If you were planning to travel to Brussels today, then hopefully you already know that public transport in Belgium will be paralyzed in large parts of the country due to a strike.
Only around one in three IC trains will be running, according to the Belgian railroad company. Local transport in Brussels will also come to a standstill as far as possible. “The Brussels transport companies will do everything they can to guarantee at least part of the service,” they announced. Half of Brussels Airlines’ European flights are also likely to be canceled. The chaos on the remaining means of transport is therefore foreseeable. If you can’t walk, you might want to stay at home.
The background to the strike is that six months after the elections in Belgium, a new center-right government is emerging. Among other things, the country’s major trade unions are expecting deep cuts to the welfare state, which they are not prepared to accept so easily. This is why they have called for a nationwide strike. Employees were to stop work for 24 hours from 10 p.m. on Sunday evening.
Despite all the adversities, have a successful day on which hopefully at least the data highway will work properly,
The Commission’s annual EU Single Market Report uses various metrics to show the internal market’s development. It is intended to provide the analytical basis for the Competitiveness Compass, which the Commission will present shortly.
A draft of the EU Single Market Report, which is available to Table.Briefings, shows the European economy in a difficult situation. The Commission wants to take a sector-specific approach to make the Union more competitive again in various industrial sectors and to lead the EU out of the middle technology trap.
The EU has energy prices twice to three times as high as the USA, too little public and private investment in promising technologies and a less digitalized economy than its competitors, explains the Commission in the draft report. This is one of the reasons why labor productivity in the EU lags behind that in the USA. Measured by purchasing power-adjusted GDP per hour worked, EU labor productivity was 77.8 percent of US labor productivity.
“Europe’s attractiveness as a business destination is in decline,” writes the Commission. Since 2008, a third of unicorn companies, i.e. start-ups with a valuation of more than €1 billion, have moved to third countries. “Only four of the 50 largest tech companies are based in the EU and none of the EU’s most valuable companies have started in the last 50 years.”
The reasons for the problems are manifold. Among other things, the Commission report states:
“Europe risks falling behind in several areas,” warns the Commission. It therefore wants to counter this in the new mandate with sector-specific industrial policy strategies. In the draft Single Market Report, the Commission sets out the methodological basis for these sector-specific strategies. In his report from Autumn 2024, Mario Draghi proposed dividing the sectors into four different categories. The Commission’s draft report adopts Draghi’s categorization:
The Single Market Report, which the Commission intends to officially present in the coming days, will form the analytical basis for the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal, which will shape the economic policy agenda of the new EU Commission.
MEPs from the EPP have complained to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about a concession to the Greens in the mission letter for the new Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen. At his parliamentary hearing, Jørgensen had shown himself to be open to a renewables target for 2040.
After the college was confirmed by the MPs, von der Leyen amended several mission letters and also set the target for renewables. This was seen as a concession to the Greens in order to secure von der Leyen’s re-election.
“This amendment thus undermines the validity of the confirmation given to Mr. Jørgensen. It is imperative to restore his mission letter in the version available at the time of his hearing,” write 14 industrial politicians from the EPP led by French MEP François-Xavier Bellamy. The signatories also include CDU MEPs Andrea Wechsler and Hildegard Bentele.
France and other nuclear states in the Council had also called for a rejection of a new renewables target for 2040. The parliamentarians also argue with the principle of technology neutrality and the right of member states to freely determine their energy mix – including decarbonization. “They must be able to achieve this goal by relying on low-carbon energy sources other than renewables,” the letter states.
Wechsler is focusing in particular on the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. “We will have to deal with CCS because CCS must play a significant role in decarbonization in Europe,” Wechsler told Table.Briefings. For energy generation, the Union has so far spoken out in favor of CCS for gas-fired power plants and for the production of blue hydrogen.
However, the openness of the technology is kindling desires. On Friday, the coal importers’ association called for carbon capture to be made possible for hard coal-fired power plants too: It was not reasonable to allow CCS/CCU for the operation of gas-fired power plants but not for coal-fired power plants. The association includes energy companies such as EnBW, Uniper, Steag and Trianel, the chemical park operator Currenta and Deutsche Bahn.
The expansion of renewables in the EU slowed down last year. Although solar energy still recorded an increase of 65.5 gigawatts (GW), the growth rate fell sharply according to SolarPower Europe. WindEurope reported a decline in installation figures on Friday.
While 16.2 GW were added in the EU in 2023, this figure fell to just 13 GW last year. In order for the EU to achieve its energy targets, it would actually have to reach 30 GW per year, according to the association. In Germany, on the other hand, approvals for wind turbines have recently increased significantly – partly due to shortened planning procedures.
However, WindEurope is sobered by the fact that the approval situation across the EU has actually worsened by 2024. Many member states have not yet transposed the new simplifications under the Renewable Energy Directive into national law.
In addition, more than 500 GW of wind projects in the EU are currently waiting for grid connection commitments. One prominent example is the completed offshore wind farm Borkum Riffgrund 3, which Tennet will not be able to connect to the grid until 2026.
Electrification is not keeping pace with the expansion of renewables, which is why negative exchange prices are occurring more frequently. The economic viability of many renewable energy projects is therefore in question, Axpo CEO Christoph Brand told Bloomberg. The electrification plan announced by the EU Commission cannot come quickly enough, WindEurope confirmed on Friday.
The Copernicus Global Climate Highlights Report 2024, which was also published on Friday, shows that last year was the warmest year since records began. And it will be the first year in which the annual global average temperature is 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Last year was also the warmest on record for all continental regions, including Europe, with the exception of Antarctica and Australasia. The European continent has warmed twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, making it the fastest warming continent on Earth.
After considerable teething troubles, the EU Commission commissioned the Spacerise consortium to develop the Iris² satellite communication system last December in a second attempt. Italy is represented in the consortium by Thales Alenia Space. But then the news agency Bloomberg reported that the country had signed a five-year contract with SpaceX worth €1.5 billion for communication services from space. Does the joint EU program still make sense if important member states pull out?
The Iris2 constellation (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is Europe’s response to the changing threat situation. It aims to improve communication capacities for government users and companies while providing fast broadband internet connections to connect unserved areas.
“To strengthen European sovereignty, European governments should increasingly rely on European capabilities and systems – especially in the strategically important space sector,” says Matthias Wachter, BDI Head of International Cooperation, Raw Materials, Security and Space. “Italian industry is involved in the planned European Iris2 satellite constellation. Against this background, the Italian government’s interest in a US system is surprising.”
In fact, all European armed forces have deficits when it comes to secure communication. This is why the governments were able to agree on Iris2 relatively quickly. Nevertheless, it will be several years before the European system is ready for use. The services offered by SpaceX subsidiary Starlink, on the other hand, are available immediately. An interim solution could therefore be the background to Italy’s plans with SpaceX.
The problem: once such a system has been introduced and established, once the terminals and antennas have been purchased and are in use, it is not something that can simply be changed overnight. Training is also necessary. This drives up the costs of switching to another system.
This can be seen, for example, in the navigation satellite systems. Germany is the largest financier of the first and second generation European Galileo system. But the German government and the Bundeswehr only use the US GPS system. The reason for this is that it has been introduced and it works. And the Bundeswehr also uses SpaceX because it is cheaper.
Overall, however, Europe has “considerable deficits in the area of space capabilities compared to the USA and China”, says Wachter from the BDI. “This makes it all the more important for Europeans to intensify their own efforts.” And then use their own systems.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has denied an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. “I am quite struck by how some false news bounces around and continues to be discussed even after being denied – like the alleged agreement with SpaceX,” said Meloni at her annual press conference in Rome on Thursday. She had never personally spoken to Elon Musk about a deal between Italy and SpaceX.
However, the fact that a deal with SpaceX is under discussion is nothing new. Such a collaboration has been under consideration since mid-2023, according to the Italian media. Meloni confirmed that preliminary investigations are currently underway with SpaceX.
SpaceX has presented the government with the technologies the company has at its disposal to enable secure communication at a national and especially global level. “For us it means above all ensuring secure communication in relations with diplomatic offices and military contingents abroad, which are very sensitive,” said Meloni. Such discussions as the one with SpaceX are part of normality. “Dozens of companies offer their services for the most disparate things, then the investigation is carried out, and if the matter is of interest, it is brought to the attention of the competent authorities.”
Discussions have also arisen in the Italian media in recent days as to whether cooperation with SpaceX could jeopardize Italian jobs. According to the EU Commission, Italy’s participation in Iris2 means, among other things, that the country will probably host three control centers of the upcoming constellation.
However, a possible agreement between Italy and SpaceX on the use of the Starlink satellite communication system is compatible with participation in Iris2. A spokesperson for the EU Commission explained this to the Italian news agency ANSA. “Italy, as a sovereign state, has full discretionary powers to take sovereign decisions and measures.”
Elly Schlein, leader of the social democratic Partito Democratico, is not satisfied with the explanations given so far. She is calling on Meloni to provide prompt clarification to Parliament. “If €1.5 billion of Italian money to bring the satellites of the American billionaire to our country is the price we have to pay for his friendship, we are not going to accept it,” said Schlein. “Italy is not selling out.”
The talks with SpaceX have often been a topic of discussion in the Italian media. In September, it was speculated that Musk’s entrepreneurial approach to Italy could be in the hope that Meloni would campaign for him in Europe against the regulation of social media.
Back in November, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto (Fratelli d’Italia) justified the talks about a potential contract with SpaceX to the parliament in Rome. “Today, there is only Starlink for low-altitude satellites for communication. And the issue is that to reach Starlink’s level, you need to have a capacity not only to make satellites, but also to launch them which, to date, no one has and no one at the costs of Starlink.“
This is not just an Italian problem. “You have a private individual who has a global monopoly, with whom you have to talk.” The alternative is to build an autonomous system. “But in the case of Europe, it could arrive in ten to 15 years,” says Crosetto.
In fact, the EU Commission plans to launch IRIS² for the first time as early as 2029 and to introduce it in full by the end of 2030. But there is still a long way to go before then. It is also unclear how much the Iris2 services will cost. The total costs for the full term of the 12-year concession agreement amount to €10.6 billion.
What could the EU do to turn the tide? From Serbia to North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Hungary, Moscow has largely conquered the power of interpretation with the instruments of disinformation and hybrid warfare. There is no single recipe, but a range of measures that could be effective.
For example, it would be important to promote media literacy among young people in South East Europe and also in the EU. The EU states could also upgrade foreign radio stations such as Deutsche Welle with their foreign-language programs. As part of the accession negotiations, Brussels would also have to ensure that the candidate countries curb political influence and centralization of the media. It would also be important to counteract propaganda and disinformation through fact-checks.
It is high time for the EU, which has been largely inactive to date, to react and not wait for more countries to topple like dominoes into the pro-Russian camp. One of the most recent examples is Georgia, which has developed at breakneck speed from an EU accession candidate to an ally of Russia.
Hungary’s head of government Viktor Orbán has openly switched to the Russian camp. He maintains close relations with Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin, including regular meetings and phone calls. The EU member is blocking Brussels’ common policy to the best of its ability: with veto threats for Ukraine aid or even against the EU budget.
The EU country Slovakia is following Hungary’s example. It is taking a stand against Brussels’ Ukraine policy and threatening its Ukrainian neighbor with sanctions. Head of government Robert Fico even visited Putin in Moscow at the end of December and, like Hungary, offered to mediate in the Russian war of aggression. Consequently, Putin congratulated Fico and Orbán (together with former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder) at the turn of the year.
The first round of presidential elections in the EU member state of Romania has been annulled after the pro-Russian right-wing extremist Călin Georgescu won out of nowhere. He is on Russia’s side in the Ukraine war and wants Romania to turn its back on NATO and the EU.
This small selection of worrying foreign policy developments in Europe shows the effect of Russian state propaganda – not monocausally, but to a large extent. Kremlin narratives are spread like a constant drumbeat via hundreds of portals and social media channels in dozens of European countries. There, the same old fake messages fall on fertile ground with large sections of the population – predominantly those at risk of poverty and nationalist circles. The Kremlin’s disinformation is reinforced by populist politicians in the respective countries and the media controlled by them.
The Russian propaganda offensive began in the Balkans. The state agency Sputnik Serbia began its work in Belgrade in 2014 with a large editorial office. RT Balkans followed eight years later. The former Russia Today (RT) agency has even been broadcasting a TV program since last December.
The information is provided free of charge in Serbian and is copied unedited one-to-one by hundreds of newspapers, social media channels and portals. Also in neighboring countries. Here, Russia’s state propagandists are testing which techniques achieve the best results with the citizens of other countries.
Key points of this narrative from the Kremlin kitchen:
Austria is currently witnessing the effects of Russian hybrid influence. Herbert Kickl, the leader of the right-wing populist FPÖ, who has now been tasked with forming a government, has shown a particular affinity for Russia. His party concluded a friendship treaty with Putin’s United Russia party back in 2016, which was only terminated in April 2024 following public outrage. The Czech Republic could be the next to topple if Andrej Babiš makes a comeback in the parliamentary elections there in the fall.
Thomas Brey wrote the study “Russia – Paving the way for autocracies – How the Kremlin is destabilizing Europe” for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The author was previously the Southeast Europe correspondent for the German press agency dpa for more than three decades.
If you were planning to travel to Brussels today, then hopefully you already know that public transport in Belgium will be paralyzed in large parts of the country due to a strike.
Only around one in three IC trains will be running, according to the Belgian railroad company. Local transport in Brussels will also come to a standstill as far as possible. “The Brussels transport companies will do everything they can to guarantee at least part of the service,” they announced. Half of Brussels Airlines’ European flights are also likely to be canceled. The chaos on the remaining means of transport is therefore foreseeable. If you can’t walk, you might want to stay at home.
The background to the strike is that six months after the elections in Belgium, a new center-right government is emerging. Among other things, the country’s major trade unions are expecting deep cuts to the welfare state, which they are not prepared to accept so easily. This is why they have called for a nationwide strike. Employees were to stop work for 24 hours from 10 p.m. on Sunday evening.
Despite all the adversities, have a successful day on which hopefully at least the data highway will work properly,
The Commission’s annual EU Single Market Report uses various metrics to show the internal market’s development. It is intended to provide the analytical basis for the Competitiveness Compass, which the Commission will present shortly.
A draft of the EU Single Market Report, which is available to Table.Briefings, shows the European economy in a difficult situation. The Commission wants to take a sector-specific approach to make the Union more competitive again in various industrial sectors and to lead the EU out of the middle technology trap.
The EU has energy prices twice to three times as high as the USA, too little public and private investment in promising technologies and a less digitalized economy than its competitors, explains the Commission in the draft report. This is one of the reasons why labor productivity in the EU lags behind that in the USA. Measured by purchasing power-adjusted GDP per hour worked, EU labor productivity was 77.8 percent of US labor productivity.
“Europe’s attractiveness as a business destination is in decline,” writes the Commission. Since 2008, a third of unicorn companies, i.e. start-ups with a valuation of more than €1 billion, have moved to third countries. “Only four of the 50 largest tech companies are based in the EU and none of the EU’s most valuable companies have started in the last 50 years.”
The reasons for the problems are manifold. Among other things, the Commission report states:
“Europe risks falling behind in several areas,” warns the Commission. It therefore wants to counter this in the new mandate with sector-specific industrial policy strategies. In the draft Single Market Report, the Commission sets out the methodological basis for these sector-specific strategies. In his report from Autumn 2024, Mario Draghi proposed dividing the sectors into four different categories. The Commission’s draft report adopts Draghi’s categorization:
The Single Market Report, which the Commission intends to officially present in the coming days, will form the analytical basis for the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal, which will shape the economic policy agenda of the new EU Commission.
MEPs from the EPP have complained to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about a concession to the Greens in the mission letter for the new Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen. At his parliamentary hearing, Jørgensen had shown himself to be open to a renewables target for 2040.
After the college was confirmed by the MPs, von der Leyen amended several mission letters and also set the target for renewables. This was seen as a concession to the Greens in order to secure von der Leyen’s re-election.
“This amendment thus undermines the validity of the confirmation given to Mr. Jørgensen. It is imperative to restore his mission letter in the version available at the time of his hearing,” write 14 industrial politicians from the EPP led by French MEP François-Xavier Bellamy. The signatories also include CDU MEPs Andrea Wechsler and Hildegard Bentele.
France and other nuclear states in the Council had also called for a rejection of a new renewables target for 2040. The parliamentarians also argue with the principle of technology neutrality and the right of member states to freely determine their energy mix – including decarbonization. “They must be able to achieve this goal by relying on low-carbon energy sources other than renewables,” the letter states.
Wechsler is focusing in particular on the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. “We will have to deal with CCS because CCS must play a significant role in decarbonization in Europe,” Wechsler told Table.Briefings. For energy generation, the Union has so far spoken out in favor of CCS for gas-fired power plants and for the production of blue hydrogen.
However, the openness of the technology is kindling desires. On Friday, the coal importers’ association called for carbon capture to be made possible for hard coal-fired power plants too: It was not reasonable to allow CCS/CCU for the operation of gas-fired power plants but not for coal-fired power plants. The association includes energy companies such as EnBW, Uniper, Steag and Trianel, the chemical park operator Currenta and Deutsche Bahn.
The expansion of renewables in the EU slowed down last year. Although solar energy still recorded an increase of 65.5 gigawatts (GW), the growth rate fell sharply according to SolarPower Europe. WindEurope reported a decline in installation figures on Friday.
While 16.2 GW were added in the EU in 2023, this figure fell to just 13 GW last year. In order for the EU to achieve its energy targets, it would actually have to reach 30 GW per year, according to the association. In Germany, on the other hand, approvals for wind turbines have recently increased significantly – partly due to shortened planning procedures.
However, WindEurope is sobered by the fact that the approval situation across the EU has actually worsened by 2024. Many member states have not yet transposed the new simplifications under the Renewable Energy Directive into national law.
In addition, more than 500 GW of wind projects in the EU are currently waiting for grid connection commitments. One prominent example is the completed offshore wind farm Borkum Riffgrund 3, which Tennet will not be able to connect to the grid until 2026.
Electrification is not keeping pace with the expansion of renewables, which is why negative exchange prices are occurring more frequently. The economic viability of many renewable energy projects is therefore in question, Axpo CEO Christoph Brand told Bloomberg. The electrification plan announced by the EU Commission cannot come quickly enough, WindEurope confirmed on Friday.
The Copernicus Global Climate Highlights Report 2024, which was also published on Friday, shows that last year was the warmest year since records began. And it will be the first year in which the annual global average temperature is 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Last year was also the warmest on record for all continental regions, including Europe, with the exception of Antarctica and Australasia. The European continent has warmed twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, making it the fastest warming continent on Earth.
After considerable teething troubles, the EU Commission commissioned the Spacerise consortium to develop the Iris² satellite communication system last December in a second attempt. Italy is represented in the consortium by Thales Alenia Space. But then the news agency Bloomberg reported that the country had signed a five-year contract with SpaceX worth €1.5 billion for communication services from space. Does the joint EU program still make sense if important member states pull out?
The Iris2 constellation (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is Europe’s response to the changing threat situation. It aims to improve communication capacities for government users and companies while providing fast broadband internet connections to connect unserved areas.
“To strengthen European sovereignty, European governments should increasingly rely on European capabilities and systems – especially in the strategically important space sector,” says Matthias Wachter, BDI Head of International Cooperation, Raw Materials, Security and Space. “Italian industry is involved in the planned European Iris2 satellite constellation. Against this background, the Italian government’s interest in a US system is surprising.”
In fact, all European armed forces have deficits when it comes to secure communication. This is why the governments were able to agree on Iris2 relatively quickly. Nevertheless, it will be several years before the European system is ready for use. The services offered by SpaceX subsidiary Starlink, on the other hand, are available immediately. An interim solution could therefore be the background to Italy’s plans with SpaceX.
The problem: once such a system has been introduced and established, once the terminals and antennas have been purchased and are in use, it is not something that can simply be changed overnight. Training is also necessary. This drives up the costs of switching to another system.
This can be seen, for example, in the navigation satellite systems. Germany is the largest financier of the first and second generation European Galileo system. But the German government and the Bundeswehr only use the US GPS system. The reason for this is that it has been introduced and it works. And the Bundeswehr also uses SpaceX because it is cheaper.
Overall, however, Europe has “considerable deficits in the area of space capabilities compared to the USA and China”, says Wachter from the BDI. “This makes it all the more important for Europeans to intensify their own efforts.” And then use their own systems.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has denied an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. “I am quite struck by how some false news bounces around and continues to be discussed even after being denied – like the alleged agreement with SpaceX,” said Meloni at her annual press conference in Rome on Thursday. She had never personally spoken to Elon Musk about a deal between Italy and SpaceX.
However, the fact that a deal with SpaceX is under discussion is nothing new. Such a collaboration has been under consideration since mid-2023, according to the Italian media. Meloni confirmed that preliminary investigations are currently underway with SpaceX.
SpaceX has presented the government with the technologies the company has at its disposal to enable secure communication at a national and especially global level. “For us it means above all ensuring secure communication in relations with diplomatic offices and military contingents abroad, which are very sensitive,” said Meloni. Such discussions as the one with SpaceX are part of normality. “Dozens of companies offer their services for the most disparate things, then the investigation is carried out, and if the matter is of interest, it is brought to the attention of the competent authorities.”
Discussions have also arisen in the Italian media in recent days as to whether cooperation with SpaceX could jeopardize Italian jobs. According to the EU Commission, Italy’s participation in Iris2 means, among other things, that the country will probably host three control centers of the upcoming constellation.
However, a possible agreement between Italy and SpaceX on the use of the Starlink satellite communication system is compatible with participation in Iris2. A spokesperson for the EU Commission explained this to the Italian news agency ANSA. “Italy, as a sovereign state, has full discretionary powers to take sovereign decisions and measures.”
Elly Schlein, leader of the social democratic Partito Democratico, is not satisfied with the explanations given so far. She is calling on Meloni to provide prompt clarification to Parliament. “If €1.5 billion of Italian money to bring the satellites of the American billionaire to our country is the price we have to pay for his friendship, we are not going to accept it,” said Schlein. “Italy is not selling out.”
The talks with SpaceX have often been a topic of discussion in the Italian media. In September, it was speculated that Musk’s entrepreneurial approach to Italy could be in the hope that Meloni would campaign for him in Europe against the regulation of social media.
Back in November, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto (Fratelli d’Italia) justified the talks about a potential contract with SpaceX to the parliament in Rome. “Today, there is only Starlink for low-altitude satellites for communication. And the issue is that to reach Starlink’s level, you need to have a capacity not only to make satellites, but also to launch them which, to date, no one has and no one at the costs of Starlink.“
This is not just an Italian problem. “You have a private individual who has a global monopoly, with whom you have to talk.” The alternative is to build an autonomous system. “But in the case of Europe, it could arrive in ten to 15 years,” says Crosetto.
In fact, the EU Commission plans to launch IRIS² for the first time as early as 2029 and to introduce it in full by the end of 2030. But there is still a long way to go before then. It is also unclear how much the Iris2 services will cost. The total costs for the full term of the 12-year concession agreement amount to €10.6 billion.
What could the EU do to turn the tide? From Serbia to North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Hungary, Moscow has largely conquered the power of interpretation with the instruments of disinformation and hybrid warfare. There is no single recipe, but a range of measures that could be effective.
For example, it would be important to promote media literacy among young people in South East Europe and also in the EU. The EU states could also upgrade foreign radio stations such as Deutsche Welle with their foreign-language programs. As part of the accession negotiations, Brussels would also have to ensure that the candidate countries curb political influence and centralization of the media. It would also be important to counteract propaganda and disinformation through fact-checks.
It is high time for the EU, which has been largely inactive to date, to react and not wait for more countries to topple like dominoes into the pro-Russian camp. One of the most recent examples is Georgia, which has developed at breakneck speed from an EU accession candidate to an ally of Russia.
Hungary’s head of government Viktor Orbán has openly switched to the Russian camp. He maintains close relations with Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin, including regular meetings and phone calls. The EU member is blocking Brussels’ common policy to the best of its ability: with veto threats for Ukraine aid or even against the EU budget.
The EU country Slovakia is following Hungary’s example. It is taking a stand against Brussels’ Ukraine policy and threatening its Ukrainian neighbor with sanctions. Head of government Robert Fico even visited Putin in Moscow at the end of December and, like Hungary, offered to mediate in the Russian war of aggression. Consequently, Putin congratulated Fico and Orbán (together with former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder) at the turn of the year.
The first round of presidential elections in the EU member state of Romania has been annulled after the pro-Russian right-wing extremist Călin Georgescu won out of nowhere. He is on Russia’s side in the Ukraine war and wants Romania to turn its back on NATO and the EU.
This small selection of worrying foreign policy developments in Europe shows the effect of Russian state propaganda – not monocausally, but to a large extent. Kremlin narratives are spread like a constant drumbeat via hundreds of portals and social media channels in dozens of European countries. There, the same old fake messages fall on fertile ground with large sections of the population – predominantly those at risk of poverty and nationalist circles. The Kremlin’s disinformation is reinforced by populist politicians in the respective countries and the media controlled by them.
The Russian propaganda offensive began in the Balkans. The state agency Sputnik Serbia began its work in Belgrade in 2014 with a large editorial office. RT Balkans followed eight years later. The former Russia Today (RT) agency has even been broadcasting a TV program since last December.
The information is provided free of charge in Serbian and is copied unedited one-to-one by hundreds of newspapers, social media channels and portals. Also in neighboring countries. Here, Russia’s state propagandists are testing which techniques achieve the best results with the citizens of other countries.
Key points of this narrative from the Kremlin kitchen:
Austria is currently witnessing the effects of Russian hybrid influence. Herbert Kickl, the leader of the right-wing populist FPÖ, who has now been tasked with forming a government, has shown a particular affinity for Russia. His party concluded a friendship treaty with Putin’s United Russia party back in 2016, which was only terminated in April 2024 following public outrage. The Czech Republic could be the next to topple if Andrej Babiš makes a comeback in the parliamentary elections there in the fall.
Thomas Brey wrote the study “Russia – Paving the way for autocracies – How the Kremlin is destabilizing Europe” for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The author was previously the Southeast Europe correspondent for the German press agency dpa for more than three decades.
