The analysis strips the gloss off Europe’s long-running quest for “strategic autonomy” and finds a project stuck between ambition and dependence. Brussels talks about freedom of action, resilience and sovereignty. In reality, Europe is squeezed by US security guarantees on one side and deep economic exposure to China on the other. The piece argues that autonomy has become a slogan masking hard constraints Europe has not resolved.

The analysis takes stock of Germany’s security and defence policy after the Zeitenwende and finds a country still struggling to turn shock into sustained change. A new government brings new language and fresh emphasis, but the paper argues that the deeper constraints remain firmly in place. Germany talks more openly about power and responsibility. Delivering on it is another matter.

The commentary frames Europe as standing at a critical stress point where democratic resilience is no longer an abstract ideal but a live security issue. Elections, institutions and public trust are under pressure from disinformation, polarisation and foreign interference. The piece argues that Europe talks confidently about defending democracy, yet the shield it relies on is thinner, slower and more uneven than leaders admit.

The analysis takes a hard look at Friedrich Merz’s openness to bending Germany’s debt rules and finds a risky gamble hiding behind pragmatism. What is sold as flexibility to fund priorities could quickly become a credibility problem for Berlin and a headache for Europe. The piece argues that once Germany starts loosening the brakes, it may struggle to control the slide.

The analysis cuts through years of polite talk and lands on a hard security verdict – Europe’s defence problem is not awareness or ambition, but fragmentation. Faced with a harsher threat environment, European states still buy separately, plan separately and pay separately. The paper argues that this model no longer works. Without joint financing and joint procurement, Europe’s promises of deterrence ring hollow.

The paper tackles a problem Brussels prefers to blur – how to pay for higher defence spending without blowing up already fragile public finances. As war returns to Europe’s doorstep, governments promise more tanks, shells and soldiers. The analysis argues that the money question is being dodged, not solved. Europe wants security and fiscal discipline at the same time, but the trade-offs are catching up fast.

The commentary digs into France’s budget deadlock and exposes a political system stuck between denial and drift. The problem is not a lack of ideas. It is the refusal to confront trade-offs openly in a country running out of fiscal room. The piece argues that France is trapped in an impasse of its own making, where every option carries pain and every delay makes the bill bigger.