Defence and security Archives

European powers still want to hand Donald Trump next week a plan to save the Iran nuclear deal, but they have also started work on protecting EU-Iranian business ties if the US president makes good on a threat to withdraw.

The EU on Wednesday (2 May) announced plans to spend nearly 20 billion euros on defence over its next long-term budget, as the bloc seeks to boost its resilience to the perceived threat from Russia.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday (1 May) praised Macedonia's efforts to resolve a decades-old name dispute with Greece, and said he hoped the Balkan country will be able to join NATO.

With naval power Britain at the EU's exit door, Spain has gone on the offensive to be the next major player defending European shores.

Airbus and Dassault Aviation have signed an initial agreement to cooperate on Europe's Future Air Combat System (FCAS) even though the two are rivals and have not yet said which one of them would lead the project.

Combating Islamic terrorism in the Sahel region has united Europe and the wider international community. Most attention has been focused on the G5 Sahel joint military operation which has been tasked with combating jihadist groups in the region.

Germany and France have agreed on the central requirements for a new fighter jet to replace Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale warplanes beginning in 2040, German military sources said.

The joint strikes in Syria launched by France, the UK and the US seem to have a symbolic rather than military purpose, writes Nicolas Gros-Verheyde.

The European Union's foreign affairs chief said on Saturday (21 April) that North Korea's announcement to stop nuclear tests was a positive step and called for an "irreversible denuclearisation" of the Asian country.

US military strikes on Syria last week removed any moral obligation Russia had to withhold S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems from its ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today (20 April) , according to RIA state news agency.

Azerbaijan's capital Baku will host a rare meeting between top generals from Russia and NATO, who will focus on preventing military incidents “caused by a possible misinterpretation of the actions of Russia and NATO", according to the Russian television RT.

Despite the bombing of chemical weapon sites in Syria, along with France and the US, and the recent show of support from Western allies in the Skripal affair, Britain’s international clout will inexorably erode after Brexit, writes Pierre-Alain Coffinier.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to the EU, Mykola Tochytskyi, explains in an interview with EURACTIV why Kyiv is against the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He also talks about Ukraine's relations with Brussels and its complicated ties with Moscow.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, facing a rowdy session of parliament on Monday (16 April), defended her decision to join US-led missile strikes against Syria without first seeking parliament's authorisation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Sunday (15 April) that further Western attacks on Syria would bring chaos to world affairs, as Washington prepared to increase pressure on Russia with new economic sanctions.

Although talks on the EU's next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) might appear dull on the surface, we should force ourselves to take notice of them and emphasise the long-term importance of the external tranche of the budget, writes Susi Dennison.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas agreed on Friday to use the already available options to circumvent the required EU member states' unanimity when it comes to addressing foreign challenges including the Syrian war.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia urged the United States and its allies on Thursday (12 April) to refrain from military action against Syria over a suspected chemical weapons attack but said he “cannot exclude” war between Washington and Moscow.

Killer robots may not speak Spanish as well as Terminator. But they could be as destructive as that famous killing machine with an Austrian accent in the not too distant future.

The leaders of the EU institutions remained silent on Wednesday (11 April) while the world got dangerously close to a global conflict over Syria, with two member states, Britain and France, getting ready to go to war.

Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon said any US missiles fired at Syria would be shot down and the launch sites targeted, a step that could trigger a major escalation in the Syrian war.

The Czech president has advised Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to try to negotiate a new government with two fringe parties after coalition talks with the Social Democrats collapsed, Babiš said yesterday (11 April).

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid called for US Patriot missiles and troops to be deployed to her small Baltic state yesterday (4 April), telling AFP it was necessary to make deterrence "believable" for Russia.

The German military on Wednesday (4 April) put a short-range air defence unit with about 450 soldiers under Dutch command, further deepening ties between the two NATO allies.