Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed a new EU “associate member” status for Ukraine that would bring Kiev closer to EU institutions and security arrangements while delaying full membership rights.
The European Commission and the High Representative have introduced a military mobility package aimed at enabling fast, coordinated movement of troops across Europe by 2027, alongside a Defence Industry Transformation Roadmap to strengthen innovation and production capacity. The proposals include harmonised cross-border procedures, new emergency transport mechanisms, infrastructure upgrades and measures to accelerate defence technology development across the EU.
The EU Council has endorsed Germany’s medium-term fiscal plan and activated the national escape clause, allowing limited temporary flexibility for higher defence spending under the Stability and Growth Pact. The clause permits deviation of up to 1.5% of GDP annually for four years while maintaining overall fiscal discipline.
An agreement between the EU and the UK has included the first steps towards allowing British companies to compete for orders paid for by a €150B loan program intended to boost European defence, that would otherwise only be serviced by European firms.
As NATO races to supply Ukraine before Trump takes office, Europe is struggling to touch two percent of its GDP on defence expenditure while Russia plans to spend more than 32 percent of its national budget on its military.
Between January 01, 2024 and June 18, 2024, the German government approved a total of weapons exports worth at least EUR 7.48 billion (USD 8.01 billion), up 30 percent from the first half of last year, with some 65 percent of the exports, worth EUR 4.88 billion, destined for Ukraine.
Israel has two objectives: dismantling of the Hamas regime in Gaza and safe recovery of the hostages abducted on Saturday. Israel will have to prioritise between the two because it is doubtful if both objectives can be pursued and achieved at the same time.
This meeting is significant as Karim is the first envoy of a Muslim majority country to meet Modi and is also a sign of growing international recognition of the Gujarat chief minister’s influence on national issues in New Delhi, in this case the Land Boundary Agreement.
US diplomats also feared that Chinese companies were selling materials to Iran that could be used to build nuclear missiles and other weapons of mass destruction, the Daily Telegraph reported Thursday, citing secret US cables leaked by WikiLeaks.
