European Business Review

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The saga of the Future Combat Air System between France and Germany shows that both of these middle powers still have a lot to learn in this regard. Germany continues to be torn between wanting to preserve whatever crumbs of its defense relationship with the United States are left, and a still-theoretical understanding that it must use its economic might to supercharge European defense. France, meanwhile, is wary that Berlin’s increasing assertiveness in strategic and defense matters is happening at Paris’s expense.

Macron Makes France a Great Middle Power

France has stopped clinging to notions of being a great power and is embracing the middle power moment. But Emmanuel Macron has his work cut out if he is to secure his country’s global standing before his term in office ends.

Europe’s banks are happy with risk-averse customers. Their own healthy profits come from re-investing low-interest deposits into more profitable activities. Being risk-averse themselves, they starve small and medium-sized companies of loans, and this year have begun squeezing credit even tighter. The EU Commission is trying to encourage a shift into investment of the €10tn in cash held by the big retail banks, but it’s an uphill struggle.

The EU’s zig-zag road towards stronger financial markets

Giles Merritt delves into the confusing welter of efforts to streamline Europe’s national financial players into a more dynamic single capital market

In 2027, two Austrian states – Tyrol and Upper Austria – will hold their next elections and votes there are typically influenced by national political trends. If public sentiment toward the government doesn’t improve significantly by then, the ruling parties could face serious internal turmoil.

Vienna calling: Austria far right gathers strength after near miss

To thwart the FPÖ’s steady rise, the Austrian government tries to play the long game

AI disruption is unlikely to manifest as sudden mass redundancy. It is more likely to take the form of incremental task substitution and workflow automation that progressively reduce the scope of existing roles. Jobs would be hollowed out before being eliminated, creating prolonged insecurity rather than immediate unemployment.

How Europe Can Survive the AI Labor Transition

Integrating AI into the workplace will increase job insecurity, fundamentally reshaping labor markets. To anticipate and manage this transition, the EU must build public trust, provide training infrastructures, and establish social protections.

Are the hundreds of billions for defense being spent wisely, in for 95 percent traditional weapons? At the Munich Security Conference Moritz Schularick, director of the specialised research Kiel Institute, said that over 800 billion euros in additional investment in the next years are ‘no guarantee that Europe will become more secure!’. He advocated for greater attention to innovation.

After a painful NATO exercise: are all those billions for defense being spent wisely?

NATO reported on its website about a large-scale exercise organised by a multinational battlegroup in Estonia. The soldiers had to train in temperatures of 20 degrees below zero. The military alliance is investing significant resources in defending its eastern flank.

MORE FEATURES

After 7 October, Albanese said that while Hamas ruled Gaza with “an iron fist”, it had also built schools and hospitals and provided the territory’s de facto administration – infrastructure Israel later destroyed. “When you think of Hamas,” she added, “you should not necessarily think of cut-throats, people armed to the teeth, or fighters.”

Europe

The Albanese around the UN’s neck

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Everyone remembers the pupil at the back of the classroom, needling classmates – then flashing a wide-eyed “Who, me?” when the teacher turned around.

The Week That Changed Everything: EU–India After the FTA, the AI Summit and the End of Strategic Ambiguity

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

What New Delhi’s February Moment Means for Europe — and Why Central and Eastern Europe Must Now Step Forward

Can EU Still Matter in Syria?

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Europe’s interests in Syria extend beyond migration management, yet the EU trails behind other players in the country’s post-Assad reconstruction. To boost its influence in Damascus, the union must upgrade its commitment to ensuring regional stability.