Is HYDEF, the EU’s Hypersonic Interception Programme, Still Making Progress?
Russia perpetrated yet another heavy attack targeting Kyiv on May 24th, firing some 600 drones and 90 missiles including hypersonic Kinzhal and Zircon missiles. As EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said, “Russia hit a dead end on the battlefield, so it terrorizes Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centres.” A tactic made easier by Ukraine’s lack of air defence systems that can reliably intercept hypersonic missiles – Europe has the same problem. Could the EU’s Hypersonic Defence Interceptor Programme (HYDEF) help to solve this challenge?
Europe’s Energy Lifeline: Where Does the Continent Go for Fossil Fuels?
Europe needs fossil fuels. The question then is where, and from whom, Europe will get them.
After 50 Years of Trade, Europe Has Learnt to Manage Its Expectations of China
For fifty years, Europe pursued China with the conviction that trade would beget liberalisation; the last decade has been the slow, costly process of revising that assumption.
Migration Alone Won’t Solve Europe’s Labour Problem
Migration has long been framed as the solution to Europe’s labour shortages and demographic challenge. Yet why do millions of jobs across the EU remain unfilled even as many working-age migrants remain underemployed or excluded from the labour market? Europe’s labour problem is becoming less about labour supply and more about its ability to absorb and integrate workers effectively.
After the Iran War: NATO’s Paper Power May Not Survive a Long War
The Iran war is not NATO’s war. Yet, ahead of the 2026 Ankara Summit, it has exposed a deeper anxiety: NATO’s military capabilities may be easy to visualize, but it is evident that the alliance is not ready, both in a political and industrial sense, from the rising Russian threat.
Conditionality Built the Liberal Order. Now the West is Abandoning It
Western conditionality shaped how the liberal order worked. Beijing is exposing what’s left of it.
Hungary’s Post-Election Economic Rally
Markets are hungry for Hungary. Last month’s electoral upset has yielded early-stage economic ripples. Impacts are being felt across the stock markets, bond markets, and forex markets.
Rearming Europe: Following the Netherlands’ Example?
The Dutch are looking to serve as the forefront in Europe’s new era of military independence.
Free, Open, and Untouchable? Open-Source Enforcement Gaps Within the AI Act
The EU has rules for open-source AI, but little means to enforce them. Providers self-declare compliance, regulators cannot verify it, and offshore developers face no meaningful consequences for ignoring Brussels. The AI Act’s open-source regime risks mistaking documentation for accountability.
Poland’s Rise as Europe’s New Technological, Economic, Military Power
Poland’s post-communist rise to one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies represents a profound structural transformation.
Big Brother is Watching: Orwell’s 1984 in Russian Reality
How Russia cut itself off from the world’s informational space — and what it built in the void.
Orbán’s Political Stranglehold on Hungary is Facing Its Toughest Test Yet
Hungary’s 2026 elections are set to be the most serious test yet of Viktor Orbán’s long-standing political dominance, with huge consequences for Europe.
