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. The piece argues that Merz’s opening phase exposes how hard it is to turn tougher language into real power when money, coalitions and Europe’s machinery push back.

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. The analysis argues that behind the rhetoric sits a tougher truth – France’s international reach is under pressure from stretched resources, unreliable partners and a world that no longer bends to elegant diplomacy alone.

The analysis delivers an unflattering verdict on Europe’s security trajectory. Despite louder rhetoric and higher spending promises, Europe is ending up with less real protection and deeper reliance on others. The piece argues that the EU’s response to a harsher world has been reactive and fragmented, producing the illusion of strength while hard dependencies quietly thicken.

The analysis looks at Europe’s recent push to speed up defence procurement and finds a shift that is real but fragile. After years of drift, governments are buying more, faster and with greater urgency. The problem is that momentum runs straight into old constraints – national habits, industrial bottlenecks and political caution that still blunt impact. Europe is changing gear, but not flooring the accelerator.