Pascal

Hopefully this is calling their bluff and elections will only be held if ample air defence is provided

Otherwise the idea is completely reckless

For all the talk of Europe being sidelined, the European position and actions really do matter and can shape what comes next, even without Washington's prior consent

It's reasonable enough for the press to ask what our government has to say to this kind of statement coming from our main security guarantor. It's public interest for the same reason that the government feels awkward answering

Also because payments processing is an incredibly concentrated market (Visa/MasterCard) and companies feel they have no choice but to follow the guidance

MAGA’s cakeist policy on Europe The US Security Strategy is a tangle of contradictions

Cakeism, MAGA style

Latest on how Washington can't decide what it really wants from Europe
pascallth.substack.com/p/magas-cake...

MAGA’s cakeist policy on Europe The US Security Strategy is a tangle of contradictions

Cakeism, MAGA style

Latest on how Washington can't decide what it really wants from Europe
pascallth.substack.com/p/magas-cake...

US actions are not as volatile as Trump's rhetoric. US direct support for Ukraine has mostly dried up and threats to Kyiv continue, tariffs applied are on Europe and the US is taking forceful positions against European preferences in international organisations

A litany of falsehoods, but the most maddening is the claim that a large majority of Europeans support the American version of 'peace' - completely made up view of public opinion here

Starting to get some serious responses to recent statements from US officials

❗️Zelenskyy has arrived in the United Kingdom, — Sky News

In London, the Ukrainian leader will meet with UK Prime Minister Starmer, French President Macron, and German Chancellor Merz.

Ulfh3dnar Evening speech by President Zelenskyy. "Ukraine deserves a dignified peace, and whether there will be peace depends entirely on Russia – on our collective pressure on Russia and on the sound negotiat...

Evening speech by President Zelenskyy.

"Ukraine deserves a dignified peace, and whether there will be peace depends entirely on Russia – on our collective pressure on Russia..."

t.me/Ulfh3dnar/37...

Source: V_Zelenskiy_official

#Ukraine️ #Zelenskyy #USA #UkraineRussiaWar #Russia

Ukraine will not accept any peace deal requiring territorial concessions, Syrskyi tells UK broadcaster “There are no pauses, no delays in (Russia's) operations. They keep pushing their troops forward to seize as much of our territory as possible under the cover of negotiations," Syrskyi said.

⚡️Ukraine will not accept any peace deal requiring territorial concessions, Syrskyi tells UK broadcaster.

“There are no pauses, no delays in (Russia's) operations. They keep pushing their troops forward to seize as much of our territory as possible under the cover of negotiations," Syrskyi said.

Yet that strength is exactly what Europe needs if we are to fulfill the wish of Musk, Trump and others to take over the defence of our continent

It's pure cakeism - they want a Europe weak enough to be bossed around but strong enough not to need American help

US Urged Europeans to Oppose EU Plan for Loan to Support Ukraine The US lobbied several countries in the European Union in an effort to block EU plans to use frozen Russian central bank assets to back a massive loan to Ukraine, according to European diplomats famil...

Confirmation - if there were any doubt - that when some European countries oppose the use of Russia's frozen assets, they're just repeating what Washington told them

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

But the 'as close as possible' bit isn't acted anywhere other than through UK requests that may or may not be accepted. It's a default response more than a policy

Only France really sees economic competition. Many countries were strongly in favour of UK participation in SAFE

Washington keeps on talking about what Europe is, what Europe's faults are, what Europe's responsibilities should be..

They analyse and understand us as a single bloc without ever considering what institutions Europe needs to make that work

Exclusive: US sets 2027 deadline for Europe-led NATO defense, officials say The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO's conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week,...

Again, it's worth saying explicitly: US desire to hand over European defense to Europe is incompatible with undermining the EU
www.reuters.com/business/aer...

Yes the headline is misleading in that sense. The EU certainly doesn't treat the UK as a rival but a lack of an actual UK policy means opportunities can be missed

The document is partly a reflection of certain political views but also very clearly of people who have never had to see the world through the lens of a small to medium sized nation or the constraints that this places on a state

They know what they want from Europe - politically aligned governments who will relieve the US of any defence burden, accept US regulations, buy US goods and be too divided to ever argue otherwise

But that alone is not a strategy

The US national security strategy is a clear rejection of the ideal of a united liberal democratic Europe

But it's also a contradiction - they want to undermine the EU and constrain NATO, while calling for Europe to handle its own defence and stability in Ukraine

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

Russia could be beaten at almost any time if people like De Wever simply switched from pre-emptive surrender to actually fighting the war Russia is directing at us

Whatever happens with the loan, there is zero justification for returning the assets unless and until Russia takes responsibility for their actions

❗️"No compromises on Ukraine's sovereignty, no forceful change of borders – this was supported by the NATO foreign ministers," – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said after the meeting in Brussels.

If Russia will never take responsibility then international relations will be poisoned anyway

This remains the only credible option on the table that might get the support of European governments. The other path is Ukraine runs out of money

The Ukrainians are fighting against their extinction by a neighbouring state that rejects their right to exist

Would he say it's just a bit of land if it was Iran invading Israel?

EU agrees full ban on all Russian gas imports by 2027 Earlier phaseout dates to be set for liquefied natural gas and short-term supply contracts

This is a bigger contribution to peace than any of the US delegates' chats with Putin

Now the EU needs to follow up with action on using the Russian frozen assets

www.ft.com/content/84a8...

⛔️🇪🇺 EU agrees date for complete phase-out of Russian gas

The regulation introduces a legally binding, stepwise prohibition on both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas imports from Russia, with a full ban from the end of 2026 and autumn 2027 respectively.

Ukraine’s struggle against corruption is also part of the war Winning on every battlefield

Latest this week - I wrote about corruption in Ukraine and the importance of unrelenting prosecution of wrongdoing, especially in wartime
pascallth.substack.com/p/ukraines-s...