Mats Engström

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Tisza looks on track to lead the next Hungarian government. But what are the European and foreign policy positions of its supporters? Our @ecfr pre-election poll tells a nuanced story: ecfr.eu/article/why-or…

Tidöpartiernas storstilade kärnkraftsprojekt har nu havererat hela vägen in i statlig planekonomi. Ett statligt atombolag ska äga majoriteten. Totalt 80 % statligt. Och ta 188 mdr för avfallet. Sanslöst när resten av världen bygger billigt förnybart. dn.se/ekonomi/staten…

Lt Gen Andrus Merilo, Estonian defence chief says the quiet bit out loud: the north European & Baltic group inside NATO known as the Joint Expeditionary Force is key for future because “it does not require Article 5 consultations” than the wider alliance so can react faster #LDC2026

Former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is leading a project on how to guarantee European defence without US commitment. – The answer to that may be a more European NATO, and the report also raises the issue of establishing a European army and how command and control relationships are organised. One model is that as the United States reduces its troop levels, they are supplemented by Europeans along the way, from top to bottom. Then we can talk about a more European NATO, Niinistö says. – Another model is that there are already various cooperation patterns among Europeans, such as Pesco, Eurocorps and JEF. If they were developed into a pyramid, the structure would not be a patchwork but comprehensive. Niinistö’s interview about the work that will soon be completed was reported by the Finnish Iltalehti in January. Ht @veitera 1/6

Att elektrifieringen av trafiken bromsat i Sverige hotar svensk ekonomi, jobb ochkonkurrenskraft. Bedrövligt. sverigesradio.se/artikel/ab-vol…

For decades, Sweden’s damp-eyed devotees of Washington pined for NATO as though it were not a military alliance but a long-lost ancestral hearth. PM Kristersson, in one of the more embarrassing flourishes of modern Swedish politics, declared that we had “come home” on joining. Home? Well, quite. It is just that the master of the house now appears to be slamming the door, pocketing the silver and announcing that the guests are on their own. There is, in the end, something painfully Swedish about it all: the anxious longing to belong and the usual bad timing.

📅 14 April 2026, 17:00 – 18:00 , Berlin time Is Europe about to make a strategic mistake on climate? A growing transatlantic narrative suggests that climate action undermines competitiveness and even benefits China. But what if the opposite is true? In this launch webinar, @DusikJan, Deputy Director-General, DG CLIMA, European Commission; @MatsEngstrom, ECFR's Senior Policy Fellow and @Alberto_Rizzi_, ECFR's Policy Fellow, will discuss the new ECFR policy brief “The electric endgame: Europe’s clean path out of vassalage”, authored by Alberto Rizzi. The discussion will further explore: 🔹 Why the perceived trade-off between climate action and competitiveness is misleading 🔹 How rolling back green policies could actually strengthen China’s position 🔹 What a forward-looking European strategy—linking trade, climate finance, and innovation—could look like More information and registration here: bit.ly/4mhFPwl

The UK signaled it won’t let the US use British military bases for strikes on Iranian energy or civilian infrastructure. The Prime Minister’s spokesman pointed to Britain’s position since the early days of the war that the US could only use its bases at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for what the UK government has called “defensive” missions.  bloomberg.com/news/articles/… @alexwickham

Toyota roars past BYD in Japan EV sales with $6,000 more in subsidies asia.nikkei.com/business/autom… via @NikkeiAsia

🇪🇺 | Ursula von der Leyen and High Representative Kaja Kallas are developing a new EU security strategy. They must recognize that existing structures and procedures are no longer adequate for an effective security and defense policy, says @StefanLehne 👇 carnegieendowment.org/europe/strateg…

Member of the ECB executive board: ft.com/content/6fa21b…

Japanese LNG tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines says asia.nikkei.com/business/energ… via @NikkeiAsia

As a European, I am not afraid that the USA will leave NATO. We already know that they do not have good intentions to Europe and that we, therefore, have to build our defence to be able to fight without the Americans. We are well on our way and it will happen a lot faster if the USA leaves NATO officially. Russia is too weak and small to be a long term threat to Europe. They simple can not match what we can produce. As long as we keep Ukraine from falling, Russia is also not a threat to us in the short term. So if the USA leaves NATO, it is simple for us: Keep Ukraine from falling at all costs and build up European defence and weapon production as fast as humanly possible. We can and we will do that and Europe will be absolutely fine and safe.

💬 We should treat this [the U.S. withdrawal from NATO] as a possible scenario and take it seriously - us in Poland, especially on the eastern flank, and all of us, across the political spectrum. I remind you, when I said in my Sejm exposé just a few weeks ago that Poland needs two “insurance policies” instead of putting all our cards on one option, some were surprised. And today it turns out that we must consider alternatives. Of course, NATO is the cornerstone of our security. Of course, we want to be a good, loyal ally of the United States, but we cannot pretend that the U.S. President isn’t saying what he is saying. | Deputy PM @sikorskiradek on the U.S. withdrawal from NATO

“Let us be clear, Congress will never allow the President to unilaterally withdraw from NATO.” -@SenatorShaheen and @SenThomTillis 🔗 Full statement: foreign.senate.gov/press/dem/rele…

Half of US data centers planned for 2026 are expected to be delayed or canceled. One big reason is shortage of electrical equipment, such as transformers, switchgear and batteries. US doesn't have manufacturing capacity, forcing it to rely on imports. 🎁🔗 bloomberg.com/news/features/…

I can promise this: The Senate will not vote to leave NATO and abandon our allies just because Trump is upset they wouldn’t go along with his reckless war of choice.   Thank you to @SecRubio for sponsoring the bill in 2023 requiring a two thirds vote of the Senate to make sure clueless presidents couldn’t act on a whim.

Ewa Skoog Haslum, Chief of 🇸🇪 @Opledning, recently visited the Paris Defence and Strategy Forum. She also had meetings at the 🇫🇷 operational center before heading back aboard a 🇫🇷 ATL2 from @MarineNationale engaged in maritime patrols above the Baltic Sea. instagram.com/p/DWZZ2ZnjB0f/…

JUST OUT: Trump has raised with SecState Rubio and other top aides the possibility of withdrawing from NATO if allies don’t help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials said. He has discussed leaving NATO, or at least potentially finding ways to weaken the U.S. commitment.

(2/3) Wennblad hävdar i texten att en studie visat att “sannolikheten att få en vindkraftsansökan godkänd på lokal nivå är lägre om MP är med och styr”, ett påstående som artikelförfattaren på IFN strukit eftersom det är felaktigt.