Katja Bego

You know, there is also a world where, in a decade or so, JD Vance and the Heritage Foundation receive the Charlemagne prize for their pivotal work in service of European integration.

U.S. Flips History by Casting Europe—Not Russia—as Villain in New Security Policy An annual strategy document, which has described threats from China to Russia, directs some of its harshest language at NATO allies.

Good piece in the @wsj.com on the US's National Security Strategy - which includes some of my thoughts on what this means for Europe.

Boils down to: No more "Trump whisperers", European leaders can no longer deny that the transatlantic relationship as we knew it is dead.
www.wsj.com/world/europe...

U.S. Flips History by Casting Europe—Not Russia—as Villain in New Security Policy An annual strategy document, which has described threats from China to Russia, directs some of its harshest language at NATO allies.

Good piece in the @wsj.com on the US's National Security Strategy - which includes some of my thoughts on what this means for Europe.

Boils down to: No more "Trump whisperers", European leaders can no longer deny that the transatlantic relationship as we knew it is dead.
www.wsj.com/world/europe...

Zorgen in de Tweede Kamer over Amerikaanse overname van DigiD-partner Het van oorsprong Nederlandse cloud-bedrijf Solvinity komt mogelijk in Amerikaanse handen.

The Netherlands talks a big game about tech sovereignty, but is now about to allow the domestic cloud provider that underpins its national digital identity system and several other critical government services to be sold off to a new American owner.

Incomprehensible.

nos.nl/artikel/2591...

Zorgen in de Tweede Kamer over Amerikaanse overname van DigiD-partner Het van oorsprong Nederlandse cloud-bedrijf Solvinity komt mogelijk in Amerikaanse handen.

The Netherlands talks a big game about tech sovereignty, but is now about to allow the domestic cloud provider that underpins its national digital identity system and several other critical government services to be sold off to a new American owner.

Incomprehensible.

nos.nl/artikel/2591...

A global Cloudflare outage as we're in Berlin discussing European tech sovereignty.

A little on the nose!

How realistic is the plan to build a 'drone wall' against Russia? Drones have been found across Western Europe near airports, military bases and power plants, as part of a suspected programme of 'hybrid warfare'

Detailed explainer piece by the BBC about what it would actually mean for Europe to build a drone wall - and how the debate around the technical and financial feasibility of such a plan has evolved in recent weeks.

Includes comments by me.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

How realistic is the plan to build a 'drone wall' against Russia? Drones have been found across Western Europe near airports, military bases and power plants, as part of a suspected programme of 'hybrid warfare'

Detailed explainer piece by the BBC about what it would actually mean for Europe to build a drone wall - and how the debate around the technical and financial feasibility of such a plan has evolved in recent weeks.

Includes comments by me.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

So if the survival of Europe's industrial base wasn't enough of a motivation not to go for a Chinese EV, not having your car weaponized against you sounds like another solid one.

finally some competitive advantage for the Dutch: unlike the Chinese, we are not weaponizing your electric bus.

Russia and China are expanding in the Arctic: Europe needs a new plan for the region As the thawing Arctic’s geostrategic importance grows, military and economic objectives are becoming increasingly intertwined.

Despite the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has continued to invest heavily in building out its presence and revamping Russia's existing bases in the Arctic.

True! I don't dispute that D66 will end up with most votes, but the 15,000 gap is not yet the final vote count.

Several tends of thousands of votes are still missing.

Not quite the final vote count - they've just said it's mathematically impossible for the PVV to catch up.

Mail-in votes from abroad and one -rather pro-PVV- town haven't been added yet.

So if the survival of Europe's industrial base wasn't enough of a motivation not to go for a Chinese EV, not having your car weaponized against you sounds like another solid one.

Oslo tests reveal Chinese electric buses can be switched off remotely Public transport operator Ruter says manufacturer access allows buses to be stopped from China, prompting Norway to review cybersecurity risks in public transport - Anadolu Ajansı

Norway tested two different types of electric buses this summer -one from a Dutch and one from a Chinese manufacturer- to assess cybersecurity risks.

The tests revealed that the Chinese bus could be controlled and turned off remotely, while the European one could not.

www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/os...

Een ander verschil is deze keer wel dat de VVD de rest niet echt in dezefde houdgreep heeft.

Ze zullen de premier niet leveren, en technisch gezien kan de rest van coalitie verder door zelfs als de VVD er uit zou stappen (met 64 een minderheid, maar niet een onoverbrugbaar)

The very on brand cover of Japan’s defence white paper.

Moet ook nog maar zien of het CDA daar wel zin in heeft. Hebben hun les inmiddels ook wel geleerd.

Hostile media environment aside, I think GL-PvdA wavering a bit on defence (not committing to the increased NATO norm beyond 2030) may prove to have been a pretty costly mistake.

Purely anecdotal, but I know of several people who were on the fence where that became the deciding factor.

Voor iedereen die hoopt op de stemmers uit het buitenland: D66 doet het uiteraard altijd goed bij deze groep, maar veel stemmers hebben vorige week al gestemd.

Voor het PVV verval en de echte groeispurt van D66. Een moment opname van een week geleden dus (zag je in 2023 ook af in de resultaten).

Nee, zeker niet.

Er zal ook teleurstelling zijn onder het (grote) deel van de partij dat al aan het voorsorteren was op een nieuwe leider - niet bepaald een stabiele situatie…

(Ironically, it was the one time that they didn't - 2023 - that he actually ended up winning).

There is only one certainty in Dutch politics: foreign media overselling the Wilders angle.

I guess that even if D66 doesn’t become the biggest party, Jetten could still become a sort of compromise “acceptable to all” (ie VVD) PM - Borgen style.

Underpricing a Timmermans premiership imo (lots more competition on the centre right for the final seats)

Leestip bij de #BetrouwbreBronnen van heden! omny.fm/shows/betrou...

The Dutch elections are an opportunity for the Netherlands to regain its international influence After the collapse of its short-lived right-wing government, traditional parties may make a comeback in a ‘middle coalition’ that is more likely to be stable and proactive – a shift that will be welco...

Erg goede aflevering - de provincialisering van Nederland.

Vorige week ook een stukje over geschreven www.chathamhouse.org/2025/10/dutc...

Zeker mee eens!

(Staat ook in het artikel - de uitzondering waar wel veel is bereikt).

Mocht de VVD weer een coalitie ingaan, denk ik dat Brekelmans ook wel weer terug zal keren als MinDef.

* Wednesday, of course. Not tomorrow.

These Dutch campaigns are already short enough as it is :)