“We must avoid creating new barriers between allies,” warned Mark Rutte during an appearance before the EU Parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committees. This would only lead to higher costs and complicate production and innovation. The NATO Secretary General thus indirectly criticized discussions by EU states, for example, about favoring “Made in Europe” for joint […]
The EU Commission paid Ukraine €3 billion on Friday as the first tranche of a loan from the G7 states: “We must give Ukraine the financial strength to continue fighting for its freedom – and to win,” Ursula von der Leyen is quoted in the press release. Europe has supported Ukraine with almost €134 billion […]
It is not the first time that US President-elect Donald Trump has irritated the world with his desire to seize Greenland. Yet he can already do whatever he wants there, says security expert Michael Paul from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “In last year’s Greenland Arctic strategy, Greenland – and therefore also […]
Andrius Kubilius will almost certainly disappoint. Expectations of the first EU Commissioner for Defense are high, but his powers and scope are limited. The White Paper on the future of European defense, which the Lithuanian is to present within the first 100 days, will be his first test case.For Berlin, the timing alone is problematic […]
Russia is influencing political landscapes in Europe via an “axis of autocrats”, writes Balkan expert Thomas Brey in a new study for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. This axis begins with Vladimir Putin and runs through Hungary’s head of government Viktor Orbán, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and his junior partner Milorad Dodik to Slovakian Prime Minister […]
Georgian diplomats, civil servants and their family members should no longer be able to benefit from visa-free travel to the Schengen area. The EU Commission has presented a proposal to this effect, which still has to be approved by the Council. The proposal is a reaction to the violent repression of peaceful demonstrators.Protests have been […]
After many years, the negotiations have now been concluded: The EU and Switzerland want to permanently consolidate their partnership. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Swiss President Viola Amherd sealed the political agreement in Bern on Friday. Both sides expressed their satisfaction. Von der Leyen spoke of a “historic agreement” and referred to the […]
It’s a delicate balancing act: How can we adapt to Donald Trump without sending the wrong signals or anticipating what the future POTUS will actually do? Finding a way to do this is the difficult task that the new EU Council President António Costa has set himself for his first summit on Thursday, according to […]
It sounds more and more like an incantation: The EU is on Ukraine‘s side for as long as necessary and whatever it takes to end Russia’s invasion, writes António Costa ahead of the summit in his first letter of invitation as Council President. The slogans in the draft conclusions are similar. Russia should not prevail, […]