US disarmament is a gift to its great power rivals
Despite its rhetoric, Washington’s busy organizing a historically unprecedented retrenchment of American power.
equipment
From welfare cuts to Trump tariffs: 7 takeaways from the UK spring statement
Social security cuts, a Whitehall squeeze โ and a (future) silver lining on growth. POLITICO sat through Rachel Reevesโ spring statement so you didnโt have to.
Belgian prosecutors probe whether Huawei paid for letter signed by 8 MEPs
Authorities are looking into whether the Chinese tech giant made illegal payments for a letter defending its interests in 2021.
Threatย of war and disease means Europeans need 3 daysโ supplies, Commission to warn
โEurope cannot afford to remain reactive,โ the European Commission will warn in strategy to be unveiled on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian teens who took on Putinโs gulag archipelago โ and won
When Vlad and his friends realized the Kremlin would not return them home, they staged an open revolt.
Kubilius: EU needs at least โฌ70 billion to strengthen military mobility
The bloc’s infrastructure is not yet ready for the rapid mobility of military troops and equipment across the continent. An initial โฌ70 billion is needed to urgently make it fit for purpose, the EU’s Defence Commissioner told Euronews in an exclusive i…
UK-EU defense pact really does depend on fish, European minister warns
Countries including France are said to want to tie a new post-Brexit security deal to more beneficial access to British waters, potentially holding up military cooperation.
Trump sends second aircraft carrier to Middle East in escalation against Houthis
The move signals the likelihood of an increased bombing campaign against the Iran-backed group.
Ukraine war briefing: Trump โwants Zaporizhzhia power plant for USโ
White House has โmoved beyondโ minerals deal; Zelenskyy expects ceasefire deal to cover civilian as well as energy infrastructure. What we know on day 1,121 Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday that the US could own and run Ukrainian nucl…
EU slams the door on US in colossal defense plan
Bloc aims to build up military-industrial complex to deter Russia and brace for the U.S. shift away from Europe.
EU opens fiscal tap to secure Europe but warns against โdefense washingโ
Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis stressed the flexibility is a stop-gap until countries reframe budgets around higher defense needs.
After the North Sea tanker crash, a multi-million dollar battle over whoโs to blame
A week after the tanker crash off the English coast, officials are trying to work out the damage done โ and who is going to pick up the bill.
Von der Leyen calls for collective arms purchases by 2030
Europe has to rely more on its own resources, the Commission chief said.
Five years on, British politics still canโt escape Covid-19
Covid-19 exposed and exacerbated deep problems with the British state โ but learning lessons is hard when the politicians want to move on.
Macron to EU colleagues: Stop buying American, buy European
“Those who buy Patriot should be offered the new-generation Franco-Italian SAMP/T. Those who buy the F-35, should be offered the Rafale,” French president says.
Trump says โthousandsโ of Ukrainian soldiers encircled in Kursk; Ukraine says thatโs โuntrueโ
Ukraine insists its troops aren’t surrounded, but they are pulling back from areas they captured last summer.
Can Europe rearm and defend itself without the US?
Making Europe capable of defending itself alone calls the use of American equipment into question. Governments will need to place solid orders over the next 20 years to achieve this goal.
Putin puts heavy conditions on Trumpโs Ukraine ceasefire plan
Russian leader says he agrees with proposals to halt military action โ but there’s a catch.
Ukraine war briefing: Putin visits Kursk as Trump threatens consequences if ceasefire not agreed
Russian president hopes army on brink of โfully liberatingโ border region after recent advances; Trump says he could โdo things financiallyโ if Moscow rejects truce. What we know on day 1,114See all our Ukraine war coverageVladimir Putin has visited Ku…
Canada sounds alarm at G7: โNobody is safeโ from Trumpโs tactics
As U.S. joins foreign ministersโ gathering in Quebec, Mรฉlanie Joly warns counterparts that they are next.
Europeโs military heavyweights call for defense industry deregulation
15 countries are ready to move forward on security guarantees for Ukraine, France’s Lecornu said, without naming them.
EU lawmakers accuse US of โblackmailingโ Zelenskyy into ceasefire
With transatlantic trust in disarray, MEPs call for Europe-led defense.
Germanyโs military is struggling as Trump tests NATO, report shows
Germany’s Bundeswehr remains atrophying and ill-equipped despite political leaders’ repeated vows to reverse the force’s decline.
Europeโs path to global influence
To truly become a great power, the bloc will need a political structure that enables it to exercise the leadership long provided by the U.S.
How dependent are Europe’s militaries on the US?
European NATO countries are taking urgent steps to boost their armaments industries amid mounting concern about the strength of Washington’s commitment to their security. FRANCE 24 spoke to Richard Aboulafia, managing director at consultancy AeroDynam…
US dominates European weapons purchases: report
European NATO members have become even more dependent on U.S. weapons than before, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released Monday. European arms imports shot up by 155 percent over 2020-2024 compared with 2015-2019 โ a reaction to Russiaโs full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. While the U.S. [โฆ]
France to use interest from frozen Russian assets to finance arms for Ukraine
Reply from Moscow: “You will still have to … return what was stolen.”
France to use interest from frozen Russian assets to finance arms for Ukraine
Reply from Moscow: “You will still have to … return what was stolen.”
Intense Russian attacks force Ukraine to consider pulling out of Kursk
Kyiv is trying to hang on to the territory it holds inside Russia despite fierce counterattacks by Moscow’s military.
Race to rearm: can Europe deter Russia on its own?
Ukraineโs allies in actual fact have plenty of troops and hardware. But how battle ready? And is it enough to deter Putinโs Russia? An emergency summit in Brussels inviting Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a show of solidarity in the face of a NATO leader thatโ…
European leaders brace for their โfive-minutes-to-midnightโ nightmare summit
Diplomats are already worried pro-Russian EU governments could derail the attempt to regain the initiative from Trump โ and save Ukraine.
JD Vance trashes Starmer and Macronโs Ukraine peacekeeping plan
U.S. vice president mocks idea of โsome random country that hasnโt fought a war in 30 yearsโ helping Ukraine, though after backlash denies he was referring to France or U.K.
Von der Leyen proposes new โฌ150B common defense fund
Commission president announces “Rearm Europe” plan after U.S. President Donald Trump suspended all military aid to Ukraine.
UK-France tensions over plan to seize $350bn Russia assets for US arms
Macron fears approach would breach principle of immunity of sovereign assets and undermine efforts to strengthen European defence Tensions have surfaced between France and the UK over whether $350bn of frozen Russian assets can be seized and then offer…
Franceโs nuclear deterrent already covers allies, says far right leader Bardella
The National Rally president took a more nuanced stance than his party’s presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen.
Trump, Vance attack on Zelenskyy angers many. But Russians and (some) Republicans love it.
Ukraineโs supporters defend Kyiv against the U.S. presidentโs in-person attack, while detractors say he got what he deserved.
Macronโs told-you-so moment
Trump vindicated the French president on self-reliant defense. But with Putin looming, the hard work starts now for Europe.
Von der Leyen floats EU effort to finance missiles, ammunition and air defense
Europe is scrambling to ramp up the production of military equipment and boost its defense capabilities.
Macron meets Trump, Europeans head to Kyiv in two-pronged effort to save Ukraine
European leaders hope to reverse Trumpโs retreat from Europe and Ukraineโs dire prospects.
Vladimir Putin praises soldiers fighting in Ukraine for ‘defending the future of Russia’
The Russian president also used his video message on Sunday to pledge greater support for military personnel and new weapons and equipment for the army.
France still looking to block EU-Mercosur trade deal, Macron says
Farmers should not be “an adjustment tool for purchasing power … nor an adjustment tool for trade agreements,” French president says.
EU targets โฌ6B Ukraine military aid packageย
Countries aim to shore up Kyiv’s strategic position amid ongoing talks between Russia and the United States.
Looser state aid rules aim to stoke clean tech demand
A European Commission draft sets out ways for governments to subsidize and boost clean-tech investments.
American troops in Europe are not โforever,โ US defense chief warns
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has a “stark” message for European allies.
Virkkunen stands firm on American pushback against EU tech laws
SNEAK PEEK โ The EU plans to raise the American pushback against tech law with the U.S., said tech boss Henna Virkkunen. She also promised a more โinnovation-friendlyโ AI regulatory framework. โ Rolling out AI should mean talking to workers and helping them gain new skills, said EESC president Oliver Rรถpke. Failing to get it [โฆ]
EU considers giving countries wiggle room to boost defense spending
The move would allow governments with overstretched budgets more flexibility under the bloc’s debt and deficit rules.
Germany reportedly suspects Russia after drone sightings over key airbase
Mysterious drones have repeatedly infiltrated a German base where Ukrainian troops train on Patriot systems, sparking an espionage probe and exposing gaps in Berlinโs air defense.
Ukraine war briefing: Putin admits situation โvery difficultโ in Kursk as Kyiv forces mount new offensive
Moscow shows โindifferenceโ to civilian humanitarian corridor offer, says Zelenskyy; France delivers Mirage jets. What we know on day 1,080Russia said it was battling a new Ukrainian offensive in Kursk, as Kyiv offered a humanitarian corridor for civil…
Note to our readers, from CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and Editor-in-Chief John F. Harrisย
POLITICO has been the subject of debate on X this week. Some of it has been misinformed, and some of it has been flat-out false. Letโs set the record straight.
Lithuania hopes to woo Trump with its anti-China stance
The country aims to curry favor and keep the U.S. president committed to transatlantic defense by being the first to catch the mood in Washington.
Refugee shot in eye during deadly 2014 crossing into Spain files complaint to UN
Survivor of Ceuta incident that ended with 14 deaths asks why use of anti-riot equipment was never investigatedA refugee who was almost blinded in one eye during a police operation that ended with the deaths of at least 14 people off the coast of Spain…
China hits back at Trumpโs tariffs and complains to the WTO
Chinese measures wonโt take effect until Feb. 10, leaving Donald Trump and Xi Jinping time to defuse their growing trade war.
Is Keir Starmer Trumpโs new bestie?
Sky Newsโ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politicoโs Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics. Overnight, Donald Trump decided to pause tariffs on Canada and Mexico but pressed ahead with imposing them on China. Theyโve retaliated by putting tariffs on American gas, coal, oil and farming equipment. But what will the [โฆ]
No Sweden-Latvia underwater cable sabotage
Swedish prosecutors confirm no sabotage in the Sweden-Latvia cable break, attributing it to weather, equipment failures, and poor seamanship.
The post No Sweden-Latvia underwater cable sabotage appeared first on Euractiv.
War of attrition strains Ukraineโs army
Ukraine wants Donald Trump’s support, but has suffered thousands of casualties and desertions as it holds the line against Russia.
Sweden says latest Baltic Sea cable cut was not sabotage
“Weather conditions and deficiencies in equipment and seamanship” were behind last month’s disruption, prosecutors say.
Macron turns to billionairesย to help pay for his legacy
After the rebuilding of the Notre-Dame cathedral, Macron has a new pet project: the Louvre.
Czech long sled dog race โ in pictures
Around 700 dogs and more than 100 mushers are sledding through the Eagle Mountain range near the Czech border with Poland. Mushers from ten different countries are taking part in the four-day stage dog sled race, which is in its 27th year. The race inc…
Boosting EU demandย and a stronger euro would prevent trade war
With Trump imposing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, finding ways to avert a trade war between the U.S. and Europe must be a priority.
Canada hits back against Trump tariffs: โWe will not back downโ
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is ready to respond with 25 percent tariffs against C$155 billion worth of American goods.
โGoddamn, do somethingโ โ years of warnings came before DCโs air tragedy
Air traffic controller shortages, soaring travel demand, a surge of airport near-collisions and complaints of congressional dysfunction escalated before the U.S. saw its first fatal domestic airline crash since 2009.
โNothing short of a nightmareโ: Jet, helicopter collide near Reagan National Airport
A regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army helicopter late Wednesday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in what appeared to be the most serious aviation collision in the U.S. in more than 11 years. The American Airlines jet had 60 passengers and four crew members, CNN reported, citing the airline. Authorities did not [โฆ]
Kremlin refuses to comment on report Syria asked for Assad to be extradited
Moscow keeps quiet as Ahmed al-Sharaa starts to exert influence in Damascus and abroad.
NATO data-sharing gives EU glimmer of hope in defence readiness quest
But whether this will be useful to the EU, which includes four neutral non-NATO members, seems questionable.
The post NATO data-sharing gives EU glimmer of hope in defence readiness quest appeared first on Euractiv.