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According to a recent POLITICO news report, during the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, then US President Donald Trump told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a private meeting, the following: “you need to understand that if Europe is under attack we will never come to help you and to support you, and by the way NATO is dead, and we will leave, we will quit NATO.” Trump said so according to Europe’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was also there, with von der Leyen and former European Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan. Breton is quoted...

European intelligence suggests that Russia may launch an attack on Europe during the winter of 2024-2025 if the United States finds itself "without a leader" following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the German tabloid Bild reported on Dec. 23, citing an anonymous European intelligence source.The intelligence service source contends that a potential Russian strike on Europe could occur within the presidential transitionary period, contingent on President Joe Biden not securing re-election in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. This transition period spans three months, from the November 2024 U.S. presidential election to the subsequent inauguration in January 2025.According to the intelligence...

Ukrainian President Zelensky's speech to the U.S. shows us exactly how much propaganda is needed to drag this war out. When he said that the war would continue until the bitter end, he received a standing ovation. This means that his people will continue to die. They were applauding death. The mainstream media thinks that this was a speech to show the kids. Was it? You decide. TranscriptClayton Morris on the Biden regime, EU and NATO propaganda about the war in Ukraine:"We are watching the greatest example of propaganda in world history. I'm a student of history and going back...

The Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, has said Brexit uncertainty played a role in the firm’s decision to build its first European factory in Germany rather than the UK. The billionaire entrepreneur revealed that the firm’s European battery plant would be built on the outskirts of Berlin. Speaking to Auto Express after making the announcement, Musk said: “Brexit [uncertainty] made it too risky to put a Gigafactory in the UK.” The US electric carmaker also plans to locate a research and development base in the German capital.

BREXIT blowhard Nigel Farage finally exploded under the weight of his own pomposity yesterday. After delivering his last-chance ultimatum to Boris Johnson at the start of the election campaign, Mr Farage crumpled yesterday and ran away. He ordered the PM to dump his newly negotiated EU deal and give the Brexit Party a clear run in 150 strong Remain seats. Unless BoJo did as he was told, Farage threatened to split the pro-Brexit vote by standing in every constituency. But the PM just ignored him and watched poll support for the Brexit Party tick steadily downwards into single figures. Now...

Once confined to the small scientific community of climate researchers and ecological economists, the idea of degrowth is now blazing into the mainstream. Not surprisingly, people are trying to figure out what to make of it. Is it an inspiring idea that points the way to a better economy? Or is it a mad notion that’s sure to plunge us all into poverty? Degrowth is a planned reduction of total energy and material use to bring the economy in line with planetary boundaries, while improving people’s lives by distributing income and resources more fairly. The scientific case for degrowth is...

The Remainer 'surrender Bill' cleared its first hurdle by a big margin tonight as MPs backed it at second reading. The legislation made it through the stage by 329 to 300 - a slightly bigger majority than the 27 secured by rebels last night. The latest blow to Boris Johnson came as plotters insisted Brexit must be delayed before an election is called - in case he wins and tries to force No Deal on October 3

When asked which world leader was the greater threat to world security, 64 percent of respondents chose US President Donald Trump over his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. That’s according to a YouGov poll published on the eve of Trump’s meeting with Putin in Helsinki. And the German antipathy toward Trump doesn’t end there: 56 percent of respondents thought that Putin was more competent than Trump, with only 5 percent preferring the latter on that score. Thirty-six percent of Germans find Putin more likable than Trump, while 6 percent say the opposite — although most respondents refused to indicate a preference...

Ukip has collapsed in the polls and faces the loss of almost every council seat it won four years ago. With the results still coming in, the Brexit cheerleaders have already lost 86 of the 166 seats they won last time. Ukip is currently on just two seats - one of which is a gain in Derby in defiance of the nationwide performance.

US President Donald Trump's vow to step-up protectionist policies to boost the US car industry could lead to a 10-percent drop in profits for German automakers, Germany's Center for Automotive Research (CAR) has warned. The trade barriers would see the European Union's alliance with America "deteriorate significantly," the center's director, Ferdinand Dudenhöffer told DW. He said Trump's desire to "punish" Washington's main trading partners in Europe would inevitably end in a messy divorce that would hurt US car manufacturers more.

Germany's statistics office has said the German state last year logged the highest annual surplus since the country reunited in 1990. The result came on the back of record-low unemployment and low interest rates. The German government, the country's 16 states and its communities posted a budget surplus of €36.6 billion ($44.9 billion) in 2017, the National Statistics Office (Destatis) reported Friday, slightly revising an earlier estimate of €38.4 billion. The figure marked the fourth annual surplus in a row in Europe's powerhouse, which no longer has any difficulty sticking to the European budget deficit rules as laid down in...

BERLIN – Germany's economy will grow much stronger than previously expected thanks to a strong labor market and buoyant demand from abroad and at home, the government said Wednesday. "The German economy is in a very good shape," said Brigitte Zypries, Germany's economics minister. "The strong rise in...employment last year is particularly satisfying."

A confidential report prepared for the British government and leaked on Monday suggests all UK industries will be hurt by leaving the European Union, Buzzfeed News reported. The findings are the latest embarrassment for British Prime Minister Theresa May's government, which has faced renewed criticism from other EU leaders about the lack of a coherent Brexit strategy.

LONDON — The European Union has told Britain it has three months to decide what sort of future trade deal it wants before it is prepared to begin negotiating a future trade deal. The EU council is today set to agree that "sufficient progress" has been made on Britain's divorce agreement. Leaders of EU member states are expected to agree on Friday morning that talks should be allowed to move onto talks over a transition period. However, talks on a future trade deal are set to be delayed with EU leaders still uncertain as to what May's government are hoping...

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has released two politically charged songs targeting what he sees as the uncertainty and surrealism permeating politics in the age of Brexit and Donald Trump. One song, titled "England Lost", represents Jagger's mocking take on Britain's split from the European Union. The second, "Get a Grip", describes an "upside down" world full of "lunatics and clowns". Jagger, 74, said on Facebook he had started writing the songs a few weeks ago in his first solo work since 2011.

While some have speculated that increased immigration could be a strain on Germany's social security systems, new figures reported by German media seem to show that the safety net is actually profiting greatly.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German business morale hit a record high in July as "euphoric" manufacturers, shrugging off the impact of a strong euro, anticipated a surge in already robust exports from Europe's biggest economy. The Munich-based Ifo economic institute said on Tuesday its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, hit its third record high in as many months with a rise to 116.0 from 115.2 in June.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German economy is humming and set for solid growth despite external risks such as the unknown outcome of Brexit negotiations and U.S. President Donald Trump's future trade policies, the German Finance Ministry said on Thursday. "The current picture of economic indicators suggests that the economic upswing continued vigorously in the second quarter," the ministry said in its monthly report, pointing to rising industrial output and buoyant business morale. German gross domestic product (GDP) likely expanded in the second quarter by a similar rate as in the previous three months when the economy grew by 0.6 percent...

... Last week, Nomura and Daiwa — Japan's two biggest brokerage firms said they would move some European operations from London to Frankfurt to smooth over potential difficulties with the UK's exit from the EU.

The European Union says economic sentiment across the 19-country eurozone has risen to near-decade highs as the recovery gathers steam across sectors and nations. In a monthly survey published Thursday, the EU's executive arm says its economic sentiment indicator for the eurozone rose 1.9 points to 111.1 in June, its highest level since August 2007.