Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries are not the kind of people you want to see on your doorstep. So it was unwelcome news in Estonia this Sunday when border guards spotted the group’s distinctive flag (skull and lightning bolts on black) on a Russian patrol boat on the Narva river. All...
The “Serbian World” doctrine
The Western Balkans remain a "critical security hotspot" requiring the EU's "full attention", Rumen Radev warned. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev urged the European Union to take Belgrade’s activity under the so-called “Serbian World” doctrine very seriously, warning that it could pose a serious threat to the stability of the Western...
Rheinmetall leads EU-funded rearmament
After Bulgaria, Romania too signed an agreement with the German defence company to build a state-of-the-art gunpowder factory. The European Union is pouring billions of euros into Bulgaria and Romania to resurrect their Cold War-era munitions expertise, modernising Soviet-vintage factories for 21st-century warfare. At the forefront is German defence titan...
Europe’s conservative turn: from cultural nostalgia to political mainstream
Across the continent, the right’s rise is reshaping the political landscape - from Rome to Nicosia, and from Berlin to Warsaw. Europe is undergoing a profound conservative turn. From traditional right-wing parties to radical nationalists, the rise of the right is redrawing the continent’s political map. What began as electoral...
Brussels power struggle: von der Leyen clips Kallas’ wings over Selmayr
The EU foreign affairs chief sought the top official as a strong ally as she struggles against assertive diplomats. (Based on “Machtkampf in Brüssel: Wie von der Leyen Europas Chefdiplomatin brüskiert,” Handelsblatt, published 1 November 2025) EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tolerates no rival power centers, and EU...
Europe attempts to shape peace in Ukraine
It took just nine and a half months of Trumpian chaos for Europe to remember — almost by instinct — that it actually has a foreign policy. After nearly a year of summits that never happened, ceasefires that never stuck, and peace initiatives that sounded more like press releases, Europe...
Europe invests in defence, but will the money build a European industry?
Europe’s defense spending on the rise amid geopolitical shifts European governments have initiated unprecedented defense spending measures in response to geopolitical pressures. The European Commission and the EU’s foreign policy chief have outlined a Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, which aims for Europe to be prepared to deter threats and act...
Moldova appoints pro-EU economist as prime minister
Alexandru Munteanu has worked outside Moldova for 20 years including for the World Bank and has not previously held political office. The appointment of Alexandru Munteanu, a 61-year-old economist, follows a parliamentary election in September in which President Maia Sandu’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) resoundingly defeated a...
Latvia’s parliament votes to quit controversial Istanbul Convention on violence against women
Latvia’s parliament voted on Thursday to withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, an international treaty designed to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, after a conservative partner in the ruling coalition defied the prime minister and president to force the move. Latvia had ratified the...
Croatia’s €2 billion military leap: tanks, drones, and Balkan tensions
Croatia is launching its most ambitious military overhaul in decades, with parliamentary approval for four major defence projects totaling €1.945 billion. Driven by heightened geopolitical tensions in the Balkans and Europe, particularly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the initiative aims to create a faster, smarter, and more mobile armed forces...