The scope of the 1.5% pledge for security-related spending is so woolly it verges on gimmickry. The reality is that most countries will easily meet that part of the target, because it covers things they were already doing

So Trump tells Europeans to increase their defence budgets & buy more US kit, & the Pentagon tells them they can’t have it. Maybe it’s time for Europe to stop thinking it can rely on the US, & start investing in a rapid build-up of domestic arms production, even if it’s slightly lower quality.

Poland’s domestic paralysis weakens the entire Western response precisely when unity and strength are most critical, writes @mprochwicz.bsky.social https://bit.ly/45Rr50C

Great quote 👇 from @dmugge.bsky.social

Denmark has chosen the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system over the US Patriot. Massive win for Paris and first clear consequence of Trump's European policy on arms sales. www.fmn.dk/da/nyheder/2...

Lemme speak with directness and a sense of urgency about our most important economic threats, and what history teaches us about moments like this.

NEW: Astronomers spotlight distant planet in hunt for extraterrestrial life Earth-sized planet 40 light years away could have liquid water and an atmosphere rich in gases such as nitrogen www.ft.com/content/5522... Register here to read some FT articles free: www.ft.com/register

"According to Novaya Gazeta, the independent Russian newspaper, there have been 56 deaths of successful businesspeople and officials under strange circumstances since February 2022. Many of them have fallen out of windows." www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/russi...

Lords clashed over Irish neutrality and defence spending as ministers confirmed the UK and Ireland will refresh their defence cooperation MoU for 2026. ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-and-irela...

I'm glad Ezra Klein wrote this, and he's totally right on the path forward. Because of his positioning as an establishment-friendly centrist liberal, maybe Dem leaders will listen, which would be great.

It begins. www.ft.com/content/0157...

Honking endorsement for Farage, Johnson et la, without a moment’s reflection that 10 years of UKIPified Tory govt created the mess they’re railing about — booming benefits bills, bond market routs, immigration surges, trade slump and investment slumps. Bring back Boris and Nadine! That’ll fix it. 🙈

💥 SCOOP! The US has informed Nato allies it will phase out security assistance programmes for European armies along Russia’s border, affecting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding under the Pentagon’s section 333 authority which helps to keep the continent safe on.ft.com/4lT4Bkp

🚨French Legislative Election poll If the first round of potential legislative elections took place next Sunday, which of the following candidates would you vote for in your constituency?

As a former resident of wonk-land, this made me snort www.economist.com/britain/2025...

“Are we in a new global order? No, we are in a state of global disorder...I’m afraid we are in a situation where the old order is gone, and it will not come back. And where we have the task, as Europe, to design a new order.” Sabine Weyand, DG Trade, on EU's task. www.euractiv.com/section/econ...

Two next steps for European action in the next days: 1) working on American support: US has reassured Europeans that there will be US support, scope and nature needs to be clarified 2) sanctions and secondary sanctions Meetings: another bilateral RUS-US and trilateral US-RUS-UKR

Check out the latest from my USAWC/SSI colleague @jacobstoil.bsky.social on the end of the long-troubled United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) blogs.timesofisrael.com/goodbye-unif...

From the official Royal Norwegian Navy Facebook page: Today the Norwegian and British Ministers for Defense signed the agreement that formally established the strategic partnership on new frigates. Key feature: A fully integrated frigate fleet with the Royal Navy.

Emmanuel Macron announces that 26 countries of the Coalition of the Willing have committed to establishing a "reassurance force" to protect Ukraine by land, air and sea. Germany, Italy and Poland, which have until now been reluctant, are part of the group.

Turkey and South Korea churn out NATO-standard gear at good prices. For these new contenders in the escalating global arms race it makes sense to aim high

Really sums up the aspiration-reality gap of the COTW

This week’s dose of Europtimism with @josephdeweck.bsky.social: Perhaps for the first time in the history of European integration, elites are lagging behind popular demand for more Europe. When will political leaders start capitalising on it ?

European capitals are under increasing pressure to make concrete troop pledges for a multinational force in postwar Ukraine, as leaders began talks in Paris that host Emmanuel Macron said would “finalise robust security guarantees" for Kyiv Full details on the discussions here: on.ft.com/47rpBeL

Political party discovers that higher tax rates lead to higher tax revenues.

Kim Darroch on Ukraine over at the new B4B substack: "In the end, did we give Russia what it wanted, or did we ensure Ukraine had a chance to determine its own future?" bestforbritain.substack.com/p/putin-and-...

⚡️ German chancellor rejects von der Leyen's remarks on Ukraine troop plans. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times on Aug. 31 that European capitals were preparing "pretty precise plans" for potential deployments in postwar Ukraine.

Great paper. My three takeaways are: 1. Bad economic performance appears to make it more likely that populists take power. Many commentators argue that it's all culture wars or immigration, which seems to be wrong.

Not sure that some in Germany understood that more issuance of their own would imply more market discipline on France. Not sure some in France fully realised that Germany's big fiscal experiment also has sharp downsides for them.

Finland goes big on defence, govt parties consensus on FY'26 budget. Procurement rocketing as large scale ground forces modernization begin. Replacing late cold war era stocks with modern gear for mass army aint cheap. Wartime str 280k with 1mo reserve in total. www.iltalehti.fi/politiikka/a...

Poland, Sweden deepen defence ties with new agreement

As we await the unveiling of new & evolved PLA systems at the Big Beijing Parade (BBP) today, ⁦‪@CSIS‬⁩ have published an excellent set of graphs about Chinese military growth. A caveat: this doesn’t cover integrated warfighting capability. www.csis.org/analysis/chi...

'Germany does not plan to send its troops to Ukraine – Germany's Merz' www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/202...

A lovely piece. To answer the question: you can't reunite what was never really separated. To complicate further: we are better for eachother as two countries. And we got work to do in the world. We've done it before. Together. ... and yes, Sweden should build more saunas, until then, mine'll do

Just published a wholesome weekend read, taking stock of the ever-ongoing bilateral competition between Finland and Sweden. Including my personal score ! Jokes aside though - should Finland and Sweden reunite ?

NATO has published its latest annual report on Allied defence expenditure, showing sharp increases in spending across Europe alongside sustained US dominance. ukdefencejournal.org.uk/?p=61746

Absolutely. They are being goaded by Reform into campaigning, but the only way to improve their polling against Reform is to govern

What has either one of them gained though ? Even in the short term ?

One thing about geopolitical narcissists like Putin-and Trump. They will make short-term gains, to satisfy their egos, but with no long-term strategy, which means they will lose in the end. Someday someone will write a great piece about narcissists as master geo-tacticians but hopeless strategists

”Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to any number of unintended consequences, but none so quick and profound as the consolidation of the Nordic and Baltic regions under the NATO umbrella. The Nordic and Baltic states have also been the most enthusiastic supporters of Ukraine.”

I would commit to watching a Netflix show where Meghan is exposed to a different supermarket own brand product each week.

It’s more it seems that this Labour government still hasn’t grasped that campaigning is not governing? And they wouldn’t be the first recent U.K. government not to understand that crucial difference.

If “security guarantees” are to be credible - Europeans need to provide an immediate and tough response. Authorise Taurus for example. What else do you think should be done?

In other words, United have become that worst of all things for a major football club brand: boring.

My favourite story this week on @eurcorrespond.bsky.social: The Italian military lost a missile in the Sardinian sea and have been trying to retrieve it for some months now, so far unsuccessfully. Also featuring: 400 lost and found Swiss tanks and 240 anti-tank mines found at an IKEA in Poland.

It is a test case for how countries recover from a populist fever

It's that day. The book I always wanted to write, about the enmities and intimacies of Britain's unique relationship with Ireland, is published today. Profound thanks to Sarah at Wylie and Laura at Faber (and teams) for making it possible. @faberbooks.bsky.social .... linktr.ee/thesedivided...

I wouldn’t mind if United were inconsistent, struggling, as long as they tried to play decent football, with commitment and desire. Like Big Fat Ron’s team in the 1980s, you weren’t sure what would happen, but it was likely to entertain. The current squad doesn’t indicate any of those qualities.

This does not seem spectacular, but it is quite important bit of news. Counter UAS capabilities are crucial. Getting 🇩🇪 EW systems is a big step forward. united24media.com/latest-news/...