The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby) header
The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby) profile picture

We help nonprofits, activists, progressive businesses and philanthropies to gain a voice in the policy process. Founded by @alemannoEU 🇪🇺

Brussels Paris Milan Madrid
Joined March 2015
Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)Photo by The Good Lobby (@TheGoodLobby)
“The good news is it doesn’t matter about ⁠specific names or nomenclature,” Carney said. “What matters is the difference it will make to the lives of Canadians.” FULL STOP theguardian.com/world/2026/o…
3
9
1,822
As expected, the “associate membership” has been found an unsuitable label for the new EU-Canada relationship. What matters is content of that new arrangement building upon - but independent from - CETA politico.eu/article/eu-set-t…
4
6
14
1,767
I wish the focus on EU-Canada relation would be on substance as much it is on its label. Let’s shift the narrative please!
Today could decide the fate of Ursula von der Leyen's "associate membership" for Canada. Stay tuned...
3
4
21
1,344
This train accident may be the nail in the coffin of Sánchez's electoral chances ahead #EleccionesGenerales29N Two deadly AVE crashes in ten months, regardless of their causes, may exceed public tolerance.
11
9
4
46
13,498
What's fueling youth-led protests across Europe?  @NPR’s Leila Fadel asks Paris-based professor Alberto Alemanno whether youth protests across Europe are a sign of a generation in crisis. npr.org/2026/10/26/nx-s1-601…
2
4
5
878
Ursula von der Leyen’s planned reform risks hollowing out the European Commission’s very purpose: to defend Europe’s common interest, independently of national governments. The external advisers’ recommendations as reported by @gerardofortuna look suspiciously aligned with the agenda of Europe’s new right: the EPP and far-right groups. Behind the promise of efficiency lies a massive centralisation of power, strengthening a Commission President increasingly beholden to member states. The result: a Commission meant to advance Europe’s common interest risks becoming an instrument of national governments. politico.eu/article/ursula-v…
5
19
2
47
5,210
Congratulations to Serbia’s students: what began as a leaderless movement in university lecture halls in late 2024 has, after two years of protest, become a parliamentary majority, proving that democratic change can emerge from where political elites least expect it. Difficult to imagine a better time for Serbia to rejoin the European family. #Serbia
12
34
4
115
3,660
Democracy is not as fragile as those seeking to undermine it would have us believe. From Serbia to Brazil and Hungary, their people reminded us that those who seek to bend democracy to their will do not always get the final word. Citizens CAN make a difference. But first, they must give democracy a chance. PS no guarantee Israel or French elections will lead to the same outcome though !
3
12
41
1,629
A violent and coordinated youth uprising? Listen to each country’s protesters, not the voices telling us Europe is ungovernable. That’s exactly the picture Europe’s enemies want to paint. Read my latest for @guardian @guardianopinion theguardian.com/commentisfre…
9
19
2
23
2,136
No evidence links the protests to migrants. Yet the right, and not only the hard right, can't resist jumping to conclusions to advance its agenda. Weakening Europe and its democracy is exactly what Trump, Putin and Xi want. Doing their work for them is shameful and irresponsible. Must-read by @jonhenley 👇 theguardian.com/world/2026/o…
28
23
12
61
15,012
“This is the most powerful warning from Europe’s angry youth today, in France and across the continent,” the policy analyst Alberto Alemanno said. The framing stands in sharp contrast to the many rightwing and far-right voices who have sought to exploit the violence in France and Italy, linking it without evidence to migration while brushing over protesters’ wider demands. theguardian.com/world/2026/o…
5
14
1
23
3,364
Marginal, indeed
So, in other words, even if Marine Le Pen comes to power and ends French aid to Ukraine...its marginal
1
1
2
1,169
The youth protests are as legitimate as their concerns. But Europe's enemies are already amplifying and exploiting them, whatever their merits. The real test for Europe - and its political party system - is to answer the grievances before others weaponise them. @StevenErlanger
3
7
12
1,547
As expected, the youth protests got hijacked by third countries that dislike the EU, what it stands for and democracy When the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression get weaponised to weaken EUropean democracies
This quoted post is unavailable.
8
2
13
1,236
The EU and its governments have never been so inaccessibile and disinterested in civil society’s input. So, how to remedy that? The EU and its governments have never been so inaccessibile and disinterested in civil society. So, how to remedy that? By convening a conference, as if this alone would remedy the situation. Curious to hear @EUCssrMcGrath’s rationale for the “event” consilium.europa.eu/en/event… Curious to hear @EUCssrMcGrath’s rationale for the “event” consilium.europa.eu/en/event…
3
13
877
Wrong: EU Member States and the EU institutions themselves are required to protect and promote EU values as enshrined in Article 2 TEU - including democracy, rule of law and human dignity, as recently held by the EU Court of Justice in Commission vs Hungary (values judgment). This applies to France too, Madame.
La Commission européenne serait bien avisée de s’en tenir à ses compétences et d’éviter des déclarations inutiles sur des sujets qu’elle ne maîtrise pas. Ce ton de maître d’école ajoute au ridicule.
5
11
28
2,370
What’s behind the youth protests (in France and elsewhere) and the violence of the few?
1
5
14
1,274
Europe's youth protests are NOT one movement, but they share some grievances and tactics - through a subtle process of imitation fuelled by media coverage, as shown below (source: @guardian). Yet how pan-European this phenomenon is remains to be seen... as I've been arguing here substack.com/@albertoalemann…
5
5
17
1,639
Remarkable: Mr Kurz, the former, failed Austrian chancellor whose career now runs through Silicon Valley money lectures Europeans on the "consequences" for our continent, with no evidence, and a convenient call for panic. Funny how the more Europe is described as burning, the more it needs "solutions" from Silicon Valley's friends.
For more than a week, we have seen increasingly disturbing images from France and elsewhere in Europe: burning town halls, looted shops and brutal violence. What has been portrayed as “student protests” increasingly resembles scenes from a civil war. Behind the mob, there is an uncanny alliance: well-organised left-wing extremists and political Islam. Two movements that could hardly be more different - but united in their rejection of our free and open society. Both are enemies of the Enlightenment. The far left likes to present itself as its guardian. Yet it marches side by side with those who reject freedom of speech and everything a liberal society stands for. Beyond the violence itself, what is most shocking is the unwillingness to acknowledge what is happening, or even the apparent attempt to conceal the truth by many. The violence we are witnessing has nothing to do with legitimate student protest. To me, these scenes reflect the consequences of nearly two decades of failed migration policy. Unless we change course immediately, we risk seeing the same scenes soon in Berlin, Vienna and Munich. For years, Hungary and other Central European countries have faced harsh criticism from their Western European neighbours over their approach to migration. Today, Budapest, Warsaw and Prague stand out as islands of calm.
12
29
1
118
7,957