Francesco Nicoli | Lightnews

Francesco Nicoli 🇪🇺 🎓

@francesconicoli.bsky.social

6.2K followers 2.4K following 3K posts

All things Europe, in all things European.

Neofunctionalist-in-chief, trilemmer, sci-fi & fantasy nerd.

Political economist, associate professor at Politecnico of Turin, former fellow at Bruegel.

" Europe will be made through crises...." .. more

Videos

Political science 64%

Economics 22%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Pinned

Francesco Nicoli 🇪🇺 🎓 @francesconicoli.bsky.social · Jul 28

Europe folded, precisely as I predicted. We pay our stubborn refusal to integrate European defence, which makes us dependent on the US for security.

This is the only reason the EU folded.

Defence, defence, defence.

Without a European army, we are vassals.

And vassals obey.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

chelseachemist1.bsky.social @chelseachemist1.bsky.social · 3h

I cannot stress this enough, double the tax each time she complains

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 3h

🇵🇱 Tusk: Orban visits Putin, Nawrocki visits Orban. Chaos in negotiations over the Witkoff plan, and a political crisis in Kyiv. A disastrous combination.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 4h

👀👀👀

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 6h

⚡️BREAKING: Zelensky's chief of staff Yermak resigns amid major corruption scandal.

Andriy Yermak, head of the President's Office, submitted his resignation following searches by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at his premises earlier on Nov. 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.

BREAKING: Zelensky's chief of staff Yermak resigns amid Ukraine's biggest corruption scandal

Andriy Yermak, head of the President's Office, submitted his resignation following searches by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at his premises earlier on Nov. 28, President Volodymyr Zelens...

kyivindependent.com

Francesco Nicoli 🇪🇺 🎓 @francesconicoli.bsky.social · 7h

You bet that Trump will recognise this, and Putin will continue to attack.

Another gift.

Shaun Pinner @olddogua.bsky.social · 8h

www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/7f62dca...
I’ve lived through the cost of losing ground. I’ve seen the bodies, the destroyed homes, and I’ve been tortured by Russia like so many others. Land is never ‘just land.’ It’s people. Families. Lives shattered.

Trump to recognise occupied Ukraine as part of Russia

Plan breaks US diplomatic convention but likely to go ahead despite concerns among Kyiv’s European allies

www.telegraph.co.uk

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

Shaun Pinner @olddogua.bsky.social · 8h

Trump to recognise occupied Ukraine as part of Russia

Plan breaks US diplomatic convention but likely to go ahead despite concerns among Kyiv’s European allies

www.telegraph.co.uk

Reposted by Anatoliy Gruzd, Francesco Nicoli

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 18h

This is huge: under new EU law, "social media companies will have to compensate banks if it’s clear that they failed to remove an online scam that had been reported." www.politico.eu/article/soci...

Social media giants liable for financial scams under new EU law

The new rules set a dangerous precedent, big tech companies say.

www.politico.eu

Reposted by Ann Bartow, Francesco Nicoli

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 23h

“Biden Asylum Cases” is NYT’s framing for a story pegged to a man who got asylum 3 months into the Trump administration

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/u...

U.S. Reviews Biden
Asylum Cases After Shooting
A Homeland Security Department spokeswoman accused the previous administration of failing to vet asylum applicants "on a massive scale."

The man identified as the suspect was said to have worked with the C.I.A. and fled Afghanistan in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a program born after the sudden fall of the Afghan government in 2021, when the United States withdrew its forces and the o Taliban took control of the country. The suspect received asylum from the U.S. government in April, according to three people with knowledge of the case who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Francesco Nicoli 🇪🇺 🎓 @francesconicoli.bsky.social · 1d

It would be great, if it were true.

But it isnt.

You don't announce you are discussing this, unless you precisely intend not to do so.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

(((Tendar))) @tendar.bsky.social · 1d

„Europe thinks the unthinkable: Retailiating against Russia“

I have been shouting this from the roof for decades and it is starting to sink in to more and more European officials. They realize that doing nothing is always the greatest risk.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 1d

Think billionaires aren’t feeling the pinch this Thanksgiving? Think again.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

Kyiv Post @kyivpost.com · 1d

❗️“We are READY to fight to the LAST Ukrainian” — Putin

Reposted by Iikka Korhonen, Francesco Nicoli

Michael McFaul @mcfaulmike.bsky.social · 2d

It is not normal for a U.S. envoy to coach the Kremlin on how to influence an American president, especially in a way that undercuts Ukrainian and American national interests. As I told @NPR's Morning Edition.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

Ukrainska Pravda 🇺🇦 @pravda.ua · 2d

🤝 Russia has no right to block Ukraine from joining NATO, secretary general says

Russia has no right to block Ukraine from joining NATO, secretary general says

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that Russia has no veto power over Ukraine's accession to the Alliance and that only NATO member states can make decisions on this issue.

www.pravda.com.ua

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 2d

In 2022, Donald Trump sued me and others associated with the Clinton campaign for RICO. We did not cave. We fought. First, we won in a Florida trial court. Today, we won in the 11th Circuit.

To the law firms, media corps and billionaires who bow down: Learn a lesson. Have some dignity and fight.

Francesco Nicoli 🇪🇺 🎓 @francesconicoli.bsky.social · 2d

Trumplican obviously.

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Francesco Nicoli

Michael Weiss @michaeldweiss.bsky.social · 2d

New: @theins.press saw the Witkoff-Dmitriev plan six months ago in draft form—except it was all Dmitriev. Bloomberg reports now Dmitriev told Ushakov he’d pass along a Russian plan and the Americans “can present it as their own”: theins.press/en/politics/...

Made in Moscow: The “U.S. peace plan” for Ukraine was substantially formulated months ago by Kremlin operative Kirill Dmitriev

Since it was first published on Nov. 20, the much-discussed 28-point plan for ending the war in Ukraine has borne all the signs of a Kremlin information operation. In fact, many of its most controvers...

theins.press

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 2d

🇺🇳🇺🇦 The number of civilians killed by Russia in Ukraine in the first 10 months of this year is four times higher than in the whole of last year, - UN.

548 people have died in Ukraine since the beginning of the year. Another 3.5 thousand were injured.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 2d

U.S. members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, are outraged by Witkoff’s work for Russia.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

(((Tendar))) @tendar.bsky.social · 2d

US Republican Congressman Don Bacon calls for the firing of Witkoff due to his apparent Pro-Russian stance.

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 2d

⚡️'Donetsk and maybe a land swap' —Witkoff promised Russian aides he could sway Trump, pressure Ukraine into peace deal in secret phone recording.

'Donetsk and maybe a land swap' —Witkoff promised Russian aides he could sway Trump, pressure Ukraine into peace deal in secret phone recording

"The president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal," U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov in a recorded phone call obtained by Bloomberg.

kyivindependent.com

Reposted by Stacy D. VanDeveer, Maksym Polyakov, Francesco Nicoli

Tim Mak @timkmak.bsky.social · 2d

A private call between Trump-appointed envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin advisor Yuri Ushakov was just leaked — and it shows the American envoy effectively acting as a strategist for Moscow.

NEWSFLASH: Witkoff was secretly giving Russians advice

A secret transcript reveals that the Trump envoy was helping a Putin advisor formulate a plan.

www.counteroffensive.news

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 3d

Opinion from Alphaville: OpenAI is a money pit with a website on top. That much we know already, but since OpenAI is a private company, there’s a lot of guesswork required when estimating the depth of the pit. on.ft.com/44xy39L

Reposted by Christina Pagel, Francesco Nicoli

Reuters @reuters.com · 3d

Dutch public broadcaster NOS quits X over disinformation reut.rs/3KpybRU

Dutch public broadcaster NOS quits X over disinformation

Dutch public broadcaster NOS on Tuesday said it had stopped posting on Elon Musk's social media platform X, as it said it did not want to facilitate the spreading of disinformation.

reut.rs

Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 3d

EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg

Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump

US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.

bloom.bg

Reposted by Francesco Nicoli

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 3d

💔 7 dead and 21 injured: emergency and rescue operations completed in Kyiv after Russian shelling, — State Emergency Service.

Reposted by Jonathan Hopkin, Molly Scott Cato, Federica Genovese , and 1 more Jonathan Hopkin, Molly Scott Cato, Federica Genovese, Francesco Nicoli

Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 3d

The UK is losing up to £250m a day in lost tax revenue due to the economic impact of Brexit, House of Commons Library analysis for the Lib Dems suggests.

Brexit has blown a "black hole of [up to] £90 billion a year in the public finances" the party says. Even under lower estimates the hit is ~£65bn

Reposted by Anand Menon, Francesco Nicoli

Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 3d

Yes, but it is also a fact now that there is a pattern to it.

As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you, fool my twice, shame on me. The Europeans should no longer dellude themselves that a Trump/Vance US can be a reliable ally.

David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 3d

The Trump cycle on Russia-Ukraine. Some pro-Russian plan emerges. Instant commentariat renew their "Trump as Russian plant" stories. Plan is amended under EU (and US) pressure. Putin rejects it. Instant commentariat is puzzled. Rinse and repeat. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...

How Rubio Tried to Bring a Pro-Russia Peace Plan to Middle Ground

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Diane Coyle, Simon Hix, Elizabeth Saunders , and 21 more Diane Coyle, Simon Hix, Elizabeth Saunders, Stephen P. Jenkins, Steven Van de Walle, Samuel L. Perry, Stefanie Walter, Alexander Wuttke, Justin H. Kirkland, Robert Huber, Jason Reifler, Benjamin Braun, Valerie Mueller, Ingo Rohlfing, Robert C. Richards, Christian Breunig, Thomas M. Meyer, Nazita Lajevardi, Federica Genovese, Tom Louwerse, Alexandra Cirone, Nicolai von Ondarza, Francesco Nicoli, Roman Senninger

Sara Hobolt @sarahobolt.bsky.social · 3d

🚨 LSE Assistant Professor in Political Science 🚨

We’re hiring a tenure-track assistant professor - any area of empirical political science - to join our wonderful Government Dept @lsegovernment.bsky.social

Any questions, please reach out to me

📣 Please share! 📣

jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

Add to Home Screen

Light up
your news

Add to Home Screen

Light upyour news

Sign in to Lightnews

Sign up to start reading

Connect Bluesky

Connect with Bluesky

Light up
your news