Poland and Japan announce comprehensive strategic partnership

Poland and Japan have agreed a comprehensive strategic partnership with the aim of cooperating more closely on security, infrastructure, nuclear energy and technology.

Poles have long viewed Japan as a “symbol of success", but the two countries are now partners "on equal terms", said Donald Tusk.

Many middle powers are fast diversifying trade ties away from the US
• In May-Dec 2025 trade among UK, Canada, EU, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland rose by 12%
• EU leads the way, as recent burst of free-trade deals with Mercosur, India and Australia illustrates
www.economist.com/finance-and-...

The leaders of Canada and Finland are running partners and friends who text each other regularly.

Can they build a new transatlantic alliance in the age of Donald Trump?

🔗 www.politico.eu/article/mark...

🚨 @contexte.com got a leak of the Commission communication announcing measures to support Member States in the face of the #energy crisis (kudos to @sunderjourno.bsky.social). The EC is planning to propose a targeted review of production criteria for renewable hydrogen (RFNBOs delegated act) in June

Orban ousted: What Magyar’s victory means for Hungary and the EU Peter Magyar's landslide victory over Viktor Orban in Sunday’s Hungarian legislative elections marks a seismic shift for Hungary and the EU, but Brussels may need to temper its enthusiasm. On the…

"One can be cautiously positive," @cerianbond.bsky.social, deputy director of the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social in London, told @en.france24.com. "But not everything is going to change."

buff.ly/FUN0epA

France aims to spend €76.3B on defense in 2030 However, Paris is still unlikely to reach NATO’s 2035 spending target of 3.5 percent of GDP.

France's government has presented its updated military planning law, with an extra €36 billion for defense by 2030. Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said the aim is to be able to face "potential major deployment" in an unpredictable timeframe.

America’s War Machine Runs on Tungsten—and It Could Run Out U.S. operations in Iran risk draining limited U.S. stocks.

🧵 Happy Monday!

My colleagues did some fantastic work last week and our team produced great pieces on some under-covered aspects of the Iran war @foreignpolicy.com

First, this excellent piece by @christinalu.bsky.social about tungsten:

foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/02/t...

"Bloomberg examined Trump’s record of following through on threats to attack other countries and non-state actors.

"Looking at his first term, he made good on threats roughly 20% of the time.

"In his second term to date, that rate has risen to 50%."

www.bloomberg.com/news/live-bl...

German conservatives calling US an unreliable partner. This is openly crossing a taboo that would have ended a career. Now, said on the record. This is a once in a generation transformation in the international system.

Donald Trump’s anger at NATO allies for refusing to join the war against Iran has so far achieved one thing:

Uniting them against him.

🔗 www.politico.eu/article/dona...

Here are 10 consequences of the US-Israel attack on Iran - a thread. US soft power is damaged. To launch an attack without clear aims or an exit strategy has upset allies - in Europe, Gulf & Asia - who must bear the economic, political and military consequences. /1

Concerning that McConnell and Coons feel they need to rush out a statement on NATO like this

Trump Mulls Pulling U.S. Out of NATO However, U.S. law dictates that only an act of Congress or a Senate resolution can withdraw Washington from the alliance.

U.S. President Donald Trump considers withdrawing the United States from NATO over its members’ unwillingness to join the Iran war.

foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/01/t...

Poland won’t divert Patriot air defense systems to Gulf The U.S. is approaching all its NATO allies looking for more air defense batteries, said a senior defense official from a NATO country.

Poland has no plans to relocate its Patriot air defense systems to the Middle East, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said today after reports that the U.S. had informally requested a transfer.

China's mineral monopoly does not only give Beijing coercive power over European defense and industrial sectors, but it can also hold the wider EU competitiveness agenda hostage.
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“We Must Set Tough and Quick Priorities” Bodø, Northern Norway (High North News): What happens to the residents of an Arctic city if the power is out for an extended period? In Bodø, Northern Norway, there are concerted efforts to have syste...

What happens to the residents of an Arctic city if the power is out for an extended period? In Bodø, Northern Norway, there are concerted efforts to have systems in place in order to follow the government's recommendation: Be prepared for crisis and war.

#preparedness #Arctic #poweroutlet #bodo

High oil prices help, but won’t solve, Russia’s economic troubles – Bank of Finland Bulletin With the gyrating, generally upward trend in crude oil prices since the outbreak of the Iran war, oil price trends – particularly their impacts on Russian economic output and government finances – des...

What happens to the Russian economy, if oil prices are much higher than we assume in our baseline forecast? My colleague Heli Simola assesses the situation.

Even much higher oil prices would not turn Russia's public finances into surplus.

www.bofbulletin.fi/en/blogs/202...

NATO countries hit 2025 spending target However, there were wide discrepancies in spending among NATO countries, the alliance’s annual report shows.

Europe and Canada raised their defense expenditure by one-fifth last year, according to NATO’s annual report published today, despite a significant gulf in spending across the alliance.

Pentagon considers diverting Ukraine military aid to the Middle East A shift would highlight the growing trade-offs required for the U.S. to sustain its war with Iran as the conflict depletes the military’s critical munitions.

“the Pentagon notified Congress… that it intended to divert about $750 million in funding provided by NATO countries through the PURL program to restock the U.S. military’s own inventories, rather than to send additional assistance to Ukraine.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Drone flies into Latvian territory from Russia and falls The Latvian Air Force has identified a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle entering Latvian airspace from Russia, according to the National Armed Forces (NBS), the Defence Ministry reports on Wednesday mo...

Drones have entered both Latvian and Estonian territory last night. Good news is that (at least the Latvians, not sure about Estonia) air defences immediately detected the threat.

eng.lsm.lv/article/soci...

Le Pen arriving in Budapest, Trump endorsing Orbán, Vance on his way, Netanyahu also calling for a pro-Orbán vote.

I have never seen the European and wider (ironically) global far-right publicly uniting to swing behind a candidate in a national election in Europe so far:

Arctic Sovereignty and Security: The U.S., Greenland, and Transatlantic Concerns | Webinar YouTube video by Pacific Council

Last week I moderated a panel with the Pacific Council on #Arctic security, #Greenland sovereignty, and U.S. national security interests in the region. The speakers' remarks and insights were incredibly helpful, you can watch the full discussion here:

youtu.be/g6dFoATqZdc?...

“Nordic and Baltic countries have deepened their own integration, moving faster and with more strategic coherence than any pan-European body could manage,” @glandsbergis.bsky.social writes.

“Brussels pretends it still plays some role….”
landsbergis.com/the-end-of-e...

One of Sweden’s most dangerous weapons.

An equal defence, is a stronger defence.

🇸🇪 Armed Forces, International Women’s Day 2026

Oil built the Persian Gulf. Desalinated water keeps it alive. War could threaten both As the Iran war widens, experts say the Middle East’s real strategic weak point may be water — not oil.

Great piece from AP - appreciate that it brings in the compounding climate risk in the region.

apnews.com/article/iran...

Why We Need a Feminist Foreign Policy YouTube video by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Washington, DC

This International Women's Day, we think feminist foreign policy is more relevant and pressing than ever. For a great introduction, check out our video on how feminist approaches to international relations can create a better world. youtu.be/SC1u0ok8Aj4?...

Polls have closed in the first of this year's five German state elections, in prosperous Baden-Württemberg. It's looking like a remarkable win-from-behind by the Greens under @oezdemir.de. Full results over the course of the evening.

Transatlantic Media Fellowship Applications are due on March 13th. The Transatlantic Media Fellowship program supports well-researched transatlantic journalism. As in previous years, the Heinrich Böll Foundation Washington, DC will...

Do you want to report on the ecology of AI? The future of NATO? Anticolonial environmental futures? How local actors are protecting democracy? Then apply for a Transatlantic Media Fellowship today - applications close in just 7 days!

usboell.bamboohr.com/careers/87?s...

Iceland to hold Aug. 29 referendum on reviving EU membership talks Icelanders will have the chance to decide their future once and for all, the prime minister said.

Iceland will hold a referendum on Aug. 29 to decide whether to relaunch its stalled talks to join the EU, its government said today.

All March EU meetings in Cyprus rescheduled or made virtual “Due to developments in the region there were difficulties or cancellations with the flights not only to Cyprus, but also to other countries in the region, so we had to be flexible,” a Cypriot offi…

All March EU meetings in #Cyprus rescheduled or made virtual

www.politico.eu/article/cypr...