April 2022 – B2 Pro The daily life of geopolitical Europe

[Notebook 30.04.2022]. Budgets, cooperations, equipment and capacities, companies

30 April 2022 Agnes Faure Angola, Belgium, Croatia, Drones, Estonia, United States, F-35, electronic warfare, helicopters, India, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Anti-aircraft missiles, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, SCAF, Slovenia, submarines, Czech Republic, Tempest 12 min read

(B2) One by one, European countries are turning to the Americans to urgently re-equip their armies. A two-pronged movement is beginning: armies are clearing out their old equipment to...

[Decryption] DR Congo. The appeals of ten former officials of the Kabila regime rejected

29 April 2022 Nicolas Gros Verheyde Cancellation, destabilization, Human rights, manifest error of assessment, FARDC, freezing of assets, Congolese National Police, DR Congo, Court of the EU 3 min read

(B2) The judges of the Seventh Chamber validated, on Wednesday (April 27), the sanctions taken by the European Union against ten former officials of the Democratic Republic of Congo, suspected of having...

[Decryption] DR Congo. The Court annuls the sanctions imposed against Ilunga Luyoyo

(B2) The judges of the seventh chamber on Wednesday (April 27) annulled the measures imposed on the former head of Kabila's anti-riot unit. This was a symbolic judgment. Because it demonstrates the fragility...

Respect for fundamental rights, an important point for Leggeri, the director of the new European corps of border guards (credit: Frontex)

Frontex. Caught in the turmoil, Fabrice Leggeri resigns. A valve to the problems, not the solution V2

29 April 2022 Emmanuelle Stroesser Fabrice Leggeri, Frontex, OLAF, Backflows 6 min read

(B2) The resignation of the executive director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency is only a matter of hours away. It does not represent the epilogue of a deeper problem within...

Aeronautics. The Belgians would see themselves taking part in the SCAF… or the Tempest. They are less interested in MGCS

29 April 2022 Nicolas Gros Verheyde Aeronautics, Belgium, Military cooperation, Defense industry, MGCS, SCAF, Tempest 1 min read

(B2) Belgium would like to join one of the ongoing European future aircraft projects. A senior Belgian defense official confirmed this to B2. The SCAF…

Strategic compass, Colombia, Belgium, Tunisia… the articles of the week from B2 Pro

29 April 2022 Nicolas Gros Verheyde Brief 1 min read

A defense spending target. A subject that is still sensitive, even taboo, for Europeans. Europeans are still hesitant to set a defense spending target. The famous 2%...

[Meanwhile] Colombia, between two elections

28 April 2022 B2 Writing Election observation mission, Peace process in Colombia 2 min read

(B2) As Colombia is in the midst of an election period, more than five years after signing the Peace Agreement, a report by the United Nations Verification Mission…

General Raymond Sausin (left) with General Raymond Sausin RACC Mauritania Executive Secretary of the G5 Sahel Eric Tiare in February (Photo: G5 Sahel)

[Interview] The regionalization of action in the Sahel, a tool to better coordinate our actions (General Raymond Sausin, RACC)

28 April 2022 Nicolas Gros Verheyde G5 Sahel, Interview, RACC 3 min read

(B2) General Raymond Sausin, of the French gendarmerie, arrived, barely two months ago, at the head of the small advisory and coordination unit...

[Analysis] A defense spending target. Subject always sensitive, even taboo, for Europeans

28 April 2022 B2 Writing Analysis, strategic compass, defense budget, 2% target 8 min read

(B2 — exclusive) Should a common target for military spending be set at the European Union level? If so, what should it look like? What about the Stability Pact?

[Notebook 28.04.2022]. Confidential. Defense. NATO. Diplomacy. Crises. Security. Powers

28 April 2022 Emmanuelle Stroesser Humanitarian aid, Canada, COPS, Horn of africa, Darfur, EUFOR Althea, Gas, Golf, Gulf of Guinea, Legal immigration, Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar, Poland, temporary protection, Qatar, DR Congo, Reconstruction, Russia, Turkey, visa 10 min read

(B2) By cutting off Gazprom's supply to Poland and Bulgaria, Putin is accelerating the forced independence of European Union member states from Russian resources. Will the domino effect lead to a halt to...

Belgium wants to boost its defense budget to regain a capacity for action

27 April 2022 Nicolas Gros Verheyde Belgium, defense budget, Ukraine War 2022, Ludivine Dedonder, 2% target, R & D 3 min read

(B2) Slowly but surely. This is the ambition displayed by the Belgian Minister of Defense, Ludivine Dedonder, in front of a gathering of military personnel and civilians, including B2, on the school grounds...

The end of gagging lawsuits against journalists and NGOs in Europe?

27 April 2022 Emmanuelle Stroesser Human rights, Fundamental rights, Justice, Freedom of press, NGO 2 min read

(B2) Dare you, says the European Commission. To this end, it is presenting a draft directive on Wednesday (April 27) to put an end to abusive prosecutions against journalists, NGOs and the…

[Verbatim] Tunisia is off to a bad start, worries MEP Javier Nart

27 April 2022 Emmanuelle Stroesser Constitution, Political crisis, democracy, Maghreb 5 min read

(B2) The Spanish MEP recently visited Tunisia with three colleagues from the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) (1). Curious at his departure, the parliamentarian returned rather pessimistic....

Gepard anti-aircraft tank, decommissioned, recognizable by its two cannons (Photo: Bundeswehr)

Ramstein. The Allies are stepping up the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. Germany changes its mind (v2)

26 April 2022 Nicolas Gros Verheyde Germany, Artillery, Battle tanks, Training 5 min read

(B2) Meeting at the American base in Ramstein (West Germany), friends of Ukraine defined on Tuesday (April 26) a new policy of support for arms for Ukraine. Germany…

[Notebook 26.04.2022]. Defense. NATO. Diplomacy. Crises. Security. Powers

26 April 2022 Emmanuelle Stroesser Afghanistan, Germany, Heavy weapons, Belgium, Belarus, Burma, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Budget 2022, COPS, membership request, Dissidents, elections, Spain, espionage, Estonia, France, Iran, Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Mali, Moldova, Portugal, NATO Forward Presence, Refugees, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, East Timor, Ukraine 16 min read

(B2) The re-election of Emmanuel Macron as head of the French Republic has two immediate effects for Europe: reassuring the various partners on the continuity of European commitment,…

Putin's war on the Europeans will have had the opposite effect: allowing the emergence of a European defense (Photo: European Commission)

[Analysis] The Nordic spring of European defense has begun. Putin's first strategic defeat

26 April 2022 B2 Writing Analysis, Article 42-7 TEU, Denmark, Finland, free, Ukraine War 2022, Open, Opt-Out, Russia, Sweden 7 min read

(B2) Each in their own way, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are preparing to draw a line under certain principles. The former by breaking its opt-out on European defense, the…

[Confidential] European Peace Facility. Towards help for the Gulf of Guinea, especially for the Nigerian Navy (v2)

25 April 2022 Nicolas Gros Verheyde European Peace Facility, Gulf of Guinea, maritime piracy 4 min read

(B2 — Exclusive) Europeans are preparing a new assistance measure to curb the risk of piracy, which is still very present in the Gulf of Guinea. A vital area for Europe,…

Vote in the National Assembly (Photo: Niger Prime Minister's Office)

Niger will be able to host Takuba's European special forces. The law is passed. The following will be more complicated

24 April 2022 Nicolas Gros Verheyde Niger, Takuba task force 4 min read

(B2) The Nigerien National Assembly adopted on Friday (April 22) the text necessary for the establishment of new European and French military forces on its territory. Three other ECOWAS countries...

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