Defence – EUobserver

Spanish defiance or German deference: which one works better with Trump?

3 April 2026 by Kristina Kausch

Appeasement has not prevented Donald Trump from temporarily suspending military aid to Ukraine, repeatedly threatening sweeping tariffs on European exports, or even suggesting the use of force to annex the sovereign territory of a Nato ally – Greenland. It has not prevented the US from launching a military operation against Iran that risks undermining European security, empowering the Kremlin, and potentially triggering a global economic downturn.

Edward Lucas. Edward Lucas is a writer and security expert.
His expertise includes energy, cyber-security, espionage, information warfare and Russian foreign and defence policy.
He is the founder and director of the Baltic International Security Centre, a new thinktank.
Formerly a senior editor at The Economist, the world’s foremost newsweekly, he was for many years a senior (non-resident) adviser at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), a thinktank based in Washington, DC. He writes a regular column in the London Times, and also for Foreign Policy.
In 1992, he co-founded an English-language weekly in Tallinn, Estonia: the Baltic Independent. For many years a foreign correspondent, he was based in Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Moscow and the Baltic states.
In 2008 he wrote the The New Cold War, a prescient account of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, followed in 2011 by Deception, an investigative account of east-west espionage. He has written three other books,
An experienced broadcaster, he is a regular contributor to the BBC’s Today and Newsnight programmes, and to NPR, CNN and Sky News. Edward has lectured at Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge and other leading universities.
Lucas is the recipient of numerous awards and decorations. He was also the first foreigner to receive an Estonian electronic identity card, and received the first Lithuanian visa in 1991. He was deported from the Soviet Union, arrested, beaten up, interrogated and spied on by communist secret police agents behind the Iron Curtain. He studied economics at the London School of Economics and speaks five languages — German, Russian, Polish, Czech and Lithuanian.

Russia is trying to unsettle the Baltic states — oddly, the Ukrainians are helping

31 March 2026 by Edward Lucas

The real problem for the Baltics is not an unlikely Russian military attack in the future, but the divide-and-rule information operation going on right now, warns former editor at The Economist Edward Lucas.

A dedicated border crossing point in Poland was opened this week for empty trucks leaving Ukraine to enter the EU (Photo: PES Communications)

EU signs off on €260m grant for Ukraine’s defence

30 March 2026 by Benjamin Fox

The new funds are from the European defence industry programme, part of the bloc’s plans to scale up its defence industry.

Russia's Baltic Sea port of ‌Ust-Luga resumed oil loadings on Monday after a drone attack

Ukrainians caused the largest short-term disruption of oil exports in modern Russian history (Ukraine Battlefield update, day 1491)

26 March 2026 by Tomáš Vasilko

Russia’s revenues from oil and natural gas sales fell by 47 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.

160721-N-OR652-449
STRAIT OF HORMUZ (July 21, 2016) The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), followed by the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94), transit the Strait of Hormuz. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet are of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class J. Alexander Delgado/Released)

How Europe might help re-opening Strait of Hormuz, after the ‘hot war’

26 March 2026 by Christian Bueger

Sole military options are proving inadequate to re-open the Strait. Strategic thinking on diplomatic solutions are needed. The EU’s experience and leadership could be key.

A crashed Shahed drone in a research facility in Ukraine. Photo: Tomas Hrivnak

Drone crashes across Baltic states show gaps in defence against a new kind of war

26 March 2026 by Tomáš Hrivňák

Several stray drones from Ukraine, affected by electronic warfare, have crashed in Baltic states as local air defence systems struggled to detect them. Meanwhile, Ukraine is leading the way with new interceptor systems.

Ničení íránských lodí americkými ozbrojenými silami.

Trump’s military options to secure Hormuz and end the war, explained

25 March 2026 by Jiří Sobota and Barbora Chaloupková

As Qatar’s gas stops flowing to Europe and Iran chokes the Strait of Hormuz, energy prices are surging and tensions have spiked. US threats raise the stakes — but reopening this vital artery is far from simple, with risky military options, asymmetric warfare, and the looming threat of mined waters hanging over global trade. Here are some basic questions and answers.

Ghana’s vice president Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas in Accra

Kallas takes aim at Russia’s ‘unethical’ army recruiting in Africa during Ghana trip

24 March 2026 by Benjamin Fox

A report by the All Eyes on Wagner investigative group listed 1,417 fighters from 35 African countries who had joined the Russian army between 2023 and mid-2025, 316 of whom have been killed. Ghana’s West African neighbour Cameroon has suffered the highest losses: 94 of its 335 recruits have been killed during Russia’s war in Ukraine.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas and Nigeria's foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar at a joint press conference in Abuja on Monday

EU offers cash and defence deal as it inks migrant returns pact with Nigeria

23 March 2026 by Benjamin Fox

The EU and Nigeria have made progress on the ‘strategic partnership’ first announced in 2023, unveiling a returns and readmission agreement for failed migrants on Monday.

Ukrainian artillery position near the front line in east Ukraine

How to avoid EU arms spending spree being lost to corruption and bribery?

23 March 2026 by Francesca Grandi and Juhani Grossmann

Europe is about to spend billions of euros on defence. But what happens if citizens later discover that part of that money was lost to corruption, problematic procurement chains, or poorly supervised contracts?

Donald Tusk, leader of Poland's Civic Platform, visiting Brussels in October after his election success (Photo: European Commission)

Tusk comes up with a Plan B, after Polish president vetoes historic defence spending law

18 March 2026 by Tomáš Hrivňák

The Polish government is reaching for a workaround to access European loans for rearmament after president Karol Nawrocki vetoed a historic law enabling the EU’s SAFE programme. Meanwhile, an information campaign is spreading narratives of a ‘Narva separatist republic’ in Estonia, and a spy scandal is unraveling Slovenia’s election campaign.

Briefed is a new daily podcast covering stories around Europe (Photo: Europod)

Listen: Why Europe won’t blindly follow Donald Trump’s call to secure the Strait of Hormuz?

17 March 2026 by Léa Marchal

Trump pressures allies as tensions rise over the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran restricts oil flows and prices surge. Europe resists Nato involvement, urging caution and clarity while weighing limited action. Will the EU support US calls or chart its own course amid escalating geopolitical stakes and fragile energy security?

Ukraine Battlefield update (day 1,478): Why Ukraine is more optimistic than last year ahead of Russian spring offensive

13 March 2026 by Tomáš Vasilko

Ukraine managed to cut off the Russians from the US Starlink satellite system and increased drone attacks against Russia’s rear positions.

The EU needs an 'integrated' defence market, MEPs said on Wednesday (Photo: French ministry of defence)

EU needs a ‘single market’ for defence, MEPs tell Commission

11 March 2026 by Benjamin Fox

The EU’s defence industry needs to be fully integrated into the bloc’s single market, MEPs said in a new report approved on Wednesday.

Assault rifles used by the Slovak Armed Forces.

Arms flows rise to Cold War levels amid Ukraine and EU rearmament

11 March 2026 by Tomáš Hrivňák

Global arms flows are surging to Cold War levels, fuelled by European rearmament and the war in Ukraine. Ukraine, Poland, and the Czech Republic are reshaping Europe’s defence landscape, while a Czechoslovak Group’s record-breaking IPO exposes links between business and politics. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia eyes Ukrainian weapons amid drone threats, highlighting a defence boom that is both highly profitable and increasingly entangled with geopolitics.

Listen: Which European countries are sending forces to the Middle East?

11 March 2026 by Léa Marchal

Some EU member states have defence agreements with Gulf countries, requiring mutual assistance in case of attack. That’s why several EU countries have announced military deployments to the region, including France and the Netherlands. But what is the scale of European forces sent to the region?

Europe must prepare for the age of nuclear weapons, expert warns

10 March 2026 by Soňa Weissová

Michal Onderčo, a nuclear weapons expert from the University of Rotterdam who recently published the book Europe’s Nuclear Umbrella, warns that due to the threat from Russia and the US pivot away from Europe, the era in which European leaders did not have to worry about the issue of nuclear deterrence has ended.

Iran war could mean shortages of Patriot defence missiles for Ukraine

4 March 2026 by Tomáš Hrivňák

Ukraine has backed US action against Iran, seeking favour with Donald Trump and strategic gains against Russia, despite risks of reduced US support and Patriot shortages. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron has expanded France’s nuclear umbrella to Europe, including Poland — while disputes intensify over Ukraine’s Druzhba pipeline shutdown.

During a Kyiv visit, Ursula von der Leyen urged Ukraine to repair the Druzhba pipeline, but Volodymyr Zelensky warned repairs risk workers’ lives amid ongoing Russian attacks

Hungary and Slovakia in standoff with Ukraine over broken Russian oil pipe

25 February 2026 by Tomáš Hrivňák

Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline has halted, sparking tensions between Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine, although Brussels says supplies remain stable. In contrast, Kyiv builds cyber ties with other EU countries while Baltic states bolster border defences.

Listen: How Poland is preparing for a potential war?

25 February 2026 by Léa Marchal

Poland isn’t just preparing for war — it’s rewriting the rulebook on how to get ready. Meanwhile, the rest of the EU is slowly catching up on defence. What can we learn from Poland’s approach?