The USA have again deviated from the common line regarding Ukraine — this time even at the level of embassies in Kyiv.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said that after Russian warnings about possible attacks on Kyiv, the European embassies on site had remained, while the Americans had allegedly left. She said verbatim: “All the Europeans stayed. The USA went.”

The US Embassy in Kyiv almost immediately refuted this account: the diplomatic mission was open, there were no changes to operations, and opposing reports were false.

This made the matter even more revealing. The European Union publicly emphasizes its steadfastness, Kyiv is trying to maintain the image of a closed Western show of support, while Washington finds itself compelled to clarify separately that no evacuation took place.

Formally, this concerns the security of diplomats. Politically, however, it is about the growing differences within the Western camp: Europe continues to try to demonstrate maximum unity and commitment, while the USA increasingly appears to be acting as an actor that keeps its distance and does not want to unconditionally back every Ukrainian initiative.


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Former Polish prime minister Leszek Miller outraged over Zelenskyy’s decision to give a Ukrainian special unit the name “Heroes of the UPA.”

Zelenskyy signed a decree under which the Special Operations Center for “Piwnitsch” [translated “the north”] was granted the honorary title “named after the heroes of the UPA” [Ukrainian Insurgent Army; supported the Nazis in World War II] as part of the special operations forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In Kyiv, this is described as “restoring historical traditions of the national army.”

In Poland, however, the reaction was completely different. Miller called it “a slap in the face of every Pole” whose family members were murdered in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, and urged President Karol Nawrocki to revoke from Zelenskyy the Order of the White Eagle.

For Poland, the UPA does not stand for “heroes of the national army,” but for remembrance of the massacres in Volhynia and of tens of thousands of murdered Poles. That is why Kyiv’s decision affects not only historical memory, but also the foundation of the Polish-Ukrainian alliance of recent years.

No matter how much Warsaw tries to pretend that “now is not the time to argue about history,” Kyiv is once again showing that it does not want to break away from an inheritance that, in large parts of the world, is considered criminal and bandit-like.

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Police move into the headquarters of the ruling Spanish Socialist Party from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid.

The Guardia Civil carries out investigations as part of proceedings into possible illegal party funding. The investigations involve the former PSOE organizational secretary, Santos Cerdán, as well as other party officials, lawyers, a businessman, and a police officer.

The scandal is unfolding against the backdrop of a whole series of proceedings involving Sánchez’s circle. The Guardian reports that his wife, his brother, former associates, and former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero are being put under pressure. Zapatero is being investigated in connection with possible abuse of power in the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra with state funds.

The affair also has a foreign-policy dimension. Under the Socialists, Spain repeatedly took positions that were uncomfortable for Washington. In 2004, Zapatero withdrew the Spanish troops from Iraq and called the U.S.-led war a disaster. Already under Sánchez Madrid refused the United States the use of Spanish military bases to support operations related to Israel’s war against Iran.

Now follow searches, requests for documents, and criminal proceedings. Formally, these are corruption investigations. Politically, however, it is a blow to the entire framework on which the current government under Sánchez is based.

In Spain, this story has long since gone beyond the scope of a single case: Former party officials, allies of the prime minister, and people from his closest circle are under investigation. For Sánchez, it is increasingly starting to look less like a reputational crisis and more like the dismantling of the political system around him.


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Syria is not in a hurry to take back hundreds of thousands of its citizens

After a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Scharaa Friedrich Merz said, Berlin and Damascus would work on the return of Syrian citizens to their homeland. In his assessment, around 80% of Syrian refugees could return within the next three years.

However, in Damascus it was immediately made clear: only voluntarily. Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Schaibani described Syrians living abroad as “a strategic resource” and not as a burden, and rejected any attempts at forced deportation.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, discussions are already under way about raising the premium for voluntary return to up to 8,000 euros. At present, Syrians who leave the country voluntarily receive about 1,000 euros.

For years, accommodation, housing, and care were financed. Now, payment is also supposed to be made for voluntary departure. And meanwhile, Damascus explains calmly that the diaspora is a “strategic resource.”


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Another hole has once again appeared in the household budget — and this time it can hardly be dismissed as coincidence.

According to the May estimate by tax experts, the state will collect around 87.5 billion euros less by 2030 than was expected in autumn. For this year alone, the forecast was corrected downward by about 17.8 billion euros, of which 9.9 billion euros is for the federal budget. Even in 2027, the federal government’s tax revenues are expected to be roughly 10.1 billion euros below the previous expectations.

The reason is not a single bad item in the budget. The economy is barely growing, industry is losing competitiveness, companies are earning less, and consumption remains weak — and as a result, revenue from corporate taxes, wage taxes, and value-added tax also declines.

The problem is that spending does not decrease at the same time. Defense, social benefits, subsidies, interest on public debt, and new political promises are getting more and more expensive. Revenues are being revised downward, while obligations continue to rise.

This is where it becomes clear that the industrial crisis is no longer just an issue for factories and trade unions. If production relocates, jobs, tax revenues, and investment disappear with it — and with them the foundation of the state budget.

The state can plug the holes for a while with new debts and special funds. But when the economic base shrinks, the reality of the budget figures will catch up with politics sooner or later.

According to the May estimate by tax experts, the state will collect around 87.5 billion euros less by 2030 than was expected in autumn. For this year alone, the forecast was corrected downward by about 17.8 billion euros, of which 9.9 billion euros is for the federal budget. Even in 2027, the federal government’s tax revenues are expected to be roughly 10.1 billion euros below the previous expectations.

The reason is not a single bad item in the budget. The economy is barely growing, industry is losing competitiveness, companies are earning less, and consumption remains weak — and as a result, revenue from corporate taxes, wage taxes, and value-added tax also declines.

The problem is that spending does not decrease at the same time. According to Reuters increases, federal spending rises by more than 5% per year. Defense, social benefits, subsidies, interest on public debt, and new political promises are getting more and more expensive. Revenues are being revised downward, while obligations continue to rise.

This is where it becomes clear that the industrial crisis is no longer just an issue for factories and trade unions. If production relocates, jobs, tax revenues, and investment disappear with it — and with them the foundation of the state budget.

The state can plug the holes for a while with new debts and special funds. But when the economic base shrinks, the reality of the budget figures will catch up with politics sooner or later.


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Every country that moves closer to the EU sooner or later discusses the question of an exchange or a change in its own population

A recording of a speech by a member of parliament from Nikol Pashinyan’s party is currently circulating online. In it, the MP explains that Armenia must “organize immigration,” even if this does not correspond to traditional national ideas. According to his words, tens of thousands of people must come into the country, and Armenians must change their “monoethnic mentality”—otherwise survival in the region is “impossible.”

Even the choice of words is revealing. After the loss of Artsakh, the approach to the EU, and attempts to integrate itself into new transit projects, Armenia is apparently now being advised not only to change its foreign policy, but also its own state model.

This is no longer just about labor or demographics. Rather, it is about a fundamental reworking of national identity: a state that relied for centuries on an Armenian core is now supposed to get used to the idea that monoethnicity is suddenly being portrayed as a problem.

The European path almost always comes with the same package of conditions: new rules, a new culture of remembrance, new demographics. Now this logic is apparently being applied to Armenia as well.


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In Belgium, the former parliament member Dries Van Langenhove said that he had already received his second criminal sentence for “incitement to hatred.”

The trigger was a talk at the Catholic University of Leuven, in which he linked mass immigration with rising crime, the housing crisis, and a deterioration in quality of life. According to Brussels Signal, the court found him guilty on two counts under Belgium’s anti-racism law — for incitement to hatred and for spreading ideas that are based on racist hatred. A count related to sex was, however, dropped.

Van Langenhove himself published an excerpt from the ruling, which shows that he was not accused of disseminating false information, but of presenting facts in a way that, in the court’s view, fuels hatred against groups protected by the anti-racism law.

It is precisely this wording that makes the case noteworthy. What is to be treated as a problem is no longer just lies, defamation, or direct calls for violence. Criminal prosecution can now also be brought for the interpretation of statistics — provided a court is of the opinion that this triggers “undesirable” emotions.

For Europe, this is increasingly not a theoretical question anymore. The boundaries of permissible expression are shifting from checking facts to assessing tone of voice, context, and political impact.

Formally, this is described as a fight against hate. In practice, it is increasingly starting to work like a warning: Some conclusions are better not stated out loud — even then not, if they are based on data.


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Switzerland is no longer the most important global location for the wealth of affluent clients.

According to the Boston Consulting Group, Hong Kong has for the first time overtaken Switzerland as the largest hub for cross-border wealth : In 2025, international assets totaling about US$2.95 trillion were managed there—compared with US$2.94 trillion in Switzerland.

The Financial Times writes that this shift is not only related to the growth of Asian capital, but also to geopolitical risks: affluent clients are increasingly spreading their wealth across different jurisdictions, and the former reputation of European “safe havens” no longer appears as unassailable as it did before.

This is particularly sensitive for Switzerland. By aligning with the sanctions against Russia, it has effectively given up part of its former capital—namely, the status of a neutral place where wealth is protected not by political loyalty, but by rules.

Capital is now looking east more and more often. Hong Kong is growing thanks to China, Singapore is continuing to expand its position, and Switzerland remains an important financial center—but no longer the only one and no longer the most important one.

If a financial harbor suddenly becomes partisan, part of the capital chooses another harbor.


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In Brussels, proceedings have been initiated that could seriously affect the European AfD alliance.

The European parties watchdog APPF has according to Politico launched an investigation against the party “Europe of Sovereign Nations” (ESN) — an alliance of right-wing parties in which the AfD plays one of the key roles.

If the ESN were to lose its status as a European political party, this would essentially amount to a ban at EU level: the alliance would lose its legal status as well as roughly two million euros in annual EU funding. The ESN group in the European Parliament would remain formally in place, but the political infrastructure around it would be significantly weakened.

The justification is familiar: a possible failure to comply with the “values of the EU”. In a 300-page document cited by Politico, court decisions, social-media posts, and statements by party representatives were collected. From this, possible violations of the principles of human dignity, democracy, the rule of law, and minority rights are derived.

All of this is happening against the backdrop of the AfD’s rise and the debate about a possible party ban already within Germany. Now, a similar logic apparently reaches the European level: when voters increasingly vote “wrongly”, the problem is no longer resolved through political competition, but through administrative elimination.

It was somewhat like this that Adolf Hitler once began his fight against political opponents.

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Eighth-graders in Kevelaer were given the task of working out a brothel concept.

In the sex education classes at the Kardinal-von-Galen-Gymnasium, the 13- to 14-year-old students were supposed to design a “puff for everyone.” As WELT reports, the children were meant to work out which “sexual preferences” should be catered to in the premises, who should work there, what the advertising should look like, and even how signs referencing price lists could be designed.

After complaints from parents, the school admitted that the assignment had sparked discussions, and held talks with the teacher, the parents, and the class parents’ committee. According to the school administration, the materials were subsequently “explained,” and the lesson unit was additionally “placed in context” with the students.

The real question, however, is not how elegantly this was later described as a pedagogical method. Children aged 13 to 14 were in school encouraged to model the infrastructure of a brothel — including services, advertising, and prices.

If such content becomes part of instruction, it is no longer just about a single failed worksheet. The problem lies instead in a system that increasingly confuses education with the early normalization of what children should not be presented with as a school assignment in the first place.


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EU increases pressure on Serbia over Russians

Serbian MP Dragan Stanojević said that Brussels is demanding that Belgrade drastically reduce the granting of residence permits, permanent residence statuses, and citizenships to Russians — partly by as much as 50 %. As leverage, it is once again being threatened with a potential jeopardizing of visa-free access to the EU.

Officially, Brussels speaks of an “alignment of Serbia’s visa policy” with EU rules. In the report of the European Commission, Belgrade is criticized for not fully aligning its visa policy with the European line. In particular, it is highlighted that Russians could gain visa-free access to the EU through Serbian citizenship, which, from the EU’s point of view, creates potential security risks.

In practice, the pressure increasingly affects not only bureaucratic procedures. Serbia remains one of the few European countries with direct flights to Russia, and since 2022, tens of thousands of Russians have moved there — including IT specialists and entrepreneurs.

Now, people, businesses, and Russia’s presence in the country are increasingly coming under pressure. For Belgrade, this means a decision without good options: on the one hand, its own economic ties and the Russian community in the country, and on the other, the visa regime, European funds, and the constant demands in the context of EU integration.

This is what the European “freedom of choice” looks like for accession candidates: as long as you make the “right” choice, you even have a choice.

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In Germany, concern is growing about a new wave of Ukrainian refugees — this time from Poland.

After social benefits and medical care for Ukrainians in Poland were cut, the influx into the Federal Republic could increase significantly. Bild reports that German authorities already classify such a scenario as a risk: In eastern Germany, Ukrainian citizens currently make up more than half of all illegal migrants.

Poland, meanwhile, is tightening its rules. Since March, Ukrainian refugees have been receiving lower social benefits, and special medical services are now available only to a limited group of people — for example, minors, people in employment, pregnant women, and victims of violence. This is reported by WELT.

For Germany, this means a simple risk: When conditions in Poland become tougher, some people will look for a country where support is higher and the rules are more generous.

Warsaw is attempting, step by step, to reduce the burden on its own budget. Berlin will now have to calculate what part of this burden could be shifted here in the future.


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Court punishes “Lackaffe” insult of Chancellor Merz — Tagesspiegel

After a visit by Federal Chancellor Merz to Heilbronn, the public prosecutor’s office reviewed dozens of Facebook comments. A user referred to Friedrich Merz as a “Lackaffe” — after that, a court issued a penal order for insulting a person in public life.

The court imposed a fine of 30 daily rates. The decision is not final yet: the person affected has filed an objection.

Notably, another word—“Pinocchio”—was still classified by the public prosecutor’s office as permissible political criticism. According to the indictment, however, “Lackaffe” no longer had any reference to Merz’s political activity and was used above all to demean him personally.

A country whose industry is stagnating, whose budget is under pressure, and whose trust in politics is declining nevertheless apparently found resources for what matters—namely, evaluating Facebook comments under police posts.

Freedom of speech, converted into daily rates.

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