How to keep Putin at bay? The deadlock over security guarantees for Ukraine. – POLITICO

“It’s too early to contemplate such a development,” Selim Yenel, a former Turkish ambassador to the EU, told POLITICO. And Ankara, he warned, would demand something in return. “As for the quid pro quo, it would still be difficult to overcome the EU’s obstacles on the funds for defense. I’m sure the EU will find a […]
The Eurovision Song Contest is back. Here’s how and who to watch

LONDON (AP) — The Eurovision party is officially underway: a week of power pop, outrageous outfits — and, inevitably, protests — that culminates in the final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night. Competitors representing 37 countries are in the Swiss city of Basel for disco diplomacy and one of the world’s biggest […]
How to survive a phone call with Donald Trump – POLITICO

With May, the relationship struggled to get off the ground because she and Trump took different stances on Brexit. Starmer, who is pursuing a “reset” with the European Union, could face a similar gulf. “Don’t underestimate or seek to downplay his antipathy toward the EU,” a fifth ex-official said. “He is very focused on the […]
Tips from a diplomacy pro – POLITICO

“My advice to the U.K. is: Don’t get too hung up on the cosmetic stuff,” Fletcher said. “That’s not easy when you’re in the thick of it — you know, the length of the press conference, the content of the tweet, the day-to-day knock- about stuff.” But he noted that Mandelson, a figure central to […]
Climate conferences are dying. How to save the world now? – POLITICO

BAKU, Azerbaijan — As the red-eye flight from London made its final descent into Baku, the sunrise lit up the eastern sky, turning the Caspian Sea into a blaze of orange. Most of the passengers were heading to COP29, a two-week climate conference featuring almost 200 nations held in oil-rich Azerbaijan. The mood on the […]
How to ‘Trump proof’ the transatlantic relationship? – POLITICO

“It’s been very successful,” said Daniel Mullaney, the former top U.S. negotiator on trade issues with Europe, of the TTC. “We’ve had high-level attention, including at the presidential levels, on all of these issues. That’s kept the momentum going.” The question now is what happens if Trump wins back the White House in November. Even […]
Netanyahu’s opponents dither as he plots how to survive – POLITICO

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. Israel’s embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to hang on as his political foes circle, trying to fathom when and how they can call time on his long, tempestuous political career — and, of course, muster the political courage to do so. Much like the Charles Dickens […]