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As hard power increasingly speaks louder than market forces, Europe’s military malaise is plain to see. Not only are allies struggling to arm Ukraine, they’re also fluffing efforts to bring together defence industries to deliver united, cost-effective solutions to benefit multiple EU members.

Fragmentation and compatibility issues abound, with the bloc’s flagship defence programme – SAFE – beset by political differences that jeopardise joint procurement initiatives.

But the failure to align has been most glaring in the attempt to build the next generation of fighter jets, the so-called Future Combat Air System (FCAS), which has brought the leading contractors, Germany’s Airbus Defence and Space and France’s Dassault Aviation, to a bitter standoff about who develops the jet, and what it will be capable of.

Paris is pressing for a machine to carry its nuclear warheads – a function that neither Germany nor Spanish co-partners need. But rather than defusing the dispute, French ministers doubled down, backing Dassault to go it alone and sowing serious doubt about whether the project can continue at all.

Europe would be much better if FCAS were finally buried. Even the EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius, whose excitement for common military endeavours has seen him endorse politically untenable pipe dreams, could read the writing on the wall when he declared the enterprise a smear on pan-European defence projects.

Unfortunately Kubilius is no better at burying bad projects than he is at starting them. Now the German aerospace industry is staging protests against the holdup, pressuring Berlin for some gesture that might resurrect the €100 billion venture. Flogging a dead horse comes to mind…

With Europe poised to pump billions into a drone wall, an Air Shield, and various other defence-related acronyms (EDDI, EDIP, EDIDP, ESSI, or HEDI), the visionaries of a secure airspace would be wise to ditch FCAS, ASAP. Otherwise we must ask if they’re not in fact dreamers. And that would surely be a nightmare.

Roundup

Greece-Turkey tensions threaten Cyprus – EU countries – including France, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands – are rallying behind Cyprus as the war with Iran spills into the eastern Mediterranean, with capitals increasingly worried that Turkey could press its own claims on the divided island.

Farmers secure Mercosur safeguards – The EU Council backed safeguard measures to shield local farmers from potential market disturbances arising from the Mercosur trade deal. The trade agreement – covering Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – is expected to be provisionally applied in the coming months.

Across Europe

Spain rejects US assertion of cooperation on Iran – Spanish ministers reaffirmed Madrid’s opposition to the US-Israeli joint attack on Iran, despite US claims that Madrid had reversed its decision to deny its military from using its jointly operated bases.

Record number of dangerous products in Europe – Thousands of dangerous non-food products triggered safety alerts across the EU last year, including large numbers of cosmetics containing harmful chemicals. In 2025, nearly 4,700 alerts were recorded.

Ireland adapts harsher nicotine rules – Ireland has approved new restrictions on nicotine products, moving ahead of the European Commission’s long‑delayed proposal to update tobacco and nicotine rules. The new rules include a ban on sales to under-18s, prohibit retail advertising and restrict colourful or youth-appealing packaging.