Europe
EU armament program bypasses European Parliament in approval process

A historic EU armament loan program, designed to finance joint procurement agreements, was finally approved by ministers on Wednesday, bypassing the European Parliament (EP).
The approval from the General Affairs Council marked the final stage in the controversial approval process for the €150 billion joint credit program “Security Action for Europe” (SAFE).
In April, the European Commission activated an emergency clause to bypass the Parliament, meaning negotiations on the final text of SAFE were moved directly to the Council.
Hungary abstained from the program vote in the Council on Wednesday.
The SAFE program was proposed by the Commission in March as the financing arm of a broader plan to revitalize the European defense industry and increase the production of military equipment and ammunition.
According to the text, at least three countries must come together to request funds from the SAFE program for defense projects. Projects can include anything from orders for ammunition and missiles to military drones or electronic warfare equipment.
Ukraine and Norway have also been included in the SAFE program, and the final text establishes a mechanism for other countries, such as the United Kingdom, to join the program by making agreements with the Commission.
The Commission aims to address military capability gaps with these projects and reduce Europe’s dependence on military equipment produced in other parts of the world, particularly the US.
€800 billion rearmament plan
The SAFE regulation provides low-interest loans until 2030 to strengthen Europe’s defense capacity as part of an €800 billion rearmament plan by 2030.
EU companies must maintain at least a 65% participation rate in each financed project, and the role of external contractors has been limited to 15-35%.
On the other hand, the Commission’s decision to bypass Parliament sparked outrage, and Parliament President Roberta Metsola threatened to sue the Council in a letter sent to the Commission and Council presidencies earlier this month.
MEPs unanimously supported a legal opinion in a secret ballot in April that rejected the Commission’s decision to bypass Parliament.
EP may take legal action against Brussels within 2 months
According to the legal opinion obtained by Euractiv, the Parliament proposed splitting the SAFE plan into two. The first part, covering borrowing and lending, would proceed under an emergency procedure, while the industrial elements of the plan would proceed under the ordinary procedure.
Euractiv learned that Metsola has not yet received a response to her letter.
Now that the Council has adopted the SAFE proposal, Parliament has approximately two months to file a legal challenge, and the EU’s highest court will have two years to make its decision.
According to the final text of the SAFE program, countries will have six months to prepare joint procurement proposals, identify defense industry partners, and request loans from the European Commission.
Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said last week that final requests should be submitted in November.
Third countries will need to sign an agreement with the EU
Third countries wishing to participate in the SAFE program and be involved in joint projects will also need to sign a bilateral agreement with the Commission within this period.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently signed a Security and Defense Partnership agreement with the EU. This agreement was the first necessary step to ensure British defense companies access to the €150 billion SAFE program. British officials said they hope to sign a second bilateral agreement with the EU “in a few weeks.”
Funds provided by the SAFE program will be transferred by the Commission to participating countries in the form of 45-year loans.
According to the text, after the countries’ proposals are reviewed by the Commission, the Council will have until June 30, 2027, to approve them.
Once they receive Council approval, countries can begin submitting payment requests to the Commission, which will then turn to capital markets to borrow the €150 billion. Loan payments from the Commission to participating countries will be made by December 30, 2030.
Germany’s intervention paves the way for Türkiye’s participation in the fund
The prospect of Türkiye’s participation in SAFE was met with skepticism, particularly by the Greek government.
Türkiye’s participation requires a separate EU-Türkiye bilateral agreement under Article 17 of the regulation.
Greece invoked Articles 212 and 218 of the EU Treaty, arguing that such agreements should be decided unanimously, but these articles were not explicitly mentioned in the regulation due to opposition from the Council’s Legal Service and Germany.
According to Kathimerini, the European Commission assured Greece that Article 212 would serve as the legal basis for candidate country agreements. Greece submitted an additional national declaration to the Permanent Representatives Committee to prevent misinterpretations.
The Turkish defense industry aims to market its drones, armored vehicles, and ammunition to its European partners. Key EU countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland support Türkiye’s participation in European defense initiatives.
Türkiye has already initiated bilateral defense cooperation outside the SAFE framework, including Baykar’s acquisition of Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace and Hürjet trainer aircraft agreements with Spain.
Europe
Germany’s SPD faces ‘Russia rebellion’ at party congress

Divisions within Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) over rearmament and relations with Russia are set to culminate at its upcoming congress, where party leader and finance minister Lars Klingbeil faces backlash from a faction within his party.
According to a report in the Financial Times, one of the critics of the SPD leadership is the eldest son of former SPD Chancellor Willy Brandt, who still holds significant influence over the party with his Ostpolitik (Eastern Policy), a policy of rapprochement with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
Peter Brandt, a 76-year-old historian, has co-signed an SPD motion criticizing the government’s rearmament plans and advocating for “de-escalation and a gradual return to cooperation with Russia.”
The manifesto, published ahead of this week’s SPD party conference, states, “There is a long road ahead to return to a stable order of peace and security in Europe.”
While acknowledging that strengthening the defense capabilities of Germany and Europe is “necessary,” the authors emphasize that these efforts must be “part of a strategy aimed at de-escalation and the gradual restoration of trust, not a new arms race.”
Peter Brandt told the Financial Times that Klingbeil approved the new defense spending increase “without checking if it was the majority view.” He added, “This is a problem. There isn’t as clear a stance among the members as is reflected in the leadership.”
The criticism comes as Klingbeil, deputy chancellor in the coalition government led by Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz, prepares a major “funding injection” for the military, aiming to increase the country’s defense budget by 70% by 2029.
Brandt’s words are a reminder that many Social Democrats remain reluctant to fully embrace the country’s “Zeitenwende” (turning point) in defense policy, announced by former SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The internal rebellion could create problems for Klingbeil, who negotiated the coalition agreement with Merz after the SPD’s worst-ever election result in February. The dissenters could make it difficult for the government, which holds a slim majority of just 13 seats, to pass legislation on the budget, arms deliveries, and the planned return to compulsory military service.
Uwe Jun, a political scientist at the University of Trier, noted that while the rebels are not a majority in the SPD, they are not a small minority either. “There is a long tradition in the SPD of people who came from the peace movement of the 1970s and 1980s,” he said. “They are critical of anything related to the military.”
Klingbeil’s reorganization of the party leadership following the election fiasco has further fueled the controversy. The 47-year-old politician is accused of consolidating his power after replacing 66-year-old Rolf Mützenich as the head of the SPD parliamentary group. Mützenich is also a signatory of the manifesto.
“Personal and political tensions are also playing a role,” said Gesine Schwan, a political scientist and SPD member who was asked to sign the motion but declined.
Klingbeil, who grew up after the fall of the Berlin Wall, has tried to shift the party’s foreign policy stance. In a series of speeches and editorials in 2022, he admitted that the party had “failed to realize that things in Russia had already been moving in a very different direction.”
The manifesto’s signatories argue that the pursuit of peace must be the priority. Ralf Stegner, who helped draft the text, caused controversy last month when it was revealed he had traveled to Azerbaijan in April to meet with Russian officials, including one under EU sanctions.
Stegner, 65, who at the time served on the parliamentary committee overseeing Germany’s intelligence service, defended the meeting, stating that MPs from Merz’s CDU had also attended to keep communication channels with Moscow open.
“You have to keep talking to everyone,” Stegner told the Financial Times. “The insinuation that this means agreeing with what others say or being a secret agent for a third party is, of course, complete nonsense.”
Stegner’s stance reflects the continued nostalgia within the SPD for Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik. According to a party insider, members who joined the SPD under Brandt’s leadership, now in their 60s, make up 58% of the membership.
Peter Brandt, who said he never fully shared his father’s views, explained that he signed the manifesto because he believes the Russian threat is exaggerated.
“I do not agree with the idea that Russia will attack NATO,” said the younger Brandt. “The Russian army has shown weakness in the Ukraine war.”
He added that NATO is “currently superior to the Russian army in conventional terms, even without the Americans,” and called NATO’s goal of dedicating 5% of GDP to defense “unreasonable.”
Klingbeil, however, pointed out that Willy Brandt, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971, also oversaw large defense budgets exceeding 3.5% of GDP.
“And ultimately, I don’t think anyone would associate Willy Brandt with someone who focused solely on military matters,” the SPD leader remarked.
Jun said Klingbeil symbolizes the “new school of thought within the party,” adding that the SPD’s younger MPs are “quite pragmatic” on Russia.
But Schwan believes Klingbeil will have to contend with the “old guard” for a while longer. “De-escalation, security, and peace policy are still part of the SPD’s DNA,” she said.
Europe
New MI6 chief’s grandfather was a Nazi collaborator known as ‘The Butcher’

The grandfather of the new head of MI6 was reportedly a Nazi spy known as “The Butcher” in German-occupied Chernihiv.
Blaise Metreweli was appointed earlier this month as the first female spy chief in the 116-year history of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
According to documents cited by the Daily Mail, Metreweli’s grandfather, Constantine Dobrowolski, was a Nazi collaborator who boasted of killing Jews.
The newspaper reports that Dobrowolski, a Ukrainian, defected from the Red Army to become a chief informant for the Nazis and Adolf Hitler in the Chernihiv region.
Metreweli, 47, never knew her grandfather. He remained in Nazi-occupied Ukraine when his family fled in 1943 as the Red Army liberated the area.
Documents found in German archives reveal that Dobrowolski was known to the Nazis as “Agent No. 30.”
At one point, the Soviet Union placed a 50,000-ruble bounty on Dobrowolski’s head (approximately £200,000 today), labeling him “the greatest enemy of the Ukrainian people.”
According to the newspaper, Dobrowolski sought revenge against Russia for killing his family and confiscating their property during the 1917 revolution.
One file reportedly contains a handwritten letter from Dobrowolski to his Nazi superiors, signed “Heil Hitler.”
In another file, he is said to have boasted that he “personally participated in the destruction of the Jews” and had killed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office commented on the allegations, stating, “Blaise Metreweli did not know and had never met her father’s father. Blaise’s ancestors are characterized by conflict and division, and like many with Eastern European roots, she has a history that is only partially understood.”
The spokesperson suggested that it is “precisely this complex heritage” that “contributes to Blaise’s determination to prevent conflict and protect the British people from the modern threats of hostile states” as the next head of MI6.
Metreweli grew up abroad before studying anthropology at Cambridge, where she was part of the winning team in the 1997 Boat Race.
Joining MI6 in 1999, Metreweli served for two decades in Europe and the Middle East.
Metreweli currently holds the position of “Q,” the head of the technical section of MI6, made famous by the James Bond films.
Europe
Merz urges Brussels to secure a US trade deal within days

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is demanding that Brussels sign a trade deal with the US within days.
Bringing the issue to the agenda of today’s EU leaders’ summit, Merz described the European Commission’s negotiating strategy this week as “too complex.”
Calling for greater urgency and focus in negotiations with the US president, Merz said he would convey this demand to other EU leaders, alongside Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni.
The leaders are eagerly awaiting an update from the EU’s executive body during dinner on its talks with the Trump administration.
Concerns are growing that if Brussels and Washington fail to reach an agreement, “reciprocal” 50% tariffs will be imposed on all goods starting July 9.
The bloc, which had previously dismissed the recent UK-US trade deal—a pact that imposed a 10% baseline tariff while offering some relief for car and steel exports—is now coming to terms with the reality that securing a better outcome will be challenging.
“I still hope that a trading power like the EU, with its 450 million people, will have more leverage than the UK,” a senior EU diplomat said on Wednesday.
The German chancellor stated that the priority must be to protect Europe’s key industries—particularly Germany’s automotive, manufacturing, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, steel, and aluminum sectors—from the sector-specific tariffs that Trump has either imposed or threatened to impose.
However, Trump is heavily reliant on these tariffs, having implemented the highest rates since the Great Depression of the 1930s to compel manufacturers to move production to the US and close the nation’s trillion-dollar trade deficit.
The US trade deficit with the 27 EU member states reached a total of $232 billion in 2025, accounting for approximately 19% of the total figure.
Underpinning Merz’s demands is a persistent concern that Brussels might establish a broad framework centered on a flat 10% tariff for most common goods, rather than isolating sectoral tariffs on items like cars, which he argues harms German exporters.
Another EU diplomat noted that keeping a broad-based tariff in place was “not a task we gave the European Commission,” adding, “We hope the Commission will try to find a solution for the most at-risk sectors.”
Merz’s call to “get the job done” faces two primary obstacles. First, the EU negotiating team has warned that Washington will likely offer only minor concessions, such as limited tariff reductions tied to restrictive quotas, after which full tariff rates would apply.
This is a far cry from the zero-tariff agreement Merz had initially hoped to achieve and closely resembles the UK deal, the only one struck with Trump so far.
Meanwhile, negotiations with the US on Germany’s biggest demand—automobiles—are proving particularly difficult.
Merz and German automakers are pushing for a mechanism that would allow them to offset their vehicle imports into the US with models they export from their American production facilities.
Economy Minister Katharina Reiche presented such a proposal during her visit to the US earlier this month. Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz operate large factories in the US that produce certain models for global export. However, considering the EU exports over 750,000 vehicles to the US annually, it remains unclear how much relief a limited quota agreement would provide to car manufacturers if Trump rejects this proposal.
Brussels, on the other hand, is hopeful that Trump’s long-standing desire for the EU to align with US automotive regulations will serve as a strong enough bargaining chip to ease the pressure on the auto sector.
In a scoping paper sent to member states in May, the Commission revealed it had offered to align with US regulations on autonomous vehicles. This is seen as a major concession, especially after similar discussions on automotive reciprocity led to the collapse of a transatlantic trade deal a decade ago.
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