Here in Georgia our festivals are full, but our poets are in prison – and now we feel abandoned by Europe | Archil Kikodze

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‘They want us to stop seeing each other, to lose contact, to feel alone,” the Icelandic writer Sjón told me. By “they”, he meant the dark forces rising across the world: populists, fascists, fundamentalists. That was in September 2025, at the Tbilisi international festival of literature, attended by more people than ever before. The halls … Read more

The UK defence minister’s shock resignation is a warning for all of Europe | Paul Taylor

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Since the historic Nato summit in The Hague one year ago this month, European leaders have pledged massive increases in defence spending in the face of increasingly acute threats of Russian aggression. Yet the reality is that key west European governments – especially the UK, France and Italy – are not putting their money where … Read more

The EU is inviting the Taliban to Brussels. Europe’s credibility lies in tatters | Shada Islam

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I sometimes think of the former EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson, who just six years ago spoke of crafting a European migration policy with “cool heads and warm hearts”. What’s happened since is the exact opposite. Governments across Europe – with the exception of Spain – are cracking down harder than ever before on … Read more

A drone alert blasted on my phone – we had to take shelter. This is the new reality on Nato’s eastern flank | Linas Kojala

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A couple of weeks ago, I was walking through the streets of Vilnius, on my way to give a talk on geopolitics to a group of visiting Austrian business and academic leaders. It was a pleasant spring day: people were out and about, cafe tables were set outside – all the familiar tranquillity of a … Read more