DEFENCE BUDGETS
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NATO weighs eastward fuel pipeline expansion as alliance focuses on logistics shortfalls
A senior NATO official has called for the alliance’s Cold War-era fuel pipeline network to be extended further east, underlining growing concern over whether NATO can sustain large-scale operations on its eastern flank in a future conflict with Russia. NATO…
UK, Finland and the Netherlands explore joint defence financing and procurement mechanism
The United Kingdom, Finland and the Netherlands say they are exploring a new mechanism by 2027 to finance joint defence investment and procurement, in an effort to increase munitions availability, strengthen industrial capacity and improve military interoperability. The United Kingdom,…
European defence build-up gathers pace as missile shields and spending targets move centre stage
Europe’s defence debate is no longer centred on whether to spend more, but on how quickly governments can convert political commitments into deployable capability. Across the continent, missile defence, drone interception, ammunition output and cross-border procurement have moved to the…
The End of Europe’s Peace Dividend
For much of the post-Cold War era, Europe indulged the belief that war had become a distant memory. Defence budgets shrank, arsenals aged, and the continent grew comfortable under the long shadow of American protection. That illusion is now dissolving…
Can Europe’s nuclear deterrent remain credible without US certainty?
Europe’s nuclear deterrence debate has sharpened as officials and analysts examine whether Britain and France can continue to provide a credible nuclear backstop in a less certain security environment. The immediate trigger has been a broader reassessment of deterrence in…
Trump Administration Warns EU Over ‘Buy European’ Defence Procurement Plans
Europe’s accelerating rearmament has opened a new line of tension with Washington: not over whether European states should spend more on defence, but over where that money should go. Reports this week indicate that the Trump administration warned the European…
March launch for EU SAFE defence lending, with early tranche planned
The European Union is preparing to make the first payments under its Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence loans in March 2026, in what officials describe as an attempt to accelerate joint procurement and address shortages in key military capabilities.…
After the Paris Declaration: Can Europe Deploy Troops in Ukraine?
Europe’s discussion of a multinational military presence in Ukraine has intensified after a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris on 6 January produced a “Paris Declaration” on security guarantees for Ukraine. Issued by France, the declaration sketches…
Neutral, Rich, and Defenceless: Switzerland’s Strategic Failure
In the cloistered corridors of Switzerland’s defence circles, a blunt admission this weekend by the outgoing head of the armed forces should have echoed far beyond the country’s mountains and lakes. Lieutenant-General Thomas Süssli — a soldier accustomed to discretion…
Europe’s Quiet Defence Revolution: Why the EU’s Surging R&D Spending Marks a Turning Point
At first glance, the European Union’s latest figures on defence research and development (R&D) might seem like little more than another set of spreadsheets from Brussels. Yet the reality behind them tells a far more consequential story—one of a continent…