Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 3d

Bingo! The coalition just agreed to roll out a new EV support scheme for low- and middle-income households.

The fiscal envelope isn’t huge - but it’s something to work with.

Now the focus has to be on getting the design right and coordinating as closely as possible with EU partners.

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 4d

This is the way. The German car industry’s problem isn’t 2035 - it’s the demand crash happening right now.

And while we can’t stop U.S. tariffs or Chinese subsidies, we certainly can ramp up demand at home.

Sander Tordoir @sandertordoir.bsky.social · 4d

German auto summit tomorrow.

The sole focus on the EU combustion engine phase-out, which is 10 years away, is baffling because German cars have a demand problem today

Berlin worries a new EV subsidy scheme would be fiscally too expensive.

But demand-side support is a fiscal no-brainer here.

1/

3 14

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 4d

This is the way. The German car industry’s problem isn’t 2035 - it’s the demand crash happening right now.

And while we can’t stop U.S. tariffs or Chinese subsidies, we certainly can ramp up demand at home.

Sander Tordoir @sandertordoir.bsky.social · 4d

German auto summit tomorrow.

The sole focus on the EU combustion engine phase-out, which is 10 years away, is baffling because German cars have a demand problem today

Berlin worries a new EV subsidy scheme would be fiscally too expensive.

But demand-side support is a fiscal no-brainer here.

1/

6 12 51

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 4d

Certainly - but what speaks against complementing it with general purchase subsidies capped by price as FR did? Rich people don’t buy cheap cars. And if we want a competitive industry, we need scale in that segment. From a pure industrial policy perspective, boosting EU production there makes sense.

1 1

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 4d

Thank you so much, Stefanie! I did learn my EU politics from the best :)

1

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 4d

Fully agree — boosting EV demand through corporate fleets has to be part of the package.

But with overall demand still 20% below pre-pandemic levels, I would like to see broader measures that also target smaller, affordable segments.

2 3

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 4d

This is the way. The German car industry’s problem isn’t 2035 - it’s the demand crash happening right now.

And while we can’t stop U.S. tariffs or Chinese subsidies, we certainly can ramp up demand at home.

Sander Tordoir @sandertordoir.bsky.social · 4d

German auto summit tomorrow.

The sole focus on the EU combustion engine phase-out, which is 10 years away, is baffling because German cars have a demand problem today

Berlin worries a new EV subsidy scheme would be fiscally too expensive.

But demand-side support is a fiscal no-brainer here.

1/

6 12 51

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Jonas Nahm @jonasnahm.com · 4d

Germany apparently not so sure it wants to save its auto sector by making it competitive.

Sander Tordoir @sandertordoir.bsky.social · 4d

German auto summit tomorrow.

The sole focus on the EU combustion engine phase-out, which is 10 years away, is baffling because German cars have a demand problem today

Berlin worries a new EV subsidy scheme would be fiscally too expensive.

But demand-side support is a fiscal no-brainer here.

1/

1 8 30

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Sander Tordoir @sandertordoir.bsky.social · 4d

German auto summit tomorrow.

The sole focus on the EU combustion engine phase-out, which is 10 years away, is baffling because German cars have a demand problem today

Berlin worries a new EV subsidy scheme would be fiscally too expensive.

But demand-side support is a fiscal no-brainer here.

1/

7 28 87

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Jacques Delors Centre @delorsberlin.bsky.social · 5d

We have two new Acting Co-Directors! Since October, Thu Nguyen (@onethuthree.bsky.social) & Nils Redeker (@nilsredeker.bsky.social) are leading the Jacques Delors Centre think tank, working closely with Mark Dawson, Co-Director of the research arm. Find out more 👉 www.delorscentre.eu/en/about/new...

Thu Nguyen and Nils Redeker take over the JDC think tank as Acting Co-Directors

The two former Deputy Directors succeed Johannes Lindner and join Mark Dawson in co-directing the Jacques Delors Centre as of October 2025.

www.delorscentre.eu

1 3 29

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 8d

Technically, yes. But in practice, member states need to decide now on whether they will negotiate along the Commission’s proposal. And with the current mood in the council, an EPP led rejection would be hard to brush aside.

1 1

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Sander Tordoir @sandertordoir.bsky.social · 8d

Mamma Mia.

To placate the farm lobby, the EPP is considering an amendment that would scupper the entire EU budget reform.

If agri gets an exemption from the EU budget overhaul, social and other spending categories follow and modernisation goes out the window.

A EPP disaster in the making.

11 41

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 8d

None of this would strengthen EU budget - and all of it would ultimately weaken the Parliament’s own role in European fiscal policy.

MEPs, of all actors, should aim higher than trench warfare for a bad status quo.

2 10

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 8d

And it would hand frugal capitals every excuse to brand the EU budget as unreformable and starve its spending power in the next cycle.

1 1 11

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 8d

Outright rejection, instead, would torpedo the whole package. It would kill the much-needed push for a more flexible EU budget. It would sink the long-overdue shift toward real EU-level investment.

1 11

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 8d

All of this can and should be fixed. That’s exactly what the next 1.5 years of negotiations are for - and it’s well within reach for a Parliament that knows its weight.

1 11

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 8d

I get some of the concerns. The Commission's proposal is far from perfect: the European Parliament’s role should be strengthened, regional involvement needs to be more binding, and we should have a real debate about the criteria for allocating funds across regions.

1 10

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 8d

The push for rejection largely stems from opposition to the Commission’s proposal to fold EU regional and agricultural funds into single national plans - designed by member states and negotiated with the Commission.

1 10

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 8d

The Conservatives in the European Parliament appear to be preparing a resolution to reject the Commission’s proposal for the next EU budget.

At this point, that could kill the entire package - and would be an incredibly self-defeating move.

1 12 33

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Thu Nguyen @onethuthree.bsky.social · 10d

Pünktlich zum langen Wochenende ist die neue EU to go-Folge da, die letzte mit unserem jetzt ehemaligen Direktor @lindnerjs.bsky.social. Es geht um die große Frage: Hat Europa eine Seele? Braucht es eine neue europäische Erzählung -und wenn ja, wer kann sie erzählen? open.spotify.com/episode/3GSM...

Abschied aus Berlin: Eine Seele für Europa?

open.spotify.com

1 5 9

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Luise Quaritsch @luisequaritsch.bsky.social · 17d

This week, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by @ftm.eu on malign foreign influencing strategies and EU’s response to it.
You can find the full interview by @alistairkeepe.bsky.social (and featuring some very nice office pictures by @albacita.bsky.social) here

www.ftm.eu/articles/int...

EU has the power to fight foreign meddling – but isn’t using it, democracy expert says

Foreign actors are intensfying their efforts to influence Europe’s democracies, and the EU is scrambling to respond. Its lawmakers are set to vote this week on creating national transparency registers...

www.ftm.eu

1 4 11

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Thu Nguyen @onethuthree.bsky.social · 18d

“We need a Jacques Delors Plan 2.0”, says German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister @larsklingbeil.bsky.social in his Europe speech at @delorsberlin.bsky.social @hertieschool.bsky.social

2 3

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Jannik Jansen @jannikjansen.bsky.social · 18d

Europe cannot afford to treat its values as expendable. Each concession to the far right corrodes democracy at home and erodes its credibility abroad. By reducing principles to luxuries, Europe risks losing not just its dignity but political agency.

New op-ed with @onethuthree.bsky.social

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 18d

If Europe keeps placating its own far right, how can it possibly stand up to Trump? | Thu Nguyen and Jannik Jansen

European leaders’ weakness is undermining the democratic principles on which the EU was built, say Thu Nguyen and Jannik Jansen from the Jacques Delors Centre

www.theguardian.com

9 33

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Thu Nguyen @onethuthree.bsky.social · 18d

Driven by fear of the far right, the EU is losing its compass, whether on migration, climate or Gaza. By undermining its own principles, Europe weakens its global position and risks losing not just dignity but political agency.

With @jannikjansen.bsky.social:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If Europe keeps placating its own far right, how can it possibly stand up to Trump? | Thu Nguyen and Jannik Jansen

European leaders’ weakness is undermining the democratic principles on which the EU was built, say Thu Nguyen and Jannik Jansen from the Jacques Delors Centre

www.theguardian.com

3 56 140

Nils Redeker @nilsredeker.bsky.social · 21d

“The more the German industry continues to focus on phasing out niche technologies […] the easier it becomes for Chinese companies to expand their lead in batteries and new electronic vehicle architectures.”

Remarkable op-ed by former VW boss Herbert Diess.

www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/...

WirtschaftsWoche

www.wiwo.de

1 24 67

Reposted by Nils Redeker

Thu Nguyen @onethuthree.bsky.social · 23d

If true, we might as well bury the concept of rule of law conditionality. The EU cannot keep letting itself be blackmailed by Orbán into unfreezing funds withheld over rule of law violations in exchange for lifting his veto, unless it truly wants to lose all credibility as a guardian of EU values

Noah Barkin @noahbarkin.bsky.social · 23d

The EU is bribing Orban to ditch Russian energy imports

www.ft.com/content/0965...

EU plans to unlock €550mn for Hungary in bid to secure Russia sanctions deal

Brussels seeks to overcome Viktor Orbán’s veto by unfreezing funds earmarked for Budapest

www.ft.com

8 39 86