The EU wants to protect the bloc’s industrial base from a deepening Chinese incursion. But diverging national interests are undermining efforts to maintain a united front.

A digital battlefield communication system crucial to Germany’s military modernization is in such deep trouble that the army is looking for analog workarounds.

“There is a kind of contest playing out between legacy [defense] players and new entrants," NATO's Pierre Vandier, told @politico.eu “There are 2 possible outcomes. Either the startups eventually get absorbed into the legacy world. Or the clash turns more violent" www.politico.eu/article/west...

5 ways Trump could destroy NATO

Summer getaways are at risk of disruption as airlines across Europe brace for a jet fuel crunch that threatens peak travel season.

President Donald Trump rattled NATO allies today, as he strongly suggested that the U.S. was weighing whether to pull out of the transatlantic military alliance.

NATO’s annual report released today shows just how much progress the alliance has made in the past year on defense spending - a total of $1.4 trillion - thanks, in part to the fierce pressure exerted by Donald Trump. Here's how each country ranked 👇

Europe’s struggling auto sector eyes defense contract lifeline

Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to the U.S. under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence information with Iran, such as the precise coordinates of U.S. military assets in the Middle East, if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia.

Mark Rutte’s tried-and-tested approach to dealing with Donald Trump is coming under strain as the war in the Middle East opens up fresh fault lines inside NATO.

NATO chief Mark Rutte has declined to address Donald Trump’s latest warning he could reconsider the U.S. role in the alliance after berating allies for not backing his war in Iran.

Poland's MAGA-aligned President Karol Nawrocki is in a war for control of the country with pro-EU PM Donald Tusk. Both sides are painting the struggle in existential terms as they gear up for next year’s crucial parliamentary election.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned today that a potential Polish exit from the EU is now a “real threat,” accusing nationalist President Karol Nawrocki and right-wing opposition parties of steering the country toward leaving the bloc.

As the <checks notes> drone interceptor discourse handily demonstrates, having a highly battlefield experienced and armed to the teeth Ukrainian state as part of the EU / closely integrated into Europe is a bit of a game changer for perceptions of European military capability…

New results from The POLITICO Poll suggest a lasting chill has settled over the world’s former bosom buddies. Americans are as rosy as ever about their northern neighbors, but Canadians don’t share the love. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has openly questioned Germany’s participation in Europe’s flagship Future Combat Air System, warning that Berlin could look beyond France for fighter jet partners if key disagreements cannot be resolved.

European countries that spent decades sheltering under America’s nuclear umbrella are now openly discussing a new form of protective alliance against Russia built around French and possibly British atomic weapons.

Thousands of Poles who believed they were long divorced are discovering an unsettling possibility: They may still be legally married.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will send his deputy to a meeting of NATO defense ministers next month, according to a U.S. official and a European diplomat, a decision likely to raise further questions about Washington’s dedication to the transatlantic alliance.

Mark Rutte has one overriding mission as NATO chief: Stop Donald Trump from blowing up the alliance. That focus is now putting the former Dutch prime minister on a collision course with the very European capitals he once worked alongside.

From career diplomats to bureaucrats, people working at European institutions are united by a belief, to some degree, in the EU project. But working in Brussels can turn into a nightmare. Here’s who we think have the five hardest jobs in town 👇

European populist champions are turning away from a U.S. president they once openly admired.

At least it's not a leap year. patreon.com/BrianMcFadden

France will boost its military presence in Greenland in the coming days, Emmanuel Macron has said, as Donald Trump continues to ramp up pressure in his bid to annex the Danish territory.

A wave of AI-generated videos on TikTok promoting Poland’s departure from the European Union is a deliberate campaign to probe how its election in 2027 can be influenced, Warsaw's junior digital minister told us.

I will be in Nuuk in the coming weeks to officially open Canada’s consulate and mark a concrete step in strengthening our engagement in support of Denmark’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Greenland.

As a frontline NATO heavyweight, Poland is seething at being relegated to the diplomatic sidelines on a potential peace deal in Ukraine.

Ukraine's soldiers are doing much better in the pitched battles in the east of the country than Russia is letting on, Kyiv's top commander said, denouncing what he called Kremlin "disinformation" aimed at influencing a foreign audience.

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump made his sharpest critique of Europe yet to our Dasha Burns, slamming "weak" leaders of the "decaying" continent and saying he'd back candidates aligned with his vision.

The calls from America this weekend to "abolish the EU" are for one simple reason: the EU is the only thing that can keep European nation-states from becoming Russian or American vassals.

POLITICO exclusive: What the US wants from Ukraine: Leave Donbas, one way or another. An official familiar with the negotiation process tells us. www.politico.eu/article/us-w...

🚨 BREAKING: Donald Trump has warned that Europe faces “civilizational erasure” in an explosive new document. Read the story: www.politico.eu/article/dona...

Trump's national security strategy is out and some of the Europe sections are shocking. "...the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism." www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

COMMENTARY: If you’ve struggled to follow the latest US efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, you’re not alone. The chaos stems from the Donald Trump administration’s lack of a formal process to develop policy, give guidance, engage foreign governments and set a clear direction.  

Canada has reached a final agreement to join the EU’s €150 billion Security Action for Europe program, becoming the first third country to take part in the bloc’s flagship joint procurement initiative.

Germany wants to undermine the EU's 2035 clean car mandate and allow "highly efficient combustion engine cars" after that. What, you may ask, is a "highly efficient combustion engine car"? "A highly efficient combustion engine car is a combustion engine car that is highly efficient," per the govt.

"Over the past 100 years, Russia has attacked 19 different countries — some of them 3-4 times — and none of these countries, including Ukraine, has ever attacked Russia." - EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

I hate that this is necessary, but it is. So it’s good that things are moving. www.politico.eu/article/euro...

Poland will implement yesterday's EU court ruling requiring it to recognise same-sex marriages conducted in other member states, says the justice minister. By contrast, the president's office says it "will not succumb to the terror of rainbow rulings" that "completely destroy the family".

ICYMI: "The fighting in Ukraine no longer resembles the trench warfare of World War I — instead, drones have erased the solid front line by creating a killing zone." @politico.eu (Nov 18, 2025) www.politico.eu/article/surv...

This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Russia is likely to test NATO’s collective defense pledge soon, Sweden’s top military official warned, as Moscow steps up its campaign of hybrid attacks against Europe.

On the leaked and thus not-so-secret US-Russia ”peace plan”: I have read nothing to indicate that it’s any different this time than in February/March, May, and August. The Trump admin is serving the same nothingburger for the fourth time. Media and analysts haven’t learned to see through the noise.

The US has stepped back from defending democracy.

Swedish Deputy PM: Sweden needs to pick its friends wisely, and we are choosing Canada… So when we come to America, we come to Canada now.

The fighting in Ukraine no longer resembles the trench warfare of World War I — instead, drones have erased the solid front line by creating a killing zone.

The EU's economy is set to expand by 1.4 percent this year, driven in large part by Poland's and Spain's growth.

October marked the 10th straight month of decline in Canadian travellers to the US. Air travel dropped nearly 24%, while car travel fell more than 30% compared to the same period last year, data from Canada's statistics office shows. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This year’s annual military drill in Romania known as Dacian Fall carried extra weight. Part of NATO’s race to reinforce Europe’s eastern flank, it comes just a few weeks after Washington’s announced it will sharply reduce US troop levels in the country.

Weekend reading: Where America stands, one year after Trump’s election. A fascistic movement controls the government; they are trying to build an authoritarian state; but they have not consolidated authoritarian rule. A democracy no more, but not a stable autocratic regime yet. This week’s piece: