As economic growth stalls and revenues decline, Moscow is no longer able to pump up the fiscal stimulus that fueled earlier wartime expansion, instead embracing austerity measures that threaten to further strangle the civilian economy.  While the budget figures are not final — the fiscal plan requires parliamentary approval — Moscow’s…

Western sanctions have proved highly effective in dismantling Russia’s economic resilience limiting access to Western technology and financial markets, constraining output and creating a “demand outstripping supply” scenario that fuels inflation. This cycle breeds rising deficits, inflation, and stagnation. Ending the Ukraine conflict could help break this cycle, but Putin’s…

here is no peace in France, where the political crisis seems endless and deepening. Not even a month after being chosen to lead the government, Sebastian Lecornu ends up in the eye of the storm for qualifications he never obtained. The loyalist of French President Emmanuel Macron lied about the…

Autumn 2024. Barcelona. A port terminal. Cargo containers are inspected by two dozen customs officers and armed police. A lift truck removes metal drums. A man wearing gloves and a gas mask pours a sample into a glass vial.  This is Operation Vial, which started back in 2022. Spanish law…

Ruling party holds on to its majority in Sunday’s poll, which it says is ‘strong mandate for EU accession. Moldova’s pro-western president, Maia Sandu, has hailed voters’ refusal to be “bought” by Moscow after her ruling party held on to its parliamentary majority in Sunday’s pivotal election, bolstering the tiny…