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Twelve EU member states see nuclear energy as necessary to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Another reason for the sensational reversal: the enormous power needs of data centres for artificial intelligence. Microsoft and Amazon are investing $80 billion and $83 billion respectively in expansion and have reserved nuclear capacity in the US.

Why nuclear energy is suddenly so popular

Nuclear energy is being embraced more widely

For instance he wants to put an end to the ‘ploughing madness’ . At the moment grassland must remain grassland after five years. It makes farmers less flexible. For that reason farmers plough their land: the counter than starts at 0 again. This madness is not good for business operations and biodiversity.

European Commission wants to drastically reduce EU interference on farms

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Air for farmers in the European Union

Merz then embarked on a complete volte-face. He said goodbye to the stringent budgetary policy that had been a dogma in the CDU for the past twenty year.

The political damage is done, Merz needed an unprecedented second vote to become Chancellor

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Friedrich Merz was narrowly confirmed as chancellor of Germany in an unprecedented second vote that came after an embarrassing first round where he failed by 6 votes to win the mandate.

The announcement on April 2 of high import tariffs for almost all of the US’s trading partners sent shock wave through the stock markets. A week later, Trump announced that he was postponing the measures by 90 days, with exception of China, for which an import duty of 145 percent remained in force.

US-China trade war is a ‘chicken game’: whoever blinks first is lost!

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, April 30, 2025

In the trade war between the US and China, both sides refuse to take the initiative to settle the conflict

The mood music from Washington is that this 10% tariff is not for negotiation with anyone. That is the baseline tariff that has been levied on nearly all of the US trading partners.

A UK-US deal sounds good but what does it mean

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, April 16, 2025

After Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to the White House in February, the UK delegation referred to what was being negotiated as an "economic deal"

The report is politically explosive as it coincides with an offensive by the parliament’s right wing , the groups of the European People’s Party (EPP), the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the far-right Patriots for Europe. Recently this coalition tried to cut funding for NGOs through the LIFE funding programme. They fell one vote short.

A devastating Court of Editors’ report on EU billions funding of NGOs

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, April 9, 2025

‘...information on EU funding is neither reliable nor transparent.’

Formally , this is not possible because the ECB is independent according to its statute. But informally relations between the Commission and the ECB have become increasingly close in recent years. The ECB, whispered by the Commission, is now interfering in climate policy and defence.

The digital euro is coming and that’s bad news

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, March 26, 2025

ECB President Christine Lagarde announced that EU legislation must be finalised in October to make sure nothing is standing in the way of the digital euro

No mention of HTS and the militia responsible for the massacre. A statement by the European External Action Service (EEAS) did not even mention the massacre.

Notwithstanding massacres the EU invite the new Syrian regime to Brussels

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, March 19, 2025

The European Commission has invited the Syrian interim government to a donors’ conference just a few days after the army, affiliated with the Islamist terror group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), killed thousands of ethnic and religious minority civilians

The question now is what Russia will do with the proposal. According to Zelensky, it is now up to Trump to convince Putin to agree. It is clear that US diplomatic pressure is shifting from Ukraine to Russia.

The ball is now in Putin’s court!

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, March 12, 2025

In Jeddah, Saoudi Arabia, Ukraine agreed to a US proposal to accept a one-month ceasefire with Russia.

VDL wants to raise the biggest chunk of the €800 billion by activating the ‘national escape clause’ in the EU budget rules. This would allow the 27 member states to spend extra on defence without running the risk of ending up in the Commission’s penalty box for an excessive deficit.

VDL pulls a €800 billion military plan out of the hat: ReArm Europe

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Last weekend, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer took the initiative for a “European Ukraine summit” in London

The clearest conclusion afterwards came from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, ‘The meeting was informal and no formal decisions have been taken, but the need for further action is clear’. Who dares not to be impressed by that ?

Is Europe sidelining itself?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, February 19, 2025

EU and UK leaders were reeling after not being invited by the US to talks with Russia on the future of Ukraine

Replenishing stocks has also become more difficult because no Russian gas has been flowing in via Ukraine since the beginning of this year. Ukrainian President Zelenski refused to renew the contract for this, because he wants to turn off the money tap for Russia. ‘We need to work more with the US, LNG, gas, oil, to import energy’, he said.

EU gas reserves below 50%!

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Gas reserves in the EU have fallen below 50%

‘I am here to work with our EU partners on keeping up the pressure to crush Putin’s war machine by targeting the energy revenues. Ultimately, alongside our military support, that is what will bring peace closer’.

Five years after Brexit: U.K. Prime Minister got a warm reception at EU Summit

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Five years after Brexit a U.K. Prime Minister was back in Brussels

The conclusion in Davos was that the EU is the big loser in this new world.

How does the EU respond to a world with Trump?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, January 27, 2025

Last week, the Big Question during the World Economic Forum in Davos was: what will be the EU’s answer to a world with Donald Trump?

During his inaugural address, Trump paid particular attention to immigration and the economy, issues that polls show American voters care about the most.

With the promise of a ‘golden age’ Trump’s second era begins

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Donald Trump got off to a flying start, announcing a new golden age for America

It is clear that these new excessive Green Deal rules could seriously discourage the financing of climate action by lenders such as the EIB.

EIB fears ‘major reputational disaster’ due to Green Deal rules

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, January 13, 2025

The European Investment Bank, world’s biggest multilateral lender by assets, phased out all fossil fuel investments from its €500bn loan book and branded itself ‘the climate bank’

The very ambitious goals set by the European Commission have turned out to be just a pipe dream. For transport and heating, direct electrification is almost always preferable to green hydrogen.

Hydrogen is becoming less and less green

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Green hydrogen held a double promise: it would be an easy solution to the climate problem that did not require major adoption and promised to make activities CO2-neutral

The UK is officially now the 12th member of the CPTPP, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

UK’s biggest trade deal since Brexit

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, December 18, 2024

The UK became the first European nation to join a major Indo-Pacific trading bloc, in what has hailed as the country’s biggest trade deal since Brexit

The interest that France has to pay on new government debt is not increasing any further.

Macron, France and EU in problems

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, December 9, 2024

The pontifical and pompous re-opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after the devasting fire, cannot conceal that France is sinking into an unprecedented political crisis