This is the first time Macron has retaliated so angrily against the provocations of his alleged "friend" Donald Trump. The policy of appeasement and flattery is breaking down.

13/US targets EU officials and NGOs with sanctions for fighting disinformation and hate speech time. The US is no longer using weaponized interdependence to uphold international norms but to transform the global order. www.politico.eu/article/us-s...

American social media platforms are banned in Russia. Have you noticed Donald isn't sanctioning anyone over that?

The Supreme Court has announced that it’s going to hear arguments on President Trump’s order rescinding birthright citizenship. The text and history ought to make this an open-and-shut case. bit.ly/40oplbc

The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassador and other senior embassy posts as it moves to reshape the U.S. diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of Trump’s “America First” priorities. apnews.com/article/dipl...

1/Just back from Japan and a few thoughts about the alliance and economic security. First, there is a thirst for work on economic security that is pretty much unparalleled. japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/gene...

A few quick thoughts about this morning's decision. Don't believe the spin from various Russians & others: it's a big deal. The EU has now unambiguously demonstrated that it is able and willing to provide the external financial support Ukraine needs, for as long and as much as it takes. (1/N)

We have a deal. Decision to provide 90 billion euros of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered.

Jetzt muss die EU handeln! Die Nutzung eingefrorener russischer Vermögen zur Unterstützung der Ukraine muss diese Woche beschlossen werden. Das ist das klare Signal an Putin, auf das es jetzt ankommt.

Germany has delivered two Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine that were promised back in August, as well as a ninth IRIS-T system. German Defense Minister Pistorius announced the deliveries during a Ramstein-format meeting.

Quite the lineup at the event honoring AfD deputy caucus leader Markus Frohnmaier…

EU leaders statement from Berlin. www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...

If Merz can deliver on both the frozen assets loan and the Mercosur deal, this will be the best week for his (now rather frayed) “Germany is back” narrative since the debt brake vote in mid-March.

I would add to this that the Ukraine negotiations are also taking place in #Berlin at the moment.

Witkoff, Kushner, Zelenskyy, Merz and others meeting has begun in Germany.

How we handle the frozen assets of Russia is a moment of truth for Europe. This is about political will, not legal niceties. If we fail, we make ourselves irrelevant and hand strategic decisions over to others. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/w...

Germany seems more willing to call out Russia - today the government is accusing Russia of a large scale cyber attack on air traffic security and for disinformation campaign during the federal elections earlier this year:

Good work by Denmark, the Commission, Germany, France, others "The Danish Presidency can inform that COREPER has agreed on a revised version of the Art. 122-proposal and approved the launch of a written procedure for formal Council decision by tomorrow around 5 pm," the Danish presidency announced

Transatlantizismus neuen Typs: Der AfD-Politiker Markus Frohnmaier wird von den New York Young Republicans ausgezeichnet. (Chats, auf die ein früherer Skeet Bezug nahm, wurden den New York STATE Young Republicans zugeordnet.) Danke an @christian-fuchs.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

German machinery production forecast to fall 5% in 2025 vs 2024, 3rd straight annual plunge, VDMA says "Production has been shrinking since the beginning of 2023, and the fourth quarter of 2025 is likely to be the twelfth consecutive quarter of decline"

This afternoon, we had a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. I updated President Zelenskyy and leaders present on two key priorities - support for Ukraine and increasing European defence preparedness.

Kremlin says new US security strategy accords largely with Russia's view. Not even sure where to start. www.reuters.com/world/china/...

"Long game" of @mcfaulmike.bsky.social -> diff. things for diff. countries. McFaul notes US pol. dynamics on Trump/Rep approval, pub. support ->NATO. But return of US policy to transatl. norm not predetermined. So EUR dependency must be addressed now, or there's no "long term." @eejbro.bsky.social

"Russia has welcomed Donald Trump's new US National Security Strategy, calling it "largely consistent" with Moscow's vision." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Trump national security strategy says US should stop "hectoring" repressive nations in the Middle East about human rights then goes on to hector democratically elected European nations about their domestic policies. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/w...

I'm basically never not thinking about Wolf Hall so when I saw the Holbein portrait of Thomas Cromwell it was like worlds colliding defector.com/the-eyes-hav...

While I maintain my scepticism on Bundeswehr recruitment, monthly figures for October 2025 show largest jump in recent memory: Up by 2,500 personnel vs 09/25 for total of 184,242 soldiers. Both contract and volunteer-recruitment with notable increases. augengeradeaus.net/2025/12/pers...

A whopping 65% of Germans say Germany is acting too cautiously in asserting its interests towards the United States.

Much of this has been telegraphed over the past year to be sure. But that doesn't discount how a dramatic a shift this represents. It is now US policy and the people who wrote it believe in it and will get the bureaucracy to implement it. 4/

A few thoughts on the new US national security strategy that was released today. 🧵 www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

Mal von der Aufregung über die neuen Nationale Sicherheitsstrategie der USA abgesehen - was, außer "Trump anrufen" ist eigentlich unsere deutsche und europäische Sicherheitsstrategie? Was wollen wir für die Europäische Sicherheit erreichen bis wann und mit welchen Mitteln?

Once again, Washington calls on Europeans to take more responsibility for their own security, as long as they exercise that responsibility in exactly the way the U.S. govt prescribes...

Heeresinspekteur GenLt. Freuding sagt, dass Kommunikation zw. Bundeswehr & US Pentagon praktisch abgebrochen sei, keiner antworte ihm: "Sie haben nicht nur einen Feind [🇷🇺] vor der Tür, sondern…sind auch dabei, einen wahren Verbündeten & Freund [🇩🇪] zu verlieren." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

“In days after Alaska, a European intel agency distributed a hard-copy report in an envelope to some of the continent’s most senior national security officials, who were shocked by the contents: Inside were details of the commercial and economic plans the Trump admin had been pursuing with Russia.”

A White House website with a dedicated Lügenpresse tab marks a pretty bleak moment in US history.

Five-byline alert: 🚨 “.. the full scope of [Witkoff’s talks] went much further, according to people familiar .. They were privately charting a path to bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold—with American businesses first in line .. to the dividends. 🇺🇦 www.wsj.com/world/russia...

Three things stand out about the amazing stories in @bloomberg.com today: 1. Leak probably not from a US or RUS source. Note that Bloomberg also published transcript of a conversation in Russian btw 2 senior RUS officials Dmitriyev and Ushakov. 1/ www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Hab' die Ehre gehabt, bei @zdfde.bsky.social ZDFLive aufzutreten bzgl Russland-Ukriane & Trump-Regierung. Die Regierung Trump zeigt grosses Verstaendnis fuer die Russischen Forderungen. Diplomatisches Eingreifen von Ukraine und ihre Unterstuetzer: wichtiger denn je. www.zdf.de/play/magazin...

The 28 points would strip Ukraine of its sovereignty and security. It would reward Putin for his aggression and thereby encourage him to go even further. This is unacceptable.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear: “This war can only end with Ukraine’s full consent. It cannot be resolved by great powers over the heads of those under attack.” He stressed that Europe must be part of any solution and warned that Ukraine’s defeat would destabilize the entire continent.

Here is my read of the "peace plan" and how Kirill Dmitriev played the American media to force this thing into being -- with an incompetent White House scrambling to make it seem like this was somehow coordinated and well-planned. open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...

Selten schräg. Selbst wenn (!) man der These folgt, dass mehr Atomwaffen in den Händen der Guten eine gute Sache wären... wer glaubt eigentlich, dass die Europäer dafür von einer Zustimmung zur "Proliferation" der USA abhängig wären, wie dieser Text nahelegt?

Resilienz und Abschreckung stehen im Fokus der diesjährigen #BSC2025 – mit Schweden als Partnerland. „Es liegt in unserem nationalen Interesse, dass die NATO die stärkste Militärallianz der Welt bleibt“, betonte Staatssekretär von Geyr in seiner Rede. 🔎 diplo.de/2744370

To jumpstart the economy, Germany needs a new culture of risk, says Holger Schmieding in the latest episode of our Zeitgeist podcast:

Ok, so that just happened...

Great piece from AGI non-resident senior fellow Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger on the AfD, its foreign policy views, and how the party is trying to cultivate ties in the U.S. without changing its closeness to Russia and China. Worth a read! 👇 @amgerinst.bsky.social

European carmakers are asking suppliers to use parts made outside China “We had some indications already — questions like, ‘how can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” said the head pf Schaeffler AG’s powertrain & chassis division

1/How to make sense of Saudi-US expose -- golf course licenses and real estate deals for a defense agreement and nuke tech? Enter the world of neo-royalism (www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/w...