Kristof Bender

Good piece in FT detailing Macron's speech on French nuclear deterrence. Confirms that FR will:
1) Increase arsenal (without providing exact numbers as per FR doctrine)
2) For 1st time, talks of deploying strategic assets abroad (but as @hfayet.bsky.social notes: priority is on aircraft...) 1/3

Allocating funds for new member states in the next EU budget is essential to the credibility of the accession process. Without it, grand speeches and ceremonious announcements remain empty words, writes Kristof Bender from the European Stability Initiative: shorturl.at/6CSKC

Opinion | Trump’s Strikes on Iran Were Unlawful. Here’s Why That Matters.

I wrote about the US strikes on Iran in June for @nytimes.com. It seems that we're about to watch a replay, but this time it could be far worse.

Like the June strikes, new strikes would be blatantly illegal under the U.S. constitution and international law.
1/

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/o...

Hungarian opposition groups quit to make way for Orbán challenger Péter Magyar is calling on remaining parties not to ruin chance for regime change

I understand the idea. If smaller parties step aside, Magyar’s Tisza party has better chances for a supermajority to dismantle Orban’s system. But isn’t it spooky, practically handing, if it works, absolute power from one guy to the next? @martapardavi.bsky.social
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

One Democratic congressman said the Department of Justice appeared to have broken a law requiring disclosure of all unclassified material by withholding files in which a minor accused the US president of sexual abuse. ft.trib.al/gPwQvBa

More - unsurprising, but nevertheless disgusting - details about the brutality of the Russian way of war and systemic contempt for human lives (towards their own troops, too).

The most mind-boggling thing is that tens of thousands still sign up monthly to go die in Ukraine

Call for Applications: Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence 2026 - BIRN We are offering 8 to 10 fellowships to journalists from Central and South Eastern Europe with compelling story ideas that require on-the-ground reporting, in-depth research, dedicated editorial suppor...

Great opportunity for journalists in central and south eastern europe: get funding and editorial support for your longform story. #BIRN @balkaninsight.com.web.brid.gy

More info on the link below:

birn.eu.com/news-and-eve...

Rechtsextreme Jugendkultur: "Es gibt Tage, da höre ich mehrmals pro Stunde das N-Wort" Gymnasiasten, die Hitler feiern oder Waffen bauen. Lehrer, die nicht mehr weiterwissen. An Schulen überall in Deutschland kippt gerade etwas – ins Rechtsextreme.

“Etwa 30 Prozent der 12- bis 25-Jährigen hätten mittlerweile eine gefestigt rechtsextreme Weltsicht oder sympathisierten damit,” sagt Soziologe Hurrelmann.

Rechtsextremismus an deutschen Schulen am Vormarsch, auch im Westen, auch in Gymnasien mit Akademiker-Kindern.

www.zeit.de/2026/07/rech...

Iceland looks to fast-track vote on joining EU A referendum on resuming membership talks had been expected in 2027, but could come as early as this August.

🚨🚨Biggest #EU news of today: #Iceland looks to fast-track vote on joining EU as referendum on EU accession could come as early as August, departing from original plan for 2027 ref. 🧵
www.politico.eu/article/icel...

The US loudly demands from Europe that it takes care of its own security.

The US also loudly supports the outgoing Hungarian government that has for years been sabotaging with its veto the EU's efforts to tackle vital European security challenges.

Could the real US stand up?

The week the EU’s climate foundations started to shake An assault on Europe’s most important climate law, the Emissions Trading System, took the fight against green rules to a whole new level.

NEW: With back-to-back summits bashing carbon pricing, the very foundations of the European Union's climate efforts started creaking under pressure last week.

www.politico.eu/article/eu-c...

It is time for Europe to weaponise its chokepoints China and others have long been adept at using supply chains to their advantage — the EU should do the same

Europe has more cards to play than its leaders often realise. What’s needed is detailed mapping of the chokeholds we have. And above all a willingness to use them - as US, China and others do too.

Great piece citing critical thinking tank work on this incl @joristeer.bsky.social

Olympische Winterspiele in Italien: Vor Ort sieht Olympia so anders aus Die meisten nehmen Olympische Spiele am Fernseher wahr. Unser Fotograf reiste hingegen in alle Austragungsorte – und hat einen ganz eigenen Blick auf die Spiele.

A different perspective on the Olympics - great photos by @sebastianwells.bsky.social! (It does not matter if you don't read German - just look at the pics)

www.zeit.de/sport/2026-0...

This is a great piece. It's perhaps unfair to say that America as a whole has betrayed Ukraine, but US governments since Obama have deferred too much to Putin (to be fair, often with European encouragement), & Trump & his entourage are more or less openly rooting for Russia & against UA & Europe.

„Diese Unterkünfte sind eine Goldgrube“: Das Millionen-Geschäft mit der Wohnungslosigkeit Unterkünfte für Wohnungslose sollen verhindern, dass Menschen auf der Straße landen. Manche Firmen machen damit große Gewinne, während Bewohner zwischen Müll und Ungeziefer leben.

Unterkünfte für Wohnungslose sollen verhindern, dass Menschen auf der Straße landen. Recherchen von Anna Thewalt und mir zeigen, dass aus diesen Wohnheimen in Berlin ein lukratives Geschäft geworden ist. Ein Sozialstadtrat spricht von einer „Goldgrube“. Unsere Recherche im @tagesspiegel.de:

A Worrying Military Build-up in the Western Balkans? Europe’s most fragile region is not sleepwalking toward war, but it is quietly recalibrating for it. Across the Western Balkans, military procurement

Impact of #Russia’s war in #Ukraine on #WesternBalkans: “Militarization does not require aggressive intent to become destabilizing. Misperception, asymmetric capabilities, and narratives that frame force as legitimate can trigger crises...”
warontherocks.com/2026/02/a-wo...

Hungary opposition condemns Fidesz election video with fictitious execution scene Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar protested on Thursday after Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party aired an emotive campaign video showing a little girl weeping at a window, interc...

The 33-second video depicts a kneeling, blindfolded soldier in Hungarian uniform being shot on a rain-drenched battlefield. A caption reads, in part: "This is only a nightmare now, but Brussels is preparing to make it a reality ... Let's not take risks. Fidesz is the safe choice!"

Marco Rubio just flew to Budapest to deliver a speech in which he provided a full endorsement of Viktor Orbán in the upcoming Hungarian elections.
Here is the letter he signed in 2019 warning about Hungary's "downward democratic trajectory" under Orbán
h/t Carrick Ryan

Over 28 years, 140 people died because of the Berlin Wall (all causes: intentional shootings, drownings, accidents and including guard fatalities) #comparativeborderregimes

Large banner of Trump unfurled at Justice Department headquarters The DOJ has traditionally operated with a degree of separation from the White House to prevent the department's powers from being abused for political purposes.

“Hanging that banner should put to rest any doubt that Donald Trump has hijacked the independence of the Justice Department. He — not the American people — is the only client DOJ’s current leadership serves." www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

Gavin Newsom: "Trumps Präsidentschaft, wie wir sie kennen, wird im November enden" Wollen Sie Präsident werden, Gavin Newsom? Der kalifornische Gouverneur spricht über seine Ambitionen, die Schwäche der Demokraten und darüber, warum er Trump trollt.

@zeit.de hat Gavin Newsom interviewt.

www.zeit.de/politik/ausl...

Four years after the terrible invasion of Ukraine, transshipments to Russia via Kyrgyzstan run rampant from Germany (top left) and Italy (top right). If Poland (bottom left) and Lithuania (bottom right) can get this under control, why not Germany and Italy?
robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/eu-transsh...

Winners of the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards Open Competition The top entries in this year’s open contest were just announced, selected from more than 430,000 images from more than 200 countries and territories.

In case you need a short break from our crazy times … amazing photographs to let your mind wander for a few moments … (no paywall)

www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

‘They Treat Us Like Mangy Dogs’: Slovak Roma Face Discrimination from Pregnancy to Childbirth From delayed examinations and verbal abuse to segregated hospital rooms and lost financial support, Roma mothers in Slovakia describe a healthcare system that treats them as second-class patients.

Meanwhile in #Slovakia: “[The hospital staff] swear at the women badly; some even hit them during childbirth,” Duzdova describes some of the testimonies from the interviews. “They treat us like mangy dogs.”

balkaninsight.com/2026/02/10/t...

Italy: SOS Humanity ship detained again amid growing tensions over Mediterranean rescues Italy has again detained a humanitarian vessel after it had carried out a rescue mission saving 33 people at sea. This comes in the wake of news that Italy plans to further restrict aid movement in th...

Italy detained a humanitarian rescue ship after it saved 33 migrants, citing maritime regulation violations and imposing a fine and 60-day docking order. The move comes amid plans for stricter migration measures in the Mediterranean. www.infomigrants.net/en/post/6984...

Navalny's life – the choice in Strasbourg If the Russian state is allowed to ignore the European Court of Human Rights, again, and to kill another critic of the government, it will have shown that the Council is a club of states for whom the ...

Yes, we forgot him soon. But the @coe.int and leading member states also did very little when he was still alive. The CoE let itself bully by Russia for years and failed to stand up for the very values it was created to defend. More here:
www.esiweb.org/newsletter/n...

EU tones down criticism of Viktor Orbán ahead of election European Commission wary of giving longtime Brussels antagonist ammunition during campaign

🇭🇺 giftlink:
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Marco Rubio's Munich Speech Should Not Assuage Europe - Policy Magazine U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Valentine's Day speech at the Munich Security Conference should do nothing to mollify a Europe still aghast over Vice

"Europeans who found comfort in the misdirection perpetrated in Munich that all is well in the transatlantic alliance may find themselves slowly losing not only their reassurance, but also their dignity."
www.policymagazine.ca/marco-rubios...

"Rubio at Munich Security Conference for a strong alliance" [between the US and Europe].

Dear @spiegel.de, how can you summarise Rubio's speech like this? How shall democracy in Europe prevail if quality media work like this?

Important point: it takes two (or in this case 28) to tango. The UK govt has to find a narrative they think they can sell to UK voters & a narrative that persuades the rest of the EU that it won't be going back to the UK psychodrama.