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Foreign Policy

  • Will Trump’s Luck Run Out if He Attacks Iran Again?

    2026-02-24

    U.S. President Donald Trump is considering whether to order fresh strikes on Iran. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other military officials have reportedly warned him that a major, lengthy military operation against Iran would carry significant risks.

  • The Russia-Ukraine War Enters Its Fifth Year

    2026-02-24

    U.S. military aid to Ukraine rises to $2.7 trillion in 2024, up 67 percent on previous year. China will block exports to Japanese companies that have ties to the defense sector. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession.

  • U.S. Warned Ukraine Not to Strike American Investments in Russia

    2026-02-24

    A Ukrainian attack on a Russian port city triggered a reprimand from the United States. “We have heard from the Department of State that we should refrain from attacking U.S. interests,” Olha Stefanishyna said. The warning occurred “after our attack on Novorossiysk because it affected American [and] Kazakh economic interest.” Russia has attacked U.S. business interests in Ukraine on multiple occasions. President Donald Trump said that he spoke about one of the attacks directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and told him he “was not happy”

  • China’s Next Cyber Crackdown

    2026-02-24

    The draft law targets the use of tools to access illegal foreign content. China invests heavily in traditional literary culture, funding city and provincial journals. China has imposed another round of export restrictions on Japanese companies.

  • Trump’s Iran Battle Plan

    2026-02-24

    The Iranians are essentially defenseless against air and missile attack. Israel could carry out a sustained air campaign to take down the missile force. Gulf states are not that keen to see this happen. U.S. intelligence agencies will be mining every type of intelligence.

  • The United States Has Grand Plans in the Caucasus

    2026-02-24

    The U.S. has been quietly ramping up its engagement with two countries north of Iran. From the late 1980s until recently, Armenia and Azerbaijan were in a prolonged state of war. A crucial component of the 2025 agreement was the creation of a major transit corridor.

  • Can Elections Secure Nepal’s Youth Revolution?

    2026-02-24

    Nepal heads into a snap election triggered by the originally peaceful, youth-led anti-corruption protest movement that began in September. The demonstration turned deadly after security forces opened fire on unarmed students, killing around 77 people. The old order seems willing to unite to fend off newcomers.

  • ‘Western Civilization’ Is a MAGA Dog Whistle

    2026-02-24

    Philip Gordon: U.S. still committed to security alliance with Europe. He says the basis for this proposed partnership is no longer the threat from Russia. Instead, the Trump administration is calling for an alliance based on an ill-defined "Western civilization" Gordon: If global order is not worth defending, why shouldn't China just take Taiwan?

  • Europe Is Not a Lost Cause

    2026-02-24

    The EU provides daily examples of its power and influence, writes Andrew Hammond. The EU is continuing to expand market access and finding partners, he says. Hammond: Europe continues to provide Ukraine with enough support for it to hold its own.

  • Korea’s Demographic Crisis Has Come for Its Military

    2026-02-24

    Women make up 11 percent of South Korean military officers, up from about 2 percent two decades ago. Military steps up efforts to lure more women, with a goal of increasing their percentage to 15.3 percent by 2027. Some politicians and experts argue the country should go further and draft women alongside men.

  • Why Ukraine Is Still Standing

    2026-02-24

    Young volunteers from civic initiatives like Kyiv Bats, Repair Together, and the all-women Velyke Divnytstvo are first to arrive at the sites of destruction. Thousands of Ukrainians supply the front with weaponry and kit, tend to injured veterans, outfit and staff tactical medical units, integrate refugees, and fortify democracy in a time of martial law.

  • Ayatollah Khamenei’s Politics of Martyrdom

    2026-02-24

    In Washington, a familiar assumption persists that pressure, enough sanctions, will eventually force Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to yield. To understand this, one must begin not with centrifuges nor the missile, but with identity. Khamenei will not surrender because in his worldview, surrender is not a policy outcome.

  • Duterte Finally Faces ICC Reckoning for His ‘War on Drugs’

    2026-02-24

    Indonesia agrees to provide 8,000 troops as peacekeepers in Gaza. Vietnam will become the fifth Southeast Asian country to host Starlink. Germany’s massive rearmament will create a big arms industry.

  • Why Tehran’s Two-Tiered Internet Is so Dangerous

    2026-02-24

    Iran is slowly emerging from the most severe communications blackout in its history and one of the longest in the world. Triggered as part of January’s government crackdown against citizen protests nationwide, the regime implemented an internet shutdown that transcends the standard definition of internet censorship.

Politico

  • Orbán’s gambit to revive his election hopes: A battle against the EU

    2026-02-25

    The Commission insists it must be represented in Gaza talks and argues half of EU countries also attended. EU capitals are particularly annoyed about a Commission promise to ensure Council and Parliament get ‘equal treatment’ in the legislative process.

  • ‘Made in Europe’ row brings back Brexit’s bitter memories

    2026-02-24

    EU chiefs assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy they have the tools to unblock the funds. British ministers are concerned that U.K. firms won’t be treated fairly under new European rules.

  • Germany’s far right under pressure as nepotism allegations mount

    2026-02-25

    The EU, U.K. and Canada react cautiously to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Accusations that AfD politicians are using their positions to give family members cushy jobs threaten to thwart the party.

  • EU gets ready for Russian attacks on power grids after Ukraine’s winter of blackouts

    2026-02-24

    Brussels to send inspectors to a pipeline that supplies Slovakia and Hungary with oil. The move is in response to Russia’s threat to cut off supplies to the two countries. The EU says the move is ‘unjustly imposed’ by Russia.

  • Trump gets his Irish ballroom — if he can save a snail

    2026-02-24

    Irish PM Micheál Martin is wary of provoking the U.S. administration. Behind-the-scenes efforts to free Seamus Culleton from ICE custody have proven fruitless. The non-NATO member wants to erect drone defenses in time for next year’s EU presidency.

  • EU pledges €1B to rebuild Ukraine’s battered energy infrastructure

    2026-02-24

    The EU’s grids urgently need to be renewed and expanded to meet soaring energy demand, Commission argues. The money will go towards repairing months of Russian bombardment, EU energy chief Dan Jørgensen said.

  • Kushner’s phone call cools France-US diplomatic row — for now

    2026-02-24

    Charles Kushner has been temporarily blocked from meeting members of the French government. The U.S. envoy’s no-show following a diplomatic summons had angered French authorities. Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot accused Charles Kushner of disregarding the “basic expectations of an ambassador”

  • Czech farm agency will review Babiš’s solution to conflict of interest questions

    2026-02-24

    Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty says reducing human rights protections for specific groups would create a ‘dreadful precedent’ Bill White accused Belgium’s health minister of inaction following the arrest of three Jewish mohels who perform circumcisions.

  • As US tech giants become cable giants, it’s time we pay attention to our seabeds

    2026-02-25

    American cable owners are in the business of business, not geopolitics. If Trump told them to block the continent from their undersea cables, would they really defy him? The shadow fleet now has its own system for scrapping ships, and it’s even riskier than the official one.

  • We’ll find a way to get round Hungary and deliver Ukraine’s €90B loan, EU vows

    2026-02-24

    The Hungarian leader wants to portray his main rival, Péter Magyar, as a stooge of his traditional bogeymen: Brussels and Kyiv. EU chiefs assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy they have the tools to unblock the funds.

  • Peter Thiel ties put major German military drone deal on shaky ground

    2026-02-24

    The U.K. rearmament efforts are hobbled by the country’s fiscal difficulties, which is angering the arms industry. Concerns over the Trump-friendly billionaire's stake in drone startup Stark are putting approval of the contract at risk.

  • As EU-Mexico trade deal nears finish line, Trump threat looms

    2026-02-24

    EU trade deficit in goods with China grew to €359B last year, new figures show. Both sides stand to benefit, but a trade deal risks antagonizing the U.S. Seven of the 10 best-performing economies in 2025 were EU countries.

  • Shadow fleet captain said Russians on board were ‘security agents’

    2026-02-23

    Charles Kushner is being summoned after the U.S. State Department weighed in on 23-year-old far-right activist’s killing. The captain of the Boracay, an EU-sanctioned vessel, was in court in Brest on Monday. The National Rally says it is the victim of an increasingly radical left wing.

  • POLITICO Pro

    2026-02-25

    Powered by a cross-functional team of global experts. Know the changes happening in real-time so you can react quickly. Connect more effectively with policymakers, industry voices, and key debates. Drive your organization’s strategy forward, faster. Pro Analysis helps you turn complex policy developments into clear, usable insight. Powered by POLITICO’s Research & Analysis Division, it delivers ready-to-use reports that cut through the noise.

  • POLITICO's Brussels Survival Guide

    2026-02-25

    How to navigate the new European Parliament. Post-Qatargate rule changes and increased scrutiny mean EU lawmakers must reveal more around their work. Here are the EU lawmakers to keep your eye on in the new term.

  • US, Belgium signal détente after Trump’s envoy instigated huge row

    2026-02-24

    “I am disappointed but I accept the decision of the Commission,” he said. “I’m happy that this long process has finally come to a conclusion,’ he added. ‘I am happy that we have reached an agreement on the future of the country,‘ he said, ‘but I am disappointed that this is not the end of it’

  • UK Green leader backs ‘Zionism is racism’ motion despite outcry

    2026-02-24

    Eco-populist leader said Israeli government’s actions in Gaza are “absolutely” racist. James Orr says he will help build “the most serious policy operation in British politics”

  • UK to release files on former Prince Andrew’s controversial trade role

    2026-02-24

    The UK government is considering legislation to ensure Andrew never becomes king. Polling shows that nearly a quarter of Labour voters think someone else should be PM. The documents will be published once police investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are satisfied.

  • Paris says US envoy’s no-show will ‘affect’ role

    2026-02-24

    Charles Kushner has been temporarily blocked from meeting members of the French government after failing to attend a diplomatic summons. Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot accused Kushner of disregarding the ‘basic expectations of an ambassador’

  • European Council president slams Hungary’s ‘disrespect’ over Ukraine loan

    2026-02-24

    Hungarian PM says he will not back Ukraine's bid to join the European Union. The EU wants to hold a referendum on joining the EU by the end of the year. The Hungarian government says it will not allow the vote to go ahead without the EU's consent.

  • Russia launches terror probe into Telegram chief Pavel Durov

    2026-02-24

    The latest dispute comes amid growing tensions between Kyiv and global sports bodies. Moscow claims the messaging platform has been used in thousands of cases of terrorism and extremism. Washington has deployed 2 aircraft carrier strike groups to the Middle East, positioning forces that could be used in potential strikes on Iran.

LRT

📊 VoxEU

  • A tale of two financial centres: Brexit uncertainty and the fragility of cross-border capital flows

    2026-02-25

    The UK vote to leave the EU in 2016 led to an immediate rise in economic policy uncertainty. Heightened uncertainty led to a persistent decline in short-term debt flows to the UK. Equity investment remained largely unchanged.

  • Mortgage borrower actions dampen the impact of higher rates on monthly payments

    2026-02-25

    The surge in inflation following the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many central banks to raise interest rates sharply. In many countries, mortgages typically have fixed rates for five, ten, or even more years. Borrower actions mitigate the impact of rate changes on payments.

  • La prime salariale liée au télétravail

    2026-02-25

    Notre analyse combine trois sources de données administratives. Nous calculons les salaires horaires en divisant les revenus par les heures travaillées. En France, le télétravail est beaucoup plus courant dans les professions mieux rémunérées and chez les travailleurs plus diplômés. VoxEU.org: “How and why work-from-home rates differ across countries and people’s lives” The European Union: ‘The rise in telework: Impact on working conditions and regulations’

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Paul Krugman

  • Attack of the Zombie Tariffs

    2026-02-24

    The Supreme Court ruled that most of the tariffs imposed since April 2025 are illegal. Trump officials are now claiming that they’ll find ways to reconstruct the tariffs using other legal loopholes. The tariffs had achieved none of their stated goals. Revenue from the Trump tariffs, even pre-Court, wasn’t enough to make a large dent in the deficit. Some Democrats worried that the ruling would help Trump politically, giving him an escape route from an unpopular and ineffectual policy.

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