Europe humiliated, but still subservient, after remarks from US officials

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte meets with US Vice President JD Vance. Source: NATO/Flickr

Statements by US Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Hegseth on the Ukraine war and transatlantic relations have left European leaders in shock

“If American democracy can survive ten years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk,” US Vice President JD Vance told European leaders at last week’s Munich Security Conference. His remarks came during a draining week for those leaders, as Trump officials announced peace talks with Russian authorities—without European or Ukrainian involvement—while signaling they expect Europe to handle peacekeeping and being paid for their support in minerals from Ukraine.

Speeches by Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threw European leaders into disarray, seen as not-so-subtle indications of a cooling in transatlantic relations. These interventions attacked everything from the EU’s efforts to regulate social media platforms to its approach to far-right parties in parliamentary life. In response, French President Emmanuel Macron called for an emergency summit of select regional powers on Monday, February 17 – just a day before US and Russian representatives are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia.

While Ukrainian officials and some European leaders have insisted they will not accept any deal that excludes Ukraine’s direct involvement, their stance appears to carry little weight.

Read more: Far-right surge or status quo? Understanding the 2024 European elections

At the same time, the new US administration has increased pressure on its European allies, demanding a ramping up of their defense budgets and taking on the responsibility of a potential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. This comes as no surprise: a number of US officials, including Donald Trump himself, have said Europe does not contribute enough to NATO and essentially freeloads off the US. Vance’s speech in Munich only reaffirmed this stance, ultimately reducing high-ranking figures to tears over the apparent breakup between allies.

While the focus of European reactions to recent US statements has been on Ukraine, many leaders have admitted that more is at stake. “Yes, it is about Ukraine – but it is also about us,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. Unfortunately, the conclusion she drew going further is upsetting: “We need an urgency mindset. We need a surge in defense. And we need both of them now.”

Unlike healthcare, education, or social programs—sectors where European governments are consistently told their budgets must remain limited—military spending is expected to face no such barriers. Many European countries have already embraced the shift, with Polish officials, for example, boasting about spending close to 5% of their GDP on defense and warning of looming “wider wars” to convince other states in the region to do the same.

Read more: Elon Musk and AfD’s Alice Weidel’s align ahead of elections in Germany

Despite the apparent fracture in US-Europe relations, European leaders have shown no inclination to rethink their dependence on Washington. Instead, most have done exactly what the Trump presidency wants them to do and swiftly pledged to increase military spending. Some have even already expressed willingness to deploy troops for peacekeeping in Ukraine. What remains absent from their reactions is any consideration of a future less dictated by US interests and more aligned with the needs of the people living in Europe.

Since the beginning of the war three years ago, activists have urged Europe to reject NATO’s warmongering and prioritize peace in Ukraine alongside social justice at home. Instead, the coming surge in military budgets will almost certainly coincide with cuts to public services, further fueling the rise of the far-right—a political force that Trump officials, including Vance and Elon Musk, have (more or less) openly backed during interventions in Europe. From this perspective, unlike the conservative circles who “survived ten years of ’s scolding,” Europe’s liberal elite is unlikely to emerge from its current crisis unscathed. Whether their refusal to acknowledge the failure of their anti-people policies will push the entire region into the hands of parties like Brothers of Italy and Alternative for Germany remains to be seen.

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

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Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Power-mad orange gasbag Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Power-mad orange gasbag Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.

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Continue ReadingEurope humiliated, but still subservient, after remarks from US officials

Miliband urges energy watchdog to act as typical bill could rise by more than £100 a year

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/feb/18/miliband-urges-energy-watchdog-to-act-as-typical-bill-could-rise-by-more-than-100-a-year

Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has asked Ofgem to crack down on inaccurate and large bills. Photograph: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images

Exclusive: Whitehall source expects bills in England, Scotland and Wales to rise by about £9 a month over the next three months

Ed Miliband has urged the energy watchdog to take swift action as it emerged that the typical energy bill could soar by more than £100 a year amid a rise in global gas prices.

A Whitehall source said they expected bills in England, Scotland and Wales to increase by about £9 a month over the next three months in another challenge to government plans to tackle the cost of living.

They blamed volatile global gas prices linked to the end of the transit deal that enabled gas to flow to Europe, through Ukraine, from Russia.

Miliband, the energy secretary, has written an urgent letter to Ofgem, saying the price rise means the energy regulator must move faster to protect consumers.

This month, gas prices hit a two-year high, exacerbated by the lack of gas storage in Britain and Europe, combined with colder weather though prices have begun to stabilise. Cornwall Insight, a consultancy which produces closely watched forecasts for the energy price cap, is set to release its latest forecast on Tuesday.

Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/feb/18/miliband-urges-energy-watchdog-to-act-as-typical-bill-could-rise-by-more-than-100-a-

Continue ReadingMiliband urges energy watchdog to act as typical bill could rise by more than £100 a year

Government cash ‘nowhere enough’ to deliver fair transition to green energy, unions warn

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/government-cash-nowhere-enough-deliver-fair-transition-green-energy-warn-unions

Gwynt y Mor, the world’s 2nd largest offshore wind farm located eight miles offshore in Liverpool Bay, off the coast of North Wales

NEW public cash for green energy may be a “step in the right direction” but is “nowhere near enough” to meet the government’s own jobs and manufacturing targets, unions warned today.

The rebuke came as Energy Secretary Ed Miliband invited applications to the £200 million Clean Energy Bonus scheme, offering financial support for green developers on condition they funnel investments and jobs into into areas suffering from deprivation or reliant on the fossil fuel sector.

The government had set targets to boost domestic production in the green supply chain by 60 per cent by 2030, hoping to create 35,000 jobs in areas essential to a transition from fossil fuels, which are often reliant on imports such as wind blades and transmission cables.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “We should be making the towers, foundation and cables for zero carbon energy here – instead of paying other countries and importing them.

“The Clean Industry Bonus is an essential step in this direction. It will help the North Sea workforce find good quality, secure jobs and boost UK industry.”

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/government-cash-nowhere-enough-deliver-fair-transition-green-energy-warn-unions

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Orcas comment on killer apes destroying the planet by continuing to burn fossil fuels.
Continue ReadingGovernment cash ‘nowhere enough’ to deliver fair transition to green energy, unions warn

Government and NHS boss ‘rewriting history’ on disastrous PFI

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/government-and-nhs-boss-rewriting-history-on-disastrous-pfi

Health Secretary Wes Streeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not seen) during a visit to Elective Orthopaedic Centre in Epsom, Surrey, January 6, 2025

BACKING private finance in the NHS should be a red line for any health secretary, campaigners charged today.

NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last week that the government should “consider” using private capital to fix the NHS’s crumbling infrastructure.

Today, Health Secretary Wes Streeting faced questions on the same programme about a potential return to failed private-finance initiative (PFI) schemes, in which private firms built hospitals and high-interest repayments were made over the long term.

Mr Streeting said that he does not pretend there are not “enormous challenges” because of NHS capital shortfall, and is “very sympathetic to the argument that we should try and leverage in private finance.”

But he admitted that many of the PFI deals “did lumber the NHS with an enormous cost that it continues to bear.”

Johnbosco Nwogbo, of campaign group We Own It, said: “Support for more private finance in our NHS should disqualify you from being health secretary.

“Many NHS trusts are still spending more on PFI debts than on medicines for patients.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/government-and-nhs-boss-rewriting-history-on-disastrous-pfi

Continue ReadingGovernment and NHS boss ‘rewriting history’ on disastrous PFI