Author: staff

At a Thursday meeting of NATO’s defense ministers, “I felt a shift in mindset where the Europeans were not only saying, ‘Hey, we are going to spend much more,’” Rutte said. “The shift in mindset is Europeans saying, ‘We need to take more the lead in NATO,’ … and this is exactly what the United States wanted.” That “makes it easier for the United States to stay anchored in NATO,” Rutte added.  The remarks come one day after an unusually cordial intervention from Deputy Pentagon chief Elbridge Colby at Thursday’s meeting of alliance ministers in Brussels — which some Europeans…

Europe needs to rebuild a new defense architecture, and that includes nuclear deterrence, especially now that the New START treaty limiting the American and Russian arsenals has expired, the French president said. Earlier on Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed that talks were ongoing with Paris about how France’s nuclear weapons could contribute to Europe’s security. Pressed about Merz’s comments, Macron said he will provide more “details” in his upcoming speech. France and some European countries are looking to see “how we can articulate our national doctrine with special cooperation, common security interest, this is what we’re doing for the…

Other European leaders, suggesting coordination among them, also stressed the mutual benefits of the postwar alliance, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.  As leaders gathered in Munich, he wrote on X that the Western alliance is far too important to be allowed to fall apart. “The relationship between the U.S. and Europe is wounded, but should be maintained,” he wrote, adding, “We need to be honest about the fact that our relationship has suffered a blow. This does not at all mean we should abandon the transatlantic relation.” EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius also talked in terms of reshaping the Western alliance,…

Published on 13/02/2026 – 21:10 GMT+1 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not attend the Berlin Format meeting on Ukraine held on the sideline of the Munich Security Conference (MSC). The meeting was attended by leaders from a dozen European countries including Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, France’s Macron, Germany’s Merz, as well as the heads of the European Commission, European Council and the NATO military alliance. The cancellation reportedly came at the last minute amid scheduling conflicts. Rubio is set to address the conference on Saturday morning, but arrived already on Friday, where he met the Syrian, Chinese and German delegations,…

MUNICH — Europe must be able to strike back in cyberspace, as the strategy to deter adversaries is no longer enough, the EU executive’s tech and security chief told POLITICO. “It’s not enough that we are just defending … We also have to have offensive capacity,” the European Commission’s Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday. For years, European capitals have held back from stating publicly that they support offensive cyber operations — known as “hacking back” — because of fears that such operations could trigger retaliation and escalation from…

However, after an appeal, CAS backed the IOC, saying that although it was fully sympathetic to Heraskevych’s decision to commemorate his compatriots, the focus must be on the Olympic Games and other athletes. Heraskevych said his helmet displayed only portraits and no political slogans, and that he was disqualified before the race, so he did not violate any rules. “The court sided with the IOC and upheld a decision that an athlete could be disqualified from the Olympic Games without actual misconduct, without a technical or safety threat, and before the start,” Pronin Law Firm, representing Heraskevych, said in a…

“What we are talking about is a rapid reaction force of 100,000 or 80,000 capability, which should replace American forces,” if and when they reduce their presence in Europe, he said. “That’s why I started to use much more this terminology of rapid reaction force, in order not to make this misleading connection with the European army.” However, he acknowledged that even such a force would face difficulties as it would be controlled by member countries, making rapid and coherent action very difficult. He did not address whether such a European force would be part of NATO, although he did…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that a multinational peacekeeping force would be “vital” in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised his country’s support for Ukraine following any peace agreement, but it remains unclear whether Canada would deploy troops. Respondents in the U.S., Germany and France are more likely than not to prefer keeping their militaries out of Ukraine, “even if that means risking peace in the region.”  Germany and France are the most strongly opposed to deployments, with more than half of those in Germany — 53 percent — saying No to sending peacekeeping troops. In France,…

Firefighters worked for hours at several sites as large blazes tore through port facilities, an energy plant and nearby homes. Officials confirmed one dead and six injured, three seriously. Nearly 30 vehicles were damaged, and a car dealership burned across almost 2,000 square metres. More than 90 emergency workers helped bring the fires under control, but electricity, water and heating were disrupted in parts of the city. Authorities say Russia has intensified strikes on critical infrastructure in recent weeks, even as the United States pushes for talks. Repair crews are still working to restore basic services.

Merz also drew a lesson from Germany’s own history. “We Germans know a world in which might makes right would be a dark place,” he said. “Our country has gone down this path in the 20th century until the bitter and dreadful end.” Most strikingly, the chancellor confirmed discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron about a European nuclear deterrent. The speech amounted to a strategic repositioning of Germany: still anchored in NATO, but preparing for a future in which American guarantees are less reliable and Europe must carry more responsibility. That message echoed remarks earlier in Munich from U.S. Deputy…