Eurotopics.net

France will focus on increasing its nuclear arsenal and use it to enhance Europe's collective security, President Emmanuel Macron stated in his speech on the update to the country's nuclear doctrine. He also mentioned the possibility of relocating French nuclear weapons to other European countries. Shortly after the speech, France and Germany issued a joint statement establishing a "steering group" for closer cooperation on deterrence.

A debate about what to do with Hungary is underway after it blocked both new sanctions against Russia and an aid loan for Ukraine. EU Council President António Costa has stressed that no EU member state should be allowed to undermine the credibility of EU decisions, and several MEPs have called for its voting rights to be withdrawn.

Since its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Russia has undergone significant internal changes, with the Kremlin regime tightening its grip on power. However, the economy, which initially boomed thanks to massive government contracts and high oil prices, is now faltering, and according to estimates around 300,000 soldiers have been killed in action.

In 2018, the Swiss clearly rejected a complete abolition of public broadcasting fees. Now, a new initiative by the national conservative party SVP, the Young Liberals and the Swiss Trade Association aims to halve the budget of public broadcaster SRG to ease the burden on citizens and businesses. But according to the national press, this is not the real issue. The vote has been set for 8 March and the outcome is still open.