The European Perspective
Boots on the Ground
The UK and France have signed a “declaration of intent” to deploy troops to Ukraine, a significant escalation aimed at enforcing a potential future ceasefire (Politico). This pivot from supplying hardware to providing personnel crosses a critical threshold, moving from proxy support to direct intervention. While positioned as a peacekeeping measure, the move lacks a clear endgame or defined terms of engagement. Forcing taxpayers to underwrite the security of a non-NATO state with standing armies invites mission creep and risks direct confrontation with Russia. This is a profound expansion of state responsibility, blurring the lines between allied defence and open-ended international policing, with fiscal and geopolitical consequences that appear dangerously un-costed.
Transatlantic Fissures
President Trump’s recent broadside against NATO, questioning its reliability with the remark “I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM,” further exposes the deep cracks in the alliance (Politico). His comments, made amid tensions over the US push to acquire Greenland, force a difficult but necessary reckoning for European capitals. From a standpoint of sovereign accountability, the remarks highlight the inherent risk of outsourcing national defence. European NATO members must confront the reality that the American security guarantee is no longer unconditional, compelling a move towards greater self-reliance and a more transactional approach to collective security, where commitments are explicitly tied to mutual, tangible interests.
Germany’s Economic Crossroads
As Berlin grapples with its stagnating economy, the head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) is pushing for growth through innovation and higher purchasing power, rather than social spending cuts (ZDF). This framing presents a false choice. Enduring economic vitality springs not from state-directed innovation or artificially inflated demand, but from a competitive, low-regulation environment that unleashes private capital and entrepreneurship. While cuts to Germany’s extensive social safety net are politically fraught, resisting supply-side reforms—such as streamlining bureaucracy and reducing the tax burden—in favour of union-backed industrial policy will likely only prolong the country’s economic malaise. True innovation cannot be mandated by committee.
Catch the next Gist for the continent’s moving pieces.
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