Germany is pouring billions into military space, and this commentary asks whether the bet will pay off. Berlin wants satellites, resilience and strategic relevance, but the analysis makes clear that money alone will not fix deep capability gaps. Space is becoming central to modern warfare, and Germany is starting late in a crowded, unforgiving race.

'Let's be really honest: it's a mess.' That was the assessment offered by UK Minister for Veterans Al Carns as he commented on the 2026 armed forces bill and the insignificant changes it makes in the British draft and mobilization system.

With America’s credibility constantly eroding, Europeans are looking for alternatives to the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

Europe is talking war, but preparing peace. This report strips away the speeches and summit slogans to reveal a defence posture that looks busy yet delivers almost nothing at speed. While threats multiply on Europe’s borders, the EU’s military readiness remains slow, fragmented and painfully unfit for a real crisis.

Europe keeps talking about standing on its own feet, but this analysis shows how shaky the ground really is. Military autonomy sounds bold, yet the hard decisions keep being postponed. With war back on the continent and US politics unpredictable, Europe faces a brutal question it still refuses to answer: what actually comes first when independence costs real money and power?

Germany has embarked on a large-scale rearmament program. Under the program, the country’s military expenses may already exceed EUR 108 billion in 2026 and reach a record EUR 150 billion by 2029. As Valeria Campari writes in the online journal of the Italian Institute of International Affairs (Istituto Affari Internazionali), the German parliament has approved partial resumption of conscription.

The analysis takes stock of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s first hundred days and finds a government eager to signal strength but constrained by the same limits that trapped its predecessors. Rhetoric has sharpened, priorities look clearer, and ambition is back in Berlin. The problem is delivery.

Anthropic PBC, a U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) startup, recently found Chinese State‑sponsored hackers to have manipulated Claude Code, an Anthropic AI orchestration tool, in order to carry out a sophisticated cyber espionage campaign targeting some 30 organizations worldwide.

The commentary dissects Emmanuel Macron’s latest defence spending commitments and finds a familiar French pattern – bold announcements masking hard questions left unanswered. Paris talks about resolve, leadership and strategic autonomy. The paper argues that behind the headline figures sit delivery risks, budget trade-offs and capability gaps that money alone will not fix.

In February 2026, the German Council on Foreign Relations published an article entitled Global Reordering, German Responses. Its authors, Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff and Dr. Kira Vinke, analyze Germany’s role and place in the contemporary world where three global superpowers are building their spheres of influence.

In practice, European countries responded to Russia’s war against Ukraine very differently. Reality has shown that the states in the north and east were much more determined regarding this matter than those in the south of Europe.

A review made by Sophie Williams-Dunning for the RUSI and published in February 2026 deals with how dependence on Western technological platforms undermines Britain’s ability to counter foreign interference.

The commentary takes stock of France’s position abroad and finds a country still desperate to look like a global power, but increasingly constrained by reality. Paris talks confidently about leadership, autonomy and influence.