It has been days since Donald Trump began warming up for this week's NATO summit in Ankara. Although until recently he achieved almost everything he set out to do from his allies, the President of the United States has seen European leaders refuse in recent months to participate in the war in Iran and even criticize him. Furthermore, even though they had committed to it at last year's Atlantic Alliance summit, more and more partners are admitting difficulties or directly refusing to spend 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. Two issues that deeply anger Trump, and his European counterparts are already preparing for the US president's reproaches, according to NATO diplomatic sources: it remains to be seen in what tone.

One of the images that occupied the most front pages of the NATO summit in The Hague last year starred Pedro Sánchez. In the family photo of the allied leaders, the Spanish Prime Minister was seen slightly displaced to a corner, a little apart from his counterparts. Although it was a small detail, it was symptomatic and perfectly portrayed the solitude of the socialist leader in the Atlantic Alliance, dominated by the United States, now under Donald Trump.

The journalist and Cidob researcher Carme Colomina has just published Europe is a state of mind (Ara Llibres). The former correspondent in Brussels and collaborator of ARA analyzes the current state of the European project and the challenges it faces, and offers clues on how to overcome them.

The European judiciary has endorsed the European Commission's decision to fine Google with the largest penalty in the history of the European Union for violating EU antitrust legislation. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Thursday rejected the American tech giant's appeal against Brussels' punishment and upheld the imposition of a fine of up to 4.1 billion euros, slightly lower than that initially applied by the European executive.

United States pressure on NATO allies to spend more on defense and do it buying American weapons doesn't stop. Washington's ambassador to the Atlantic Alliance, Matthew Whitaker, has warned that Donald Trump's administration will carry out a new strategy to make its transatlantic partners believe: "It will bring benefits" to governments that spend more on defense and punish those that allocate fewer resources to it.

For some time now, the regime of Vladimir Putin has initiated a hybrid war against European partners. Disinformation campaigns, support for destabilizing political movements, computer hacks, and, lately, especially incursions with drones into the airspace of the European Union and NATO countries. Faced with this type of attack, which is becoming increasingly frequent, European allies are accelerating the development and industrialization of unmanned aircraft.

Ireland is a friendly country to the cause, but it cannot force the issue and has little hope. The Irish government is one of those that has always been most openly in favour of the official status of Catalan, Galician and Basque in the European Union, and was the last member state to achieve recognition of its own language in the EU institutions. Despite this, the lack of support from the other European partners means that, at least for now, Ireland sees it as complicated to push the initiative during the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU – the body representing member states – in the second half of this year, which begins this Wednesday.

Europe is facing a new climatic reality. Extreme, long, and historic heatwaves are becoming increasingly frequent and are one of the most evident faces of a climate crisis that demands urgent responses. The episode of high temperatures affecting a large part of the continent this June (also in places where it was previously unthinkable) is breaking records in several countries and is the result of global warming caused by human activity and the accumulation of greenhouse gases. And it is no coincidence: Europe is the continent that is warming fastest on the planet and the impacts are already visible on health, agriculture, ecosystems, and water availability.

The European Commission has proposed this Friday to extend by one year plus the temporary international protection regulations for Ukrainians who flee the war and seek refuge in the European Union. However, Brussels has proposed amending legislation to exclude from the right to remain in EU territory all Ukrainian citizens who are of military age (mostly men between 23 and 60 years old) and are able to serve in the Ukrainian army.

The Taliban arrived in Brussels this Tuesday to discuss the deportation of immigrants to Afghanistan. This is the only thing the European Commission has confirmed, which has not wanted to reveal with whom, when, and where they met. Absolute secrecy reigns among the community authorities.

The constant threats and humiliations from Donald Trump against the European Union are accelerating the European bloc's process towards greater autonomy. The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has voted in favor – by 43 votes to 14, with 1 abstention – to proceed with the creation of a digital euro, an initiative that had been stalled in the community chamber for years.

Agreement in disagreement. European leaders only agree on one thing about the proposal they have on the table for the next European multiannual budgets (2028-2034): they don't please anyone.

Pedro Sánchez is increasingly alone in the European Union with the migratory challenge. A few days after the entry into force of the migration reform and the agreement to create centers outside the Community territory for deporting immigrants, several European leaders have reproached the Spanish Prime Minister for his stance on migration and the massive regularization of newcomers at the European Council meeting this Friday in Brussels, according to various diplomatic sources.

Strasbourg's cold water bucket to Catalan and linguistic immersion. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has unanimously decided to dismiss the lawsuit filed by families from the Turó del Drac educational center in Canet de Mar against the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) that "requires at least 25%% of classes to be taught in Spanish in Catalonia. "Prohibiting the use of Spanish as a language of instruction would deprive Spanish citizens of their right to be educated in the national language," concludes the decision published this Thursday by the European court. The verdict comes as the Constitutional Court's decision on the appeal filed by the TSJC with the high court is still pending, so that it could decide whether the law and the decree approved by the Government of Pere Aragonès to prevent the application of the 25% Spanish ruling infringed the Constitution. The ECHR's decision is not binding and the Government points out that it does not affect the entire educational system. Experts consulted by ARA agree, although they also warn that its arguments could influence the Constitutional Court's decision.

The United States administration has once again attacked European allies from Brussels. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday a new review of the deployment of American troops in Europe and threatened to stop paying its NATO dues until all allies fulfill their defense spending commitments. Spain, for example, has refused to commit to reaching 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, as demanded by the White House. "Some countries have not yet shown a credible path to meeting commitments made in The Hague. Too much talk," lamented the American leader.

The relationship that the European Union should maintain with China has divided member states in recent years, but now all agree in qualifying the trade deficit between the European bloc and the Asian giant "unsustainable", according to various diplomatic sources. For this reason, more and more European governments are advocating for an escalation of tone against Beijing, and want to request at the leaders' summit this Thursday and Friday in Brussels that the European Commission put forward measures to limit Chinese imports.

The European Union is in a hurry regarding migration and, at an unusual speed, the European Parliament has definitively ratified the regulation that will allow the installation of centers outside the community territory to deport immigrants, as the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has attempted in Albaniathe Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to Albania

Donald Trump's threats to withdraw US military capabilities from Europe were serious. The Pentagon has reported that it intends to reduce its presence on the European continent for the rest of NATO allies, and European countries are preparing and organizing to replace and fill the defense gaps that the North American power will leave, according to diplomatic sources from the Atlantic Alliance. In fact, many European allies have already put on the table what capabilities they can contribute and how they can contribute to Europe's security.

The official discourse of the European Union calls for a common defense, greater military autonomy, and less dependence on Donald Trump's United States. At this point, however, the reality is that the most pressing issue is unresolved. As community leaders admit in hushed tones, European allies still lack sufficient war industrial capacity to stop buying weapons from the North American power, a deficiency that has become evident again with the failure of the production of a latest-generation Franco-German fighter jet, which was also to have Spanish participation. the failure of the production of a fighter jet of Franco-German origin of the latest generation, which was also to have Spanish participation.

Before the last European elections on June 9, 2024, Ursula von der Leyen was already hinting during the election campaign about the new role that the far-right would play in the European Union. In order to secure the renewal of her mandate at the head of the European Commission, she repeatedly stated that not all far-right parties are the same and opened herself up to negotiations with formations like that of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. Although she ultimately did not need their support, the relationship between conservatives and the far-right changed entirely. Without a sanitary cordon and with great electoral results, the far-right has consolidated itself in state governments and in the Eurochamber, and they are no longer just honking horns, but have also adopted a central and powerful role in the European Union.