This EU Tweets of the Week is a State of the Union special. We’ve got the hails and fails, wails and… sails?
The EU bubble Twitterati was in fevered anticipation, with every man and his dog creating State of the Union bullshit bingo cards.
Think you can guess what @JunckerEU is going to say in his #SOTEU speech? We've put together a #SOTEUbingo card so that you can play along! pic.twitter.com/CeiVraZizH
— acumen publicaffairs (@AcumenPA) September 12, 2017
Which made Assi Honkanen feel like a winner.
Double bingo already! I feel like a winner #SOTEU pic.twitter.com/DcvDErBFn0
— Assi Honkanen (@assielina) September 13, 2017
And our favourite was the Youth Forum one.
"That's a bingo" – Join @Youth_Forum for the #SOTEU Bingo – Will youth get at least 1 mention? (Or #Erasmus funding increase?) #youthup pic.twitter.com/dvyzjGiZdj
— François Balate (@FrancoisBalate) September 13, 2017
For some unfathomable reason, Juncker’s speech had a nautical theme this year, as he declared it was time to “throw off the bowlines and sail away from the harbour”.
Let's throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the harbour. Catch the trade winds in our sails.
My 2017 #SOTEU speech: https://t.co/pHb10Uhng0 pic.twitter.com/k3IUnU0d8I— Jean-Claude Juncker (@JunckerEU) September 13, 2017
Spoken like a true Luxembourgean said Richard Williams: “A fine seafaring nation.”
Spoken like a true Luxembourgean. A fine seafaring nation. pic.twitter.com/U5qBO0A3cg
— Richard Williams (@RichardW251) September 13, 2017
And Jon Worth was impressed: Wow. One President! Spitzenkandidat. Transnational lists. This is pretty federalist.
Whooah. One President! Spitzenkandidat. Transnational lists. This is pretty federalist. #soteu
— Jon Worth (@jonworth) September 13, 2017
Julia Reda was confused by Juncker’s cyber security strategy: “Three proposals, including intellectual property, Really? IP will protect us online?”
Juncker mentions "3 proposals, including intellectual property" as his #cybersecurity strategy. Really? IP will protect us online? #SOTEU pic.twitter.com/cGCZ80lG9o
— Julia Reda (@Senficon) September 13, 2017
But staying with the nautical theme, Martini Seltzermayr hailed the “Long-awaited shout out for fish fingers.”
Long-awaited shout out for fish fingers in #soteu
— Martini Seltzermayr (@mseltzermayr) September 13, 2017
Which kicked off the Great Fish Food Fight of 2017: Only Brits call fish sticks “fish fingers”.
Note to @Europarl_EN translation service, the only people who call fish sticks "fish fingers" are the Brits. #SOTEU pic.twitter.com/UD6SuvKFRz
— American EU Dude (@AmericanEUDude) September 13, 2017
Simon Taylor suggested “goujons”.
I prefer the French term "goujons"
— Simon Taylor (@simontaylor71) September 13, 2017
But Anna Buchta said her French-speaking Belgian kids are sticking with fish sticks.
My French speaking Belgian kids stick to fish sticks 😉
— Anna Buchta (@buchtan) September 13, 2017
Half an hour in and not one word said Vasilia Dalianis.
Half an hour and not one word on #Brexit @JunckerEU #SOTEU
— Vasilis Dalianis (@VasilisDalianis) September 13, 2017
The Parliament Magazine noted still no mention at the 45-minute mark
Still no mention of #Brexit as @JunckerEU #SOTEU speech hits 45 mins mark
— Parliament Magazine (@Parlimag) September 13, 2017
After an hour, he STILL hadn’t used the B word…
Juncker still hasn't mentioned Brexit in an hour of the #SOTEU
— James Crisp (@JamesCrisp6) September 13, 2017
And Simon McKeagney wondered if he was trolling by “concentrating on the important things”.
Almost 1 hour into speech an no mention of #Brexit. Brilliant trolling by @JunckerEU. He's "concentrating on the important things." #SOTEU
— Simon McKeagney (@SiMcKeag) September 13, 2017
Finally, Juncker gets to the point, but as Danny Kemp reported, “Brexit is not everything because Brexit is not the future of Europe.”
Juncker finally says the B word 1 hour in:'We will move forward,because Brexit is not everything,because Brexit is not the future of Europe'
— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) September 13, 2017
In fact, European Parliament negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said that since Brexit, there has been a “reverse domino-effect. People don’t want to leave Europe, they want a reformed Europe”.
Since Brexit, a reverse domino-effect is happening. People dont want to leave Europe, they want a reformed Europe. That's our mission #SOTEU pic.twitter.com/necUvFtOU6
— Guy Verhofstadt (@GuyVerhofstadt) September 12, 2017
Nigel Farage said: “The EU have learned nothing from Brexit. Thank god we’re leaving.”
The EU have learned nothing from Brexit. Watch my full remarks to the European Parliament ↓ pic.twitter.com/PfqcUQQGFU
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) September 13, 2017
And ECR chair Syed Kamall responded to the State of the Union speech by calling for “more opportunities, not more regulations and agencies”
My response for @ecrgroup to #SOTEU … create more opportunities, not more #EU regulations and agencies @Telegraph https://t.co/PDkq0Ah31y
— Syed Kamall (@SyedKamall) September 13, 2017
This week we are supported by Orange. Check out their latest tweet about ePrivacy, GDPR and data analytics
#metadata = knowledge, a key element to run services & innovate for society. #ePrivacy should mirror GDPR rules for #data analytics pic.twitter.com/cTBqakZXCe
— Orange EU (@Orange_Brussels) September 12, 2017
Join me again for another whistle-stop round-up next Friday.
