Todd Buell
@toddbuell.bsky.social
As seen on Estonian, Belgian, and German-language TV. Deputy Managing Editor, MLex. Based in Brussels. Written previously for Market News International, Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal, Law360. From Maine. 'New Belgian'.
This European Parliament press release has me in a state of temporal confusion: 'The taxation of tobacco and energy products were discussed on Wednesday during two separate public hearings with experts on Thursday.'
November 20, 2025 at 3:02 PM
This European Parliament press release has me in a state of temporal confusion: 'The taxation of tobacco and energy products were discussed on Wednesday during two separate public hearings with experts on Thursday.'
Exciting news. We're hiring an energy correspondent in Brussels: relx.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/LexisNexisLe...
Energy and Climate Correspondent
Energy and Climate Correspondent Are you passionate about energy and climate regulations! Interested in writing in-depth analyses of legislation! Location: Brussels (Hybrid working policy: 4 days in o...
relx.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Exciting news. We're hiring an energy correspondent in Brussels: relx.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/LexisNexisLe...
Brussels PSA: I was happy to see what appeared to be a new ATM machine near Square Frere Orban. Yes, I know that paying by card or app is convenient and stops financial crime, but I don't think we really want a world that's entirely free of cash. Good to see a new point where it can be withdrawn.
September 1, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Brussels PSA: I was happy to see what appeared to be a new ATM machine near Square Frere Orban. Yes, I know that paying by card or app is convenient and stops financial crime, but I don't think we really want a world that's entirely free of cash. Good to see a new point where it can be withdrawn.
Personal update: Yesterday I got my Belgian passport. It's great being Belgian, but it's also quite powerful to see 'European Union' right there on the cover. I've lived on the continent for about 22 years so I'm glad I can finally show the world, 'yes, I'm part of this and this is also my home.'
August 13, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Personal update: Yesterday I got my Belgian passport. It's great being Belgian, but it's also quite powerful to see 'European Union' right there on the cover. I've lived on the continent for about 22 years so I'm glad I can finally show the world, 'yes, I'm part of this and this is also my home.'
Reposted by Todd Buell
A powerful tool, still in its infancy.
Commissioners @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu & Sejourne launch a consultation ahead of a report next year. One of the many steps to see how this new law can be refined. Questions about admin burden & legal approach.
ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Commissioners @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu & Sejourne launch a consultation ahead of a report next year. One of the many steps to see how this new law can be refined. Questions about admin burden & legal approach.
ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Commission launches review of Foreign Subsidies Regulation
The European Commission has launched today its first review of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (‘FSR\'). As a first step of this review, the Commission is seeking feedback from interested parties, wi...
ec.europa.eu
August 12, 2025 at 10:01 AM
A powerful tool, still in its infancy.
Commissioners @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu & Sejourne launch a consultation ahead of a report next year. One of the many steps to see how this new law can be refined. Questions about admin burden & legal approach.
ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Commissioners @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu & Sejourne launch a consultation ahead of a report next year. One of the many steps to see how this new law can be refined. Questions about admin burden & legal approach.
ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Reposted by Todd Buell
It's going to be a rough decade for Germany. The economy is struggling, international "certainties" have evaporated and there seems to be very little appetite for meaningful reforms. On top of all that, the far-right is polling at 25%
August 5, 2025 at 9:30 AM
It's going to be a rough decade for Germany. The economy is struggling, international "certainties" have evaporated and there seems to be very little appetite for meaningful reforms. On top of all that, the far-right is polling at 25%
Happy National Day to my friends in Switzerland!
August 1, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Happy National Day to my friends in Switzerland!
Fun fact: Christmas is only five months away.
July 25, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Fun fact: Christmas is only five months away.
Reposted by Todd Buell
By definition, unilateral tariff letters are not a trade deal.
BARTIROMO: How many more deals on trade would you expect in the coming month?
NAVARRO: We've got a bunch of deals right now, but a lot of them are unilateral because we had to send letters to people ... trust in Trump
NAVARRO: We've got a bunch of deals right now, but a lot of them are unilateral because we had to send letters to people ... trust in Trump
July 17, 2025 at 12:28 PM
By definition, unilateral tariff letters are not a trade deal.
Indeed. Of course the questions now are manifold: The minimum tax is law in the EU. Can it just be suspended? If so, how? Or would it have to be repealed? The commission would have to propose that, right? Would it require unanimity among the member states? A lot to consider.
Given Merz' history of freewheeling policy claims, caveats apply, but if the position of the German government - a champion of the global minimum tax - is truly that the concept "no longer has a future", that is very significant.
Merz calls for EU to suspend global minimum tax after US exit
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged the European Union to suspend implementation of a global minimum corporate tax, arguing the plan is no longer viable without US participation. Speaking after...
www.yahoo.com
July 16, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Indeed. Of course the questions now are manifold: The minimum tax is law in the EU. Can it just be suspended? If so, how? Or would it have to be repealed? The commission would have to propose that, right? Would it require unanimity among the member states? A lot to consider.
Here I am speaking German on Euronews: de.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
Neue-Waffenlieferungen an Ukraine - für wie lange?
In dieser Ausgabe unserer wöchentlichen Talkshow sprechen die Teilnehmer über die Lage in der Ukraine, den Wunsch Moldaus für einen raschen EU-Beitritt und die künftige Rolle von Frauen im Militär. #B...
de.euronews.com
July 14, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Here I am speaking German on Euronews: de.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
I suppose there have to be exceptions to every rule but I'm inclined to think that media should, as a matter of course, refuse to publish hacked information. Otherwise, you're essentially encouraging theft, which isn't a good practice.
Less than a year ago @nytimes.com was sent hacked data about Trump's vetting of JD Vance, which they refused to publish.
But Mamdami's hacked college application gets an exception because of interest from random online Nazis and Chris Rufo, the NYTimes' de facto executive editor.
But Mamdami's hacked college application gets an exception because of interest from random online Nazis and Chris Rufo, the NYTimes' de facto executive editor.
Arguably if NYT wanted to get ahead they could have written that story, about Nazis trying to start a race controversy with hacked data. But as it turns out, they wanted to be the Nazis.
July 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I suppose there have to be exceptions to every rule but I'm inclined to think that media should, as a matter of course, refuse to publish hacked information. Otherwise, you're essentially encouraging theft, which isn't a good practice.
I don't know who needs to hear this but alcohol free Guinness is actually pretty good.
July 3, 2025 at 1:32 PM
I don't know who needs to hear this but alcohol free Guinness is actually pretty good.
Happy Canada Day! Joyeuse Fete Du Canada!
July 1, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Happy Canada Day! Joyeuse Fete Du Canada!
Reposted by Todd Buell
I don't agree with the article, but I think it points to a broader underlying problem: the fact that we talk about numbers and spending, but totally lack a strategy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/o...
Opinion | Europe Is Making a Big Mistake
www.nytimes.com
June 30, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I don't agree with the article, but I think it points to a broader underlying problem: the fact that we talk about numbers and spending, but totally lack a strategy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/o...
Reposted by Todd Buell
Europeans should put on a show every time Trump visits. Stay strong on substance but tell him how great he is, line the streets with billboards. If we can get him to send more guns to Ukraine in exchange for organizing an orange fireworks display, that's what we should do
June 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Europeans should put on a show every time Trump visits. Stay strong on substance but tell him how great he is, line the streets with billboards. If we can get him to send more guns to Ukraine in exchange for organizing an orange fireworks display, that's what we should do
Reposted by Todd Buell
On this day in 1953, around 1 million people in East Germany took to the streets to protest against the regime.
The largely peaceful uprising was violently suppressed.
West Germany celebrated the 1953 uprising as a public holiday until German Unity in 1990.
The largely peaceful uprising was violently suppressed.
West Germany celebrated the 1953 uprising as a public holiday until German Unity in 1990.
June 17, 2025 at 10:25 AM
On this day in 1953, around 1 million people in East Germany took to the streets to protest against the regime.
The largely peaceful uprising was violently suppressed.
West Germany celebrated the 1953 uprising as a public holiday until German Unity in 1990.
The largely peaceful uprising was violently suppressed.
West Germany celebrated the 1953 uprising as a public holiday until German Unity in 1990.
Reading the ETAF note about their conference Tuesday, I notice discussion of a DAC10. I return to a thought I shared once that one day these laws will proliferate to the point that there will be a tax transparency law pertaining to French listed companies. It will be called, of course, DAC40.
June 5, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Reading the ETAF note about their conference Tuesday, I notice discussion of a DAC10. I return to a thought I shared once that one day these laws will proliferate to the point that there will be a tax transparency law pertaining to French listed companies. It will be called, of course, DAC40.
Reposted by Todd Buell
🚨SCOOP: The European Commission is weighing a move to ‘stop the clock’ on enforcing the AI Act, alongside targeted ‘simplification’ amendments set to be included in an omnibus package expected later this year.
www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
EU Commission eyes pausing AI Act's entry into application | MLex | Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation
The European Commission is considering postponing the entry into application of the EU AI Act following controversy around a code of practice for AI models, growing pushback from the industry, and del...
www.mlex.com
May 26, 2025 at 3:07 PM
🚨SCOOP: The European Commission is weighing a move to ‘stop the clock’ on enforcing the AI Act, alongside targeted ‘simplification’ amendments set to be included in an omnibus package expected later this year.
www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
Belgian Crown Princess Elisabeth's studies at Harvard now at risk due to Trump's attempt to ban Harvard from taking on foreign students, Belgian media reports.
La princesse Elisabeth n’est pas certaine de pouvoir poursuivre son cursus à Harvard
La princesse Elisabeth n’est pas certaine de pouvoir poursuivre son cursus à Harvard - RTBF Actus
www.rtbf.be
May 23, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Belgian Crown Princess Elisabeth's studies at Harvard now at risk due to Trump's attempt to ban Harvard from taking on foreign students, Belgian media reports.
AI in journalism can be a great help: It can fix bad grammar, smooth out awkward sentences, help us transcribe or translate. But, if as journalists we don't double check the information an AI tool gives us, we run the risk of publishing things that are wrong, as this story illustrates:
I spoke to the person who AI-generated the Chicago Sun-Times reading list. Says he's very embarrassed. This was part of a generic package inserted into newspapers and other publications, so likely to run elsewhere. He didn't know it'd be in Chicago Sun-Times
www.404media.co/chicago-sun-...
www.404media.co/chicago-sun-...
Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist
"I can't believe I missed it because it's so obvious. No excuses," the writer said. "I'm completely embarrassed."
www.404media.co
May 20, 2025 at 3:21 PM
AI in journalism can be a great help: It can fix bad grammar, smooth out awkward sentences, help us transcribe or translate. But, if as journalists we don't double check the information an AI tool gives us, we run the risk of publishing things that are wrong, as this story illustrates:
We are traveling on Deutsche Bahn today. Thoughts and prayers appreciated, though our departure is on time so das ist gut.
May 10, 2025 at 6:26 AM
We are traveling on Deutsche Bahn today. Thoughts and prayers appreciated, though our departure is on time so das ist gut.
Where will we see white smoke first? The Vatican or the Bundestag?
May 6, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Where will we see white smoke first? The Vatican or the Bundestag?