European energy autonomy or net zero: Pick one
The EU's push for energy autonomy conflicts with its net-zero goals, hampered by regulatory bans on exploiting available resources like Arctic reserves and shale gas.
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Who is provoking whom?
European intelligence warns of increasing Russian military aggression, with hybrid attacks on NATO countries rising.
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An empire built on sand
Political leaders often chase international prestige to divert attention from domestic issues, risking significant consequences, as seen in various historical examples.
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Saxony-Anhalt, European populism and the return of national sovereignty
The AfD's victory in Saxony-Anhalt underscores a resurgence of national sovereignty in Europe, challenging established parties and the EU's centralization agenda.
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Pothole populism
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed a long-standing issue for cyclists by repairing a dangerous ramp on the Williamsburg Bridge, exemplifying 'pothole populism' in politics.
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Green dreams
The German Greens have achieved major goals like denuclearisation and disarmament, yet their shift toward militarism reflects the harsh realities of a changing world.
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An Odysseus for our times
Christopher Nolan's reimagined Odysseus reflects contemporary European leadership struggles, highlighting political paralysis amid migration crises and a clash of cultural…
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Hot air or cheap gas?
The European Commission plans to embargo Russian LNG by 2027, but limited alternative sources and stringent regulations may challenge Europe's energy security and supply stability.
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Musical chairs
Germany's export machine is threatened by declining Chinese demand and competition, forcing it to seek EU intervention amid growing trade tensions and market shifts.
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Europe hunts for kulaks
The EU faces tough budget negotiations as Germany pushes for cuts amid impending debt repayments.
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What Europe could learn from shrewd Dassault
Éric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, faces criticism over the FCAS project collapse, highlighting the challenges of European defense cooperation and the strategic advantages…
One may stand in Germany and ask, ‘What is the point of the SPD?’
The SPD, Germany's oldest political party, struggles to retain its working-class base and confronts challenges from rising protectionism and rival parties, leaving its future…
Back in the USSR
After a meeting of European leaders on Sunday, a spokesman for German Chancellor Merz voiced Europe’s readiness to take “the leading role in negotiations to end Russia’s…
Physical and fiscal reality mean EU ‘green steel’ programme is bonkers
The EU Commission’s proposal to triple data centre capacity over the next five to seven years is intended to help Europe catch up with China and America in the race to unlock…
Crises and capabilities: Neither has transformed the EU into a power on the world stage
Jean Monnet famously opined that the European project advances by crises.
Emperors lost in their Labyrinths, unwilling to listen to the common people
If one factor links the dire unpopularity of Chancellor Merz and President Macron, it is their political insularity.
‘Systematic discrimination’: China denounces EU’s industrial proposals
Is the European Union ready for neo-mercantilism? China certainly doesn’t think so.
Industrial policy or collective defence: Europe picks one
Another round of couples counseling last week failed to resolve the grinding Franco-Teuton dispute over the beleaguered Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
Nothing says net zero emissions like zero economic activity
Last month, EU leaders met to consider the impact of high energy prices on Europe’s industrial competitiveness.
Europe’s leaders and their failures over Iran: They are playing with fire
What is it about a campaign to remove the Islamic Republic’s chokehold on Europe’s energy supplies that appals Europe?
When the war is interested in you
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier may not be interested in the war with Iran, but that war is certainly interested in Germany.
The EU sees a world that isn’t there
Twenty-five years ago, Europe stood poised to administer a world where all nations sought peace and prosperity.
Need more manure for energy but deplore its production? EU left with bullshit
Germany’s ruling coalition may be an awkward marriage of ideological rivals, but it does benefit from the absence of the Greens, who pushed many of the economically injurious…
One choice for Europe: Defend Ukraine with your own blood or appease Russia
This week’s acrimonious breakup of the latest ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine has for the moment forestalled Europe’s quaking nightmare: That the US may broker…
Is there any hope Europe can learn the Art of the Deal against China?
The horror with which foreign ministries across Europe greeted President Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland shows us how far European diplomats are from understanding,…
Lost causes: Losers carry on and voters be damned
Those of us who grew up in the American South are familiar with the Lost Cause, a profound nostalgia for the defeated Confederacy among our elders, many of whom (like my own…
Mercosur is the public humiliation of France
In the wake of the Trump tariffs, European leaders have loudly proclaimed the merits of free trade, often pointing to the stupendous increase in general prosperity that came…
Putin and EU, watch and learn: How to take Venezuela in two hours
The raid on Caracas that landed Nicolas Maduro and his wife in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre has surely focused minds in the Kremlin.
‘Shut up’, they explained
The Brussels Effect is the hopeful notion that the EU would become the “regulatory superpower” by creating new governance structures for the world, which would be induced…
Once Kyiv burns through its €90bn, will EU float another loan to keep it in fight?
Hallelujah, we have an agreement to keep Ukraine solvent!