Estonia’s Kaja Kallas is not expected to take up the position of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs until November. However, the Balts already seem to be setting the pace in dealing with Viktor Orbán’s “peace mission” and the Hungarian Council Presidency. Under pressure from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, the capitals are currently discussing […]
The Security and Defense Subcommittee (SEDE) may not be upgraded to a full committee until September. This is according to Renew circles. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is set to become chairwoman after the FDP politician prevailed internally against Nathalie Loiseau from France. The defense politician had made her claim early on in the event of an upgrade, […]
There was supposed to be a promising European solution, but now there is a threat of fragmentation in the certification of the cyber security of cloud services: after years of preparatory work at expert level, a decision on a European Cybersecurity Certification System (EUCS) is finally to be made in Brussels on Monday. The European […]
It is regarded in The Hague as the biggest political gamble since the Second World War. Head of government Dick Schoof and his coalition took office in the Netherlands on Tuesday. The 67-year-old starts with the handicap of having been only an emergency solution. Although Dick Schoof had previously been an influential top civil servant, […]
No, it wasn’t Giorgia Meloni or Viktor Orbán this time. It was Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron. They delayed the discussion at the dinner on the first day of the summit by requesting changes to the strategic agenda. The Franco-German wish list covered several chapters, from climate to defense, competitiveness and enlargement. The chapter on […]
They have every confidence in Charles Michel, says a high-ranking diplomat in the run-up to the summit, which takes place this Thursday and Friday. It is his answer to the question of whether the EU Council President could possibly have an interest in the discussion about the top posts being derailed at the second attempt. […]
Good news continue to exists. EU diplomats are confident that the foreign ministers will be able to clear the way for Ukraine to finally receive fresh money for urgently needed arms purchases at today’s meeting in Luxembourg. It is about windfall profits on frozen Russian central bank funds. There is a way to circumvent Hungary’s […]
The Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU agreed on the 14th sanctions package after all on Thursday, albeit without tightening the so-called “no-Russia clause”. This was to be extended to subsidiaries of EU companies in order to close known loopholes in the comprehensive sanctions regime against Russia. On instructions from Berlin, the […]
NATO is set to replace the US-led Ramstein format in coordinating military aid for Ukraine, at least to a significant extent. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg indicated on Thursday that he expects defense ministers to approve the operational plan for assistance and training in Ukraine. He noted that it makes sense for NATO to take on […]
When the defense ministers of the NATO states meet today and tomorrow at the Alliance’s headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels, they can expect a full agenda. There is just under a month to go until the summit in Washington, and the planned “Ukraine package” is anything but ready. The last few months have shown […]