So now we know. Washington is intent on decoupling from Europe and reconnecting with Russia. America’s stance was reaffirmed yesterday, in Brussels, by the newly minted Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who was there primarily to discuss the Ukraine conflict. We …
Why Putin needs a new Yalta
If you know anything about the Yalta Conference, it’s probably that picture. You know the one: three war-weary leaders, sitting side-by-side, Roosevelt with his toothy smile, Churchill all eyebrows — and Stalin, grinning under his moustache, visibly pleased at the …
Europe can kiss the future goodbye
More than two decades ago, the EU unveiled its Lisbon Strategy, which set out to transform the bloc into “the most dynamic, competitive, sustainable knowledge-based economy, enjoying full employment and strengthened economic and social cohesion”.
We know how well that …
Why Trump would win a tariff war
If you want to know how to respond to Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, just think back to what happened between the EU and the UK after the Brexit referendum. The EU thought it could pressurise the UK either into reversing …
Why Trump would win a tariff war
If you want to know how to respond to Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, just think back to what happened between the EU and the UK after the Brexit referendum. The EU thought it could pressurise the UK either into reversing …
Will Ireland ever forgive Robbie Keane?
The swathes of fans in black and green behind the goal as Ferencváros attacked in the first half had started noisy and got noisier. A win was needed to secure their spot in the Europa League play-offs, and by halftime …
Salwan Momika had a right to blaspheme
I do not much like the destruction of books. As a form of protest, it conjures sinister images from the past, most notably the Pathé news reels of brownshirts and students gathered around a pyre in Berlin’s Opernplatz under the …
The secret of Putin’s meat grinder
Vladimir Putin promised a lightning war — but almost three years after his invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s military is bleeding. The number of casualties, alone, is shocking. Even Trump has remarked on the consequences of Putin “grinding it out”. Since …
Germany’s immigration meltdown
He came from Afghanistan through Bulgaria, where he had registered his claim for asylum. In 2022, he travelled through the EU’s open borders to Germany where he settled in the north-western Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg. Last Wednesday, the man, now …
Europe is clinging to yesterday
And so, farewell to the last of the trans-Atlantic US presidents. Donald Trump’s inauguration marks the end of an era: Zeitenwende as the Germans call it. And no, the Europeans won’t be alright.
Over the weekend I was re-reading The …
Can Bayrou’s government survive?
Only a month into his tenure, Francois Bayrou, the fifth French Prime Minister in three years, is already facing the first of doubtless many attempts to bring his government down. The great survivor may have clung on for decades in …
Why Europe fears free speech
We all know the old joke: when a European referendum delivers the “wrong” outcome, the country votes again until they get it “right”. The EU thought this would be the case after Brexit. But so far, no one’s laughing.
If …
Jean-Marie Le Pen poisoned French politics
21 April 2002 was a watershed date in post-war French politics. Turning on their televisions that evening, the French public heard the startling news that Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the Front National — a party boasting a former member …
How the Left betrayed Charlie Hebdo
The 7th Arrondissement is usually a sedate corner of Paris: just embassies and government offices. But as soon as I entered the café, not far from my office, around midday on 7 January 2015, I immediately saw something was wrong. …
Why Trump won’t end the war in Ukraine
The imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House has dramatically reframed the discussion about the Ukraine war. After years of insisting on a Ukrainian military victory at any cost, the Western political and media establishment appears to be …