News
Will the Sleepwalkers wake up? Putin does not need to do much to win
As Ukrainians fight for their lives and for Europe, European leaders need to recognise that they have blundered into this disaster, sleepwalking off a cliff. Putin could lose this battle, but on the other hand, he does not need to do much to win. The tragedy in Ukraine goes on, and the world...
What a year…
What a year it has been, a year that had promised coming out of a pandemic, and then dived back in. A year where democracy seemed to win out by a sliver over in the US, and yet risks crashing to the ground. And in Europe, where we see more cooperation than ever in rolling out a vaccine to...
Beyond COP26? Rinse, repeat & rev up
With the end of COP26, campaigners need to look to the next round, and look to set the most compelling narratives. Whether the next opportunity is the Conference on the Future of Europe or COP27, those who shape the conversation will win out. Many around the world had their eyes to Glasgow...
If we can’t be hopeful, we can at least be determined.
Leaders gathering at this climate summit better make history to combat a climate emergency. History says that they probably won’t, and if they don’t, we the people have a responsibility to make them do it. There might not be much ground for hope, but there is every ground for determination. As...
The next German Chancellor will need new shoes.
Whether we like it or not, the next German Chancellor will shape Europe in their image – and so it better be good. The only thing to do is for Germans to go out and vote. Chances are, if you are reading this column, that you’ve seen something or other about the German elections coming up at the...
Why should we talk about the refugees in Denmark?
In recent years, Denmark has passed several problematic laws restricting the rights of arriving refugees as well as the country’s residents with immigrant backgrounds. While attacks on rule of law Poland and Hungary have been in the headlines, relatively few have heard of what is happening in...
History Repeats in Afghanistan – But Will it Be Dunkirk or Saigon?
The war had to end some time, but the way the US withdrawal was carried out has been a disaster. Commentators have made comparisons to Saigon, Suez and Dunkirk, but the long term impact on Western foreign policy will be shaped by what Western powers, including Europe, do next. When the US invaded...
The Summer when the Climate Crisis Hit
Somehow, sometimes you find yourself in situations where the wheels of time are moving, and realise that these are turning points. Sometimes you find yourself in a moment that will stick with you, for something you saw, for a sensation you had. A few weeks ago, I had to set off from Brussels for...
We’re all Pegasus’ed
The leak about the extent of surveillance of journalists, dissidents and even leaders, confirms what we already knew about the threat democracy is under. That's the elephant in the room, the real story is not what we found out, but what we are prepared to do about these revelations. The...
The far-right comes Together with new threats. What do we do about it?
This week, a corrupted Constitutional Court effectively took Poland out fo the EU's legal framework. Who could be next? Two weeks earlier, we saw nationalists coming together, and ever closer to the mainstream. This new gathering of Marine Le Pen, Victor Orban, Matteo Salvini and a motley crew...