Europe in the World
A GREENER NATO? – As the fallout of the Iran war keeps hitting Europe’s economy where it hurts, more and more actors are calling to ramp up the use of renewables as a more secure and independent alternative to imported oil and gas – including, surprisingly, within NATO. POLITICO reports a NATO-backed study released earlier this year advises the alliance to diversify its energy sources – a position likely to frustrate its largest member, whose leader goes by the motto “drill, baby, drill”…
WAR OF THE WIND – What’s more: Europe is being actively undermined in its ambition to reduce its ambition to reduce fossil fuel dependence by American-style misinformation campaigns. Across Europe, ‘ecosystems’ of communities spreading claims that wind turbines kill wildlife or cause cancer are active, inciting opposition and legal appeals against new projects, a report from Europe’s wind lobby finds.
DOUBLING DOWN ON INDEPENDENCE – Energy is not the only sector for which ‘strategic sovereignty’ is a European buzzword. This week, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told POLITICO the EU needs to be “free of the consequences of someone else’s decisions” – stating the EU has to build its own military to recreate NATO’s Article 5 deterrence, before foes like Russia “are tempted to exploit doubts whether the U.S. would still come to our rescue”.
HOW ARE YOU DOING, FELLOW EUROPEANS – The Canadian government is stepping up its game to embrace the EU as a reliable partner. After PM Mark Carney joined the European Political Community summit in Armenia last week, Foreign Minister Anita Anand joined the EU’s Foreign Affairs council. Canada also co-hosted a summit on the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, becoming the first non-European country signing up to the International Claims Commission for Ukraine – a move signalling Canada’s alignment with European priorities in foreign affairs.
RUSSIA CRACKDOWN – Around the Ukrainian child abduction summit, the EU and Canada unveiled sanctions targeting around 25 individuals involved in such abductions. Furthermore, Brussels is preparing another round of sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet” – the network of ‘opaquely owned tankers’ used to avoid sanctions on Russian oil.
STRAIN ON MY PARADE – Russia meanwhile held its annual military parade on its national Victory Day, May 9. In many ways, this year’s edition was the most stripped down in recent times, with much military equipment in use on the Ukrainian frontline. Security in Moscow remained extremely tight, with mobile internet shut down. Also, much fewer international leaders attended the parade than previous years, with Aleksandr Lukashenka being the only present leader from a former Soviet republic other than Russia.
Central- and Eastern Europe
EUROPE DAY MEANING SOMETHING – On 9 May, Europe Day, the 16-year reign of Viktor Orbán in Hungary officially came to an end with Péter Magyar’s inauguration as the country’s prime minister. Brussels-heartwarming change was visible immediately: the EU flag was reinstalled on the Hungarian parliament building, and the parliament sang Europe’s anthem Ode an die Freude after Magyar’s oath. Change was visible in Brussels, too: two days later, the EU managed to obtain an unanimous agreement regarding sanctions on Israeli West Bank settlers, after Hungary retracted its previous veto.
ET TU, PSD? – Romania’s pro-European government led by the liberal Ilie Bolojan was toppled last week, throwing one of Europe’s largest countries in turmoil following the motion of no confidence from the Social Democrats PSD and the right-extremist AUR. The PSD’s cooperation with the AUR has raised many eyebrows across Europe, although the Romanian Social Democrats have downplayed the move as ‘incidental’; the PSD will now likely try to re-negotiate its government participation demanding fewer austerity policies and different leadership.
TALISMAN OR ALBATROSS? – Andriy Yermak, the former Chief of Staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is under suspicion by Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAPO as a part of a major money laundering scheme. The scandal has held a tight grip on Ukrainian politics for the last few months, prompting a personal cabinet reshuffle in late 2025. Yermak has been a close ally of Zelenskyy, being the de facto number 2 in Ukrainian politics. Although Zelenskyy is not implicated directly, his close relationship with Yermak has increased distrust in his administration.
Western Balkans
A LARGE STEP FOR A SMALL COUNTRY – EU ambassadors have approved the creation of a working group to draft Montenegro’s EU accession treaty. Creating such a group is a rather small step in the grand scheme of EU enlargement, but with large symbolic value: it is a de facto political decision of Montenegro as a future EU member state. Montenegro has closed just 14 of the 33 EU accession chapters, but hopes to finish by the end of 2026; the treaty working group will have to make important decisions about transition periods and the new aspects of so-called “democratic safeguards”, to prevent a ‘new Hungary’ with future member states.
HERE WE GO AGAIN – Ex-President Vjosa Osmani has officially been named as the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK)’s presidential candidate for Kosovo’s snap elections on June 7. The Kosovan parliament failed to elect a new president after its elections in late 2025, prompting the third parliamentary elections in two years. Osmani is set up for a new battle with Albin Kurti, the leader of last time’s winners Vetëvendosje.
