Deutsch-Ukrainisches Büro (DUB) GmbH’s Post

I’ve just read your article and would like to offer some feedback. You rightly highlight Germany’s political instability and internal divisions over Ukraine, but I believe the piece presents a somewhat one-sided and overly pessimistic view of Germany’s role in European security. While you focus on domestic issues like budget crises and the rise of populism, the article seems to underplay Germany's potential for leadership through diplomacy, economic influence, and collaboration within the EU. The notion that Germany’s security role is primarily limited to military spending is, I think, too narrow. Germany could still play a significant part in shaping Europe’s security landscape through multilateral engagement and other forms of influence. Additionally, it seems the article overlooks the fact that many European countries are facing similar challenges, not just Germany. A more nuanced approach would be helpful, one that explores how Germany can contribute to peace and security without relying exclusively on military interventions.

Maria and her husband, Aleksandr, are certain that President Vladimir V. Putin will secure a fifth term as Russia’s leader in the presidential election this weekend. But the couple, who live in Moscow with their three children, are not so sure about what will follow. Foremost in their minds are fears that Mr. Putin, emboldened by winning a new six-year term, might declare another mobilization for soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Aleksandr, 38, who left Russia shortly after Mr. Putin announced the first mobilization in September 2022 but recently returned, is even considering leaving the country again, his wife said. “I only hear about mobilization — that there is a planned offensive for the summer and that troops need rotation,” Maria, 34, said in a WhatsApp exchange. She declined to allow the couple’s family name to be used, fearing repercussions from the government. Many Russians have been worrying about a multitude of issues before the vote, which started on Friday and takes place over three days. Though the Russian authorities have denied that another mobilization for the war is planned, a sense of unease persists. The concerns appear to be grounded in the possibility that Mr. Putin will use his unfettered power to make changes he avoided before the vote. Denis Volkov, the director of the Levada Center, one of the few independent pollsters in Russia, said those anxieties were still felt mainly by the minority of Russians who oppose the government. While a potential mobilization remains the biggest cause of concern, there is unease, too, over finances and the economy. Some Russians worry that the ruble, which has been propped up by the government after plunging last year, might be allowed to depreciate again, raising the cost of imports. Businesspeople worry about higher taxes, and opposition activists expect more crackdowns on dissent. “People are very anxious,” said Nina L. Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at the New School in New York City who regularly visits Russia. “Uncertainty is the worst, as much as Russian people are used to uncertainty.” The worries reflect a current mood in Russia, where many have learned to hope for the best but expect the worst. The uncertainty has been worsened by a government that experts say has become increasingly authoritarian. After more than two decades in power, Mr. Putin is not restrained by an opposition party in Parliament or a strong civil society. He is therefore relatively free to act as he pleases. Some experts say that the Kremlin could use the results of the vote — expected to be a landslide victory for Mr. Putin — to crack down even further on dissent and escalate the war in Ukraine, which was intended to be a brisk “special military operation” but has turned into a slog that has caused hundreds of thousands of casualties. “In an authoritarian election, the results are predictable but the consequences are not,” Yekaterina

In "A European War Union?" Yanis Varoufakis, a former finance minister of Greece, and leader of the MeRA25 party and Professor of Economics at the University of Athens argues that advocates of European unity used to celebrate the European Union as a peace project. But well before Russia invaded Ukraine, the European vision of a peaceful road to shared prosperity had begun to frazzle, and now the invasion has facilitated the EU’s mutation into something much uglier. He writes that "Having failed to convince Germany, and the so-called frugal nation-states, of the need for a proper fiscal union, their desperate fallback position is now to argue for a war union." https://lnkd.in/e5Gzmqww Despite Europe's substantial economy (EU), there is a lack of political will to revamp its defense budget. Europeans are hesitant to revert to the Cold War era, where defense spending overshadowed national expenditures. In essence, there is minimal enthusiasm in Europe for a wartime mobilization. As a result, we may need to accept the current state of affairs in our existing relationships for the foreseeable future.

Today - 3pm EST. Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center online event, "A fireside chat with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russian Anti-War Committee founder," takes place today, April 29, 2024, from 3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. (ET) via Zoom. Register to attend (below) online Since the beginning of its brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has only reinforced its suppression of all forms of dissent, civil society, and free media to further cement Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power and quell anti-war sentiment. The March 2024 presidential election was more a stage-managed “bureaucratic exercise” than a free and fair election. As Russians continue to live under Putin’s dictatorial rule and as the ruinous nature of Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to impact daily life, the future of Russia remains uncertain. Businessman, philanthropist, and founder of the Open Russia movement, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has played a pivotal role in international efforts to build a future for Russia that is both free and democratic.

In "A European War Union?" Yanis Varoufakis, a former finance minister of Greece, and leader of the MeRA25 party and Professor of Economics at the University of Athens argues that advocates of European unity used to celebrate the European Union as a peace project. But well before Russia invaded Ukraine, the European vision of a peaceful road to shared prosperity had begun to frazzle, and now the invasion has facilitated the EU’s mutation into something much uglier. He writes that "Having failed to convince Germany, and the so-called frugal nation-states, of the need for a proper fiscal union, their desperate fallback position is now to argue for a war union." https://lnkd.in/g5AwSVKy Despite Europe's substantial economy (EU), there is a lack of political will to revamp its defense budget. Europeans are hesitant to revert to the Cold War era, where defense spending overshadowed national expenditures. In essence, there is minimal enthusiasm in Europe for a wartime mobilization. As a result, we may need to accept the current state of affairs in our existing relationships for the foreseeable future.

In "A European War Union?" Yanis Varoufakis, a former finance minister of Greece, and leader of the MeRA25 party and Professor of Economics at the University of Athens argues that advocates of European unity used to celebrate the European Union as a peace project. But well before Russia invaded Ukraine, the European vision of a peaceful road to shared prosperity had begun to frazzle, and now the invasion has facilitated the EU’s mutation into something much uglier. He writes that "Having failed to convince Germany, and the so-called frugal nation-states, of the need for a proper fiscal union, their desperate fallback position is now to argue for a war union." https://lnkd.in/g5AwSVKy Despite Europe's substantial economy (EU), there is a lack of political will to revamp its defense budget. Europeans are hesitant to revert to the Cold War era, where defense spending overshadowed national expenditures. In essence, there is minimal enthusiasm in Europe for a wartime mobilization. As a result, we may need to accept the current state of affairs in our existing relationships for the foreseeable future.

The last 25 years have been exceptionally important for #Estonia in securing our freedom and defense capability, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur writes. When we began our journey to the European Union and NATO in the 1990s, we had a clear conviction: never again alone. And back then it seemed that good-neighborly relations with Russia might be possible and war in #Europe unlikely. But reality has changed – Russia clearly adopted a course towards dictatorship and an aggressive foreign policy at the turn of the millennium. Persecutions, propaganda campaigns and human rights violations are a painful reminder of why we fought for our freedom and why we now support #Ukraine. These events are confirmation that national defense is not just the task of the defense forces, but a joint effort of the people to preserve and protect our freedom. Freedom is not something to be taken for granted – it is a value that must be preserved and constantly re-secured. Let's admit, these are anxious times. One could even say that the conditions for a so-called perfect storm have been created. Looking at the current political map of the world's major democratic powers right now, the situation is, to put it mildly, grim. France's early parliamentary elections have tipped the balance of power between the Elysée and parliament, while the German government has fallen apart in the storm winds and early elections are ahead. The countries of the axis of evil must not be given a chance The US is still searching for a calmer moment after a turbulent presidential election, and there is no clear understanding of whether the storm in a teacup that accompanied the election will turn into a hurricane, tsunami, or mild aftershock on January 20. What is certain, however, is that our strongest military ally will not be continuing as it has for the past four years. If we add to the political storms of the major powers the deviation of Georgia from the European course, the upcoming parliamentary elections in Moldova and the Czech Republic, the changes that have already taken place in Hungary and Slovakia, and the change of the European Commission, we understand that from now until at least the end of the first quarter of next year we will be living in a very difficult period from the point of view of security and diplomacy, where the countries of the new so-called axis of evil will certainly have in their heads the idea that no good crisis can be allowed to go to waste for their own interests. At this point, it is appropriate to recall what the English philosopher and politician Edmund Burke said, which is that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. https://lnkd.in/eZK6uxQy

"In the bigger picture, reactionaries winning in Europe while actual Nazis rake in U.S. tax dollars combines into one big F for Biden’s foreign policy. His pet proxy war in Ukraine is a fiasco, with hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers dead, the country flat broke, its infrastructure destroyed by Russian missiles and drones, its democracy out the window. Now that proxy war racks up another casualty: European centrism. If fascism comes to Europe in a big way, which is now quite possible, look to the Biden gang for the ultimate cause. Washington’s idiotic economic sanctions of Moscow led EU countries to follow suit, and when those sanctions backfired, their economies began to crater. Deindustrialization advances swiftly in the EU’s powerhouse, Germany, which relied on cheap Russian energy to stay competitive. And when Germany goes broke, the catastrophic repercussions will be felt throughout the continent. Its relative decline has already boosted the AfD. Do the Biden neo-cons even care?".

HESS: Georgia’s dreams dying as EU accession suspended #bne #bneEditorsPicks #Georgia On June 9 the EU announced the suspension of Georgia’s accession talks and on June 11, the declaration that followed this year's annual Nato Summit failed to include the phrase “Georgia will become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan as an integral part of the process” for the first time since it was adopted in 2008. Thus, the two leading pillars of Georgia’s foreign policy for the last twenty years – and the key aspirations of the overwhelming majority of Georgians – have been dashed. It is not the first, but the second, time that the aspirations of the Georgian people have been dashed by the country’s two leading politicians.