Brussels gets worked up over a brand new train, too many jets at Davos the Twitterati complain, and in Jerusalem Macron puts security under strain.

The most exciting news in Brussels on Monday was the arrival of the new overnight train from Vienna. 

And the red carpet was rolled out for passengers including MartinSelmayr, Transport Committee Chair Karima Delli, European Parliament Vice-President Othmar Karas, and Former MEP Michel Reimon reported EUObserver’s Eszter Zalan.

 

Trainspotter extraordinaire, Jon Stone, was also on hand to capture the moment the first direct sleeper train arrived!

Spoof account Martini Seltzermayr, joked that “Comrade Selmayr” had returned from exile in a sealed train with fire in his belly!

James Crisp spotted a certain similarity with one Vladamir Lenin

And Diego Velazquez titled a selection of Selmayr’s photos: The Trans Selmayr Express.

Of course, much was also made of the environmental benefits of rail travel:

Flights from Vienna to Brussels emits 410 kg of CO2, but the train journey only 40 kg CO2, so say Greenpeace

 

 

Supposedly also taking note of the climate crisis this week were the great and good at Davos.

 

However, as is now traditional, half of Twitter including Mark Simone pointed out the hypocrisy of “Hundreds of private jets sit on the runway at Davos as the world’s globalist elites, discuss climate change.”

 

Plus ça change…

 

Von der Leyen was there… focussing on the positive: “Davos is the place where conflicts are averted, business is started, disputes are finished.” Where bright people come together to shape a better future. 

 

James Crisp wasn’t alone in finding VDL’s speech nauseating in the extreme. “Pass the sick bag and bring back Juncker who wouldn’t be seen dead at  this goon convention.”

Michael Mann nailed it when he pointed out that the Davos opening saw a thoughtful speech by a visionary leader and a thoughtless, self-serving rant by a petulant child. The former was Greta Thunberg. The latter was Donald Trump.

 

And of course it wouldn’t be Davos if there wasn’t a bit of espionage on the sidelines: This year police at the Swiss resort suspect a couple of plumbers of being Russian spies.

 

Finally this week, leaders of almost 50 countries gathered in Jerusalem to mark 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz on #HolocaustMemorialDay.

Including all three EU leaders, Council President Charles Michel, and 

Parliament President David Sassoli joined von der Leyen

 

Britain’s Prince Charles was also in attendance along with…

…Vladimir Putin, US Vice President Mike Pence and Emmanuel Macron.

 

Surprisingly, of the three, Macron was the one that turned up the security heat by shouting at Israeli police during a visit to the Church of Saint Anne in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Social media footage shows Macron telling telling police to get out of the French- owned church.

Ava Djamshidi said it reminded her of Chirac in 1996.

 

And Sophie Pedder said: “It sounds as if he’s trying to out-Chirac Chirac.” 

 

While Dave Keating asked “isn’t it a little weird that France owns a church in Jerusalem?”

 

Yup.

 

And that’s for this week, join me again next week for more japes and scrapes in the Brussels Bubble twittersphere.