For Europe, losing Britain is bad. Keeping undemocratic Hungary and Poland could be worse
The populists of Budapest and Warsaw are blackmailing the EU over the rule of law. They cannot be allowed to succeed
Repost
The costs of Merkel’s surrender to Hungarian and Polish extortion
The EU budget and covid-19 fund compromises German Chancellor Angela Merkel reached with Hungary and Poland are the worst of all possible worlds
Frugality exposes a Europe in need of optimism and reform
Many people in the European Union’s wealthiest states feel powerless to shape its future
Building back a better transatlantic alliance
Even with a new, far more sympathetic US administration, it will be incumbent on Europe to come to the table as a co-equal power bearing solutions, rather than as a helpless child begging for protection and guidance
What will President Biden’s United States look like to the rest of the world?
The future of a diminished superpower now lies in being part of a wider network of democracies
The Middle Eastern past is never dead
The normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (followed quickly by Bahrain) indicates that the Middle East is undergoing a strategic paradigm shift, with the Palestinians left out in the cold. But anyone who thinks that the region’s oldest ongoing conflict has been laid to rest should think again
Security realities
The Europeans are insufficiently prepared to provide more in terms of defence and stability. There will be a rude awakening even with a President Biden in the White House
Europe’s double bind
The covid-19 pandemic has exposed a gap between European aspirations and actions. If European leaders are serious about defending rules-based multilateralism and securing the European Union’s interests in the twenty-first century, they will need to start coming to terms with today’s geopolitical realities
Since reunification, Germany has had its best 30 years. The next 30 will be harder
The EU is in the country’s DNA. But global threats mean a strong transatlantic Western alliance has never been more vital
Europe’s recovery gamble
If the European Union’s new recovery programme succeeds, it may ultimately pave the way for the establishment of a fiscal union. But, if the EU funds fail to deliver on the plan’s stated goals, federal aspirations will be dashed for a generation