European Business Review

Edition: International | Greek

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The deterioration of Europe’s military strength is alarming, yet not as apparent as defence chiefs would wish. Governments’ response to US President Trump’s criticism of their NATO spending has been to focus on increased defence budgets, even though these are just promises to be honoured in years to come.

Silence surrounds the fate of the EU’s ’European army’ call

Giles Merritt contrasts the sound and fury of Trump’s threats to NATO with EU governments’ muted response to the idea of a ‘European army’.

European leaders have indicated that the UK would be welcome back in principle, yet only on standard terms, reflecting a desire to protect the integrity of the bloc. There is goodwill—but little appetite for reopening bespoke British exceptions.

Britain and Europe: The Long Road Back

Wes Streeting’s call for Britain to rejoin the European Union, and Andy Burnham’s more cautious but still sympathetic noises, signal something important: the question of EU membership is no longer taboo in mainstream politics.

According to remarks published by Chinese state media, President Xi said last week the Taiwan question was the “most important issue in China-US relations”.

Taiwan reaffirms its sovereignty amid "escalating military threat"

Taiwan has hit out at what it calls an “escalating military threat” posed by its neighbour China.

What if Europe’s industrial heat came from sustainable energy on-site? This is the potential of replacing industrial gas boilers with clean solutions in heating processes, like thermal battery energy storage, which releases heat instead of electricity, large heat pumps, and electric boilers—as well as geothermal heat from the earth.

How the EU Can Become Energy Independent

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a global energy crisis, but Europe is stuck in reaction mode. Without more strategic foresight, the EU will remain dependent on fossil fuels and will never be truly secure.

Since his return to the White House, Trump has routinely derided NATO as an unfair organization. He has severely undermined the credibility of the alliance’s collective defense promise by stating countries shouldn’t own land they can’t defend, and, latterly, has threatened it outright, warning in an interview to the Financial Times that NATO faces a “very bad” future if U.S. allies fail to assist in opening up the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump Turns NATO into a Tool of Coercion

The full list of humiliations Europe has endured since Donald Trump returned to the White House makes for grim reading. But Washington’s adversarial approach to its allies undermines its own power base.