William and Martin continue their criss-crossing of the European political order. With Martin in Vienna, among other places, he got a chance to talk to Luis Moreno Ocampo, a former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court. It’s a well-timed conversation, as speculation has emerged that the ICC could be preparing warrants for top Israeli and Hamas officials.
William was over at the other international court in The Hague — the International Court of Justice, which issued its first ruling in Nicaragua’s case against Germany on allegations of violating the Genocide Convention due to support for Israel. Tl;dr: Germany is basically off the hook, though Nicaragua claims partial credit for pressuring Germany to resume UNRWA funding and easing off weapons deliveries.
Before that, William was in Maastricht for an inside-the-bubble debate between eight of the European Union’s Commission President hopefuls. Or, better said: Seven Spitzenkandidaten and Ursula von der Leyen. The American-style stage performance was an opportunity for the lead candidates of EU parties to profile themselves ahead of elections in June in which European citizens do not directly vote for them.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also took to stages recently, promoting their worldviews and wishlist for Europe’s future. In different ways, neither may be all that convincing, leaving Martin and William to ask: Is this it?
Stay with us for some other stories happening around the EU this week, plus an interview with Constance Sommerey and Darian Meacham from the University of Maastricht. They host the university’s podcast, “Woke as Science.”
Listen in and stay tuned as we further develop this venture with our partner, EUobserver. We welcome your feedback, so be in touch! You can subscribe here and get us where your ears go for podcasts:
Among other things, Martin Gak writes Inconclusive Thoughts; and William Glucroft writes The ‘Schland. We’d love to see you over there, too!
Euroscopic S213: On your mark, get set ...