Free Republic

Last week at an event at the European Parliament, an MEP asked me a question that I hear often: “Does JD Vance hate Europe?” My guess is that he does not hate the Europe of tête de veau in a Rive Gauche brasserie in Paris, of Sunday mass at the Duomo in Milan, of Alpine lakes in Switzerland, or of paintings at the Alte Pinothek in Munich. What he hates is Brussels, or rather, “Brussels”—the symbol of official, bureaucratic Europe, and the dictatorship of managerial liberalism administered from there. He hates the Europe of decrees from the European Commission, of...

Journalists have uncovered the leak of two million documents concerning Russia’s secret nuclear bases. This discovery could have serious implications for the country's security, potentially necessitating significant infrastructure changes. Journalists from the investigative portal Danwatch and the newspaper "Der Spiegel" have obtained two million Russian documents pertaining to the country's secret nuclear bases. Among them are detailed plans for the construction and modernisation of the base in Yasny, where the Avangard hypersonic glide missile has been positioned since 2019. The documents also reveal information about security systems, the placement of cameras and sensors, and infrastructure details such as underground tunnels...

Parties opposed to the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) continue to block it from exercising its rights—all in the name of stopping “fascism.”Germany’s self-proclaimed democracy defenders are at it again: blocking a law-abiding party from exercising its rights—all in the name of protecting democracy. The Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), a pro-free market, anti-EU, anti-mass migration party, placed second in Germany’s recent parliamentary elections, earning nearly 21 percent of the vote to the top vote-getter’s, the Christian Democratic Union’s, 28 percent. The AfD placed well ahead of the once-dominant Social Democratic Party (16 percent) and the Greens (11 percent).By longstanding tradition, the...

Danwatch and Der Spiegel has gained access to hundreds of highly detailed blueprints ...

European leaders stepped up pressure on Russia to accept an unconditional cease-fire in Ukraine, threatening to immediately impose a new round of punishing sanctions if the Kremlin did not change its stance by the end of Monday. “The clock is ticking — we still have 12 hours until the end of this day,” the German government spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, told a news conference. On Monday, the Kremlin spokesman brushed off the threat. “The language of ultimatums is unacceptable — you cannot talk to Russia like this,” the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told Russian news agencies.

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland headed to Kyiv on Saturday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a show of unity a day after Russia's Vladimir Putin hosted his allies in a Victory Day parade on Red Square. The summit will discuss a U.S. and European proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the Russian war in Ukraine that if refused by Moscow would see them jointly impose new sanctions, a French diplomatic source said, adding that the step had not yet been finalised. The visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German...

BREAKING: Ukraine considers shift from dollar to euro amid geopolitical realignments — Reuters

The European Commission has published a "roadmap" outlining its plans to end Europe's reliance on Russian energy in the coming years. Under the plans, imports of all Russian gas and liquefied natural gas to European Union member states will be banned by the end of 2027. "No more will we permit Russia to weaponise energy against us... No more will we indirectly help fill up the [Kremlin's] war chests," European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen said in a news conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday. In response to the plans, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday...

European countries will accompany this American sanctions initiative with a 17th package of sanctions, Jean-Noel Barrot saidPARIS, May 1. /TASS/. European countries are planning to introduce another package of anti-Russian sanctions should Moscow refuse to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, and hope to secure the support of the United States in this matter, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with AFP. "We Europeans will accompany this American [sanctions] initiative with a 17th package of sanctions and I committed yesterday to [US Senator] Lindsey Graham that we would try to coordinate both the substance and the timing...

The European Commission has issued a warning to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that his expected visit to Russia for the May 9 Victory Day celebrations could seriously complicate Serbia’s accession process to the European Union. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos conveyed this message during her recent visit to Belgrade, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media. According to European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier, the warning was communicated directly to the Serbian president. “We warned Serbia that a visit to Moscow could complicate the process of negotiations and preparations for joining the EU. We expect Serbia to confirm its strategic priorities,” Mercier...

Europe’s Next War Won’t Be in Ukraine—It’ll Be in the Streets The European Union is pouring weapons, money, and political capital into Ukraine at an astonishing rate. If you listen to Brussels, it’s all about protecting democracy and stopping aggression at the borders of Europe. But what they won’t tell you—what they can’t afford to admit—is that many are quietly dreading the day the war ends. Because when the war ends, the real trouble begins. The Guns Are Already Here Let’s start with the obvious: Not all the weapons being sent to Ukraine are staying on the battlefield. Despite all...

Spain and Portugal achieved net zero on Monday, but not the way anyone would want to achieve net zero: By going back to the cavepeople times with no electricity. According to the New York Times:A major power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday afternoon, abruptly shutting down daily activities, halting trains and subways, cutting off traffic lights, closing stores and canceling or delaying some flights.Hours after the power shut off around 12:30 p.m. Central European time, stranding tens of millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula, officials remained at a loss as to the cause, though several denied any...

JUST IN - German Defense Minister Pistorius says Trump's proposals for territorial cessions from Ukraine to Russia are "going too far" and has assured Ukraine of more weapons from Germany.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was Ukraine's sovereign right to decide whether it wanted to join the European Union and that Moscow did not intend to dictate to Kyiv how it should approach the question.Asked if Ukraine could one day join the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This is the sovereign right of any country.""We are talking about integration and economic integration processes. And here, of course, no one can dictate anything to any country, and we are not going to do that," Peskov said.Peskov added, though, that Russia's position was different when...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said his country won't accept peacekeeping forces from Nato countries in Ukraine under any peace deal, following high-level talks with the US in Saudi Arabia. "Any appearance by armed forces under some other flag does not change anything. It is of course completely unacceptable," he said. Russia and the US said they had agreed to appoint teams to start negotiating the end of the war. "Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey, but an important one", US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said following the meeting. Ukraine was not invited...

"If Europe genuinely wants to contribute to the resolution of the conflict, the solution is straightforward: cease all military and other forms of support for the Kiev regime," Alexander Grushko statedMOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. The role of the European Union in resolving the conflict in Ukraine is ruled out. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Grushko, stated that Europe must halt its arms supplies to Kiev, if it wishes to be included in future negotiations. "The EU countries continue to demand a place at the negotiating table where the Ukrainian conflict is to be discussed. This is astonishing, considering they have...

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has slammed the Paris emergency summit on the Ukraine war as a gathering of "frustrated European politicians," accusing leaders invited by French President Emmanuel Macron of looking to prolong the conflict. "So today, supporters of the war, anti-Trump and frustrated European politicians are gathering in Paris to prevent a peace agreement with Ukraine," the minister was quoted as saying by Hungarian state news agency MTI, at a press conference in the Kazakh capital Astana on Monday. Macron's guests, which include the leaders of Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and Poland, had always advocated war between Russia...

There is no longer any doubt that Europe and America are parting ways. The death of the transatlantic relationship was foretold many times, but at the Munich Security Conference this weekend, it finally ended. The great American-European divorce has played out in three areas — Ukraine, free speech, and trade. Last week, Donald Trump blindsided the Europeans with his announcement of peace talks with Vladimir Putin. (He said he would do this during his election campaign, but Europe’s leaders were clearly not paying attention.) Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, told the Europeans on Saturday that they will not...

MUNICH — When Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, the United States helped whip Europe into a staunchly unified response. Now U.S. leaders may be splitting Europe into pieces as President Donald Trump seeks to end the war, European leaders and policymakers say.Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials made their European debut last week, slashing their way through a continent of allies as they embraced far-right leaders, demanded access to mineral wealth and offered sympathy to the views of Russian President Vladimir Putin.By the end of the week, European leaders found themselves potentially cut out of peace...

European leaders have planned an emergency summit on Ukraine, according to multiple outlets. The summit has been referred to as a “once in a generation” national security moment by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, CNN reported The BBC reported that French President Emmanuel Macron will pull together the Monday summit, which will happen in Paris. Last Wednesday, President Trump said he expects to meet face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin multiple times, with the president implying that they are probably going to meet first in Saudi Arabia. “We ultimately expect to meet,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “In fact,...