier 'La Réparation'. Une histoire touchante et une interprétation merveilleuse de Julia de Nunes - je vous le recommande vivement!

The only countries in #Europe with no #rail services. Ashamed to say I come from one of the them.

Maybe @jonworth.eu can help!

#train #tram

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, said about President Trump's demands. nyti.ms/4jzSS9W

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

“American government, American foreign policy, and American trade policy are slowly being transformed, not to benefit Americans but to benefit the president, his family, and his friends.”

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Kleptocracy, Inc.
Under Trump, conflicts of interest are just part of the system.
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

Congratulations to Albania for taking another step towards EU membership

Today, we opened the Internal Market cluster. While tariffs return elsewhere, we’ll be breaking down barriers to trade and business.

Happy to see us building a more united & secure Europe together.

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

EU plans to increase financial support for the Palestinian Authority with a three-year package worth around 1.6 billion euros, European Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica tells Reuters.

www.reuters.com/world/eu-boo...
EU to boost financial support for Palestinian Authority
The European Union will increase its financial support for the Palestinian Authority with a three-year package worth around 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion), the European Commissioner responsible for the Middle East told Reuters in an interview.
www.reuters.com

It seems that I need to update my briefing every couple of days... from announced #tariffs to imposed tarifs to paused or reduced or increased tariffs... get serious! 📈📉

#trade #transatlantic #EUtrade
Reading a lot on the #UStariffs, while finishing a briefing that's evaluating the implementation of the #EU-UK TCA. Zooming in on #trade flows.

Watch this space! 🚛🚚🚛🚚
#EU Trade Commissioner @marossefcovic.bsky.social: "Engaging with the #US will take time and effort, they don't view tariffs not as a tactical step but as a corrective measure."

"While the #EU remains open to and strongly prefers negotiations, we will not wait endlessly."

Reading a lot on the #UStariffs, while finishing a briefing that's evaluating the implementation of the #EU-UK TCA. Zooming in on #trade flows.

Watch this space! 🚛🚚🚛🚚
#EU Trade Commissioner @marossefcovic.bsky.social: "Engaging with the #US will take time and effort, they don't view tariffs not as a tactical step but as a corrective measure."

"While the #EU remains open to and strongly prefers negotiations, we will not wait endlessly."
How the EU could boost its defence capabilities with an arms-buyers’ club -
Our research with @jzettelmeyer.bsky.social and Armin Steinbach for the ECOFIN finance ministers meeting in Warsaw reviewed by the FT. @bruegel.bsky.social
on.ft.com/42jyi6p
How the EU could boost its defence capabilities with an arms-buyers’ club
Also in this newsletter: Why Meloni holds the keys to the EU response to Trump’s tariffs
on.ft.com

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

Elon Musk says he supports ending all tariffs and creating a US-EU free trade zone—days after President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on Europe and most of the rest of the world.

www.politico.eu/article/musk...
Musk hopes US, EU get to ‘zero-tariff situation’
“At the end of the day, I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally in my view to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free-trade zone,” Mu…
www.politico.eu

Not that the world isn't scary enough as it is, but has anyone spotted any April fool's jokes in the press?

It ain't over till it's over.. #LePen

*not an April's fools joke*
In other words, the "everyone does it" defense does not apply, and Le Pen cannot claim to be uniquely pursued for the crime.

That's why the duration of her ineligibility to run will be important.

Juppé initialy got 5 yrs, reduced to 1 on appeal.

Fillon initially got 10 (iirc), but being appealed.

Reposted by Isabelle Ioannides

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni today decried a court ruling that disqualified French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen from running to be president in 2027.
Meloni joins cacophony of outrage against Le Pen guilty verdict
“I think that no one who cares about democracy can rejoice in a sentence that affects the leader of a large party and takes away representation from millions of citizens,” says Italian PM.
ow.ly