Large-scale fraud involving the EU’s post-COVID recovery fund has been under close scrutiny from journalists and the European public for an extended period. The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) was established to support the recovery of European countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of billions of euros were intended...
Slovenia has proved vulnerable to the threat of Russian espionage
The car accident involving Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar in late July 2026 raised a number of questions not only regarding the organisation of her security but also concerning potential shortcomings and significant counterintelligence gaps in the protection of the head of state. The incident attracted additional attention because the...
Russia is undermining trust between Central European countries in order to strengthen its influence
Russia is increasingly exploiting former territorial disputes between European states as a basis for information operations aimed at fuelling mutual distrust and political tensions. Central European countries are particularly vulnerable to such manipulation due to the complex history of border changes over the past century, the presence of national minorities,...
Russia is expanding its network of drone launch bases along NATO’s eastern border
Amid Russia’s ongoing hybrid escalation, Moscow has begun rapidly developing and upgrading infrastructure in the European part of the Russian Federation to support the large-scale deployment of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). On 16 August 2026, The Telegraph reported that satellite imagery had identified at least 10 newly established or...
The crisis in Meloni’s coalition, the threat of snap elections and their cost to Europe
On 4 September 2026, Giorgia Meloni’s government will set a historic record by becoming the longest-serving government in post-war Italian history, surpassing the record of Silvio Berlusconi’s 2001–2005 cabinet. Formed after the right-wing coalition’s victory in the 25 September 2022 general election, the government will have remained in office for...
The situation in Poland one year before the Parliamentary elections
Although Poland’s next parliamentary elections are scheduled for October–November 2027, the election campaign is effectively already in full swing. A year ahead of the decisive political contest, Poland is experiencing one of the most serious political confrontations of the past decade. The outcome will determine not only the composition of...
Vienna network supplied Russia’s war machine
At first glance, the modest trading company with a registered address in one of Vienna’s business districts appeared indistinguishable from thousands of other European B2B intermediaries. The absence of significant advertising, a minimal staff and a concise website created the typical profile of a small intermediary structure. However, behind this...
Russia is using its own financial platform A7 to circumvent sanctions
The A7 payment system was established and launched in 2024 by Promsvyazbank (PSB), a Russian state-owned bank serving the country’s Defence Supply Base (DSB). In the Russian Federation, the entity is legally registered as LLC A7 (Obshchestvo s ogranichennoi otvetstvennostiu A7). Promsvyazbank provided the newly established company with its own...
How the Russian Embassy in Vienna became a European hub for intelligence services
A sunny summer day on the banks of the Danube in Vienna’s Donaustadt district bears little resemblance to traditional images of Cold War espionage. Yet it is here, within the diplomatic complex known as “Russencity,” established during the Soviet era under KGB chief Yuri Andropov, that a significant Russian intelligence...
Russia is laying the groundwork for a hybrid escalation in the Baltic region
Russian hybrid attacks and has become a battleground for the unofficial standoff between Russia and NATO. The Kremlin is attempting to destabilize the situation there by resorting to provocations and actions that fall short of open military conflict. Regular flights by Russian military aircraft near NATO airspace, interference with satellite...