Tag - eu

 
 

EU

France's President Emmanuel Macron (second from left) shakes hands with Ukraine's Colonel General Ruslan Khomchak, First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, at the Musee de la Marine, in Paris on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2025
In rare meeting without U.S., Western army chiefs meet to show Ukraine unity
The talks aimed, in part, to assess options and capabilities to guarantee Ukraine's security in the event of a ceasefire.
As the U.S. under Donald Trump reassesses its commitment to Ukraine, countries worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia, are reconsidering their defense policies and alliances with America. 
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2025
Europe braces for a post-American world. Is Japan ready?
A diplomatic posture that makes demands only of Ukraine and not Russia suggests, however, that Washington has taken sides.
Antonio Costa, president of the European Council (left), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, arrive for a special European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
EU leaders agree on defense surge and support Zelenskyy after U.S. aid freeze
The European Union's defense summit in Brussels took place amid fears that Russia, emboldened by its war in Ukraine, may attack an EU country next.
French President Emmanuel Macron addresses the nation in Paris on Wednesday, in this screen grab taken from a video.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
France to open talks to extend nuclear shield for Europe, Macron says
The French president’s remarks come as the EU rushes to counter the threat of Russian aggression after the withdrawal of the U.S.’ commitment to European security.
A dry rice field in Subang, West Java, Indonesia, on July 29, 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 6, 2025
Europe’s defense budget rips through its climate-crisis buffer
Spending cuts here and now mean future climate costs may rise, said the head of a climate nonprofit.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a statement on plans to strengthen the European defense industry and the EU's military capabilities in Brussels on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2025
EU proposes €150 billion defense loan plan as Trump pulls back
Any push for new EU borrowing is going to have to win the backing of the 27 member states, a significant hurdle.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
Japan is no island when it comes to semiconductors. Rightly so.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
Ukrainian servicemen play with dogs at their position on a front line in the nation's Zaporizhzhia region on Feb. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 2, 2025
Europe's nightmare is here: They have to fight Putin without the U.S.
The European Union is aiming to follow up with an emergency package of €20 billion ($21 billion) in military aid for Ukraine at an emergency summit in Brussels.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement on defense spending at Downing Street in London on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2025
Starmer tries to buy Ukraine time with Trump security pitch
The British prime minister's main objective is to secure an American "backstop” for any truce between Russia and Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts his first cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2025
Trump sows confusion on timing of tariffs for Canada and Mexico
Trump's comments on the timing of the tariffs prompted jumps in the value of the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso versus the greenback.
French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump meet at the White House on Monday. The French leader has been forced to appease Trump knowing Europe is unprepared to defend itself without U.S. support.
COMMENTARY
Feb 26, 2025
America is turning its alliances into a protection racket
Trump has no compunction in using his leverage as a global security provider for extortion of allies.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement on defense spending on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
Trump’s threats push U.K.'s Starmer into a more global, military agenda
U.S. President Donald Trump's apparent refusal for the U.S. to be the final guarantor of security in Europe has prompted the prime minister to act.
U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron look at each other during a press conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Macron and Trump rekindle Le Bromance with a touch of tension
Strains over Trump's sudden pivot to Russia over the Ukraine war bubbled up to the surface, even if Macron softened the blow with yet another physical gesture.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (far right), Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (second from right), Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics (left) and Finland President Alexander Stubb (second from left) gather on the day of a news conference after the Support Ukraine summit, marking the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
European leaders in Kyiv to mark three years of war, but top U.S. officials stay away
Trump's rush to end the war has stoked fears of an undermined Kyiv and an altered geopolitical landscape.
Germany’s new leader, Friedrich Merz, aims to revive the economy with tax cuts and pro-business reforms, but an aging population, labor shortages and rising social costs may limit growth and strain public finances.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2025
Germany needs an economic miracle. Merz's odds don’t look good.
Merz faces an aging population that’s set to hold back growth and exacerbate strains on the federal budget and social security system.
The logo of Rheinmetall is displayed at the Eurosatory international defense and security trade fair in Villepinte, near Paris, in June 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Rheinmetall to convert German factories to make defense equipment
The move by Europe's top ammunition maker to repurpose two automotive plants highlights the impact of an expected surge in spending in the region.
German conservative candidate for chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz reacts after the exit poll results are announced in Berlin on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2025
German election victor Merz plans pivot from U.S. as coalition talks loom
Friedrich Merz and his opposition conservatives have vowed to help give Europe "real independence" from the U.S. as he looks to cobble together a government.
A makeshift memorial for Ukrainian soldiers who died fighting invading Russian forces and the Monument to Independence in Kyiv on Feb. 14
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025
Ukraine can survive with the ‘least worst’ peace deal
Clearly the main issue and unfortunately it looks like Trump’s idea of ending the war fast means doing very little for the people who were actually invaded.
People demonstrate in support of Ukraine ahead of the third anniversary of the war with Russia, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2025
Trump shakes transatlantic alliance with Russia pivot
Fears are growing in European capitals that the bond forged from the ruins of World War II is on the verge of collapse.
A campaign poster for Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union candidate for chancellor, in Potsdam, Germany, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025
Gloomy Germans vote in election which conservatives are set to win
The election campaign has been dominated by fierce exchanges over the perception that irregular immigration is out of control.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan