WORLD WORLDWIDE EU EUROPE - euobserver daily - 2 April 2025

 

Good morning,

It's hard to quantify absurdity, but did April Fool's Day 2025 just break a record for true stories that seemed more fake than fake ones from years gone by?

For instance: "US preparing to invade Canada and Greenland". This is really true now.

Also: "US sides with Russia against Ukraine 'dictator' who 'started' war".

How about: "Poland welcomes German rearmament".

Or even: "US war chiefs ordered airstrikes with emojis".

Back in 2015, EUobserver ran a joke April Fool's Day story that the EU Commission had bought two French battleships for €1.5bn.

In 2025, it is true that: "The EU Commission is to buy €150bn of artillery shells and air-defence missiles".

It is also true that the "US wants to make Gaza into a casino" after ethnically cleansing Palestinians.

So too are reports that a "Fugitive Middle East warlord will openly holiday in the EU" this week, when Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC on war crimes charges, visits Hungary.

Meanwhile, in the UK "Mr Brexit [Nigel Farage] is on course to be next PM".

Russia used to be miles ahead of the West on weird news.

For instance, Russian president Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov personally and literally made two out of the following four claims (try to guess which ones):

1. The West has openly embraced Satanism;

2. The Swedish foreign minister advocates castration of white men;

3. German leaders have Nazi DNA;

4. The German chancellor is a lesbian who advocates paedophilia.

(Putin and Lavrov said 1 and 3, the others were reported by Russian state media).

But the West is catching up with the Russian world, because in 2025 it was true (on X) that France's top racist, Marine Le Pen, was "Jesus Christ [who] was found guilty and was innocent".

She was also a white martyr against jihadism, her fans claimed, after she was found guilty of stealing money.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the X chief who owns truth, and Donald Trump Jr., a White House scion, asked of the EU: "Are they just trying to prove JD Vance was right about everything?".

Vance, the US vice president, truly loathes Europe based on fake stories.

But according to X, Nazi salutes and Holocaust denial are actually "free speech", and so we're all fools now.

- Andrew Rettman (foreign affairs editor) and Alejandro Tauber (publisher)

PS. In yesterday’s newsletter, we accidentally cut source credit to Alberto Alemanno’s post on the EU consequences of Le Pen’s conviction, and we’re always happy to set mistakes right

Advert

Analysis

What would it take for euro to dethrone king US dollar?

Trump’s next tariff offensive, planned for Wednesday (2 April), could provoke further market turmoil. As Trump ramps up his trade war, two economists outline how Europe could finally turn the euro into a global currency.

Read it

What else you need to know

What would it take for euro to dethrone king US dollar?Analysis

As Trump ramps up his trade war, two economists outline how Europe could finally turn the euro into a global currency.Read on »

Detained Swedish journalist sparks tensions in Swedish-Turkish relations

Joakim Medin, a Swedish journalist, was arrested in Turkey while covering anti-government protests. Accused of insulting the president and alleged terror links, his case has sparked diplomatic tensions. Sweden now seeks clarity at the upcoming Nato summit.Read on »

Advert

Why the UN aid summit is the EU's best shot at financial justice Opinion

The upcoming UN summit in Seville, Spain, is a pivotal moment for the EU to fight extreme wealth concentration and the climate crisis burning our futures.Read on »

EU train has stayed on track, despite multiple crisesColumn

Despite the initial quarrels, EU leaders try to make up and bridge their differences, seeking compromises all can live with. This is what the EU was invented for.Read on »

How the EU’s competitiveness agenda ignores Europe’s true strengthStakeholders

We can’t boost our competitiveness without future-proofing our foundations. Securing a just transition to fair, sustainable societies is essential, but noticeably lacking in the EU Commission’s recent proposals.Read on »

In case you missed it

EU set to shrink after 2026 as demographic gaps widen

Lithuania and Latvia are on track to lose over 20 times the number of people per 1,000 residents compared to the EU average, according to fresh analysis of Eurostat data by Bruegel. Read on »

Africa counts the cost of the Trump tariffsAnalysis

Donald Trump’s decision to impose reciprocal tariffs on all countries on 2 April will effectively sink the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a law originally passed by George W. Bush’s administration in 2000, which gives more than 30 African states tariff and quota free trade access to the US. Read on »

Trump's man softens tone in Greenland, amid US-fuelled Arctic crisis

Vice president JD Vance toned down US rhetoric on his visit to Greenland on Friday (28 March), but the White House and Kremlin have fuelled fears of an Arctic security crisis.Read on »