Europe on a military budget: how war and NATO’s new 5% of GDP target are reshaping the EU’s social agenda
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military spending surged by 9.4% in 2024, reaching $2.718 trillion—the largest annual increase ever recorded. The main driver of this spike was Europe (including Russia), where expenditures rose by 17% to $693 billion, surpassing levels seen at the end of…
Dirty Payments: how Worldline and Payone allowed billions in suspicious online transactions to flow for years
In the digital payments industry, where trillions of euros change hands annually, European giant Worldline and its German subsidiary Payone have become embroiled in a major scandal. An investigation by European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), published on June 25, 2025, revealed how the companies systematically serviced high-risk clients for over a…
Europe’s industrial pivot: an arms boom fueled by the war in Ukraine
An analysis of human history leads to a sobering conclusion: the story of our civilization is not one of peaceful creation, but of military conflict. But, strange as it may seem, it is war that has often driven technological development. A prime example is World War II, which spurred a…
Russia and the European elites
The Mechanics of Covert Influence Russia’s attempts to exert influence over the political and economic elites of the European Union have long ceased to be speculative—they are now an undeniable reality. What’s more, this influence has shown the capacity to shape strategic decisions within individual EU member states. Through a…
Russian Money and Europe’s Radical Forces: Hidden Influence and Its Consequences
A pressing issue in European politics over the past decade has been the increasing activity of radical parties and their connections with Russia. Regardless of the national context in which they operate, certain patterns stand out: these parties often serve as “platforms” for Moscow, facilitating direct or indirect attempts to…