Europe
Scenes from Europe as it prepares for war

As NATO countries in Europe prepare for a possible war with Russia, the armament dimension and ‘civil defence’ proposals go hand in hand.
There seems to be a continent-wide expectation. Germany, for example, is developing an app to help people find the nearest shelter in the event of an attack.
But when it comes to preparing for war, the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, which are supposed to be the ‘frontline’, are leading the way.
They are already stockpiling grain, testing payment systems and making sure households can store emergency rations.
Finland asks its citizens: Can you survive 72 hours?
At 9am on 18 November, Finland launched a new website to show people how to survive for 72 hours in the event of a crisis or conflict.
A comprehensive online guide called “Preparing for Incidents and Crises” offers residents information and advice on everything from water cuts to forest fires, internet outages or “long-term crises … such as military conflicts”.
A separate website, 72tuntia.fi, asks Finns ‘Can you survive 72 hours in a series of crisis situations?’ and invites citizens to put their skills and equipment to the test.
According to The Guardian, the website urges people to “strengthen psychological resilience, increase personal cyber security and protect themselves indoors” (“Close doors and windows. Turn on the radio. Wait calmly for instructions”).
Emergency supplies: Power bank, flashlight, iodine tablets
According to Bloomberg, Finland’s ’emergency kit’ includes the following Bottled water, non-perishable food, clean buckets, pet food, toilet paper, power bank, battery-powered radio, flashlight, battery, cash, fire blanket, camping stove and fuel, plastic bag, tape, matches, hand sanitiser, wet wipes, first aid kit, medicine, iodine tablets.
On the same Monday, Sweden also began mailing updated leaflets to 5.2 million households, calling for ‘increased attention to war preparedness’.
The foreword to the Swedish leaflet reads: ‘We live in uncertain times. Armed conflicts are taking place in our part of the world. Terrorism, cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns are used to weaken and influence us.
The leaflet, which is also available in English, adds that collective resistance is essential and that if Sweden is attacked, ‘everyone must do their part to defend Sweden’s independence and our democracy… you are part of Sweden’s general emergency preparedness’.
Poor and rich in separate neighbourhoods, even in war preparation
But ‘war preparedness’ is not the same in every neighbourhood. Fatuma Mohamed, a health communicator in Stockholm, told the Guardian that many families in poorer areas don’t have food for the day, let alone a stockpile, while others are trying to find out where local shelters are.
Mohamed said she would like to see more face-to-face information given to people, rather than just leaflets.
Norway’s Civil Defence Directorate, DSB, has distributed a similar booklet to 2.6 million households in the country. We live in an increasingly turbulent world” affected by climate change, digital threats and “in the worst case, acts of war”, the leaflet says.
The Norwegian leaflet, for example, advises people to stock up on at least a week’s worth of non-perishable food, such as ‘crispbread, tinned pulses and beans, tinned sandwich spreads, energy bars, dried fruit, chocolate, honey, biscuits and nuts’.
Call to stock up on essentials
The DSB is also advising its citizens to stock up on essential medicines, including iodine tablets, in case of a nuclear accident and, like Sweden, to have multiple bank cards and cash at home.
Governments, central banks and businesses in the region are taking the lead in stockpiling emergency grain and medical supplies, making the financial system more resilient and encouraging households to store canned food and iodine tablets.
There’s also a lot of coverage of this 72-hour preparedness in Finland, on TV, on social media, in newspapers; I’ve even heard that they’re teaching children about it in schools. I mean, it’s getting a lot of media coverage right now, and it’s definitely changed my mindset,’ Lotta-Sofia Saahko, a 31-year-old writer from the southern Finnish town of Valkeakoski, told Bloomberg.
Saahko, who lives with his grandfather, said they have two five-litre water canisters and have started shopping to make sure they have enough canned pea soup and crispbread.
Scandinavian countries start hoarding grain
The scenarios include not only war, but also natural disasters due to climate change, energy disruptions and international cyber-attacks.
The Swedish authorities also give advice on how to evacuate, how to stop bleeding and how to talk to children about war.
Norway is reactivating its grain reserves and increasing its storage capacity.
Norway said in June that the country was stockpiling grain in preparation for the ‘unthinkable’, while Sweden plans to rebuild its reserves with seeds and fertiliser.
Miika Ilomaki, chief preparedness expert at the National Emergency Supply Agency, said officials and researchers had travelled to Finland for know-how.
Lithuania’s largest retailer, Maxima, has a plan to keep its supermarkets open in the event of a communications blackout, while its warehouses also have a list of essential goods to stockpile.
The country is also actively seeking to receive emergency medical supplies. Last year, it received the green light from the European Commission for a warehouse as part of a plan to have 22 stockpiles in 16 EU member states.
The Polish parliament this month passed a law requiring local authorities to have enough food and water to last 72 hours. Other measures include building an evacuation system and shelters.
In Denmark, the government set up a crisis ministry this year and began advising people to stockpile food and water for 72 hours.
Financial institutions working on war-proof payment systems
But time is running out for the financial system. The central bank is pioneering a system that, from next year, will allow Danes to continue using cards to buy food and medicine for a week in the event of a power cut or internet crash.
Ulrik Nordgaard, deputy governor of the central bank, said they were working with retailers, banks and payment companies to extend the time people can make offline card transactions from three to seven days.
“Retailers and banks have agreed to share equally the costs of any fraudulent activity, and other countries have shown interest in using this as a model,” Nordgaard said.
In an interview in Copenhagen last week, Nordgaard said the idea was to “prepare for the worst-case scenario”.
EU steps up defence efforts with UK
European officials say the continent is entering a new reality. More than three decades after the end of the Cold War and the threat of nuclear attack, the European Union is returning to its roots as an organisation born out of conflict to promote peace and security, Bloomberg reports.
The EU is trying to speed up talks with the UK on a new defence and security treaty as U.S. support for Ukraine wanes with the re-election of Donald Trump and the prospect of a peace deal that could “embolden Russia”.
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, said on 14 November: “We are facing geopolitical tensions that show no signs of abating and we must be ready for any eventuality. All this makes it more important than ever that our Union is prepared for this new and more uncertain future.”
Europe
EU considers new €100 billion support fund for Ukraine

The European Union (EU) is reportedly considering the creation of a special €100 billion ($117 billion) support fund for Ukraine due to the ongoing war, which “shows no signs of ending.”
According to a report by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, the fund is intended to be part of the EU’s next seven-year budget. If approved by member states, payments would begin in 2028 and continue until 2034. Discussions on the budget and related proposals are expected at the end of July, with the draft of the seven-year financial plan scheduled for release on July 16.
Existing aid totals €160 billion
Since the start of the war, the EU has provided approximately €160 billion ($187 billion) in aid to Ukraine. This amount includes a €50 billion fund providing grants and loans to Kyiv through 2027. This year, EU countries have pledged €23 billion in military aid to Ukraine and have also allocated a €30 billion loan secured by Russia’s frozen assets.
Concerns over Ukraine’s budget deficit
According to the Financial Times (FT), the EU is seeking ways to cover Ukraine’s budget deficit, which is projected to be between $8 billion and $19 billion in 2026. EU Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis stated that the bloc is ready “to provide all necessary support to Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Dombrovskis added that the European Commission will explore options to increase aid “using the EU budget and revenues from Russia’s sovereign assets,” but noted that the International Monetary Fund must first assess the potential deficit.
The burden shifts to Europe
Bloomberg interprets the EU’s move to increase its military and financial support as a reaction to the shifting stance of the US, particularly with the potential for a Donald Trump presidency. The agency emphasizes that establishing the €100 billion fund would “shift the burden of support for Ukraine even more onto Europe.”
European officials speaking to the FT noted that many in Brussels had expected a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine this year, which could have eased Kyiv’s budget problems. However, the lack of progress in peace talks has forced the European Commission to reorganize spending within its current financing plans for Ukraine.
Europe
Europe’s largest port prepares for potential war with Russia

According to the Financial Times, the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Europe’s largest port, has begun allocating space for NATO military cargo and planning routes for weapons shipments in preparation for a potential war with Russia.
Landing exercises will also be conducted at the port. Although the port has previously handled weapons shipments, it did not have a dedicated pier for this purpose, even during the peak of the Cold War. Under the new plan, a section of the container terminal will be refitted to allow for the safe transfer of ammunition from one ship to another.
Port Director Boudewijn Simons stated that military shipment logistics will be coordinated with the neighboring Port of Antwerp in Belgium, the EU’s second-largest. Simons emphasized that this cooperation will be particularly important for receiving cargo from the US, the UK, and Canada. “We increasingly see each other less as competitors. Of course, we compete when necessary, but we work together where we can,” said Simons, adding that when large volumes of weapons need to be transported, Rotterdam will ask Antwerp or other ports to handle part of the load, and vice versa.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence confirmed in a statement in May that the port would provide space for military shipments at NATO’s request. This decision was made within the framework of the European Union’s rearmament program, through which the bloc aims to reduce its defense dependency on the US.
The Port of Rotterdam is also used as a center for storing strategic oil reserves. In this context, Simons called on European countries to take precautions regarding other critical resources such as copper, lithium, and graphite. The EU is expected to present a “stockpiling strategy” on July 8, which will cover medical supplies, critical raw materials, energy equipment, food, and water.
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.
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