Daniel Keohane

German Chancellor Merz suggests a return to conscription – DW – 10/07/2025 Voluntary military service or a return to conscription? The dispute over this issue seemed to have been settled within the German government. Now, criticism is flaring up, fueled by Chancellor Friedri...

"Voluntary military service or a return to conscription? The dispute over this issue seemed to have been settled within the German government. Now, criticism is flaring up, fueled by Chancellor Friedrich Merz."
DW
www.dw.com/en/german-ch...

EU must seize ‘unique opportunity’ to supplant US dollar dominance, says ECB president | Euractiv “Geopolitical shifts and heightened policy uncertainty remind us that no currency's global position is guaranteed," Christine Lagarde told EU policymakers

👀
www.euractiv.com/news/eu-must...

Goodness

Does Europe Really Want to Save Itself? We will know Sooner Than Many Understand.

Just sent out this post. Three and a half years after Bucha, after mass child abductions started, after nightly attacks on civilians, the political strength of parties sympathetic to Russia (which is doing these things) is growing not declining. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Moreover, while I don’t think this will happen, it would be the ultimate example of the Irish political sense of humour if “Jim Gavin” now won the thing, “just for the craic”:

Israel and Iran on the brink: Preventing the next war The 12-day Israel-Iran war in June 2025 profoundly altered the strategic landscape of the Middle East, leaving the risk of military escalation dangerously high. In this uncertain environment, Europe c...

Europe still has a role to play in preventing a new Israel–Iran war. Pragmatic diplomacy, coordination with Gulf partners, and restraint on all sides are key to keeping the region from sliding back into conflict. ➡️ ow.ly/46m950X7BfS

Leaving ECHR breaches Good Friday Agreement, says Grieve Leaving the Convention "plainly in breach of the Good Friday agreement" says former Attorney General.

Dominic Grieve sets out the huge cost of leaving the ECHR - for Northern Ireland, for trade with the EU and for the UK's reputation.
www.europeanmovement.co.uk/leaving_echr...

Is the community method on its way out - multi-speed integration coming?

I remain a bit sceptical: a Europe of multiple speeds has been touted for a long time, but in practice the pressures to move with all EU-27 tend to be really high.

The EU enhanced cooperation clause has rarely been used...

The escalating grey-zone conflict between the West and Russia is being contested on the sea as well as in the air. A rise in worrying maritime incidents is forcing NATO to step up econ.st/3ILHiM8

Photo: Reuters

With deep sadness I post this. My Mother, Catherine Keohane (née Donohoe), passed away a week ago. Some on here met her but wouldn’t have known.

The simplest way I can describe my Mum is that she was my best friend, and the best person I’ve ever known.

Below is my favourite picture of both of us:

Trump Is Targeting an Economic Revival Story Pittsburgh shows how universities and hospitals can fuel renewal — and why Trump’s manufacturing push and cuts to higher education could undermine it.

Super long-read on the real US economy where "eds and meds" is far important than steel on every measure. As it will be in the UK and across Europe. But politicians always prioritise the steel, and Trump is explicitly trying to damage the success stories... www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Hooray: Maybank Manchester United Card enhanced; now rewards draws - The MileLion For the 2025/26 EPL season, earn 2.8 mpd for every Manchester United win, 1.6 mpd for a draw, and 1.12 mpd on all other occasions where they teach us that winning isn't everything.

My favourite ridiculous example of this is the Manchester United credit card in Malaysia and Singapore (yes really) which used to give extra rewards only when they won now also gives rewards when they draw as people were churning due to lack of victories milelion.com/2025/07/17/h...

At one point in future, everything will be laundered through either defence or health budget

New cases of drone sightings across Europe and NATO territory:

‼️Hybrid warfare isn’t only about “unknown” drones,but also about anonymous calls&warnings,which are now taken extremely seriously.
◾️ Belgium:
October 3:Around 15 drones were spotted over the Elsenborn military training area,a NATO base

Austrian military: "It was very important for us to show we are doing this primarily to strengthen digital sovereignty, maintain independence in terms of ICT infrastructure, and ensure data is only processed in-house."

And they didn't just switch to Libre Office, they invest in its development, too

The European Union was designed for peace – it is never going to be a war machine | Anand Menon Reacting to the Russian military threat would require the bloc to be agile and decisive. It is many great things, but it is not that, says Anand Menon, director of UK in a Changing Europe

‘If you’d told the founders of European integration that the..dilemma we’d face…would be creating the conditions to allow European states to deploy military force, they’d have cracked open the champagne’ Me on the EU’s failings as a security institution www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Dodgy defence maths conquers in Europe The weird and wonderful calculations behind the 5% target

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.

Home and away: Why Poland is fighting a war on two fronts Poland should be at the forefront in deterring Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Instead, its government is hindered by political infighting and an unclear position towards Ukrainians in Poland.

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

Forsvarsforligskredsen enige om historisk investering i jordbaserede luft- og missilforsvarssystemer Partierne bag forsvarsforliget har truffet beslutning om at anskaffe yderligere jordbaserede luftforsvarssystemer. Der anskaffes samlet set otte systemer med enten lang eller mellemlang rækkevidde. De...

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.

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

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

Russia’s New Fear Factor How the war is driving a wave of purges and suicides among the country’s elites.

"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...

UK and Ireland to update defence agreement Lords clashed over Irish neutrality and defence spending as ministers confirmed the UK and Ireland will refresh their defence cooperation MoU for 2026.

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.

US to cut some security funds for European countries bordering Russia Move comes as Washington pushes Nato allies to pay more towards their own defence

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. 🙈

US to cut some security funds for European countries bordering Russia [FREE TO READ] Move comes as Washington pushes Nato allies to pay more towards their own defence

💥 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